Sin City 4

[Ed]

Yeah, I know.. I said I was leaving. I wanted to release one last hurrah and call it a day. Well, I was pretty sure I could have this wrapped within weeks/a month tops. Well, it's taken quite a bit longer than expected.

I wanted SC3 to be a lot more than it was.. as I have all the .wads I've made. I've never been happy with any of them truth be told, I usually just gave up and released the damn things out of frustration. This is really my end all be all, I've sunk a lot of heart and soul into this one and I hope when it's 100% it will be something really special. My guess is it's well into the 100k side-def mark with over a year of work poured into it. Although the sector and side-def count is considerably high and will be quit a bit higher upon completion, I've made sure it still feels like DOOM. Just a bit amplified.

I'm rounding into the beta area, and hope to have it wrapped by the year's end.

Screenshots @ WADs In Progress

[Vorpal]

Looks awesome ;-)

But hey don't leave! I remember kicking getting ass kicked by you on Doomserv, you showed me some of your levels which started the fire in my brain to maybe make my own...

[40oz]

oh man! I forgot you were that guy who made those awesome textures. This looks really pretty!

[NaturalTvventy]

Those screens look crazy good!

[fullmetalvaran33]

Looks like it's going to be awesome! :)

[Guest]

Awesome looking screenshots. I haven't played any of the sin city series, but I think I will have to now.


The textures themselves look amazing too. I have already used several of the textures that were posted in the "we got texture artists" thread, and I am sure hoping that there will be permissions for use in other projects.

[Phobus]

Glad to see there'll be one more of these, even if it is to be the last!

[Ed]

It's done!

http://www.mediafire.com/?qx78v4b9i4eddaa

If you happen across any bugs, please let me know. There are a lot of sprite clipping / slime trails if you looks.. but I haven't seen anything major.

I decided to roll with an all new title. It's called 'Valhalla', I hope you enjoy it

**Edit - It's for software zdoom only btw

[fullmetalvaran33]

I've been looking forward to playing this for a while now. It's dark, gritty, and kind of creepy, like a "Blade Runner" kind of city. It's too bad you're leaving :(.

[Graf Zahl]

Ed said:

**Edit - It's for software zdoom only btw

And why is that? So far it looks ok in GL but I haven't fully checked it out yet.

[Ed]

In the starting area sky, there are mid-textures aligned above the ceiling height that get cut off in OpenGL. It will work fine, but in that one area it looks a little dicked up. On my computer anyway, my video card is garbage so who knows.

[Graf Zahl]

Yes, there was a small oversight in the texture clipping code. It should never have been done like that for lines with sky on both sides.

With the next revision that particular effect will look correct.

[Tormentor667]

Ed said:

Yeah, I know.. I said I was leaving.

Glad that you didn't ;) Very nice map!

[esselfortium]

Incredible map! I did get a little lost a few times, and there were a few minor technical quibbles (some wall detail that could've used impassible lines to keep the player from getting stuck on it, and some flat alignment/slope scaling issues), but as a whole this was an amazing experience. The architecture was consistently impressive and unique as hell, new and old resources were used together brilliantly, and the setting's atmosphere and coolness factor were about on par with RTC-3057. And I don't think I've said that about any wad I've played since...well, since RTC-3057.

Please don't leave, Ed!

[NaturalTvventy]

Missing texture here.

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/emilharold/Screenshot_Doom_20101110_164921.png

http://i613.photobucket.com/albums/tt214/emilharold/Screenshot_Doom_20101110_164925.png

Farking fantastic map man. I ran through this puppy and absolutely loved it. It amazes me how you've pushed the doom engine to new limits. The use of slopes, midtextures, and custom textures is stunning. Did you create the custom textures? They are quality my friend. I love the look you've created, especially because it's it's own style, and not the 'kdizd' style that seems to dominate the moding community these days, with every wall getting a border and computer terminal. Not that I don't like that style and utilize aspects of it myself, i just think it's greatly overused and far from the only way to make a level look good, as this map clearly demonstrates. Your use of lighting is the best I've ever seen as well.

Game play was strong. It's nice to see a map use restraint in number of monsters and not just spam the shit out of everything and call it good. I had a lot of fun on this one, and ran through it at a very solid pace. I'm glad you included just about all the weapons. Ammo balance was great. I had enough plasma to get out of jams and I didn't have to overly rely on the ssg. The only thing I think could use improvement if the first battle. I had opened the dysfunctional door that only opened a little, and once the monsters started coming in on the other side I could just sit there and shoot their feet til they all died without being touched. that's not how you want such a kick-ass level to start at all.

the tiny key switches were a bit of a pain because they hardly show up on the map, but I can't really fault you for this. back in the days before zdoom the keydoors never showed up different on the map anyways, so really I consider it a luxury no matter what.

