Progressive Fiction (Hadephobia now on /idgames)

[C30N9]

purist said:

If anyone has any free time to playtest can you please play MAP17, which Malinku linked to a few posts down?

Ah yes I forgot, sorry. I tested it, it was good. But I felt it was too easy, simple and short for such slot. MAP13+MAP14 have 10 minutes gameplay. And the doors are not marked with the yellow bars textures, which I don't see fitting.

Also, I would mention detail, but you said that detail is the remaining.

[purist]

I didn't see the length of MAP17 as a problem. The player might need a break in styles after the MAP16 (which is the largest map at this point in the megawad) and anyway I prefer smaller maps. I'm not sure what you mean by simple but if you mean the layout or route I think that's one of the level's main strengths. I love the way it guides you around the map.

I do agree it could afford to be more difficult, particulary the last area. If the player was forced to work more in that last area it would add to the length (in time) too.

[Death Egg]

Whoah, one of the parts in magicsofas map is scarily close to an idea I had for part of a potential MAP31 I'd thought up of during the planning stages. The part with RROCK02 on the floor in the middle around the base textures and barrels around, along with the fence between is almost exactly how I imagined it.

[The_MártonJános]

I'm completely fulfilled besides having my first four mark 5's in the term (in Hungary, A's are called mark 5), so maybe I'll have a few free time on 17/09 to continue my work, because my calculator broke and Sunday I'll get a new one.

[C30N9]

Ok, I probably wasn't much wise criticizing MAP17. I do agree with the break.

[magicsofa]

purist said:

magicsofa, your MAP32 starts up in a dark corridor with seemingly no way out. Opening up on Doombuilder there's a second playerstart THING elsewhere. Should these be the otherway around? I want to make sure I'm starting in the right spot before I test your work so far, though I've had a sneaky peek already and if it doesn't kick my arse too badly I think I'm going to like it.

damnit, I even opened it up to make sure there was no 3d mode start and forgot about that

yes the other p1 start should be in a solitary room with teleporters

[purist]

magic sofa, so I played MAP32. First route I took successfully was the megasphere route that leads to the cool barrel run and eventually a nice Cyb battle. I killed everything but can't seem to progress. Is it unfinished at this point? Should I consider this "route" complete and playtest another? Or can you tip me off to somewhere else I need to go?

Either way, I've already got a few notes. Generally speaking what I've played I've liked a lot. Your unorthodox style is difficult to weave into a supposedly consistent and progressive megawad but is perfect for a secret level.

Notes:

• You're right about the start. It's fine, but does not follow on from MAP31. If the exit is going to be here too it doesn't flow into MAP16 either. Do you remember the diagram I made for TrueDude to explain how the exits to MAP31 & MAP32 need to work? I'll link to it if you like.
  
• I'm pleased you've taken the idea of the marines being used as bait to a trap but where I've been there's no visual evidence of this. Maybe it becomes apparent later on in the map but I think it would work best near the start. I've got a good idea of how this can be visually translated into the level if you want me to explain?
  
• The megasphere can probably go, be replaced by health/PR/BFG or hidden as a secret. I'm no Doom expert and I never needed it.
  
• There was a HOM near the switch opening the cyb area after the yellow door.
  
• The brown liquid flat is damaging in this megawad. If you want it to remain non-damaging (which is probably for the best) and still liquid it needs to be either water or blood.
  
• I don't think the cyb area is too plain. It's dark enough so as not to be blatantly so anyway.
  
• I think the cyb is the right choice of monster for this area but, in UV at least, I think you can afford to add some mid-tier monsters to give the player extra to think about. Half a dozen HK's would work I think.

[The_MártonJános]

OK, so today is the day I get down to finishing MAP26.

[purist]

Cool. Here's what I've been working on. It's a rough draft edit of Vaporizer's MAP06. Here's the changelog:

• Added chainsaw and removed most shell boxes as it was a bit ammo overkill before. It's tighter from pistol start now but still reasonably comfortable for the mapslot if you use the saw on imps.
  
