A little nomenclature suggestion for the community (DOOM 2 related)

[Vegeta]

Well I know someone will point how irrelevant this is, but as you surely noted we don't have a proper word to call the DOOM 2/Final DOOM level sets (unlike episodes for DOOM, chapters for each game of the DOOM series, and hubs for wads that organize it's maps in the Hexen style). As we lack this term we call these group of levels <"episodes">, which at least for me sounds kinda poor. I'd like to suggest to use "sub chapters" (without the " ") to call these groups of levels that follow certain theme. This word keeps the "narration" theme (chapter, episode, sub chapter).

So as a sample:
The first Plutonia sub chapter takes place in the Congo base.


I know it's kinda hard to make a big change, but still I think anyone who use it will be understood. My idea is that each choose the one who likes the most.

[myk]

I'll always call them episodes. They are the same thing you get in DOOM, a consecutive series of relatively similarly themed levels ending with a text briefing and sharing a sky, except that they are linked.

[printz]

Interesting. For example I know nothing about where does the first part of Doom 2 take place... Another planet before going to Earth, Moon, or Earth itself? Ok, it can be Earth, though the sky is odd. Levels 1-5 are all dark and simplistic, and 6 is the finale. They're all small military or water systematization houses. Not very important they are, so it'd be ok to call them Underground (not metro, subway, train, tho why not either).

Part II is more open. They look like some sort of Space port. Level 7 is an entrance, level 8 is a hallway, level 9 is a control tower, level 10 is as its name, level 11 is the main port... why not.

Part III is something resembling a modern (not future) city on Earth. 12 is an industrial factory/depot, 13 is a center, 14 is less central, 15 is industrial, 16 is out, 17 is a residential place, 18 is a castle, 19 is another castle, 20 is damn hell.

Part IV is Hell on Earth. The map authors wisely and slightly made the city texture palette look more rubbish, as in a hell. I think it's the same as Doom 2 is called. Hell on Earth. Not Hell. If it were Hell it would burn your feet, suffocate you, and look like Inferno.

EDIT: I call them parts unless they're called otherwise in the game. Parts is more neutral.

[Vegeta]

"Part" probably is a better word as it's shorter and easy to use.

[xit-vono]

The problem with calling them episodes is that in compet-n an episode refers to a set of 10 levels such as 1-10, 11-20(including secret levels if applicable) and 21-30.

[myk]

xit-vono said:
The problem with calling them episodes is that in compet-n an episode refers to a set of 10 levels such as 1-10, 11-20(including secret levels if applicable) and 21-30.

I don't see the problem, since that's the COMPET-N specific definition of a DOOM II episode.

It's the same actually (and you could say I've been influenced by COMPET-N in saying that I call them episodes), except that they made a mistake back then, in my opinion, putting level 11 in episode 2. Using episodes as defined by the engine gives you 11 levels for the first episode, 9 to 11 for the second, and 10 for the 3rd, which seems reasonable, given you can't divide 32 by 3 effecively. Not that I think it should be changed, since it's way too late, for COMPET-N or for any demos sticking relatively closely to COMPET-N standards.

That said, if I were to record separate "episodes" for a DOOM II megawad not covered by COMPET-N, I'd record levels 1-11 as the first episode, and 12-20 as the second. If for anything, because the the skies would look right in Doom2, and so that each would end in a text screen.

What you said does remind me of something I had thought after posting here, though. A "nomenclature" is used for something relatively specific and that people can and need to agree to, and since these divisions don't have a name and never did, except maybe as "episodes" becasue of the precedent set by DOOM, attempting to determine their name now is pointless. You can call them episodes (because of DOOM... I would), parts, or sections, but in any case it'll be an informal name or words that are useful to describe them, not a clear tag that is self evident or otherwise agreed upon historically.

[printz]

I think "cluster" is a technically proper name. See Hexen and its offspring, ZDoom.

[myk]

printz said:
See Hexen and its offspring, ZDoom.

For Hexen and ZDoom, indeed, but not necessarily otherwise.