[Community Project] Doom 2 Minus Doom (30 maps complete!))

[EPICALLL]

1 hour ago, Fairen said:

judging by the number of enemies, Map 10 will be a fair bit longer than these maps.

Spoiler alert:

Spoiler

It's way shorter

 

[janiform]

@Generic DoomerSure! MAP29 is yours.

 

@Fairen Thanks for testing these! I'll tag @Somniac@NeedHealth@Bri0che@Lorcav so they can read your thoughts.

[Bri0che]

On 4/1/2023 at 12:49 AM, Fairen said:

Map 8: Traps and Tricks - There's two places with glaring hall-of-mirror effects—the column that lowers to reveal a pain elemental at the start of the map, and the area with the arch-vile past the rocket launcher.

 

Oops this one is my bad, I guess the "hall-of-mirror effect" may have a different definition between source ports…

The intended rendering is like on this screenshot :

(so you see the monster but he won't attack you unless the wall are up or down)

 

Spoiler

 

It worked well on GzDoom, DSDA Doom, and PrBoom, I guess it doesn't work that way with more vanilla-ish source ports (I tested with DoomRetro and it effectively render as a ugly hall-of-mirror effect, you can't even see the monster in the sector, what a shame)

 

Thank you for pointing out the problem, I'll work on this.

[Bri0che]

2 hours ago, janiform said:

@Generic DoomerSure! MAP29 is yours.

 

@Fairen Thanks for testing these! I'll tag @Somniac@NeedHealth@Bri0che@Lorcav so they can read your thoughts.

 

Thank you for the tag ! 

 

Here is a new fresh version of my map not only correcting what he pointed out, but also with minor changes (more monsters because I though some parts of the map were a little bit too blend for a MAP08 ; teleport section spaced…) :

 

https://www.mediafire.com/file/2eulsb7mwtsyi5o/MAP081.3.wad/file

[RileyXY1]

D2MD25 v3.zip

 

This is my third version of Cavern of Shadows. Notably a new section was added where the blue key now is and the monster count has also gone up to 55.

[janiform]

@Bri0che Awesome! Thanks for the update.

@Walter confetti@Rorix I've marked your maps complete - sorry it took so long! @Rorix, do you have a title for your map?

@RileyXY1 Thanks for the update! There's definitely improvement here=. Some things that came to mind as I was playtesting:

• The blue key room with the ravine is a good idea - it might be interesting if the switch to raise the bridge to the blue key is less immediately accessible - make the player work for it! Increasing the width of the ravine so that the bridge is longer and the revenants are farther away could also increase the challenge for the player.
• widening some of the doors so that monsters can pass through more easily will make combat more challenging - currently it's very possible to cheese some of the mancubus encounters for instance.
• The final arena with attacks coming from all sides is fun, but it's very easy to escape from by running back down the hallway - what if the player dropped into the final arena from a bloodfall or something?
• The mix of cave and techbase is nice. If you wanted to extend the techbase section, you could consider adding a switch hunt to open the red key door. I like the dramatic lighting in the red key room!

These are just suggestions, but I encourage you to keep iterating on this map. Does anyone else want to playtest this and share their thoughts?

[RileyXY1]

17 hours ago, janiform said:

@Bri0che Awesome! Thanks for the update.

@Walter confetti@Rorix I've marked your maps complete - sorry it took so long! @Rorix, do you have a title for your map?

@RileyXY1 Thanks for the update! There's definitely improvement here=. Some things that came to mind as I was playtesting:

• The blue key room with the ravine is a good idea - it might be interesting if the switch to raise the bridge to the blue key is less immediately accessible - make the player work for it! Increasing the width of the ravine so that the bridge is longer and the revenants are farther away could also increase the challenge for the player.
• widening some of the doors so that monsters can pass through more easily will make combat more challenging - currently it's very possible to cheese some of the mancubus encounters for instance.
• The final arena with attacks coming from all sides is fun, but it's very easy to escape from by running back down the hallway - what if the player dropped into the final arena from a bloodfall or something?
• The mix of cave and techbase is nice. If you wanted to extend the techbase section, you could consider adding a switch hunt to open the red key door. I like the dramatic lighting in the red key room!

