Claustrophobia 1024 -- Fixed version released!

[Joshy]

Just to notify quickly, I give permission for anyone to do minor changes/bug fixes to my maps. Feel free to do some of the changes Kyka, I'd appreciate it :-), unfortunately I won't have time to do anything, I'm off for a well deserved holiday/break. Good luck with the rest of the project guys! Here's for a happy release! :P

[[name_withheld]]

I give full permission for anyone to make any changes to my maps that are needed to unbreak gameplay, or fix and visual issues.

[Spertz]

KingKill33 said:

I give full permission for anyone to make any changes to my maps that are needed to unbreak gameplay, or fix and visual issues.

Ditto.

[Dco16]

So... how "almost done" is it at the moment?

[Mechadon]

Fiend said:

So... how "almost done" is it at the moment?

I'm actually waiting on testing to be completely finished. By "finished" I mean whenever TGH gets around to finishing up :P. He's been very thorough with his reports and he has also been able to point out the major bugs in the maps. Oh and I'm also waiting on some music from Jimmy91...guess I should drop him yet another PM to see if I can get a status update from him. Oh yea and I'm pretty sure TGH is still in the process of making a track for one of his maps as well.

Once testing is "finished", I'll list off all of the maps that require fixing and/or tweaking. Then the testers (or original author if he/she shows up) can pick a map, fix it, then resubmit. Once that's done, build 2 (aka. pre-release build) will be released to the testers for one final skimming to make sure everything is as bug-free as possible. Around this time I'll likely set a date for the release that we can actually stick to.

[Kyka]

Heh. So TGH, no pressure or anything. :P

[IRod54]

Is this close to being done?

[Jodwin]

IRod54 said:

Is this close to being done?

You could have, I don't know, tried reading the two last posts in the topic before asking that.

[IRod54]

Whoops, could've thought of that.

[Dutch Doomer]

I fixed all the bugs in my refinery map. I wait an bit and see if there are any major flaws with my other two maps.

[Butts]

So, is this close to being done?



...[sarcasm]

[The Green Herring]

After being busy for over a week, here are two new reports.

MAP26: Forgotten Fortress -
* 100% Kills possible: Yes
* 100% Items possible: Yes
* 100% Secrets possible: Yes (0 secrets)
* Completable from pistol start: Yes
* Fits within 1024×1024: Yes
* This seems like a sequel to Fear No Evil. In fact, the theme and structure of this level is so similar to that of Fear No Evil that it seems almost like one of them was based on the other.
* The music on this level is a blatantly improper MIDI conversion of D_E1M7 (that was then converted to MUS by Mechadon.) It's "improper" in the sense that the percussion starts up at the very beginning of the song rather than where it's supposed to start due to a conversion error. If one intended to use Doom music in their Doom level, it would have made much more sense to, uh, use the original MUS file instead of a bad conversion.
* In the starting passageway, it's possible for the monsters below to see you, often from you reaching for the ammunition at the east. Consequently, when you attempt to go through the east opening, you will often be blocked from doing so by monsters roaming around below you. This is because even in Boom/MBF, it's impossible for an actor to go over or under another actor. Click here to download a demo of this happening (recorded with PrBoom+ 2.5.0.1 using Boom compatibility.) This can also happen if you escape to activate the red key switch while the first monster horde is being warped in, and then attempt to get back down after slaughtering the horde that teleports in near you after you hit the switch.
* Maybe this is just me, but I really, really don't think the lowering walls leaving completely flat sheets of green stone on the dirt floor looks good. At all. It would have been much better if the linedef action caused the floor texture to change to that of the sector around it ("Numeric" in Doom Builder,) giving the impression of the walls sinking completely into the ground.

MAP27: Magnum Opus -
* 100% Kills possible: Yes
* 100% Items possible: Yes
* 100% Secrets possible: No (see spoiler)
* Completable from pistol start: Yes
* Fits within 1024×1024: Yes
* Interesting choice of sky texture. :)
* Who made the music in this level?
* A very hard level (fittingly so for this late in the WAD) that demands lightning reflexes from the player to achieve victory, especially in the later stages. I like.
* Some of the walls separating the rooms are so thin that arch-viles can resurrect monsters through them. It's pretty surreal to watch.

