NOVA: The Birth - v1.1 release now on idGames!

[cannonball]

I would definitely be up for making a map for Nova 2, be it a single map or a collaboration with others from the first Nova.

[Ashstrodamus]

I'm quite enjoying this megawad.

[Stygian]

I could go for another round. I want to try my hand at a smaller, more controlled map than my previous submission. This is excellent timing as I just got out of school.

[an_mutt]

I'd like to give NOVA 2 a shot as well, in that I want to try something outside of my comfort zone (i.e. something that's not a bogstandard tech base). Might try and contribute some midis and textures as I've been meaning to try and learn how to do them properly for the longest time.

[dobu gabu maru]

NOVA 2 seems to be shaping up to be reunion of sorts with so many old names onboard. Makes me wonder if we shouldn't just release a short 10-15 map episode as a sort of "how do they map now?" contemporary to the newbie wad.

[mouldy]

dobu gabu maru said:

NOVA 2 seems to be shaping up to be reunion of sorts with so many old names onboard. Makes me wonder if we shouldn't just release a short 10-15 map episode as a sort of "how do they map now?" contemporary to the newbie wad.

I seem to remember it was quite a struggle filling up all the slots of the first one though...

[Obsidian]

I don't suppose I'd be eligible for NOVA 2, would I?

[Steve D]

I'd love to contribute, but then, given that I released my first maps in '96, I feel it would go against the whole concept of the megawad, unless one was to grant that I left the scene, and then burst anew, like an aging nova. Then, perhaps, if a bunch of us old-timers who left and returned could be recruited, instead of NOVA:The Birth, we could call it NOVA:The Nursing Home. ;)

[Jaws In Space]

Yeah Steve you should do a WAD the opposite of NOVA & get all of the oldest mappers to contribute to a Megawad.

[Steve D]

And I know where to find some of them, too. ;)

[NuMetalManiak]

for the new NOVA, get some REAL new mappers, people who are either new to the forums or admit they have never mapped before.

I'm not gonna be in this sequel for two reasons: 1. I've already contributed here. 2. I don't really make singleplayer maps anymore.

[mrthejoshmon]

NOVA 2? Let's rock!
Consider me appearing in it again.

[Ashstrodamus]

I have never mapped before. I'm kinda interested in giving it a try, but I really don't know where to start. I'm guessing Doombuilder 2 is the program I want? I watched a few videos on Doom mapping and if I can work Autodesk Inventor Pro and Autocad, surely I could put a map together.

[Stygian]

Just now realized that mouldy is none other than the world-famous animator Cyriak Harris. What a small world we live in.

[7hm]

Ashstrodamus said:

I have never mapped before. I'm kinda interested in giving it a try, but I really don't know where to start. I'm guessing Doombuilder 2 is the program I want? I watched a few videos on Doom mapping and if I can work Autodesk Inventor Pro and Autocad, surely I could put a map together.

I'm up for giving it a shot as well. DB2 or GZDoom Builder seem to be the way to go.

[Obsidian]

Stygian said:

Just now realized that mouldy is none other than the world-famous animator Cyriak Harris. What a small world we live in.

As in THE Cyriak? Whoa.

[Stygian]

Obsidian said:
As in THE Cyriak? Whoa.

I thought the music in MAP28 sounded like something from one of his videos. Did nobody realize it was him or am I just oblivious?

https://twitter.com/cyriakharris/status/254597020084490242

[plums]

I think he prefers to not draw attention to himself. But yes, some people did know already.

Regarding NOVA II, I'd like to contribute at least one map, not having completed one since '94. I'm a bit intimidated at how high the bar was set, I must admit. But as long as the development time isn't too short -- probably not another 2+ years if can be helped, but no speedmap session either -- I should be able to get something finished. Either way I'm up for playtesting and helping to stomp out technical errors, which I seem to be good at.

I assume the wad flavour is going to be limit-removing again?

[Steve D]

plums said:

I'd like to contribute at least one map, not having completed one since '94.

You released a map in '94? Do you have a link for that?

[plums]

No, everything my teenage self made for Doom has long been lost. Maybe something lurks on a hard-drive in some dark closet, but nothing was uploaded to the internet - local BBSes were as far as anything got. Don't worry, you're surely not missing much :p

[Steve D]

plums said:

No, everything my teenage self made for Doom has long been lost. Maybe something lurks on a hard-drive in some dark closet, but nothing was uploaded to the internet - local BBSes were as far as anything got. Don't worry, you're surely not missing much :p

Bummer! However, since you're a fine upstanding Doom citizen, I'll keep you in mind in case I ever do start an Oldschool Gangstas megawad, which would limit contributors to people who mapped in the '90s. Proof would normally be required, but you can get a pass on that. ;)

Now back to our regularly scheduled Nova news . . .

[dobu gabu maru]

mouldy said:

I seem to remember it was quite a struggle filling up all the slots of the first one though...

True, but with returning vets that's about a third/half of the wad already slotted, and I don't think it'd be hard to fill the rest with "newbie" stuff. Granted a lot of this talk is meaningless until the thread is up and we start to see what contributions come rolling in.

Also, I too would be very interested in seeing a plums map.

[kildeth]

Ok, wow. This is shaping up great.

