Dereliction Derby (stand-alone Boom map release)

[PinkKittyRose]

Greetings,

 

Playing a lot of modern megawads (such as Eviternity, Valiant, and Bloodstain to name a few) ended up inspiring enough that I had the desire to make a little something of my own in Doom. The end result is this map I would like to share with everyone...

The map itself is themed around a heavily derelict techbase that is filled to the brim with the usual assortment of baddies. It is a Boom-compatible map that makes use of said extra features to try and provide a fun, but faster-paced, higher pressure experience. The map was tested in PrBoom+/DSDA-Doom, Eternity, and GZDoom so it should work without issue in at the very least all of those. With the higher monster density, the gameplay definitely shifts between run-n-gun, and slaughtermap styles of gameplay.

Difficulty-wise, I would recommend avoiding Ultra-Violence on a first playthrough unless you are comfortable playing quite difficult megawads (though not Sunlust level, of course), or unless you prefer to go in with a bit more challenge in mind. Saves are also recommended if only due to the map being quite lengthy. All difficulties are implemented and balanced for, so pick whatever you are comfortable with. Co-op is fully implemented, so you can even do a take on UV+ if you are so inclined. Overall the aim was to make something a bit harder than, say, Valiant, and to try and push the player's comfort zone a bit.

This is actually the very first map I have ever made, but I still wanted to try and make something kind of special. I avoided using more than the stock Doom 2 textures with two small exceptions (a Mechadon sky and a waterfall) as I did not want to go too crazy on this first attempt. The detailing does trend on high, but I tried to keep the majority of it out of the way of gameplay itself so it just works as a pretty backdrop or plenty of DoomCute here and there.

Last couple of notes, the map will probably take roughly an hour on a first time play, and any limit removing (such as Lost Souls) should have no effect. Deathmatch IS actually fully implemented for both the main map (though you are restricted to a small portion of it for playability reasons) and for the Epilogue map, so feel free to go nuts with that if you want.

Screenshots:

Spoiler

General Info:

IWAD: Doom 2
Map Format: Boom
Tested With: PrBoom+/DSDA-Doom, Eternity, GZDoom, Zandronum
Complevel: 9 for PrBoom+, Boom (Strict) for GZDoom recommended
Difficulty: Tougher than Valiant, but still far easier than Sunlust
Ammo Balance: Strict on UV, but it eases up more and more each step down.
Rendering: Hardware recommended if performance dips in Software
Jump & Crouch: No, disabled via MapInfo for GZDoom/Zdoom-based ports
Mouselook: If you want to, sure! The map was tested with traditional controls, however.

Download (now on /idgames):
Dereliction Derby v1.0

 

Known Tricks (especially for speed-running):

Spoiler

- The shotgun trap at the start can be avoided via simply running quickly enough.
- A lowering floor trap in the outdoor cliffs section beyond the Blue Key Door may be skippable via SR50 (not 100% sure).
- The large Rocket Launcher encounter can be skipped via clever use of a secret.
- There is a cool-down moment towards the end of the map that audibly opens a short-cut door for co-op/return trips. If you wish to avoid having to simply wait through this segment, the short-cut door can be opened manually as well to simply teleport you to the final arena.
- The exit can be Arch-Vile jumped into intentionally. I even added Impassable lines to make this easier to do. (I used this in the provided Par Time).

For anyone who gives this a shot... thank you, I hope you find some enjoyment out of it, and for anyone who even just popped in to read this, thank you for your time. I felt like I made something pretty alright here and just wanted to share it with the community.

Edited July 29, 2022 by PinkKittyRose

[Astro X]

The screenshots look absolutely stunning!

 

A map with very open areas, very classic visuals, that's something really good you have there. Definitely giving it a shot. Keep up the good work!

[Noiser]

There's some impressive use of stock textures here. Very cool!

[NikkoDikko]

Playing through this right now and I'm loving the visuals on this map. Awesome stuff!