Spoiler

* 100% Secrets is impossible because the teleport-to-soul-sphere secret's secret flag is placed on the secret door (sector 116,) which is so thin that the player cannot completely step on it (which is required to register a secret,) since attempting to do so will cause you to be teleported away, à la Doom II MAP15: Industrial Zone. A far more sensible location for the secret flag is the sector beneath the soul sphere itself (sector 111.)

* Is there a reason this level was placed in overflow? Any reason at all?

[Mechadon]

Ah good work TGH! And sorry, please don't feel like we are waiting for you...I truly do appreciate all of the work your doing ;). I'll just address a couple things:

The music on this level is a blatantly improper MIDI conversion of D_E1M7 (that was then converted to MUS by Mechadon.) It's "improper" in the sense that the percussion starts up at the very beginning of the song rather than where it's supposed to start due to a conversion error. If one intended to use Doom music in their Doom level, it would have made much more sense to, uh, use the original MUS file instead of a bad conversion.

I can't think what may have happened here, but I definitely didn't notice anything wrong (my ears aren't as attuned as yours apparently :P). I'm pretty sure that I converted it from .midi though so this is likely my fault. Or it's from the alpha build of Claus...so it may have came from there. In any case though I will grab the correct MUS lump from the iwad and use it instead. 'Refinery' and 'Fear No Evil' also use music from Ultimate Doom; are those two tracks ok?

Is there a reason this level was placed in overflow? Any reason at all?

Heh, yea there was a reason for it. The gameplay was there but, visually speaking, it needed work (relative to the rest of the maps that were in the main wad, anyways). POTGEISSER wasn't around, as far as I could tell, to work on the map a while back so that's why it ended up in overflow. But I decided that it really should be included in the main wad, so I eventually got in contact with him and gave him some feedback for the visuals and other stuff. And now it's in the main wad :D. I would have regretted not including it I think.

[Dutch Doomer]

Forgotton Fortress should be replaced by an map from someone else, as TGH allready mentioned its too similar in design when compared to my Fear no Evil map. Two almost identical designed maps isn't very good for this project. And the slot would probably serve an better purpose with an different map.

I would like to keep my Refinery and my Fear no Evil map in though, feel free to replace my Forgotten Fortress map.

@TGH Fear no Evil is the sequel map in this case, and I allready sort of released that Forgotten Fortress map some time ago in an different thread.

[hawkwind]

The Green Herring said:

MAP27: Magnum Opus -

* 100% Secrets possible: No

What port did you check this with ? Using both glboom+ and Risen3D I managed to get all 3 secrets - no problem.

I did find some additional errors with this map though ...

1. Sector tag #14 needs removing from sector 168. Look at lines 711-713 at the ceiling when triggering the switch at line 711. Depending on port - small hom.

2. Using glboom+, I noticed thing 266 - box of shells - suspended in mid-air. Just needs moving to fix.

3. The ceilings of sectors 196, 134, 168, 167, 169 should be DEM1_5.

SUBJECTIVE ...

4. Floor of sector 161 should be DEM1_6.

5. Back side upper tetures of lines 1264,1281 and 1260 should be SUPPORT3, to match texture on line 655.

6. Texture at lines 483/1298 change to GSTONE1 ( or better still, just extend lines 1297/501 ).

7. Ceiling flats at sectors 193/192 should be the same.

[The Green Herring]

hawkwind said:

What port did you check this with ? Using both glboom+ and Risen3D I managed to get all 3 secrets - no problem.

I could've sworn the secret I mentioned in the spoiler couldn't register when I tried it last time. As it turns out, it can... but only if you move toward it from the west side. Still, though, giving the secret flag to the destination sector instead of the door would be a lot safer and make more sense.

By the way, the textures on that door don't move with the door when you open it.

