Akeldama - Now on Idgames!

[Breezeep]

Glad to see you're liking it.

 

Duskbound, version A

 

This newer version should hopefully deal with the monster bodies falling below the floor, apparently it's something to do with the midtex trickery seen in the western portion of the map. I've also fixed a few things regarding some monsters not teleporting as intended, and I also added a berserk pack in one of the secret areas, just to spice things up a bit.

 

forgot to mention, I honestly do not have the drive to do difficulty settings for this map. So, I would really appreciate it you can take care of that for me.

Edited December 16, 2019 by Breezeep

[valkiriforce]

^ Fixed up the difficulty settings and included your latest version in the wad.

 

And now here it is - Beta 2 is available with all 32 maps!

[lirui1001]

Map25: textures are missing in this area.

 

[pcorf]

MAP26 was very good, probably the best in the megawad. I will consider composing a new midi for MAP13.

[AD_79]

There's probably no need to do so, I contacted Juza a little while ago regarding a new track for MAP13 and I've been playing around with some ideas for it.

 

Also, apologies for the lack of music progress recently, I'm not sure I'll be able to get it all done as quickly as I wanted to but I'll get there without taking too long.

[pcorf]

13 hours ago, AD_79 said:

There's probably no need to do so, I contacted Juza a little while ago regarding a new track for MAP13 and I've been playing around with some ideas for it.

 

Also, apologies for the lack of music progress recently, I'm not sure I'll be able to get it all done as quickly as I wanted to but I'll get there without taking too long.

 

"Insert thumbs up icon here"

[CorianderCastor]

Played through half of beta 2 already. This is a great megawad.

[DSC]

Hey, @valkiriforce, remember that thread I made some time ago about wads like AV? You told me then that I should check this one project of yours out once it was completed. Now that it has entered Beta 2, I decided to install and play it. And I must say, I played through the first 12 levels, and its excellent! It has got some old school vibes here and there, and I like it!

[BjarneC]

Im on map 19 Death March atm, and i feel like I have gotten stuck.

 

Is there a way to reopen this door in the picture?

I got it open once, ran in there and got chased back by monsters, and now i cant reopen it (the switch, top right in pic, appears to do nothing).

I feel like I have been everywhere else in the map. 

 

I hope its not a softlock, and that I have just missed something.

Thought id ask here, before checking with a editor, in case it is a problem.

 

[valkiriforce]

Yes, that appears to be a softlock - thanks for pointing this out. I'll be sure to include the fix in the next update. I also encountered a softlock recently on MAP13 when playing it with others over ZDaemon. It was possible for a door to close permanently leaving other players outside, so I've fixed that up as well.

 

Recently I've been thinking about the track arrangement and I've been feeling a little dissatisfied with MAP11 having another rock music track, so I made a minor adjustment; I decided to use pcorf's MAP24 MIDI on MAP11 instead, because I really like the atmosphere and feel it works well on a longer map that ends episode 1. I've included Viscra's Derived From Unconscious Mind on MAP24, which was one of the original ideas for its use anyway. I really think it flows more rhythmically on both sides, with maps 10 already having a rock track and a number of episode 3 tracks being atmospheric in nature.

[Firedust]

Very excited to play the next beta release!

[BjarneC]

1 hour ago, valkiriforce said:

Yes, that appears to be a softlock - thanks for pointing this out. I'll be sure to include the fix in the next update. I also encountered a softlock recently on MAP13 when playing it with others over ZDaemon. It was possible for a door to close permanently leaving other players outside, so I've fixed that up as well.

 

Recently I've been thinking about the track arrangement and I've been feeling a little dissatisfied with MAP11 having another rock music track, so I made a minor adjustment; I decided to use pcorf's MAP24 MIDI on MAP11 instead, because I really like the atmosphere and feel it works well on a longer map that ends episode 1. I've included Viscra's Derived From Unconscious Mind on MAP24, which was one of the original ideas for its use anyway. I really think it flows more rhythmically on both sides, with maps 10 already having a rock track and a number of episode 3 tracks being atmospheric in nature.

