Unleashed : A New 20 Level Doom 2 Megawad, created by me.

[DamianIchabod]

Unleashed is a project I've been working on since Oct of 2008...
It is 22 new levels for doom 2 with lots of monsters, new textures,
new music, and more. It comes with a dehacked patch which increases
the damage your weapons do, And adds 3 new monsters. (Not spoiling them...)

This addon uses Tons of monsters per level. Slaughtermap Material
for the most part. For those who dislike this kind of gameplay
play 'unleasy.wad' instead. It reduces monstercount by half.
Even so, Map32 is one to avoid for people who dislike this
enemy placement style. It has around 3000 enemies on UV.


Game : Doom 2
Port : Boom Compatible. Tested extensively with Gzdoom and Prboom-Plus.
Maps 01-20,31-32
New Textures: Yes...
New Music : Yes. Based off of metal band midi's.
Bugs : Some sector bleeding and graphic glitches in MAP03.

Credits : Cage for the Texture wad he uploaded to Realm667, Code Imp for Doom Builder 2, Boris for sector stair builder, and ID for Doom/Doom2.


Screenshots: (taken with Gzdoom, The zdoom mod 'Scalliano's 667 Shuffle', and doom : enhanced (graphics mod) on)
http://img560.imageshack.us/img560/6623/screenshotdoom201011061.png
http://img695.imageshack.us/img695/6623/screenshotdoom201011061.png
http://img824.imageshack.us/img824/6623/screenshotdoom201011061.png

Download Link:
http://www.sendspace.com/file/iwf4lv


Note : To all the Speedruners on this Messageboard, UV Max Demos of the maps are welcome.

[fullmetalvaran33]

The screencaps have beautiful lighting effects. I'll definitely give this a try. No speedrunner demos, though. I'm not that good at Doom ha ha!

[DamianIchabod]

Thats because I screenshotted it in Gzdoom with a mod called Doom Enhanced which adds really nice coronas to light sources like lamps,torches,etc. And makes them light up the level. You won't see that untill you use that mod. I've been playing it with Knee deep in zdoom and it looks awsome. The lighting in the levels themselves starts off subpar, so does the architecture. A lot of copy / pasting. Thats because the first 13 levels were made before sector stair builder plugin for doom builder came out, which makes it possible to create border sectors with one press of a button. Back then I was forced to use prefab rooms to create levels, that already had detail. But bad lighting. Don't expect it to be easy... There are LOTS of monsters in the level. Later on the lighting and arcitecture improve, around map14 or so.

[esselfortium]

DamianIchabod said:

The lighting in the levels themselves starts off subpar, so does the architecture. A lot of copy / pasting. Thats because the first 13 levels were made before sector stair builder plugin for doom builder came out, which makes it possible to create border sectors with one press of a button. Back then I was forced to use prefab rooms to create levels, that already had detail.

Uh?

You..you do realize people have been making worthwhile maps for far longer than DB2 has even existed, right? I'm not sure how that's supposed to explain or excuse anything at all :-\

[DamianIchabod]

It isn't DB2 I'm talking about. It's sector Stair Builder. A plugin for DB2 that allows me to quickly detail and create better lighting effects easier, Such as gradients of light, etc.

[esselfortium]

I know. And you're not helping your case here. How does not having access to a plugin that borders sectors automatically for you somehow mean that your maps should be expected to consist of copied and pasted prefabs? I don't understand the logic at all.

[DamianIchabod]

When I first started making levels with DB2 using prefabs was the quickest way to create a set of levels with good detail. But since sector stair builder came out, that method isn't needed anymore, because detailing is done easier with it.

[40oz]

You should consider actually drawing sectors from scratch :/

[Udderdude]

Ok, anyone who reads the map author proudly proclaim that he used nothing but prefab rooms and stairs for the entire mapset is probably expecting that this is a pile of ass. So I took one for the team and tried it out. Big surprise, it's a pile of ass. The levels are mostly flat and boring, not even at the level of something you'd get out of SLIGE. The later levels are a bit better and have some height variation, and feel like actual levels (this must be when the author discovered the amazing sector stair builder). Also, except for the later maps, the texturing is the same for every map. You will see the same green texture used over and over. Not kidding.

Most of the weapons have been super beefed up (the chaingun is so powerful you're more in danger of running out of ammo than anything else), and your max health is 300, reachable by grabbing anything (i.e. you don't need soul/megasphere/health bonus to get over 100). This increase in health and firepower is hardly warranted, as the enemies are the same as before, except for a small increase in firing speed (less frames before firing, the projectiles still move at the same speed). There is one annoying new enemy, invisible lost souls which explode when you kill them and can take 100 health off at once.

Overall, it's a mess, and not the fun kind either.

[Use]

Hmm. Where to begin.