[Mechadon]

@dutch: I don't necessarily think having Fear No Evil and Forgotten Fortress in the same map set will hurt the project; they are both excellent maps no matter how similar they are (not to mention they are pretty much the only GSTONE/Marble maps in the wad...gotta make sure it's balanced! heh). Just my opinion though :P. At this point in time, though, I want to stay away from replacing maps in the main wad with other maps since it would just be a pain (for me and the testers) and we're already really close to finishing up.

[Dutch Doomer]

Ok no problem youre the boss :p I guess I have to fix some stuff on that map then.

[Mechadon]

Ok, thanks alot Dutch!

Everything seems to be going smoothly still guys! Just waitin' on testing to be finished up :D

[stewboy]

Are any maps still requiring music?

[Mechadon]

I think were good, music wise Stewboy. However maybe someone would like custom music for their map(s)...? I dunno, if so then speak up.

[The Green Herring]

MAP28: Poisin Poison Ivy -
* 100% Kills possible: ???
* 100% Items possible: ???
* 100% Secrets possible: Yes
* Completable from pistol start: ??????
* Fits within 1024×1024: Yes
* This level is hard. In fact, so far, I can't beat this fucking level no matter how hard I try. This was part of the reason this report took so long to be posted, and why it's incomplete. I think this is because of how ridiculously luck-based most of the fights are. No matter what you think, an SSG is not an adequate weapon for fighting revenants if there's no room to dodge them because of the other monsters. And that's just for starters.
* When you play this level on Nightmare! difficulty, most of the time, it will start with the Cyberdemon shooting you, making the level unplayable, unless he fails to wake up before either of the zombies shoot at you (and hit him instead.) This is because on Nightmare! difficulty, enemies will shoot on sight, rather than simply moving when they first see you.
* It's possible to get onto the plasma rifle platform across linedef 602, which will cause you to get blocked by invisible imps because it doesn't have a instant-floor-raise action unlike the other linedefs near it.
* Because of improper Z-clipping (actors cannot go over or under other actors,) the lost souls can get blocked by the monsters waiting to spring up. In fact, if they try to attack you enough, or you hit them with a rocket, you can blow up several of the waiting monsters before you get to them. Am I the only one on this team who uses a program other than ZDoom for playtesting!? Seriously!!!

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to pass out from exhaustion. *thud*

[Mechadon]

I guess I'm not the only one who had a horrible time beating that map (in UV anyways), heh :P. The fight near the beginning where the Rev's teleport in always got me :(

[Mechadon]

Update! Since things have seemed to moved to a crawl, dev. wise, I'm going to be setting a deadline for this particular testing session. In the meantime, I'll see if I can't get map updating jump-started in the coming days. Anywho, the deadline will be one week from today - May 14th. Hopefully that will give TGH and the rest of you enough time to finishing testing :)

[The Green Herring]

MAP29: Aura of Evil -
* 100% Kills possible: Yes
* 100% Items possible: Yes
* 100% Secrets possible: Yes
* Completable from pistol start: Yes
* Fits within 1024×1024: Yes
* As mentioned before, the music for this level is "Quutamo" by Apocalyptica, and the MIDI is by a guy who uses the handle Jerryteacup.
* Compared to MAP28, this level was a breeze. Having to fight medium-to-high level monsters with only a chaingun (after using up all 80 cells first) is a real drag even with the surplus of bullets you're given, but hey, at least I can complete the damn thing. That said, it's still painfully unfun to play.

MAP30: Thanatophobia -
Report PMed directly to Jodwin and Mechadon to avoid spoiling the last level.

[Dco16]

"I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by." -Douglas Adams

[The Green Herring]

MAP31: Skyscrape IV -
Report PMed directly to Mechadon and Jodwin to avoid spoiling a secret level.

MAP32: Oil Rig -
Report PMed directly to Mechadon and Mik57 to avoid spoiling a secret level.

[Mik57]

I might just redo OilRig entirely. Looking back on it, it is quite unpolished, and there are a lot of easy fixes. Expect it in 3 - 4 days.

[Butts]

Meh, I guess I'm not cut out for mapping. I was also heavily Death-Destiny influenced at the time...

[Mik57]

Quick question, how will map33 be accessed? Do I need to place a secret exit in my map, or is it just part of the regular level line-up?