Squipple8c.wad and doom wad ideas (restrictions and motifs)

[Hellbent]

squipple8c.wad This is a modified version of squipple.wad that was uploaded in the #362 /newstuff. It employs some of the ideas in this thread.

I encourage you to give the wad a chance (or several) and to set aside your expectations for how a wad should play. This version now requires slightly less trial and error.



cave troll monster or Grendel type oger: ugly, slow, tough with an unwieldy spiked ball on a chain in one hand and a spiked club in the other.

Restriction wad idea: make a wad using only certain linedef types such as type 1 (DR player/monster open door wait close) and type 4 (W1 monster/player open door wait close).

Make a wad with only 5 different textures or texture sets throughout level (ie, one texture would be any bookcase texture--another would be brick10, another brick11, another any woodmet, another rockred1-3) etc. SUPPORTs, METAL, SHAWN2, lift textures and door textures wouldn't be included in the restrictions, although maybe you could only use two different door textures or only use small doors, or only one SUPPORT type.

A wad with only so many sidedefs and linedefs (something on the order of episode 3 of Doom 1). This restriction might fit better with some of the motifs below, such as linedefs at certain angles (detailed maps don't seem to work with odd shaped angles and tend to remain restricted to square angles).

Motif wad idea: make a wad (with or without the above restrictions) with the following: a pool or chasm separating two areas like the area with all the former humans on E2M5 separated by a water pool from the end area in E2M5.

An area or room with three walls with similar angles but not having to be going in the same direction (ie ~45 and ~-45). The restriction is that they need to be near 45 or -45 degrees, but cannot BE 45 degrees, with a minimum 3 of degrees difference in angle from each other and all 3 lines having to be within 5 degrees of 45 (so between 40 and 50 or -40 and -50). So for example: one wall could be 41 degrees, one wall -44 degrees and one wall 49 degrees). It sounds weird/random, but that combination of angles can make an interesting effect if proportioned intelligently to one another. The rest of the walls of the room/area can be as you like.

Windowed halls looking into other areas like the ones found on E1M7

A bridge or raised platfrom with slime/lava pits on either side and secrets cleverly hidden in the pits (as in E1M7).

A door that is locked by a key card but the key card is not in the level or is difficult to get/find (maybe in a secret or guarded by some horrible trap/monster). However, monsters from the other side of the door can open the door because they are alerted (using dummy sectors) though they are closed off from the rest of the map. Monsters cleverly placed so that they open the door not too frequently giving you various opportunities to progress without ever getting the key (this was done in a level of Wolfenstein 3D and I always thought it was cool to get through a locked door without the key!)

It might be fun to collect together 9 maps for Doom (or Doom2) that all attempted these parameters to see how different or similar they'd all be.

Please offer your suggestions for better/more creative motifs since I've only thought of some okay ones. A motif wad would probably need more motifs than is listed here.

[Frankdude]

Hellbent leave these forums, you don't make sense.

[magicsofa]

I like the idea of having only doors which are opened by anyone. I kinda want to try it. (You mean no switches, no lifts, etc right?)

[Hellbent]

magicsofa said:

I like the idea of having only doors which are opened by anyone. I kinda want to try it. (You mean no switches, no lifts, etc right?)

yeah. I've always been surprised no one has made a suspense/haunted house monsters coming out of the woodwork (quite literally) wad. I'm not sure why I never attempted it. Maybe because for it to be good it would require a lot of planning, and I'm not much good at planning. But I am sort of intrigued to try it. I always forget about type 4 for some reason (w1). Althought it might be better if there was a wr monster/player door open/close type. Still, it will be fun to see what one can do with those limitations.

I sense there is still much to be done in doom editing that hasn't been fully explored yet. I have ideas right now of things I haven't seen before, but it would take a lot of time for me to implement them. We'll see, I might try something on this as well.

[Jodwin]

Hellbent said:

Althought it might be better if there was a wr monster/player door open/close type.

Boom generalized actions.

[Hellbent]

Jodwin said:

Boom generalized actions.

yeah, I know, but somehow it's more 'pure' to work within the limits of vanilla doom.

[wildweasel]

A level that is entirely blue.

A level that exclusively uses the SKINLOW textures.

A level designed to look as "organic" as possible, a la the arcade game Salamander.

A level taking place in an Old West-style "ghost town", with boarded up windows and such.

[Foofoo]

i was thinking once of making a level where you have to use monster infighting everywhere, as there would be no weapons or ammo pickups.

[magicsofa]

Foofoo said:

i was thinking once of making a level where you have to use monster infighting everywhere, as there would be no weapons or ammo pickups.

