The /newstuff Chronicles #280

A whopping 5 wads are on up the table this week for the latest edition of The /newstuff Chronicles. As an added bonus, there is a lack of any new weapon mods and a mapset by a relative newbie that will make you want to jump into a boiling lake of lava. But don't let that cool you off, as there are several good wads that should be checked out.

• Achluophobia.wad - Th0r
  Skulltag - Solo Play - 3082 kb - (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Achuluphobia is the latest mapset in a series of simple wads by Th0r. Now, according to the txt file, the author is still relatively new at mapping so I can't be too hard on him for that. However, this mapset suffers from poor texturing and almost a complete lack of height variations throughout. There are often times many unaligned textures and combinations that just don't make sense. If you really enjoy Doom at its uttermost simplistic, as in, many boring corridors and switch hunting, then this wad is for you. There's too many identical hallways that connect into other identical hallways that lead up to a single switch, which then forces you to backtrack through the same hallways to get to an area so you can have your face ripped off by a hell knight and start all over again. Aesthetic qualities aside, the maps play like most beginner maps: lots of cramped corridors and too many enemies. If you aren't getting pegged by a chaingunner off in the distance, then you're running into the many ill-placed lamps and firesticks. This is not fun.
  
  However, on the plus side the maps do get better with each passing level. The last map shows promise but then quickly turns into a simplistic HR-styled blast fest. Plenty of new art abounds, and while some of it adds to the themes throughout, some just look plain goofy in their selection. There is also new music which for the most part is pretty good, although that's an area of personal taste. I do think that Th0r is certainly capable of better, and just like any mapper whose had his time in the limelight, it just takes time and practice. Also, why this was specifically for Skulltag, I don't know.
  
  
• Amnesia - Aluqah
  ZDoom - Solo Play - 176 kb - (img)
  All right, this level is just weird. But not in that mysterious sort of way, but rather, in the way that makes you scratch your head and wonder exactly what the hell this author was trying to build. There are many textures from various resources being used here, but they are all thrown about in very little consistency. I have no idea what kind of theme this is supposed to be, nor do I have any clue what the map is supposed to resemble. There are plenty of height variations which give the map an interesting perspective, but it comes off feeling like some sort of weird Doom 2 prototype level. As far as the gameplay goes, there are a couple nifty ZDoom features that break up the gameplay from being mundane. I found this wad to be difficult and frustrating as there's not really any clear path where the player is supposed to go.
  
  
• Dwarf Town - Pawel Zarczynski
  Boom Compatible - Solo Play - 244 kb - (img) (img) (img)
  This was a map that was left out of the 1024x1024 project, aptly named Dwarf Town. And I should say that while I'm not a big fan of 1024 styled maps, I really enjoyed playing this wad. The map takes place in a cramped little town full of great little details here and there and excellent use of lighting. The gameplay is what you'd expect from a 1024 map, but not all that frustrating. There were a couple of moments where I muttered "son of a bitch!", but I did survive on the first playthrough. Best of all, the map is Boom compatible so it can be played on your favorite source port. Recommended.
  
  
• jet01 - Jetflock
  Boom Compatible - Solo Play - 155 kb - (img) (img) (img)
  Yet another 1024 project submission that was yanked out. This map attempts to recreate the original Map01 of Doom 2 and does a pretty good job of it. Instead of just taking the original design of Map01 and trying to "redo" it, the author has built the entire map from the ground up and it really shows in the layout. A refreshing change from the usual redesigns of the past. There are a lot of interesting takes on the texturing and design with most of the battles being pretty fun, too. Its a short but sweet level, definitely worth your 2 minutes of play time. Like Dwarf Town, this map is also boom compatible. Recommended.
  
