The Lost Magic - A Boom Mapset

[Vortale]

 

DOWNLOAD

/IDGAMES

ALTERNATE LINK

 

OLDER VERSION

RC2

RC1.5 hotfix

RC1

 

TRAILER

 

 

 

ABOUT

 

This mapset was produced during NaNoWADMo, where I challenged myself to get a full 32 map wad done in the month allotted. As such it contains 32 Boom (CL9) maps and uses heavy DeHackEd shenanigans (so your mods WILL probably break something. A modable version will be available in the future). This difficulty is a lot more on the softer side with a decent ramp up, so if you've just beat Doom 2 on UV, you can give this a crack!

 

I will be updating this, but only to fix bugs or issues that arise. The level design will remain untouched, to preserve what was done in the month period. It is also important to note that UV is currently the only difficulty, and the next update will have the other difficulties sorted. Hopefully, there won't be too many bugs, but grinding out testing for every possible outcome in a month is rough!

 

Special thanks to everyone who tuned into the stream, that watched all 30 maps getting produced live (the secret maps are secret :) )

 

STORY

 

You wake up in a jail cell, with no memory of how you got there, except a vague recollection of a crystal being stolen and the world becoming imbalanced. You find no way to escape, however as you get up from your bed, a revolver is tossed at you from the window. You have no idea where or even when you are, but given they're discussing killing you soon, I think it's time you make your exit!

 

TESTED IN - DSDA Doom 0.24.3, GZDoom on Boom (Strict)

 

CREDITS

Spoiler

MONSTERS

 

Chaingunner
SPRITE - Xim/id Software

 

Demon
SPRITE - Eriance

 

Arachnotron
SPRITE - Eriance

 

Mancubus
SPRITE - Eriance

Cultist (SS Nazi Replacement)

SPRITE - Raven Software/Eriance
SOUND - Raven Software

 

WEAPONS

 

Double Chainsaw
SPRITE - Xim/id Software

 

Revolver
SPRITE - PowerSlave

 

Assault Rifle
SPRITE - Terminator Rampage
SOUND - Ubisoft

 

Plasma Gun
SPRITE - Eriance
SOUND - Raven Software

 

BFG9000
SPRITE - Raven Software
SOUND - Raven Software

 

 

PICKUP

 

Cell
SPRITE - Tyrian (Eclipse Software)

 

Keycards
SPRITE - Raven Software

 

POWERUP

 

Radsuit
SPRITE - Captain Toenail

 

DECORATION

 

Stalactite/Stalagmite
SPRITE - KDiZD Team

Torches
SPRITE - ChronoSeth

 

TEXTURES

 

Zoontex - Jimmy
GothicDM - Anthony Czerwonka
Otex - Ukiro

 

MUSIC

 

Title - Gotham by Lee Jackson
Score screen - Enigma by James Paddock
map01 - Sneaky Snake by Robert Prince
map02 - HOSILFU by Zan-zan-zawa-veia
map03 - Plugged In by Brendan Bradley
map04 - Inside the Devil's Lungs by JD Herrera
map05 - Fire Hive by James Paddock
map06 - Growling Belly by JD Herrera
map07 - Broken Mirror by Tristan Clark
map08 - Hey There, Moonbeam by Nathan Maxx, Cammy
map09 - A Foggy Night by Stuart Rynn
map10 - Tower of Fire by James Paddock
map11 - Milling Around by Lee Jackson
map12 - Terror Firma by Nathan Maxx
map13 - Drywall by Gustavo Rehermann, decino
map14 - Triangular Currents by Paul Corfiatis
map15 - Stealth Mode by James Paddock
map16 - Oakset by Cammy
map17 - Knights of Zettazepto by Cammy
map18 - Guardhouse by James Paddock
map19 - Impending End by The Green Herring
map20 - Astral Dreadnought by James Paddock
map21 - You Suck by Lee Jackson
map22 - Technoprisoners by James Paddock
map23 - Baron's Province by James Paddock
map24 - Depths by Zach Stephens
map25 - Abyssal Mystery by Paul Corfiatis
map26 - Dark Groove by Alexander Brandon
map27 - Geometry by James Paddock
map28 - Treasures in the Dark by Mark Klem
map29 - Freighthoppers by James Paddock
map30 - Legion of the Lost by Jonathan El-Bizri
map31 - Funky Stars by Quasar of Sanxion (Midi by James Paddock)
map32 - Introducing Mrs. Tier F by Peter Lawrence
Text screen - Future Military Conquests by Lee Jackson

 

SCREENSHOTS

Spoiler

 

CHANGELOG/KNOWN ISSUES

Spoiler

Known issues

 

None (atm)

 

FINAL

General

- Map06, Map12, Map18 and Map24 all have a random chance of not taking you to the next level upon the death exit. Despite the amount of times I ran into the death exit I never personally ran into this issue and lemme tell ya, it's mighty frustrating that it's happening now. While I wanted to retain as much as possible from the initial month long stream, I've changed the death exits entirely, and now there should be, no way, on God's green earth, that it'll break.