• Replaced one of the AVs for a rev as I want them to be the focus of the "boss section".
  
• Made the soulsphere secret activate differently because the AV jump never worked for me, even when I used IDDQD to repeatedly attempt it.
  
• Added a silent teleporter to take the player onto the ship deck. Firstly because it gives the map a firmer impression of being ship-like, secondly to add an area with a lot of room to contrast to the otherwise cramped areas, thirdly to act as a boss arena and finally just to extend the map a little.

Here's the zip:

Play me!

I'd like to hear what everyone (particulary Vaporizer) thinks of it so far before I add details and finish it up. When I'm done I'm going to tweak MAP27 per Rambosee's feedback.

[Vaporizer]

.

[magicsofa]

purist said:

magic sofa, so I played MAP32. First route I took successfully was the megasphere route that leads to the cool barrel run and eventually a nice Cyb battle. I killed everything but can't seem to progress. Is it unfinished at this point? Should I consider this "route" complete and playtest another? Or can you tip me off to somewhere else I need to go?

The soulsphere route should be a complete circuit.

Thanks for the notes, today is my day off from work so I am hoping to get some more work done on this map. As for the marine-trap thing, I was thinking of replicating the blood hallway at the end of map15. The player could float along, and upon turning a corner see the marines some distance away. They would run toward them and then ZAP - they are warped into the death trap!

That was what I envisioned anyway.

[purist]

@magicsofa: Sounds good but your map continues from MAP31 not MAP15 and the map following yours is MAP16. Was I correct in saying there is no "circuit" for the megasphere route? I will try the soulsphere route again sometime.

@Rambosee: New version of MAP27 done, included agreed fixes. I've also included a demo in the fix to prove there's more than enough ammo in the map now. 100% kills, 0% secrets. Be patient as it takes me 5 tries but all 4 of my deaths happen before I reach the areas I made (mainly because of that damn bezerk ledge).

Comments welcome. If it meets your satisfaction I'll add it to progfic.wad

<<WATCH & PLAY!>>

P.S. let me know it there's problems downloading or with the file. My host site 50megs appears to be on the blink.

[purist]

Cleaned and tweaked final draft of MAP06 is done: Link here. I don't think there's any major fixes now.

Here's some pics of the new area so you're not just looking at boring old words:


Some hitscanner fighting with rad suit on.

A snake of cacos menacing me.

Uh-oh double archvile threat. Rad suit off now.

The archvile and the many-time resurected revs do me in.

MAP29 has been up here for playtesting for ages and now MAP06 (v2.1) and MAP27 are up here too. I'll give it a week then, for the sake of inpatienceness, add them to progfic.wad unless anyone can give me any reason not to.

[Tolwyn]

I can't do MIDI anymore easily. MP3, yes. ;)

[Death Egg]

Well this already is for Boom anyways, and prBoom supports MP3's....

[Gez]

Ogg Vorbis is better. ;)

[esselfortium]

Gez said:

Ogg Vorbis is better. ;)

And is better-supported under SDL-using ports, such as PrBoom and Eternity. The SDL guys don't seem to give a crap that their library's MP3 playback code is completely unreliable and can be crash-prone, so it's always safer to go with OGG if you're putting in audiotracks for music in a wad meant to be playable in Boom (or EE).

Besides that benefit, you can also generally achieve the same quality at a lower file size.

[purist]

I am no expert on music formats by any stretch but I welcome any offers of new music for this project as long as it works reliably in PRBoom+.

Any music men interested should note that MAP20, MAP21, MAP29, MAP31 and the intermission could all use new music for starters. I'm sure that other mappers would be encouraged to make their own requests if they see some of Doomworld's audio talent contributing here.

Requests have already been posted on Jimmy91's site but there's been little activity there.