In light of all this interest and hype, here are some of the rules I'm laying down for the new megawad.

Everyone is allowed to contribute at least one map if interested; with the following exceptions:

This wad is designed in equal parts for both returning mappers from NOVA: The Birth and new mappers who haven't contributed anything to Doom mapping before; this includes people who have contributed very little, such as one map in 1994 or a 1994-esque set of maps just a few months ago, thus still qualifying them as newbie mappers overall.

This being said, everyone is allowed to contribute to the mapping, BUT, if you are an experienced mapper who didn't take part in NOVA: The Birth; you will only be able to contribute ONE map to the project, thus leaving room for returning mappers as well as new ones. I consider this only fair since Phobus was allowed to contribute a map to NOVA: The Birth despite being quite experienced.

As for everyone else, the new mappers and the TeamNOVA 'alumni' so to speak, I'm placing no limits on partipation. UNLESS, of course, there is a huge amount of old mapper works in contrast to only a few newbie works, like a 2:1 split in terms of amount. In this case I'll have to block NOVA alumni maps to make way for beginners, as I want at least 11 newbie made maps for the new megawad, even if it means those maps have to be touched up by someone with more experience and expertise as what happened with maps 25, 27 and 28 in the first NOVA.

This ok with everyone? Even with all this interest, the megawad is going to take a long while to fill up; we nearly gave up last time so I don't think there's much use in having too many restrictions, particularly early on when people may drop out of the project along the way.

As for the format, once again we'll be using the Doom II IWAD and limit-removing format. The difference being is that I'm allowing textures to be ported from The Ultimate Doom, TNT and Plutonia to give more flavour to the scenery than last time. Mixing and matching of themes from all these IWAD texture packs will be encouraged.

I MIGHT also allow custom textures to be created for the project by participants. These can be drawn up manually, or by recolouring textures from the Ultimate Doom, Doom II, TNT or Plutonia stock. These will have to be approved first though, and if I go ahead with this idea I want to create a NOVA II texture pack that can later be used by the rest of the Doom community (with credit to us, of course) even if the texture pack is quite small with only a few extras. Still tossing this idea up though.

Oh, and the new project's official name will be NOVA II: A New Dawn. The creation of midis will be permitted as per last time, we've probably still got a few unused ones from last project we may be able to carry over.

[Ashstrodamus]

I started Doombuilder earlier tonight. It's a lot to take in but the interface is pretty simple. I was able to do quite a bit in just my first two hours. I'm gonna put in a couple of hours each day and see where I stand in a week, but I plan on submitting a map.

[kildeth]

Welcoming the following new mappers to the project:

7hm
an_mutt
Ashstrodamus
DooM_RO
killbotvii
Plums (kinda counts as new, I guess)
Superluigieth1

...And welcoming back these people:

Arjak
cannonball
EvilNed
Jaws In Space
joe-ilya
mrthejoshmon
Phobus
Stygian
+ myself, of course. :P

And also inviting these people into the project if they wish to make a single map (as you all have prior experience):

Corsair
Obsidian
SFoZ911
Steve D

I'll be working on a map that was started by Processingcontrol; so they'll be counted as a contributor also.

If everyone counted so far is releasing one map, that will be 11 old mappers vs 6 new mappers. Not bad, but I wouldn't want the newbie threshold to get any lower than this.

[SFoZ911]

Help me understand something. is this a random community project or there's idea behind it?

[CorSair]

So, if you look more people to contribute, I might do one map.

[Phobus]

SFoZ911 said:

Help me understand something. is this a random community project or there's idea behind it?

Pretty random, although I'd wait for the texture pack to be put together by kildeth before starting on your map.

[kildeth]

sFoZ911 - The original NOVA was designed as a chance for new Doom mappers to collaborate on a project without the pressure a megawad with more experienced mappers might put on them. There was no real theme; it was all just made with stock Doom II textures and we arranged the maps in a basic tech-city-hell scheme similar to Doom II, making up a loose story for the text screens. NOVA II will be similar with a wider palette of textures to use and returning mappers from the last megawad. The theme of the maps themselves can be random, but the idea of the megawad is to allow a safe space for newer mappers to learn the ropes among those somewhat more experienced and make their mapping debut something more noteworthy than a single level by itself. If you're new to mapping you're free to join, if you're experienced though you can only make one map, and that's only if we get enough newbies and the returning mappers don't make too many levels themselves.

CorSair - Are you experienced or new to mapping? If the former, you're still welcome but only one map please. If you've only released scant Doom maps and don't have a lot of expertise you still count as a new mapper, so you don't have to be completely without skill or knowledge.

[CorSair]

kildeth said:

CorSair - Are you experienced or new to mapping? If the former, you're still welcome but only one map please. If you've only released scant Doom maps and don't have a lot of expertise you still count as a new mapper, so you don't have to be completely without skill or knowledge.

I dunno how I consider myself. The amount of unfinished works and WIPs goes in tens, all sorts of formats, and finished works counted in one hand. (I got several community projects, Mayhem2048, D2INO, Monochrome project, Five Rooms.) Out of them, I consider only 1 decent and rest of them shoddy in some way.

I think I am somewhere between newb and experienced. How about this: One map purely by me, some in collabs with others?