The Forbidden Terminal WAD (+1 month of work finally done!)

Download instructions:

1. Download link: http://www.mediafire.com/file/viccc3rl6p12xje/The+Forbidden+Terminal.wad

2. Drag the wad file to gzdoom.exe or whatever .exe you are using. Make sure it runs through doom2. (plays as MAP01)

(No jumping or crouching required to complete this level)

____________________________________________

In 2010 I created my first WAD that I posted here on Doomworld. It can be seen here: 

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/50739-8-level-episode-release/?tab=comments#comment-870491

Back then I kept things simple, and I wasn't as good as I became later. I was also bad at english, so my comments often got misunderstood as rude. It's quite funny to read that thread through again, haha

Anyways, then I took a break from doom, but 5 years later I got inspired to give it a try again, so I created this 5-level WAD:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/74329-5-level-wad-release-worked-for-long-on-this/?tab=comments#comment-1413773

The download-file doesn't work anymore, but one of my levels, from where you fight monsters on a containership is still available here:

https://www.doomworld.com/forum/topic/93841-reupload-containership-by-fantazticxd/?tab=comments#comment-1740338

After that I took yet another break, but now 3 years later, I got caught up by this whole doom editing thing again, so I decided to work on something new. And I ended up with this, after working on it for over a whole month!

This is...

To begin with, I wanted it to be a new set of levels, but as I progressed with my first level, I added more and more details, and I ended up considering it a 1-level project, rather than several levels. The level is inspired by the shareware version of doom (E1M1 through E1M8) by using the same design with windows, tech-textures, toxic waste areas, and teasing secrets you can see, but you can't reach them unless you are smart.

There are 25 secrets in this map!

And all weapons are available, which includes the berserk powerup. However most of these are hidden within secrets

The map will be difficult to beat without finding at least a few secrets. If you manage to find a computer map, it will help you get to the secrets easier. However, the problem is, these computer maps are also hidden within secrets. So look for odd unfitting textures. They might be doors.

Open the spoiler below to view screenshots, and more descriptions of the level:

I hope you guys will enjoy playing this map! 

Best played on "Hurt Me Plenty" difficulty. I've tested it, and yes, it's beatable. But don't move too fast, or you will get surrounded too early!

Also, before playing, open a screen-recording program, and record yourself playing it - I would love to see others play my map! It's especially interesting, because I always have my ways of completing this map, but what would the unknowing person do?

Comment, and tell me what you think! And please report any errors you find

this looks awesome, I love your style :D the screenshots look very appealing

eh... playing on UV, not finished yet (it is BIG!), but like it! i am not really used to use barrels as "area cleaning devices", so sometimes ammo is very tight. but this is not something wrong with the map, it is my wrong gameplay strategy of "WHOOOOA, LEEEROYJENKIIIIINS!" ;-)

didn't found any bugs so far. but tbh, i am distracted by gameplay, cannot look for bugs. ;-)

thank you. i am usually not a big fan of big maps (sorry for a bad pun), but i like this one so far (i found red key, and cleaned alot of areas). will definitely play it several times, trying different approaches.

Awesome! I hope some of you will record yourself playing it, and send it to me. I'd be very interested in seeing how people approach my map!

p.s.: it also sometimes makes my engine cry. and you were sooo lucky: i wrote my comment just moments before i met arch-viles. didn't i ever told that i HAET arch-viles? then it is time: i HAET arch-viles. now, it is good that you didn't heard what names i called you. ;-)

I'll definitely give this a play. Looks great, exactly how I'd imagine a more detailed E1 to look and I can see you've really preserved that more complicated E1 style with areas flowing into one another rather than the room-corridor-room setup. OK if I record a demo when I play it and send you that instead of video? Can't be arsed with sorting out screen recording and the upload time.

I am not sure what you mean. What's the difference? I guess either way is fine with me. I'd just like to see someone else trying my map 😊 

Just now, FanTazTiCxD said:

I am not sure what you mean. What's the difference? I guess either way is fine with me. I'd just like to see someone else trying my map 😊 

You know how in Doom when you don't do anything at the menu, it loads a level and show someone playing it?  That's a special file type, a demo file, which records a player's input so that their game can be played back.

33 minutes ago, holaareola said:

You know how in Doom when you don't do anything at the menu, it loads a level and show someone playing it?  That's a special file type, a demo file, which records a player's input so that their game can be played back.

Oh how nice! I'd like to be able to make such a file too. Yeah go ahead, record it however you'd like

I've attached a demo. On Windows you can drag this file and your wad onto GZDoom to play the demo. Otherwise, you can load your wad in GZDoom, press ` and type in 'playdemo hola-tft'. I didn't finish the map, because I think I got trapped in a situation that is unwinnable without save/load.  I doubt save and reload is possible with demos -- recording a video is definitely an advantage here! Hope you get a couple of laughs from the stupid mistakes I made.

Stuff I liked first:

- The labyrinthine, folding-within-folding layout is great! I really enjoyed how open the level is: so many options for exploration. It really kept things flowing. Intricate layouts like this with so many areas connecting and spilling into eachother is hard to do.  Very little symmetry compared to the average Doom map as well. You've got a distinct style, I liked it.

- To follow on from that, the openness makes the gameplay more unpredictable with monsters free to wander around. On that point, I was very impressed with how few teleporting monsters you had -- only one instance that I can recall by the time I died. Most of them are roaming and dangerous, although I noticed you had some blocking lines here and there (like near where I encountered the arch-viles).

