Boaty McBoatwad - /idgames

[Egg Boy]

@jerrysheppy Fun map, the boat may be one of my favorites in the wad. The rest of the map is your standard "hell base" but that's not a bad thing. Though, the barons and archvile encounter after opening the yellow bars was underwhelming, since there are monster blocking lines after the bars, making it so you can cheese those guys.

 

[jerrysheppy]

1 minute ago, Egg Boy said:

@jerrysheppy Fun map, the boat may be one of my favorites in the wad. The rest of the map is your standard "hell base" but that's not a bad thing. Though, the barons and archvile encounter after opening the yellow bars was underwhelming, since there are monster blocking lines after the bars, making it so you can cheese those guys.

  

 

That was fast!  What difficulty did you play it on?

 

I'm actually not sure why I set those lines as monster blocking since there are bars there anyway.  If I do another update after feedback, I'll probably take that out.

[Egg Boy]

1 minute ago, jerrysheppy said:

 

That was fast!  What difficulty did you play it on?

 

I'm actually not sure why I set those lines as monster blocking since there are bars there anyway.  If I do another update after feedback, I'll probably take that out.

UV. Also, the cyberdemon encounter is a bit tedious, I'd give the player a few more cells, and less shells, SSGing a cyberdemon in an area where you have plenty of space to maneuver and dodge, isn't really thrilling imo.

[jerrysheppy]

Also noted, thanks!  I have two more days so I'll probably see if anyone else offers feedback, then upload a final version.

 

edit: Actually, you know what, I'll just go ahead and throw up a version with these minor tweaks so people can be testing it.

 

Changes:

 

-The boat now rides slightly higher in the lava (I decided it looked too low)

-Removed monster blocking lines

-Some shell boxes in the big fight changed to bulk cells

 

 

 

Edit: Go here for the most recent version https://www.doomworld.com/forum/post/2224707

Edited November 30, 2020 by jerrysheppy

[DFF]

@jerrysheppy Definitely a fun map, the steamboat is very cute and well done. the crypt was nice and showed off some creative design choices, overall pretty good. I played the R1 and only found a couple more things:

• Linedef 739 and 744 are misaligned (back wall of steamboat secret).
• Sector 461 secret is rather difficult to access if you have completed the cyberdemon fight (as the bridge is what lowers), the only way to access this secret afterwards is to use SR50 to make the jump. Not sure the best remedy here, but maybe cutting the lowered sector (460) into 2 sectors, with one being a lift, and the other the same lowering floor but all the way down to the level of the cyberdemon pit (thus allowing lift access to the ground) could be useful.
• not sure how I feel about the one-attempt secret, and that being only a soulsphere. The setup and clues are very clever when I looked into it further, a fun puzzle. But part of me feels it should have more attempts or be more rewarding. However this one is purely opinion/preference and does not need to be changed.

[Walter confetti]

What a cute old time boat @jerrysheppy!

[Biodegradable]

Really fun map, Jerry! I think this is one of my personal favourites so far. :^) It looks great visually, the combat is fun, design and layout is terrific and even though it doesn't focus on the boat so much, the boat itself is impeccably well-made. Just lovely work all around.

 

 

 

[jerrysheppy]

9 hours ago, DFF said:

@jerrysheppy Definitely a fun map, the steamboat is very cute and well done. the crypt was nice and showed off some creative design choices, overall pretty good. I played the R1 and only found a couple more things:

• Linedef 739 and 744 are misaligned (back wall of steamboat secret).
• Sector 461 secret is rather difficult to access if you have completed the cyberdemon fight (as the bridge is what lowers), the only way to access this secret afterwards is to use SR50 to make the jump. Not sure the best remedy here, but maybe cutting the lowered sector (460) into 2 sectors, with one being a lift, and the other the same lowering floor but all the way down to the level of the cyberdemon pit (thus allowing lift access to the ground) could be useful.
• not sure how I feel about the one-attempt secret, and that being only a soulsphere. The setup and clues are very clever when I looked into it further, a fun puzzle. But part of me feels it should have more attempts or be more rewarding. However this one is purely opinion/preference and does not need to be changed.