Also in one of the final rooms where the monsters teleport in on the south side of the map, it's hard to see those switches. I'd light them up a bit myself.

Very minor complaints on a truly unique and enjoyable map. This is a look I'm trying to go for in my current project, and you just blow me out of the water. Thanks for showing the Doom world something new, and please keep up the great work. This and 'Drip Feed' have been the only two maps I've really enjoyed so far this year.

NT

[UnholyMessias]

Really awesome map this, design is amazing and gameplay is pretty fun too. It was a bit too easy though on uv for me, I never got below 90 health and didnt really feel threatened at all. I agree with naturaltwenty that the switches at the endroom should be lightened up, I couldnt find them either when i first got into that room.

[40oz]

Hell yeah software rendering! I'm not one to give a shit about ZDoom but I've been keeping an eye out on these screenshots which jogged my interest. This wad delivers! To throw out a couple nitpicky things, the architecture seemed to be really wild and broken up at times, but the amazing lighting makes up for it. The gameplay was relatively easy given how ominous the map in its entirety appeared to portray and some of the item placement was a little too easy. I felt like I was being spoonfed with weapons and ammo because they were placed in areas I needed to go, I never really felt like I found anything by exploring. Not to say that's a terrible thing, but it left a little room for something that potentially could have been perfect. The monster placement was also easy and I was able to play carelessly without being too worried, with the exception of not having much armor. Easy playthrough is forgivable though being as though I was able to play it with the HUD completely turned off for the full cinematic experience.

If any wad screamed "post-apocalyptic" it's this wad. The lighting absolutely blows me away especially with the usage of stock doom textures and edits, it still appears like the screenshots seen in modern games today. The look I see here appears to be really close to the kind of look I'm going for in UAC Ultra 2 but you're appearently doing it better. Even if you are quitting doom mapping forever, you certainly deserve any respect you can receive by leaving with a bang. This is really awesome.

[Ed]

Wow, thanks for the feedback guys!

Game play seems to be hit or miss.
I dreaded populating the map. I went the frantic, overwhelming horde route on my first draft for gun play and I felt rushed and very cramped. I tweaked the game play to have each area of the map have a slightly different style of fighting and to keep the pace relaxed, but busy. Some situations are a little more difficult on co-op settings.

I knew there must have been a (or several) visual bugs in there. I wouldn't be surprised to see more. I looked around the map for days bug hunting. I always wait till the very end to squash bugs, such a bad habit.

[40oz]

Ed said:

co-op settings.

Coop you say!? Replaying.

[Mechadon]

I've been keeping my eyes on the screenshots for this thing. The feedback so far already has me sold on it, and I haven't even played it yet! Can't wait to give this a try :D

[ArmouredBlood]

Played it yesterday, thought the architecture/detailing was awesome, especially liked the little plasma gun secret. Can't really add much without sounding like everyone else in the thread, heh. In gameplay, like essel said, there were parts where a few impassable lines would've been nice, like the hexagonal passage running along the back of the 'information booth', and generally it felt just a little too cramped by detail in many of the early passageways. There were some good fights like the room with the baron in the square thing near the end, but most of the fighting seemed to be clearing corridors. As 40oz said it was rather easy, I only died once when I got caught by the switch that opened the red key room, though I did get pretty low in health to hitscanners early on. Speaking of switches, it's very easy to not notice the little red button that opens that door (yellow colored lighting sector). Would've worked better to have a little panel and the switch within it, though then you might as well have used the stock switches. So in the end, awesome visuals, decent gameplay.

[40oz]

The lighting just freakin blows me away. I'm definitely going to have to incorporate dramatic lighting effects in my maps because this proves that it doesn't turn your gameplay into complete garbage. I know I said I thought it could have been better but it wasn't by any means unplayable, unsatisfactory, or irritating.

[esselfortium]

As far as the gameplay goes, I played with saves on Hurt Me Plenty and I still died a lot. I had fun, though. Your mileage may vary.

I was surprised the dark room with the caged baron in the middle and the teleporting monsters didn't toss an archvile at me after I cleared it out, though. I was really expecting one :P

[Mechadon]

I finished playing through this just now! It was a bit shorter than I thought it would be, heh.

To my surprise, I played this on UV and beat it all the way through, without saves, on my first try. It's definitely not easy though. I think you did an excellent job balancing the difficulty.

