Doom II - Hellscape :: BETA TESTERS WANTED

[Solarn]

No caged walkways in Map 26, -5 out of 5, would not recommend.

I'm mostly kidding, but the central walkways are such an iconic and memorable part of the map that every riff on the theme (including at least one map in every Plutonia) includes them. What made you decide to ditch that design?

Also, your screenshots for Map 28 remind me a lot of The Spirit Underworld from ZPack. Was this intentional or does it simply come from the fact that both are highly detailed reinterpretations of the same map?

[Lutz]

Solarn said:

No caged walkways in Map 26, -5 out of 5, would not recommend.

They are there, though they are a little further from the player; they are not pictured in any of the screenshots posted.

Solarn said:

Also, your screenshots for Map 28 remind me a lot of The Spirit Underworld from ZPack. Was this intentional or does it simply come from the fact that both are highly detailed reinterpretations of the same map?

No idea -- I haven't played ZPack (though I will make it a point to, now, I guess). That level is one to which I stuck rather closely -- granted, there is more detail, but I didn't stray too far from the "feel" of the original (with the notable exception of the exit area). So, if the ZPack author followed the same template, I suspect there will be more than a passing resemblance.

[Mechadon]

I keep saying this, but this is truly gorgeous stuff <3. I'm glad you didn't get too frustrated with the METAL2 usage, because I really love it here. It gives the scenes very nice industrial ambiance amid all of the rocky structures. Great job man, keep it up!

[DooM_RO]

Wow. This is exactly the kind of mapping I like.

I hope I'll be as good as you one day.

P.S the thumbnails no longer work.

[40oz]

Really nice work with the lighting, here! It really makes all the difference to make the majority of your sector drawing into light sourcing and darkening places where shadows would naturally be. I've been focusing on that myself lately and it makes even mostly bare looking areas look cool, let alone huge beautiful vistas like you're showing here.

I've been thinking about doing a remake of the spirit world myself even with its crazy texture themes and making it look awesome just with lighting and shadow casting alone.

[Lutz]

40oz said:

Really nice work with the lighting, here! It really makes all the difference to make the majority of your sector drawing into light sourcing and darkening places where shadows would naturally be.

Thanks -- I appreciate it. I'm definitely of the opinion that you can make a better level with one texture and awesome lighting than you can with a range of textures and flat lighting (and that's a pretty kick-ass screenshot of your own). I just wish vanilla/Boom Doom had a little bit better support for synchronized flashing so that it was easier to add animated lighting across multiple sectors and/or with coincident gradients.

[baja blast rd.]

It'd be really cool if Doom had a set of "Light Raise/Lower by 16/32/whatever" actions. I can imagine syncing these to voodoo doll loops already, for light glowing effects that can coexist with complex gradients! :)

[Paul977]

Looks ultra cool

[40oz]

Lutz said:

Thanks -- I appreciate it. I'm definitely of the opinion that you can make a better level with one texture and awesome lighting than you can with a range of textures and flat lighting (and that's a pretty kick-ass screenshot of your own). I just wish vanilla/Boom Doom had a little bit better support for synchronized flashing so that it was easier to add animated lighting across multiple sectors and/or with coincident gradients.

Yeah I agree. I did some stuff with control sectors in Absolute Dishonor but nothing really extravagant because they're vanilla maps. I'd like to get better at it eventually, maybe with more practice. I'd also like to get better acclimated with the change lighting to darkest/brightest adjacent linedef types. The fixed 255 brightness and 35 brightness ones are too extreme.

[Protester]

I think i posted this a few months year ago, but i'll say it again, I am super hyped for this project!

[DooM_RO]

Why aren't you doing this for the whole of Doom 2? Almost all of the base game is ugly.

[Not Jabba]

DooM_RO said:

Why aren't you doing this for the whole of Doom 2? Almost all of the base game is ugly.

Probably because of the huge amount of time it would take -- you have to pick your battles, I guess. As you may know, Lutz has already done two revamp episodes of Doom 1 (Phobos: Anomaly Reborn and Inferno), and both are quite good, although they were made years ago and aren't as visually stunning as Hellscape.

