Tom's Halls - A Tom Hall medley/remix map (dtwid-like)

[Tuxlar]

Tom's Halls v1.6

This is my first attempt at a 'Doom the way Id Did'-like map. It is based mainly on the style of Tom Hall's released Doom maps, namely E1M4, E2M1, E2M2, E2M3, E2M4, E2M7, E3M3, E3M7, and MAP 10. Perhaps more of a medley/remix than a raw style replication, I feel I managed to polish into a decent map, nonetheless. I wasn't arsed to build for vanilla limits, so you'll very likely need a limit removing port to play this. Enjoy!

FDAs appreciated! :)



Screenshots:










Changelog:

v1.6

1. Removed SMM-area access to E3M7-maze
   
2. Removed E1M4-maze secret area
   
3. Added E3M7-area monster trap
   
4. Various item & monster tweaks
   
5. Tweaked SMM and BK-room monster teleporters

v1.5

1. Improved SMM teleport patterns a bit.
   
2. Various tweaks.
   
3. E3M7 maze teleporter now leads to a more sensible location.

v1.4

1. Still no SSG.
   
2. Added an additional BK route to the "E1M4/E3M7" maze.
   
3. Assorted small balance tweaks (some to accommodate lack of SSG).
   
4. Assorted bug fixes.
   
5. Assorted challenge tweaks to be more interesting.
   
6. Some design tweaks for better conveyance (e.g. better warning for SMM teleport, more visible RL, etc.)
   
7. Added a... "signature" secret area. :3
   
8. Added proper exit mini-room.

v1.3

1. Added a path to the E3M7-maze-like area from the SMM area (read: Alternate access to Plasma Gun).
   
2. Small rebalances for a bit more interesting gameplay, less punishment for low-tier weapons.
   
3. Fixed some bugs/HOMs.
   
4. Toned down a few of the 'ambushes'.

v1.2

1. Fixed several bugs, texture misalignments, etc.
   
2. Rebalanced some areas slightly (e.g. SMM area has an Invisibility Sphere on skill 4).
   
3. Improved design at various points (e.g. YSK room a bit less dickish).

v1.1

1. Added a bit more small-arms ammo, mainly towards the beginning.

v1.0

[Marnetmar]

not enough little blue signs that say BAY on them 0/10 would not replay

[Walter confetti]

Not bad

[Reisal]

Any screenshots?

[Magnusblitz]

Layout looks interesting (I've realized I'm a sucker for Tom Hall maps) but it's way too stuffed with monsters. Sorry, don't really want to run around fighting all those heavy monsters with only a berserk pack and single shotgun.

[plums]

Pretty cool, here's an FDA, dies at the SMM. Will go back and finish it later. The only thing I didn't particularly like was picking up radsuits accidentally while dodging revenants in the blood area, kind of my fault though and there were enough for me to get by anyhow.

http://www.doomworld.com/vb/attachment.php?postid=1288511

Ammo was tight especially at the start but there's enough there if you run a bit. I played the 1.1 version and I think the starting ammo was just enough to not feel too uncomfortable. I agree with Magnusblitz that getting an SSG would've probably made combat a little more exciting, even if it's also easier.

I liked the homage mashup layout, it's a lot more "directly inspired" than the DTWID maps I think but it works just fine for what it is.

* * *

OK, played it again. It's definitely the kind of map that's much easier if you know what to expect - I had tons of ammo for the Spiderdemon, and some more weapons as well thanks to finding some secrets this time. But that's fine.

A few visual glitches that stood out:






Also the silver floor here is damaging, which feels like a bug to me:

[scifista42]

Nice work. Some of the rooms (those closely inspired by just one particular Tom Hall area) could have added something more or mixed more elements together, to feel less like a direct ripoff. Other rooms were okay in this regard, IMO. From my own experience, I very well know the tendency to imitate someone's style whole rooms, but I believe that original design is above all and should be supported.

Overally I like the deja-vu feeling and how the map turns out, in terms of visuals, structure, progression and gameplay. I wouldn't (probably) say this if I weren't familiar with the model maps (again, here's my concern). But indeed, you managed to capture the good things about Hall's design well. For example the damaging floor usage - extensive, but fair and managable - is nice.

