[WIP] Trial to Hell [ALPHA] - 32 level VANILLA Megawad (The escape release 0.3) [With 9 maps]

[DJVCardMaster]

(This will become the dev-thread after its first RC)

And here it is... Trial to Hell version 0.3 (The Escape release) with 9 maps of pure vanilla madness (Tested with Chocolate Doom 2.2.1).
Trial To Hell is a future 32-level Oldschool Megawad. Doom II compatible (-complevel 4)



WE NEED TESTING!!!

LASTEST VERSION DOWNLOAD (V0.3)

Hello fellow Doomers, here we are with the third WIP release version of Trial To Hell, a Vanilla 32 level megaWAD created entirely by me (Except most textures/soundtrack), I've been working on this since 2014 approximately (with many gaps/hiatuses in-between), but most of the development was made lately on my "return" into Dooming and my appearance in the forums (2018). Maps present on this WIP release are not final, and are subject of change, although every basic structure for the levels, are final. There are not deadlines, but I hope to finish this in the next few years. Feedback (destructive/constructive) is required.

Story: You are a basic UAC employee at your first day at work, and you choose the worst time to apply for a job here, as suddenly, everything is being taken by hellish forces, and most employees of the instalations are turned into zombies now. You feel, for some reason, the need to investigate what happens here. Forces that you suddenly feel in your body seem to tell you to go even deeper into this chaos that the hell is causing.  This will turn into a trial for you, your life is changing, hell is now setting a test on you, reaching to the very heart of this madness will be a task only for people suitable to take every shot that the damned forces will fire into your journey, to the very depths of hell itself.

NOTE: this was submitted to the 2016 Vinesauce Doom Map Contest (Version 0.1)
"Solid Doom level, Classic Doom Stuff" -Vargskelethor (Vinesauce)
 

Ports tested:
-Chocolate Doom v2.2.1

-GZDoom 2.1.1-PrBoom Plus 2.5.1.4

Changes to the last version:
 

Spoiler

 

-3 new levels

-Added new music

-Level edits (Visual changes mostly/gameplay edits on earlier levels)
-Added new  CWILVXX (Level names) for every map.
-Fixed few instances of VPOs
-THICC crates still THICC

 

Music for the moment is placeholder:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP01: Black Sabbath - Paranoid
MAP02: Pearl Jam - Even Flow

MAP03: Soundgarden - Room a Thousand Years Wide

MAP04: Mark Klem - DLA (Memento Mori MAP03)

MAP05: Robert Prince - On The Hunt (Doom E1M6)

MAP06: Alice in Chains - Dam That River
MAP07: Local H - Back In The Day
MAP08: Super Metroid - Crateria (Main Theme)
MAP09: Megaman X6 - Commander Yammark Stage
INTERMISSION: Mark Klem - Intermission (Memento Mori intermission)

READ MESSAGE: Stone Temple Pilots - No Memory (Modified)

 

Screenshots:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Next update:
Until MAP15 inclusive.

 

Previous version:

Spoiler

T H I C C Crate version download (V0.2)

 

Edited November 17, 2021 by DJVCardMaster

[galileo31dos01]

Tried the first three maps in Choco 3.0.0, pistol starts, Ultra-Violence at the moment. Some criticisms:

 

Map 01: Seemed alright, I didn't find one secret. Pistol vs. imps isn't my thing, so it's good the chainsaw is an easy grab, until chaingun comes in hand. Maybe the secret I missed was a shotgun?

 

Map 02: A bunch of things to consider

- Some monster closets could use tweaks, such as making the enemies wake up at first sound. The most hidden imps/pinkies at the west side weren't alerted until they saw me inside their closets.

- The RK setup consists of an imps closet that can be ignored, since they can't chase you. I'd suggest to change them to a cacodemon (another could teleport somewhere near), if you don't mind introducing it earlier, or else a couple zombies (e.g. sergeants on UV and troopers in lower skills).

- I'd remove the block lines preventing the player to fall into the nukage. Chances to fall down are practically 1 in 10, but still the invisible barriers seemed odd. I don't know if they exist to prevent the game from crashing in vanilla... 

- At some point there's a nukage pit with imps and a switch you have to press for progression. Well, you can easily ignore the enemies that are released there, so maybe a lock-in could work if it's possible, imo. Take the YK trap, which actually gets you trapped as soon as the enemies wake up and you don't react fast.

