gurgle.wad - My first WAD (v2)

[Garbage]

My first completed WAD, must be played with Doom II and contains six levels. Tested with GZDoom and Chocolate Doom, so it should work with most ports. Completely vanilla, no custom or specialized content required. Has co-op support, but not deathmatch.

 

Freelook is allowed. Jumping isn't, and don't try because I disabled it in SLADE. Crouching is allowed, but it you won't have to use it.

 

New Version:

gurgle2.1.wad.zip

 

Old Version:

gurgle.wad.zip

 

Made with only vanilla assets. Comments and suggestions are well appreciated!

 

Version 2 includes many fixes and changes, including:

 

• Extra detailing (thanks to everyone who played for the helpful suggestions)
• New areas and encounters (thank you Aquila Chrysaetos for giving me new ideas for sealed areas/monster closets)
• Due to popular demand, boss fight now has a proper exit and more monsters to fight
• Fixed stuck monsters and HOMs (thanks to EffinghamHuffnagel and Darox for bringing my attention to these)
• Repositioned monsters for smoother gameplay
• "Dropping wall" in MAP04 changed to a door (thanks to EffinghamHuffnagel)
• And many more!

 

 

v2.1 quick patch:

 

• Fixed missing door texture on map 4
• Minor bug fixes
• Fixed broken lowering floor in map 2 that obstructed monsters

 

Chocolate Doom screenshots:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

GZDoom Screenshots:

 

Edited June 24, 2018 by Garbage : an update baby!!!

[HAK3180]

I just did a quick run on Ultra-Violence. Finished 100%/97%/50%

 

Some observations, positive ones first

 

+ the bigger secret area that could even be seen from later in the map

+ the secrets in general

+ alignment is pretty good (but there are some misalignments)

+ Some attention to lighting

+ use of different textures in the first couple rooms

+ some interesting barrel action

 

- no nonsecret shotgun

- after the first couple rooms, it was kinda just "pick a texture; cover all walls in texture"

- the floor of the exit sign is probably not what you wanted. Same thing where you use midspace.

- not a lot of geometric variety (I see some effort in some places, but it's mostly simple rectangles)

- Floor transitions should often have a height change and/or small "threshold" transition sector. The best example of not so good in this map is where you use the blue carpeting. That would look significantly better just by being raised two units.

 

In general, you seem to have studied how a Doom map is made, so that's good. This map could almost have been E1M1 in Doom the Way Garbage Did.

[Garbage]

6 minutes ago, HAK3180 said:

I just did a quick run on Ultra-Violence. Finished 100%/97%/50%

 

Some observations, positive ones first

 

+ the bigger secret area that could even be seen from later in the map

+ the secrets in general

+ alignment is pretty good (but there are some misalignments)

+ Some attention to lighting

+ use of different textures in the first couple rooms

+ some interesting barrel action

 

- no nonsecret shotgun

- after the first couple rooms, it was kinda just "pick a texture; cover all walls in texture"

- the floor of the exit sign is probably not what you wanted. Same thing where you use midspace.

- not a lot of geometric variety (I see some effort in some places, but it's mostly simple rectangles)

- Floor transitions should often have a height change and/or small "threshold" transition sector. The best example of not so good in this map is where you use the blue carpeting. That would look significantly better just by being raised two units.

 

In general, you seem to have studied how a Doom map is made, so that's good. This map could almost have been E1M1 in Doom the Way Garbage Did.

 

Thanks for the response! I do admit that the near-end rooms need a bit of a makeover.

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

I played to the start of the fourth map, saved there and set it down for now. I'll continue tomorrow.

I must note that this wad is really easy to me, but that's okay, because it very much reminds me of Doom E1.

First, texture misalignments. There are quite a few that I took shots of, so I'll stick them in a spoiler.

Spoiler

MAP01:

Not a misalignment, necessarily, but a little odd looking.

 

 

 

 

MAP03:

Confused this for a monster closet wall at first. It would've been a good place to stick one.

 

 

Also not technically a misalignment, but a strange use of the PIPES texture as a transition texture, especially since it goes from METAL2 to METAL2.

 

I had a good time running through these maps. Like I said, I thought they were really easy (I'll start a UV-fast run when I get back on tomorrow), but they had the E1 feel, so I felt it appropriate.

 

MAP01 had a very solid looking start. I liked your use of transition textures in the first couple of rooms, I would rather you had kept that up.