[Maribo]

I agree with Noiser, this is a really remarkable use of stock textures, and you absolutely weren't lying about the amount of DoomCute. It feels very solidly paced, it even mostly sidesteps the issue of "annoying turret monsters that take forever to pick off" by only having a handful of them at each point and elevating them up rather than putting them way off in the distance. Lovely wad, especially for a first.

re: rendering: I had zero issue with this on software rendering (ran at my ~170fps cap in DSDA-Doom the entire time), just as an anecdote. :)

 

28 minute FDA // dereliction.zip

[azerty]

Amazing can't wait to see more of your work. The texturing and architecture where stunning. Combat was engaging and fun. Very well done.

 

Edited September 27, 2021 by azerty

[Omniarch]

I've just finished the map now, and I must say, this is a very impressive first outing!

 

I'll keep this short (by my standards anyway), so here are some bullet points:

 

(positive category)

 

1) Superb usage of stock textures throughout, especially with regards to detailing.

 

2) Related to the above, this map is superabundant in Doomcute, particularly of the "office" variety. This is charming in its own right, but also lends the space a grounded feel, which is difficult to achieve in the Doom engine.

 

3) The encounter design is generally solid throughout, with a focus on space management. While I do have issues with the combat in general, the technical design of most encounters is competent, demonstrating a clear knowledge of the featured monsters and weapons.

 

4) There are some really nice set-pieces here, like the yellow key room, the outdoor sinking floor trap or the massive helipad encounter.

 

5) The outdoor areas are very well done from a visual perspective, with pleasing naturalistic geometry and a strong texture-palette.

 

(neutral category)

 

1) I found the layout to be very orthogonal, with limited height variation, which is obviously fine in and of itself, but does make the map a little monotonous at times imo.

 

2) The lighting, while occasionally striking in places, is generally quite flat, with little variation in light-level. Not strictly a problem, but again can contribute to a feeling of monotony.

 

3) There is not a great degree of interconnectivity here. Area feels pretty isolated in relation to the rest of the map.

 

4) I found the progression to be very reliant on arbitrary switches, as opposed to a more intuitive style.

 

(negative category)

 

1) The geometry can be very obstructive at times. In general, most of the smaller rooms feel ill-suited to the spatially-sensitive type of combat that takes place in them.

 

2) This one is a little more subjective, but I think the combat is, in general, excessively grindy, relying more on sheer bulk of opposition rather than careful usage to achieve the desired effect.

 

3) Overuse of Archviles. This exacerbates the above issue, not just because of resurrection, but also because the AV's flame attack encourages door-fighting, which is a major source of grind in the map.

 

 

Overall, this is a very good first start, whatever my ill-tempered mutterings may imply. Dereliction Derby is impressive in its technical execution, as well as its scope. I look forward to seeing more from you in the future :)

 

PS: a minor technical note.

Spoiler

While I enjoy the yellow key set-piece, the lowering process is ear-shatteringly loud. I would recommend moving the control sectors somewhere far away from the room, to mitigate this effect.

 

[Pixel Fiend]

Fantastic looks, very fun gameplay. Approved.

 

[PinkKittyRose]

5 hours ago, Maribo said:

Spoiler

 

I agree with Noiser, this is a really remarkable use of stock textures, and you absolutely weren't lying about the amount of DoomCute. It feels very solidly paced, it even mostly sidesteps the issue of "annoying turret monsters that take forever to pick off" by only having a handful of them at each point and elevating them up rather than putting them way off in the distance. Lovely wad, especially for a first.

re: rendering: I had zero issue with this on software rendering (ran at my ~170fps cap in DSDA-Doom the entire time), just as an anecdote. :)

 

 

Thank you, and to everyone else complimenting the texture use as well... It is one of the things I am happiest with for this map and worked the longest on. I definitely want to use a texture pack next time, though, the stock ones are fine but also extremely limiting, haha.

