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obake

'Verse Hopper: Community Project (Now on Idgames)

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'Verse Hopper is a Gzdoom-centered community project. The goal is to create high quality maps with a selected set of custom textures and monsters.

 

The Story: Arthbright Nettle, a scientist, is set on undoing the chaos caused by his nemesis, “Nine Lives” McCosto. The brilliant but delusional McCosto has opened portals into other worlds, creating chaos as denizens of each now have freedom to travel across universes. Worst of all, one of those portals is directly from Hell itself!

 

As Arthbright, you must cross these worlds until you can find McCosto, and put an end to his maniacal reign.

 

How the Project Works: There are three distinct types of world to traverse: Construction sites/shopping centers, tech bases (both on earth and in space), and Hell itself. Each have their own textures set, and two custom monsters tailored to fit their theme. Malls, for instance, have toys gone bad, while tech bases and space have alien invaders. There is also a new Fomer Ranger zombie, that can be placed in any theme.

 

While the new monsters are going to be given their time to shine, they won't be the sole focus of the wad. The focus will be making interesting, varied gameplay with both the new and base content of Doom II. Some maps may not even have the new monsters. Certain maps, representing the different universes colliding together, will have a mixture of the new monster/texture types.

 

Inspirations for this Wad: Wanting more spotlight on custom content, I decided a community project with new enemies would be interesting. However, I realize the pitfalls custom monsters can have, so I decided to give a sense of order.

 

Rules for Mapping:

  • Absolutely NO troll/Terry maps
  • Maps must be made in Gzdoom, as new content probably won't work in anything else. UDMF is preferred. However, mappers need not focus too much on making maps fancy. If anything, keeping things relatively simple, especially for less experienced mappers, is the way to go!
  • Mapping will officially start on Tuesday, May 29, at around 10:30 am Mountain Standard Time, and end on June 12, at 12:00 pm.
  • A Discord chat is already set up: https://discord.gg/KYEHdqx, and there will be mapping tutors and tutorials. Hope to see you there! Have a great day, and God bless.

 

Special thanks to Jimmy for his help in setting this up, too!

Hoppers.png

Edited by obake

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Sounds groovy to me, I’m just finishing up my Interception II map so this might just hit the spot. Really intrigued by the construction/shopping mall episode theme :)

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Are we going to strictly use the source from there or we can put new contents from external sources? Also as I get it, we don't have a strict megawad formula (full 32 maps) based upon map slots to work on, but mostly on thematic divisions for each section... I get it right?

Anyway my question is: if this project will have a secret map (for each episode or for the full finished thing) it will need to be something special in sort of themes?

Anyway i'd like to join this project... i'll see what kind of maps I can badly speedmap  do. All themes looks cool to work...

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Oof, 14 days? That's pretty tight (assuming there are more days for playtesting).

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3 hours ago, Catpho said:

Oof, 14 days? That's pretty tight (assuming there are more days for playtesting).

It is tight, but I'll do my best to be lenient on those who may need a little more time.

 

3 hours ago, Walter confetti said:

Are we going to strictly use the source from there or we can put new contents from external sources? Also as I get it, we don't have a strict megawad formula (full 32 maps) based upon map slots to work on, but mostly on thematic divisions for each section... I get it right?

Anyway my question is: if this project will have a secret map (for each episode or for the full finished thing) it will need to be something special in sort of themes?

Anyway i'd like to join this project... i'll see what kind of maps I can badly speedmap  do. All themes looks cool to work...

We are using the same sources from the prelude, only they are now in separate resource wads.

 

You two should definitely join! We can use more mappers. :)

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i was going to ask the same... i think it's on the discord group, maybe?

EDIT: Yeah, everything you want to known including the resource wads are in the discord channel... maybe putting them also in this thread it could be a nice thing...

Edited by Walter confetti

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I love this as a concept, shame I'm busy atm. 

 

Good luck to you all on this! Look forward to playing.