  
• SJS1: Streets Of Fear - Simon 'SlayeR' Judd
  Limit Removing - Solo Play - 270 kb - (img) (img)
  The last wad of the week is certainly a good one, and a definite contender for wad of the week. As you may tell from the title of this wad, this map takes place in a little haunted town. The level certainly isn't a walk in the park either, as I found myself dying quite a few times to finally beat this map. There's plenty of hidden alcoves where enemies will suprise you, but it never comes off as cheap. There's good detail throughout and the usage of new textures adds to the atmosphere of the level. In the txt file, SlayeR states that this map was originally an expansion for Bloodrust and the style shows. There's also the inclusion of a MIDI also composed by the author. All in all, a nice single player experience and I hope the author releases more in this series. Recommended.
  
  

FP bitches. Slayers map was pretty good.

Aluquah's map is very good. Reminded me of that one Conductor map from a recent /oldstuff.

And Slayer's map is just great. Not as challenging as I expected though.

Ah new stuff very good job on the reviews, I think im going to try Amnesia.
Those two 1024 maps from Nmn and Jetflock are nice also, btw are my 1024 maps going to get a review??

Jeez, when are my maps ever going to get reviewed? :S

speaking of which, when is my Death Arsenal going to be reviewed? :S I submitted it weeks ago and still has yet to show up in a Newstuff. :S
http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/?id=14350

jallamann said:

Jeez, when are my maps ever going to get reviewed? :S

Sorry, the newstuff was finished before I read your message.

Anyone who notices that their WAD wasn't reviewed, please notify me. This goes for the future, too.

Thx for the review ditto


also it should run on zdoom, but i have not tested it.

Th0r said:

also it should run on zdoom, but i have not tested it.

You can try, but there'll be a ton of missing textures, because some of them were used from skulltag.wad.

Th0r needs to learn about texture alignments :P

Also making a wad port specific just for slopes, transparency and particle fountains is lame IMO, especially when the mapping is still on such a bad level.

Belial said:

especially when the mapping is still on such a bad level.

Ouch

There may not be many wads this week, but the ones that are there are pretty nice. The 1024 wads, whilst not really my taste are quite good fun to play and look great (although I noticed a nasty texture misalignments in Dwarf town with the BIGBRIK1 texture). Slayer's wad also looks great. I haven't had a chance to play it properly yet, but I had a quick look around. I think it will be fun.

Th0r said:

Ouch

Well, at least you tried. And you took Ditto's review a lot better then Tormentor took Deathz0r's review of his wad.

Just try to fix the things he mentioned in your review and you'll be fine. And don't forget to toggle upper and lower unpegged when making a window.

Bouncy said:
speaking of which, when is my Death Arsenal going to be reviewed? :S I submitted it weeks ago and still has yet to show up in a Newstuff. :S

I think you need to specify which port and which version of Doom it's for.

For game you just put Doom. Are you refering to Doom 1, Doom 2, or final Doom?

You didn't put down what source port it's for either. You just put "Anything that doesn't support custom weapons", which narrows it down to every single source port there is.

Craigs said:

Well, at least you tried. And you took Ditto's review a lot better then Tormentor took Deathz0r's review of his wad.

Just try to fix the things he mentioned in your review and you'll be fine. And don't forget to toggle upper and lower unpegged when making a window.

I didn't realize i had so many misaligned textures until i looked at it today. Some of the changes were lost when my comp crashed and many of them were those alignments. I will keep working on my mapping before i spend too much time on something like that again.
More tips/ideas would be great too. Any criticism will be considered within reason. But i would like to hear some good stuff(if any) that anyone who plays the wad encounter.

Craigs said:

You just put "Anything that doesn't support custom weapons", which narrows it down to every single source port there is.

Err... except GZDoom and Grubber's ZDoom. ISTR that Randy Heit will be incorporating most custom weapons stuff into "regular" ZDoom, if he hasn't already.

Heh Th0r, you can fix many of those misalignments in just seconds. Doom Builder's autoalignment feature is fairly easy to use. :D

Th0r said:

I didn't realize i had so many misaligned textures until i looked at it today. Some of the changes were lost when my comp crashed and many of them were those alignments. I will keep working on my mapping before i spend too much time on something like that again.
More tips/ideas would be great too. Any criticism will be considered within reason. But i would like to hear some good stuff(if any) that anyone who plays the wad encounter.

