[Release] Gloombase - A love letter to early ZDoom mapping

[Jimmy]

 

No one at Gloombase exactly wanted to be stationed there - nor could they have predicted what was about to befall them.

 

A distress signal was sent, but received all too late. Now you're going in to clean up the mess...

 

---

 

"Gloombase" is a love letter to early 2000s ZDoom mapping, employing linear, objective-based gameplay, and abundant use of ZDoom features such as slopes, stark colored lighting, ambient sounds, lightning and weather effects, and a LOT of scripted sequences including interactable NPCs and menus.

 

It is also a teaser for something bigger still to come. Stay tuned! :)

 

Download "Gloombase" (21.5MB):
GZDoom 4.7.1+ required. Only tested in this port/version.
/idgames Mirror

Powerhouse Mirror

 

Software renderer is supported and recommended.

 

Name: Gloombase
Game: Doom 2
Ports Tested: GZDoom 4.7.1
Map: MAP01
Music: "Grand Design" by Simon Judd
Gameplay: Single play only
Difficulty Settings: Yes
Multiplayer Placement: No
Build Time: Quite a while
Requirements: Jumping/crouching/freelook all permitted.

 

Credits:
Dark textures by David Gevert
Demon Eclipse textures by Amuscaria
E5 textures by NiGHTMARE
Erratic textures by Jonathan Rimmer
Koultex by RottKing
Mortres by NiGHTMARE
NM1, NM2, recolored textures/flats, silver textures and useful flats by NiGHTMARE
Sliding BIGDOORs by Vader
Number monitors by Tormentor667
Spinning UAC logo by horselessheadsman

Code assistance w/ dialogue system by Remmirath
PDA system by Gutawer, code/graphic edits by Jimmy
ZScript weather system by Gutawer, sound edits by Jimmy

 

Thanks to Dragonfly for a paper sketch on which this map's layout is loosely based
Special thanks to Vader for Thunderpeak, which served as inspiration.

 

Screenshots:

 

 

Edited April 12, 2022 by Jimmy : idgames release.

[Bobby :D]

WOOOO! YEAAAAAAH!!!!! CONGRATS ON 1000 JIMMY!

[NiGHTS108]

Nice, great job on 1K!!! :)

[Yugiboy85]

This is complete and utter garbage. Please think about what you did. 

(congrats jimmy on the 1000 followers :D)

[Synami]

GG on 1k followers!! ^^

[UndeadRyker]

Oo, a retro-styled WAD that's meant to be more nostalgic to oldschool ZDoom specifically, and from Jimmy, too! This ought to be extremely interesting. It looks great judging from the screenshots and the first 10-ish mins or so from the livestream before I had to leave to do other things. Sorry about leaving unannounced, if you noticed :p

 

Edit: Review time!

 

After having downloaded and played it, it was certainly quite an experience! I haven't been around in ZDoom's "retro" years but it certainly does give a nostalgic vibe to it that's similar to other ZDoom mods that I've played in the past, such as Knee Deep in ZDoom, ZPack, and Cold as Hell (which is probably one of the very first WADS I've touched that's for the ZDoom family). It's not really nostalgic in a sense of wackiness and total conversion like Happy Time Circus and Ghoul's Forest, but rather it has that blend of the Doom gameplay we're familiar with while it actually uses features from ZDoom to spice things up a little bit.

 

Here's some of the concerns I have (which shouldn't be a dealbreaker for anyone, it wasn't for me): There were just two points of the map that progression became a bit confusing for my first playthrough. I spent some time that felt longer than it should've taken trying to find out where the fourth access platform was raised and the red key, but that might just be me with my poor navigational skills. As for enemies, the shielded hell knights/barons were embarrassingly easy to push over. I was able to humiliate them by waiting for them to lower their shields with the autoshotgun (or one single shot with the double barrel with the bonus powerup) to take them down, otherwise I just outright ignored them and dodged their projectiles as if they weren't there while I focused on more important targets. I think that enemy should be made more difficult to deal with somehow, if they weren't intended to be so easy to deal with. As for items, the grenades stand out to me as being a bit awkward to use on stairs, especially because they tended to bounce back at me.