[DooM_RO]

Not Jabba said:

Probably because of the huge amount of time it would take -- you have to pick your battles, I guess. As you may know, Lutz has already done two revamp episodes of Doom 1 (Phobos: Anomaly Reborn and Inferno), and both are quite good, although they were made years ago and aren't as visually stunning as Hellscape.

Yeah, they seem to have that early-mid 2000s aesthetic, which I don't really like anymore.

EDIT:

Still, I wish Lutz also remade the Earth levels after he completes this set. That way I won't have to puke everytime I play Doom 2.

[Solarn]

DooM_RO said:

Yeah, they seem to have that early-mid 2000s aesthetic, which I don't really like anymore.

EDIT:

Still, I wish Lutz also remade the Earth levels after he completes this set. That way I won't have to puke everytime I play Doom 2.

Well, aren't you the fucking edgelord.

[DooM_RO]

Solarn said:

Well, aren't you the fucking edgelord.

Woah, I didn't mean to offend anyone.

[Lutz]

As stated in the stupidly long opening post, this project was my attempt to find peace with the Hell levels of Doom 2. I actually like many of the other levels, and quite frankly would be hesitant to try remaking "Industrial Zone" or "Tenements" simply because I enjoy the originals too much.

[Carny Goat]

With detail like this, why not go the whole nine yards and replace all the levels in every Doom Iwad?
(Perhaps call it Lutz Doom, a series of re-envisions) You got talent bud. Experiment with it, roll with it. See where it goes!
Or not. Personally, I want to see something like Dis get this treatment.

[scifista42]

Carniverous Goat said:

With detail like this, why not go the whole nine yards and replace all the levels in every Doom Iwad?

Because they seem to take lots of time and effort to create, and Lutz is just a single person who (presumably) doesn't have an unlimited time (and endurance) on his hands? Also, I'd rather play a handful of awesome maps even if there wasn't going to be any more, than wait indefinitely for a complete megawad to be (never) finished.

Keep up the good work, Lutz!

[Lutz]

I am searching for a few beta testers before releasing this publicly. Send me a PM or e-mail (include "D2HS" in the subject line) if you are interested, and I'll shoot out a link once I find somewhere to post the file. Also, and suggestions about where to post the file are welcome (though I can't use dropbox from work...)

[saski]

Any news on how the betatest is going?

[vespa]

Seriously, anything?

[DooM_RO]

I'm waiting for the full version but I can't wait to play, dissect and study your WAD. Looks amazing.

[saski]

Maybe a public beta will be out in time for holiday season? :D

[joe-ilya]

I finished playtesting the maps a week ago, now he fixes stuff that will take some more time.

[Lutz]

Beta-testing is going well -- joe has sent a ton of suggestions which I am in the process of implementing. Also, based on his assessment of the first level, I am expecting a roughly 700-page document from 40oz :) All great stuff, though.

TBD on a public beta; I'm not a huge fan, so what I think I will do is implement the changes suggested in the private beta sessions (at least the ones I agree with) and release a version 1.0. If there are enough comments (esp. repeated complaints) I might release a 1.1 later, but I have full confidence that everyone looking at it now will do such a bang-up job that a second version won't be necessary.

Personally, I was hoping this would be a nice Christmas treat, but it may slip into early 2017. That's all I'll commit to at the moment.

[Pure Hellspawn]

i'd honestly prefer having access to the file while this thread in on page 1 and in my mind tbh.

[vespa]

Bumping to check for progress. I really, really want to play this.

[Lutz]

vespa said:

Bumping to check for progress. I really, really want to play this.

I really, really want you to. 2017 is kicking my ass so far, but I am almost done implementing Joe's changes. I am aiming to make this is a Valentine's Day treat.

[NiGHTMARE]

I'm actually working on a Doom 2 revamp myself, and if working on hell themed levels wasn't so much fun Hellscape would have convinced me to stick with the first 20 maps!

BTW one of my goals is to add a Lutz-esque crane to Industrial Zone...

[NaturalTvventy]

How am I just seeing this?? I can't wait for a release. And of course if you need a beta tester, sign me up.