Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Spear of Destiny

After alot of speculation and failed attempts at getting sleep, I've finally figured out the proper way to use the editor and how to edit scripts and whatnot, and here's my first big Doom3 project: Return to Castle Wolfenstein, Spear of Destiny. I know, I'll probably get my ass sewed for using the RtCW name or something, but I've always wanted to create a tribute to RtCW in the Doom3 engine, and here's my half-assed attempt at a "Zombie-infested-temple-esque" map, similar to those found in Operation Resurrection:

http://ripway.com/members/getfile.asp?file=\2004-10\195213\DOOM3_Maps\screens\RTCW%20SoD\screen1%2EPNG

This is not necessarily to ask for help, more aimed towards getting suggestions on good ideas for gameplay and maybe something about detail once in a while. Oh, and even though I say I'm not necessarily looking for help, it would really be appreciated, concerning mapping for the project in particular. Now, is there anything anyone who likes RtCW would've liked to see in RtCW would fit well in RtCW:SoD?

EDIT: Dammit, my spacebar keyis fucked up.

EDIT2: Sorry, forgot the storyline.

You are Captain B.J. Blazcowicz. It's 1944, and you've been called on once again. This time, it's not just the activity of a sinister cult... Hitler's planning to resurrect the Angel of Death with the power of the Spear of Destiny! And guess what else... You've got to go in and steal that Spear before he succeeds!

This story will, of course, develop more over time, just be patient...

Sounds interesting...and if iD sues you, you can always change the name to Some Guy Invades a Castle in Germany: A Spear that Possess something Worthwhile.

Snarboo said:

Sounds interesting...and if iD sues you, you can always change the name to Some Guy Invades a Castle in Germany: A Spear that Possess something Worthwhile.

I like the way you think ;)

Well, the spear of destiny is supposedly a real object, it was the spear that was used to penetrate Christ's side when he was on the cross. Apparently the Germans, more specifically the S.S. were looking for it during WW II, as it would give the wielder great power. So yeah, they don't own the rights to the spear of destiny. And there's a Castle Wolfstein in Germany, so if you have any legal problems, call it Return to Castle Wolfstein. And I guess change B.J.'s name, they seem to have a problem with stuff like that.

As for the game, I thought wolfenstein was a pretty good game. I did think that the zombies were extremely irritating, as were the mutans, I much preferred fighting the normal soldiers. I also disliked the weapon models and sounds, they look rather cartoony really, and they sounded weak. Although the sounds in general were rather poor I thought, didn't have much meat to them. As for the locations, they could've been a little less linear and more varied, but that's a problem in pretty much any game.

Not too much help I know, but I still look forward to playing your mod at some point. Good luck to you good sir.

When following the link, it asks me for a username and password.

As for the project, it sounds quite interesting. I can't help you with the mapping (I can't even get a simple map with two box rooms, a hallway and two doors to work for some odd reason), but if you're interested, I can assist you with the storyline - my portfolio so far includes assisting Shaviro with the storyline and logs in rtc-3057 hub 1 and a bunch of fan fics that I believe are still accessible in the fan fic forum (if you do a search).

Oh yeah and I'm a big fan of Wolfenstein, both Wolf3d and RtCW.

A few general suggestions:

1. Make sure that the enemies are pretty flincable, so that the pistol(s) aren't useless. That pissed me off in RtCW.

2. DOGS DAMMIT!!! Screw the dog lovers; you're shooting animated computer images, not real animals.

3. Heavy steel doors that slide open and closed and that close shut with a heavy racket that echoes throughout the sinister hallways. I can't believe Gray Matter left this out in RtCW; it's possibly the single most important atmosphere aspect of Wolf3d.

4. Nazi guards that shout German phrases when they spot you - see if you can't recruit one or more people that speak German fluently (or which are native German speakers). Phrases I'd like to hear:
"Achtung!" ("Warning!"/"attention!"/"Watch out!" - the last I'm sorta unsure about)
"Shutzstaffel!" ('Defense Squad/unit' or something like that)
"Spion!" ("Spy!")
"Eindringling!" ("intruder!")
"Scheisse!" ("Shit!")

5. Proper death screams - I don't remember an FPS with worse death screams than those in RtCW. Even the Wolf3d ones were infinitely better.

Oh yeah, and once I get to sit down and think for a while, you can expect me to come up with plenty of gameplay ideas, ranging from basic stuff like weapon functionality/balance to interactivity/game world stuff. Expect more ideas from me to come ;-)

I did think that the zombies were extremely irritating, as were the mutans, I much preferred fighting the normal soldiers.

Dude, the inhuman creatures were what set RtCW apart from all the other boring WW2 FPSs out there. Without them, RtCW would've been the same repetitive bore. There's nothing as uninspiring as just shooting variations of (1) guy with pistol, (2) guy with rifle, (3) guy with machinegun.
Even Wolf3d had inhuman creatures (but way too few of them imo).

UPDATE:


Progress on "caves_1_2.map"

Also, the intro music is ready for conversion to OGG. Anyone know any good utilities to convert MP3 to OGG?