 

Map03: More things

- The first zombieman and two sergeants do not wake up if you shoot behind the door. This happens frequently in the map, where enemies only wake up when you first enter the room, like in the exit room, rendering some pointless since they'll stay idle.

- I saw a couple pinkies in the nukage pool close to the first SSG that pose no threat since they chase you. They could be removed.

- This part of the nukage is inescapable, intentional? No big deal if it is though, just curious.

- The zombies at the green armor trap can be ignored completely. Not sure what to suggest there, since the trap is very predictable. Perhaps have a hell knight or two teleport at the entrance. 

- I noticed more monster closets where they're only alerted upon seeing you, not hearing you, for example at the BK setup. I'd suggest to change that.  

- The secret SSG should be a different item imo, since you already get one earlier, which is very easy to spot. Perhaps a RL, or a computer map, or a teleport to a hidden area with a soulsphere and a quick fight. Just pointing a few examples :p

- Last but not least, while not an urgency, some rooms are just squares with things placed symmetrically. This can be fine but with some added details like a lightbulb texture on the ceiling or a couple crates, plus different startans so they aren't just bland monotextured rooms. Idk, some extra work on detailing would help in general imo.

 

Anyway, hoped everything I said helps. I'm curious to meet the rest of the maps. Interesting sky colour and palette changes. As for the status bar, I would suggest to revise STTNUM4, it can be confused with a 0 as I did many times. Keep it up!

[DJVCardMaster]

17 hours ago, galileo31dos01 said:

Map 01: Seemed alright, I didn't find one secret. Pistol vs. imps isn't my thing, so it's good the chainsaw is an easy grab, until chaingun comes in hand. Maybe the secret I missed was a shotgun?

 

Map 02: A bunch of things to consider

- Some monster closets could use tweaks, such as making the enemies wake up at first sound. The most hidden imps/pinkies at the west side weren't alerted until they saw me inside their closets.

- The RK setup consists of an imps closet that can be ignored, since they can't chase you. I'd suggest to change them to a cacodemon (another could teleport somewhere near), if you don't mind introducing it earlier, or else a couple zombies (e.g. sergeants on UV and troopers in lower skills).

- I'd remove the block lines preventing the player to fall into the nukage. Chances to fall down are practically 1 in 10, but still the invisible barriers seemed odd. I don't know if they exist to prevent the game from crashing in vanilla... 

- At some point there's a nukage pit with imps and a switch you have to press for progression. Well, you can easily ignore the enemies that are released there, so maybe a lock-in could work if it's possible, imo. Take the YK trap, which actually gets you trapped as soon as the enemies wake up and you don't react fast.

 

Map03: More things

- The first zombieman and two sergeants do not wake up if you shoot behind the door. This happens frequently in the map, where enemies only wake up when you first enter the room, like in the exit room, rendering some pointless since they'll stay idle.

- I saw a couple pinkies in the nukage pool close to the first SSG that pose no threat since they chase you. They could be removed.

- This part of the nukage is inescapable, intentional? No big deal if it is though, just curious.

- The zombies at the green armor trap can be ignored completely. Not sure what to suggest there, since the trap is very predictable. Perhaps have a hell knight or two teleport at the entrance. 

- I noticed more monster closets where they're only alerted upon seeing you, not hearing you, for example at the BK setup. I'd suggest to change that.  

- The secret SSG should be a different item imo, since you already get one earlier, which is very easy to spot. Perhaps a RL, or a computer map, or a teleport to a hidden area with a soulsphere and a quick fight. Just pointing a few examples :p

- Last but not least, while not an urgency, some rooms are just squares with things placed symmetrically. This can be fine but with some added details like a lightbulb texture on the ceiling or a couple crates, plus different startans so they aren't just bland monotextured rooms. Idk, some extra work on detailing would help in general imo.

 

Anyway, hoped everything I said helps. I'm curious to meet the rest of the maps. Interesting sky colour and palette changes. As for the status bar, I would suggest to revise STTNUM4, it can be confused with a 0 as I did many times. Keep it up!

Thanks to heavens, finally some feedback.

Working on community projects is making me realize some things about level design, so, I'm learning some things.