 

Fixed the misalignment, thanks!

 

Spoiler

The 461 secret was intentional that way; it's supposed to be another "missable" secret.  But also I reason that, if the player finds it at all, it's more likely going to be on their first visit, before they lower the platform, as after they've gotten the blue key there's no reason to return to that particular room-- on the second swing through the area, their task is on the northern side, behind the yellow bars. 

 

Obviously it's possible to miss it the first time and then discover it later (you apparently did, after all!) but again, as I said, it's intended as a potentially missable/pseudo-timegated secret.  And it's not even 100% locked-out-- if the player can SR50 to it, more power to them, say I.  

 

The soul sphere is, as you say, the more obvious of the two missable secrets.  I wanted to make something like TNT MAP30, but without the lethal consequences.  The player doesn't lose anything for getting it wrong (or missing it altogether); they just don't gain anything.  Not sure how I would set things up to give the player an additional attempt within the confines of Boom.

 

Both of the missable secrets are, of course, complete luxuries even on UV, which is one of the reasons why I feel okay about having them that way.  In particular the soul sphere is a nice reward for being clever, without being too significant a buff for the player.  (In fact, that's why I wouldn't want to have it be more rewarding.)

 

[jerrysheppy]

@Biodegradable Just now got the chance to watch your video—thank you!!  It looks like you found it to be action-packed without ever being frustratingly difficult, which is, of course, what I was going for.

 

I'm assuming (hoping?) that the bug you seemed to encounter while saving is nothing to do with my map.  If it is, I have no idea what it could be, but hopefully someone will tell me if so.

 

I'll probably release one more version on the 30th with a few more adjustments (spoiler: I tweaked the height of the boat deck yet again) and then if there are any remaining bugs/misalignments, hopefully Scotty will allow those to be fixed in postproduction, as it were.

[muumi]

Since mapping is fun, I made second map!

 

Download:
Ferrytale, tight quite actionpacked level with some more sector sculpting.

Midi is That's Mega, Man! by Jimmy

[Ar_e_en]

It's almost time! Get your maps in people!

 

 

Also - Has @Scotty decided what midi tracks should be given to the maps with no music yet? Or is that something that he will decide after the 30th? @ABearInThaWoods has played my maps with custom tracks that he added himself, maybe we should go with those? I think those tracks fit nicely with the maps!

Edited November 29, 2020 by Ar_e_en : forgot to ask a question

[Biodegradable]

3 hours ago, jerrysheppy said:

It looks like you found it to be action-packed without ever being frustratingly difficult, which is, of course, what I was going for.

 

Yeah, the combat was all awesome. You very much achieved the metric you were aiming for and I had a blast.

 

3 hours ago, jerrysheppy said:

I'm assuming (hoping?) that the bug you seemed to encounter while saving is nothing to do with my map.

 

Methinks that was just GZDoom having a brain-fart, fam. Probably nothing to worry about less some other people encounter the same issue across multiple source-ports but I doubt it.

[ABearInThaWoods]

@Ar_e_en I'll provide the midis that I used for your maps. For my own entertainment I actually changed the music for my own copy of your first map to this song (Gangplank Galleon from Donkey Kong Country) The song I selected for RealmOfStarsAndGoop was this song (The Thaumaturge by James Paddock) 

 

Feedback for the updated and new maps is on the way with videos. I'll probably have it done before I go to bed in a few hours.

[DFF]

@muumi Ferrytale was a fun and very creative map! lots of creative elements (each progressive tugboat had some memorable elements to it) and tight gameplay, sometimes a bit hectic but doable. UV 100% kills.

