THT: Threnody - released!

[Mithran Denizen]

Okay, I sorted out the ZDoom stuff in tnttextures.wad and made a Boom compatible version that plays nicely with the Return resources.

Here it is, now called tytribtx.wad. Use this in place of tnttextures.wad, and my map should work as intended in PrBoom+, etc.

So, with this setup, wad load order matters, and retres.wad should come first, i.e. "-file retres.wad tytribtx.wad fsea.wad"

I was going to simply merge the two texture packs, but I'm holding off on that for now, partially because of the goofy limited distribution clause in RETRES.TXT. Also partially because I'm not sure how much interest others have in using either of these resource sets yet anyway. Opinions?

[Xaser]

retres.txt said:

- We ask you not to include RETRES.WAD with any levels you
distribute. Please ask them to download RETRES.ZIP from either
CompuServe, Action Forum or at ftp.cdrom.com, id Games.

Yuck.

I'd suggest a different pack entirely for this clause alone, unless there's anyone around who can speak on TeamTNT's behalf (and is willing to) and override it.

[Gothic]

A few days ago I was thinking on remaking the entire texture set of Eternal Doom (gotta be honest, most of these textures come from Heretic/Hexen, and the original ones aren't exactly the best textures ever made) but that would take more than a month, and I'm not that skilled making textures.

[Obsidian]

Xaser said:

Yuck.

I'd suggest a different pack entirely for this clause alone, unless there's anyone around who can speak on TeamTNT's behalf (and is willing to) and override it.

Huh? We didn't do that for MAYhem2048 last year. :/

[kmxexii]

it seems to me that the intent is to save bandwidth by preventing people from bundling the whole thing with their levels. technically, as long as the resulting project does not use the entirety of RETRES.WAD, you are within the bounds of its distribution clause, no?

[gaspe]

Xaser said:

Yuck.

I'd suggest a different pack entirely for this clause alone, unless there's anyone around who can speak on TeamTNT's behalf (and is willing to) and override it.

After that the txt files says:
"So what does this really mean? We are taking a very relaxed attitude on the resource WAD. You can extract the portions of the resource you wish to use as long as you give proper credit. But if you require the entire resource WAD for your level do not distribute the resource WAD on your own."

So it looks it is fine as long as you don't need to include all the textures.

[Mechadon]

Hey I might try to make something for this, if that's ok.

[geo]

Mechadon said:

Hey I might try to make something for this, if that's ok.

Go for it. If anyone wants to use return they should. I think we can rename wall textures to make everything work.

[Gez]

Speaking of Ty and textures, he made all the graphics in Daedalus and wanted to make them into a texture pack (along with unused textures that didn't make the cut to the PWAD). This never happened and now will never happen.

[Chris Hansen]

Mithran Denizen said:

Here's my first draft:

Fallen Steward--Eternal Archive

The oh-so-subtle nods to Ty Halderman include an archive/library theme, a lone fallen warrior, and an ESSENTIAL PILLAR in the centre of the building. Difficulty settings are implemented, but I suspect UV may be too easy / HNTR may be too punishing.

Note: This map is primarily designed to be used with retres.wad (including the sprite replacements, etc), and tested mostly with PrBoom+. After Obsidian pointed out the Final Doom texture packs, I decided to add a couple of Evilution textures as well. So you will also need tnttextures.wad. Except that texture pack is in ZDoom format, and I haven't had time to fiddle with making a version that is fully compatible with retres.wad

So, as mentioned in the 'bugs' part of the text file, Anything but (G)ZDoom will probably give you an HOM in place of one secret TNT switch, and fail to draw a few minor fence midtextures.

It might be a couple of days before I get time to sort out the texture packs, so in the meantime, feedback and/or FDAs are welcome.

Awesome looking map with epic visuals and great lighting! Just too bad, that I suck and get overrun within seconds :D But I'm sure better players will have a blast with this map!

Noticed a couple of things that (maybe) need some attention:
- Linedef 1460 needs to be lower unpegged.
- Linedef 1121 needs to be lower unpegged.
- Sector 56 has M_FLR8_1 flat. Looks like it should be 3FLAT5_8.
- Cyberdemon has multiplayer flag, but that's probably intentional. Just thought I'd mention it in case it's not :)
- Linedef 2287 has unknown SW1FSK1 texture. But there's a good chance that I just forgot to load a ressource pwad.

[A.K.]

Is there a certain style that we need to follow while designing the maps?

[Velvetic]

Here's my first take on "Death Bells" (not finished yet), i think that it needs some more melodies, but i'm in a creative block right now.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ukr5p1ug12k84k6/farewell%20ty.mid?dl=0

[Fonze]

Ok I've been listening to your rendition of "Death's Bells" and over-all I like it.

Some of what may follow may sound a little rough, but understand that if I hated it, that's what I would say. As it currently stands, I would not use this in my own map, but I would have no problems hearing it in someone else's.