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I sketched out a few map areas, joined the discord, discovered to my chagrin that this is a project with limited map slots and they were mostly all full already (for some reason I'd gotten the impression that this was one of the more open-ended community projects, at least in terms of # of maps).  But no worries!  Thanks for the inspiration to do a few things :)

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2 hours ago, jerrysheppy said:

joined the discord, discovered to my chagrin that this is a project with limited map slots and they were mostly all full already

I also was surprised that there seemed to very little interest to this project on this thread (all of 3 or 4 people). I hadn't thought about users just going to discord.

 

I wasn't planning on joining the project due to my lack of experience with UDMF, but it's still good to know that this project did indeed generate interest. Good luck all!

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Thanks, everybody! I'm glad to see so many people take interest. :)

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So today's had a significant update. The beta is out and ready to play! Just like with JoM4, there is an editable pdf sheet that you can take notes on to help improve the maps for the final release. Especially talk about any errors or bugs you encounter. We want this set to be as polished as possible! Any other comments about the set on the thread are welcome, too.

 

Thanks to everyone for their help and support. Let's all have fun!

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/5j9cogvop96dd88/VHopperBeta.pk3/file

 

 

Hopping.zip

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Collaborators on the project are as follows:

Big Ol' Billy

CanSteam

CardboxNeko

CheshireSphinx

DMPhobos

DrPyspy

Duke Wooze

Jimmy

Kaito

Lorenzo
Major Arlene

Minimum Payne

Obake

Pinchy

Qeswic

Redead-ITA

Stormcatcher77

Ugi Bugi

Vortale

Walter Confetti

Yontte

 

Also a big thanks to Doomkid for helping motivate me. Thank you all!

 

A few screenshots (thanks to DMPhobos for the suggestion)

Screenshot_Doom_20180627_133134.png

Screenshot_Doom_20180627_133224.png

Screenshot_Doom_20180627_133302.png

Edited by obake

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Can you change wa with my name? And thanks for compiling the beta!

Played the beta, and while i found signed as e2m10 author, the beta can't find it, i think it's a MAPINFO problem.

Edited by Walter confetti

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How I waited for this! Congratulations to everyone on the release!

Unfortunately, I did not have time to try the participant's maps myself on project server. In the near future, I finally find time to evaluate the whole project.

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17 hours ago, Walter confetti said:

Can you change wa with my name? And thanks for compiling the beta!

Played the beta, and while i found signed as e2m10 author, the beta can't find it, i think it's a MAPINFO problem.

Edit: Found the issue. The fixed version will be uploaded in a few. For some reason, there was an extra D_RUNNIN in the map file, that was messing with the progression.

 

Sure, I can change your name.

 

NOTE: For those who have already downloaded the first beta, and don't want to have to download the update (which will be given soon), simply go into Slade, go into the maps folder, and under E2M10, get rid of the D_RUNNIN file. This will fix the issue. Also, there is an extraneous backup of E1M4 you can delete, though make sure it is the backup and not the actual map.

Edited by obake : Found issue Walter was talking about.

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Looks interesting, so I picked it up to play. Your PDF doesn't seem to be edit-able however, at least not in my version of Foxit Reader (generally PDF's aren't though unless you've specifically added form fields in). So I thought I'd put the comments here, and edit it as I went along.

 

I'm a scrub playing GZDoom with mods (Argent, Shades of Doom, Champions and Universal Gibs), but sue me I like the D2016 arsenal in classic (and its not too overpowered like alot of weapon mods).

 

MAP01 (found 3 secrets).

> Lots of hitscanners in a wide open area always makes me cringe, it has to be said, which is mostly a problem at the start.

> It's a bit slaughtery with this much onslaught, though there were sufficient drops littered around to make things fair.

> Personally there are too many revenants for my taste in a Map 01 as well.

> Its also a bit a puzzle to guess where you're supposed to go next, so the flow is a bit janky (especially initially where its not horribly obvious you're supposed to drop down the hole for the yellow key).

> The secret Soulsphere with the massive trap spawn was kinda frustrating, being trapped with the peanut gallery in there made me lose 90% of the sphere.

> I did like the Imp in the toilet indicating you should go underwater. That section, including the caged Mancubus and the Hell Knight Janitor, was the best part of the level.

