Nuclear Halls (Boom map) - idgames link now active

[Capellan]

About a week ago I finished up a Boom-compatible map. Since then it's been tweaked based on feedback from Demon of the Well and SteveD (thanks, guys!), and it is now ready for public consumption. I don't intend to upload it to idgames for another week or so, though: I'd like to ensure any misaligned textures or other minor glitches are found and fixed first. Which is where you guys come in :)


After saving the planet from demonic invasion, you took a job as a security guard at a nuclear waste management facility. You just wanted a nice, quiet job and to forget about Hell for a while. Unfortunately, Hell has not forgotten You.

The level is now available on Doomworld's idgames front-end, so here's the link:

http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?file=levels/doom2/Ports/m-o/nukehall.zip

REQUIRES CC4-TEX.WAD TO PLAY
Use whatever gamma you'd use for IWAD map02
No new music - IDMUS02 suggested; or just turn music off, like me :)
Co-op and DM are implemented, though untested.

Please take a look if you're interested and let me know what you think. Particularly let me know if you find any cosmetic issues or port problems (it's been thoroughly tested in PrBoom 2.5.1.3 and to a lesser extent GZDoom 1.8.02).


Not the most exciting screenshot, but trying to avoid anything too spoilery :)

[TheOrganGrinder]

Okay, that was hella fun. The E1M2 influence was pretty apparent from the initial layout but I really should have guessed that you'd also be taking cues from MAP02 just based on the name. Overall feel is very chunky and solid. For reference I was playing on HMP and finished on 233/235 kills, 5/8 secrets.

In terms of minor glitches to fix...

• Linedefs 682 and 683 cause sector 70 (the imp walkway) to drop, when it looks more like they're intended to affect sector 80;
  
• The back wall linedefs of sector 355 are hidden but the linedefs of sector 356 (linedefs 2505-2507; the vertical strip light within that monster cubby) are not, so on the automap you have a little three-sided niche just sort of... floating there;
  
• Similarly, sector 272's outer walls are flagged as hidden but the linedefs making up sector 344 are not, so again you've got this map feature just appearing to float in space on the automap.

That's about all I spotted, though.

[Capellan]

Three different people play the map a dozen times between them and still miss stuff like this. You can never have too much playtesting :)

All fixed in the link now. Thanks!

[Veinen]

Pretty and cool. Here's a FDA. Died in the first room, then barely made through the whole thing on the next attempt with 100% kills and 6/8 secrets.

E1M2 and Map02 homages were indeed very noticeable. Doesn't feel like a tough map but sneaky hitscanner placement ensured that my health was being chipped away constantly to the point that it was usually uncomfortably low. There is a point near the end of the demo where I judt don't dare blindly jumping down a pit with 9% health in fear of another hitscan carnage. Turned out to be just a single Baron... Ammo balance seemed tight, even with 6 of the 8 secrets found, but I didn't have to resort to using the chainsaw in awkward situations. I've observed that I seem to be a rather ammo effective player so I'm guessing some players could have ammo issues here if they don't find any of the secrets. Speaking of secrets, quite many of those and rewards seemed trivial upon finding but due to the aforementioned tight ammo supply, the extra ammo was quite helpful after all. So... well thought-out I suppose?

Anyway, a pretty neat map and worth checking out. Seemed like it would be decent fun to UV-Max too because of the layout and the weapon progression. Effectiveness with the upper tier weaponry would be crucial and would require some planning as well (which is good!).

[scifista42]

Failed FDA - at time around 11:30, I've experienced a Portmidi glitch in PrBoom-plus (at least I think that's what it is, I have no idea, but I've experienced this same thing multiple times already). From that point on, I couldn't hear the music or any game sounds but one irritating noise looping over and over, and when I died, I had to terminate PrBoom-plus from outside.

It was a good, well balanced map. I actually liked the low-scale balance with forced chainsaw involvement. Aesthetics were good and level progression solid. The layout would benefit from many more non-orthogonal, non-rectangular-based areas, and also distinctly increased verticality, IMO - because the layout still resembles a Wolf3D maze, albeit really distantly. Anyway, I had fun. Good work.

[mouldy]

Cool map, very unpredictable. I died a fair bit at the start, that drop into the crossfire is quite harsh. I found that surviving that left me on low health, and while there was a dribble of stimpacks, with no armour it was a bit of a struggle, only took one unlucky hit to wipe me out. I'd have traded that second green armour for one at the start.

But anyway, got there in the end. And in fact the only time I had 100% health was before killing anything and after killing everything, I guess that is the mark of a good map.

[Capellan]

Thanks for the FDAs. Always interesting to see which secrets people do and don't find - and also where they spend time checking for secrets that aren't there.