For one, stop using that stair plugin or whatever it is. It's a major crutch in your design. This 'detail' is nothing but superficial sectors thrown all over the place. The borders are just too much. Walking around in some of these maps felt like moving over a mountain range. The first 12 maps all feel like the same map, just with different textures thrown on, same structures present in every map (random collection of raised sectors in the floor, stack of crates with small climbable crates), no memorable scenes to even speak of. You mentioned using 'prefabs' for these maps. Well it shows, and it stinks.

Then we move into 'stair-plugin' territory, and the boarders get even more ridiculous. This isn't detail!! This is not what makes a map look good, yeah it can work in some contexts, but every freakin' map? I mean look at map14, it literally has 2 or three steps around every wall. Again these maps suffer from the same as the first 12, bland layouts with little or no connectivity, cut'n'paste structures (oh look, those crates..again), interchangeable assortments of rooms. Later the maps get a little more refined I guess, but they all look the pretty much the same. Offsets and textures need work, doors are all unpegged, y-offsets above the few windows or other features present are almost always off.

Lighting? I don't use an OpenGL port, so no fancy coronas here. The lighting is flat and barely present at all. If anything sometimes the border sectors are lit up for no reason. No effort was made to give torches or lamps the appearance of casting light for the most part.

The final maps are the best I think, map19 and 20. Map19 starts to feel like an actual map, minus the silly boarders everywhere you have a pretty solid layout here. Map20 get props just for being different.

Gameplay? Well that's difficult to comment on since the the weapons are so ridiculously overpowered. I mean I beat half the game with just the chaingun. It reminds me of the stuff I made when I 'discovered' dehacked..oh more than a decade ago. 'Look guys a chaingun that kills a cyberdemon in under 7 seconds!' Run out of ammo for chaingun you say? Nope, since double-tapping is still as effective but with 3 times the killing power. It is hard in spots, but nothing infighting or standing in a corner and hosing the room didn't cure.

Overall, I didn't really like this megawad, of course that's my opinion and nothing more, but I think if you study some more fundamentals of mapping and took some patience with your work they could obviously improve a lot. As a mapper who has never even installed DoomBuilder2 it amazes me the kind of shortcuts some people will take just to save some measly time. Remember, easier doesn't always mean better.

Whew wow, a comprehensive review from one such as myself is a gift, enjoy.

[Guest DILDOMASTER666]

Uh did anyone else notice that instead of just applying skill level flags to the enemies the easy version is in a duplicate wad

[Phml]

P_Load Segs : compatibility loss - seg 1 references a non-existant vertex 1799 Demo recording on levels with invalid nodes is not allowed.

Error occured while loading Map03, in GlBoom+ 2.5.0.7 (latest release).

[magicsofa]

It's unfortunate that you worked on this for two years and are getting this kind of reaction. I hope it doesn't discourage you - but you should take what people are saying seriously.

I'll give you the same advice that many authors receive: Try making just ONE map, with NO new features at all (except maybe some textures or whatever), which is fun to play. You pumped out 22 levels so it shouldn't be a big deal - but anyway, work on making some low-detail structures that still look nice. Also work on good monster placement!

Finally, draw everything from scratch. Don't even use the stair builder. Don't have time to make 24 nice edges on your stairs? Don't put them in. It should be obvious that nobody liked your excessive borders, so what's the point? I've never used a single prefab - it doesn't seem necessary when you're working with doom's simple architecture.

[boris]

Yeah lolz, it's all my stair building plugin's fault, so that plugin is a piece of shit kekeke.

[Whoo]

Start making maps constantly by hand. Do not rely on copy/paste, as that will get you nowhere. Getting good at mapping takes time and practice. I can guarantee you that you're not going to make awesome, good playing maps until you practice for over a year with small releases here and there. When you start mapping you should never take on a big project. Instead, work on smaller projects and release them for constructive criticism.

[Udderdude]

boris said:

Yeah lolz, it's all my stair building plugin's fault, so that plugin is a piece of shit kekeke.

Damn you boris, damn you to hell.

[gun_psycho]

I tried the mapset out myself as well last night... and yeah, Udderdude summed it up better than I could. (I'm no expert when it comes to maps)

[Guest DILDOMASTER666]

I tried really hard to play this all the way through, but the excessive "bordering" got on my nerves hard by MAP05.

[Stupid Bunny]

I basically agree with the assertion that you should try making a solid stand-alone map without any prefabs or DB2 plugins of any kind...on top of the fact that the gameplay and layout of the mapset aren't very good for the most part, the fact is that all the detail and bordering still don't do a good job of hiding the fact that there's misaligned textures, unpegging mistakes, and just general ugliness everywhere. As it is, the borders don't do much beyond getting in the way and cluttering the map visually.

