1995 called. They want their Doom levels back.

[tamara mochaccina]

aw man it looks so sad
 

give it it's wheels back

[Zylinderkatze]

It used to be boring.. but now it's a little better:

I decided against another intricate maze (or anything even remotely close).

It stayed a simple "walk around this corner"-thing but it's a little more smooth.

 

Also there's enemies now.

 

Also also, most of the rest is done as well but I'm not showing :3

 

Also also.. also, there is a "one-two-punch" kind of way to get to the passageway that leads to the weapon.. but I will likely change the way it fires off. One of the steps is the good old "shooting a wall that looks like it's been shot before" but I'm using the trick where it triggers a "raise floor to lowest ceiling" while the lowest ceiling is lower than the floor (causing an instant drop). I like the idea but in the situation it's way too abrupt. Because you're looking right at it as it happens.. and it looks too much like a glitch that way.

 

But it looks a lot better in general now. Like.. all of it.

 

As in.. there's actually only the test-playing left to find the last kinks (the unwanted kind) and balance out the monsters.

 

I do expect to get caught up on a detail or two, though.. so.. this is only a soft "hey maybe it'll get done this weekend" xD

 

More soon!

[Cubefleet]

21 hours ago, Zylinderkatze said:

 

I'm contemplating whether to make it "hover" (too futuristic?) or "track wheel" it. Round wheels are a bit too.. undoable, in my perception.

Might I suggest tank treads? I mean, you probably can't get it to look like there are wheels within the treads, but you  might be able to get a rough "trapezoid" shape that slopes downward with small enough sectors that gives the impression of treads.

The fallen off wheel concept looks pretty good too. I eagerly await the next bit of work, however or whatever it ends up being. :D

[Zylinderkatze]

On 3/7/2020 at 8:38 AM, Cubefleet said:

Might I suggest tank treads?

 

You might! And that is actually what I meant with the "track wheel".. I guess my vocabulary failed me.. it does that at the weirdest of times. I did mean tracks. But at the moment the forklift is still stored outside of the active level because the spot where I would put it already has too many lines. Too much detail. I dialed it back down (also for the "vanilla feel") but I will probably not put the forklift in this level. 

 

I might add it to the next one, though. the E1M2, during the reworking ^^

 

Speaking of E1M2, that is actually going to come up soon.. because E1M1 is closer to completion than ever.

 

By which I mean that I am almost a little too excited about soon being able to show it to you all.

 

More on that in my next post :)

[Zylinderkatze]

Remember this drawing? Yeah. Me neither xD

 

I mean.. no, wait. I mean it's part of the level now. Check it out:

It does feel like someone with a visual level editor wants to show off. But that's the truth, anyways xD

[Zylinderkatze]

Here's the update I hinted at:

 

I could publish the level right now. It's ..finishable.

 

Currently the room in which you switch off the drill instead has the "end level" action assigned to it.

 

Meaning you would *have* to get the yellow key (because that's how you get in there).

 

That's not the goal, though. My initial plan was (and still is) that the whole bit with the yellow key is optional and all it gets you is the plasma rifle.

 

The bit that is currently missing is where you escape from the rig. Other than that the level already feels done, to me. Which was my goal for this weekend xD

 

I am very reluctant to publish this as an "alpha", though. because it will still change a lot.

 

What do people usually do? Get it to their own definition of "done"? Or iterate over it with some willing and keen-eyed play testers?

 

Also here's another screenshot because why not.

 

Interim Conclusion: I am happy with how this is going and I hope you will be, too.

[Zylinderkatze]

Might this be the last update before publishing?

Hard Maybe.

 

I know this looks like a big mess but it's the last bits and pieces of relaying the rig outlines from the upper levels to the ground (sea) level. The missing textures are there because those are just copied geometry to get the outlines right. Once I have them adjusted (like the "GRAY7" in the foreground), the blocks will be removed again.

 

Also, I am very much in favor of leaving it at the "the console next to the drill ends the level" solution from last night because otherwise this will take another 2 days on top, unnecessarily. The plan was (and still is, because that's harking back to the 1997 version of this level) that you make your way back down.. and then take a different vessel and (implied) use it to get to the shore. I might still add that at a later point.. but not for version 1.0.

 

I can almost feel the file upload.

Edited March 9, 2020 by Zylinderkatze

[Zylinderkatze]

Good news:

The Transfer of the upper level architecture is done, albeit rudimentary:

 

Bad News:

Spoiler

 

Not rudimentary enough ^^;

 

 

I'll finish this tomorrow.

[tamara mochaccina]

red

[Zylinderkatze]

45 minutes ago, tam said:

red

red D:

 

yeah. too much detail for vanilla. I cleaned it up a bit but there's more to do still.

(there was more cleaning up but I didn't do another viewing run after this)

 

HOWEVER! There's an automap-cleaned up buncha lines now.

Whee!

 

Once the base level is cleaned up, this puppy(?) will go online. 

 

But it's almost 1 am here so.. not now.

