[dev thread, final version out, don't post here thank] Devious Deviance - An MBF21-compatible CP where we implement difficulty settings differently

3 hours ago, Thelokk said:

Since I'll be cutting very close to the deadline (will probably turn in the map on the last available day), a few screenies to show I'm actually working on something.

The plan is: same enemies, weapons, ammo and health on all difficulties, but the layout and environmental mechanics change based on the difficulty.

HNTR: difficult platforming / HMP: VERY difficult platforming, lots of MBF21 insta-death pits / UV: extreme platforming, slaughter, and bizzarre progression (including part of the map taking place inside the monster and voodoo doll closets, and a few extremely obscure secrets akin to side missions).
<snipped pics cause long quote>

Dang it I've wanted to make fights involving monster closets for a while, now I can't say I'm the first! /s
Kidding aside, my idea (not for this project) was for a path through the map to take you between closets where u see monsters lined up, but lighting is low and the midi is dark so it becomes a surreal forshadowing, so not quite as direct or cool as taking the action into the closets themselves.

14 minutes ago, knifeworld said:

Dang it I've wanted to make fights involving monster closets for a while, now I can't say I'm the first! /s
Kidding aside, my idea (not for this project) was for a path through the map to take you between closets where u see monsters lined up, but lighting is low and the midi is dark so it becomes a surreal forshadowing, so not quite as direct or cool as taking the action into the closets themselves.

I'm sure some obscure '95 shovelware map beat us both to the punch. 

I'm working on a run and gun map with some sandbox elements.  Having a good time working within the difficulty limitations--I feel like I've learned a lot already.

A screenshot:

green map, so cool. (in the making)
just a hard map with some platforming n such. nothing more, nothing less

I've been fairly busy with irl stuff recently, so my map isn't going so well. I'll try and get it finished by the deadline, but it isn't looking promising. Really sorry.

2 hours ago, Jaccident said:

I've been fairly busy with irl stuff recently, so my map isn't going so well. I'll try and get it finished by the deadline, but it isn't looking promising. Really sorry.

No worries if you don't finish your map, but I hope you do. Chances are the deadline will see an extension anyway because I've (shamefully) been slacking on my own map.

Here are some screenshots of what I currently have:

I have no idea what I am building here or how the combat is going to be.  I tend to just make things up as I go.

1 hour ago, MFG38 said:

No worries if you don't finish your map, but I hope you do. Chances are the deadline will see an extension anyway because I've (shamefully) been slacking on my own map.

I wouldn't mind the deadline being extended a bit :-) I can probably finish this map in ten days but more time will probably make it better/more polished.

1 hour ago, MFG38 said:

 

No worries if you don't finish your map, but I hope you do. Chances are the deadline will see an extension anyway because I've (shamefully) been slacking on my own map.

I definitely won't be able to finish by the current deadline. Right now I'm pessimistic that I'll have the time even with an extension, but if the opportunity arises I plan to give it a go.

10 hours ago, PinkFlamingo said:

I wouldn't mind the deadline being extended a bit :-) I can probably finish this map in ten days but more time will probably make it better/more polished.

NGL, this made me realize just how hard I've been slacking.

Alright, deadline's getting extended to September 17th @ 11.59am.

The extension is definitely appreciated. I'm about 75% done with architecture, and 25% of the gameplay in place. A screenshot:

My map is ready.

Map name: Icarus Mk. II
Author: Ravendesk
Play time: 10-15 minutes
Music: "Don't Worry I Got Refractory Wings This Time" by me
Difficulty settings: Yes
Description: Open-air linear map based around set piece encounters

Difficulty changes are mostly based on voodoo doll conveyors: simplified platforming on lower difficulties, slower pacing of some fights, giving you more time before the next wave of enemies teleports in, longer time of AVs being closed when you press switches in a particular fight, etc. Also, some areas are accessible earlier on lower difficulties, allowing you to get more space and also get access to some weapons early. Secret fight can also get found earlier on HNTR. UV has one mandatory AVJ, other difficulties don't. I have initially planned to keep all items completely the same on all difficulties, but after testing it a bit I concluded that adding just a bit more health, ammo and armor on lower difficulties significantly improves the experience, so I added these changes as well, although they are pretty minor.

Download link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dPj4rPXW3mUr1XKRHKd810LQvFsWWdd1/view?usp=sharing

V2 Download link: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1QBqSCvN5R8lUAL9oCmy6-zkftFEV-uBL/view?usp=sharing

About the midi: I made a midi specifically for this map, it is included in the wad as D_RUNNIN.

You can download it separately here: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1vCY6Waqa14RDseP-gBl6zWa35lRXqQ6H/view?usp=sharing

Or listen to it here on youtube: https://youtu.be/5YVvz7nKQZQ

A few screenshots:

Also, thanks to @Billa for helping me to playtest the early version of the map on UV. I guess Billa should be credited as a playtester in the final wad release in that case among others.

