[Release] Exquisite Amethyst - A void map for Fuzzball's birthday!

[Jimmy]

 

Happy New Year!

 

Here is a new single map for GZDoom, inspired an inordinate amount by Cyb's "Void".

 

Ambition outgrew the time allotted before @Fuzzball's birthday, so here it is precisely... 2 weeks late. Whoopsie!

 

Download "Exquisite Amethyst" (22.2MB):

GZDoom 4.7.0+ required. Only tested in this port/build.

/idgames Mirror

Powerhouse Mirror

 

Software renderer somewhat supported - hardware preferred.

Dynamic lights encouraged but not required. Please load lights.pk3 as well if you wish to use them.

 

Name: Exquisite Amethyst
Game: Doom 2
Ports Tested: GZDoom 4.7.0
Map: MAP01
Music: "RuhrStadt" by Olof Gustaffson
Gameplay: Single play/co-op
Difficulty Settings: No
Multiplayer Placement: No
Build Time: 2 and a bit weeks
Textures: Gothic textures, Nightmare textures, Zoontex, Jimmytex.
Requirements: Jumping/crouching/freelook all permitted.

 

Thanks to:

@Bridgeburner56, @Major Arlene, @Alfredo, @CyanoBlugron, @Guardsoul - playtesting

@Kaapeli47 - code and sound design for the new weapon

@TheEvilGrin - for the in-game title graphic

@Fuzzball - sky texture, additional resources, inspiration, and support over the years <3

 

Screenshots:

Spoiler

Edited April 12, 2022 by Jimmy : /idgames release.

[Walter confetti]

Looks wonderful!

[Kaapeli47]

Glad to have worked on the sounds of the new weapon in addition to the code reference from InsanityDM! Especially sound design is what I pay good attention to when making weapons, so I hope the new weapon feels satisfying to use.

[Bridgeburner56]

Good map is good. Enjoyed this one a lot.

[Major Arlene]

Can confirm this map is a banger, go play. 

[Alephany]

That skybox is amazing. I'll try this out!

[Sapfiar]

funny level, it's a pity that it ends quickly:)

[Joshy]

Damn fine stuff sir, I really liked the black/white key room bit especially, that was neat.

[Captain Ventris]

I’m a sucker for anything Void. Will definitely have to play this.

[Terminus]

This looks right up my alley. Saw it on Bridgeburner's stream and fell in love. Can't wait to try this map out!

[Biodegradable]

Incredible stuff as always, Jimmy! Or dare I say... Exquisite. The mixture of Doom/Heretic/Hexen stuff worked really well together and the colour palette is also neato on a burrito. The black/white skull fights were admittedly aggravating, but otherwise I had a great time with it. Another gem of a single map release.

 

 

 

[Pistoolkip]

Awesome stuff!

Looks lovely and the gameplay is great. Tight 30 minute Doom adventure.

The only thing I really disliked are the monsters guarding the teleporter. No real way to avoid damage, and I had to reload an earlier safe to progress.
 

 

[Alephany]

I had fun! Good map with nice visuals. It might be a bug, when I entered the 1st portal where you get the Super Shotgun, right after going through the silent teleporter for the next room, I couldn't use my SSG whatever I tried, like it got lost or something. There is also the music that threw me off because my first reaction was thinking about a dance party but that's my fault lol. Other than that, great stuff!

[Jimmy]

@Alephany The problem with the SSG you experienced sounds like you had a mod loaded that replaces weapons. The weapon is given to you in this map via a script, so if a loaded mod replaces the SSG, it will override the player's weapon slots and not allow you to re-select the stock SSG after it's given to you. Even something like Smooth Doom has the ability to break here. I might have to slightly rethink how I do the SSG zombie decoration. Might be a ZScript thing?

 

@Biodegradable Thanks for playing! The bleeding projectile is down to Nashgore, yes - I believe it can be addressed for the proper release, though. Sorry the key fights had you effing and blinding so much. Thinking I might nerf that black key fight in particular.

 

@Pistoolkip Thanks for the video! I'm not sure what's going on with spawned enemies in the main area waking up prematurely and clogging the portal destination before you've even stepped back into it. I have a feeling sound propagation is getting messed up, possibly due to how I've got some line portals set up (there are a few line portals that spit out non-critical errors on map start and I haven't found a way to elegantly address them yet).

[Pistoolkip]

26 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

@Alephany The problem with the SSG you experienced sounds like you had a mod loaded that replaces weapons. The weapon is given to you in this map via a script, so if a loaded mod replaces the SSG, it will override the player's weapon slots and not allow you to re-select the stock SSG after it's given to you. Even something like Smooth Doom has the ability to break here. I might have to slightly rethink how I do the SSG zombie decoration. Might be a ZScript thing?

 

@Biodegradable Thanks for playing! The bleeding projectile is down to Nashgore, yes - I believe it can be addressed for the proper release, though. Sorry the key fights had you effing and blinding so much. Thinking I might nerf that black key fight in particular.

 

@Pistoolkip Thanks for the video! I'm not sure what's going on with spawned enemies in the main area waking up prematurely and clogging the portal destination before you've even stepped back into it. I have a feeling sound propagation is getting messed up, possibly due to how I've got some line portals set up (there are a few line portals that spit out non-critical errors on map start and I haven't found a way to elegantly address them yet).

I had the same issue in both my playthroughs, so it's consistent 

[Scuba Steve]

The only thing I felt lacking in an homage to Void, is a few more mind-bending environments. The black/white key pedastals were good, but it would have been nice to see something as memorable as the upsidedown room or the shrinking location.

[Jimmy]

1 hour ago, Scuba Steve said:

The only thing I felt lacking in an homage to Void, is a few more mind-bending environments. The black/white key pedastals were good, but it would have been nice to see something as memorable as the upsidedown room or the shrinking location.

 

Yeah it would've been nice to do more high-concept stuff like that, but I think I struggle to come up with things like that. I'm better with plain arenas and organic layouts, I think?

[Scuba Steve]

That was all solid.

[Alephany]

21 hours ago, Jimmy said:

@Alephany The problem with the SSG you experienced sounds like you had a mod loaded that replaces weapons. The weapon is given to you in this map via a script, so if a loaded mod replaces the SSG, it will override the player's weapon slots and not allow you to re-select the stock SSG after it's given to you. Even something like Smooth Doom has the ability to break here. I might have to slightly rethink how I do the SSG zombie decoration. Might be a ZScript thing?

I had NeuralUpscale2x_Smooth Weapons so I think this was the problem.

[Captain Ventris]

Lovely! Was a good homage with some tight fights and an awesome color scheme. I had a good time!

[Suitepee]

https://youtu.be/h0jBQ1MsekU

 

Playthrough starts at 10:34. This was a fun map.

[msx2plus]

really solid fun stuff!! the desaturated sectors made it a bit hard to see some projectiles (was blindsided by quite a few revballs), but it was such a lovely time it didn't fuss me too badly.

[Higo Doragon]

so so so so pretty!!! ^^ i loved, the gameplay is so smooth, it doesn't push me to my limits, but it's really fun to play, both in combat design and level progression! the looks are incredible too!

[RiviTheWarlock]

Pretty cool map overall, couldn't make it past the desaturated sectors though because the scrolling sky was making me nauseous, so maybe I'd change it up or make it scroll less fast. What I played before that point was nice though.

[Jimmy]

This is now on /idgames!

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/exquamethyst