Looking to play and record your maps

I'll be doing a few more videos tonight then the longer ones this weekend. Sorry Bonnie and other early posters for not doing your maps first, I'm still tweaking how I make the videos and long/difficult maps make it hard to do. On a related note I am going to be using saves or possibly resurrects so I can be sure to complete the maps.

Originally I underestimated the difficulty of the maps and thought 'yeah, I'll just finish the map in one go without dying' which hasn't turned out to be the case. I will be using saves for hard maps when I think a big fight is about to erupt and I will use the resurrect command if I die in an easy map but in a really fucking stupid way due to a silly mistake. I want to play the maps as authentically as possibly, which for me is no saves, but I also want to finish the map in a timely fashion so you don't have to sit through me replaying stuff I already have.

What are people's thoughts on this? Any suggestions? Any comments on current videos on how to make them more useful or entertaining for you. I'd love some feedback.

Hey man,

First, thank you for taking the time with these maps.  I know I didn't say that earlier and I feel like kind of a jerk for not saying it.

Second, everything you said above sounds good.  The encounter people seem to have the most trouble with on my map is the encounter with the cultists.  Here are some tips if you like:

 

I enjoy watching your videos. I think your commentary is fair and solid without being critical just for the sake of being critical. And I have seen you more than once show the discernment to stop speaking while you are shooting and resume your thought when it's quiet again. 

As far as saves, you're doing people a favor by playing their maps and providing commentary, so you should do that in whatever way you deem appropriate. I, for one, would definitely rather see more videos with a few saves/resurrections here and there than just a few videos because you did five takes to get a "pure" playthrough. 

If you ever feel like playing the complete opposite of your tastes then let me know. I love watching people experience my beloved project.

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First, thank you for taking the time with these maps.  I know I didn't say that earlier and I feel like kind of a jerk for not saying it.

Thanks man, I appreciate it. No need to feel like a jerk, I'm sure every who's map gets played appreciates it but it is nice to hear it from you too :)

 

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Second, everything you said above sounds good. 

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As far as saves, you're doing people a favor by playing their maps and providing commentary, so you should do that in whatever way you deem appropriate. I, for one, would definitely rather see more videos with a few saves/resurrections here and there than just a few videos because you did five takes to get a "pure" playthrough. 

Solid. Glad this is sorted. This issue has been slowing me down and restricting my map choice by a lot.

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I enjoy watching your videos. I think your commentary is fair and solid without being critical just for the sake of being critical. And I have seen you more than once show the discernment to stop speaking while you are shooting and resume your thought when it's quiet again. 

 

Sweet, I'm glad you like them. When it comes to my commentary I feel like as I do more maps my understanding of what makes a good map good and vice-versa will get better due to constant critical thinking. I definitely try to be as fair as possible and explain any criticisms I have and what a possible alternative/solution would be (if I can think of one).

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I loved the FDA and the video! I am hyped for the rest, glad you enjoyed the first map :>. And yeah, I love using revenants hahaha, I need to make fun encounters with other monster types.

Well pleased to hear you enjoyed watching :D Now that I've got the save/resurrect system sussed I'm fkn amped to play the next two maps so expect them soon!

 

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I just wanna say I appreciate the time you are taking to do this, its a really cool feeling watching somebody play your map. Heres mine if you have time for it:

Thanks heaps, it really motivates me to hear that. I always loved watching my flatmates play my Mario Maker levels which is one of the things that inspired me to start this series <3 I played through Hell Complex and it's uploading currently. I've got the review done so it'll be up just as soon as YT finishes uploading then processing to 1080/60.

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If you ever feel like playing the complete opposite of your tastes then let me know. I love watching people experience my beloved project.

Hook it up. I'll give it a jam for sure.

I can patiently await the rest of the Evershrine FDAs, i'm sure they'll be quality.