[Keyboard_Doomer]

Tuxlar said:

FDAs appreciated! :)

http://www.doomworld.com/vb/attachment.php?postid=1288580

Yay, FDA from me where I actually finish on the first try without dying.

I have a few blonde moments there so you can have a laugh, too :) I have no idea how I can be that stupid to miss the mastermind with every other rocket when I know I have a serious lack of ammo but since I'm a lucky bitch the a spectre killed it for me :D

[Tuxlar]

plums said:

Pretty cool, here's an FDA, dies at the SMM. Will go back and finish it later. The only thing I didn't particularly like was picking up radsuits accidentally while dodging revenants in the blood area, kind of my fault though and there were enough for me to get by anyhow.

http://www.doomworld.com/vb/attachment.php?postid=1288511

Ammo was tight especially at the start but there's enough there if you run a bit. I played the 1.1 version and I think the starting ammo was just enough to not feel too uncomfortable. I agree with Magnusblitz that getting an SSG would've probably made combat a little more exciting, even if it's also easier.

I wanted to add an SSG, but all the Hall maps managed without it, so I'd rather try to see if I can design around having that bit less firepower, for now.

I liked the homage mashup layout, it's a lot more "directly inspired" than the DTWID maps I think but it works just fine for what it is.

* * *

OK, played it again. It's definitely the kind of map that's much easier if you know what to expect - I had tons of ammo for the Spiderdemon, and some more weapons as well thanks to finding some secrets this time. But that's fine.

A few visual glitches that stood out:

<screenshot>

<screenshot>

Also the silver floor here is damaging, which feels like a bug to me:
<screenshot>

Keyboard_Doomer said:

http://www.doomworld.com/vb/attachment.php?postid=1288580

Yay, FDA from me where I actually finish on the first try without dying.

I have a few blonde moments there so you can have a laugh, too :) I have no idea how I can be that stupid to miss the mastermind with every other rocket when I know I have a serious lack of ammo but since I'm a lucky bitch the a spectre killed it for me :D

Thanks for the FDAs and feedback. Fixes and tweaks are enroute.

scifista42 said:

Nice work. Some of the rooms (those closely inspired by just one particular Tom Hall area) could have added something more or mixed more elements together, to feel less like a direct ripoff. Other rooms were okay in this regard, IMO. From my own experience, I very well know the tendency to imitate someone's style whole rooms, but I believe that original design is above all and should be supported.

I agree, there were a few areas I think that pulled this off (parts of the start areas, the circular hub room, lower-left teleport area, maybe the SMM room), but I lost confidence in my approach, and decided to more or less lift the rest to focus on making the gameplay interesting. I want to give it another shot, at some point.

Overally I like the deja-vu feeling and how the map turns out, in terms of visuals, structure, progression and gameplay. I wouldn't (probably) say this if I weren't familiar with the model maps (again, here's my concern). But indeed, you managed to capture the good things about Hall's design well. For example the damaging floor usage - extensive, but fair and managable - is nice.

Ah, glad you liked that. Hall uses nukage in really interesting ways in several of his maps, so I felt that was important to capture. I didn't want to go to the extreme of E3M7, but there is an optional area where a bit of that is still featured.



v1.2

[Memfis]

Very painful gameplay, using sg\cg to kill tons of tough monsters = I was glad to die.

[ShadesMaster]

These levels seem to have the best flow and architexture, no doubt!!!!

One bug I still saw... the yellow key room. It was possible to progress and circle around so the barrier leading back was still up....

Otherwise, good work!!!! :D

[joe-ilya]

Not everything Tom did is good, I don't think anyone should inspire stuff just by him, the map10 section was tedious killing every step.
https://www.mediafire.com/?qzxdes2pbupkr1z An FDA where I almost win but end up a SMM's breakfest because the map's too big and I forget stuff.

[Tuxlar]

v1.3. This is the last version I do before deciding to cave in and add a SSG, or not.

Changes:

1. Added a path to the E3M7-maze-like area from the SMM area (read: Alternate access to Plasma Gun).
   
2. Small rebalances for a bit more interesting gameplay, less punishment for low-tier weapons.
   
3. Fixed some bugs/HOMs.
   
4. Toned down a few of the 'ambushes'.

[jdagenet]

I think some rooms fit Tom Hall's style while some rooms did not fit his style. For example, I thought the Spider Mastermind room was way out of place, just my opinion though.