These are just suggestions, but I encourage you to keep iterating on this map. Does anyone else want to playtest this and share their thoughts?

As for the second point, that's due to limited textures. Most of the door textures I had available to use were quite short. And I am gonna make even more changes to the map.

[RileyXY1]

D2MD25 v4.zip

 

Here's the fourth revision of this map, which addresses both points 3 and 4.

[Rorix]

@RileyXY1I hadn't thought about a name for it. I'll go with "The Castle" as a nod to the original.

[RileyXY1]

10 hours ago, Rorix said:

@RileyXY1I hadn't thought about a name for it. I'll go with "The Castle" as a nod to the original.

The name is already "Cavern of Shadows". Hence the low lighting in the map.

[stridertech]

On 4/19/2023 at 6:24 AM, RileyXY1 said:

The name is already "Cavern of Shadows". Hence the low lighting in the map.

i think they meant to ping janiform

[RileyXY1]

On 4/20/2023 at 9:18 PM, scientifikgenius said:

i think they meant to ping janiform

Oh. I thought they were talking about me, because I was pinged. Sorry about that.

[stridertech]

On 4/22/2023 at 7:33 PM, RileyXY1 said:

Oh. I thought they were talking about me, because I was pinged. Sorry about that.

nah its fine lol no need to apologize. ur cool

[Quill]

Honestly I forgot this project even existed for a while. I just went and did monster placement. UV (or would that be HMP) only.
 

Quote

Map name: Neveropolis
Slot: 20
Author: Quill

MIDI used: CammyBanana - Chicago Typography

Tested in: Crispy Doom, FDWL

Quill-D2MD-Neveropolis.zip

[DoctorNuriel]

On 3/25/2023 at 6:12 PM, PinkFlamingo said:

@janiform, here is the new version: D2MD_MAP27_PinkFlamingo_V2.zip

 

This version has deathmatch starts, proper difficulty settings, and co-op monsters implemented.

 

I consider this version final :-)

Excellent map! Strong visuals (the cavey browns and marble greens are used to great effect with the bloodfalls) and gameplay was devious but not unfair.

[janiform]

Sorry for the late replies!

@Quill: This is a really fun map! I enjoyed the interconnectivity and the "hell on earth" setting is well-realized. Superb use of only Doom 2 textures and flats! You even incorporate the Wolf3d textures in a way that feels idiomatic to Doom. I got pretty low on ammo near the end of this map, but it just added some extra tension. Let me know when you've added difficulty settings, co-op, and dm starts!

 

@RileyXY1 The longer base section and drop to the final battle are definite improvements! The reflecting pool in the techbase area is very cozy. Each update you make to the map improves it. Some thoughts:

• The teleporter in the final arena doesn't work on easy difficulty because the teleport destination is set to medium and hard only.
• I really encourage you to make increase the scale of the blue key room and its chasm to make the battle more dramatic. Revenants are more of a challenge at a distance, and wide chasms are very Doom 2. That room has a lot of opportunity to be an interesting combat situation.
• consider making doorways wider so that wide enemies like mancubi are more of a threat. It's perfectly fine to double the width of those doors, even if the texture repeats. Plenty of maps do that.
• consider making the cave areas more organic and less boxy. Take a look at TNT's Quarry for inspiration: https://doomwiki.org/wiki/MAP24:_Quarry_(TNT:_Evilution) Things like right angles, and perfect 64x64 cubes above doorways, aren't very cavelike.

[RileyXY1]

D2MD25 v5.zip

 

This is another update, which makes the blue key chasm room larger and the chasm itself wider, as well as fixing the bug where the final room teleporter doesn't work on skill levels lower than Hurt Me Plenty. As for the 64x64 cubes above doors, I do that in order to have sectors that are bigger than 128 map units high, as I really don't like repeating textures, especially on doors.

[Generic Doomer]

@janiform my map is done, it's a short but sweet map.

 

bit of a heads up, this map gets pretty difficult on ultraviolence, not slaughtermap hard or anything though.