 

My response to some feedback:

 

MAP01: Shotgun is only available on easy/medium. UV has a berserk. (On purpose)

 

MAP02: the nukage pool is on the visplane limit, so I prevent the player from falling there. It actually looks weird, so I was thinking about putting some fences, it would make more sense.

 

MAP03: that nukage pool was intentional, but I was thinking of changing it since ir was really unfair considering it's just the third map. 

TBH that second SSG secret, not even I realized it was there. Thanks to point it out. 

I should see how much more detail I can put to some areas.

 

Yes, I also realized number 4 had a problem, it wasn't like that when I Made it, but I was kinda lazy to change it.

 

Really appreciate your feedback!

Be sure to check out the other 3 maps aswell if you like.

 

Thanks for playing!

[Egg Boy]

Heyo, I decided to play your maps. Not sure if you implemented difficulty, but I played HMP.

 

Map01: A fairly difficult map01, the shotgun-snipers (lord, what a contradictory position) whittle your health down while you run around desperately looking for a foothold. I liked it. Music sounded familiar, can't put my finger on it (not a rock/metal guy) it has to be pretty famous if I recognize it. Must've played it in guitar hero.

 

Map02: I like the dark sections of the map where you can hardly see which demon is prepared to shoot flaming death into your face. Again, fun. But I have a minor problem with the doors, some open with switches while others open directly, but they use the same texture with no distinction. This isn't a big deal, but it's strange that in the same hallway, to doors with the same texture don't open the same way, perhaps use bars for the switchable ones?

 

Edit: Just noticed you include song titles in the OP. Great, now I know the name of the song.

Edited January 15, 2019 by Egg Boy

[Egg Boy]

Map03: The intro to this map is super 90s with the hexagonal structure. It's a very simple hub, but it works. I noticed this map was a little less detailed than the previous ones, perhaps it could use a small touch-up? Either way it was fun, and had a few nasty traps. I especially like the one where you teleport in a room within a room, the outside room is then populated with chaingunners and shotgunners. 

 

Map04: This map has can get pretty dark! (thanks for the light amp btw) The style, much like your other maps was very Ultimate Doom e1. A lot of the fights were very straight forward (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). The set so far is very classic feeling. Lots of monster closets, but sometimes that's all you need. Also: Thicc crate.

 

Map05: Finally, mid tier monsters. And the SSG! Wonderful. I really like how the yellow key opens up the rest of the map, it adds dynamism to the maze like area you run around in. Unfortunately, the rooms aren't very distinct from eachother and I actually got lost a few times despite the maps small size. There were still some fun fights, but I wish the map's visuals were more varied.

 

Map06: I'd say this is the best of the bunch. I really didn't expect you to shake things up like that. the sewer aesthetic was really cool. Lots of fun fights. It's neat that you start many of them with the enemies back to you. Like, you have to initiate the combat. Very fun stuff. Found a rocket launcher secret. It's a shame there isn't a map07 yet to test it out on.

 

Overall: I had a ton of fun with this wad. The gameplay was classic, the maps were a bit maze-like. Felt like a great wad from the 90s in some ways, while having a few modern touches in others. The palette change was cool as well. There were a few misalignment problems (particularly in the sewer level at the end of certain tunnels). I'd be happy to play test this for you in the future, so if you would like to get in touch, PM me and I can go into detail about whatever you'd like. 

[DJVCardMaster]

20 minutes ago, Egg Boy said:

I'd be happy to play test this for you in the future, so if you would like to get in touch, PM me and I can go into detail about whatever you'd like. 

Of course, at the moment I'm taking my time with this mapset, since I'm contributing with two projects (Akeldama map24 and 1K Lines E2 map). When I finish with some tweaks and with the next map, I'll give you the wadfile for playtesting. The same will happen for anyone who wants to apply for playtesting.  They will be credited at the end.

Thanks for playing!

[DJVCardMaster]

1 hour ago, Egg Boy said:

Not sure if you implemented difficulty, but I played HMP.

 

Forgot to mention, yes, difficulty settings are implemented (mostly enemy count, and no shotgun until MAP02 uv)

[galileo31dos01]

Checked the other three maps yesterday, there's a positive advance in action and aesthetics though also room for a bit more improvement, for example the problem with monsters not waking up was recurrent in each map, so I'm going to point out other stuff that I consider constructive, take them with a grain of salt since I'm not a mapper nor I'm trying to change your perspectives:

 

04

 

- First thing is to praise those GIANT crates, something I've never seen before and frankly amused me a lot when I saw the first one, please keep them. There's also the room with a static conveyor which looked really good, and the final trap was the cherry of the cake (commandos on both side, no easy escape since a pinky is holding you from pressing the exit switch). 