• Fighting seems a bit ammo starved for majority of the map, and the berserk secret is almost a must to gain any meaningful reserves. I'd maybe suggest adding like 4-16 shells throughout the areas before the red key, maybe by the SSG pickup
• sectors 46, 55, 57, and 59 are the wrong texture (under the crane lure). I think this should be OMETLB04 but is ONDSTM01
• The arch-vile at the exit is kinda a pain considering all I had was bullets and no pillars to hide behind (used rockets and SSG on fight). I'm maybe recommend changing this to a baron or HK if the main purpose is to block rushing the exit (i see on easy it is a baron, maybe better to have for all difficulties).

[jerrysheppy]

I tried out a last-minute cosmetic change to my steamboat and I'd be curious to hear what you folks think, especially if you've already played my map.

 

Spoiler

Basically, I covered the rear "porch" deck with an overhang, like I already have along the sides.

 

 

Original for comparison:

 

I think it looks better, but I'd welcome a second or third opinion.

 

 

[Egg Boy]

heya, I fixed the softlock in my map. No other major changes were made.

 

pestilentplagueship.zip

 

 

[ABearInThaWoods]

Alright, this was a good batch of maps. Well done friends, here we go.

 

DFF_TheOrca by @DFF

Spoiler

This was a really nice map and the first submarine we've seen for this event. It's a big boat for sure but there isn't much room to fight, so you need to mind your corners and make sure you have an escape route if things turn bad. There's a lot to discover on this boat and a few nasty traps ready to take you out. Getting up close and personal with the heavier demons can be really intimidating without being cheap. It's all uncomfortable without being overly restricting. The balance you've struck here is really exceptional.

 

The secrets are very well hidden. I genuinely had trouble finding the Invulnerability so I'll admit that I put the map in Slade to find out where it was. You defeated me this time. Though I didn't really need it to complete the map with 100% kills. Getting that UVMax is what I'm going for though. The yellow key was a really nice touch, using the locked quarters as incentive to seek the key out. Each room has a genuinely useful item as well. I really appreciate secrets that mean something and getting the SSG, Berserk, and Backpack are really helpful here. 

 

I really liked the little touches to the environment too. The usage of glass textures, the massive fish outside of the captain's cabin, and the nearly seamless warp between the interior to the deck of the ship. The two quad Hell Knight fights were great examples of how to take the same enemies but create very different fights. Very nice work.

 

 

 

js-susie and js-susie-r1 by @jerrysheppy

Spoiler

Despite being a boat made mostly out of wood, the Js Susie manages to putt along in the lava without issues. Docked in front of a demon ruin this whole map is a very interesting and fun challenge. The boat itself was very nicely crafted and in a very unique style compared to the others. Having a steamboat immediately gives me an idea of a wad centered around piloting your boat from stop to stop down a river. You leave the boat at the start of the map, venture into different bases, ruins, sights, and horrors, then return to the boat at the end. Kind of like how Going Down works with the elevator. 

 

Anyway the gameplay was very interesting. The enemy selection was good, I felt like you could have added more Pinkies at the gate to really create the feeling that you've unlocked some ancient evil that should have stayed closed. Having a pretty heavy wave of low level demons come rushing out would be a nice way to panic the player a bit. Especially since the start of the map is pretty restricted with it's ammo. I like the two Archvile fights in particular, things can go really badly really quickly if you don't focus on them right away. This map has plenty of heart pounding events. The Cyberdemon fight was good, especially in the updated version. Less of a focus on the SSG makes the fight more interesting. The real gem of the map is the pillar room. I noticed on my first playthrough the layout of the pillars and how the secret shut when you use the wrong one. Figuring out the puzzle was mostly hit and miss by reload the map over and over again but seeing how it was foreshadowed in the hallway was a good call. I'm admittedly an inpatient idiot, so actually thinking goes against my nature.

