Wolfenstein 3D Was A Step Backwards From Catacomb 3D

[Arno]

 

Catacomb 3D was put together by Id Software in a couple of months as part of a contractual obligation with Softdisk, while in parallel they were working on the Commander Keen series. It kind of shows. The game has quite a limited set of wall textures and the little music that is in the game was recycled from Commander Keen. Objectively speaking, both Wolfenstein 3D as well as the Catacomb Adventure Series have higher production values. With that said, I do agree with the OP that navigation is easier in Catacomb 3D compared to Wolfenstein 3D, due to the smaller levels and the use of named locations.
 

On 2/24/2022 at 11:58 PM, Dark Pulse said:

The fact there's hidden secrets for you to find

 

You made some good points in your post. However, there are also secret area's and some easter eggs in Catacomb 3D. And two secret levels. It's designed by John Romero and Tom Hall, after all.

 

@Kinsie and @Azuris: thanks for recommending CatacombGL. I appreciate it!

[Ludi]

7 hours ago, Azuris said:

 

Great Port, playing it here and there because it brings some great Improvements to the Game, as a Map and Autofire.
But same counts for ECWolf, so much better with a Map.

Btw. Super 3D Noahs Ark is also sold with a modern Port, being just a "Mod" for Wolfenstein 3D it is also fun.
It also includes the original SNES ROM, if you want to put it on you SD2SNES, Mister or Emulator of your Choice.

 

My personal favorite SNES emulator is Mesen-S. Highly recommended!

[Dark Pulse]

1 hour ago, Arno said:

You made some good points in your post. However, there are also secret area's and some easter eggs in Catacomb 3D. And two secret levels. It's designed by John Romero and Tom Hall, after all.

True, though Wolf had a lot more of them, which was kind of my point. And stuff like the Pac-Man maze as a one-off gag with enemies never seen elsewhere in the game was not done in Catacomb IIRC. :P

 

33 minutes ago, Sr_Ludicolo said:

My personal favorite SNES emulator is Mesen-S. Highly recommended!

Mesen-S is a solid emulator, yeah. Only problem is it's not really actively developed anymore. (Mesen-SX picks that up.)

 

Higan/bsnes are still the absolute gold standards, though, if you got a system powerful enough to handle them (which most decent systems should be able to handle nowadays).

[Maggle]

On 2/23/2022 at 2:28 PM, The Strife Commando said:

Wolfenstein 3D's tech was more advanced than Catacomb 3D, but who cares when the enemies and weapons aren't as varied as Catacomb 3D's. The level design wasn't as confusing as Wolf 3D's, and you had a compass too. Catacomb 3D isn't perfect, but I feel that it's a better game than Wolfenstein 3D.

I agree with this only if you're referring to the Catacomb sequels starting with Abyss made by the same team that would later go on to form JAM productions and make Blake Stone. Those games have a variety in locations that Wolf 3d simply doesn't have, and gives you those spells a lot more often to help you deal with the increased monster count. These changes alone enhance the gameplay loop to being more fun than Wolf 3d at least in my opinion. The 3 three catacomb weapons are more distinct than the 4 wolf 3d weapons, as all the weapons in Wolf 3d are essentially straight upgrades to each other and pull from the same ammo supply Catacomb's spells both use a separate ammo supply and have distinct uses. Xterminators act like a powerful short-range shotgun as well as a radial panic button for when you're surrounded, Zappers are like a flamethrower useful for suppression, even the basic spell is good as just a few shots will take out most enemies, they can be fired as fast as the player can press the button and can even be fired while casting one of the spells, although after a few shots there's a brief cooldown. Every couple of maps you go to a new location that usually also has new enemy types, so it's far less visually uninteresting and monotonous.

 

The original Catacomb 3D made by Id Software is grindy and pretty boring, it hasn't aged very well. I don't think that game has much over Wolf 3d aside from the aforementioned weapon variety. 

[A Nobody]

On 2/23/2022 at 6:59 PM, Murdoch said:

 

Jolly good. Go you.

Thank you by the way.