[Use]

boris said:

Yeah lolz, it's all my stair building plugin's fault, so that plugin is a piece of shit kekeke.

The funny thing is despite the constant use of this tool I don't think there was a single actual staircase in the whole wad.

[Stupid Bunny]

boris said:

Yeah lolz, it's all my stair building plugin's fault, so that plugin is a piece of shit kekeke.

I don't think anybody was blaming the plugin itself for the WAD's problems (at least I hope not.) As has been argued in many a thread, the tool is only as good as the person using it. The use of the plugin for little beyond excessive border building is an example of your tool being abused.

[infurnus1]

I think this is good practice for the OP, and a lot of the critique and advice given is pretty good so far.

If I may make a few suggestions myself, you should use the stair builder tool to help build stairs to some areas that are higher/lower more than using it for other things. You can use it for non stair things, but as others have said, it's more of a crutch and doesn't really help detial the map, or improve your skills for that matter.

Your rooms also don't seem to have a real purpose, as right now they're more or less a bunch of boxes connected together incoherently.

Also, when making a Boom Compatible map, don't rely too much on mods like the ones I see in your screenshots to light up maps. Whenever anyone who doesn't have those mods plays your maps, they just see the sector lighting normally.

In terms of "detail", I'd suggest taking a look at the Mapping Tips and Tricks thread

[DamianIchabod]

I agree. I've been trying TOO hard to add unnecisary detail (borders,etc), and simply trying to make a map as quick as possible. That's changed. I started watching doom builder tutorials online to figure out how to REALLY detail a level. I'm new at this. Tonight I started making a level that focuses on better lighting and alignment.
Hopefully this is at least a slight improvement:

Editor Shots:
http://img836.imageshack.us/img836/391/shot4.png
http://img641.imageshack.us/img641/1691/shot2i.png

Map So Far in DB2:
http://img607.imageshack.us/img607/5905/shot5.png

Whether I release the final map or not is still in the air, what do you think?

[Sigvatr]

I don't know why people add detail at all. The original maps didn't even have "detail".

[esselfortium]

Looking at the first new shot and mainly discussing appearance, for now, since there's not a lot else to comment on...

I'd ditch the missing hex tiles. Actually, you could keep them, but only use their shapes on the floor (it makes no sense and looks silly to have the ceiling cut out in the same shape above them), and only lower the floors by something like 2 units. Either way, that sort of small detail and damage is best added to an already structurally complete scene, as it doesn't provide much of interest by itself to carry a scene with. Don't add this sort of thing first, as it just makes it more difficult to add actual structured architecture, lighting, and such. Build the big stuff first, then if you want to add bits of damage like ripped-out tiles, you can generally fit them around what you already have. It'll both be easier and likely look a lot better.

More importantly, though, in relation to the same thing, I'd try some other shapes for the ceiling skylights above them. The shape of the room you have could go nicely with a skylight shaped sort of like /¯¯¯¯\ on the upper half and a matching one shaped \¯¯¯¯/ on the lower half of the room. Could then maybe draw a couple extra vertical or diagonal lines through them to split them up into three smaller skylights, for a nice stylish shape.

The wall texturing seems somewhat random. It's certainly possible to use STARTAN, SHAWN2, SUPPORT2, BROWN144, and other materials together in the same room, but the way you've done it feels mismatched and haphazard. Why are all the diagonal walls made out of SUPPORT2 instead of STARTAN, other than because the textures are easier to align to them? When you mix textures together, it should generally make some sort of structural sense, rather than just what's the easiest to stick on a wall.

Sigvatr said:

I don't know why people add detail at all. The original maps didn't even have "detail".

[DamianIchabod]

I'll add the skylights If you want, and ditch the hex tiles on the ceiling. I generally choose textures that fit the theme of the level, and align to the wall properly. Support3 is Too Hellish for a Episode 1 base level.

[esselfortium]

What I meant with the support2 is that it looks kind of silly used on big walls like that, particularly if it's interspersed with another texture and just used wherever you need to texture a diagonal wall. It's for support pillars, primarily. It'll usually look better to just continue the surrounding textures and do a bit of work to make them align properly to the walls, or at least to use supports a bit more subtly/tastefully as separators.

[DamianIchabod]

Thanks. The big walls with support2 have been changed to brown1. fits the theme. The hexagonal skylights are gone. You mentioned "big" stuff. What kind of complex architecture improves the way a scene looks? Crossbeams, pillars, etc?

[Guest DILDOMASTER666]

DamianIchabod said:

I'll add the skylights If you want, and ditch the hex tiles on the ceiling. I generally choose textures that fit the theme of the level, and align to the wall properly. Support3 is Too Hellish for a Episode 1 base level.

Is that why you chose to put tekwall between sectors with height differences of 8 units