Theres some missing sprites here

This part has the chaingunners gradually wandering around the corner into your shotgun, so is hilariously easy.

Not far from here is quite a serious HoM

 

MAP 2 (100%'ed)

> A much more chill map, feels more like a Map 1 than map 1. This kind of map is actually more my style in general.

> Flows mostly nicely between its parts, and I like the attempt at city architecture. The stained glass secret was fun.

> Parts of it do feel a bit blocky though (especially that part before the weapons closet up the stairs feels a bit 1994).

My favourite part was the spiral lava room with the yellow key.

This part, again, its easy to duck in and out to kill off the chaingunners and rangers. Probably a good thing.

 

MAP 3 (100%'ed)

> Again, I like the flow of this one. Getting the Red Key leads you all the way back through the level intuitively; and that was very well done.

> This is the first time I saw the Cyberdemon action figures and they made me laugh.

> Though there were revenants and an Archie, the places you fight them felt fair (lots of cover) so thats good.

> Probably the most fun level so far, I had no big problems with it except there were a few strange texture alignments.

Notably this in the starting area!

 

MAP 4

> I couldn't open the bars to the lower level as I couldn't find the third switch anywhere so had to noclip them to get out. Got the ones behind the no entry strip and the one behind the store counter. Spent ages thinking there must be something in the toilets I missed but I gave up after 15 mins.

> The fight at the bottom is the first time I was annoyed with the cyber figure. When fighting the horde of things, the small size of the figure made them easy to miss and I took lots of damage from them without even realising what was going on.

> Basically feels like a gimmick map, but I assume thats what they were going for.

> I actually liked the 'Good luck getting out again' bit, though, even if it was ultimately a 'hump the crates' scenario, the hell knights fight and the distant sniping against the cyber figures was fun. A creative use of sectors.

 

MAP 5 (100%'ed)

> Short and sweet and scythe-y. My favourite flavour! Reminded me of Breach.wad with the feeling it was hovering between dimensions, though obviously not with quite as much polish as that.

> I actually thought the shielded hell knights were actually just the regular ones given the Shades of Doom treatment (that sprite is one of the variations it uses for Hell Knights), but they were actually different so that was a nice surprise.

This was great. Even though its just a floor mirror.

 

MAP 6 (100%'ed)

> I probably trivialised this one since I had the scope on my Rifle. Though Champions still kept me on my toes since one of the pinkie toys had rapid teleportation powers!

> Secret chainsaw was nicely placed but kinda pointless if playing sequentially.

> Not much to say on this one as after the initial fight you just hit the switch in the middle and you're done. Real short.

 

MAP 7 (1 secret missed)

> Thankyou Mr. Flat. For the Megasphere. (who's Mr. Flat? The boss?)

> I liked this one alot. It has a food court! I haven't seen one of those in years! They used to be a big thing in the UK, but they've all but dissapeared these days.

> In more seriousness, though, I like how the intensity shifts between quiet and frenzied sections. The Mr. Flat cutscene made me laugh, and the Mall Ambush after grabbing the pillar BFG was obvious but very well executed (though you can hide in one of the shops to avoid fire from the balcony, which I did). And the SNES-like music switch for the finale was fun too.

> I only got to fire the BFG once, mind, but that's not the maps fault, its a quirk of Argent that only Cell Packs get turned into BFG ammo, and the little cells only work for the Gauss and the Plasma (which I didn't have, lol). That single shot right down the mall centre did some serious WORK though. Never seen so many BFG tendrils in a non-slaughter map. XD Fortunately, I could deal with the boss with the rocket launcher and circle strafe though.

 

MAP 8 (100%'ed)

> Another short one with good flow.

> I liked the moving around the segments of the hexagonal room, and there was clearly alot of detail put into the level even though it was really short.

> I liked the secrets as well, but not much else to say about it. Feels like a nice breather level.

 

MAP 9 (missed the secrets)

> Basically focused around that labyrinth. Despite the nature of that, though, it felt reasonable to explore.