First of all, the beginning 1:55 needs to go. It's just doesn't fit. I appreciate the drum-work in the beginning, but it's boring as Hell with nothing but whole notes and the bells playing quarter notes. Also, part of the beauty of the original was that the end flowed well into the beginning. It was cool to hear playing Wormhole for the first time because the music fails to convey time, making the maps feel "timeless." Very moody stuff.

At 1:10, that solo has a weird start that doesn't quite fit, imo, though in a different Doom song it would sound really cool, because it starts with that demonic bend. At 1:20 it's really sweet. Reminds me faintly of Gauntlet: Dark Legacy ^^

At 1:55 the music starts sounding cool. I like the little solo that happens at 2:19. The "drag-triplets" and double-notes sounded sweet, in addition to the general melody of it. Personally, I'd rather have the first 1:55 replaced with more solos later in the song after it heats up.

At 4:06 when the music dies down, I think the bass should do more than just quarter notes as well, though it does start to build up nicely after that. Prolly can't add to many volume controls to midis, so the musical build-ups are nice, since crescendos may not be available for this.

That slow part lasts a while, too.

After it builds up, I wasn't a fan of the strings in the background at 6:30. They should have gone elsewhere for that last measure as a crunch/tension and resolved elsewhere than a higher tone.

At 7:00 those sextuplets that kick in were strange, to say the least. It reminded me of that weird noise that the sky people/bird things made in Zelda: Twilight Princess. Might have been cooler as a solo instead.

I liked the parts that were from the original, but one problem I have with this, as well as ports like prboom+ is that the parts of the song I like the best, like for this song, the sixteenth notes that are a prominent feature of the song, are much quieter and put in the background. That shit sounds really cool, it needs to be in the foreground.

As I said, I'd like more solos during the times when the song has heated up and the beginning and end should line up a bit nicer for looping. Other than that and the parts I mentioned I like the rest of it. Good job, man, I can't wait to hear this when it's done!

Also, play Freebird! WOO!

[ClumsyCryptid]

geo said:

It is now SepTyber. Let the mapping commence!

Right!

I completely forgot about this event until I happened upon Legion of the Lost on Youtube. Hm.. I guess I should get a feel for Ty's mapping, and then go from there.

Originally I thought of doing something similar to Wormhole, but that might not be respectful, but I like the idea and flow of that map. I'll see what I can come up with.

[Angry Saint]

Tyvivec, my tribute map. I use the retres resources:

[Gez]

Angry Saint said:

Tyvivec, my tribute map. I use the retres resources:

http://imgur.com/Vl7yfQl http://imgur.com/J1a84ZM
http://imgur.com/0851Rju http://imgur.com/wF9exHc

Inspired by Morrowind?

[Angry Saint]

Yes, it is inspired by the Vivec city in Morrowind. Interesting layout.

[Gothic]

Well, I finally stopped doing nothing and finished my map (UV only for now, I will later add other skill levels and multiplayer).
Download here.
It requires the TNT Evilution and any boom compatible port.
Screenshots:

Spoiler

The new song is "Control" by Jimmy.

[Mithran Denizen]

Chris Hansen said:

Awesome looking map with epic visuals and great lighting! Just too bad, that I suck and get overrun within seconds :D But I'm sure better players will have a blast with this map!

Thanks! I'll take that as confirmation that the horde should be toned down somewhat for the lower skill levels.

Noticed a couple of things that (maybe) need some attention:
- Linedef 1460 needs to be lower unpegged.
- Linedef 1121 needs to be lower unpegged.
- Sector 56 has M_FLR8_1 flat. Looks like it should be 3FLAT5_8.

Great catches, thanks!

- Cyberdemon has multiplayer flag, but that's probably intentional. Just thought I'd mention it in case it's not :)
- Linedef 2287 has unknown SW1FSK1 texture. But there's a good chance that I just forgot to load a ressource pwad.

Yeah, the cyberdemon flag is intentional, but thanks for noticing/checking regardless. That missing texture is an Evilution switch that just didn't get loaded.



Anyway, I realize this project isn't a particularly organized effort so far, but I took the liberty of throwing together an 'interim' Return + Evilution resource pack for myself and anyone else who'd like to use it:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t2g35c8tib6zdvp/sepTYtex.zip

When maps are done and SepTYber is over, everything unused can be trimmed out, which would mean compliance with the letter (and hopefully the spirit) of the redistribution clause in retres.txt. I'd also be happy to compile everything into one wad in the end, for whomever wants their maps included.

Anyway, here's a revised draft of my map:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/89qhnezphv4z2a8/FSEAv2.zip

Run it with sepTYtex.wad above for best results. Changes since the last version include improved ammo and health balance, fewer archviles on easy settings, more traps, improved architecture, and non-D_RUNNIN music.


Edit: some pictures:

[Fonze]

Man Mithran those screenies look awesome! I've been slackin on the play testing for this. I'll play through your map here in the next couple days, though.

Am I correct that this is the only map submitted so far?

[Mithran Denizen]

Gothic said:

Well, I finally stopped doing nothing and finished my map (UV only for now, I will later add other skill levels and multiplayer).
Download here.
It requires the TNT Evilution and any boom compatible port.

Cool map!