[purist]

MAP27 and MAP29 have been added to progfic.wad as well as the new version of MAP06. Rambosee needs to write a textfile for MAP27. I've called the map Drilling Station since it was still unchristened.

Here's the new progfic.wad

Only 6 maps needed before we can release a beta (MAP17, 18, 24, 26, 30 & 32). A.Gamma & TheMionicDonut have not updated for ages. I'm going to PM them to make sure they've not abandoned their mapslots (MAP24 & 30 respectively).

[Walter confetti]

downloaded.

[The_MártonJános]

Final MAP29 is far more playable. I'm playing now MAP27 to make sure whether there is an are which I can refer to from MAP26 (the "deepest reach" which has the rising IOS sign into is going to have a grated connection to an area, since it was almost impossible to make it into either exits.

[Death Egg]

I did a slight aesthetic change to part of my map, to better coincide with the way hell is portrayed in the rest of the maps.

[purist]

MAP30 has become available. Sometime in June TheMionicDonut lost the work he'd done and he is no longer working on the mapslot. This means I'm looking for a new mapper to work in the project. It can be someone who's already made a map for the project or someone completely new. I'd only exclude those already working on maps for progfic.wad.

Rules

• Anyone can join. Just post your interest in this thread.
  
  
• The story doesn't have to be Shakespeare. Just a short piece that makes sense continuing from the MAP29 story and goes with your map. The said, you are effectively writing the megawad ending so it needs to be conclusive.
  
  
• The map should be PRBoom+ compatible and use only stock resources except new music, which is OK if you want to use it. Since it's a special map new resource may be negotiable - PM me if you have a cool idea for them and I'll make a judgement call.
  
  
• The map should make sense when put together with your story.
  
  
• The beginning should continue from the end of MAP29. Feel free to reference other maps in the megawad if the authors don't mind too.
  
  
• The megawad will be intended to be played continuously as opposed to pistol starting each map. However, it should be possible to max in UV from pistol start so it can be demo'd.
  
  
• Add co-op starts and make sure it's not broken in co-op play. Deathmatch starts aren't necessary.
  
  
• There's no deadline of sorts but the megawad is in the later stages so I'd prefer a mapper with the time to make something in a reasonable amount of time. Basically, the first usable map that ticks all the boxes will be the one to go in the megawad.
  

Tips

• Despite being a MAP30 avoid the usual Icon of Sin fight or dramatically alter the gameplay to it. MAP20 is already a variation of the Icon of Sin. Be creative!
  
  
• Ideally, the whole progfic.wad should be played and the the progfic.txt read. Failing that, play MAP29 and read as much of the story as possible, especially MAP29's story.
  
  
• You can download progfic.zip here.
  
  
• Ask me if you're not sure about anything.

[Melon]

Hey purist, I'm glad you posted in the screenshots thread because I had in fact totally forgotten about this.

It seems a shame to have the project end with only one level left ot complete so I'll take up the final level if nobody else is going to just so the project can see it's end.

In the meantime, I downloaded the wad and tried out level 29 quickly on god mode to see how the level ends and ran into a few bugs, which I've demonstrated in the following demo file (recorded in glboom+ on complevel 9 on the latest progfic.wad). Here's the bugs:

1) With only the blue key you can make it into the central building but can't get out again and you get stuck. You can see me try all of the doors.

2) You can in fact get out of this room and aren't trapped by strafe running through a window, thereby letting you beat the level without the red key.

3) You can get into the compound containing the flying ship beyond the exit via one of the secrets you access by jumping off a building near the red key. I use this to complete the level.

For giggles, the zip file also contains a no monsters speedrun in 47 seconds abusing #3 above but also a second skip that lets me avoid the slime pit with the plasma rifle in it.

]Download

I remember now that I always meant to playtest these levels. Maybe after I make level 30 I'll run through them all and give feedback (unless someone else would rather do level 30).

EDIT: Holy crap, in 2 weeks this project will be a year old!