You could also have crushers and more creative traps to lead the hordes into

[Walter confetti]

WildWeasel said:

A level designed to look as "organic" as possible, a la the arcade game Salamander.

Now, this could be awesome.

[Hellbent]

I have been working on a modification of squipple.wad for quite some time and i just implemented a very devistating arch vile--resurrecting really just about every dead monster in the vicinity--I always have trouble getting them to revive all the monsters--they usually only revive a few of them--but this one almost always revives all of them. Not sure why he is more 'effective' than the other arch viles I've put forth in my maps. I'll post the wad soonish.

also--every once in a while a monster gets activated that shouldn't. It only happens about 7% of the time. I don't get it tho. I can't figure out what's activating it. I can't make it deaf cause it needs to be activated at a certain point. He is in a small room that can only be opened by the player. and yet i'll be on opposite side of the map and he'll be out and about--no idea how he is being activited. He teleports into the map once he's been activated; he's activated by a door opening letting the sound into his room where there is a teleport line he walks over as soon as he moves.

[Phml]

Hellbent - I've had the same issue in one of my maps (a large one). It was caused by a bad nodebuild. Splitting a big sector into multiple smaller ones and rebuilding the nodes fixed the problem, in my situation.

[Hellbent]

Phml said:

Hellbent - I've had the same issue in one of my maps (a large one). It was caused by a bad nodebuild. Splitting a big sector into multiple smaller ones and rebuilding the nodes fixed the problem, in my situation.

Thx phml! I will upload the thing once i have a chance to do one last run through and try your fix.

[Hellbent]

squipple8a.wad

squipple wad modified--employing some of the ideas in this thread.

I encourage you to give the wad a chance (or many) and to set aside your expectations for how a wad should play.

[gggmork]

That's really fun for first demo attempts. Challenging.
I ***S*U*C*K*** at FDAs, but here's mine which is pretty much a comedy of failure:
http://www.speedyshare.com/files/21704054/squipple8a-01-ggg.zip
I never beat it of course.. I do that stupid side to side waggling whenever an enemy pisses me off by taking only 1% damage when I shoot them directly in the face, or anything within a 1-mile radius sticks out one pixel of its bounding box to trip me or the game cheats or does whatever it can to annoy me. I think doom has some sort of secret 'ass mode' coded into it and its automatically set when a player doesn't use a mouse like me or something.

There, just needed one more try to beat it:
http://www.speedyshare.com/files/21704267/squipple8a-3rdAttempt-01-ggg.zip

[wildweasel]

Y'know, speaking of Squipple, I'd love to see more wads that - whether they modify the other weapons to suit or not - completely eliminate the shotguns from the game.

[Walter confetti]

a ugly looking wad (with some of the general cliché of bad editing maps, like homs, illusio-pits and similar stuff) but full of details and good looking.

[Hellbent]

gggmork what version of what port did you use to record the demos?

[gggmork]

prboomplus 2.5.0.6 (probably works with any version of prboom)

[Walter confetti]

more ideas:

an entirely outdoor level, containing locked doors and so more...

a oriental themed map, like as Shadow Warrior

a level sets in the tropical jungle

[Spleen]

WildWeasel said:

A level that is entirely blue.

Have you played Alien Vendetta MAP31? The first third of that level possibly has some nice inspiration for your idea.

walter confalonieri said:

an entirely outdoor level, containing locked doors and so more...

uhhh

walter confalonieri said:

a oriental themed map, like as Shadow Warrior

Deus Vult II map03

walter confalonieri said:

a level sets in the tropical jungle

Scythe II maps 21-25


Anyways, I've been looking for a good ice/winter-themed DOOM level for limit-removing Vanilla for a while now. If it hasn't been done already, it would be pretty cool if someone did that.

[Hellbent]

Spleen said:

Have you played Alien Vendetta MAP31? The first third of that level possibly has some nice inspiration for your idea.

I was thinking the same thing.

Spleen said:
Anyways, I've been looking for a good ice/winter-themed DOOM level for limit-removing Vanilla for a while now. If it hasn't been done already, it would be pretty cool if someone did that. [/B]

You could try CaH.wad (Cold as Hell).

[Hellbent]

gggmork: I don't understand... were you not able to open the door at the very beginning of the map?

Edit: I think I understand why the door wasn't opening. I've fixed it. Maybe you want to play again with the door openable? I think you'll find it will change things somewhat ;). squipple8b.wad

The second demo was very entertaining as omniscient watcher!

[Hellbent]

Thanks for the demos gggmork, they were fun to watch. Did you want to give it another try? The door bug should be fixed. If it is, you'll find that the level is consirably easier and more fun.