 

Map11

- Nodebuilder fuckup with the pond.

 

RC2

Map14

- The repair man fixed the remote

Map16

- Added a hint on the automap for the yellow key's location

Map17

- Made it much harder for monsters to get stuck. They still can, but only if the area becomes very crowded, which will take a good long while on what should be a short map

Map19

- More ammo was added to make casual maxing easier

- Due to a rare problem that could occur with getting stuck inside the beginning teleporter, the method of teleporting in was changed entirely. You shouldn't notice much of a difference

Map20

- All the radsuits in the starting area now require a switch to be pressed to access them. Prevents the player accidentally picking up extras while also providing cover from enemies outside attempting to snipe

Map21

- Added a teleporter back into the arena for multiplayer/respawning

Map28

- Several combat changes were made, as the map was somewhat lacking in many areas.

- A teleporter to take you back to the beginning was added for anyone attempting to max it

Map29

- Reduced lag near the rocket pickups at the final fight

Map30

- Added many backpacks to fill your ammo count, so you aren't covered in a piss screen while fighting the remaining enemies

Map31

- The changes that were supposed to come from the previous hotfix are now added

Map32

- The changes that were supposed to come from the previous hotfix are now added

- The beginning now opens for anyone running in nomo

Extra

- All difficulty settings are added, with only minimal changes to UV

- Death Exits definitely work and the maps function even in Default compatibility settings in GZDoom

- Visual errors that occurred in GZDoom are now rectified

- Hopefully all floors animated properly

- General texture, tiny bug and potential softlock fixing across the whole set

 

RC1.5 Hotfix changes

 

MAP02
- Made one secret a little easier to see and darkened a sector to prevent confusion

MAP03
- Someone purified the poop water at the start, I assume to lure the player into a false sense of security. It now damages you so you know to not swim.

MAP05
- A few lines didn't render on the automap, leading to confusion about secret hunting. It's funny to me but annoying to others.
- A massive hole has been filled and replaced with a pop-up pole.

MAP07
- Fixed a visual glitch that you can actually see from the screenshot.
- People were attempting to make a jump you can't make in hopes of finding a secret. You shouldn't be attempting now (But you still might, there's not a secret there TRUST ME no SR50 + rocket jump will get you anywhere)

MAP09
- The door that requires all keys to unlock can be unlocked with no keys. Locksmith was notified.

MAP11
- We fed Doomguy many carrots so he can see in the mines better.

MAP21
- None of the key switches required a key. While I'm sure it was fun summoning everything at once, that wasn't the intention.

MAP29
- Small adjustment to monster placement due to issues being caused

MAP31
- Champions now have a slightly harder yet easier time reaching their hall

MAP32
- Difficulty settings included for those who want to practice before tackling the real thing

Extra
- The NO TEXTURE on 31 and 32's intermission is fixed. I apparently removed the texture while doing texture cleanup.
- A few switch textures weren't animating. Again, texture cleanup screwup.
- Infiltrated is spelled correctly.
- All death exits now work and I'd be surprised if you survive no matter what compatibility you're on

 

Edited December 19, 2022 by Vortale

[Master Medi]

Finally some very good shit brother maps

[Firedust]

32 maps in one month is super impressive!

[Meowgi]

Holy based. Congrats on the release and I can't wait to play it!

[Napsalm]

Congratulations man, that's some focus and determination!

[LadyMistDragon]

If you liked Vortale's megawad from last year, you'll definitely like this! It gets my seal of approval anyway. Sometimes, the Hereiarchs got a little bit annoying but I also was playing very casually to get a feel for things so don't take it from me.

[Vile]

Congratulations on the release!  I had a lot of fun playing through this and enjoyed the new monster inclusions with the magical theme.  Admittedly some secrets felt like they would have made the levels even more fun if I had known about them (sometimes offering weapons that aren't in the levels otherwise) but that does encourage replayability too.

 

Spoiler

MAP21 - it doesn't seem like the three keys do anything, as all four switches in the center of the arena can be activated without them.

 

[RataUnderground]

Loved this one, I'll play the full wad. That assault rifle its so satisfying to use.
 