Personally, I think texture selection is just as important as texture alignment. I think that was one thing that stood out the most to me was just the weird textures you used together. For example, covering a computer screen with brown bars. The two themes do not match at all, and there was plenty of that stuff when playing your wad. Look at the second screenshot in your review - you got techlights coming from brick and steel. If you can fix up your texture area and try to do more interesting designs, then you'll be well on your way to better wads.

Use more height variation.
Focus on layouts that are interesting and non-linear (I guess map06-08 are headed in the right direction there).
Less lamp/decor things in hallways, getting stuck on them is annoying.
Trying to make things like chairs and desks usually makes them seem weird and out of place; it's also quite pointless.
Don't abuse transparency to the point of lagging the game for no reason (multiple transparent bloodfalls fail it).
Primitive switch/key hunts like those in the first 5 maps are annoying.
Use monster teleports to repopulate areas that have to be revisited.
Maps that follow the 'room->hallway->room->hallway' theme are a thing of the past :P

Craigs said:

Well, at least you tried. And you took Ditto's review a lot better then Tormentor took Deathz0r's review of his wad.

Just try to fix the things he mentioned in your review and you'll be fine. And don't forget to toggle upper and lower unpegged when making a window.



I think you need to specify which port and which version of Doom it's for.

For game you just put Doom. Are you refering to Doom 1, Doom 2, or final Doom?

You didn't put down what source port it's for either. You just put "Anything that doesn't support custom weapons", which narrows it down to every single source port there is.

it says Gzdoom at the very top.
and it's a weapon mod, so it's irrelevant what doom it's for. Final, 1, 2, whatever, you can use it for.

Craigs said:

I think you need to specify which port and which version of Doom it's for.

Specifying the filename helps tremendously, you know.

Belial said:

Trying to make things like chairs and desks usually makes them seem weird and out of place; it's also quite pointless.

In case you didnt notice, it was an office style map. No office is complete without desks.

There are chair sprites in the alpha wads. Unless I'm wrong it's perfectly fine to use them in a wad (and looks 10x bettar than sector chairs).

HobbsTiger1 said:

There are chair sprites in the alpha wads. Unless I'm wrong it's perfectly fine to use them in a wad (and looks 10x bettar than sector chairs).

Thats true. The worst attempt at making sector office chairs I have ever seen involved some bridge things, step top textures, and a door stop texture for the base.

HobbsTiger1 said:

There are chair sprites in the alpha wads. Unless I'm wrong it's perfectly fine to use them in a wad (and looks 10x bettar than sector chairs).

I didnt know. nor do i know how to get sprites into a wad.

meh, sector chairs aren't too bad if used/made correctly. I threw some into jet01.

Th0r said:

In case you didnt notice, it was an office style map. No office is complete without desks.

In case you didn't notice, office style maps usually fail in Doom.

Made some chairs for my NDCP2 wad im happy with them, using the right textures and an good design can make it look nice enough imo.
But with 3dfloors you get better results, im not much of an fan of chair sprites.

dutch devil said:

But with 3dfloors you get better results, im not much of an fan of chair sprites.

Same here. Once you start making 3D things, you'll never go back to sprites.

Bloodshedder said:

Anyone who notices that their WAD wasn't reviewed, please notify me. This goes for the future, too.

What if your wad is in /Newstuff but doesnt show up in the IDgames viewer on Doomworld? does it only update to list new wads on a certian day or something?

Also sometimes you can wait a long time between /newstuffs, that one with the screenshot of a spectre in a rainbow room (278?) was up for 3 weeks, whereas wads only stay in /newstuff (the folder) for 10 days, i reckon reviewers should visit it at least once every 24 hours, even if they cant get thier reviews all written/test all the wads within one week they should still make sure they get all of the ones that are uploaded in between the last /newstuff and theirs, Because i once uploaded a wad, the day after one, and the next one was late so my wad was missed (it was crap anyway), and my 'current' wad that is in there was uploaded about 2 hours after this one was posted