- The BK trap felt weak, an idea to improve it would be changing some of the imps to hitscanners and adding a few pinkies/spectres on the ground (via teleportation) to put a bit of pressure to the player.

 

05

 

- At the room with the SSG, an imp from the giant crate didn't wake up.

- The RK trap is initially scary until you realize you can easily escape and camp outside, if a player decides to. I'd probably shut the door upon grabbing the key, and make a few of the revenants teleport in the green hallway. Otherwise, if you want to keep it as it is, no big deal.

 

06

 

- There's one room that has two tubes of mud and initially cacos and revs (idle), when you do something there, a bunch of imps teleport at the top of the stairs. My suggestion would be the invert their usage, the imps will appear there on first place, while the cacos and revs teleport later. 

- I'd change a few boxes of shells for rockets, since you get tons of shells and nothing for the secret RL.  

- There was one room with a blue armor I think, and the deep water effect which was cool. The downside was that the cacodemons weren't alerted until I shot them, so that's something to keep in mind.

- At the end, the wall of imps could bodyguard an archvile. It's a typical move but could work there, idk.

 

Finally, I'd echo Egg Boy about visuals, what I'd suggest is to add some distinguishable texturing here and there. Map 06 suffers from monotextured rooms, similar to each other, which in circumstances felt like "have I not been in this hallway already? huh?". On the other side, I dig how you start under the pipe you went into in the previous map. The maps don't need to be overdetailed or have all kinds of geometry as long as the gameplay is compelling. The incidental combat is solid in general, but the areas are a bit flat and samey. Take map 04 which had a lot of light variation and crates of different sizes, that was an improvement imo. Anyway, hope this helps!

 

 

[DJVCardMaster]

Bumping this thread to raise awareness of my child (project), also mentioning that I will be updating the OP with more images and things during the dev process. 

MAP07 is finished and MAP08 is halfway through.

Some maps like MAP03 are being heavily modified as they have big gameplay problems, none of the layouts will be scrapped.

A new alpha build will come later this year (hopefully) with 9 maps to play, and several fixes to previous maps. Feel free to help this project with your advices and experience, you will note most maps look outdated for my mapping style, some maps are 6 Years old. Motivation will make me finish this project sooner, for sure.

Yes, it's heavily inspired on Scythe.

Tomorrow I'll add some images. 

[DJVCardMaster]

A MAP03 change


MAP07 images


Also MAP08

[Noiser]

Hey color me interested, this looks delicious!

[DJVCardMaster]

Want health? Go to the ship's nursery, this is one of the only places on the map you'll find it.

[OpenRift]

Is that BACULUS's color palette I see? Very nice color balance, love it. Exciting stuff ;)

[DJVCardMaster]

Just now, OpenRift said:

Is that BACULUS's color palette I see? Very nice color balance, love it. Exciting stuff ;)

I think is the UDM one, if I'm not mistaken, I added it long time ago.

[Bri]

I thought this was really fun! Most issues I found other people have already brought up, so I have nothing to add. But keep going and I'll play the next maps you make.

[dei_eldren]

Played through first three maps in one sitting - loved it!  Classic dooming with interesting layouts and architecture - and yet the levels look and feel like nothing i've played before (maybe it's that palette-thing, but also some novel texture combinations, i think).  Great to see a new WAD where even the difficulty seems to be close to the original.  E1M2 was my favourite so far, as it had two outstanding areas, the one outside and the rooms in darkness.  Missed two secrets, one on both E1M2 and E1M3.  For some reason i really liked the room with a horde of Imps in E1M1, too - i had to leave it to find the SG because i suck at chainsawing them, but upon my return they had managed to thin the herd themselves.

 

And (possible not very interesting) playthrough video of E1M3 (because was first time recording on Chocolate Doom and fucked up the first two maps.)  