@Ravendesk I'll admit to not being the biggest fan of the gameplay in this one - a tiny bit too slaughtery/gimmicky for my particular tastes - but I did quite like the atmosphere you've got going here. Excellent visuals with nice detail work, and the custom MIDI ties the package together nicely. The lighting effects in a few places were really cool as well. Given my slight bias against the gameplay, I feel I can't criticize it much, but one thing I will mention about it is one of the platforming sections early on (the one right before the jump to the first big combat area). While the slight curves aren't the hardest to make, I do feel that there's a tiny bit of room for making them more lenient. Only thing I caught bugs-wise was a handful of slime trails.

2 hours ago, MFG38 said:

@Ravendesk I'll admit to not being the biggest fan of the gameplay in this one - a tiny bit too slaughtery/gimmicky for my particular tastes - but I did quite like the atmosphere you've got going here. Excellent visuals with nice detail work, and the custom MIDI ties the package together nicely. The lighting effects in a few places were really cool as well. Given my slight bias against the gameplay, I feel I can't criticize it much, but one thing I will mention about it is one of the platforming sections early on (the one right before the jump to the first big combat area). While the slight curves aren't the hardest to make, I do feel that there's a tiny bit of room for making them more lenient. Only thing I caught bugs-wise was a handful of slime trails.

Thanks for the feedback!

Regarding the slime trails - I'll play around with nodebuilder a bit more, I got rid of some of them, but can't get rid of most of them, some geometry seems to be disliked by nodebuilders a lot.

Regarding the platforming section you mentioned - it is significantly simplified on HMP and is almost completely trivialized on HNTR, so considering that it's at the start of the map, I feel like it's ok on UV as is, but I'll look into it a bit more as well.

Here's my map.  Any kind of feedback (comments, demos, videos, etc.) is appreciated.  Please let me know if you spot any mistakes.

Download - Estuary Shrine v3

Download - Estuary Shrine v2

Download - Estuary Shrine v1
 

Map name: Estuary Shrine
Author: Salmon
Play time: 10-16 minutes
Music: Oblivious by AD-79
Difficulty settings: Yes

Description: A run and gun map with some sandbox elements set at a coastal shrine.
Notes: Monster composition and placement are the same throughout all difficulties.
UV, HMP, and HNTR all have different weapons and items available in different places.
On HMP and UV decorations are used to block off escape from an arena.
More difficult areas are optional on HMP and HNTR but have better rewards.

Screenshot:

My sky is currently only implemented with UMAPINFO.  I'll add sky transfer tags if needed.

2 hours ago, Salmon said:

Here's my map.  Any kind of feedback (comments, demos, videos, etc.) is appreciated.  Please let me know if you spot any mistakes.

Awesome map! Only played UV so far, but I'll check out other difficulties, too, a bit later.

Really liked both the combat and the visuals. Can't really think of any criticism at the moment.

@Salmon Sorry to keep you waiting for your feedback - first things first, brilliant work as always! This is exactly the kind of map I've come to expect from you, and I mean that in the best way possible. Visuals were top-notch, layout flowed nicely throughout, and the gameplay (especially on UV) had lots of bite to it but didn't become overbearing at any point. The start can be tricky on UV with how limited resources are in relation to HNTR and HMP, but I don't think it necessarily needs any tweaking. On my UV run, I ended up grabbing the berserk and playing Punch-Out with the revenants while letting the other enemies infight, which turned out to work the best out of the strategies I tried. The red key fight was a highlight of the map - leaning towards slaughter but with enough space to maneuver around the enemies and pick your targets. Only thing I caught bugs-wise was a missing texture here (see spoiler):

Also, no need to add sky transfers. The sky being defined in UMAPINFO will do fine since all the target ports support it anyway.

I'm very sorry but, for a number of reasons,  I'll have to pull out of the project. Sorry again.

3 minutes ago, Thelokk said:

I'm very sorry but, for a number of reasons,  I'll have to pull out of the project. Sorry again.

Unfortunate but understandable.

Seeing as the submission deadline is two weeks away, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to send out some tags to people with no updates as to how their submissions are progressing.

On that note, @gabirupee @NeedHealth @dotQLL @PinkFlamingo @SuperPecanMan @Jaccident @TheLippyServer @knifeworld - y'all still with us?

22 minutes ago, MFG38 said:

Seeing as the submission deadline is two weeks away, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to send out some tags to people with no updates as to how their submissions are progressing.

 

On that note, @gabirupee @NeedHealth @dotQLL @PinkFlamingo @SuperPecanMan @Jaccident @TheLippyServer @knifeworld - y'all still with us?

For reasons I'm not sure I can disclose, @gabirupee has retired from the Doom community for the time being, and is very unlikely to reply to any enquiry. Just interjecting so you're not left hanging. 

5 minutes ago, Thelokk said:

For reasons I'm not sure I can disclose, @gabirupee has retired from the Doom community for the time being, and is very unlikely to reply to any enquiry. Just interjecting so you're not left hanging. 

