Catacombs Horror - Semi-Randomised SP Survival Horror

[GDB]

Hello everyone! This is my first post here, so if my etiquette is in any way unsatisfactory just let me know, and I'll endeavour to fix whatever the problem is. I've been working on a WAD for a little while and would love some feedback from you folks. Below is a description that I've also left in the readme file.

SCREENS AND DOWNLOAD LINK AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST.

EDIT: Evidently (there's a relevant thread high in this forum right now) Brutal Doom gets a huge amount of hate in these parts. Whatever, to each their own. Currently this WAD is balanced with Brutal Doom in mind, but if people feel that strongly about it, I can always make a version that is rebalanced to be played vanilla. I'll just have to spawn a lot more enemies I imagine. It's really, really not that big of a deal as far as I'm concerned.

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Catacombs Horror - by GDB

Preface:

This ugly, probably buggy release is proof of concept for a survival horror type idea I've been playing with. I'm not a mapper but I hope what's here is enough to carry the idea of the gameplay across. The main thing here is the extensive ACS script that goes with the map, altering Doom's gameplay. In effect it's a mini mod.

My aim was to recapture the feeling of playing Doom back in the day as a kid, never knowing if I was going to have enough ammo or health to survive the level, or if there was a monster around the next corner waiting to finish me off. The best way to do this? IMO, attempt replayability by randomisation. The map is designed for brief bursts of procrastination in that I'm aiming for an intense experience which rarely lasts longer than 10 minutes. When playing on a high difficulty I find that this is almost always the case.



Description / Hints and Tips:

This is a survival type map where the only aim is to live as long as possible and kill as many monsters as possible. Enemies spawn randomly in the pitch black, inaccessible region which encircles the game area. Supplies spawn randomly in a selection of set locations over time. There are eight large stone doors breaking up the main "freeway" around the outside of the level, which open and close randomly over time. They stay closed for a while but will always open again eventually - you might not want to wait for this though.

Your best bet is to always keep moving and circulate between the locations where supplies can spawn. If you stay still for too long enemies may flood your position - they become more dangerous and numerous as the game time progresses. For this same reason, you need to fight carefully in the early game (3-4mins), conserving your health and gathering a good cache of supplies. If encountering a powerful enemy early on, run away or go for headshots with the revolver (more on this below) - it's surprising how fast it can take down a hellknight or mancubus when used precisely.



Other details:

The map is intended to be played with Sergeant_Mark_IV's Brutal Doom (balancing will be broken otherwise), along with a version of Doom Nukem's Brutal Doom Weapons Pack modified by myself and included in this zip. This pack includes a new starter weapon - the revolver - and a couple of reskins that I like to play with but which are by no means important to the gameplay. I also highly reccommend playing with the good ol' PSX doom sound and music packs loaded up - the atmosphere just isn't the same otherwise.

I've included a sample launch .bat to show the order I load the files in when I play. I have only tested this WAD using gzdoom, and on my computer at that. It may be way too easy or too hard, way too dark, etc. That's where feedback from you guys comes in.



Credits:


Scripting and map - Me, GDB.

Weapons mod - Doom Nukem (It's an old version with a couple of small changes from me.)

Doom Nukem also credits:

Megaherz
Batandy
BingoJohnson
Mike12
sgt_mark_iv

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Screenies:

http://imageshack.com/a/img537/8498/joY6BW.png
http://imageshack.com/a/img538/9643/9uoqKw.png
http://imageshack.com/a/img913/304/R8JN3z.png
http://imageshack.com/a/img537/2307/rtq79n.png
http://imageshack.com/a/img661/2291/UaagNT.png
http://imageshack.com/a/img905/6803/jI09Jn.png

(Note, these are all WIP. Some of the more ridiculously unaligned textures are now fixed. Also, the yellow dots on the map shot are places where you might expect to find supplies - to get y'all started.)

DOWNLOAD: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4j50s316phdzxyh/GDB-Catacombshorror.zip?dl=0

Mods: If the content from Doom Nukem is unacceptable despite crediting, let me know and I will remove it as soon as I get your message.

TL;DR: Download this. Play it with Brutal Doom on I Am Super Bad difficulty. See how long you can survive. Let me know what you think!

[AD_79]

brutal doom isn't exactly what you'd call scary

[GDB]

I didn't like it at first until I came to appreciate the fact that it had made individual enemies somewhat dangerous again. Why not give the WAD a spin and see if you enjoy it?

[baja blast rd.]

Tsst-tsst, kids and their fancy toys. The only legitimate setup is Doom v1.2 on a 386 with keyboard-only and no strafing, and if you aren't running that then you're a baby-murdering ninnyhammer.

[GDB]

I'm afraid I don't understand if that's directed at me or the other poster. Literally all you need to do is download the Wad and play it, preferably with brutal doom as it's balanced with that in mind. Why not give it a play and let me know what you think of it?

[jmickle66666666]

hi i found homs in all these doorways http://puu.sh/gX3j4/587c2796bd.jpg

[Shadow Hog]

And here I was hoping this was related to the Catacomb series.

Y'know, Catacomb 3D, Catacomb Abyss, etc.

[GDB]

jmickle66666666 said:

hi i found homs in all these doorways http://puu.sh/gX3j4/587c2796bd.jpg

Thanks for that jmickle. I've just looked through again on both gzdoom and zandronum and I'm not seeing any homs myself. What I see:

http://imageshack.com/a/img903/5827/NLqIqp.png

Were you playing in another source port? It's interesting that such a simple error could occur for one person and not another. Is anyone else experiencing that?

[Superluigieth1]

GDB said:

I'm afraid I don't understand if that's directed at me or the other poster. Literally all you need to do is download the Wad and play it, preferably with brutal doom as it's balanced with that in mind. Why not give it a play and let me know what you think of it?

Sir, you don't know what Doom v1.2 on a 386 with keyboard-only and no strafing is? I shall say, you are not a retro doomer in mind.

[Defsan]

I can't play it right now, but I'll try it when I get home because I like procedural generation, and this reminds me of Delver. Are you generating the level itself? Or just changing the position of the Things?

[GDB]

Defsan, at the moment it's just things. There are a hundred or so map spots at which monsters spawn randomly over time (the probability of which monsters spawn changes with the passing of time so the game gets harder). Things are spawned similarly - for the first 3-4 mins you'll be working with the guns you find from enemies along with ammo and health pickups. A little later you're likely to find a super shotgun and then 7-8mins in heavy weapons (chaingun and rocket launcher) have a good chance of spawning.

I also love procedural generation as a concept in games. A vague endgame I had in mind if people liked this kind of idea: Once the script for the generation of the things is sorted and makes for really fun, interesting ~10 minute games, start work on some sort of integration with Oblige or a similar random level generator. It seems like a preset for this kind of level could be made relatively easily as all that's needed is a medium-sized nonlinear area with map spots placed appropriately for items to spawn in as directed in the script.

Thanks for showing an interest!



A side note for everyone else - evidently (there's a relevant thread high in this forum right now) Brutal Doom gets a huge amount of hate in these parts. Whatever, to each their own. If people feel that strongly about it, I can always make a version of the WAD that is rebalanced to be played vanilla. I'll just have to spawn a lot more enemies I imagine. It's really, really not that big of a deal as far as I'm concerned.