Scifista is the first person that I know of who missed the RL secret. That, plus skipping a couple of non-secret areas and some rough luck with the RNG, made for a tough run. Looks like I may have got you with a zombieman at the end there, which is always amusing :)

[Olroda]

It did take me some tries to get through this one!
Solid map, especially in the multiple angle assault department. The start is really a baptism by fire, and more of the same swiftly follows. Supplies were tight, the hallmark of an exciting WAD.
Visuals and lightning were good, but I have to confess that I'm no fan of the CC4 textures. Many of them are nice, but there are a few bad ones that doesn't fit in with the rest. Purely a personal preference, though.
No errors detected during play, but the demons released by grabbing the red key are easily thwarted by the stairs (if two steps could be called 'stairs', that is). They can also get stuck on the pillar as it rises back.

Final verdict: Well done!

[scifista42]

Olroda said:

I have to confess that I'm no fan of the CC4 textures. Many of them are nice, but there are a few bad ones that doesn't fit in with the rest. Purely a personal preference, though.

Out of curiosity, which particular CC4 textures (or kinds of textures) do you consider bad?

[Walter confetti]

Here's a failed FDA of the map on HMP, no complevel because i pretty sucks.

Pretty cool map btw, i don't found any problem of sort...

[Capellan]

Enjoyed the FDA - as soon as I saw your reaction in the courtyard I thought "oh, this will be fun" :)

[Olroda]

scifista42 said:

Out of curiosity, which particular CC4 textures (or kinds of textures) do you consider bad?

Examples from this map:
BRICKPL3 and BRICKPL9 -Somewhat blurry and not in the same style as other textures (Are the BRICKPL textures derived from Plutonia?).
METALE, METAL1_C -Looks like a yellow texture with black warning stripes instead of the other way around, which was likely to be the intent.

Also, the desaturated (black and white) texture versions, such as BRONZEGx, doesn't look too good when compared with the original(s).

While I think that most of the CC4 pack is all right, the not-so-good ones stick out whenever used.

[Capellan]

I'm going to upload to idgames/incoming in about 48 hours, so this is a last check for any feedback.

[RjY]

Capellan said:

I'm going to upload to idgames/incoming in about 48 hours, so this is a last check for any feedback.

The world's slowest HNTR first attempt. I did not see anything needing attention; it seems ready for final release.

[The Green Herring]

I would offer a UV FDA, myself, but as I was hitting Spacebar to close out of PrBoom+ 2.5.1.3's ENDOOM, an extra keypress triggered the "Launch" button in ZDL and PrBoom+ relaunched with the same parameters, erasing my FDA from existence. Maybe I shouldn't launch from ZDL to record one.

Anyhow, almost all I can offer as a result are a few things I spotted. Most of these are minor and flagged accordingly.

• Minor: Linedef 172 is not hidden, but the rest of sector 22 is. It stands out on the automap after entering that room.
• It's a little odd that you can so easily trap the pink demons on sector 56 after getting the red key, but I guess it's better than being able to stand there immune to their attacks.
• Minor: It's also a little odd that a hitscanner can see and shoot you right through the sewage grate at the start of the level while being completely out of your view. I got shot while turning in place to look around the room and it surprised me a little.
• Sector 334 is difficult to reach without straferunning unless you run from a specific location and angle toward its westernmost vertex. While straferunning is today a well-known trick, there are people I know who still use the default keyboard controls or some other setup that would cause difficulty straferunning.
• Minor: As previously mentioned, how come all of sector 272 is hidden except for one-sided linedefs of the mainframe in the center (sector 344)? It stands out on the automap, too.

These are all incredibly minor, however, in comparison to the quality of this level. It's great work! Progression seemed logical and the gameplay was fun. Independent of that, it's like Doom using Doom II resources. I'd like to do a max of this level when it's on /idgames.

[Capellan]

Fixed line 172 and the lines in sector 272.

Switched sector 56 to be a 'lower to 8 about highest floor' instead of a lift. Not sure why I didn't do that weeks ago, actually :)

Not really worried about the other items.

Thanks!

[RjY]

Having replayed this to push for time I agree the plasma cells secret can be very annoying. It's a tricky jump across the top of some computers, but exacerbated by the darkness, being unable to see where you are aiming your run makes misses or oversteps highly likely. If I may suggest, I think having linedef 2249 lower the secret sector 335 briefly would be a simple and effective solution.

Also, for expediency it might be nice to move the secret property of the mancubus' platform, sector 298, to the lift, sector 306, or even the small alcove before it, sector 308, so that one does not have to wait for and go up a lift to get secret credit. A speedrunning optimization undoubtedly, but one I hope you may consider nonetheless.

I had made some more hntr demos that are not as agonisingly slow, they will likely desync on the current version, but I don't care, I considered them throwaways to begin with, that's why I put them on a site that deletes things after a week :) Link

[Capellan]

The level is now available on Doomworld's idgames front-end, so here's the link:

http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?file=levels/doom2/Ports/m-o/nukehall.zip


OP also updated.