 

Ok, thanks for the reply. Ill restart the level then so I can move on :D 

[DJVCardMaster]

7 hours ago, valkiriforce said:

Recently I've been thinking about the track arrangement and I've been feeling a little dissatisfied with MAP11 having another rock music track, so I made a minor adjustment; I decided to use pcorf's MAP24 MIDI on MAP11 instead, because I really like the atmosphere and feel it works well on a longer map that ends episode 1. I've included Viscra's Derived From Unconscious Mind on MAP24, which was one of the original ideas for its use anyway. I really think it flows more rhythmically on both sides, with maps 10 already having a rock track and a number of episode 3 tracks being atmospheric in nature.

I'll miss that MIDI

[P41R47]

So here is P41R47 with one of his messy reports and little review with suggestions...
Anyway, hope this help @valkiriforce!
 

Map01: solid map, with good difficult even in HNTR... only downer is, for me, the midi choice. Its the same midi opener of plutonia midi pack, and its easy to associate with it. I suggest other midi, maybe one a little more interesting. What makes mee feel strange about this map is the introduction: it remains me of Memento Mori first map, but then it comes to be much larger. Also the midi, please, its good i know, but i don't think it mesh well with the general desing of the map.
Try this one
 

Map02: again, solid map, music by LewkForce is spot on! And the knight theme is good.
 

map03: pretty good but a little short in comparison to the first two. Music is good. Also snow theme is not so apparent in this map. So at the start of the next map 
its feels weird. Maybe changing the textures before the exit room would make it a little better
 

map04: now this is a cool map. From the start you found yourself with plenty of options
for progress, and then that different pats interconect themselves. The secrets are neat
but i couden't find all of them. even after spending a good time in the map i ended with
kill: 99 items: 97 secrets: 87.
Aside from that, the difficult is good and there are no texture clases at all.
The midi is the original from map04... it really fit with the map, but if there could be
a new one, it surely will be better.
 

map05: interesting layout, good choice of music, interesting secrets. What didn't convince
me enough was the central building where the blue key is. I feel it empty. Also, more
linedefs for casting shadows would be good.
 

map06: good map that abandons the snow terrain of the last two maps. It good soo far,
and i discover all the map but not the secrets as i end with 83 or 87 of them.
Anyway, the music is good, and the progress is good, althought its get a little linear
but its not a problem with this big map. But i feel that its lacks something, don't know
what exactly as i doesn't get the sense of success as the others maps gave me.

This for first episode, gonna play the rest now and give a review

Turrican2_bath.rar

[valkiriforce]

@P41R47 The MIDI tracks on maps 1 and 4 are just placeholders until we get original compositions from @AD_79

 

Casting shadows for MAP05 would likely increase the visplane/HOM of the surrounding areas, as I recall it originally had to cut down on some minor details to avoid hitting those limits in the opening areas. It might be possible in smaller sector areas but a little inconsistent.

 

Thanks for the feedback otherwise.

[P41R47]

1 minute ago, valkiriforce said:

@P41R47 The MIDI tracks on maps 1 and 4 are just placeholders until we get original compositions from @AD_79

 

Casting shadows for MAP05 would likely increase the visplane/HOM of the surrounding areas, as I recall it originally had to cut down on some minor details to avoid hitting those limits in the opening areas. It might be possible in smaller sector areas but a little inconsistent.

 

Thanks for the feedback otherwise.

Oh sorry, the shadows casting was a suggestion in general, not only for map05; just for a more moody approach to the maps as they have a lot of outside and indoor sections that could have a little boost with some shadows, but yes, as you say, i forgot this aims for vanilla. Anyway, surely AD_79 will deliver something really good as i really like his music.
Gonna give some more reviews in the following days.

