My W.I.P mega wad project

[Memerz1]

So I've been in the process of making a 32 map mega wad for a few months now, but I often update it, and have some of my friends play test it. But I think now's the time to see what the internet thinks of it. It's 13 short maps. Difficulty varies between maps. Like it says in the title, it's still in the beta phase, so it isn't exactly going to be high quality. And there's a lot more information and details in the readme.txt I made. Hope you enjoy.

-- Download Link --
https://www.dropbox.com/s/tk41wxz3zq35wtl/Hopeless_Beta_1.7_-_MRZ.zip?dl=0

[Misty]

Can you post couple of screenshots and mention some compatible ports with your maps? ;) 

[Memerz1]

20 minutes ago, Misty said:

Can you post couple of screenshots and mention some compatible ports with your maps? ;) 

I think it's compatible with Z Doom for the most part, I haven't tested it in Z Doom all that much. But I have played through it numerous times in GZ Doom, so I'd go with that. Also, be sure to not do classic rendering, since there's some vertical oriented parts in certain maps.

[Juza]

The screenshots look good for the most part, just some texture choices didn't fit, such as

- the platform with ZIMMER5 with the grass flat (1st screenshot)

- the stone texture in the river on the waterfall (1st)

- the stone texture along with the grass flats (1st)

- the MFLR8_1 flat on the door (2nd)

- the grass flat on the bed (3rd)

 

And that area in the first screenshot full of shotgunners doesn't look like it belongs there.

 

My thoughts:

The maps were... pretty bad and easy. Many texture misalignments, weird layouts, bad enemy placement and I had to IDCLEV to map02 because I couldn't find the blue key anywhere. You gave me much more resources than needed, in the first map you gave me a megasphere right after giving me a mega armor, and then there was an obvious secret with a soulsphere. About the secrets in general... they were extremely rewarding for how easy they're to find.

 

The maps look like the average newcomer's maps. Since you're still new to mapping, you shouldn't be focusing on making a 32-map megawad out of the blue.

[Bushpig2dope]

1 hour ago, Juza said:

 

The maps look like the average newcomer's maps. Since you're still new to mapping, you shouldn't be focusing on making a 32-map megawad out of the blue.

Agreed with Juza. You should really try and focus on mastering a basic tech base with great lighting and texture use before you attempt to tackle a megawad, because yeah, the maps seem super rushed and kinda ugly. I don't mean to stomp on your dreams or discourage you but yeah

And yeah @Juza the blue key was hidden in a secret area for some reason. Don't make a necessary key in a secret area

[Nine Inch Heels]

I played all the maps real quick, there was some interesting stuff to be found in terms of ideas. Execution of these ideas is a bit "iffy" in places, but anyway, here are some tropes I noticed that may be worth reconsidering:

-Doors: Just about all the doors are pretty tight. Makes moving around a bit uncomfortable at times, and also doesn't always look very nice. So, wider doors is something I can recommend for maps such as these, which aren't otherwise looking to make getting around "annoying".

-Corridors: So, there's quite a bunch of these to be found here, and truth be told: Corridors are something you're going to want to keep at a minimum, unless you employ tropes that call for corridors in particular. More often than not corridors make for very one-dimensional gameplay regardless of how wide they are.

-Lifts: Some maps have lifts that travel for quite a bit of time. Waiting for lifts, and spending what feels like minutes in them does happen IRL in a way, but it's probably not something you're going to want to put in a game like this. So anything that results in "waiting rooms" is usually worth speeding up in some way shape or form.

-Visuals: Some maps have a very same-y texturing, other maps seem a bit like texture clash, and it's not just the screenshots. Coming up with ways to make different textures fit together in a way that seems "logical" is a very valuable asset to have, and there are lots of WADs around that you can look at for inspiration.

I also noticed you did some "micro detailing" in places. Small crates, a few stones in front of waterfalls and such, that is nice to have, but it is also worth noting that these can look really out of place when the room they're in has almost no visual features. You don't need to do extreme amounts of detailing overall, but finding a balance may help.

-Gameplay: I played the maps ignoring basically everything that isn't a hitscanner. Even though ammo is readily available (assuming continuous play), I never felt like killing things unless I really had to. What your maps are asking for is something like "highlight fights" that stand out. Virtually all of the combat you made is incidental, so try and give players something to sink their teeth in. With that many resources you can afford to be a little mean here and there ;-)

-Jumping and crouching: I'm neither for nor against those, but it's probably good to mention that these features, which aren't a core part of classic Doom, may be required for these maps of yours. If it was mentioned in the readme I must have missed it, but I generally recommend putting these informations in your original post as well, just to be on the safe side.


Some of the stuff I personally liked:

-MIDI choice. A bit "cheesy" perhaps, but why not have some tool or guns'n'roses?

-Concepts:
Having people travel through a town of sorts, including rooftops, was nice.

Having to search for some keys in "hidden" places is fine by me. All the hidden keys were easy to find with the automap as it were. I never got stuck in any map because I couldn't find a key. I like it when people encourage using the automap at times.

Some teleports you used were REALLY covenient, and I highly appreciate being put in a spot where I needed the very key I just now picked up, rather than having to backtrack all the way. Good job there, "quality of life" stuff where it makes sense is good to see.

A little bloodbath here and there. Maybe it's not super engaging to mow down a cluster of former humans with a plasma rifle, but it sure does quench the little bloodthirst inbetween wholesome meals.

Interesting "remix" of Doom2 map 01.
 

 

Something you may wanna have a look at:

Here's the most basic editing tutorial possible, and any other advanced format people choose to use still benefits from knowing about this one a lot, because it explains fundamentals which apply to all formats out there:

 

Planning maps in a "draft" really helps with creating layouts that "make sense", and offer an interconnected feeling, assuming that is what the mapper wants to begin with. Knowing at least roughly what goes where also helps with texture use, since you have a general idea where caves are gonna be, where buildings are gonna be and so on.

 

[Zediru]

removed by user

Edited February 10, 2019 by Zediru

[Memerz1]

What's up? I just wanted to quickly address all of the criticism, in one neat reply. The first thing I want to get out of the way, the screenshots I took are the best that the wad has to offer, it only get's worse from there. And I think one of the users mentioned a mish-mash of textures throughout the wad, and that's true, the "green bed" in that one room by the way, was meant to be a pool table. And if you guy's couldn't tell from the square architecture of most of the maps, I'm not exactly the best map designer. That being said, the original base of these maps, I made when I was first starting out. Like for example, Map 03 was actually my 2nd map I've ever made, but I kind of built on that foundation, same can be said for Maps 01-04.

And Demon Tower (Map 05), was actually going to be it's own thing entirely, but I liked the map so much, that I decided to make it a map in this map pack. Unfortunately, for some reason, that map was a living hell to make. From countless Doom Builder crashes, to textures that literally delete themselves, and even a game breaking bug that forces you back the GZ command prompt. I found work-around for all of these, but I was already working on a later map by that time, and I only added a exit switch at the last second, because I grew to hate that ugly ass map, and I never want to see it again. 😂

That being said, I think one of the strongest points of the wad, is the midi choice, it's kind of like the thin scotch tape that's holding everything together. And I honestly think without it, It's a much worse experience. Not to say that it's good, It's horrible. But I think I'm going to keep adding onto this map pack, besides, I think I'm getting better anyway.

And I'll see what I can do about making Map 01 a much better experience, I know it sounds stupid, but I didn't realize that the first map sets a example, for what the map pack is all about. One last thing, thanks for all of your criticism, it really helps.