Wetworks.wad, a first map - criticism welcome !

[Mustache]

Hello Doomworld !

 

After playing Doom for many years, I've decided to join the community and try my hand at mapping. The wad I'm attaching is the first full level that I managed to create - it is a MAP01 replacement for Doom 2. I tried to stick to vanilla gameplay and feel as much as possible. Visually, it's a mix between industrial and sewer themes.

 

Of course, as a noob mapper, I would greatly appreciate any feedback and criticism that you guys can provide ! I wasn't quite sure about which difficulty level is "right" for a seasoned Doom player, and some areas probably feel amateurish. Anyways, have fun and don't hesitate to be harsh !

 

.wad file : Wetworks.zip

Tested with : GZDoom 3.3.2 and ZDoom 2.8.1.

No jumping or crouching. Freelook optional.

Difficulty : Should be somewheat harder than classic Doom 2 - probably TNT-level. Meant to be played on UV/HMP.

Length : Takes sometime between 5 and 10 minutes to complete. Monster count is around 125-150, depending on the difficulty level you choose.

 

Finally, here are some screenshots !

 

Spoiler

Edited June 10, 2018 by Mustache

[baja blast rd.]

Here is a GZDoom 3.3.2 FDA (edit: for a previous version).

 

Wasn't bad. Layout is fine -- one complex central area around which three objective-based areas are placed, height variation, decent flow. Visuals are functional but quite ugly at times, since misalignments are commonplace. Textures as flats and vice versa look out of place here. Monster placement appears to be thought out well enough, a mix of functional roles and more naive and classic 'here are two cacos in a giant open space' stuff. Highlight is the red key area with its revenants initially line-of-sighting the tunnel and hitscanners out in the open, putting conflicting demands. Decent set pieces, some quick, breezy incidental combat, multiple encounters within a single area mix well together when set loose. 

Edited June 10, 2018 by rdwpa

[HAK3180]

Thought I'd play this quick with a few minutes I had, so I played pretty quickly and recklessly, just resurrecting after dying a few times. In haste, I did not particularly notice any ugly areas, but I definitely agree with the highlight being the circle water ascension. Pretty good first release. The only other thing I would add is that I thought health was a little low for as many hitscanners were out in the open. The safest way to handle this map would be really boring, i.e. a campfest. So you may consider a megaarmor right at the start and/or some more health pickups and/or a berserk in there somewhere. I played on Ultra-Violence, by the way, and got 0% secrets.

[Reisal]

It's always good to see new blood join the mapping community, welcome!

[Mustache]

Thanks everyone for the feedback ! I'll definitely work on the points you've mentionned there - especially texturing and camping problems.

Also, a quick question - when you refer to "flow", do you mean the general feeling of progression/movement in the level or something else ? I've seen the term used a few times and I'm still not positive about what it means

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

Level flow is used to refer to how a level runs. Broken or rough flow tends to refer to something that stops movement through the map, such as over use of doors, lifts, and other things of the like. A level with smooth flow usually has rooms that connect fluidly with short corridors or even directly. For maps with good flow, I'd recommend checking out the levels that John Romero built in the IWAD's.

Organic flow like that is remarkably difficult to replicate for many mappers, it seems. I have a serious problem with it myself building my maps.

The best way to make a map flow well is to minimize the number of doors you use and make lifts move short distances or quickly when you need them.

 

64 unit spaces make flow "bumpy" because they're cramped, so an 80 or 96 unit gap at least is generally better for monsters and players to maneuver.

Doors are best used to restrict areas to be opened later, instead of simply separating rooms (a particular offender I've constructed is Vasiliki Thalassa, one of my maps for MAYhem Purple).

Lifts, I think, are best used to quickly get back on track or, in my own case, used to confine a player in a given room as a trap.

[wintertowns]

Nice. Here is a first exit UV-max in GZDoom 3.3.1, and I always get a little bit triggered by standard D_RUNNIN, so I threw together a custom MIDI for this one =). 

 

Wetworks - Wintertowns MIDI & Demo.zip

 

Spoiler

One thing I thought about was the monster closet that opens when you return inside from the red key area. The encounter is a bit awkward when the monsters and the player tries to enter the elevator at the same time. The ammunition closet secret also had problems triggering, as can be seen in my demo.

 

Thanks for the wad, keep it up.

[Mustache]

Thanks again for the answers, it's been really helpful so far !

I fixed and improved some stuff that you guys reported on, in case someone else downloads the map.

 

4 hours ago, wintertowns said:

I always get a little bit triggered by standard D_RUNNIN, so I threw together a custom MIDI for this one =). 

Yeah it's pretty annoying, but I haven't gotten around to editing the music in a .wad file yet - I'll learn when I have more time to map. Nice track though !

[wintertowns]

7 hours ago, Mustache said:

I haven't gotten around to editing the music in a .wad file yet.

 

If you don't write music yourself, there are https://www.vgmusic.com and http://www.midishrine.com. Lots of cool stuff. It's barely about editing, you just add a MIDI file to your wad with the same name as the musiclump from the level in Doom II that you are replacing (see https://doomwiki.org/wiki/Doom_II_music for a levelmatching list of lumps). If you open up the wad in Slade 3, it's just drag and drop, then rename. If you make maps in ZDoom format, you can easily add wav/ogg/mp3 files and different kinds of module files aswell.

[mgr_inz_rafal]

Here's video of me playing the map blindly on UV. Some comments:

 

- Simply fun and entertaining , despite the simple look and feel. Good vanilla vibes :)

- These two revenants in the "rounded area" were placed wery strategically - I needed to fight them with my sniper-chaingun

- Very good job as for the first map, lot's of chainsaw joy

- The difficulty level is very well balanced

 

Finally, I just had a lot of fun playing the map. But where is the cyberdemon? ;-)