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I just wanna say I appreciate the time you are taking to do this, its a really cool feeling watching somebody play your map. Heres mine if you have time for it:

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/g-i/hellcmp

 

It was constructed in 2 1/2 weeks, it takes between 15-20 minutes. There are plenty of secrets and maybe a puzzle or two, lots of stuff to do. I would recommend saving often, as there are several pretty nasty traps located throughout the map, and the ending especially can be pretty arduous. If you ever get around to it, I'd appreciate it, thanks a ton. I liked your videos for the DW megawad club by the way, very fun to watch :)

A fairly large map with consistently good fights/encounters throughout. The map is expansive but it's clear where to go (unless you miss the blue key right in front of you like I did...). The final fight arena was the best part of the map (made real use of the invisibility sphere!). The DW post said the map took 15-20 minutes however it took me 46 minutes (missing the blue key fucked me).

The architecture is interesting and each part of the map feels unique. There were a few texturing inconsistencies that could be fixed to tie the map together better. I feel that with the exact same level geometry but better texturing overall the map would feel a lot nicer. That's not to say the texturing itself is bad (it is in a couple of places IMO) but the level has more potential. If a different MIDI was used combined with some better/different texturing you could have a really great map on your hands.

The difficulty of the map is just right, health and ammo are balanced and you never really get fucked over by shitty enemy placement. This could definitely be done without dying during your first playthrough if you played well. Overall, I very much enjoyed playing this level and would recommend a download. I'd also be interested in seeing more maps by Jthom.

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/g-i/hellcmp

18 hours ago, HAK3180 said:

If you like old school, perhaps you'd be willing, at your convenience, to take a look at this n00b's (my) effort. There are eight custom maps in there at different slots, but specifically I'm interested in Map 19 at the moment.

Standard limit removing Doom 2.

Quality map of just the right length. The outdoor areas never get boring visually and the map consistently looks good. There's a few small detailing effects that add charm (like the overhead/street lamps by the boat at the end).

The fights are fun and give you a lot of flexibility in play style due to the map layout. One specific suggestion I would make would be to replace the PE at the very end of the map with an second archvile just to have the map climax a little more.

I'll probably do FDAs for all other 7 maps in this wad as I really got a kick out of this map.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/38r2a9wzmiu3w4k/CROSSBEARER+3.2.2.wad

On 2/16/2018 at 4:57 PM, xvertigox said:

Hook it up. I'll give it a jam for sure.

Sure, I hope you give it a go. There are things to note;

1. It requires Brutal Doom version 20b and GZdoom or Zandronum Sourceport

2. It is said to be ammo starved, but it's so you use Brutal Dooms grenades, headshots and melee

3. There is a total of 9 short - medium maps

Wad Name: Operation UAC

http://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom/addons/operation-uac#comments

Would love to see you give Doomed in Space a shot

3 minutes ago, Doomkid said:

Would love to see you give Doomed in Space a shot

 

 

One of the first videos I recorded was actually of Doomed in SPACE. It was before I had a more fleshed out concept of reviewing maps (so no commentary) and was more of a straight FDA. I'll actually go back and do some reviews but it'll be closer to the back of my "to play" list since I've already seen a fair chunk of the levels.

I should have checked before asking, I had no idea anyone but Major Arlene had recorded playthroughs of this for youtube. Thanks man!

I can't guarantee that the gameplay I go for will be up your alley, but... here ya go :D  Have fun and remember to check the README files.

http://alexa.partition36.com/doom/

19 hours ago, HAK3180 said:

If you like old school, perhaps you'd be willing, at your convenience, to take a look at this n00b's (my) effort. There are eight custom maps in there at different slots, but specifically I'm interested in Map 19 at the moment.

Standard limit removing Doom 2.

This map is either a placeholder or is in desperate need of a second pass. The fights are dull and simple even for map01 of a wad. There's a lack of finesse and detail in not just the architecture but the gameplay - it's just not fun to run around pistoling zombiemen/pinkies/imps for ~5 minutes. A faster pace achieved with more enemies (shotgunners, maybe a caco or two?) and tighter spaces pace would make this a lot more fun.

I'll play more maps in the wad and see how they turn out.

20 hours ago, HAK3180 said:

If you like old school, perhaps you'd be willing, at your convenience, to take a look at this n00b's (my) effort. There are eight custom maps in there at different slots, but specifically I'm interested in Map 19 at the moment.

Standard limit removing Doom 2.

This is what map01 should have been like. The combat is superior in every way, the caves have great little touches like the hole to shoot through and going from the grey cave back to the brown. Then the techbase area came. There's a big lack of detailing which makes going from the pretty cave to the square techbase jarring. If you were to get the indoor areas looking better then it'd be a primo early map for a multi-level wad.