[Cubefleet]

19 hours ago, Zylinderkatze said:

 

Once the base level is cleaned up, this puppy(?) will go online. 

 

 

I'm ready to play it :D

[Zylinderkatze]

On 3/11/2020 at 8:00 PM, Cubefleet said:

 

I'm ready to play it :D

 

And playing it you shall.

 

M1-campare.zip (externally hosted now)

 

Let's go!

"For 2020, press one."

 

"For 1997, press two."

 

Meaning:

E1M1 = 2020 version, fresh out the oven

E2M1 = untouched by any editor since 1997*

 

*(aside from moving it from E1M1 to E2M1)

 

Disclaimer: This is definitely just a beta. I just playtested it again and saw that the top level now does have some HOM effect / visplane overflow that seems to be caused by one of those last minute changes that "probably won't break anything". Also, there's a "STARGR1" texture in one spot where I meant to put a "DOORTRAK". 

 

Also: A bug? One spot where I had previously changed a texture from "Upper unpegged" to normal.. is now again unpegged. It seems to me like Ultimate Doom Builder forgets some changes I make to the wad, every now and then.. Meaning, this wasn't the only case where that happened in this level. 

 

However, I don't want to make you guys wait any longer.. so.. what are you waiting for?

Edited June 5, 2020 by Zylinderkatze

[ketmar]

so claustrophobic. i guess that is intentional. ;-)

 

both maps are really different, and i don't even know which one i like more. maybe a third version, using Boom silent teleports? ;-)

[Zylinderkatze]

13 minutes ago, ketmar said:

silent teleports

 

Oh yeah. I was heavily considering this (the silent teleports) when I made the new version. especially with the several levels. But my "keep it vanilla" determination was just a smidge stronger. It's very likely that I'll return to "E1M1 2020" to try out what can be done to add to it without taking away any integrity.

 

I'm just curious what you guys think. I mean I'm happy with it but I value input and criticism.

 

And yes, the claustrophobia is intentional. I do have a tendency to build inside rooms a little too small but in this case it was a conscious decision. Even though the living quarters could be a little bigger. That bit feels a bit too crammed. Also, I was thinking "bunk beds would be more realistic" or maybe even shared sleeping halls.. but then that would've strayed from the 1997 version.

 

Not that I kept much else from the 1997 version xD

 

For now it's only an upload stairght to this forum.. I prepared everything for an FTP upload to /idgames last night but it still feels too "beta" for that. I might just wait until all the levels are.. adjusted.

 

I just hope that no one considers playing the levels (or staying up to date on this thread) a waste of their time, now that it's out :)

[ketmar]

16 minutes ago, Zylinderkatze said:

I just hope that no one considers playing the levels (or staying up to date on this thread) a waste of their time

no, definitely not a waste of time! actually, i'd like to see at least a minisode, where we're going from claustrophobic ship to some bigger building, and to open spaces. i love techbase-style maps.

 

as for the longer reply... i only did a quick run of both maps, so i have nothing else to say for now. except that i will definitely play both maps again when i finish some coding tasks for my sourceport (yay, i managed to inject the mention of it one more time!).

[Zylinderkatze]

39 minutes ago, ketmar said:

my sourceport

You mean k8vavoom? THE k8vavoom?

 

Hehe.

 

Thanks for the encouragement :) The original thing was a whole episode, where E1M2 is vastly different to E1M1 (mainly a canyon, leading up and into E1M3). E1M3 is then again a complex that's a little bit of a mix of themes and one of the two levels that I would hardly touch at all, during the renewal.

 

Basically, E1M1 is the only one I wanted to remake.. E1M2 will require some renewal, E1M3 hardly any. 

E1M4 is widely rather playable with a lot of surprises but there's kind of a boss fight which unfairly requires you to know that you can (and should) just run in.

E1M5 is one of the best levels that I made in 1997 and I think I'll leave it "as is".

E1M6 is another candidate for heavy retouching, sadly. It's a "concept" level that isn't much fun.

E1M7, sadly, is another "meant well, done crappily" concept level with 4 different "zones". I'll spin the reworking in a way that will feel less like a checklist.

E1M8 is actually a "concept" level that works faily well for a change. You have to start a bunch of infighting.

E1M9 is the level where I'm the saddest that I lost my 2010 progress of retouching.. because the final structure in it (50% of the level) had been redone completely and that is now lost. I'm not sure if I can fully recall all the changes I had done to it.. but I'll cross that bridge when I get to it.

[ketmar]

6 minutes ago, Zylinderkatze said:

You mean k8vavoom? THE k8vavoom?

yep. (more mentions, even more of them!)

[Zylinderkatze]

I'm curious to watch people play it, btw, if you're into recording / demo-ing yourself playing levels ^^

[Zylinderkatze]

[[END OF E1M1]] (for now)

 

8<--------------------------------------- cut here

 

[[BEGINNING OF E1M2]]

 

Just to show you that I dove right back in.. and am already dealing with the same "engine punishment for too much detail" shenanigans. I present thee: The.. overflowing starting zone of the new E1M2. 