 

[Serathis]

The maps that end with a teleporter doesn't really end for me. Am I supposed to die and get a forced pistol start on the next map?

[Vortale]

16 hours ago, Serathis said:

The maps that end with a teleporter doesn't really end for me. Am I supposed to die and get a forced pistol start on the next map?

 

I imagine it's because GZDoom's compatibility setting isn't set to Boom (Strict). That's on me for missing it during testing and not forcing the compatibility settings automatically, I'll make sure going forward that if you skip the first death wall due to compat settings, a second one will make sure you're dead.

 

...unless of course I'm wrong and you're not even using GZDoom. Either way it'll be fixed.

[TJG1289]

It took until seeing someone mention this in the Cacowards nomination thread to realize this was a full 32-level megaWAD. I had checked the thread a few times before and for some reason just assumed it was, like, an episode or something. I have no idea why. Anyway, seeing it's 32 maps had made me intrigued, so I will be checking this out now! Screens look great at least

[Snark]

5 maps in and ...yeah.

This is cool. Thanks man.

[Serathis]

3 hours ago, Vortale said:

 

I imagine it's because GZDoom's compatibility setting isn't set to Boom (Strict). That's on me for missing it during testing and not forcing the compatibility settings automatically, I'll make sure going forward that if you skip the first death wall due to compat settings, a second one will make sure you're dead.

 

...unless of course I'm wrong and you're not even using GZDoom. Either way it'll be fixed.

 

Using GzDoom but even on strict Boom comp, I dont get killed at the teleport finish.

[TJG1289]

Played through the first half. This is really cool. That second episode in the multi-color alien dimension is absolutely gorgeous. It's nice having something look like that and not be ball-bustingly hard for one. Difficulty in general is nice on UV. Not really hard, but it's no slouch. Also, I stopped on map 32, and I have a feeling that one's gonna be a toughie. I like the new Dehacked touches. The assault rifle feels and sounds nice. The BFG replacement seems like it has different timing to it. The shotguns also seem a little off to me. The monster changes look nice. The blue fireballs coming from the cacos are my favorite change so far. Those cultists are surprisingly annoying too. So yeah, I'm definitely enjoying this! Very solid, and impressive for being a 1-month full megaWAD. 

[Vortale]

Quick hotfix!

I was hoping to wait until I had the chance to get to making all difficulty settings before I released the next version, but there was a few significant problems I couldn't really leave and I'm not going to be able to get to the difficulties for a little bit yet. Changes are in the changelog in the main post.

 

Map31 did get a bit of an alteration. It was easier to shoot the targets than intended and I decided to adjust that. They should be much harder to autoaim to from the floor, but to compensate, the holes are now wider. If map31 gamers want to give it a run with the new intended route, let me know how it goes. Personally I don't think it should be that much harder, but I'd like to know so it doesn't become a D2ALL choke point.

 

Also, despite what I just said previously, Map32 does have difficulties implemented. I've had a few people not happy with the sheer difficulty spike, and as such HMP and below have items to make the fights easier to pass through, if you just wanna practice the fights or simply get to the end.

 

Finally, the pistol and plasma gun are the only two with changes (100% accuracy and no cooldown respectively). The only changes for the other weapons are their animation frames, the fire rate is exactly the same.

[Meowgi]

8 hours ago, Vortale said:

Map31 did get a bit of an alteration. It was easier to shoot the targets than intended and I decided to adjust that. They should be much harder to autoaim to from the floor, but to compensate, the holes are now wider. If map31 gamers want to give it a run with the new intended route, let me know how it goes. Personally I don't think it should be that much harder, but I'd like to know so it doesn't become a D2ALL choke point.

 

Decided to give the new version a spin and I've got to say, I much prefer this one. I went in blind to the changes and not quite woken up and was able to get it in 21 attempts (and 2 or 3 runs were close). A lot of that was figuring out where they could be shoot from and working out a route. I think this is an improvement, and I don't think I would worry too much about the D2All - players coming over will have some BFG ammo which should make the run quite a bit easier, and there's not enough damage to usually kill you in that room til the chaingunners spawn anyway.

 

Anyway, here's all of the runs (21 being the successful secret exit):

 

TLM31--00002.zip

[alopecia_assassin]

Holy crap Vortale, youre a machine. Not bad for the worst stream on Twitch. Can't wait to play!