The turret monsters are actually something where the number of them got reduced more and more as play-testing went on, to the point I removed a few more just before release after a certain Jimmy play-tested it. I have played a number of maps with this trope (Eviternity Map32, the later Hell levels in Valiant), so I know exactly what you mean, too, and wanted to avoid the Imps being THAT frustrating.

The demo was a really fun watch! That was a great first attempt, especially for UV! You handled the Chaingun skirmish so smoothly it was lovely to see. Glad Software in PrBoom+ is working smoothly, too. Naturally, GZDoom's Software Renderer has been the one with the tendency to lag on weaker PCs.
 

2 hours ago, azerty said:

Spoiler

Amazing can't wait to see more of your work. The texturing and architecture where stunning. Combat w<as engaging and fun. Very well done.

 

 

That was a really good playthrough! Hah, every one of these I have seen shows my vision for the first green hallway needs to go back to the drawing board. The idea was to position tankier enemies down each path that does not lead to the Medbay, and thus, the earlier Super Shotgun as a sort of natural means of pushing the player in a certain direction. I also put a window where the SSG is visible near it, but players are too busy with survival to notice.

Still though, it was tested skipping that and is why a second SSG was placed later, so glad to see while it made things tight for awhile, it was still do-able! Really nice job on the final encounter, too, you handled that pretty smoothly by managing to keep a lot of the mass infighting to keep your space safer.

 

2 hours ago, Omniarch said:

Spoiler

 

I've just finished the map now, and I must say, this is a very impressive first outing!

 

I'll keep this short (by my standards anyway), so here are some bullet points:

 

(positive category)

 

1) Superb usage of stock textures throughout, especially with regards to detailing.

 

2) Related to the above, this map is superabundant in Doomcute, particularly of the "office" variety. This is charming in its own right, but also lends the space a grounded feel, which is difficult to achieve in the Doom engine.

 

3) The encounter design is generally solid throughout, with a focus on space management. While I do have issues with the combat in general, the technical design of most encounters is competent, demonstrating a clear knowledge of the featured monsters and weapons.

 

4) There are some really nice set-pieces here, like the yellow key room, the outdoor sinking floor trap or the massive helipad encounter.

 

5) The outdoor areas are very well done from a visual perspective, with pleasing naturalistic geometry and a strong texture-palette.

 

(neutral category)

 

1) I found the layout to be very orthogonal, with limited height variation, which is obviously fine in and of itself, but does make the map a little monotonous at times imo.

 

2) The lighting, while occasionally striking in places, is generally quite flat, with little variation in light-level. Not strictly a problem, but again can contribute to a feeling of monotony.

 

3) There is not a great degree of interconnectivity here. Area feels pretty isolated in relation to the rest of the map.

 

4) I found the progression to be very reliant on arbitrary switches, as opposed to a more intuitive style.

 

(negative category)

 

1) The geometry can be very obstructive at times. In general, most of the smaller rooms feel ill-suited to the spatially-sensitive type of combat that takes place in them.

 

2) This one is a little more subjective, but I think the combat is, in general, excessively grindy, relying more on sheer bulk of opposition rather than careful usage to achieve the desired effect.

 

3) Overuse of Archviles. This exacerbates the above issue, not just because of resurrection, but also because the AV's flame attack encourages door-fighting, which is a major source of grind in the map.

 

 

Overall, this is a very good first start, whatever my ill-tempered mutterings may imply. Dereliction Derby is impressive in its technical execution, as well as its scope. I look forward to seeing more from you in the future :)

 

PS: a minor technical note.

While I enjoy the yellow key set-piece, the lowering process is ear-shatteringly loud. I would recommend moving the control sectors somewhere far away from the room, to mitigate this effect.

 

 

Every single one of these neutral and negative criticisms are extremely valid and quite informative, really! Some of which were intentional decisions on my part just from the inevitable uncertainty of stepping into making a map for the first time. Others were caused by taking the less traditional, kinda early 2000s approach of aping Build Engine levels by designing a more "lived in" area than something more abstract. This really hampered a few things like the flatter layout and small rooms having too many small details in them making combat clumsier which I totally agree with... Also it lead to having a few too many doors, encouraging the safer, grindier combat approach which gets especially silly since I noticeably try to DISCOURAGE retreating in several different points too.