 

Time to dial it back a bit xD

Edited March 15, 2020 by Zylinderkatze

[Zylinderkatze]

E1M2 Update (slow crawl):

The starting room is done for the most part: some decluttering = vanilla can handle the detail.

 

Then you leave the first structure and.. where are all those shots coming from?

 

They are coming from some imps from the old level architecture! ^^ And that actually works nicely. The added distance at which the fireballs come in makes you slowly more and more aware of impending.. what was the word? :D

 

But a lot of this will still change so.. enjoy the view for now xD

[Zylinderkatze]

No good harbor without a lighthouse!

 

Also, bigger screenshots ^^

[tamara mochaccina]

Oh my god that's actually a really good-looking lighthouse, I love it

[Zylinderkatze]

2 hours ago, tam said:

Oh my god that's actually a really good-looking lighthouse, I love it

 

Aww. yay!

 

I'm glad you like it ^^ I only drew a few lines. It's the (classic) engine that does all the work making it look awesome :)

 

You'll even be able to go inside and see what powers it x3

[Zylinderkatze]

Another update, though slightly less positive or productive:

 

It's news to no one that life has changed quite a bit for people during the last few weeks and I'm no exception. It's nowhere near as extreme or harrowing for me (yet?) as it must be for many others, though. I'm not even going to get into the subject, there's tons of other posts about it ^^; I just wanted to update this thread about the level making / retouching progress. Because I've been working from home for a little over a week now and that has had a dampening impact on my creativity.

 

Way back in the day I couldn't wait to get home from school to write Doom levels. Nowadays, even though the names have changed (strike "school", put "work"), the concept stands: I seem to thrive when there's a break between the place where I spend my day (gathering ideas and letting them "fester" on the mental back burner) and the place where I actually turn my thoughts into (digital) reality.

 

Now, those places are the same- and there's no change of scenery. There's no commute home during which I imagine what I'll start with. There's no "having to wait for hours before I get home again to unleash my creativity", allowing it to build up. Because I'm always home.

 

No, this is not a "woe is me".. I know I have it good, better than many. I'm just putting the information out there, regarding this project. Things will be slower on my end. 

 

Stay safe, everyone <3

Edited March 17, 2020 by Zylinderkatze

[tamara mochaccina]

Aw, man. Good luck with that, being uninspired can be a bitch, specially when creating is the only thing you can do. Best of wishes to you <3

[Zylinderkatze]

Hey, that's cheating!

Yeah, it's an in-editor screenshot..

 

But it's a nice view from an old part of the level (the room the "camera" is in) towards the new architecture (albeit not fully fleshed out yet).

I just liked the angle and thought I'd share it :)

 

Let's hope it stays vanilla-manageable.

 

 

Secondly!

 

 

A question to the editors out there

(who are more well versed than I, visually and aesthetically)

 

Back in 1997, most of the walls of the canyon of my E1M2 used to be "ASHWALL". Not only because I'm lame and figured it's a texture that looks good enough without aligning.. but also because I actually like the texture ^^;

 

But now I am contemplating switching to "SP_ROCK1" because that was kind of my original concept before I gave up on it~

 

The problem is: which "OG" Doom floor texture / flat looks good with it?

 

I assembled a quick cue card with the vanilla "rock-like" flats but none of them really "vibe" with me.

Maybe I'll go with something entirely un-rocky. Any suggestions?

Not that I'll take you up on it.. I just need to vent xD

 

I might not be ready to rock.

[ketmar]

8 hours ago, Zylinderkatze said:

The problem is: which "OG" Doom floor texture / flat looks good with it?

the white one, i think.

[Zylinderkatze]

15 hours ago, tam said:

Aw, man. Good luck with that, being uninspired can be a bitch, specially when creating is the only thing you can do. Best of wishes to you <3

 

Thank you, to you too :)

 

I got back into it a little bit last night (see screenshot in the last post) but I think the mixture of monotony and dread (what a great name for a 90's industrial metal band..?) is still dampening things regardless. And yes, that was exaggerated for emphasis. I'm doing fine. I'm a gamer. I'm used to self-isolation xD

 

This, too, shall pass.

[Zylinderkatze]

19 minutes ago, ketmar said:

the white one, i think.

Thanks for the input! I agree- especially in that screenshot, at a medium distance.

 

 

There's a chance I'll just stick with / go back to ASHWALL, for sentimental reasons, though. I am not yet sure, so I am not spending too much time on aligning those "natural wall" parts yet. I did, however, add some height falloff to some of them, for a more natural look. I'll share the results when they are shareable ^^

 

[Zylinderkatze]

It's an interior! Are you excited? I'm excited.

It's on the inside of the grey building that you can just barely see on the left side of this image.

 

Now I just need to add some sensible light and accents because it's too dark (and gray).

 

Or maybe some Light Amplification Goggles xD