 

Yet as well as the supercharge secret was foreshadowed, the blue key secret was not signaled well at all. You wouldn't really know it was there unless you were just pressing every random wall on the map. Speaking on the pillar room secret, I think it would be more worthwhile to have a Megasphere there instead. It would make the challenge of going for it totally worth it. I wonder if you could increase the difficulty of the secret by adding a second door to the room that only triggers if you kill the Revenants or if this map were placed as map #7 you could use the hardcoded Mancubus trigger to close the door if you kill it. So you would have to walk across the correct pillars and avoid killing the Mancubus to gain access to the secret. Just a possible suggestion.

 

I really enjoyed the map aside from that. I would have enjoyed a non Doom2 midi with it. I would actually suggest using this midi since I feel it fits the feel of the map.

 

 

 

Ferrytale by @muumi

Spoiler

Good lord this one was brutal to me but I loved every second of it. A challenging map with very little space to operate in, it's a different take on a boat map. It's like a boat train. I appreciated that you allowed us to jump into the water without being punished with damaging floor. It helps open up the fight if needed but doesn't help you advance through the map. That starting platform was tough to solve. Limited ammo with a couple heavy demons and hit scanners. A true recipe for disaster. 

 

There's isn't too much for me to comment on here. The map was challenging and unrelenting. I really liked the touch of dropping the center platform after grabbing the keycard, while only leaving  toxic water in its place. Each platform was memorable in it's own way, which is a really great touch. The huge dead Dopefish (maybe?) carcass, the previously mentioned poison container cart, and the sauna cart. There is a lot of personality that shines through in this map.

 

The ending sequence was really fun to play. The wave of baddies being beamed down from the spaceship makes for a neat visual, especially when they are being brought back up if they fall behind and placed back at the front of the wave. The Archvile decided that he didn't want to bother with me in this section but him being there is so dangerous, especially if he's got a wave of enemies between you and him. Very excellently designed map. Well done.

 

 

 

[Biodegradable]

@muumi Great fun and so many cool details! Just terrific stuff <chef's kiss> Well done, fam.

 

 

[Ar_e_en]

15 hours ago, ABearInThaWoods said:

@Ar_e_en I'll provide the midis that I used for your maps. For my own entertainment I actually changed the music for my own copy of your first map to this song (Gangplank Galleon from Donkey Kong Country) The song I selected for RealmOfStarsAndGoop was this song (The Thaumaturge by James Paddock) 

 

Feedback for the updated and new maps is on the way with videos. I'll probably have it done before I go to bed in a few hours.

 

Gangplank Galleon is an even better pick for the first map, the Cyberdemon is basically King K. Rool in that map!

Still, @Scotty  will have the final say on what midi is used, but at least he has some suggestions now!

[Caru]

So, uh... this got slightly out of hand.

 

I'm gonna say it right up front: this map is nowhere near finished. It's not really even playable in its current state. I bit off way more than I could chew with this one; what started as a Desert (/Revenant) Bus-inspired borderline-joke map escalated into an IoS monstrosity with a Boom launch pad gimmick that I could never quite get to work the way I wanted it to (I've left in the launchpad from Eviternity's MAP29 that I had shamelessly copied over for reference just to demonstrate what I was going for; fitting it into the map proper meant introducing a lot more moving parts, and this is probably what killed the map in the end).

 

I'm posting what I have done here anyway for a few reasons: 1) because I believe in documenting my failures as well as my successes; 2) because I still believe some of the ideas I was exploring were good ideas and someone else may benefit from seeing them even in their undeveloped state; 3) because it might still be worth retooling as a sort of post-credits epilogue where the IoS never appears and you just drift through the ocean indefinitely; 4) I think the MIDI is still a good laugh; and 5) all else failing, I think this screenshot would make for a good bit of humorous in-WAD art (title screen, intermission, bosspic, what have you):

 

 

It frankly hurts just to type this because it means I'm admitting defeat, but I've definitely learned some valuable lessons about project planning along the way (not to mention all the mapping techniques I learned in the process; I'd never even worked outside of UDMF before but now I might even prefer Boom). Perhaps I'll come back and finish this one someday, but for now I'm putting it down.

