UNWELCOME. (Developement thread) (New map for testing)

UNWELCOME is a mapset about bizarre architecture, tense encounters, and novel gameplay. This thread will be updated with new maps for testing occasionally until release.

Format: COMPLEVEL -11

NEW MAP MAP07: This is a large map meant to be placed near the end of the set. It's more complex than most of the other maps so it requires a little extra testing.

(there are other completed maps in this download but for now I would like testing to focus on MAP07. Also, if you haven't played MAP01 and want to play this new map,

please play MAP01 first.)

Download: https://www.dropbox.com/s/1f84xye9mlj8b3a/Unwelcomedemo2.wad?dl=0

Is there a narrative reason that the display is mostly black and white, except for the red/pink and teal?

Just now, Pegleg said:

Is there a narrative reason that the display is mostly black and white, except for the red/pink and teal?

Yes actually, but I'm saving the planned narrative elements for future releases.

Sure, I'll check it out this evening.

Uh... wasn't this supposed to be akin to CGA lighting mode?

Looks a bit better on Doom Renderer rather than Standard...

So I'm guessing it either doesn't work on OpenGL modes... or you used texture replacments for the effect and the high-rez texture pack of mine is usurping it.

Well, besides the lack of the effects it was supposed to have, it was a decent enough level. Early on is very starved for ammo, especially if you go wandering around and triggering all the encounters as I am want to do, but it evens out after some mental early times. The only fight that frustrated me was the Mancubus appearing behind me suddenly whilst I was fighting a Caco, but otherwise it was reasonble difficulty.

I like the idea of 'teleporting' the switches so they become platformstairs on the section in the screenshot. That was more enjoyable and interesting than a regular switch-hunt. The only thing is... nothing changed in the entry room after pressing the hitlerswitch in that room, and I accidently triggered the end of the level by wallhumping. This might be due to me not seeing the visual effects though.

Pretty nice map. Definitely bizarre. I just loaded up GZDoom, but you may consider providing more details about compatibility, etc.

Intriguing project, definitely has a distinct mood. Parts of monsters and textures glowing in the dark look great, and the music is very atmospheric. That moment where you finally get to see the sky was particularly memorable, gave me a strong "something is not right here" feeling. I guess the story is that doomguy is trapped in CGA hell. Here is a demo, I'm glad the fights weren't as controlled and punishing as I expected.

Unwelcome_mem_FDA.zip

I like its oppressive atmosphere and subtle soundtrack. It was also a map that finally made me think of strategic uses for the chainsaw, so kudos for that.

The teal/pinkish red palette is interesting, through I think the colormap should have been adjusted better - it may look better if the colormap keeps a vivid fade on the saturated colors rather than desaturate to gray. This will allow you to keep the atmosphere and use color as a "guiding mechanism" if or when your maps get hard to navigate. I like the use of lighting for contrast.

Another small nitpick would just be that use of that outdoor area - something about those trees staying perfectly level looked weird, and not in an "unsettling, out-of-place" way that you seem to be shooting for.

All in all, I like the current direction. Keep it up!

57 minutes ago, eharper256 said:

So I'm guessing it either doesn't work on OpenGL modes... or you used texture replacments for the effect and the high-rez texture pack of mine is usurping it.

The textures in the texture pack are probably pngs which aren't colormapped. It should work in opengl rendering modes by default but if I'm wrong I'll add a compatibility note to future releases.

Just now, Plusw said:

 

The textures in the texture pack are probably pngs which aren't colormapped. It should work in opengl rendering modes by default but if I'm wrong I'll add a compatibility note to future releases.

I checked the pk3, and they are indeed png's, so this is quite possible.

45 minutes ago, Memfis said:

Intriguing project, definitely has a distinct mood. Parts of monsters and textures glowing in the dark look great, and the music is very atmospheric. That moment where you finally get to see the sky was particularly memorable, gave me a strong "something is not right here" feeling. I guess the story is that doomguy is trapped in CGA hell. Here is a demo, I'm glad the fights weren't as controlled and punishing as I expected.

Unwelcome_mem_FDA.zip

Thank you for the demo! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and yes one of my goals with this project is to design more dynamic, open ended encounters than most modern maps. I want to provide some novelty for veterans.

Such a lovely map, I'm digging those colours and music. 

hello. this was nice. washed-out palette + extensive tight/darkness makes for a nice atmosphere here. also liked motifs of ceiling raises being used in places most would use door actions or wall lowering. shapeliness of the architecture was neat, kinda kludgy but not in a bad way. combat felt neither here nor there for me (I'd hesitate to call it tense or novel, unless the maps you have planned are harder or weirder), but that was fine because I was digging the general aesthetic and vaguely narrative bits. "unwelcome" is quite a keen title btw, pretty much exactly describes my ideal of doom environs. as such I'll be looking forward to subsequent maps here.

I liked the map a lot, here is the video of my blind run. I got a little confused by the unusual exit :)

Definitely would play some more of that!

BTW: There is a missing texture (7:24) and I can also hear the ceiling/floor moving sound that plays constantly in this area.

Very nice colour scheme used. Looking forward to seeing more

@FormerGeneral Thank you! Currently there are 2 maps of 9 completed. Hoping to have this released by the end of the year.

@mgr_inz_rafal Thanks for the demo! I went ahead and fixed the texture issue you pointed out.

i downloaded this ages ago and finally got around to playing it; really enjoyed it.

really digging the aesthetics & mood. METAL2 + flesh is one of my absolute favorite combos of the vanilla assets tbh. the sharp lighting was perfect. the floor-switch gimmick was unsettling in a great way.

i will say that i thought the part with the slowly-lowering switch-thing where enemies teleport behind you felt a bit, idk, filler-ish, somehow?

the pain elementals felt a bit anti-climactic at the end since this is 1 map by itself, but i think if there were more maps perhaps it would work better. just something to keep an eye on i guess. no pun intended

one thing to be wary about if this is a multi-level mapset is giving out the backpack so early, unless you are intending folks to pistol start i guess.

looking forward to what else in store!

Missed this thread on the first go-around. Thanks for resurrecting it, @anotak.

Absolutely love the map. Please make more.

On 10/16/2018 at 8:03 PM, anotak said:

the pain elementals felt a bit anti-climactic at the end since this is 1 map by itself, but i think if there were more maps perhaps it would work better. just something to keep an eye on i guess. no pun intended 

This was somewhat intended. I didn't want to overwhelm the player when teaching them about the "go back to the start" gimmick of the mapset. The return will get more complicated in other maps.

On 10/16/2018 at 8:03 PM, anotak said:

one thing to be wary about if this is a multi-level mapset is giving out the backpack so early, unless you are intending folks to pistol start i guess.

Currently I'm balancing the mapset for pistol start but I'll do some tweaking later to make things more enjoyable for continuous players too

On 10/16/2018 at 8:03 PM, anotak said:

i will say that i thought the part with the slowly-lowering switch-thing where enemies teleport behind you felt a bit, idk, filler-ish, somehow?

Very perceptive, I was sort of running out of ideas at this point...

On 10/16/2018 at 8:03 PM, anotak said:

ooking forward to what else in store!

Thank you!

THREAD UPDATED

This will now serve as a thread to post maps that need additional testing/feedback before release.