I actually didn't have a problem with the secret shotgun in the first map. The enemies were puny enough that the shotgun actually felt a little overpowered in that map.

I liked the little scenery of the crate room in the hall to the blue armor secret. Very nice.

The lighting seemed a tad strange to me, probably because the lit sectors seemed to often be trapezoidal instead of square or triangular.

 

MAP02 tended toward brown, which is fine, but it seemed a little too consistent in its brown color, if that makes sense.

Also, a couple minor things that irked me a little:

Spoiler

The difference between the flat and the texture is striking to me. Something a little closer to the tekwall-like texture of the pipe texture would be more appropriate.

 

The imps on that metal platform couldn't move very much, which struck me as bizarre. I'd suggest expanding that platform a little so they have room to move.

I liked the key hunt, but there was a little backtracking, so I'd suggest opening some monster closets to repopulate the hallways for the player to kill while they're moving back to the locked doors.

Good map. Could've been better, but it was good.

 

MAP03 was rather similar to MAP02 in that it was quite consistent in its colors, but its encounters were more interesting in a couple places, which is good.

I wonder where the idea for this room came from... Also the flat/texture difference here, too. Not as striking as before, but it's still there. Also, up ahead you can see a sudden flat change. I suggest changing flats with height differences. Makes it look a little better. But this was a neat encounter, but the problem that exists here is camping is very easy to do (it's not something I often do unless I have to), so you could close the player in here and force them to fight the cacos as they come up from the acid, which makes for a uniquely tense fight (though I had the SSG, so the fight wasn't that tense, but it's a good start).

Good encounter. Could've been better, though. I'd suggest making this room taller, the room behind the bars a higher platform, and sticking those fatsos on 64-high platforms to act as turrets while the player contends with the pain elemental and low tiers.

This was, however, one of my favorite fights, so good on you for that.

Spoiler

Another flat that doesn't match its texture. Also misaligned, but my primary issue is the flat/texture dissonance. Sorry, those just really annoy me.

Another neat encounter, lots of room to move, but still kind of closed, but it's another that could be campy.

I especially liked the use of that computer texture in the center, that was neat.

 

Like I said, I started MAP04 before I put it down, so I'll give a quick review of the area I saw.

Natural areas are hard to do in Doom. They either look too neat or just ugly, but this is pretty good for an early attempt. The texture diversity is good, I'm glad you didn't stick with ASHWALL2 for these stone platforms. It's a lot of grey, but it's not completely monotone, so that's good. With outdoor areas, height, texture, and flat variation are your best friends.

 

Overall, I liked it. I'll post again tomorrow with my thoughts on the later maps.

[Garbage]

3 minutes ago, Aquila Chrysaetos said:

I played to the start of the fourth map, saved there and set it down for now. I'll continue tomorrow.

I must note that this wad is really easy to me, but that's okay, because it very much reminds me of Doom E1.

First, texture misalignments. There are quite a few that I took shots of, so I'll stick them in a spoiler.

  Reveal hidden contents

MAP01:

Not a misalignment, necessarily, but a little odd looking.

 

 

 

 

MAP03:

Confused this for a monster closet wall at first. It would've been a good place to stick one.

 

 

Also not technically a misalignment, but a strange use of the PIPES texture as a transition texture, especially since it goes from METAL2 to METAL2.

 

I had a good time running through these maps. Like I said, I thought they were really easy (I'll start a UV-fast run when I get back on tomorrow), but they had the E1 feel, so I felt it appropriate.

 

MAP01 had a very solid looking start. I liked your use of transition textures in the first couple of rooms, I would rather you had kept that up.

I actually didn't have a problem with the secret shotgun in the first map. The enemies were puny enough that the shotgun actually felt a little overpowered in that map.

I liked the little scenery of the crate room in the hall to the blue armor secret. Very nice.

The lighting seemed a tad strange to me, probably because the lit sectors seemed to often be trapezoidal instead of square or triangular.

 

MAP02 tended toward brown, which is fine, but it seemed a little too consistent in its brown color, if that makes sense.

Also, a couple minor things that irked me a little:

  Hide contents

The difference between the flat and the texture is striking to me. Something a little closer to the tekwall-like texture of the pipe texture would be more appropriate.

 

The imps on that metal platform couldn't move very much, which struck me as bizarre. I'd suggest expanding that platform a little so they have room to move.