- The E1-style line-of-sight through many areas at once isn't just architecturally impressive, it really puts the player under pressure. You feel danger from every direction. This is fantastic, because without the multi-directional threat, you can often just stand near a doorway and slaughter monsters as they squeeze through (what I did with the archvile encounter).

- I felt health and ammo was really well balanced in the beginning. Just enough to get by, but also enough that I was very aware I couldn't afford too many mistakes.

- Architecture was very nice looking. Like a much more detailed E1, and I really enjoyed the little nods to certain levels here and there. 

The bad stuff:

- You've got a few inescapable traps that I saw -- some slime pits. I know id had them, but personally I think they're just frustrating and it's best not to ever get the player stuck in an unwinnable situation.  This goes for the blue key area. I don't think you can make it without using save/load a lot.

- I don't know if the switches beyond nukage were required for level progression (or just secrets), but if they were I'd maybe change that around a bit.  You can lock the player into an unwinnable situation even with load/save by assuming they have enough health to cross. Especially with the high-damage sector types you're using.

- The level was by far the hardest in the beginning. I think the amount of health/armor/ammo in the secrets unbalanced it further out. 

I very much enjoyed dying in your map! When I give it another go I'll attach another demo :)

hola-tft.zip

I really enjoyed seeing you play my map! That was so fun to watch! I am impressed of how well you did. You figured out almost every secret on your way, even the one with the plasma rifle. But you also tried to press every damn wall there "Hm! Hm! Hm! Hm! Hm!" LOL! Here's a tip, there are no secrets behind walls that looks like every other wall. Either the secret doors are walls with offset textures or unique textures, or unique brightnesses.

I truly liked the E1 levels. Especially E1M7, and I agree with your points about openness. Windows does a LOT to your map. If you create two sectors, why not connect them with windows? It makes such a big difference to the map. I guess everything became easier for you as you progressed, only because you were so good at finding secrets. If you didn't get that plasma gun, and if you didn't get those soulsphears, the challenge would have remained hard for you.

I agree with you about those inescapable traps. Whenever I feel like mapping again one day, (I'm going to take a long break now after working for so long!) I will avoid that, or at least give the player a chance to resurrect. And I also agree about the blue key. It's quite a mystery you have to solve to get it, and if you fail, you'll die. Those mysteries are good for getting a good gun like the BFG, but you should also be able to beat the level without being a genius. That's where I should have changed things a bit. (Spoiler alert) For upcoming players, here's how to get the blue key: Choose port number 2 and 7.

I wish you would have made a regular video, because I couldn't pause the demo, forcing me to stay at my screen. What if I needed to go to the toilet? What if someone called me? I had to start all over ;-D Apart from that, I loved watching it.

You really need to try to get the BFG, which requires a yellow keycard. Look for a wall that is slightly brighter than the rest. It's close to the red door (in the red area) next to the lava-floor area. When you find that secret room, you'll activate a floor that connects the half-circle in the big dark room to the yellow key.

I will be looking forward to see your next try! :D

Did you enjoy it when I used my freshly acquired plasma to blow up two barrels in my face and completely wipe out my soulsphere overcharge and armor? Haha.

Re. the random wall humping -- it's a weird habit I sometimes do when I'm thinking or looking out a window, even when there is zero possibility of a secret being there.

Anyway, you're right, demo is just too inconvenient for player and viewer -- I'd have liked to just saved and resume. Video next time for sure.

12 hours ago, holaareola said:

Did you enjoy it when I used my freshly acquired plasma to blow up two barrels in my face and completely wipe out my soulsphere overcharge and armor? Haha.

 

Re. the random wall humping -- it's a weird habit I sometimes do when I'm thinking or looking out a window, even when there is zero possibility of a secret being there.

 

Anyway, you're right, demo is just too inconvenient for player and viewer -- I'd have liked to just saved and resume. Video next time for sure.

haha I knew you had it coming when you went up with that lift, and you were not prepared for the six barrels up there! One more barrel and you would have been dead! I also liked how you stopped for a second to read "Use wisely"

Just finished it.

92% kills

80% items

32% secrets

52:14 minutes on ITYTD because I suck way more at Doom than I remember, lol.

Great classic tech base style map with excellent use of the Doom 2 monsters.

Highlights for me were the blue key puzzle and the final push to the exit.

An absolute pleasure to shoot through.

Just now, Dodgy Dave said:

Just finished it.

 

92% kills

80% items

32% secrets

52:14 minutes on ITYTD because I suck way more at Doom than I remember, lol.

 

Great classic tech base style map with excellent use of the Doom 2 monsters.

 

Highlights for me were the blue key puzzle and the final push to the exit.

 

An absolute pleasure to shoot through.

Thank you! I am surprized you enjoyed the blue key puzzle, as others have said it was quite frustrating. I also feel like I should have added some clues in the map to help the player understand how it worked. Did you find the BFG?

I didn't find the BFG or the plasma and only got the rocket launcher at the very end.

I save scrubbed a few times to figure out the puzzle but I liked the way that it was obviously a puzzle and I knew I'd have to figure it out, hence it not frustrating me.

Anyone else enjoying my map? Any other video of someone's gameplay through my map will still be appreciated a lot! In my opinion, it wasn't fair of me not to include a hint that would help the player understand the blue key puzzle, so before you try my map, please read the spoiler below to avoid too much frustration. You are also welcome not to read it, but then deal with the frustrations at your own risk xD

How to open the door that allows you to go outside and get the blue key:

i am still not completed it, but i am enjoying. no video/demo, though, sorry.