The /newstuff Chronicles #218

[The Ultimate DooMer]

More happenings in newstuff then, as the new year gets moving. 24 wads with 15 maps await this week including a bunch of skins, patches and those increasingly popular weapons mods. The maps are mostly classic, so fans of source ports won't be interested much by this week's offerings.

• Day in Hell by Jimi
  1800kb - JDoom - SP - (img)
  A map which was missed by me last time round, and somehow ended up coming back to me after two consecutive reviewers missed it. Basically a small city set in hell, this map is dark, sinister and has the looks, atmosphere and an ambient tune to back it up. Unfortunately once again the issue of playability has been missed - it's virtually pitch red outside, and the missing sky texture makes it unplayable anyway (ah, the wonders of crappy 3D cards and/or whatever causes this strange bug on my system). The only source of weapons/ammo/health is a building on the far side, if you fail to find this first then don't even bother trying to fight. And the final battle is reliant on a powerup, which could easily be grabbed by accident in the battle that lies just before it. If you play it right it will be ok, if not then you'll hate it.
  
  
• 3dsonic skin by Cutmanmike
  114kb - skin port - n/a -
  It looks like Cutmanmike has gone skin crazy, as here's a bunch of 4 from him. This first one is a Sonic one, and isn't too bad (although the status bar face looks familiar).
  
  
• Cactuar skin by Cutmanmike
  26kb - skin port - n/a -
  This one turns you into a running cactus, but doesn't have many frames so it's not as detailed as the other skins. Still, it could be quite funny in deathmatch games.
  
  
• Cutmanmike skin by Cutmanmike
  26kb - skin port - n/a -
  ZDoom forumers will be familiar with his avatar, so here's a skin version complete with the rest of the body. It's not bad actually.
  
  
• Racist skin by Cutmanmike
  184kb - skin port - n/a -
  Not sure about the title, but this is a camouflaged soldier with a white cone on his head. Weird.
  
  
• The Revenge of BoomDoom by Cutmanmike
  701kb - dehacked port - n/a -
  This is a dehacked patch that replaces all bullet puffs with explosions. Good for a bit of volatile fun, but watch out for the zombies.
  
  
• Caverns of Darkness patch for ZDoom by Christoph Oelckers (Graf Zahl)
  859kb - ZDoom - SP -
  This is a patch that makes the aforementioned wad playable in ZDoom, for the XP users among us.
  
  
• DooM II - downgrade from v. 1.9 to v. 1.666 by FunDuke
  2200kb - doom2.exe - n/a -
  This is the patch to downgrade from version 1.9 to 1.666. If you've got antique demos lying around or use soundblaster tunes and like 1.666's better than 1.9's (or if you collect stuff like this) then grab it.
  
  
• Secure Uranus by John A Warren
  68kb - doom.exe - SP - (img)
  This week's classic round-up starts with a small/medium base-style map. The layout has a lot of rooms and passages which aren't compulsory to visit, unless you want the 100% of course. It's not that hard, but watch the health if you play on fast monsters. Not bad, although it will probably appeal to classic fans only.
  
  
• Impzone by John A Warren
  34kb - doom.exe - SP - (img)
  Another base-ish map but split into two parts. Some of the necessary doors are hidden (no-no) but the layout isn't too bad apart from that. The gameplay is a bit better too, with a better density of monsters and a big trap to boot. Not bad.
  
  
• Impzone 2 by John A Warren
  72kb - doom.exe - SP - (img)
  A similar-styled map, but one with flaws. The start is broken (the hidden doors on the east and west sides of the sludge area should open), the layout is a little confusing and you might run short on ammo. Still it's got a good warehouse, and aside from potential ammo trouble the gameplay isn't bad either (particularly the imp flood).
  
  
• Vengeance by John A Warren
  61kb - doom.exe - SP - (img)
  A larger map revolving around a central area. The obscurity count goes up a bit more, with hidden necessary doors, obscure secrets and things that don't seem to work. There's a few mazy bits too, which will put some of you off. There's also a lot of different styles used, which doesn't really work in the same map imo.
  