I liked the key hunt, but there was a little backtracking, so I'd suggest opening some monster closets to repopulate the hallways for the player to kill while they're moving back to the locked doors.

Good map. Could've been better, but it was good.

 

MAP03 was rather similar to MAP02 in that it was quite consistent in its colors, but its encounters were more interesting in a couple places, which is good.

I wonder where the idea for this room came from... Also the flat/texture difference here, too. Not as striking as before, but it's still there. Also, up ahead you can see a sudden flat change. I suggest changing flats with height differences. Makes it look a little better. But this was a neat encounter, but the problem that exists here is camping is very easy to do (it's not something I often do unless I have to), so you could close the player in here and force them to fight the cacos as they come up from the acid, which makes for a uniquely tense fight (though I had the SSG, so the fight wasn't that tense, but it's a good start).

Good encounter. Could've been better, though. I'd suggest making this room taller, the room behind the bars a higher platform, and sticking those fatsos on 64-high platforms to act as turrets while the player contends with the pain elemental and low tiers.

This was, however, one of my favorite fights, so good on you for that.

  Reveal hidden contents

Another flat that doesn't match its texture. Also misaligned, but my primary issue is the flat/texture dissonance. Sorry, those just really annoy me.

Another neat encounter, lots of room to move, but still kind of closed, but it's another that could be campy.

I especially liked the use of that computer texture in the center, that was neat.

 

Like I said, I started MAP04 before I put it down, so I'll give a quick review of the area I saw.

Natural areas are hard to do in Doom. They either look too neat or just ugly, but this is pretty good for an early attempt. The texture diversity is good, I'm glad you didn't stick with ASHWALL2 for these stone platforms. It's a lot of grey, but it's not completely monotone, so that's good. With outdoor areas, height, texture, and flat variation are your best friends.

 

Overall, I liked it. I'll post again tomorrow with my thoughts on the later maps.

Thanks for the detailed response, I'm getting a lot of new ideas and I'm hoping to update the map with tweaked areas and more seamless detailing.

[Pegleg]

1 hour ago, Garbage said:

My first completed WAD, must be played with Doom II and contains six levels. Tested with GZDoom but it should work on all other ports.

 

Made with only vanilla assets. Comments and suggestions are well appreciated!

 

Welcome to mapping and congratulations on completing your first set of maps.

 

One question: what level of compatibility were you targeting?

 

When you say "it should work on all other ports" are you saying that you were targeting vanilla compatibility? Because something that works in GZDoom may not run (or run fully) in vanilla or Chocolate Doom. If you're going to make the claim that the level works in other ports, you need to try it in those ports. I haven't played the levels, but from all the screenshots here, they don't look so heavily detailed or complicated, that you would expect there to be visplane or drawseg overflow errors (which are the harshest requirements of vanilla compatibility, in my opinion). So, it probably would be vanilla compatible, but if you need to say what compatibility level were you designing for.

 

Also, in the tall room, the platform texture repeating like that on the wall looks a bit odd. If that is a lift, you may want to think about replacing it with a different texture that will look less obviously repetitive when tiled vertically.

[Garbage]

1 minute ago, Pegleg said:

Welcome to mapping and congratulations on completing your first set of maps.

 

One question: what level of compatibility were you targeting?

 

When you say "it should work on all other ports" are you saying that you were targeting vanilla compatibility? Because something that works in GZDoom may not run (or run fully) in vanilla or Chocolate Doom. If you're going to make the claim that the level works in other ports, you need to try it in those ports. I haven't played the levels, but from all the screenshots here, they don't look so heavily detailed or complicated, that you would expect there to be visplane or drawseg overflow errors (which are the harshest requirements of vanilla compatibility, in my opinion). So, it probably would be vanilla compatible, but if you need to say what compatibility level were you designing for.

 

Also, in the tall room, the platform texture repeating like that on the wall looks a bit odd. If that is a lift, you may want to think about replacing it with a different texture that will look less obviously repetitive when tiled vertically.

Thank you for the pointers! I'll update the description, and I'm tackling the odd details in MAP02 (bullet factory)

[DynamiteKaitorn]

+ Basic. Nothing overly flashy.

+ Fun to blaze through.