> Lots of odd texture quirks and geometry, but I assume it was intentional in this case.

> Most the ambush from grabbing the key in the maze is negated due to the fact they're all behind bars and liable to infight though.

 

MAP 10 (50% secrets)

> This is one hell of a pretty map. Absolutely stunning, great use of lighting and flowing textures.

> But it also flows well, and has great encounters for the most part (again, a few too many revenants for my tastes, but most of the fights with them were reasonable; though I didn't like the two on the nukage geyser-lifts).

> The Archie on the central platform was easy to dispatch and had nothing to ressurect when you trigger him though~ which is fine with me (lol) but some people might dislike it.

> Getting that Soul Sphere took me 4 tries. Its not easy to get to this side with Doom Guys ice-skating feet!

 

MAP 11

> Unfortunately I couldn't finish this one and had to use 'give keys' on the console. I shot the switch in the waterfall section and nothing happened? No extra keys were given and I didn't see any changes in the level from that or the switch below.

> Also had the worst architecture among the levels so far I've seen. Its better than 1994 standard, as it has some lighting and the alignments were all fine, but there were several undetailed sections that were just blocks and simple sectors, basically.

> Personally I'm not a fan of a map forcing me to go backwards and forwards, which the start is very much about. Whilst you can see what changed due to the windows, you still need to trudge all the way around. Its artificial length.

> An Archie teleporting in behind you from a switch press and no easy to get to cover from that spot is also a big no-no. I eventually pillar danced around one of the earlier switches, but still got a flame column to the face once simply because there was very little space to hide.

> I did like the secrets I found, though. The waterfall one is obvious but nice nonetheless. Finally gave me a Plasma Rifle (and a BFG cell to go with it, lol).

 

MAP 12

> A surprisingly slaughtery level. Goodness knows how you'd do a pistol start with this one (I know it gives you an SSG, but... well I guess some of the doom gods here would be fine anyway).

> Liked the lights on the outside area, and the BFG secret was amusing.

> The Archie is trapped in the exit room and can't get out, so dropping some rockets on his face is really easy and rather trivialising him.

> Not much else to say as it was a quick one.

 

Will update as I do more.

Edited by eharper256 : Added more

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9 minutes ago, obake said:

Thanks for all of the notes, eharper256! :)

 

The newest beta is now available:

http://www.mediafire.com/file/5ikok24oak7wn7o/vhopperbeta3.pk3/file

 

A lot has been updated, including bug fixes and even gameplay in some maps.

 

No problem, its been a fun play. I guess I'll stop adding extra notes if I'm using an out-of-date version though as they're probably redundant. XD

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Switched to the new Beta3 for subsequent thoughts and used MAP E2M8 and IDFA and Summon Backpack x4 to continue (backpacks are weapon mods in Argent).

 

MAP 13
> Urk... not a good way to start the pack back off in my opinion.

> It reminds me of a Skillsaw level. I suppose that's flattering to some; but for me as a fairly casual doomer and not a doomgod (I never play UV, usually HMP or HNTR for me), its a slog of an experience. It also has the prettiness for sure, though the flow is a little jilted in places because it is a bit of a switch-hunt.

> Originally I had a plan to not use the weapons I hadn't yet obtained (Chaingun, Gauss) but when I saw it was this kind of map (300+ monsters should have cued me off straight away but I was dense) I dropped that rule and let myself use Ressurect as well (which I did, three times). The ambushes are pretty much ludicrous. This one especially. Hard to see in the cap, but a Mancubus spawns on either side of you in a narrow space along with several demons and hell knights. If you didn't have the BFG out you're basically screwed. Same with the two Stealth Archies. What was that about?

> There's no switch to actually de-activate the forcefield at the end, and no indication you should hump the plain wall directly below it.

> But yes. Very pretty and clearly alot of work went into the geometry. This part reminded me of Nu-Doom. Sadly, its tremendously unenjoyable to me.

 

MAP 14

(Technically 15, but E2M9 was literally just a switch that goes the next level)

> The first hell level, and a pretty good one. Intense, but not insanely slaughtery like the last one.