  
• FRED_DM.WAD for MAP01 DOOM2 by Robert Wilson
  39kb - doom2.exe - DM - (img)
  A couple of old deathmatch maps now, starting with a big tall symmetrical affair. Most of the weapons are up top, there's a very powerful bfg secret down the bottom, and if you're playing with less than 12 people you're gonna find frags a bit far apart. In other words, it doesn't really work.
  
  
• TRISA.WAD for MAP01 DOOM2 by Robert Wilson
  53kb - doom2.exe - DM - (img)
  And neither does this one, thanks to an awkward layout that seems more single-player-like, spread out weapons and lots of tight areas. Meaning another long drawn out FFA match unless you've got 16 players.
  
  
• GJ_E1M2.WAD by George Jewell
  60kb - doom.exe - SP - (img)
  A Phobos-esque base with added teleporters. This one feels reasonably good, and the battles are a bit better than the other classic wads of this week. However there's still some trouble working out where to go next (especially to get the red key) and the teleporters can be a little confusing at times. Still, not a bad map anyway.
  
  
• DRDEATH1.WAD by Dr. Death of The X Organization (XoRg)
  73kb - doom.exe - SP - (img)
  It's largeness next, both in size and population as we enter....a base map. This one actually looks quite good by classic standards, and has one or two areas of note as well. There's an excess of ammo, but this map isn't about surviving on low ammo, it's about killing 351 monsters with possible health problems later on, given the distribution of it. The layout is a simple follow-the-way thing, and is mostly bright grey. Definitely worth a look.
  
  
• ESCAPE by Sebastian Kirke
  60kb - doom.exe - SP - (img)
  We round off the classic section with a neat little map set in some kind of small gothic fortress-type thing. It has machines, dining tables and panoramic views of the outside forest area. Detail is quite nice, and the author seems to have taken advantage of the small spaces to make it so. Gameplay is quite good too, with a tight ammo/health balance and variety of monsters. Definitely the best of the classic wads, despite the fact it's the smallest.
  
  
• Gravity Gun by Andrew Stine (Linguica)
  53kb - ZDoom - SP -
  Back to the future now, with a rendition of the gravity gun from Half-Life 2. If you have a pc that isn't the best thing around haven't got HL2, it allows you to pick stuff up and throw it at monsters. It is quite amusing actually, and of course the scripting is first-rate, however it is map-bound and consequently of more limited use than a general weapon mod.
  
  
• A crappy weapon mod thats basically a skin with no special dehacked work! by Chronoteeth
  196kb - source port - n/a -
  The title is no deceiver, as that's just what it is. Basically a rehash of the countless weapon mods out there (ie. ripped graphics) with a few funky sounds added.
  
  
• Hell on Cheese by Hobomaster22
  185kb - doom2.exe - SP - (img)
  A small-ish brick/sewer map that is pretty good looking and dark in places, too. However on skill 4 there is simply not the health or the ammo to survive, so play with god mode or break F9 (even if you chainsaw you won't make it, as all of the problem monsters are un-chainsawable). The second map is the original version of the first, and is a bit more playable, however there's still no health until after you need it.
  
  
• Under Neith by Owen Lloyd (SargeBaldy)
  685kb - source port - SP - (img)
  We finish this week with a large E1M2 map that uses one of the Nightmare texture sets. A big underground base with various rocky bits, tech bits and many a dark passage. There's plenty of nice detail, both in lighting and in realism, and the texturing changes many times to keep things interesting. Gameplay is interesting despite the limited monsters, and you'll have to punch and saw to keep things going. Without a doubt the map of the week.
  
  

[The Ultimate DooMer]

fp! props to all logged in trolls!


(omg, on my own newstuff too!)

