Wad Release: Overrun (GZDOOM)

[revan1141]

So I've been trying to improve my mapping skill, and I whipped up this map.

In this map, I tried to be consistent with the theme I had in mind: A space station rapidly being overrun by the forces of Hell/a hostile alien force, revamping parts of the ship en masse to better fit the Hellish populace.

I tried making the rooms detailed, and wartorn to convey the idea that the space station has been overrun.

I even added in some battles occurring in the background in the beginning of the map the player can hear.

Anyway, please check it out and give me your thoughts
http://www.mediafire.com/download/okoaac5x979ic38/Overrun.wad

It has:
New Music
New Sounds
New Textures(sky is a space texture)

[AD_79]

Just a quick note, you should say what port your wad is meant to be played in; I tried loading it in PRBoom+ and got an error because it's meant for ZDoom :P

[revan1141]

So after some thoughts, I'm gonna add alot more ammo throughout the map. I'm trying to go for a run n gun, and it doesn't make any sense for the player to have to conserve ammo so much against the enemies.

[scifista42]

I'm not sure if those sounds and 4MB MP3 music was worth adding to a single map much smaller that that, and in case that the music is copyrighted, you shouldn't even put it to /idgames. The imp and chaingun sounds were a little obnoxious, but not so badly.

Most of your map was either rectangular based (techbase parts), or cramped (fleshy parts), not that crampedness was a big deal, but remember that freely maneuverable space is much more comfortable for the player. The map felt like exploring a realistic-like place, which was pretty good for itself, but progression was actually very linear (and I personally prefer to see some nonlinearity). I've discovered a missing texture here, the player probably wasn't supposed to be able to get there. Also, I was able to get stuck behind this crate - I tend to explore maps for secrets, you know.

The very slow lift at the start felt like a joke, thankfully I was able to jump over it in the middle of its move - again, remember to accustomize your map for a comfortable playability over anything, and unnecessary delays don't do anything good. The marines... I didn't really like that touch, they move clumsily and distract player's attention unnecessarily, for example the one in a cell with a switch and a door confused me a little, I thought that I had to use him somehow or something, while he was toddling around - in that case, better remove them.

Detailing of the map made the map look unclean, ravaged-like, which was actually appropriate to the place you wanted to depict. You should be aware, though, that many mappers and players deliberately prefer a visually clean style for the sake of aesthetics. But I don't complain about your map in this regard, as I said, it's well appropriate.

Now about gameplay - you know, it was okay, but could have been much better. When placing monsters, think about them as ways to challenge the player, and not just some meaty obstacles in his way. The map played like a shooting gallery, with infinite possibilities to step back and take cover. The map structure and battle scenarioes didn't imply much challenge at all - and again, this could be improved. Ammo balance itself was alright, I thought.

An average map on the whole, it was OK, but nothing that great at all. So I liked it "averagely". I've tried to advise you how to improve it. You're on a good way already, just keep up the good work.

[Szymanski]

I agree with scifista about the start room. The slow lift is annoying, maybe a stair would be better here and would look more obvious. The blue key door is marked with a texture that's already used as detailing.
You could add some ceiling detail such as lights.

The flesh textured areas are a little too narrow for put the player in danger. With a larger space and enemies approaching from multiple angles it could be a better challenge. If you want it kept narrow maybe add 'pockets' where enemies can lurk. Its also possible to get snagged on some narrow walls.

The main tech areas could use some light effects to break up the darkness.

The final section before the exit has enemies who can wander out of view so you have to wait around, easy enough to block them in.

Not a bad level just needs some tweaks and maybe an increase in danger near towards the end.

[revan1141]

Thanks for the criticisms everyone!
I'll get to work on making those changes later on.

[revan1141]

I have a question real quick.
Yesterday I was adding in pockets outside the map where there was friendly marines and monsters fighting, to give the impression that the station is still in a battle but it is quickly ending in favor of the demons.

I really wanted to go and add a few areas that the player could go into, but weren't really mandatory for the player to go into. There could be some ammo or some extra monsters to fight in these rooms.

But then I had a question: Is it really worth putting in if it's not really required for finishing the map?

I mean it just seems like it'd make the map a bit better if there was some places to explore, you know just to add in some more atmosphere.


But how do players feel about something like this?

[AD_79]

revan1141 said:

I really wanted to go and add a few areas that the player could go into, but weren't really mandatory for the player to go into. There could be some ammo or some extra monsters to fight in these rooms.

But then I had a question: Is it really worth putting in if it's not really required for finishing the map?

TNT Evilution did a lot of this. I say go for it.

[scifista42]

Exploring optional areas with extra gameplay and extra goodies is a great thing, much better that having just one linear path. But each optional place should be worthy to visit for some reason, preferably more than one reason: Fun gameplay, items, interesting visuals, curiosity. Don't just put 20 side rooms into a hallway, that's a crappy design. Interconnecting the optional areas is also a good idea, rather than making them to be separate rooms / branches.

[CyberDemonEmpress]

Not bad. Though the main issue I had was with the sound replacements for the weapons, I didn't quite care for them for some reason. They weren't horrible or anything just didn't sound right to me. I did however like the new sounds for monsters some of which I think are from Doom 3? either way I think they where well implemented.

The detailing was very well done in my opinion, it does feel like the station is being over taken and altered by the forces hell. Some areas are a bit too dark in opinion but I think they may work for the atmosphere you where going for. Overall I enjoyed your wad, thank you for sharing.

[revan1141]

Alright I updated the wad somewhat.
Now there's a few more monsters, a trap or two near the beginning, I fixed some bugs. I'll remove the sounds and music when the time comes to upload to IDGames.

For some reason, I can't seem to get the effect 'Light Flicker' to work properly.

[revan1141]

Oh one thing, how do I do a good way of monsters coming from all angles? I've been trying to do that in this map but it doesn't quite work the way I designed it, which it room to room combat. The player clears the room behind him and moves forward.

The only solutions I could think of were having monsters teleport in behind areas previously visited, or have a door open and monsters pour out.

A lazier solution is just simply having the player get teleported into the middle of a room of monsters, but that's just shameful.

[AD_79]

revan1141 said:

A lazier solution is just simply having the player get teleported into the middle of a room of monsters, but that's just shameful.

I see no problem with doing this once in a map, heh.