What exactly are you planning on doing with this wad? The maps aren't in sequential order so are they all just separate maps you placed into one wad for convenince's sake or are you planning on having them actually progress from one to another?

Hi

Here are two of my most recent maps, both for gzdoom for you to play and record demo of if you like:
Brotherhood of Ruin: The Lost Temple (Mayan temple complex)
https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/a-c/bor_lost

Plutonium Sandpit: An abandoned base on a sand planet with a trip to hell (huge map), with new monsters, weather fx and moderate scripting.

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/j-l/ka_tech

If you're up to it, have fun! :)

3 hours ago, Chezza said:

 

Sure, I hope you give it a go. There are things to note;

1. It requires Brutal Doom version 20 and GZdoom or Zandronum Sourceport

2. It is said to be ammo starved, but it's so you use Brutal Dooms grenades, headshots and melee

3. There is a total of 9 short - medium maps

 

Wad Name: Operation UAC

http://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom/addons/operation-uac#comments

Which map or two would you recommend? 9 is a bit much but a short map and a medium map would be great.

On 2/16/2018 at 10:35 PM, xvertigox said:

 

Which map or two would you recommend? 9 is a bit much but a short map and a medium map would be great.

I encourage you to give it a good play through as barely any map even has a 100 monsters in them. But if I had to recommend 2 maps I would say;

Map 8 and 9. These two contain the most unique features and higher details than the rest (it was a learn as you go project, first wad). However these maps weren't designed for pistol starts and would require you to spawn the doom arsenal excluding the BFG.

3 hours ago, YukiRaven said:

I can't guarantee that the gameplay I go for will be up your alley, but... here ya go :D  Have fun and remember to check the README files.

 

http://alexa.partition36.com/doom/

This is a GZDoom map full of colored lighting (in the vein of Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon to a degree).

Honestly, I have almost nothing bad to say about this map. You should 100% download it and play it with something like Dead Marine or Smooth Doom or Beautiful Doom (assuming they don't break the dynamic lighting). It is a beautiful contemporary map showing how robust the idtech1 engine is when it comes to being able to express different art styles.

The music was also done by YukiRaven and is available at www.partition36.com - check it out for sure.

The only issue I have with this map is certain areas have red lighting throughout and it is too strong, it should be toned down IMO. I'd say I'd love for this to be part of a multi-level wad but it works best as a self-contained experience because you don't want to drag out out or repeat the visual style.

Hey, thanks so much for playing not just one, but three of my maps. I'm grateful for your videos; they give me some ideas. To answer some of your questions, I'm working on a full megawad of 32 maps but I have not been making them in order. Some of them I know need some help. Map 01 was the second one I made, and I started out much better at outdoor/natural areas than indoor. If you continue, you will find 13 a bit dull as well, but hopefully the rest (14, 15, 18, 22) fairly interesting. The bottom line is I don't consider any of them absolutely finished, so I'm working on new stuff and polishing the old ones constantly, so I definitely appreciate any advice and videos.

Thanks for the video and review. If you're looking for short maps, try map01 of this wad. All the other maps are beatable from pistol start as well but they progress in length and difficulty. GZdoom-based, no jumping/crouching, use dyn lights, HMP & UV difficulties implemented.

Thanks again.

There is no shame in saving, I do it all the time in my videos. I make the first save off-camera and just use quicksave when necessary. My trick if using GZDoom is to turn the save dialog prompt off (in options somewhere) so it seamlessly saves without the quicksave prompt and looking blah. That and turning detailed save messages off so it just says something like "Game saved." instead of something like "C:\Doom\GZDoom\quicksave1.sav saved."

Or however the dialog prompt is turned off in GZDoom/Zandronum 3.x

This one is from /vr/

This wad is based on/inspired by an Iron Maiden track of the same name. Dance of Death is a perfect name for this wad as that concept is executed smoothly and cleanly. Circlestrafing hordes of enemies with the midi in the background really sells the "Dance of Death" idea.

The difficulty is fairly easy which works well on it's behalf, it's you playing around with the monsters and in the infighting, you don't feel like you're struggling. There is however way, way too much ammo on the map. I don't know how you could use all of those shotgun shells unless you missed at least 50% of your shots.