[Russell_P]

cheat :). I claim fp :P

[Nmn]

TP!
That CoD patch is seriously useful. No I can play it with my favorite sourceport :D other than that Underneith is my pick for the week. Funny skins too. Good week.

[Xaser]

TP/4P/Whatever.


Anyway, this week has quite a few wads and such. I'm about to check out Hell on Cheese and possibly a few others.


By the way, "A crappy weapon mod thats basically a skin with no special dehacked work!" fits the name, really. :P

[Xenaero]

Boring week for the most part. Fwhee boomdoom is fun.

[The Ultimate DooMer]

Russell_P said:

cheat :). I claim fp :P

Nope, it was Cyb who posted the newstuff, I was simply around at the time :D

[Kaiser]

Under Neith rules this week's newstuff, enough said ^_^

[wildweasel]

Doom Armory Presents: Newstuff Chronicles Highlights Of The Week

The Revenge of BoomDoom by CutManMike - From TUD's vague description I could have sworn that the mod was a ripoff of my own Independence Doom. But upon checking it out, it's actually a full-on weapons mod, that makes all the weapons spawn explosions. The enemies don't explode (not in the firey, Backdrafty way), but the weapons are actually full replacements. They feel about the same, but way more powerful. The one reason you should check it out, though, is the OMG Stick. This is like the most awesome BFG replacement in the history of the world.

A crappy weapon mod thats basically a skin with no special dehacked work! by Chronoteeth - This thing replaces the chaingun. Apparently Scuba Steve made the graphics, but don't let his name fool you - they're really kinda poor. The chain has anti-aliasing artifacts (the odd green pixel), and the gun moves too far between frames. There is no muzzle flash. The sound is decent (I actually provided it for the Opera-X project at the WWDA forums).

[Russell_P]

The Ultimate DooMer said:

Nope, it was Cyb who posted the newstuff, I was simply around at the time :D

Yeah, I know. I wasn't being entirely serious.

[DaniJ]

I quite liked Day in Hell but I can't really fault the review other than the sky worked perfectly for me...

Anyways I'm sorry to say that it didn't really work gameplay wise IMO. It was a cool concept but I don't think enough time was put into planning the progression. There seemed to be only three/four battles in between long stints of running around in the darkness, waiting to be shot so you knew where to fire.

It could have been good but the review was spot on.

[Chronoteeth]

WildWeasel said:

Doom Armory Presents: Newstuff Chronicles Highlights Of The Week

The Revenge of BoomDoom by CutManMike - From TUD's vague description I could have sworn that the mod was a ripoff of my own Independence Doom. But upon checking it out, it's actually a full-on weapons mod, that makes all the weapons spawn explosions. The enemies don't explode (not in the firey, Backdrafty way), but the weapons are actually full replacements. They feel about the same, but way more powerful. The one reason you should check it out, though, is the OMG Stick. This is like the most awesome BFG replacement in the history of the world.

A crappy weapon mod thats basically a skin with no special dehacked work! by Chronoteeth - This thing replaces the chaingun. Apparently Scuba Steve made the graphics, but don't let his name fool you - they're really kinda poor. The chain has anti-aliasing artifacts (the odd green pixel), and the gun moves too far between frames. There is no muzzle flash. The sound is decent (I actually provided it for the Opera-X project at the WWDA forums).

Uh WW, if I remember clearly, didn't that crappy weapon mod in /idarchives have 7 weapon replacements than 1?

[gemini09]

Racist skin by Cutmanmike
184kb - skin port - n/a -
Not sure about the title, but this is a camouflaged soldier with a white cone on his head. Weird.

Haha, you fucking idiot :-D

[Shaikoten]

These "weapon wads" wouldn't be half bad if they were accompanied by a map or two with a little artwork. Then again, as was stated, the authors usually just rip them, and are probably incapable of spriting. Shame.

[Snarboo]

Shaikoten said:

Then again, as was stated, the authors usually just rip them, and are probably incapable of spriting. Shame.