I also strongly agree with the lighting! This is especially so in the south-western cliffs area as most of it is just flat 240. I feel like a combination of deciding on a "sunlight direction" other than straight down would have worked well as then shadows could have been part of the equation... and maybe some rocky arches along the ceiling to add further shadows and variation... You have got me thinking of the possibilities.

Interconnectivity is absolutely a valid criticism, too, and this one was fairly deliberate. I went with something more plain and linear for a first attempt as I am simply not confident in my ability to make something GOOD and interconnected yet, but I wanna experiment and try at some point.

I dunno when I will get around to a second map, but I definitely want to experiment with combat and finding more natural progression... It really is true what they say, you can look at art, but re-creating it is another story. The community has so many skilled mappers, but becoming an expert in combat and more natural map-flow is something that only comes by just... making more maps and trying your best. I definitely felt really uncomfortable with gameplay set-up, so that one will take awhile to get used to.

 

I think if/when I get around to another map, I want to try making something more abstract and connected to challenge myself, and give a texture pack a try.

...As for the technical note... Yeah, that one... I'ma have to learn how a control sector set-up for that works cause yeah, on anything other than ZDoom-based ports that is LOUD. Right now I have a bunch of 1 pixel square sectors hidden by fake floors to act as the "lowest adjacent" for the room to lower to, but then that creates the noise issue...

Overall, thank you very much for playing it and giving your thoughts! The breakdown really shows a great understanding of what makes a masterpiece of a map and is super helpful to hear.

That goes for all of you, really! I have rattled on long enough, just... thank you.

[Feden05]

Well, where to start, I gave the map a taste with Hell Crusher (I don't like slaughterwads, just personal preference, I tried previously with Supercharge but it was impossible for me), and I have to tell you that this is a true masterpiece, the use of vanilla textures didn't stop you from doing it with an insane level of detail, but repetitive sometimes. I also add that I really like the fact that you have been able to transmit height so naturally on the outdoor area.

 

The layout is very well planned, but it's true that there are too many switches, the area with the 4 switches felt strange, they were kinda hidden (or i'm just dumb) and the same effect could be transmitted with a single switch (same with the switches at the end). I can't say much about the combat for having passed the map with a mod that breaks the balance (keep in mind that I passed it in about 35 minutes on a blind-run), but what I tried with Supercharge was quite good, maybe the shotgun ammunition was scarce in the battle of the chaingun and we face very strong demons with a weak arsenal, but I did not go far from there.

 

this is a very good start, i can't wait to see more of your work!

 

 

 

[Rymante]

So, I played this on 'Hurt Me Plenty' in PrBoom Plus v2.6.1um with complevel set to 9.  Firstly I will echo what has already been stated earlier, amazing use of stock textures, the map looks excellent & the screenshots are what initially compelled me to try the map out.  It was also usually pretty clear where I needed to go next, didn't really feel lost at any point.

 

Clearly however I need to play more difficult maps, coz this killed me quite a bit over the hour+ play time.  I probably struggled the most with the very last fight (as it should be) but I also struggled early on with the chaingun arena.

 

Personally I'm not the biggest fan of super long maps & it's usually around the 1 hour mark where a map can start to feel like a slog (to me at least).  That said, this map is great despite the length & whilst the fights are very difficult I did feel an immense amount of satisfaction when I eventually got past the final fight, the epilogue map is really cool too! ^_^

 

I hope to see many more maps from you in the future, can't wait to see what you could do with more custom resources!

[Kor]

Good level.  It's quite detailed, and large.  But it's linear (I tend not to like huge, non-linear levels).  The last fight was good.