Overall, I liked it, I would give it an 7-8/10 -- I think you got closer to Tom Hall's design than I ever could :P

[BlueFeena]

Here's an FDA, recorded in Boom. I thought it was an alright map -- the fights were pretty visceral and kept me on edge for almost the entire map. The Spiderdemon fight at the end was hilarious for all the wrong reasons that you'll discover shortly. :) I had no issue chewing through high level enemies with just a boomstick and a chaingun; my main gripe was the severe lack of ammo, although that might have a lot to do with my aim -- you be the judge. Do I win some kind of award for punching out 20+ lost souls?

I'm not too sure how I felt about the whole DTWiD thing -- I have never liked those kinds of maps very much, and I feel that using Doom 2 as a base hurt any attempt to emulate id's / Tom Hall's mapping quite a bit. Using strictly Doom 1 assets would have been a better choice, as the inclusion of Doom 2 enemies felt very out of place for a map that was trying to feel like something out of Episode 2 or 3. On a final note, I noticed that there is no proper exit in the level -- simply using the exit door ends the game. This feels unprofessional and a proper exit switch would go a long way. :P

Still, it was a fun map either way. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to play it.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I was playing version 1.3 for any other demo watchers out there.

[Tuxlar]

jdagenet said:

I think some rooms fit Tom Hall's style while some rooms did not fit his style. For example, I thought the Spider Mastermind room was way out of place, just my opinion though.

I couldn't devise a good way to make a fun SMM room that didn't stray drastically from the map10 Cyberdemon room it was originally intended to pay homage to. Hall doesn't like to use giant rooms, outside of a few cases in map10 and e3m7, but it was hard to give the SMM enough space to work with the teleports without doing so.

BlueFeena said:

Here's an FDA, recorded in Boom. I thought it was an alright map -- the fights were pretty visceral and kept me on edge for almost the entire map. The Spiderdemon fight at the end was hilarious for all the wrong reasons that you'll discover shortly. :) I had no issue chewing through high level enemies with just a boomstick and a chaingun; my main gripe was the severe lack of ammo, although that might have a lot to do with my aim -- you be the judge. Do I win some kind of award for punching out 20+ lost souls?

I'm not too sure how I felt about the whole DTWiD thing -- I have never liked those kinds of maps very much, and I feel that using Doom 2 as a base hurt any attempt to emulate id's / Tom Hall's mapping quite a bit. Using strictly Doom 1 assets would have been a better choice, as the inclusion of Doom 2 enemies felt very out of place for a map that was trying to feel like something out of Episode 2 or 3. On a final note, I noticed that there is no proper exit in the level -- simply using the exit door ends the game. This feels unprofessional and a proper exit switch would go a long way. :P

Still, it was a fun map either way. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to play it.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I was playing version 1.3 for any other demo watchers out there.

Thanks for specifying version number. I keep all the old version links up top for that reason. That was a pretty entertaining FDA! XD

I'll admit the theme implementation is a bit scattered, but hey, I was having fun with it.

I'll have v1.4 up soon.

[Tuxlar]

v1.4. Changes:

1. Still no SSG.
   
2. Added an additional BK route to the "E1M4/E3M7" maze.
   
3. Assorted small balance tweaks (some to accommodate lack of SSG).
   
4. Assorted bug fixes.
   
5. Assorted challenge tweaks to be more interesting.
   
6. Some design tweaks for better conveyance (e.g. better warning for SMM teleport, more visible RL, etc.)
   
7. Added a... "signature" secret area. :3
   
8. Added proper exit mini-room.

If no other issues arise, this ought to be final...







Maybe not. Hopefully this is? v1.5. Changes:

1. Improved SMM teleport patterns a bit.
   
2. Various tweaks.
   
3. E3M7 maze teleporter now leads to a more sensible location.

Alright, maybe this, then? v1.6. Changes:

1. Removed SMM-area access to E3M7-maze
   
2. Removed E1M4-maze secret area
   
3. Added E3M7-area monster trap
   
4. Various item & monster tweaks
   
5. Tweaked SMM and BK-room monster teleporters

Enjoy.