+ Nice final boss battle (I cheesed it with the BFG from the map prior ^w^)

+ Fairly well balanced

+ In some ways the map layouts remind me of the normal DooM 1 levels. I like that aesthetic.

 

- Little too short some maps

- the map Hell is quite a leap in difficulty

- Fairly small amount of levels

- Not the largest monster variety in most rooms

- armour bonus/health bonus spam

 

Overall I give this a solid 8.5/10. A very lovely mod and for your first this is a great start.

 

Also what IS the song on map 2? I feel like I should get the reference but it's right at the tip of my tongue and it bugs me XD

[EffinghamHuffnagel]

If this is really your first released wad, then you've got a good place to build from. A fun way to pass the time. I like the 'Baron Brigade'. Not overly difficult if you find the BFG, but that's actually appropriate for MAP06 if there's more maps to follow. Texture mis-alignments have been mentioned, but I'll add to it. Big ones I ignored because it's your first wad, but when I saw a STARTAN in a hallway off by two rows, I thought it might be a hint to a secret. Those are the annoying ones.

 

Otherwise:

-------

MAP04

--------

Grabbing the RL should open two doors (sector tag 3). It only opened one. You have the HK closet door ceiling and floor set at 80 instead of -16. You made it a dropping wall.

 

There's a HOM on the platform you land on when you run over the main path to get to the Green Armor and Chainsaw, but I couldn't find any missing textures. Re-building nodes should fix it.

-------

MAP05

-------

There's a Caco stuck in a wall near a Box of Shells.

 

Well done!

 

[Darox]

There are a couple monsters stuck in places. The most noticeable are these two guys:

Spoiler

And a picture of that HOM Huffnagel mentioned

 

There was also a couple former humans and sergeants stuck on ledges.

 

Overall it was pretty easy but enjoyable. Aside from the stuck monsters and that HOM my only major complaint is that there's no exit on map 6. I eventually noclipped around the edge of the map to check I hadn't missed anything. Even if you put it somewhere that forces you to fight all the barons, having an exit is much more preferable than forcing the player to quit out.

[Garbage]

13 hours ago, DynamiteKaitorn said:

+ Basic. Nothing overly flashy.

+ Fun to blaze through.

+ Nice final boss battle (I cheesed it with the BFG from the map prior ^w^)

+ Fairly well balanced

+ In some ways the map layouts remind me of the normal DooM 1 levels. I like that aesthetic.

 

- Little too short some maps

- the map Hell is quite a leap in difficulty

- Fairly small amount of levels

- Not the largest monster variety in most rooms

- armour bonus/health bonus spam

 

Overall I give this a solid 8.5/10. A very lovely mod and for your first this is a great start.

 

Also what IS the song on map 2? I feel like I should get the reference but it's right at the tip of my tongue and it bugs me XD

Thank you for playing! I do admit that some maps feel repetitive at times :P

 

Also, MAP02 music is a midi of Meet the Medic.

[Garbage]

 

10 hours ago, Darox said:

There are a couple monsters stuck in places. The most noticeable are these two guys:

  Reveal hidden contents

And a picture of that HOM Huffnagel mentioned

 

There was also a couple former humans and sergeants stuck on ledges.

 

Overall it was pretty easy but enjoyable. Aside from the stuck monsters and that HOM my only major complaint is that there's no exit on map 6. I eventually noclipped around the edge of the map to check I hadn't missed anything. Even if you put it somewhere that forces you to fight all the barons, having an exit is much more preferable than forcing the player to quit out.

Thank you of informing me of the glitches! I'll get on them soon in V2. Also, if you can't beat MAP06 after killing the barons, try collecting the soulsphere in the middle.

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

I finished the set today. I said I'd do it on UV -fast, but I'd never get anywhere, tired as I am.

The rest of MAP04 was pretty good. At the red card, when the doors opened, I didn't run for the berserk, I ran for the exit and killed the pinkies as they came out of the cave. You might want to close the player in for that fight to make the pinkies actually dangerous.

The plasma rifle fight was okay, but I'm confused why there are pinkies closed away in a cage there where they're useless.

 

MAP05 was okay. Hell maps aren't really my thing, but I liked the nonlinear cave system where you could get the three skulls for the BFG. This map had most of the stuck monsters Darox noticed. I can't really say much about it beyond that.

