Mayan maps [4 map beta, MBF compat]

[Tango]

I "released" these maps a few months ago when I made them, but I'd like to finish this set up and release it to the archives soon. currently there are 3 maps + 1 secret map (map01 - 3, plus map31) that are all designed to work under MBF compat, which means PrBoom+ or Eternity or GZDoom should be fine (Zandro doesn't seem to recognize MBF stuff). I did most of my testing in GZDoom and PrBoom+. I started work on a map04, which will likely be the final map for the mayan stuff, so I'll post a new version whenever that gets done (soon hopefully! most of it is drawn out on paper already).

outline of gameplay changes:
- Imp fireballs sped up
- HK/Baron fireballs sped up
- Baron -> Cyber Baron, sometimes shoots a rocket, sometimes throws two fireballs
- SS Nazi -> Greater Mancubus, a flying Mancubus with two different attack patterns (two volleys of Manc fireballs)
- Chaingun speed increased
- key colors altered

the wad includes a new palette that slightly alters the red and green ranges, and turns the blues into purples. it's nothing particularly game changing, so if you don't like it you can quite easily remove it using Slade. I still have to compile a good list of credits, but for now there's a credits lump inside the wad. I would like to work more on difficulty settings and multiplayer things, and map03 and 31 in particular need a lot of gameplay testing still I think, but otherwise 1 - 3 and 31 should all be fully playable. leave it to me to overlook something huge and gamebreaking though D: if you're weary about playing something beta quality then feel free to wait patiently until it's been playtested more; for now though I'd rather put this out there than let it sit on my hard drive for a few more months while I keep telling myself "oh yeah I should playtest those maps." any and all feedback is welcome :D

screenshots

download!

to-do:
[ ] credits
[ ] visual touches to map02 and 03
[ ] finish map04
[ ] extend the sky
[ ] game graphics (titlepic, interpic, map names, status bar)
[ ] multiplayer items & difficulty settings
[ ] title??? (was thinking of Mayan Mayhem but would prefer another M word that's not Mayhem)

[plums]

I really liked these when you posted them last, once some of the Dehacked stuff got worked out. Have there been any changes since?

Title: Mayan Massacre? Mayan Mania?

[Keyboard_Doomer]

Don't know if this was pointed out when you first released the maps but it's possible to do a sr50 jump to the purple skull key and exit the map sooner than intended, I guess.

[Tango]

thanks man :D not much has changed really. should be basically exactly what you played last, except for map31. re: the titles, those two are definitely good candidates, I imagine I'll end up going with one of those. thanks plums!!

[Tristan]

It looks kinda similar to the stuff I've been failing to execute properly myself, I definitely need to check these out.

[plums]

Tango said:

thanks man :D not much has changed really. should be basically exactly what you played last, except for map31. re: the titles, those two are definitely good candidates, I imagine I'll end up going with one of those. thanks plums!!

Right, 4th map. I will play that for sure.

How were you planning on extending the sky? Do you have a larger graphic to work with? I could probably hack the one you have now into a larger one...

[Tango]

Keyboard_Doomer said:

Don't know if this was pointed out when you first released the maps but it's possible to do a sr50 jump to the purple skull key and exit the map sooner than intended, I guess.

map01 you mean? hmm... will have to fix that. I'm usually all for speedrunning tricks but that's a little much :p

@plums: nothing else to work with, though I figure plain gray skies aren't too hard to extend so I was gonna just modify that one. if you feel like it you're more than welcome to try :D

[plums]

Heh, I started working on it before you replied :) Pretty quick job, could use some more polishing to make the repeated areas less noticeable but I think it's a good start.

[Keyboard_Doomer]

Tango said:

map01 you mean?

Oh damn, totally forgot to mention the map. Yes, map01.

[Tango]

wow shit that was fast hahaha. thanks so much dude :D I think I'll probably try extending the top a bit too (which you're also welcome to do if you feel so inclined :p what you did is fantastic though)

@Keyboard_Doomer cool, thanks mate!

[Gez]

plums said:

Title: Mayan Massacre? Mayan Mania?

Mayan Mayday?
Iron Lion Mayan?

[Egregor]

Looks great! Changes all sound awesome!

[esselfortium]

Thank You, Maya Have Another?

[Tango]

hahahaha. was going for a double M so likely not but I like it :p Mayan Mayday could work too, Gez, thank you :D

[Fuzzball]

Awwww yeah playing this right now!

[plums]

Mama-Maya, that's a spicy meatball!

Sky extended by 100px at the top and 28px at the bottom. The bottom looks a little cruddy, but it's only there in case you have any spots where mouselook can see over the edge.
https://i.imgur.com/TbEAgkp.png

[Tango]

hot damn that looks great plums, you're a sky wizard no doubt. much appreciated yo

[Ribbiks]

pretty interesting maps. very unusual visual style: exceedingly spacious, weird oozing automap, cool vibrant softened palette.

Here's some fdas: https://www.mediafire.com/?dbjibl8a8c6vil9

Some miscellaneous thoughts:

- A good bit of the monster usage felt a bit sloggy. The layouts seemed to inherently incorporate a lot of winding hallway shapes, so the gameplay inherently involved lots of standing around shooting monsters that are attacking from a single direction. map02 improved on this by having a bit more open areas and some trap setups. map03 was also much better in that it was pretty much open-world chaos. map31 is probably the biggest offender though, with it's non-threatening packs of cacos and whatnot.

