[BOOM] New *very* nonlinear map - CARBON DIOXIDE - now on idgames!

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

It's a very non-linear sandboxy map with multiple ways to progress and some optional areas.
The map has been playtested by @HAK3180 . His feedback was positive but I still implemented a few changes after seeing him play.
I consider the map as complete, however due to the nature of the map (a lot of routes you can take in different order) I would really appreciate seeing more people having a go at it and I may tweak it further.
So if anyone fancy recording a video playthrough, or a demo, or just write a few words of feedback after playing it, I would be really grateful!

 

IWAD: Doom2
Map: MAP01
Compatibility: Boom
Tested with: prBoom+ 2.5.1.4 and GZDoom 4.4.2
All difficulties implemented.
Length: 30 minutes - 1 hour depending how much you explore
Gameplay: no jump, no crouch, freelook not required (tested without)

 

Download links:

http://jaceknowak.net/storage/doom/carbon.zip

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/a-c/carbon

 

Some screenshots (monsters removed to avoid spoilers):

 

 

 

 

Enjoy!

Edited October 4, 2020 by jacnowak

[Walter confetti]

Railways looks pretty cool!

[HAK3180]

Just gonna say that this map's worst feature is easily visual appeal. Those screenshots look borderline "my first wad," sorry to say, but this thing is waaaaay more fun than that.

[Hypnotik]

Tested on Woof! , ran fine. looks great! enjoyed the spacious areas, plenty of room to maneuver the hordes of enemies.

While I was playing it, it reminded me of map13 downtown a little bit haha.

Nice work! make more!!

[Biodegradable]

I usually find myself pretty overwhelmed with big, fuck off maps but it thankfully didn't take me long to get my bearings unlike some others I've tried to tackle and I had a lot of fun. Good sense of progression and challenge without being a jerk hehe good layout and use of textures and everything flowed together pretty well. Really good work, man.

 

 

 

[SilverMiner]

Waiting for Sulfur Trioxide

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Thanks everyone for your feedback!

Thanks @Biodegradable for your video, it's always great to watch those :)

 

@HAK3180 - yeah, I suck at visuals... I think I made a mistake making screenshots on GZDoom, hardware mode and hi-res. I think the level fits better with more old school ports, software renderer, etc.

 

Question to people who played: has anyone found the BFG? (without looking it up in the editor of course :P) I have no idea whether the secret is easy to find or not. I wanted to make the way to it visible to the observant player but also not completely trivial. But it's hard to balance as of course I KNOW where it is so I see the way clearly, as opposed to a player that doesn't know ;)

[Veinen]

Here's my FDA, played with glboom+ cl9. Took me about 40 minutes to finish but I do explore almost everything.

 

Had a lot of fun playing, long map but it's engaging and surprisingly not that confusing despite the sandboxy layout. You can kind of lose the sense of direction in the underground facility, which is by far the longest side path in the map, but it's nothing the automap couldn't handle. Overall difficulty felt pretty low given the abundance of healing items, but I did find 5/6 secrets which were mostly extra health. Ammo is also very abundant, in the later stages of the map I was fully stocked on shells and skipped many shellboxes, also had a lot of leftover rockets in the end. Given these and the spacious areas, I feel like perhaps the map could have been a little bit harder or meatier overall. The outdoor sandbox would have been a great opportunity to have a big monster horde spawn in (e.g. when picking up one the keys) to pressure the player a bit more. And hell, how about throw in good old Cacoswarm at some point, you can never go wrong with that!

 

Didn't mind this visually either, it's not bad or anything just very simplistic and low-detail. I'd describe it as some kind of a Hell Revealed/Kama Sutra hybrid. As for the BFG secret, that was the only secret I missed. I tried to look for it a bit at the end of the demo but couldn't find the way. It doesn't really look like a super cryptic secret in the editor though, so I guess I was just not very observant.

 

TLDR; nice map, good work!

 

FDA_carbon.zip

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Thanks @Veinen for your demo - it was very fun to watch!

And thanks for your detailed feedback!

You are a really skilled player, I can see how the map was easy for you!

 

As for the BFG secret, I think it's just too dark on where the entrance is... and the lines are also marked "don't show on automap". I think I will increase brightness a bit there and show at least one line more on the automap to make it more noticeable. I don't want everyone to find it instantly but the fact that you didn't find it despite looking (and you found all the other secrets easily) suggests that it's too hidden.

[Kachakeño]

I've tested on LZDoom 3.86a. No lag nor optimization issues found on this map mod. Just happens using gameplay mods like PB, EOA and ZRift, but doesn't make it unplayable at all.

[TheOrganGrinder]

I had a lot of fun with this one, though I ended up taking the blue key route first which I suspect is probably the path that results in the highest difficult - it's the longest leg of the map and feels like the one with the most limited weapons and supplies, especially when working through it counter-clockwise, starting from the caves and emerging near the train tracks.

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

@Kachakeño good to know, I haven't used LZDoom so thanks for checking that one. I used both prBoom+ (software rendering) and GZDoom (hardware rendering) for testing. I don't expect performance issues though, the map has large outdoor areas but is pretty low detail.

 

@TheOrganGrinder yes, I think that taking blue key route first (and in the direction you took it) results in highest difficulty. It's kind of intended really that you get slighly different difficulty depending which route you take. Still, it shouldn't be drastic difference and you said that you had fun so it looks that you coped with the opposition :) Thanks for the feedback!

[Caleb13]

I tried it on UV in GZdoom, but I couldn't get 100% kills, archvile and mastermind from the two north monster closets never teleported out. In fact, the mastermind never even became active.

[Salmon]

I had a really good time with this. I played on UV and got 100% kills, 5/6 secrets, and missed like 2 or 3 items I think.  One of the secrets I got was the BFG--I didn't the dark hallway was too hard to spot but I was pretty actively secret hunting the whole time.

 

Good use of sightlines, the only time I ever felt "lost" was searching for the yellow key and it was just because I literally didn't see an obvious bend in a corner.  Quite enjoyed the ambush/arena with the revenants and chaingunners in that southeastern slime pit area.  Nice reveal for the final area and a fun fight as well (I had the BFG and I still died once to a rocket.)

 

I really liked the exploration overall.  It was nice early on to realize it was going to be a good map and just enjoy it!

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

@Caleb13 - thanks for the report, I wrote you a private message (to avoid spoilers here) and I will try to find the cause why these two monsters didn't teleport in for you

 

@Salmon - thanks for positive feedback, glad you enjoyed the map!

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

I updated the map (the changes are pretty small) and uploaded it to idgames - it has already been indexed so it can be also downloaded from there.

Thanks again everyone for all the feedback!

Still, if someone wants to record a demo or a video - it's still very much appreciated, I always like to see how different people approach the map :)
 

[Suitepee]

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/763568286

 

My playthrough starts at 6:05.

[Sigh Man Vanz]

Just finished playing through "Carbon", really enjoyed it! I love non-linear maps, and this was a very well-done example of one. I agree with the commenter above who compared it to "Industrial Zone" of D2. There were a couple of occasions where I was stuck and unsure what to do next, but eventually I figured it out. Never did get my hands on the BFG. Really enjoyed the "twist" ending, if you want to call it that. Well done!