 

MAP06 wasn't a bad ending map, though I expected more barons at the end, a little more difficult, because with the BFG, killing one or two in a single shot becomes really easy. The combat before seemed like it was supposed to be a warmup for the eventual fight, so that's good. As mentioned before, there doesn't seem to be a proper exit, so I went into the console and typed "special exit_normal 1" and discovered the text screen and ENDGAME screen.

 

About the text screens, some of them kind of run off the side of the screen, if that makes sense.

 

Overall, it was a good first wad. I'd like to see a little more use of transition textures and matching of textures/flats, and maybe make the ending fight more difficult.

[Garbage]

3 minutes ago, Aquila Chrysaetos said:

I finished the set today. I said I'd do it on UV -fast, but I'd never get anywhere, tired as I am.

The rest of MAP04 was pretty good. At the red card, when the doors opened, I didn't run for the berserk, I ran for the exit and killed the pinkies as they came out of the cave. You might want to close the player in for that fight to make the pinkies actually dangerous.

The plasma rifle fight was okay, but I'm confused why there are pinkies closed away in a cage there where they're useless.

 

MAP05 was okay. Hell maps aren't really my thing, but I liked the nonlinear cave system where you could get the three skulls for the BFG. This map had most of the stuck monsters Darox noticed. I can't really say much about it beyond that.

 

MAP06 wasn't a bad ending map, though I expected more barons at the end, a little more difficult, because with the BFG, killing one or two in a single shot becomes really easy. The combat before seemed like it was supposed to be a warmup for the eventual fight, so that's good. As mentioned before, there doesn't seem to be a proper exit, so I went into the console and typed "special exit_normal 1" and discovered the text screen and ENDGAME screen.

 

About the text screens, some of them kind of run off the side of the screen, if that makes sense.

 

Overall, it was a good first wad. I'd like to see a little more use of transition textures and matching of textures/flats, and maybe make the ending fight more difficult.

Thanks for playing, I'll look into the bugs and I'll tweak the boss fight, since others are also having trouble completing it.

[Garbage]

  

Version 2 coming soon! Expect better detailing, less HOMs, and new areas!

 

Spoiler

 

 

Also, should I put the new file in this thread or a new one?

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

If it's going to be a later version of gurgle, then I'd suggest putting it here and making this your "official" gurgle.wad thread. It would make sense that way.

[Garbage]

Version 2 is out! If you don't want to replay, that's perfectly fine with me.

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

Just ran back through it (on UV-fast this time) and it's quite the improvement.

Only noticed a few small misalignments in the same places as before and a couple bugs.

In MAP04, the door that closes at the red card is untextured on the side facing the red card.

In MAP05, I think a spectre is stuck in a wall near the red skull.

In MAP06, I think you might have a blockmap problem I didn't notice before, because I almost killed myself with the rocket launcher when a rocket hit an empty space.

[Garbage]

2 minutes ago, Aquila Chrysaetos said:

Just ran back through it (on UV-fast this time) and it's quite the improvement.

Only noticed a few small misalignments in the same places as before and a couple bugs.

In MAP04, the door that closes at the red card is untextured on the side facing the red card.

In MAP05, I think a spectre is stuck in a wall near the red skull.

In MAP06, I think you might have a blockmap problem I didn't notice before, because I almost killed myself with the rocket launcher when a rocket hit an empty space.

I'll check out the bugs and release a little patch in a bit. Thanks for pointing them out!

[Garbage]

Where exactly did the rocket hit? Just a relation of space, doesn't have to be a sector/linedef.

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

The highlighted sector I drew here is about where the projectiles hit.

[Garbage]

Just now, Aquila Chrysaetos said:

The highlighted sector I drew here is about where the projectiles hit.

Thanks!

[Randy87]

Just played v1 (didn't see v2).

A few bugs here and there, but was overall quite enjoyable with a unique style.

I thought at first that every map might be like e1m1.

I'm glad it picked up the pace and thew some surprises at me later. I was very happy to grab the super shotty.

Pretty good for a first wad.

I liked the red key rocket launcher armory with window in map03 and the small shotgunner trap in map04 surprised me good.

[elmle]

Some classicy goodness, keep it up good sir.

 

V2.1 Bugs:

A couple texture alignments but they dont bother me much.

Map 2: An imp is outside the level near the red door.

Map 5: The mancubus, two zombiemen at the big lava pit and one shotgunner near the red key can not move.

The obvious map 6 issue.

 

Tested with prboom+ cl9.