[DFF]

Unless valk wants to handle it i can take a look at that middle area in map05, but I do think that adding shadows to that map won't work so well, since many of the outdoor areas are borderline at their limits, and those are the areas which would need it most

[damo]

@valkiriforce I have been playing this online on ZDaemon (Broken Glass Breakfast - Akeldama Beta 2 - zds://37.247.54.67:10601). 

 

On Map02, there is a visible voodoo doll at the start.

[damo]

On MAP20, it seems that once someone goes through this door, that it can only be opened from the other side. This could cause a soft lock on coop should the player who enters dies

 

On MAP21, seem there this is also prone to causing a soft lock:

 

[valkiriforce]

Nice catch on MAP02 - it has two player 2 starts instead of a player 3 start. I've already fixed the MAP19 issue, and I thought I already fixed that issue on MAP20 but apparently I gave that wall the wrong linedef action, as I knew about this issue before. It's been fixed now.

 

18 hours ago, DerFurer'sFace said:

Unless valk wants to handle it i can take a look at that middle area in map05, but I do think that adding shadows to that map won't work so well, since many of the outdoor areas are borderline at their limits, and those are the areas which would need it most

Yeah, I wouldn't worry about it - I think it's fine the way it is. When it comes to vanilla mapping, I prefer doing more with less rather than putting everything on the edge of the limits.

[damo]

MAP22, only 1 person can get the plazma, as the steps lower: 

[damo]

MAP25. Seems that after a player goes down here, a blue key is needed to re-access. This could be problematic if the first player dies. Also I'm not sure if the raising and lowering floor could lock players in depending on different scenarios.

 

MAP26:

I wasn't able to get back out of here:

 

 

[joepallai]

3 hours ago, damo2k said:

MAP25. Seems that after a player goes down here, a blue key is needed to re-access. This could be problematic if the first player dies. Also I'm not sure if the raising and lowering floor could lock players in depending on different scenarios.

 

 

 

Looks like I was too clever for my own good...I'm beginning to hate this map again.  Seriously though, thanks for finding this and all the other issues you've been highlighting.    

 

Regarding your 2nd point; I don't think it's possible to get soft locked behind the floor as it's just a loop from one side, up to the yellow key then back down to the lift where I put a walk repeatable line that raises it--a player stuck below still has total access to the lift from either side.   I guess the repeatable linedefs could be changed to single action linedefs.    

 

 

 

 

[valkiriforce]

@joepallai I can set that door to a 30-second limit if you like - that way co-op partners aren't locked out for good. I also did some minor texture fixing as I noticed some misalignments around the brick walls. It should hold up fine otherwise.

 

@damo2k That MAP26 issue with the lift has already been addressed, thankfully.

[joepallai]

Thanks @valkiriforce that sounds good to me.    

[AD_79]

Shrouded in Mist (4:02)

 

Happy new year! Here's MAP01's track, which took me far too long to figure out what to do with it. With any luck, the remaining two MIDIs will follow fairly soon.

[P41R47]

10 hours ago, AD_79 said:

Shrouded in Mist (4:02)

 

Happy new year! Here's MAP01's track, which took me far too long to figure out what to do with it. With any luck, the remaining two MIDIs will follow fairly soon.

Now, this is a good opener for a megawad with a snow start!
Congratulations @AD_79! This is pretty good.

[valkiriforce]

11 hours ago, AD_79 said:

Shrouded in Mist (4:02)

 

Happy new year! Here's MAP01's track, which took me far too long to figure out what to do with it. With any luck, the remaining two MIDIs will follow fairly soon.

Very nice! Great introduction track - fits perfectly. I'm looking forward to the last two tracks.

[Caleb13]

I played the new MAP26 in GZdoom 4.2.4 and there were two sargeants stuck inside sector 226, standing on top of each other. Any idea how this happened?

 

 

 

 

[valkiriforce]

That is certainly unusual; did they happen to fall off the ledge? It doesn't look like anything that should be possible from my checking of the map.