 

But as for what was done well: The maps look gorgeous and play very nicely-- and that was never an issue for Jimmy. This one map is that kind of map that's very comfy to play through. The weapons and item variations were also cool and felt very "classic" as well. The proximity mines felt satisfying to use when it came to obliterating monster closets. It was a blast, and thanks for the early sneak peek. Looking very much forward to seeing more!

Edited March 14, 2022 by UndeadRyker : Grammar fix

[big smoke]

congrats on getting 1k followers 

[Soulless]

Amazing, probably my favourite single-map from this year. Thanks a lot for your time making these, such memorable

quality maps.

 

Tip for those that are going to play this one, you need/must to find the Easter egg, pure art!

[Redead-ITA]

Well i was about to review how this felt really out of touch but after reading that it was indeed the intention then i have to say it nails a lot of the aspects.

From the usage of the annoying baron with the shield, to the Autoshotgun being overpowered, to the clunky inventory system, it's overall well done, it would be perfect if it used The strife dialogue for cherry on the cake type deal but i can respect making your own.

[kalensar]

This was super fun regardless of what it's intention was! This style of mapping is a favorite of mine. The only unfortunate part is that  it doesn't actually work on old ZDoom. 2.8

[RichardDS90]

I just tried this out, it's actually really well made. And considering you made this as a throw back to the early 2000s ZDoom modding, you didn't do the one thing modders did in those days..using stealth monsters! :D

[Biodegradable]

I figured out how to use the grenades after I finished the map, so ignore my incompetence in that department. Great, wild, exciting map, Jimbo! 

 

 

[RED77]

amazing level

[Soulless]

What a sweet "doom" accident.

After playing this map I kept playing the current megawad im in, D2TWID map 14 "The Flooded Library".

As usual I check the author if I enjoyed the map, to my surprise I received accidentally a double dose of Jimmy.

[jerrysheppy]

Man, I don't know how anyone could dislike this level.  I guess it might be "too cheesy" or "not enough revenants" for the cool kids these days but this is the sort of stuff I'd like more of piped into my veins at the first opportunity.

That said, maybe this is me being a dumbass, but I've killed nearly all the monsters and gotten all the objectives and can't quite figure out where I'm supposed to finally go to end the level.

[Jimmy]

@jerrysheppy Exit is at the far north of the map. A switch in the techrune room opens it up.

 

@Biodegradable You were so close to finding the inventory keys in the menu, lol. At that moment I literally facepalmed. Lol. Glad you enjoyed the map!

 

@UndeadRyker I think you might be the first person I've ever encountered to say the Hell Warrior is too easy of an enemy, haha - shield enemies are so often hated for how they prolong combat. I think I did tweak its shield-up time a little so you can use the SSG on it without hassle, but I don't think it's any different from the base monster otherwise. Its health pool of 400 HP feels about right to me as well. Thanks for the write-up!

[jerrysheppy]

Got it!  I saw the door and the room on the automap but completely missed the switch, so I thought the locked door was a secret of some sort.

 

29 minutes ago, Jimmy said:

I think you might be the first person I've ever encountered to say the Hell Warrior is too easy of an enemy, haha - shield enemies are so often hated for how they prolong combat.

I think it's a new rule that after Doom Eternal, no one is ever allowed to complain about a shield enemy that you can actually shoot before it gets its shield up. 

[Captain Ventris]

“It is also a teaser for something bigger still to come. Stay tuned! :)”

 

Oh boy…

[Bigbad75]

Amazing job with this wad Jimmy.

You should make more Wad's in this early 2000's Zdoom style.

It's really nostalgic for me cause some of my all time favourite wad's are from this era.

[Bigbad75]

On 3/27/2022 at 6:34 AM, Bigbad75 said:

You should make more Wad's in this early 2000's Zdoom style.

For your next Zdoom inspired wad you should do a spiritual successor the Zdoom Community Mapping project.

There two of my most favourite Wad's and I've always wanted a ZDCMP 3, official or not.

[CoolerDoomeR]

It's good to see you back! Nice work.

[Jimmy]

This has been uploaded to /idgames!

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/g-i/gloombase

[Captain Ventris]

Excellent little romp. I had forgotten how much I missed the “everything and the kitchen sink” approach to map making. Really cool and can’t wait for future developments!