[Deleted]

Had to check this out after seeing the screenshots, and this map is really nice looking. I like how you went totally ham on the visuals and decorated rooms even all the way down to kitchen utensils, leaking pipes and random clutter on furniture. I didn't take a screenshot but it looked like you even made a little chocolate chip cookie or something out of a sector on top of one of the counters? This map is full of eye candy and I love how much stuff you've crammed into every little spot. The mix of indoors and outdoors are very pleasing to the eye.

   

 

 

Okay...so the overall balance, for me, was very rough in some spots. I can deal with harsh/punishing maps, however I unfortunately had to use cheats on this map. I promise that I am not bad (I have beaten Doom Eternal and it's DLCs on Nightmare multiple times), but some examples:

 

The outdoor helicopter landing pad - the magnitude of enemies spawning into this area was actually exceeding the amount of damage I was able to output. By that I mean 100% dead every single time, even when trying to use infighting. There were also a few too many moments where I have 5 HP left, and maybe two bullets, and then pressing a switch or walking into a room spawns a chaingunner behind me, in front of me, to my left/right, and also tosses in an archvile. Meaning that my only options are: 1. Give up and close the map. 2. Start the map over. 3. Use cheatcodes. 

 

Still, this is super quality work and I love how it is your first released map. A lot of first maps seem to be more about giant/empty rectangular rooms and then posting on Doomworld with no screenshots or sourceport information. You've clearly done the exact opposite and put out something really great. 

[PinkKittyRose]

23 hours ago, Feden05 said:

Spoiler

 

Well, where to start, I gave the map a taste with Hell Crusher (I don't like slaughterwads, just personal preference, I tried previously with Supercharge but it was impossible for me), and I have to tell you that this is a true masterpiece, the use of vanilla textures didn't stop you from doing it with an insane level of detail, but repetitive sometimes. I also add that I really like the fact that you have been able to transmit height so naturally on the outdoor area.

 

The layout is very well planned, but it's true that there are too many switches, the area with the 4 switches felt strange, they were kinda hidden (or i'm just dumb) and the same effect could be transmitted with a single switch (same with the switches at the end). I can't say much about the combat for having passed the map with a mod that breaks the balance (keep in mind that I passed it in about 35 minutes on a blind-run), but what I tried with Supercharge was quite good, maybe the shotgun ammunition was scarce in the battle of the chaingun and we face very strong demons with a weak arsenal, but I did not go far from there.

 

this is a very good start, i can't wait to see more of your work!

 

 

Hey, nothing wrong with trying out some gameplay mods to have fun with the map, after all, getting some enjoyment out of it is the goal! I can just imagine things like the Chaingun encounter would be very fun with gameplay mods that give it a little more force and just mowing down that many enemies in the first place. Also yeah, I definitely struggled to think of new details with how few textures are in stock, ahaha.

Having watched a handful of people try the map, the four switches after the Blue Key door seem to trip a lot of people up, so definitely food for thought on my end. Think next map I mess with I will ease up the ammo balance as this one definitely leaned on strict for anyone not willing to zerk it up a bit.

 

12 hours ago, Rymante said:

Spoiler

 

So, I played this on 'Hurt Me Plenty' in PrBoom Plus v2.6.1um with complevel set to 9.  Firstly I will echo what has already been stated earlier, amazing use of stock textures, the map looks excellent & the screenshots are what initially compelled me to try the map out.  It was also usually pretty clear where I needed to go next, didn't really feel lost at any point.

 

Clearly however I need to play more difficult maps, coz this killed me quite a bit over the hour+ play time.  I probably struggled the most with the very last fight (as it should be) but I also struggled early on with the chaingun arena.

 

Personally I'm not the biggest fan of super long maps & it's usually around the 1 hour mark where a map can start to feel like a slog (to me at least).  That said, this map is great despite the length & whilst the fights are very difficult I did feel an immense amount of satisfaction when I eventually got past the final fight, the epilogue map is really cool too! ^_^

 

I hope to see many more maps from you in the future, can't wait to see what you could do with more custom resources!

