Tower of WAR demo (download link here!)

As promised, here is my Tower of WAR demo. This isn't in the 3dgamers.com archives yet, because I haven't gotten around to making a description file yet. The only thing I've ever put there is a dumb library-style level (if you're interested, it's "nnlbrary" in the archive). But the demo is on my site.

http://netnomad0312.tripod.com/towrdemo.html

Just beat level 2. Some tips for you:

1. only textures 128 pix high can tile correctly.
2. Easy secrets do not deserve powerful items.
3. Secrets should be marked with the 'secret credit given' sector special.
4. Try to do something to make crate mazes 'interesting'.
5. Try to touch up those bland grey walls.
6. Make it more challenging.

This is a really good first try, let's hope you do better. :)

One thing sticks out more than anything in map 3: the sky. The way those sky textures are set up in those windows and outside cause some nasty glitches. On map 4 there is a severe visiplane glich throughout most of that room.

Oh yeah, in map 2, I've gotten stuck in a couple of places in that big box maze.

1. I know that. It's just that some sectors could really look better with a 64-unit difference between floor and ceiling.

2. Looking back, that shouldn't have been a megasphere, yep. The thing is that I wanted the player to get the map first, then use it to see the room because I hoped to make that door's texture blend in. But I forgot to make it render top-down...

3. Yes, I have this annoying habit of doing that. Sorry. :-)

4. How so? I figured that using the third dimension that way would make it quite interesting...

5. In level one, you mean? Hmm...

6. Just wait till you get to the last level. It'll be harder to figure out and there will be more enemies... oh, and no megaspheres. Heh heh.

Ichor said:

One thing sticks out more than anything in map 3: the sky. The way those sky textures are set up in those windows and outside cause some nasty glitches. On map 4 there is a severe visiplane glich throughout most of that room.

Oh yeah, in map 2, I've gotten stuck in a couple of places in that big box maze.

Visiplane glitch? I thought that was called a HOM... I noticed that, but I've only seen it from the corners of the room. Thankfully, the glitch doesn't appear when you're walking on the top of the maze border. But what kind of glitch is in level 3?

Darn... you know, I just noticed one, yep. Near the middle. But what about the other one?

Ok, so it was one place I got stuck, heheh.

Anyway, the HOM is the type of visual glitch, but what I mean by visiplane is what by what causes it. There are far too many of those walls visible at one time in that room, and the game can only show but so many at a time. Any more and it simply gives up on the extras. It's not so bad now because we have source ports to eliminate those limits, so I wouldn't bother changing that room. However, those windows in map 3 are a problem.

Ok, I just finished it.

In map 4, why all the maps? Only one is needed, and you won't be able to pick up any more of them. I guess you wanted them to be monitors. Not bad, but there are monitor sprites out there that look a lot better. Also, I can't open the yellow key door from out in the big room, but it does open from the inside. I had to use IDCLIP to go through.

Map 5 was a nice one. I kind of felt a little like Dilbert having a bad day running around shooting things, heheh.

Map 6 was nice and little bit challenging, but a couple of questions. First, what's the yellow key for? I went through the yellow key door, but there was nothing there but a path back to the main room. And second, there's a switch on one of those posts near the center of the room. What is it for?

Heh heh heh... that would be the biggest challenge IN level 6. Oh, another thing I forgot, and the only reason you finished the level without solving this problem: the south door is supposed to be locked with a blue key. I forgot to change it. Stupid me.

That switch is supposed to be shot, but you can only shoot it from that platform behind the yellow (green actually, or at least it will be in the official demo) door. It builds a bridge to an area of the level which I'm guessing you never checked out: it holds the blue key, a radiation pit and a pain elemental, among other things. You were supposed to use the blue key on the southern door, then throw the switch there and enter the teleport. The switch released the cacodemons and such, and also enabled you to hit the switch inside and open the door where the red key was.

So HOMs are created when there are too many linedefs in the player's view, huh? That would explain why one of my earliest levels was chock-full of 'em: it was a catwalk over a lava lake, and most of the level centered around that huge catwalk. About halfway through the HOMs began to appear. Well, thanks for telling me that.

What's wrong with the windows in map 3? Other than the fact that some of my linedefs showed the sky texture... see, I recently changed from a starry background (which is now FSKY2, if you cared to look) to that, and it's a lot more noticable there, I see. The window trick is harder to do right than I thought.

The maps are supposed to be computer monitors; the premise is that you "steal" one and access the map from it. Where can I find a good monitor sprite? I'd have to change some other sprite, though; I can't have monitors lying around the levels in place of computer maps. :-)

I'm glad you liked level 5... personally, I thought it was a little too short. Oh, and as a side note... that file cabinet that you press is supposed to be a working switch, but it never worked. I replaced the one in level 4 (that's why it doesn't blend in with the surrounding PANEL6 walls) temporarily but forgot the one in level 5.

Well, it seems I have a lot of errors to correct, don't I? They'll all be fixed when I post up an "official" copy of the demo at 3dgamers.com.