BOATEX.zip

[ABearInThaWoods]

55 minutes ago, Caru said:

So, uh... this got slightly out of hand.

 

I'm gonna say it right up front: this map is nowhere near finished. It's not really even playable in its current state. I bit off way more than I could chew with this one; what started as a Desert (/Revenant) Bus-inspired borderline-joke map escalated into an IoS monstrosity with a Boom launch pad gimmick that I could never quite get to work the way I wanted it to (I've left in the launchpad from Eviternity's MAP29 that I had shamelessly copied over for reference just to demonstrate what I was going for; fitting it into the map proper meant introducing a lot more moving parts, and this is probably what killed the map in the end).

 

I'm posting what I have done here anyway for a few reasons: 1) because I believe in documenting my failures as well as my successes; 2) because I still believe some of the ideas I was exploring were good ideas and someone else may benefit from seeing them even in their undeveloped state; 3) because it might still be worth retooling as a sort of post-credits epilogue where the IoS never appears and you just drift through the ocean indefinitely; 4) I think the MIDI is still a good laugh; and 5) all else failing, I think this screenshot would make for a good bit of humorous in-WAD art (title screen, intermission, bosspic, what have you):

 

 

It frankly hurts just to type this because it means I'm admitting defeat, but I've definitely learned some valuable lessons about project planning along the way (not to mention all the mapping techniques I learned in the process; I'd never even worked outside of UDMF before but now I might even prefer Boom). Perhaps I'll come back and finish this one someday, but for now I'm putting it down.

BOATEX.zip

 

 

It's a shame you couldn't complete the map in time, I think there are some genuinely great ideas here that would make for a really fun boss map. I love the idea of being stuck on a tiny boat in the middle of the ocean with a very slow daisy song playing in the background. The visual gag is more than enough to make the map worthwhile. I'm not sure how the launch pad is supposed to work, I noclipped out and ran over to the testing area you set up. I've never played Eviternity so I'm not familiar with the gimmick. 

 

I think you could do some voodoo doll stuff to set everything into motion. Like after 10 seconds a chaingun/shotgun with a backpack and plenty of ammo are teleported onto the boat, arming the player, then after 20 seconds a set wave of monsters are released, forcing the player to start shooting. That would introduce some consistancy to the start instead of hoping you don't get an Archvile, Revenant, or Arachnotron as your first spawn. After surviving for 2 or 3 minutes the doll crosses a linedef that raises the platform, allowing you to hit the button a reveal the Vessel of Sin and a button that allowed the red pillar to drop. From there it's just a matter of collecting the rocket launcher, megasphere, and getting shots on the Romero before one of you dies. 

 

I'm sure it's not exactly the same as what you had in mind, with the more elaborate mapping elements, but it's a way to take this idea and make something useable out of it for this event. Either way this was a really creative idea and I love the hell out of it. If only there were some lines to stop the monsters from getting right up on the boat I would settle for just trying to survive as it currently exists. 

[Caru]

43 minutes ago, ABearInThaWoods said:

I think you could do some voodoo doll stuff to set everything into motion. Like after 10 seconds a chaingun/shotgun with a backpack and plenty of ammo are teleported onto the boat, arming the player, then after 20 seconds a set wave of monsters are released, forcing the player to start shooting. That would introduce some consistancy to the start instead of hoping you don't get an Archvile, Revenant, or Arachnotron as your first spawn. After surviving for 2 or 3 minutes the doll crosses a linedef that raises the platform, allowing you to hit the button a reveal the Vessel of Sin and a button that allowed the red pillar to drop. From there it's just a matter of collecting the rocket launcher, megasphere, and getting shots on the Romero before one of you dies. 