Not entirely true, it's just much, much easier to rip a graphic than make an original one. It sometimes takes me a day or two just to finish one frame for an original weapon, sometimes even longer if I mess up the shading or I happen to be lazy on that day. Weasel and the crew over at the Doom Armory can attest to my slow pace. :p

As for Newstuff itself, Boomdoom is my pick for the week. The ripped graphics are very good and consistent, and the weapons themselves are fun to use, especially the OMG stick. However, because all bullet puffs are explosions, it makes some of the maps very difficult with hitscan enemies. However, that does balance out the ridiculous power of the weapons.

[Scuba Steve]

Under Neith wins this week. If there were awards for each week...

[Udderdude]

Just FYI, it's possible to beat Hell on Cheese on skill 4 w/o any cheats. I've done it. You just need to get alot of infighting going, and run past the monsters alot. Maybe not your kind of thing, but it is possible.

[mystery8]

Day in Hell looked nice and the sky worked for me, but it felt too short. Slow week :(

[Veddge]

Sargebaldy's sequel to Neith was really fun. Hell on Cheese was ok too.

[Anima Zero]

Under Neith was quite fun. It's non-linear, which isn't too bad. It also had a nice progression of weapons and enemies. Ammo and health were just right...not enough that you'll be swimming in it, yet just enough to get you through the level.

Hell On Cheese was...interesting. Low ammo to start with, but near the end, there's more than enough to kill off everything in the level, provided you cause some infighting where the Mastermind teleports in (In case you're wondering, I did a maxdemo for the level. I'll be making a thread for it on the Demos forum).

[TwinBeast]

Wohooo! I thought my wad was going to get missed by everyone. Too bad the sky didn't work for you. I've sometimes experienced sky missing problems too, of course I've fixed them to work on my computer. Don't know why are they missing with some people's computers.

[Schneelocke]

Regarding Hell on Cheese... you may notice that DOOM actually *does* offer skill levels besides UV and NM. And you may also notice that the default skill level is HMP, not UV.

So, if you cannot finish a map on UV, maybe you should just deflate your ego a slight little bit and use an easier skill level instead of blaming it on the map.

Really, it bugs me when people are like that. If a level's too hard for you, just use a lower skill level - there's no shame in doing so. But don't criticize the author simply because you didn't make it.

[Fredrik]

Too hard? No way. But Schneelocke is right, in either case.

The original version was better, by the way (disregarding texture alignment).

[hobomaster22]

No way is the original better, open it up in the editor its a peice of crap.

[Use]

Scuba Steve said:

Under Neith wins this week. If there were awards for each week...

I didn't think you like classic styled levels, and I agree, it's a sweet map!

[Enjay]

"Under Neith" is a really nice looking level with some great fights and some superb atmosphere. I really like the way some of the brick lines in the textures were very carefully used.

However, I did feel it suffered quite a lot from the old "WTF did that switch do" and the "you mean I have to back-track all the way to the (something) coloured door? Now where was it again?" syndromes. Still probably the best WAD this week though.

[Fredrik]

hobomaster22 said:

No way is the original better, open it up in the editor its a peice of crap.

How the fuck does looking at a level in an editor give you a better idea than playing it?

[Azriel]

Fredrik said:

How the fuck does looking at a level in an editor give you a better idea than playing it?

I think he means how professionally it is built. For example, you can make a pillar by making a sector out of it and then rise it until it reaches the ceiling but that's pretty stupid.

But that has absolutely nothing to do with the gameplay indeed.

[sargebaldy]

Enjay said:

However, I did feel it suffered quite a lot from the old "WTF did that switch do" and the "you mean I have to back-track all the way to the (something) coloured door? Now where was it again?" syndromes.

Yeah, I didn't like that either, doesn't quite flow like I would have hoped, but then I don't really think as far ahead as I should when I'm mapping.

[sgtcrispy]

Finally I can play COD.

Sweet!