There are some technical glitches too. The final encounter starts with a short cutscene and I was killed by a baron during the cutscene when I had no control over my character (nor could I see him). There was also a bug where the final door disappeared? I reloaded the save and tried again and it worked fine but needs to be looked at.

Visually, the map is fine. It has good use of decorations at the start with some nice gore effects throughout. Detailing was a bit all over the place - some of it seemed unnecessary where as other areas (i.e the maze) were just totally blocky and lacking any detailing. I also just looked up the actual track and see that you modified it for your title screen - pretty lols with the imps heads (stupid sexy Imps).

Overall, the map is super fun to play all the way through. I hope you release more maps because I will 100% play them. Thanks for taking the time to make and release this.

P.S: The damage I reference in the video was a manc shot that did 53 damage x_x

Download: https://my.mixtape.moe/kdvubq.rar
Track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTrUwO6xOEI

Edit: Shout out to @Glaice for helping me with tech issues (and making dope maps).

Making the lost soul drop an armor helmet DOES sound like a cool idea, and it looks pretty easy to add in DECORATE.  I've made a note about this in the issue tracker for my WAD.

1 hour ago, xvertigox said:

Spoiler

 

This one is from /vr/

 

 

 

This wad is based on/inspired by an Iron Maiden track of the same name. Dance of Death is a perfect name for this wad as that concept is executed smoothly and cleanly. Circlestrafing hordes of enemies with the midi in the background really sells the "Dance of Death" idea.

 

The difficulty is fairly easy which works well on it's behalf, it's you playing around with the monsters and in the infighting, you don't feel like you're struggling. There is however way, way too much ammo on the map. I don't know how you could use all of those shotgun shells unless you missed at least 50% of your shots.

 

There are some technical glitches too. The final encounter starts with a short cutscene and I was killed by a baron during the cutscene when I had no control over my character (nor could I see him). There was also a bug where the final door disappeared? I reloaded the save and tried again and it worked fine but needs to be looked at.

 

Visually, the map is fine. It has good use of decorations at the start with some nice gore effects throughout. Detailing was a bit all over the place - some of it seemed unnecessary where as other areas (i.e the maze) were just totally blocky and lacking any detailing. I also just looked up the actual track and see that you modified it for your title screen - pretty lols with the imps heads (stupid sexy Imps).

Overall, the map is super fun to play all the way through. I hope you release more maps because I will 100% play them. Thanks for taking the time to make and release this.

 

P.S: The damage I reference in the video was a manc shot that did 53 damage x_x

 

Download: https://my.mixtape.moe/kdvubq.rar
Track: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTrUwO6xOEI

 

Edit: Shout out to @Glaice for helping me with tech issues (and making dope maps).

 

 

Hi! I'm Dance of Death's creator.

Thanks for all your words! This is my first map so all criticism is welcome.

I actually tried to find a way to stop the enemies in the last maze while the cutscene plays but I couldn't, I think there's a script line to freeze everything and not just the player so instead I expected the player to kill everything before proceeding. I know I SHOULDN'T expect stuff.

Maybe I can just script the doors to force-close so no enemies enter. After all you're just before the boss.

As for the ammo, I left a lot of shells in the maze because in one of my runs I ran out there and the enemies take a lot of damage, other people also told me ammo was too tight by that part.

Also yeah, you're right, by the maze I got kinda lazy since I was so close to finishing the map. 

Never encountered the disappearing floor glitch tho, I'll run my map a couple more times to see how to trigger it. I hope Joel let's me resubmit the wad with the fixes.

Circlestrafing and Infighting were the name of the game while designing the rooms there, for instance in the battle before getting the Red Skull you can just grab rockets and potions while the enemies battle you. I also expected players to grab the Inv+Berserk when the Cacos appear.

Thanks again for your criticism! I'm hoping to do more Iron Maiden maps in the future. I'm seeing an idea in Out of the Silent Planet...

Via Reddit

I found the monster placement in this map quite annoying, it felt like just arachnotrons and hell knights accounted for 60% of the enemies. The architecture was average and uninteresting. The fights were either boring or annoying. I think there may have been one or two enjoyable fights on this map.

