Suitepee Posted December 19, 2020 (edited) https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/firebox = now on /idgames! (v1.2) https://mega.nz/file/jAhGUJwa#LpH5sy1V3tHk_1HXLzLruaGsr2jNYwh6CgcOSG6NSZI = alternate download link. (v1.2) "The hunter has become the hunted" somewhat springs to mind as I make this thread.... So after years of playing (and playtesting) Doom maps across this wonderful community, I have finally decided to create and release my first proper map (I did do one speedmap for Eagle 2 years ago), which I've worked on over the last 2 months. Welcome to Firebox! I have tested this Doom 2 map in both PRBoom+ 2.5.1.5 and GZDoom v4.5.0, and it is a Boom compatible (CL9) map using vanilla textures and monsters, although there is DEHACKED for a custom par time (15 minutes) and map name. There is also custom music by @AD_79 and a custom title picture by @Lord Misfit. I used Ultimate Doom Builder and SLADE. It takes up the map 1 slot in Doom 2. The general theme of the map is an E2/Downtown inspired map that takes place in a warehouse full of boxes, which might have a few hellish problems with it. I will leave it up to whomever decides to playtest this to figure out the general gameplay gimmick of the map that totally isn't inspired by SIGIL or anything. Now I'm fully aware that there will be some weird ceiling/floor alignments (and one or two on some walls); this is because I learnt the hard way about Boom-compat not allowing for floor/ceiling alignment adjustments. Oh well, lesson learnt for next time! (i.e. I'm using UDMF next time, or learning to better adapt in Boom) There are difficulty settings, so feel free to play on either UV, HMP or HNTR. (ITYTD and Nightmare! haven't been tested) I hope that the gameplay will be interesting enough. Screenshots: Thanks to: -LordMisfit for the TITLEPIC and map ideas -AD_79 for the midi (tourniquet for the suggestion) -DaveTheDaring for map name and initial map idea -tourniquet for the DEHACKED and CWILV lump files (and map ideas) -Bridgeburner56 for ZMAPINFO -Lots of people in my Twitch community for various ideas and assistance over the mapping streams! (you know who you are) Edited January 15, 2021 by Suitepee 37 Share this post Link to post
Spectre01 Posted December 20, 2020 Very cool, John. I played this map on UV in PRBoom+. The one gameplay issue I had was with the turret Revenants in the bottom left of the final area. The large square pit/barricade where the Cacos emerge from puts the Revenants further back out of autoaim range. I had to climb some boxes on the other side of the arena and shoot rockets from there to get 100% kills. Also, the fencing around the Mastermind clips into the floor in Software mode. I encountered that as well when mapping and the trick is to have different sector light levels around the midtexture. I assume the secret I didn't get with the SSG is an AV-jump? Overall it's a fun map and the midi is great. The final area is right up my alley with the visual theme and crusher concept. 1 Share this post Link to post
Clippy Posted December 20, 2020 Wowza this was no joke. Usually when I think first map I think short and easy but you went full on epic in your first go. The monster count seemed daunting but there's so many they mostly get rid of each other for me, this is fun The progression also confused me until I found the theme Wish I had more weapons, maybe in secrets but I got by just the same. Never found one secret sadly PS I like your vids keep em coming Here's my vid 4 Share this post Link to post
leodoom85 Posted December 20, 2020 Well, I played the map. Overall, it was a solid map that used the Sigil switch-shooting progression in order to keep advancing through the map. The thing that caught my attention was the absence of some of the weapons that most players use all the time, like both shotguns and both plasma-based weapons. This, I assume, that was done on purpose to rely heavily on the other weapons, as well as your skills. Naturally, the main big arena was the star of the show and, this was made in a good way. The addition of a partial invisibility solidifies this fact, which can be a double-edged sword for the player. Fortunately, the archies at the exit can be killed previously before taking out the bars..... And holy cow, the couple of cacos plus the pain elementals around you was a literal pain in the ass. I can't even imagine how harder would be with infinite height as part of that fight.................................................. Anyway, here's the video. Enjoy. That thumbnail is perfect and so random..................... 1 Share this post Link to post
Biodegradable Posted December 20, 2020 Congratulations on your very first release, Johnno. :^) 1 Share this post Link to post
tourniquet Posted December 20, 2020 Glad i was able to help you getting this into shape, hope you found some enjoyment while making this map. Was fun to watch your progress with all it's awkward moments like, drawing geometry with a 1px grid and being like ultra picky about about the par time :p Tried beating it as fast as i could, didn't put much effort into it and ended up with 4:57 Demo: firebox_TNq.zip 3 Share this post Link to post
Soulless Posted December 20, 2020 (edited) Just played it. The screenshoots werent too fancy but Im glad I gave it a try because it was quite fun. The big arena is great, it has a bit of every monster, and the archviles werent located in some frustrating position, also the crusher mechanic was nice, can turn briefly into a giant cover, or locking you into a bad scenario while running around avoiding projectiles of any kind. Since the rocket launcher is my fav weapon, this was a total blast, and there was more than enough ammo to tackle the frantic combat. I found 2 secrets (backpack & megasphere), and left alive one monster, maybe inside that last secret, or stranded in the start area, not sure. Solid 1st map I would say! Edited September 25, 2021 by Soulless 2 Share this post Link to post
grey matter fist Posted December 20, 2020 I'm squirell from twitch! My favorite part was the opening moments before the invuln fight because of limited ammo and mobility through monsters, was very fun to slide through them and make them infight, invuln fight was a little unfair if an arch-vile lives and targets you, throwing you into many rev missiles. The ending fight was actually the easiest part of the map (apart from the pain elementals after the invuln fight) just run around for a while, check your flanks and you won't die. I couldn't find where to go for secrets or the end of the map in that area, I shot all the fireblu things and didn't really progress apart from triggering a pain elemental trap and stopped for now. Backpack secret was nice, MIDI was quite nice too. To hold you to an unfair standard considering this is your first map you get an 8.3/10 1 Share this post Link to post
Salmon Posted December 20, 2020 I had a fun time with this one. I played on UV and got all kills and missed one secret. I was only aware of tagging the backpack, though--I think the megasphere was the other but I'm not sure what I did to access it. And I really wasn't expecting that big fight! I was worried it was going to be grindy, but you provided a lot of resources and room to move so it was fun without being painful. It did take me forever to find the last fireblu box (for some reason it was the one behind the barons, underneath the windows from the previous area.) Funny enough, I played this with Eternity and forgot to turn off ghost monsters. So yeah, the fight with all the crushers, all the monsters, all the archviles... Ghost pinkies and ghost cacos everywhere. Obviously my fault fault and not yours, but I mention it because it was funny and made things even more hectic for me. I was glad I had the rocket launcher for the splash damage. The MIDI is excellent. I felt it was appropriate to the atmosphere of the fights, even if (for me) there was a bit of a clash between the visuals and the music. But maybe that was intended. Really fun map, though. Kinda gleefully chaotic. 1 Share this post Link to post
4shockblast Posted December 21, 2020 FDA. First try. :D Final time ended up at 15:09. Enjoyed the map overall, and good midi too. :) firebox_FDA_shock.zip 2 Share this post Link to post
antares031 Posted December 21, 2020 FDA of the current version. The level was surprisingly fun, with a full of amusement. The overall layout, structural design, and texturing were quite average for the beginner in doom mapping, but the gameplay was the strongest point of the wad. The highlight of the wad was definitely the final slaughterfest, which was basically 3x3 arena with different gimmicks and monster placements. I also like the giant crushers, which worked as hazardous obstacles, but also worked as the player's shields to block incoming projectiles from afar. Thank you for placing FIREBLU switch to crush the revenants, that was definitely helpful. I see that Spectre01 already mentioned the clipping issue of fence texture in the final arena. Other than that, there's nothing much to point out. Oh, and that one SSG secret that I missed. That was pretty sneaky, haha. I'm looking forward to see more levels in the future, well done. FDA_anta_firebox.zip 1 Share this post Link to post
grey matter fist Posted December 23, 2020 (edited) *PLACEHOLDER FOR MISPLACED MAP, WILL CLEAN UP AND SHOWCASE FINISHED VERSION ELSEWHERE* Edited December 23, 2020 by grey matter fist 0 Share this post Link to post
wydoomer Posted December 27, 2020 Even though I knew what to expect I still died a few times on UV. The gameplay was a lot of fun, I like rocket heavy maps like this that force you to use it in dangerous situations. There's good use of space, with barely enough room to skirt by enemies into a safer position. An early berserk might be fun for those pinkies that corner you in those beginning fights. I wouldn't call it pretty, but it's interesting enough to look at, sort of surreal like the base games with a bit of visual storytelling. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I didn't notice any bugs. 1 Share this post Link to post
Suitepee Posted December 27, 2020 https://www.twitch.tv/videos/852039026 Here's my reaction stream to all the PRBoom demos (except for 4shock, since I watched him do it live), a Twitch VOD by @Sesamia and the two Youtube videos. I've also been lucky to catch 7-8 other livestreamers play my map live over the last week, and I summarise all the feedback I've gotten over this last week at the end of the stream as well. Thanks to everyone who took the time to play v1.0! I'm going to be working on tweaking my map next week for a v1.1 release pretty soon, with an eventual upload to /idgames planned. I will update the thread accordingly when v1.1 is ready for the public. 1 Share this post Link to post
Clippy Posted December 28, 2020 @Suitepee I watched your video of you playing my video while doing commentary. I was going to do a video where I co commentary while watching your video while you watch my video but maybe a reply is easier Spoiler so I don't hog the page cause I get very chatty Spoiler This was a good time, I'm glad you enjoyed my video, I think I was in the right place at the right time to be one of the first to play this Yeah I missed all those secrets eh. I make a lot of videos and never watch myself play, except for skimming to check something. This time I got to watch myself play a whole map and it was freaky. It's funny what you miss during gameplay vs watching later and how you question some of your own decisions haha. Wow that SSG is almost poking me in the eye while watching your stream but I missed it live. I wonder how hard that would be to get, to land and trigger the secret sector while being blasted by archies constantly, and then wasting valuable time needed to also kill them before the green gumball wears off. Very interesting and clever secret placement. As for the megasphere, I need to explore that harder. Don't tell me! Yeah I'm a little conservative and slower at playing hahah, maybe not the most entertaining gameplay but I really like to take my time and feel out maps I play for the very first time. Glad to hear I wasn't only one who got stuck at the start there. I felt because you kept saying things like "Clippy is about to get the secret ...." and I never did LOL As for freelook, yeah I kinda started using it back in the day and it was nice to have more freedom and neck movement. I can't go back now lol I've been spoiled. I don't think it's cheating unless I take advantage of extreme angles which I try to avoid. To level the playing field I do not use auto-aim, so my shots have to be exact. This is especially present when I was shooting those very far away revenants. I don't use a crosshair either so it's even more stupid. I liked the way you utilized each monster type to their strengths, those rev placements were lethal, fatsos also in a good spot etc. Those pain elementals tho haha. I don't limit their lost soul spitting power so I can get buried in them quickly, made for some extra crazy stuff. I am all about the SSG, my fave weapon. I will use it often and ration my rockets and plasma. But this was interesting to be forced to use rockets so much as I tend to keep it at the bottom of my choice pile. I blew up myself so much lol never play with the rocket launcher this often and has to be the most I ever used it in one map. Was fun! So I hear there's a new version in the works, I rarely do second attempts but I would like to have a crack at the updated version when I can. I feel bad for killing those archies at the end like that (lame I know), but next time I'll see what happens if I let them out haha. It could be overwhelming but I think I missed a potentially interesting fight there with all those boxes to maneuver around etc I think you mentioned having the start be accessible too which I think would be nice, I'm big on exploring and revisiting areas so hate when things close off for good. PS re cat name. My buddy, who's name happens to be John, had a cat named Sweet Pea. I mean that's kind of a coincidence right? Good times 2 Share this post Link to post
Austinado Posted December 28, 2020 Unfortunately i could not managed to upload my video about this map because of my poor internet conection at the moment. So a little thoughts of my own: - Most say i found the concept pretty cool with the "firebox" being the element of progression. - In terms of detail, nothing to much fancy really but not amateurish as well. - I had no starvation of ammo or health (neither the first part of the map or neither the final area) and that is always nice. - The traps in my point of view are effective. - The progression until the final area is quite interesting...i crave a little bit for more in that terms, because it was interesting. - The RL room is quite intense, for a medium player like myself i had quite a struggle dying about 5 or 6 times, but its managable after knowing what to do. - After going up the lift i felt the room was too empty with only 3 chaingunners. There is some space for some cacos or revenants to shine a little bit that area. - The final area...im not gonna say disapointing really, but giving alot of monsters (felt a little bit slaughter) with no BFG was little bit hit and run and figur out what to do thing. Again for a medium player like myself i felt a little bit of rage for dying a few times and i was even surprised the direction this was taken. I can picture JohnSuitepee rage uptop in natural gameplay if he was playing this for playtesting request by others. - Congratulations for the map John...and give us more content! I did not add more than you already had with your feedback of playtesting, by others, but either way, it was a pleasure to play your map John. Cheers* 3 Share this post Link to post
