Wolf 3d would using a map be cheating

[SYS]

You must suffer wandering aimlessly around samey texture 90 degree rooms. You can kinda grasp a feel for the rectangles and textures. If that doesn't appeal to you then just use the map. 

 

It's ok, I won't tell anybody. The Videogame police don't need to know. 

[Avoozl]

It's not like the map points out where the secrets are until you actually find them

[Lila Feuer]

I think the first episode is the biggest offender of the uniformly same-y look, it is largely dominated by grey stone, but the other episodes aren't this bad imo.

[DNSKILL5]

@Lila Feuer Ture. I also believe the first episode is the oldest episode of the entire game. They made the shareware version first and I'm pretty sure many of the levels were initially used for when the game still had some of the stealth elements. 

 

Also, fun facts about Wolf 3D since we are talking about Wolf 3D but I don't want to get too OT so I'll make it a spoiler:

Spoiler

 

There was meant to be a 5th weapon in Wolfenstein 3D. There is some mention of it in the source code. There's also another firing mode option in the code that works very similarly to how the pistol in Doom fires (holding down fire loops the animation), but back to the unused weapon... Years ago I emailed John Romero with a few Wolf 3D related questions and he revealed to me that the 5th weapon was a landmine! Like the German "S-Mine" from WWII. It was in the game for a while but was removed because "it didn't fit with the rest of the guns" as Romero put it. There is actually some unused HUD art that shows an icon for this weapon, so it was definitely in the game at one point and it seems it was cut late in development. 

 

There was also at one point the ability to "stick up" enemies at gun point and/or make them give up plus the ability to drag dead bodies and swap outfits. Not sure how much of that was actually coded in but there is some leftover code that mentions the object that would've displayed if you took a dead guard's clothes, but I think these features were cut before they transitioned to VGA art over EGA. There has been some artwork released showing the EGA guards in the surrender pose, as well as the "nude" guard sprite.

 

If you look at the unused HUD (I can't find it right this minute) that has been online for some time now there's several different icons. Looks like some are for controlling how the player opens a door and looks like they were going to make it so you could open the door slower to make it not make as much sound at one point, and there are images that seem to show a carpet or rug, which most likely was to look for hidden floor objects or set bombs. I assume those were never actually implemented though.

 

Also, guards initially reacted if they "see" a dead guard. I guess they removed it for one reason or another after they removed the stealth element, but this is something that can also be added back into the game fairly easily due to the source code, and it seems this feature was also cut pretty late. I feel it was cut to save memory because there's no real instance where this would make much of a difference in the final game, but I assume patrolling guards could've become aware of bodies you have hidden.

 

Wolf 3D really is a marvel and is really why Doom came to be in the first place. They made the game very quickly. They switched from EGA to VGA within a year, and to think the very people that originally published the game couldn't figure out how to do engine swapping properly for 14 years!

[Doomkid]

Since I adore Wolf3D and it's probably on-topic enough, for those curious about the VGA version of Wolf that Gerolf has mentioned, here's a link with some fascinating info. Any Wolf fans will probably enjoy rummaging through this!

 

https://tcrf.net/Wolfenstein_3D_(DOS)

https://tcrf.net/Proto:Wolfenstein_3D_(DOS)/Wall_Texture_Differences

Edited August 24, 2020 by Doomkid

[xvertigox]

ECWolf automap makes wolf3d playable for me. I fucking hate getting lost in games and this fixes the issue. 'Cheating' is a meaningless term in this context - purists will say you are cheating, others will say you aren't. The real question is who gives a shit if you're having fun?

 

4 hours ago, Doomkid said:

https://tcrf.net/Proto:Wolfenstein_3D_(DOS)/Wall_Texture_Differences

 

God, I love seeing changes from pre-release to retail.

 

Edit: oh yeah https://tcrf.net/Proto:Wolfenstein_3D_(DOS)/Sprite_Differences

[unerxai]

I don't see an automap as cheating, it only draws the places you've been. Personally, I prefer to play without it. Part of the fun in Wolf3D is keeping track in my mind of the places I've been. Being aware of the different paths and realizing how they connect together. It makes the game more immersive for me.