Spoiler

 

 

[StorkGreen]

Just played it, like a minute ago. Pistol start, all 6 maps. And I like this wad so far. Good "true vanilla" stile, even in difficulty. So, Im waiting for a new maps

 

But, it has some minor things i didn't like:

-Big ammo and health on the way (often I garbed shell box at 46+ shells, just cuz you have to grab it to go further. Its a bit annoying. I liked the idea of putting a bunch of little ammos on your way trough. You always have some shells and bullets, so you don't need to search resources. It's make maps more enjoyable, and a bit faster)

-Deaf and blind monsters (I guess, its because of blocksound lines, but often I could just open door, start shooting guys, and other demons just don't cared at all. It made some battles boring, like you cheazing fights without knowing that you do it)

 

At everything else: Good Maps, want more

[DJVCardMaster]

Comitee meeting: All this airship now belongs to the Hell's Syndicate



It's just like your regular syndicate in Argentina, but ruled by people that actually know how to read.

[DJVCardMaster]

Thinking about making an INFOPACK just like Memento Mori and Requiem (Like the old days), but written in JAVA (it sucks by the way), would it be cool?

And by the way, MAP08 is finished, here is some MAP09 sneak peek, last update before until release 0.3 with 9 maps.

[DJVCardMaster]

VERSION 0.3 IS NOW AVAILABLE:

3 NEW MAPS (See Original Post)

[dei_eldren]

Finished E1M7 on HMP on Chocolate - i don't know what happened at the end, after i had killed everyone on the arena, i couldn't access the exit-switch nor could i find anything else to do, as going back was prevented, so i had to idclip myself to the switch and finish the map.  Other than that, tough but fair, and of same quality as the earlier ones!  Love this set, but after this map am sort of dreading what you have come up with for E1M8 :D

 

 

Edited October 4, 2021 by dei_eldren

[DJVCardMaster]

4 hours ago, dei_eldren said:

Finished E1M7 on HMP on Chocolate - i don't know what happened at the end, after i had killed everyone on the arena, i couldn't access the exit-switch nor could i find anything else to do, as going back was prevented, so i had to idclip myself to the switch and finish the map.  Other than that, tough but fair, and of same quality as the earlier ones!  Love this set, but after this map am sort of dreading what you have come up with for E1M8 :D

Well, that's strange, as killing every single Arachnotron triggers via Vanilla Doom hard-coded tag 667, a platform lift by texture height, for some reason, it goes up two times, I've tested it 6 times, one of which, and casually the first, triggered the same issue of raising it two times.
This is something you might even come across with the original Doom II's MAP07 aswell, as someone said in a Youtube video of the same problem "That bug has been around forever but only when the last two arachnotrons die at the same time. In this case it looks like the stair to the exit rises twice anyway" Sadly, killing two arachnotrons at the same frame will trigger this effect, and it seems quite common to trigger it as said arachnotrons are pretty close for splash damage to cause the trick. The solution was giving another try to the final encounter from the last save. What an oversight, appologies for the bug.

By the way, I'm glad you still liked this map. And don't worry, MAP08 is more of the same in terms of gameplay.

[dei_eldren]

19 hours ago, DJVCardMaster said:

Well, that's strange, as killing every single Arachnotron triggers via Vanilla Doom hard-coded tag 667, a platform lift by texture height, for some reason, it goes up two times, I've tested it 6 times, one of which, and casually the first, triggered the same issue of raising it two times.
This is something you might even come across with the original Doom II's MAP07 aswell, as someone said in a Youtube video of the same problem "That bug has been around forever but only when the last two arachnotrons die at the same time. In this case it looks like the stair to the exit rises twice anyway" Sadly, killing two arachnotrons at the same frame will trigger this effect, and it seems quite common to trigger it as said arachnotrons are pretty close for splash damage to cause the trick. The solution was giving another try to the final encounter from the last save. What an oversight, appologies for the bug.

By the way, I'm glad you still liked this map. And don't worry, MAP08 is more of the same in terms of gameplay.

 

That was really bad luck, then!

 

As for MAP08, you're right - it was a good boss-map!  Not too extreme on HMP.  And god fuck, i saw your comment on the video.. apologies for it.  i simply forgot to close the DOS-prompt window and didn't check at all assuming the video was fine :/ 

 

EDIT: Video for E1M9 up - nothing to see, map works, plays and looks like a charm.

Spoiler

 

 

Edited October 5, 2021 by dei_eldren : e1m9

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP10 finished! The next alpha update will be at 15 maps. I'm optimistic about having one more map before new year's eve.