Visuals and architecture are down right scrumptious. I love how you made use of midtextures throughout the map. It really gave the spaces a well defined 3D feel. It really felt like a really rusty old factory or something. Not to mention that the rest of the architecture throughout the entirety of the map is amazing. And the atmosphere you projected...I think that was this map's strongest point. The lighting, music, and texture usages converged to create that dark and creepy feeling that I love so much in Doom maps. It definitely had some Quake and Doom 64 vibes to the whole thing. I loved it.

I'd like to echo some other things that were brought up too. I did get lost a few times, but I think that could have been avoided. The flow isn't hard to follow as the monsters sorta lead you to next destination just fine. I ran into problems when I had to try and figure out what I had to do next once I got to the area I needed to be in. In particular, I think one of the reasons that contribute to that are the super small switches; the ones that are like 8x8 mp. Sometimes I'd spot them just fine but most of the time I didn't. Especially if one of the switches were tucked in an inner wall or similar. If it were me, I'd probably bump up those switch sector's brightness to 255 and then have them glow. At least then they would be easier to spot, I think. One situation in particular seemed broken. After working through the room with the Baron that's in a cage in the middle of the room, I made my way to get the blue key card. For some reason the bars didn't lower, so I spent a good 10 minutes looking for another area that might have opened up. I gave up and went back to that Baron/cage room, flipped the switch again, and doing that seemed to finally lower the bars so I could get the blue key. Not sure what happened there exactly, but it seems like I broke some sort of sequence somehow.

When I ran through the first bits of the map, I thought I might have some issues navigating around because there are a lot of bits that stick out. But it actually wasn't too bad. There are definitely some areas that could use impassible lines though.

Overall though, an excellent example of unique and interesting architecture coupled with excellent detailing and atmosphere. The gameplay was very well paced and balanced too. I sincerely hope this won't be your last map :(

[JadedLexi]

The lighting in this level is absolutely incredible.

[Guest]

Great, great level Ed. Reminds me of SineDie, one of my all time favorite levels, in terms of how well it creates a level that feels 'real'. Had to keep a close eye on finding switches, but never really got lost, though some searching was involved.

Wonderful, thanks heaps for this map.

[Xtroose]

I wish more ZDoom maps would be like this one. You used the engine's features to enhance the experience, and not just for the sake of using them - this is something I miss in many other maps. The atmosphere was impressive, it was unique, yet it still felt like Doom. I just loved the lighting, in my opinion it is one of the most overlooked Doom engine features, and you have really used it well, so well in fact, that I really can not remember, when was the last time I was so immersed in a Doom wad.

The small red switches were at times a bit hard to spot, but in my opinion they were placed exactly where I expected them, so it did not take me too long to figure out what to do next. I did get a bit confused a couple of times (memory issues), but I was always able to quickly figure out what to do.

I found the difficulty quite challenging on HMP, I died a couple of times, but it was not too hard, because there was sufficient cover in most areas. I did get stuck on some walls at times, but it was not that bad.

I am sad to hear you are leaving, but I wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

[Ed]

http://www.mediafire.com/?9byg1zp0ktl657a

Updated version with bug fixes.

[Icytux]

A pretty good map, The architecture was actually pretty damn neat, and as already mentioned the use of Midtexture structures made it look really 3D. It did get a little booring with brown brown brown and yet again more brown. But the map was fairly short so it wasn't that bad, but the new areas somehow felt a little like the previous area when there was only... brown.

I'm a guy who usually dont really care about gameplay :P as I'm one helluva bad player. But this time i actually tried playing it from start to finish. The layout and the flow wasn't really that good, I was always thinking, where the hell should i go?. And the small buttons at the doors were really annoying. I thought, oh so this was just a decorative door i cant open (But it seems i just missed the tiny tiny button at the side). Good thing you spawned monsters to "lead your way" thru the map though, because otherwise i would have been lost many many times.
It wasn't too hard atleast, as I'm a bad player and i managed really well on HMP.
One thing that also was a little bit annoying was that the map was so claustrophobic. It might have been your intentions. But man, at times when you had to fight in theese tight corridors with no covers but a lot of shit to bump into felt a little bit annoying.
I overall got a little Doom3 feel of the ambience in the map.

Id give it 4/5 because of the various ******* architecture and details, and that I actually bothered to play through it all (dosn't happen often). Yet not really perfect because of the stuff i mentioned.

(why is "G e n i o u s" a censored word anyway?)

[killer2]

Please post another link (on another site).Mediafire doesn't work for me and I want to try the level.