Here are a couple demos, if you're interested. The FDA is mostly me running around haplessly like a mouse trying to scramble out of a meat grinder. The other demo is my first successful exit, with a fair bit of wandering around lost thrown in for flavour.

Overall, a very nice romp! The map is a little heavy on the switch / teleporter hunt stuff for my taste, but that's of course a matter of preference. But I mildly dislike that despite the map being quite open and interconnected, the barred switches, etc, mean that there is one specific 'right' order of progression. Playing without foreknowledge and taking a 'wrong' path can mean a ton of wasted time backtracking and bouncing between different areas. It can also mean a borderline-obnoxiously long time running around with just the pistol.

The lift down toward the blue key area seems to have a tendency to get stuck on the nearby cacodemon, potentially leaving it stuck there. If you retreat back up the lift before killing it, it can be a pain to return down there with the cacodemon wedged in the shaft at an angle where it can't easily be shot from above. Making the lift bigger (to let the caco through) or smaller (to prevent it from coming in at all) could maybe be worthwhile?

Perhaps it was just me being wasteful, but I wouldn't mind some more ammo in the immediate area of the mastermind battle as well. I had to retreat a fair ways to scrounge ammo for that fight, as well as for the nearby arachnotrons, despite the cells available in the mastermind room.

Anyway, there's certainly a lot more to like than dislike. Lots of great fights in great looking areas. A couple highlights: I love the cool staged lighting leading up to the archvile fight, and the nearby conveyor setup with the red key is also awesome.

[geo]

I am liking what I see so far. I'll pop some of the levels in when I get a chance.

[Degree23]

The music from Icarus Map 30, reworked to make it longer or otherwise, could well be a good music choice for the last map.

[Gothic]

Mithran Denizen said:

Overall, a very nice romp! The map is a little heavy on the switch / teleporter hunt stuff for my taste, but that's of course a matter of preference. But I mildly dislike that despite the map being quite open and interconnected, the barred switches, etc, mean that there is one specific 'right' order of progression. Playing without foreknowledge and taking a 'wrong' path can mean a ton of wasted time backtracking and bouncing between different areas. It can also mean a borderline-obnoxiously long time running around with just the pistol.

The lift down toward the blue key area seems to have a tendency to get stuck on the nearby cacodemon, potentially leaving it stuck there. If you retreat back up the lift before killing it, it can be a pain to return down there with the cacodemon wedged in the shaft at an angle where it can't easily be shot from above. Making the lift bigger (to let the caco through) or smaller (to prevent it from coming in at all) could maybe be worthwhile?

Perhaps it was just me being wasteful, but I wouldn't mind some more ammo in the immediate area of the mastermind battle as well. I had to retreat a fair ways to scrounge ammo for that fight, as well as for the nearby arachnotrons, despite the cells available in the mastermind room.

Anyway, there's certainly a lot more to like than dislike. Lots of great fights in great looking areas. A couple highlights: I love the cool staged lighting leading up to the archvile fight, and the nearby conveyor setup with the red key is also awesome.

Thanks for playing and giving your opinion. About the open areas, sorry, I expected people to explore a bit the map, but yeah having only the pistol would make it obnoxious. I tried to fix this having a way to get the chaingun on every path you take (one is secret, but before that you get the chainsaw). I also made the lift bigger so the cacodemon doesn't get stuck on it, and added more ammo and health on the harder areas.

Here is the newest version
http://www.mediafire.com/download/8upv9mbinyoold8/TYMEMOv2.zip

Difficult levels were added, and a ludicrous ammount of monsters were added for co-op fun (I haven't tested yet online, some help would be appreciated)

[Mithran Denizen]

Awesome, Gothic! I did another quick run on UV and one on HNTR. The new key markers in various areas are really handy visual cues. The map is still open and exploratory, but now it's much harder to accidentally get turned around and confused about where to go in order to progress.

Another thing I didn't mention before, but that I really like, is the rocket launcher secret. Very cool, and very satisfying placement in regard to the fights that immediately follow it.

UV feels better with more ammo, and HNTR is stimulating without being too punishing. I didn't have time to check out HMP or coop yet, though, but I like the word 'ludicrous' there.

[Gothic]

I tried to test with Zandronum offline, but the enemies appear on DM and not on coop. Maybe I'm doing something wrong or Zandronum is not great to test coop offline.

[Mithran Denizen]

Hmmm, I'm not super familiar with Zandronum specifics, but I did just give it a try with the "-solo-net" parameter on PrBoom+. Nice and brutal. I suppose I can't really speak to the co-op balance by myself, but it certainly feels like it should be stimulating enough for multiple players/respawning.

[geo]

Now that I have some time, I'll start playing some maps and give feedback :-)

[Tritnew]

I'm not really a map creator or modder of the DOOM community, but I think there should be a graveyard level, and when you get to the end, you'll go Into Ty's crypt and press on the tombstone to exit the level.

I guess anyone else can build up on this Idea, but yea. I'm not a great mapper.

[Fonze]

>.<

Spoiler

Not complete yet, but this is where we're at on that: neither area has been tied together or textured correctly yet.