The Old Stuff Chronicles

[Guest Matt Dixon]

My, how time flies...for those curious individuals among you, Old StuffChronicles' five week hiatus was induced when my computer processor failed.In the five weeks since, I have managed to raise enough money to purchaseand build my new system and, with the resurrection of my online persona andcomputer, so too is this feature article reborn. It is good to beback...enjoy.<p>The level set previously discussed, way back in mid-May, was Paul Schmitz'sArtifact set. Schmitz's set was notable for several reasons, but myprimary reason for selecting Artifact was to illustrate the desireof an author to release and re-release alternate versions of the same map,all in the never-ending quest for perfection. Today's selections, byold-school editor and author John 'Dr. Sleep' Anderson, follows a similarprecedent.<p>Several of you may recognize the name 'Dr. Sleep', or perhaps even JohnAnderson. Among a number of home-brewed DOOM releases (which are to be thefocus of this article), Anderson had the privilege and the talent tocontribute to Ultimate DOOM's Episode 4 (And Hell Followed, E4M7) as well asseveral maps to id Software's DOOM2: The Master Levels. Anderson's talent,which caught the attention of id Software, was first showcased in CrossingAcheron and Dante's Gate.<p>While something to look at and play, Anderson's maps did not beginas models of perfection. Rather, like the aforementioned Schmitz set, theyslowly evolved over the course of months and years into their present shape,being slowly altered to better suit the growing confidence and strength ofthe author and the tools at his fingertips. To quote Mr. John Andersondirectly...<p>"Dante's Gate was one of the first original DOOM levels back when all ofthis mania started in the early part of 1994.. There were only a handful oflevels at the time - all of them constructed with DEU, by the way - andDante's, I think, was a particularly good first-effort (or so I'm told),especially since I paid attention to such things as texture alignment at atime when it was all done by hand. There were no feature-laden editors to doeverything for you, and I think it's for this reason that Dante's has stoodthe test of time - plus, I've revised it here and there to keep it in thepublic view."<p>Those of you wanting a feel for how these maps have grown and matured, Ipoint you toward early incarnations of Crossing Acheron and Dante'sGate, both for Ultimate DOOM. Other alternate builds of the maps inquestion can be found from a variety of sources, such as early CD-ROMcompilations of DOOM(2) levels...amongst other hidden treasures.<p>Thus, with that in mind, I urge you to step into the nice little world thatJohn 'