Jacek Nowak (jacnowak) Posted May 25, 2021 (edited) When cleaning the disk of my old computer I found an unfinished PWAD I was working on in 2015 but then got distracted by something else and forgot about it. This is by no means an ancient find in Doom timescale but for me this is a bit of a time capsule. I had a look through and found that this thing has potential for a fun old school map so I decided to finish it. The map was originally in Boom format but there weren't many features used that couldn't be replicated in vanilla so I thought I will backport it to vanilla as that format fits better with the feel (and level of detail ;) of the map. I needed to simplify the central room a little bit and add some sight blocking walls to keep visplanes under control but the changes were pretty minimal. I kept the original layout and architecture for the most part but monster placement got a significant overhaul - I'm really interested how it all ended up and how it plays. Tested in Chocorenderlimits, Crispy Doom and GZDoom. Screenshots: Download link: http://jaceknowak.net/storage/doom/helium.zip OR https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/g-i/helium Map data: IWAD: Doom 2 Map: MAP01 Format: vanilla Approximate playlength: 10 minutes Difficulty: medium, skill levels implemented Looking forward to feedback, I would be delighted if someone wanted to record a playthrough! Edited June 8, 2021 by jacnowak 16 Share this post Link to post
TheGreenZap Posted May 26, 2021 I fired this up tonight. I really like it so far. I'm playing it in Crispy and it's pretty creepy actually, which is cool. I'm running out of ammo quite a bit. A Berserk pack might be nice. I was at 1 percent and beat 3 Revenants with a chainsaw somehow, but then died to a Caco. I'm thinking maybe there is a rocket launcher somewhere, because I'm seeing rockets. I'm playing on HMP. I'll try again and see if I fair better. I'm definitely liking what I see though. 2 Share this post Link to post
Sectorslayer Posted May 26, 2021 (edited) That map is pretty cruel. I just ended up without ammunition, surrounded by arch viles. But it's also pretty cool. Very vanilla, very well done. FDA on UV failed. I should probably know what I'm doing, right? Maybe I can crack this later. Will keep trying to change the odds in my favor. This is a good one. Edited May 26, 2021 by sectrslayr 1 Share this post Link to post
Kor Posted May 26, 2021 Not a bad vanilla map. I would say it could use a little more health on the easier skill levels, but I made it through. 2 Share this post Link to post
1Destro3456 Posted May 26, 2021 That was good, creepy atmosphere with the lightning. This is a fun little vanilla map. 1 Share this post Link to post
Jacek Nowak (jacnowak) Posted May 26, 2021 15 hours ago, TheGreenZap said: I'm running out of ammo quite a bit. A Berserk pack might be nice. I was at 1 percent and beat 3 Revenants with a chainsaw somehow, but then died to a Caco. I'm thinking maybe there is a rocket launcher somewhere, because I'm seeing rockets. Ah, I know what happened here. Yes, somehow in all my testing I had a rocket launcher before this revenant fight, or at least a super shotgun and more shells. But I see that it's actually 50% chance you will have any of them at that time, depending which route you take, as you have a simple left-right choice at one point. I will place an alternate RL there. For now, you can run away from that fight and come back to it later when you're more stuffed with weapons. But it isn't good level design so I will fix it. 15 hours ago, TheGreenZap said: A Berserk pack might be nice There is one in one of the secrets ;) 3 hours ago, Kor said: I would say it could use a little more health on the easier skill levels, but I made it through. Yeah, good point, I'll add a little bit more health. Thanks everyone for feedback, I'm glad people had fun. I'll make these two changes (alternate RL and more health) and post an updated map soon. 2 Share this post Link to post
Biodegradable Posted May 27, 2021 Cool map, dude. Not sure why you called it Helium though hehe ;^P Your progression is nice, some of the traps are good n' nasty and overall I had fun with it. My only complaint is it's not terribly interesting visually and I hope you take a bit more time to really beef up your maps thematically with something more interesting for the player to explore and gawk. 3 Share this post Link to post
Jacek Nowak (jacnowak) Posted May 27, 2021 Thanks @Biodegradable for the video, watching people play my maps always brings a lot of joy to me :) Regarding the name - I just have a habit of naming my maps after chemical elements or compounds. Other maps I made include Arsenic, Hydrogen, Lithium, Carbon Dioxide or Methane ;) I just picked "helium" for this map as a word play with the word "hell" but in retrospect I should've probably called it "Copper" as it's red ;) I updated the map (updated the file link in first post points to), no significant changes, just a little bit more health and ammo (particularly on lower skill levels) and an alternate rocket launcher. If anyone downloaded the map but hasn't played yet and prefers a slightly less cruel version, please re-download :) 3 Share this post Link to post
roboticmehdi2 Posted May 27, 2021 Nice map! I enjoyed it. Thanks for making it vanilla compatible. 1 Share this post Link to post
Sectorslayer Posted May 28, 2021 18 hours ago, Biodegradable said: Cool map, dude. Not sure why you called it Helium though hehe ;^P Your progression is nice, some of the traps are good n' nasty and overall I had fun with it. My only complaint is it's not terribly interesting visually and I hope you take a bit more time to really beef up your maps thematically with something more interesting for the player to explore and gawk. Ah, the plasma gun secret changes everything. 😀 0 Share this post Link to post
Biodegradable Posted May 28, 2021 9 minutes ago, sectrslayr said: Ah, the plasma gun secret changes everything. 😀 Taste the fusion-powered blast of justice, demonic scum! 2 Share this post Link to post
DynamiteKaitorn Posted May 29, 2021 A pretty cool and well made map! I liked some of the cheeky trap designs in a few areas (though admittedly some were rather dickish like sticking an imp just to one side when you teleport). A few extra health and ammo boxes here and there would make this map a little less annoying since there is several arch-viles littered around the map. The cavernous design was awesome and I love the use of textures throughout. It really made a nice freaky hell-cavern vibe. :) Just as a heads up: The trap near the yellow key (the lower one with pinkies) is incredibly easy to cheese as you can easily punch them from the ledge nearby and they can't do anything since their hitbox is too big. Likewise, the red key is the complete opposite: The sudden rush of revenants with barely enough rockets on HMP does make that key a pain to grab. 1 Share this post Link to post
Jacek Nowak (jacnowak) Posted May 30, 2021 Thanks @Clippy for the playthrough video, really enjoyed watching! Thanks @DynamiteKaitorn for your feedback, really appreciated! 1 Share this post Link to post
Clippy Posted May 30, 2021 3 minutes ago, jacnowak said: Thanks @Clippy for the playthrough video, really enjoyed watching! Thanks @DynamiteKaitorn for your feedback, really appreciated! No problem, fun map - I liked it. It gave me a harder time before I had to re-record it - nice challenging map! I feel compelled to try it again without secrets some day 2 Share this post Link to post
Jacek Nowak (jacnowak) Posted June 8, 2021 The map is now available on idgames. I updated download link in OP. 1 Share this post Link to post