 

That's effectively what it is -- just with a much longer wait time at the beginning (probably too long, but I guess I always knew I'd have to abandon syncing everything up with the music eventually; it just isn't a viable option with the way Doom handles its music). Perhaps I might do something like this before the day's over: rather than the whole launch thing, a simple timer-based elevator like what you're describing would be enough to make it work, and then the wave-based play to keep it interesting in terms of gameplay.

[muumi]

Update: Ferrytale V2

Just minor changes. Some texture fixes and adjustments, couple extra shells and final archvile is now baron on HMP

[Angry Saint]

Sorry to say, I won't be able to finish within the deadline.

[CBM]

havent started and wont... real life stuff to deal with in the last couple of weeks or so

[jerrysheppy]

2 hours ago, Caru said:

(not to mention all the mapping techniques I learned in the process; I'd never even worked outside of UDMF before but now I might even prefer Boom).

 

Funnily enough, I've had the opposite experience in that this has reaffirmed my preference for UDMF over vanilla/Boom.  It's not that one can't do nice things in Boom (obviously!) but there are just so many little quality-of-life issues that you don't notice until you're forced to work with them.  Just for one example, getting neat-looking texturing is way more of a pain when you can't align uppers, lowers, and mids independently of one another.

 

Anyway.

 

@ABearInThaWoodsThank you very much for your feedback and your video.  I believe I'll take your suggestion about adding a few more pinky-class enemies in the barred area out front, and I also have a few more ideas for tweaks I can make before I post my final version sometime today!

[AconyX]

Here it is. Didn't have time to choose music and some part of the maps were done in a hurry so I could reach before deadline.

 

Boat-AconyX.zip

[jerrysheppy]

Okay, this should be my final revision before the deadline.

 

-After going back and looking at photos of prototype riverboats, I came up with yet a third solution for my dissatisfaction with the stern.  I think it's good now.

-Added a couple more monsters and some detailing.

-There's now a fifth secret.  The backpack has relocated there and its former location is now home to a second green armor.

-Reworked the most controversial secret (spoiler for those who want to discover it as they play the map):

 

Spoiler

The blue key room secret has been moved to a prominently visible (but barred) location.  In its former location—that is, the part that opens when you press the wall— is now a teleporter that takes you to and from the actual secret room.

 

The idea being, with the secret's rewards visible, the player will at least know that there's something there for them to find and will perhaps be motivated to do a more thorough search of the area, which hopefully makes it more likely for them to notice the "missing candle" clue.  The section of wall that activates is now also twice as wide, to make it easier to hit once you're sniffing in the approximately correct area.

 

It's still possible for the player to softlock themselves out of it by not finding it on their first visit.  That was always part of the concept and hasn't changed.

 

For the record, I haven't specified any music track.  I'm fine with Scotty using their discretion on that.

 

I think that's a wrap!  Enjoy, and I look forward to experiencing the project as a whole.

 

 

 

 

js-susie_r4.zip

Edited November 30, 2020 by jerrysheppy

[KeaganDunn]

So, submissions for this end AFTER the deadline, November 30th? I've never had that before. 

I've already gotten my submissions in, I'm surprised we got enough to make nearly an actual megaWAD (as defined by the Doom Wiki).

I haven't looked at any of the submissions besides @Egg Boy's and the ones I've made...I am looking forward to doing a semi-blind playthrough of this project when it is complete!

[ABearInThaWoods]

Boat-AconyX by @AconyX

 

Spoiler

For this map I added the James Paddock track Troglodyte. You can download the midi here. 

 

I enjoyed this map, it's a nice solid little tech base with a boat in the harbor. The enemy selection was nice and as you play through the map it gradually gets tougher. The interior of the base looks great with the textures you've chosen, the lower water-filled area was a bit bland looking but it served as a nice little kill pit. Everything was just very nice to experience all around. One part that really stood out was the megahealth secret. Man, that area is beautiful. Excellent work constructing that area. My one gripe is that it seems the secret tag leading into that secret doesn't seem to be working. I'm not sure what the issue is but I would suggest just tagging the first step in the fire realm as the secret instead.