What makes a good TC?

[alexz721]

Don't know if this has been done, but since there's already a thread asking about what would be bad ideas for a Doom TC, let's do a thread with good ideas that would work.

[jute]

well, titty. lots of titty. this is obviously required for goodness.

[DOOM Anomaly]

Well, structure, good gameplay and a nice flow to it, you don't want it jumping from a Congo Jungle to a Indy 500 race track. Unless...its a Indy 500 race track in the Congo Jungle!
Making a TC Strictly out of 32 maps of open fields with just different enemies doesn't really do much for Good, creativity can come nicely into play here, as long as its appealing towards its players. Its hard to make everyone happy with one TC seeing many have different tastes, but just cause someone doesn't like it, doesn't mean its not good. :D

[Amaster]

DOOM Anomaly said:

you don't want it jumping from a Congo Jungle to a Indy 500 race track.

I kinda disagree with this. It's nice to have a continuous theme, but it's not necessary.

I started replaying Eternity.wad a few days ago, and I realized why I never finished it. There's such a thing as a level being TOO GOD DAMN LONG.

[DOOM Anomaly]

Assmaster said:

I kinda disagree with this. It's nice to have a continuous theme, but it's not necessary.

hehe, I didn't implement it to mean its a must, but that its just neato to have a nice on-going flow with the theme.

[Graf Zahl]

Most important: GOOD LEVELS!

Too many TC's I've seen put all their effort in the graphics and totally neglected gameplay. That's why most of them suck. All that work is for nothing if playing the game is no fun.

[NiGHTMARE]

Coming up with your own 'universe' from scratch rather than basing it on an existing film/game/book/whatever, and thereby not risking potential copyright problems is always an excellent start :)

[ReX]

NiGHTMARE said:

Coming up with your own 'universe' from scratch rather than basing it on an existing film/game/book/whatever....

I agree with you in principle, Nick, but the reality is that few people have the talent, patience, and imagination required to create a completely new game (even if it's based on the DooM engine) from scratch.

I'd settle for:

1. Professionally done graphics, or graphics ripped from a commercially released game. Same goes for music, sounds, and other resources.
2. Well-made levels.
3. An overall environment and atmosphere that is in keeping with the theme of the TC.

[Erik]

Sound replacements has to be absolutely fantastic or I wont like it. The sprites has to look non-cartoony. The levels have to be good. The graphics has to be top quality too.

Not many TC's live up to this, I can count them on one hand without any trouble.

[NiGHTMARE]

ReX said:

I agree with you in principle, Nick, but the reality is that few people have the talent, patience, and imagination required to create a completely new game (even if it's based on the DooM engine) from scratch.

I disagree. Figuring out how to fit the bits and pieces from your chosen copyrighted property into the Doom engine and then actually doing it also requires a great deal of talent, patience and imagination :)

[NightmareZer0]

Good graphics.

[Epyo]

Fun Zdoom scripts. Of course AFAIK there has never been a released 32-level TC with "Fun Zdoom scripts", so I'd settle for good levels.

[deathbringer]

Hm, in PC's i like modified demon graphics, even if they behvae the same (ie Reign of the spider gods, DSV), gives the feeling of battling "different" hellspawn

Buuut since were talking TC's here-a plausable "other" universe, and i dont really wanna drag up the whole 'what is a TC' debate again, but it shouldnt have any links to doom (though textures/sounds and even weapons can stay the same, you could just as easily be a meaty muscular dude using a shotgun in, i duuno, the LAPD as on phobos XD)

[Lizardcommando]

I don't know if it's been said already, but having an original idea for a TC is usually a good thing.

[jute]

it just occured to me that a toejam & earl tc would be absolutely fantastic. and funky.

[Sphagne]

Gameplay > Visuals and Mood > Features

[Job]

Maps are a big plus.

[Ichor]

Actually finishing the TC sure helps.

[DOOM Anomaly]

Ichor said:

Actually finishing the TC sure helps.

Releasing theme to the public does too. Along with making it actually work. :D

[Rubilacxe]

its all about fun for me.

If the game is fun, no matter what is it, I'll love it.

If it were the most enjoyable, addictive, and over all fun Doom MOD to date, I would play something like Eggplant Doom 2 or Blues Clues Doom 2.

[jute]

Rubilacxe said:

If it were the most enjoyable, addictive, and over all fun Doom MOD to date, I would play something like Eggplant Doom 2 or Blues Clues Doom 2.

i would play those mods no matter how fun they were, actually. especially the eggplant one.

[Captain Red]

Hmmm, I might compare my wolf 3d Sod TC with the points raised in this thread. If it sound like I'm just pimping my TC for all it's worth, that's only because errr... I am. Heh.

Here goes:
1) Well, titty. lots of titty. this is obviously required for goodness.
Done and done.
And I mean done!

2) Structure, good gameplay and a nice flow to it, you don't want it jumping from a Congo Jungle to a Indy 500 race track.
If all goes well...

3) Most important: GOOD LEVELS!
Hmmm, I wont be the making (most of) the levels for this project... for two reasons:
a) I'm not great at it, and b) I what to play something new when it gets done.

4) Coming up with your own 'universe' from scratch rather than basing it on an existing film/game/book/whatever, and thereby not risking potential copyright problems
Heh. No joy there. But most of the wolf resources are modified quite a bit.

5) Good graphics.
Deal!

6) having an original idea for a TC is usually a good thing.
Well... While the idea it's self isn't original, but a lot of the monsters and level Ideas are original for a doom TC at least. I'm not to preoccupied originally with this project. And since it's a TC, it really doesn’t need to be.

7) Actually finishing the TC sure helps. Actually finishing the TC sure helps.
Oh it will be done. It'll be done if it costs me my health, my social life, my sanity, and possibly my life, but it WILL be done! I've worked to damn hard on it to just go 'Bugger it'.

8) Sound replacements has to be absolutely fantastic or I won't like it.
I've worked quite hard on the sound in this project. And so far, it working well... but soundinfo.lmp is doing some funny things of late...

anything anyone would like to add?

[alexz721]

You must make one of the weapons radioactive cream cheese.

[deathbringer]

http://www.freewebs.com/felneygames/gay/index.htm heh, well i posted it in the bad TC thread and someone said it sounded good XD, it really started out as a joke page, but now ive even done some concept pics for it XD

[SyntherAugustus]

A medival mod with a futuristic twist.

something like that.

[Scuba Steve]

alexz721 said:

You must make one of the weapons radioactive cream cheese.

You know... I came close to doing that.

Well, minus the Cream Cheese. And not that weakrap radioactive gun in Hacx either. We're talking spraying toxic waste like a cannon. And not like that lamebot one in UT either.

[deathbringer]

Heh, one idea i had for my "in-my-imagination-only" teddy bear wars mod for edge was a "nano-slime", which slowly 'grew' by performing a pain elemental like triple-spawn every few seconds and acted like landmines to anything that stepped on it, it would be an interesting weapon, but lag gameplay a lot if it grew too big, and also you'd probably end up firing it into a coridoor, only to find out later you needed to go down there XD

Also, the 'microwave gun' in the above mentioned mod was gonna be a weak but rapid fire BFG spray, so you could basically hold the trigger down at a horde of advancing enemies and watch them die one by one as they become 'over-exposed', a bit like a radiation gun i suppose..