I also could not find the blue key for the life of me so had to cheat to get all keys to see the end of the map.

The end of the map is potentially interesting although I think so unintentionally. You face a spidermastermind and 2 archviles - you can have them infight if you are lucky and since no monster will retaliate against an archvile they will just kill the mastermind for you. There is also a crusher that can be used to kill the mastermind. Given the mediocre monster placement previously in the level I doubt this was intentional.

I'd play more maps by joe-ilya but I would not go in with high expectations.

Link : https://doomshack.org/uploads/melancholypremises.wad
Note: map is in slot 15

Quite a long time ago, I made a map for Texture Extravaganza. Everything was done in a hurry, without a preliminary plan, so the map turned out to be confusing, with an abundance of switchhunting. On Doom Power, the map received different reviews, again, due to confusion and because of the "instant death marks" on the floor. I would be grateful if you pay attention to it.

Original post, Screenshots

I've had some tech / production issues which have since been resolved so now I can play longer maps (would still prefer the sub 20min mark tho but that's personal preference) so I'll be going back through the thread and playing certain maps I've been meaning to. I especially want to say sorry to @bonnie for not playing (well, releasing) either of your maps but I will. I can't promise I'll play every single map posted but I'll do my best and at the very least try to play something from each poster.

@StormCatcher.77 I'll play through it however I've got a bit of a back catalogue at the moment so don't expect it ASAP but still should be quite soon. I aim to do 1-3 maps per night depending on length (and heat, it's summer in NZ and our study has 3 PCs in it and I have to record with the door closed due to noise and it gets hot as fuck in there....)

Again, thanks for the support guys, I hope my feedback is useful for you and you enjoy my bullshittery.

@SuperArjunaButt Thread/Download

If I had to describe The Rending of Syataqwa in one word it would be 'unsettling'. The atmosphere is creepy and surreal with the perfect midi to go along with it. The lovecraftian influence is clear and unnerving.

There's a couple of new enemies which can be a bit of a pain to fight (I think the Disciple/Heretic guys should die to one SSG meatshot for sure) but fit the wad well. They have a trail effect behind them that I didn't like at first but once I got used to it it blended well with the rest of the map.

The low grav room was one of the highlights for me and I would love to see that expanded. Hitting middies in ql/q3 is one of the most satisfying feelings in gaming so to get a semblance of that in Doom is fantastic.

Visually the map is solid. The main town exterior is pretty ok but once you get inside the buildings it's much better. That being said the green set piece on the left hand side of the town looks awesome and is a great use of stock sprites. I also really liked the look of the blue staircase leading down to the library fight.

All in all, I enjoyed this map and would recommend it. I had various issues that caused me to have to replay the first 1/3 of the level numerous times and each of those times it was fun to play. I found the level length to be just right too, it's a solid 15-20min level, it doesn't drag on but it doesn't end abruptly either.

I'm looking forward to more maps from SuperArjunaButt.

Thread/download: https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/99017-wip-the-rending-of-syataqwa-a-lovecraftian-wad-for-doom-2-gzdoom/

@Empyre Thread/Download

I feel like I haven't played this map.

I played the map on UV which is default for me after I had read that Nightmare had been replaced with a custom difficulty called Slaughter. What neither the post nor the readme state is that this *needs* to be played on Slaughter difficulty. Either that or UV is so unbalanced that it's a snorefest with 0 challenge. I spent 42 minutes running around with the plasma gun holding mouse1, that's it.

The level geometry would be great for coop since it's so wide and open but in SP it just look bland. There's a few little details which would be enough had this been played in coop with way more monsters but more detail wouldn't go unloved either.

I did like the concept (note: concept) of going to each of the temples and unlocking one of the final doors but each temple was exactly the same layout like it was copy pasted then retextured. The temples need to be varied otherwise it feels like groundhog day.

I will try map09 on Slaughter difficulty to see what it is like but from what I can see you need to say this is a coop mapset. This is not a singleplayer mapset.

Honestly, I feel bad because I didn't get the proper experience by playing on UV but then on your end you should either make UV MUCH harder, make Slaughter the

default difficulty or bill this as a coop only wad and not a singleplayer one too.

Thread/download: https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/94601-empyrion_v39-14-udmf-single-playercoop-maps/