 

map name: A Dead Start
slot: 29
author: Dogelord (Generic Doomer)
no custom midi used

tested in: PRBoom+, GzDoom, DSDA-Doom

 

 

 

Map29_A_Dead_Start.zip

Edited May 14, 2023 by Generic Doomer : got a friend to playtest it on DSDA-Doom

[Generic Doomer]

On 5/14/2023 at 5:00 PM, Generic Doomer said:

@janiform my map is done, it's a short but sweet map.

 

bit of a heads up, this map gets pretty difficult on ultraviolence, not slaughtermap hard or anything though.

 

map name: A Dead Start
slot: 29
author: Dogelord (Generic Doomer)
no custom midi used

tested in: PRBoom+, GzDoom, DSDA-Doom

 

 

 

Map29_A_Dead_Start.zip

@janiform just making absolutely sure you see this, in case you accidently overlooked it

 

i'll update it based on feedback given.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Generic Doomer

[janiform]

Sorry for the late replies!

 

@Generic Doomer This is a really fun map! I appreciate the way the player is almost constantly exposed to attack and forced to keep moving to survive. I think that it's a good fit for MAP29 in terms of both difficulty and aesthetics. The only real suggestion I have is that the lighting could be more dramatic - right now it's in a narrow range from 144-176 (except for the exit teleport). Dropping the 144 sectors down to 112 (and maybe adding the light flicker special to the brighter sectors) could make the flame/lava lighting pop more without impinging on gameplay.

 

@RileyXY1 I appreciate your willingness to update this map based on feedback! If you want avoid tall doors with vertically repeating textures, you could consider placing your door inside another sector which isn't as tall as the rest of the room. This is a pretty common technique to avoid repeating textures:

[Generic Doomer]

19 minutes ago, janiform said:

Sorry for the late replies!

 

@Generic Doomer This is a really fun map! I appreciate the way the player is almost constantly exposed to attack and forced to keep moving to survive. I think that it's a good fit for MAP29 in terms of both difficulty and aesthetics. The only real suggestion I have is that the lighting could be more dramatic - right now it's in a narrow range from 144-176 (except for the exit teleport). Dropping the 144 sectors down to 112 (and maybe adding the light flicker special to the brighter sectors) could make the flame/lava lighting pop more without impinging on gameplay.

 

@RileyXY1 I appreciate your willingness to update this map based on feedback! If you want avoid tall doors with vertically repeating textures, you could consider placing your door inside another sector which isn't as tall as the rest of the room. This is a pretty common technique to avoid repeating textures:

thanks for the feedback, might work on it in a bit.

[Generic Doomer]

@janiform i did some major overhauls to the lighting

Map29_A_Dead_Start_v2.zip

[janiform]

@Generic DoomerNice! I think the lighting is definitely more dynamic. I especially like the dark room with the flashing lava wall.

[NeedHealth]

I need to reconsider parts of my map based on the feed ive been given.

 

@janiform

[janiform]

@NeedHealth Sounds good!

[NeedHealth]

@janiform

Final version of my map, the biggest change is that I removed the trap behind the blue key door. Thank you again to all the play testers!

 

nh_d2mdV3.7z

[BedrockCastle]

I'm sorry, but I'm giving up my slot (MAP01) and backing out of this project.

[Rorix]

I wouldn't mind doing map01, if you'll allow me. Also, I'm fine with my map (map19) being called The Citadel. "The Castle" would be cool too.

[janiform]

@NeedHealth Great map, thanks for the update!

@BedrockCastle No problem.

@Rorix MAP01 is all yours. I'll use "The Castle" for MAP19. Thanks!

 

Since we're approaching the halfway point to the project's deadline, I just wanted to check in with everyone who hasn't posted a WIP or completed their map yet for a status update: @Kuro_mahoh @Anarkzie @Chainie @big smoke @Katamori @jazzmaster9 @Fryuko @GamingGargoyle @Pegleg @Sneezy McGlassFace @DoctorNuriel @Andrea Rovenski @Thelokk @Bochnik Chleba @SilverMiner

[Pegleg]

2 hours ago, janiform said:

Since we're approaching the halfway point to the project's deadline, I just wanted to check in with everyone who hasn't posted a WIP or completed their map yet for a status update:

 

I haven't started mapping yet, but I am still planning to make my map for this project. Thanks for checking in.