> The fog is used well for a change and the whole thing has a nice hellish atmosphere, and mostly flows from A to B without issue.

> One thing to note, though, is that the various caged monsters just spin around on the spot and usually don't actually engage the player. This is fine by me of course (lol) because I enjoyed killing several revenants and archies at whim. A satisfying waste of resources XD.

> Maybe it was my wastefulness, but this level felt light on ammo; you need alot of rockets and I was down to 3 at the end despite entering the level with around 40 (after the slaughter level). Also just 30 shells and 100 bullets. I hope the next one doesn't start with a bumrush.

 

MAP 15

> A hell fortress very much inspired by Scythe 2's opening, it seems. Honestly, you could have put this level into that and not noticed the difference, though it was a little lighter on the fights than usual Scythe 2, which again, from my perspective, is a good thing. A reasonable level of intensity.

> Generally a good flow like those levels as well, the only exception being the lift down with the door behind that leads to the library with the yellow key. I ran off into the courtyard and didn't check behind so that caused me a few moments of headscratching.

> Fortunately this level was much more generous with ammo as well, so I'm mostly restocked.

 

MAP 16

> Another Scythe-u-like. Or 'I heard you liek chaingunnerz' The Level. Seriously, they're frickin' everywhere, and they're obnoxious as hell, sitting in high platforms in the far distance quite often.

> This ambush was also horrible. Nowhere to hide from the revenants and a swarm of trash prevents you from moving as well. Generally, the monster placement in this level was mostly infuriating rather than challenging.

> Looked pretty nice in several places, though, and mostly made sense from a flow perspective, always looping back to the central manor type room.

 

MAP 17

> I'm calling this 'skeletons in the closet', because its clearly based entirely around that. Revenants literally popping out from behind you constantly, which was mostly irritating.

> These last few maps are stuck on this scythe-like hellfortress theme. Not much else to say here.

 

MAP 18

> Another one that was way too slaughtery for my tastes. Revenant and Mancubus surprises and all. I see this in so many megawads, actually, and I wonder why it happens that the last few levels always turn into a mess with monsters in the multi-hundreds. Are you supposed to be toting the BFG 24/7 at this point? (I don't think you are, since I've seen hardly any cells the last few maps).

> In any case; I couldn't finish this one. There is one switch that appears to just open the way back to the main concourse, and then nothing else changes (left hand side of the map after the labyrinth). So I noclipped into the 'exit' area. Which actually leads to a Cybie fight out of no-where. Then, after the cyberdemon fight (which, by the way, is pretty rubbish as well: 4 Mancubuses AS WELL as Cybie in a square arena with little cover!) nothing happens, and these bars don't move. Had to noclip to the otherside here as well.

 

Edited by eharper256 : Added more

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Thanks again for all of the fantastic notes, Eharper!

 

Edit: Do to request from Dragonfly, a 5th beta is now available, that updates many of the maps and fixes a few bugs, not the least of which is certain monsters missing sounds. The 5th beta is available below.

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/6eqdvlfiba9w9ca/vhopperbeta5.pk3/file

 

Edit: Here is beta 8, the final beta before the actual release:

 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ax8knx1oeuwht40/Vhopperbeta8.pk3/file

 

All that needs to be done now is finishing the text file.

Edited by obake

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It's been months, but I've finally gotten around to sending Verse Hopper to the idgames archives. Part of the reason it took so long was that I was worried about using Filezilla. Once I got around to actually using it, it wasn't so bad.

 

The reason I am bumping this thread is not only to say that it's been released to idgames, but to also thank the Archive Maintainers for their awesome work.

 

Hopefully Hopper receives some more reviews soon. Thanks again to everyone who contributed. You are all amazing!

 

Edit: Here is the link: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/versehop

 

I'll also add that the idgames version of Hopper has a few sprite improvements. The Cyber Chum's rockets are a slightly different color (to differentiate them from regular rockets), and the Wave Gunner's projectiles can be seen in dark areas.

 

 

 

Edited by obake : Forgot to add link

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