You might try WinLAME. I haven't tried it myself, but the description sounds worthwhile.

Map looks great by the way, and I wish I owned Doom 3 to play it.

Thanks, Weasel. It worked fine.

Nice architecture and nice textures, though the screenshot looks a little bland as of now, I'm confident that map will look more interesting when you're done with it ;-)

A gameplay suggestion I have is that you have a uniform item that works like an "invisibility powerup", which will make enemies ignore you unless you start shooting. Only, this powerup will enable you to walk up to enemy soldiers and actually talk with them as if they were NPCs.
I don't know if that's even possible and if it is, it'll probably have to be tested. In any event, an item like that should be a bonus and not an object required to progress.

Another thing I'd like to see in there is something as simple as a golden (brass) and a metallic grey (iron) key - not necessarily required to progress, but will allow you to open certain doors and locked objects.
For instance, cell doors, sometimes armouries and certain lockers would require an iron key, whereas closets, chests and perhaps even drawers would require a brass key.

UPDATE: Anyone who wants to join the development team is more than welcome... I have absolutely no idea how to make pro-quality-looking Doom3 maps. Everyone makes it look so easy, yet I have no fucking clue!

But anyway, I'll be needing some modellers, maybe one or two texture artists, and at the least one more map designer, one scripts writer, and one storyline-type-person. And, sorry but not much has changed on "caves_1_2.map"...

And DSM, your ideas sound fantastic. Maybe you should be the storyline-type-person! ;)

EDIT:



Something's been disturbing these coffins...

UPDATE: Anyone who wants to join the development team is more than welcome... I have absolutely no idea how to make pro-quality-looking Doom3 maps. Everyone makes it look so easy, yet I have no fucking clue!

Take your time and do maps as you best can - if you're able to "hire" other mappers, you can forward your own maps to them and they can improve on them.
Nobody gets good at doing maps without practicing a lot, same goes for my "profession" (i.e. writing stories :-P), same goes for anything that takes a decent amount of skill to do.

Darkhaven said:

And DSM, your ideas sound fantastic. Maybe you should be the storyline-type-person! ;)

Thanks, I'd love to be the story-line person - I think it's time I got my mind off of Doom story stuff for a while and the prospect of doing a Spear of Destiny Wolfenstein story appeals to me.

You can count on me, bud :-)

/Me starts doing historical research on the real life Spear of Destiny.

Ah, great news that is! Also, I have an incomplete weapons list:

1. Knife
2a. Luger
2b. Colt .45
3. 12-gauge Shotgun???
4. MP40
5. Gatling Gun
6. "Potato-Mashers"
8. Panzerschreck
9. Prototype Weapon (Lightning Gun)

Maybe you can fill in the blanks before I can, dsm.

Weapon 3: You can easily make that a generic wood-stocked 12-gauge shotgun - the Remington 870 and the Ithaca 37 "Homeland Security" both existed around World War 2.
Weapon 9: How 'bout a flamethrower instead?

Darkhaven said:

Ah, great news that is! Also, I have an incomplete weapons list:

1. Knife
2a. Luger
2b. Colt .45
3. 12-gauge Shotgun???
4. MP40
5. Gatling Gun
6. "Potato-Mashers"
8. Panzerschreck
9. Prototype Weapon (Lightning Gun)

Maybe you can fill in the blanks before I can, dsm.

I'm already working on a weapon list (complete with suggestions on how they work), although at present it's a little different from yours - I'll try and work in your wishes, though I must confess that I personally would prefer there to be no shotgun (because shotguns have been used again and again in other shooters and there are other weapons I have in mind instead), but I'll work that in too as I best can.

Oh yeah, and I'm also busy at work on the story outline - I've got some pretty interesting ideas for how it's going to unfold.

Well, if you had things already planned out, we should probably use what you have. I have to say, my ideas usually suck giant hairy balls when it comes to a really good storyline :P Either way, PM me. I'd like to hear one or two of your ideas... ;)

Sorry for double-post. Anyway:

Development on deathmatch maps has begone; SODM1 is currently undergoing massive structural changes, and it's getting close to half-done. I'll post screenshots when I finish the map... ;)

Also, I'm going to try to implement a new kind of multiplayer: Destiny Match. In this new mode, the Spear is placed at a certain random spawn-point, depending on the Author's choice, and each team (Blue, Red, Green, etc.) will try to hold on to the Spear for the longest time, and each second that passes while the Spear is within the grasp of a given team will score that team one point. If the player holding the spear is killed, the amount of points scored by that player will be discarded, which is why that player has to pass the Spear to his teammates. Also, players from opposing teams can steal the Spear from other players by sneaking behind them and pressing (Use). The team(s) with the most points win. If, at the end of the match, there is a tie, a Rocket-Arena match will be held in which each player on the tied teams will only be allowed a Rocket-Launcher and all other teams will be sent to the Spectator "team". Depending on match settings, at the end of the time-limit the team with the most frags wins.

So, what do you think?