Suitepee Posted December 28, 2020 (edited) I now have released version 1.1 after a mapping stream this evening. https://mega.nz/file/qZ4RBKrL#dlFmAQdStxdAjQwrTutVJfJ0fop6jj0tBGfJ4bER1ks = here it is! Here are the changes (based off your feedback): -Added a Berserk pack in an extra room near the beginning. Monsters included! -Added a health potion trail to aid players in heading towards the chaingun for the first fight. -Added a teleport near the exit of the final room to allow players to go back to the rest of the level. -Added a "BFG closet" near the exit of the final room to allow for easier cleanup. -Added extra visual signposting for all four FIREBLU boxes in the final room, to make their locations stand out a bit more. -Added an extra crusher linedef to prevent players from accidentally skipping this. (thanks to @4shockblast and @Lucky_Edie for showcasing this) -Adjusted the exit-guarding flesh pillars in the final room to prevent glides. ;) -Changed the sky texture on the exit floor (thanks to @tourniquet for showing me a neat dummy sector trick to allow this to happen!) -Changed how the exit Archviles appear behind the flesh pillars in the final room, to prevent cheese. ;) -Changed the height of the godsphere pillar. -Fixed the lift triggers to work properly on the backpack secret. -Fixed the midtex 'cage bug' in the final room for PRBoom-software players. -Fixed the final room teleport being W1, changed it to WR. -Made the SSG secret in the 'godsphere' room stand out more, and added 2 extra shotgun shells up there. (and removed one Mancubus to allow for this) -Made the "revenant crusher" switch stand out more in the final room, and changed its texture from FIREBLU to prevent confusion. -Upped the brightness across the entire final room to at least 144, to accommodate PRBoom-software players. Pending that no further problems occur based off any v1.1 feedback that comes my way, I hope to upload this version of Firebox to /idgames sometime next week! Edited December 29, 2020 by Suitepee 5 Share this post Link to post
Clippy Posted December 29, 2020 I felt compelled to give this another whirl to see the changes and I almost never do second attempts, and since any time I get a chance to play I also like to record myself I made another vid. Somehow even with knowing this map it took me slightly longer lol No bugs or anything and it was fun pointing out the changes, all very good ideas I know it gets to a point you want to say this is done but there is one minor thing you may want to look into here: I managed to escape the invulnerability room and had the option to leave a lot of monsters in there and they couldn't chase me. I would consider giving them a way to come at you, easiest would be to allow the door to open for monsters to chase you down the steps but yeah I found another way to goof around haha (I just love to break things) But I got to experience the exit room fight this time which was surprisingly less scary than I was expecting, or maybe I got lucky Anyway good stuff I had fun punching things thanks for the berserk, Merry Newyearsmas 2 Share this post Link to post
elderdragonbrasil Posted January 2, 2021 Hi, John! Finally, I did my playthrough. As many people are doing in UV, I resolve to film the HMP & Easy modes, to check the gameplay of these difficulties. Also, I've enjoyed to do the UV/Max of your map, even that I've died 20 times lol 2 Share this post Link to post
Suitepee Posted January 5, 2021 (edited) I have now released v1.2 of my map after finishing Hexen tonight. This is the version that I have now uploaded to /idgames for approval, thanks to @tourniquet for doing the honours in that regard. Now I just wait and see if it gets approved. https://mega.nz/file/jAhGUJwa#LpH5sy1V3tHk_1HXLzLruaGsr2jNYwh6CgcOSG6NSZI = here it is again! Here are the changes: -Added correct difficulty settings to the exit Archviles, BFG room (ammo + BFG) and exit room teleporter destination on the Easy skill. (they were previously either not working or not there at all on Easy) -Added an extra box or two to the 'tower' run in the final room, to make the final part of it easier. -Added two extra Imps behind the Arachnotron in the 'warehouse' room on Easy skill, instead of previously there being none. -Changed the texture on the "rev crusher" switch and added extra detail to make it stand out more. (Also removed the Revenant that was atop it previously.) -Removed the un-necessary extra linedefs on the "rev crusher" switch; now only shooting the front texture will activate the crushers. Edited January 5, 2021 by Suitepee 3 Share this post Link to post
Suitepee Posted January 15, 2021 And now, Firebox is officially on /idgames! https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/firebox Thus my first proper mapping journey is finally concluded. It's been a fun 3 months from November 2020-January 2021 getting this map made, going through the process, discovering the many joys (and frustrations) of actually making a Doom map, learning the little technical things, watching all the different videos/demos, etc etc etc.... Many thanks to the various mappers and general people in this community for your wonderful assistance during this project (mapping advice, feedback, just being around the mapping streams in general, providing technical assistance with SLADE and whatnot). A small part of this map will always belong to quite a few people who helped along the way. Mainly, I'm just glad that I managed to deliver a fun gameplay experience that others genuinely enjoyed for the most part. I have much to learn on making more appealing visuals and aligning stuff properly, but in terms of the gameplay this is a map I am genuinely proud to have created. Alongside that, I've gained a more deeper understanding of the actual mapping process from start to finish, which will prove handy in my future playtesting analysis. It will be some time before I return to making another proper Doom map.....but I will eventually make another one in the distant future. Until next time! 4 Share this post Link to post