[purist]

I'm glad I did too now you've resurfaced :-) It would be great if you took MAP30 - though the project would still not be finished as there's several other mapslots still unfinished. The others at least have someone working on them though so it would still be a great help. Give me a shout if you need any info or help with the level.

In terms of playtesting, I've played every level in the wad so far but it could definitely do with another playtester's perspective. I remember your playtesting notes being useful and insightful before so I'm sure if there's anything to be found, you'll find it. Speaking of which, on MAP29...

1) I was pretty sure I'd tested that thoroughly but I'll take your word for it and find a solution.

2) I'll have to watch your demo later to follow you on this one. Depending on how cheesy a shortcut it is I might leave it in for speedrunning. Yay, for making features out of bugs!

3) I knew about this and thought I'd fixed it but I obviously left a gap. The problem with that is making the whole wall impassible will block the caco trap. I'll see where you sneak in and see what I can do.

EDIT: Christ, you're right! And it was meant to have been wrapped up in 30 weeks.

[The_MártonJános]

Melon, you appeared at the best time!

I have to tell you that in the current PROGFIC, there is the beta version of MAP28 that was willing to be redone back in April or May, I don't know. Was putting the "beta" in intentionel?

[Vaporizer]

.

[purist]

@Melon: I've started fixing the bugs you found in MAP29. Let me know what you think of my solutions so far and if you think it's OK I will upload it for your to take another look again.

Stuck in the central building.

Fix: I made the inside of the southern door openable without a key. Now you still need a red or blue key to get into the southern building but can get out via the southern door with(out) either.

Red key shortcut.

Fix: I've not done one yet as I quite like this shortcut. What do you think? Is it too obvious a speedrun trick to justify skipping the whole red key route? If so the most elegant solution I can think of making is changing the second door in the northern building red key activated.

Rooftop shortcut.

Fix: Yeah, there's no claiming this one as a feature... I've added extra impassible lines on the wall to discourage jumping and, for if you can still get over the wall, I've added a teleport line that sends you back over the other side.

Slimepit shortcut.

Fix: This isn't easy to fix as, even if I block off the window you jumped from, you could still execute the shortcut by dropping off the bridge into the mid-eastern building. I might have to leave this one in.

@Cell: The version of MAP28 in progfic.wad is not a beta as far as I know. Well, no more than any of the other maps in there anyway.

@Vaporizer: I'm glad you're enjoying it. Every now and then I give it a blast and I'm still having fun. If you spot any bugs or have any suggestions please post them in this thread.

It's good you're planning on working on the ashwall areas in MAP08. If any part of the map needed work it's that part.

[Melon]

Purist, the fixes sound good. You probably should fix the red key skip, just raising the height of the window might not be enough. It's probably totally impossible to fix while keeping the windows there if you combine the current "jump" with an archvile jump, but I think if you're going to that much effort then it's OK, at the moment it's just too easy to pull off.

The teleport line sounds like the best fix for the rooftop shortcut, otherwie you could probably archvile jump over the wall regardless.

The slimepit shortcut doesn't really need fixing anyway, you don't cut out very much.

Anyway, Cell's comment encouraged me to look at map28 and I notice that it wasn't the final version that I'm sure I posted in this thread at some point. While I was at it, I went ahead and made a change to the final room, now the monsters don't appear until you enter the room, which makes it impossible to cheese by shooting the monsters after opening the red key door and waiting for them to come to you.

I also went and made the trap in MAP03 a bit more robust along with few other minor fixes. The grates close behind you as you enter and a voodoo doll will open them up a short while later, but for the benefit of co-op the blue key switch is repeatable so your friends can get back in if you rush in and the grates close when they're on the other side. At one point I also ran over the level exit linedef without triggering it so there's a few more of them in the river so you're unlikely to get totally stuck.

You can grab the latest (and hopefully final) versions of map3 and 28 here: ]Download

[Vaporizer]

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