Alrighty. Thanks for letting me know on their behalf.

@Ravendesk, thank you for testing!  Glad you liked the map.

@MFG38, thanks for the feedback!  Happy you enjoyed it.  This is only my second time making a more open map like this so I'm still working out the best way to communicate stuff to the player.  On UV, my hope is that people will go for the SSG or RL before trying to get one of the keys although I realize that won't always happen.  But I tend to like weapon hunts on UV starts as long as they aren't too punishing or obscure.

Download - Estuary Shrine v2

Changes:
- Fixed missing texture in sector 248 (thanks MFG38)
- Added additional PG location to HNTR (same location as HMP)

16 hours ago, MFG38 said:

Seeing as the submission deadline is two weeks away, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to send out some tags to people with no updates as to how their submissions are progressing.

 

On that note, @gabirupee @NeedHealth @dotQLL @PinkFlamingo @SuperPecanMan @Jaccident @TheLippyServer @knifeworld - y'all still with us?

I'm still here. Been really busy, but still working on it.

21 hours ago, MFG38 said:

Seeing as the submission deadline is two weeks away, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to send out some tags to people with no updates as to how their submissions are progressing.

 

On that note, @gabirupee @NeedHealth @dotQLL @PinkFlamingo @SuperPecanMan @Jaccident @TheLippyServer @knifeworld - y'all still with us?

It's going! One more area planned, which will be the final room.
Just some environmental detail fixing and fight balancing to do in other rooms.

edit: WIP version if anyone wants to test how the 2 main areas play out as they currently are.
KW DeviousDeviance WIP 040922 0614.zip

 

On 9/2/2022 at 5:06 PM, Thelokk said:

I'm very sorry but, for a number of reasons,  I'll have to pull out of the project. Sorry again.

Damn, this sucks, the anatomical heart arena was looking good. But other stuff of course takes priority!

21 hours ago, MFG38 said:

Seeing as the submission deadline is two weeks away, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to send out some tags to people with no updates as to how their submissions are progressing.

 

On that note, @gabirupee @NeedHealth @dotQLL @PinkFlamingo @SuperPecanMan @Jaccident @TheLippyServer @knifeworld - y'all still with us?

I've been following along but not able to do any mapping for this myself. Life has pretty busy and I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon, you should probably count me out at this point.

22 hours ago, MFG38 said:

On that note, @gabirupee @NeedHealth @dotQLL @PinkFlamingo @SuperPecanMan @Jaccident @TheLippyServer @knifeworld - y'all still with us?

Really sorry, I’m starting university soon and my map is nowhere near done so I’m going to have to drop out. Life’s been more hectic than I was expecting this last month or so

On 9/3/2022 at 10:52 AM, MFG38 said:

Seeing as the submission deadline is two weeks away, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to send out some tags to people with no updates as to how their submissions are progressing.

 

On that note, @gabirupee @NeedHealth @dotQLL @PinkFlamingo @SuperPecanMan @Jaccident @TheLippyServer @knifeworld - y'all still with us?

I'm having a creative drought right now. I'd say I'm out since I couldn't think of any ideas.

On 9/3/2022 at 9:52 AM, MFG38 said:

Seeing as the submission deadline is two weeks away, I figured it wouldn't be a bad idea to send out some tags to people with no updates as to how their submissions are progressing.

 

On that note, @gabirupee @NeedHealth @dotQLL @PinkFlamingo @SuperPecanMan @Jaccident @TheLippyServer @knifeworld - y'all still with us?

I have been working on my map and making good progress, however, I'm not sure if I will be able to finish it for the deadline (and with that I actually mean: I'm not sure if I will be satisfied with what I have on the deadline). I'll try.

Consider me a 'maybe'.

Quick alert to let everyone know that I've decided to extend the deadline by another week. Final deadline is September 24th @ 11.59am GMT. And when I say "final", I mean final - I won't stretch it any further.

Here's a beta version on the map, any advice on game play balancing would be most appreciated (I don't really play the game much anymore), in addition to any notes on misaligned/bad textures and other bugs.

Map name: Upon the plane of Eden

Author: Dr. Zin

Play time: 30 minutes?

Music: "Short Circuit" by Sam 'Metabolist' Woodman (originally used in Hell Revealed 2)

Difficulty settings: Monster and item placements remain the same between difficulties. Depending on the difficulty chosen the player gets a different starting weapon and warps into a different quadrant of the map: HNTR starts with SSG in the west; HMP with chaingun in the south, UV with berserk in the east.

Description: This map is a brick fortress floating in space. Progression is nonlinear, and only the red key is needed to exit. A major part of the game play is locating and acquiring weapons, with UV not being given a ranged weapon to start. The action is intended to be run and gun, using high powered weapons to take down medium monsters.

Notes: This map should use the sky "OSKY33" as set in the UMAPINFO lump included in the wad.

ZinDevDevBeta.zip