[Silhouette 03]

Congrats on the release V. I'm really enjoying my time with it so far. I did find one bug though that wasn't mentioned in the thread. The orange liquid flat in Map31 doesn't animate. I'm guessing that this wasn't intentional and it's simply a case of the flat not being added to the BOOM ANIMATED lump. I'm playing using the RC1 fix using GZDoom 4.8.2

Spoiler

 

 

As a side note, I really enjoyed watching you stream the map making process, and I appreciate the helpful tip you gave me on mapping blocks :)

[LVENdead]

I'm very impressed with what you accomplished at whatever breakneck pace you needed to crank out 32 maps in a single month. That detail notwithstanding these maps happen to be visually interesting and a lot of fun! I've only played the first 5 so far but I'm really into this more bite-sized content; gives you some good momentum and it means you can kind of come and go as you please. I love the revolver and the sound and only wish it packed the punch you might expect from one, but it's a minor gripe. The AR is pretty satisfying and a nice mixup from the standard chaingun.

 

Can't wait to see what else is next!

 

I also recorded my playthrough so far if you'd like to check it out:

 

 

[Silhouette 03]

How do you get to the super secret exit in Map31? I've shot all the crystals and the door( I assume that this door opens once all the crystals are shot) won't open. The reason I'm asking is that I saw this door open a little bit then stop.

EDIT: I'm using GZDoom 4.8.2 with Compatibility set to Boom(strict). 

 

Spoiler

 

 

[TJG1289]

5 hours ago, Silhouette 03 said:

How do you get to the super secret exit in Map31? I've shot all the crystals and the door( I assume that this door opens once all the crystals are shot) won't open. The reason I'm asking is that I saw this door open a little bit then stop.

EDIT: I'm using GZDoom 4.8.2 with Compatibility set to Boom(strict). 

 

  Hide contents

 

 

There's a hint behind the portal. If you're looking into the black void, you can see it.

Spoiler

You have to be quick to shoot them

 

[Lizardcommando]

Was the bug ever fixed for some of those end teleporters that were supposed to kill you when you enter them? Would this be an issue relating to playing this megawad on GZDoom?

[TJG1289]

2 hours ago, Lizardcommando said:

Was the bug ever fixed for some of those end teleporters that were supposed to kill you when you enter them? Would this be an issue relating to playing this megawad on GZDoom?

I played through on GZDoom and never had issues. I did make sure the compatibility settings were on Boom strict since it wasn't forced.

[Ravendesk]

I'm currently halfway through, and this set is amazing. This is super fun. What impresses me the most is how high overall quality and attention to detail are considering this was made in just a month.

Big congrats on the release!

[Vortale]

RC2 finally chucked out! Changes in the changelog on the first post.

 

The main thing, outside of bug fixes, is that all difficulty settings are now available! If we have any HMP or ITYTD gamers who want to give it a run through, now you can!

 

I also decided to make Default compatibility in GZDoom function just fine, so no need to force any changes, you can play how you like. Death exits are fine.

I feel kinda dumb making the post about 1.5 changes given that neither map31 or 32 had the changes they were supposed to. I'm not entirely sure what happened, given every other change in 1.5 was in there. Anyway!

 

The remaining things to do are more testing in other ports as well as making sure multiplayer shenanigans work just fine. I also don't know how to let the player skip The Sorcerer during the end screen roll call (probably a result of Dehacked changes) but that isn't all too pressing. The next release will be the final/idgames one, where I shalln't be touching it ever again.

 

Thank you to everyone who has given this a shot and had a blast with it!

[Silhouette 03]

Found another minor bug. This surface is set to a damaging sector. I presume that this was a mistake

Spoiler

 

 

[CherubCorps]

I can't believe this megawad was made in only a month. Easily one of the best Doom mapsets I've played this year. The custom Dehacked stuff is really nifty as well (Plasma rifle is awesome). The only downside is that you can't use weapon mods. You can however, use enemy and gameplay mods which is a nice touch.

[TheCyberDruid]

Really cool megawad! Only map 30 got me too many times. Otherwise a very balanced mapset. Well done.

[Nikku4211]

Played in PrBoom+ 2.6.2 on HNTR, and when I get to the exit on MAP12, I hear the Icon of Sin die, but the level doesn't progress and instead I am stuck in pitch black darkness, dead, rather than on the next level in a pistol start.

[Vortale]

And with that, the final version of TLM is complete! If there are any problems now, tough! (There really shouldn't be but feel free to surprise me) Right now the alternate link is exactly what was posted to idgames so I will update the thread when it's up on idgames.

 

Thank you to everyone who helped me test the past few weeks, and thank you to everyone who gave it a shot and supported the stream during the month long journey!

 

What's next in the pipeline? We'll see, probably just a mapset!