- Ammo. A little more of it would be nice. Just like.. 20-40 additional shells randomly distributed throughout each map would've done it, I think.

- I think map31 could use a bit more stark brightness contrast. notably some dark areas, more shadows etc. Would make it less noticeable that the cave areas are primarily 2 textures, and it could also work to hide some of the auto-align seams as well.

- your cyber-barons can infight, intended?

- some ledges could use block-monster lines. notably those arach platforms in map03.

- some tele closets are poorly designed, e.g. the ones in map31 (en route to green key), the imps/shotgunners take forever to tele in, which is kind of annoying.

- I'm not a huge fan of the new rocket splash noise. It lacks umph and sounds too similar to the gritty ssg sound.

[esselfortium]

Haven't played this yet, but the screenshots look killer :)

plums: IMO it might be worthwhile to add more noticeable variation to the different regions of the wide sky, whether it be darker and more overcast on one side, or have smaller/noticeably different mountains and hills in parts, or something like that. Since it doesn't tile like normal textures do, standout recognizable elements can be a benefit rather than a drawback, and can add a lot to the atmosphere.

[plums]

Tango said:

hot damn that looks great plums, you're a sky wizard no doubt. much appreciated yo

Haha, "sky wizard" would be a hilarious custom title. :P
You're welcome! Really it's just a lot of plugin use, but it works!

edit: Good idea esselfortium, maybe I'll work on it some more tomorrow. So far it's just been chopping up the original and then filling in the gaps, which does make it pretty homogeneous.

[Tango]

thanks for the feedback Ribbiks :D I'll have a look and see what I can do about map01's monster placement, not sure what exactly though. map31 will probably be a bit easier to revise in that regard. infighting not really intended but I don't consider it too severe I guess. roger on the lighting stuff; those rocks are ugly as hell when not aligned so I'll look at that again. regarding the other stuff too I'll have a look!

ps thanks again dudes for the sky stuff!! sky wizard would be quite a custom title haha

[EffinghamHuffnagel]

If it becomes a full megawad, you could call it "Memento Maya".

[IMX]

I'm more than happy to find about this kickass project and the usage of the Pinky edit from Demonicron (which is a WIP project of mine, for those wondering).

It doesn't exclude the fact, however, that I have yet to finish his spriteset properly. Mind if I finish the death animations and send 'em to you? I must admit, it bothers me watching how the death animation doesn't match the overhauled look of the Pinky and still looks similar to its classic counterpart; that, and this project is too awesome and pro-looking already to have something as half-finished as my custom Pinky, I feel both honored and ashamed, heh.

Also, here's something you might want to consider. Just a suggestion. (Clickable thumbs)

Purple chaingunners? idunno

[plums]

I like those purple chaingunners IMX, fits pretty well and looks distinct.

I put in a simple sun on the sky, and adjusted the levels a bit, what do you think? Tried to do something more interesting but nothing was working out. Maybe this is enough anyhow.

[Tango]

@Effington: hahaha I would consider that, if only I could manage a whole megawad :p I think I might go with Mayan Misadventures maybe? not sure yet still

@IMX: yeah man that would be fantastic! I absolutely love those sprites, thank you for that :D

@plums: that looks fantastic man! I'll need to test it out in game but that looks fantastic. thanks so much dude!

[plums]

Welcome! It's pretty easy to move that sun around, so if you want it higher/lower/bigger/smaller/etc., don't hesitate to ask.

[Tango]

tested it out, looks great to me! thanks again plums. I forgot that making it much taller would alter where it shows the sky though... it seems that in its current state the mountains themselves are displayed really low down, as the top of the image is the top of the visible sky. anyone know of any way to fix this without chopping down the image? D: there must be a way...

in other news, Ribbiks, been thinking about what you said regarding monsters and I see it much more clearly now. it's hard to pick out any real memorable moments, as it's all pretty run n shoot. again I'll try making some revisions and see what I can cook up!

also IMX, sorry I seemingly ignored the bit about the purple chaingunners in your last post haha. was on mobile and forgot 9_9 I would love to use those though, would you mind sending me those sprites? :D

[Avoozl]

Sweet, I love Mayan styled maps.

[plums]

Tango said:

tested it out, looks great to me! thanks again plums. I forgot that making it much taller would alter where it shows the sky though... it seems that in its current state the mountains themselves are displayed really low down, as the top of the image is the top of the visible sky. anyone know of any way to fix this without chopping down the image? D: there must be a way...

In ZDoom (software), sky textures that are >= 200 pixels tall are drawn so that the top of the sky texture is the top of the viewable area... the mountains shouldn't be shifted down in this case.

For GL ports, I don't know how it works exactly. It might be the case that the bottom needs extending to push the whole thing up. Or maybe a GL skybox is the way to go. I'll give this a shot and see how it turns out.

The original 256x128 sky has the mountains where you want them in GL ports right?

[Mechadon]

New Tango maps!? Awesome, I'll check these out when I get a chance :D