 

 

That feeling of elation you described when passing the harder challenges is EXACTLY my level design philosophy to a T. While this is my first Doom map, I have made levels for other engines like Super Mario Maker 2 that follows a similar "push the player, but not so much that they give up, but rather get determined to succeed". It is a fine line to try and balance and I am happy it seemed to balance in favour for you! The map length's definitely a result of the "single map release" structure I was going with, as I normally prefer ~20 minute maps, too.

Glad you liked the epilogue addition! They may be over-done by now, but it is a nicer way to wrap up a release than "Oh hey we in Underhalls now". Definitely using a resource pack next time, yes.

 

4 hours ago, hjordan159 said:

Spoiler

 

Had to check this out after seeing the screenshots, and this map is really nice looking. I like how you went totally ham on the visuals and decorated rooms even all the way down to kitchen utensils, leaking pipes and random clutter on furniture. I didn't take a screenshot but it looked like you even made a little chocolate chip cookie or something out of a sector on top of one of the counters? This map is full of eye candy and I love how much stuff you've crammed into every little spot. The mix of indoors and outdoors are very pleasing to the eye.

 

Okay...so the overall balance, for me, was very rough in some spots. I can deal with harsh/punishing maps, however I unfortunately had to use cheats on this map. I promise that I am not bad (I have beaten Doom Eternal and it's DLCs on Nightmare multiple times), but some examples:

 

The outdoor helicopter landing pad - the magnitude of enemies spawning into this area was actually exceeding the amount of damage I was able to output. By that I mean 100% dead every single time, even when trying to use infighting. There were also a few too many moments where I have 5 HP left, and maybe two bullets, and then pressing a switch or walking into a room spawns a chaingunner behind me, in front of me, to my left/right, and also tosses in an archvile. Meaning that my only options are: 1. Give up and close the map. 2. Start the map over. 3. Use cheatcodes. 

 

Still, this is super quality work and I love how it is your first released map. A lot of first maps seem to be more about giant/empty rectangular rooms and then posting on Doomworld with no screenshots or sourceport information. You've clearly done the exact opposite and put out something really great. 

 

 

The Doomcute was out of control. Frankly I partially blame a recent playthrough of Ion Fury for getting me in the "place that felt lived in" design mood. Your eyes did not deceive you, though, there was indeed a chocolate chip cookie! (Made of crate textures...!)

I do agree on the balancing comments, though. The Helipad encounter ended up being a bit tougher than intended, especially since things like the Berserk pack tucked away behind one of the large crates, and the Supercharge you could step up the pipes to was not immediately obvious and would often get over-looked amidst the chaos of the enemies pouring in. One of those things that will likely smooth out once I get more experience and figure out how to craft something similarly engaging, but with a better selection of fewer enemies. The encounter overall expected a bit too optimal usage of your resources when it can take a bit to even see what exactly all your resources even are.

And yeah, I read the heck out of that "Before you post your map" sticky in this here section. I am already skilled at making myself look like a fool, so no need to lean into that TOO hard, haha.

[loveless]

had fun!  i missed 2 secrets and only a few monsters.  went a bit quicker than anticipated but i made no real effort to explore every nook and cranny.  i don't necessarily disagree with the balancing comments but nothing felt too out of place.  no fight seemed unfair and ammo was very generous.  the only time i ran out of something would be chaingun sniping or rockets in the finale. 

 

Spoiler

 

[Biodegradable]

 

It's a terrific map and wonderfully detailed. A couple of the fights are quite nasty, especially since all you've got is a shotgun and chaingun for the majority of the time. But it makes up for it with its depth, variety and phenomenal use of fine details. Solid work, Pink. I'd love to see you make more maps in the future.

[Vile]

For a first map this was extremely impressive and a lot of fun, great job!  As others have said, it was super detailed and I quite liked both the short trap-like encounters and the bigger throw-downs with lots of monsters, especially the finale.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Vile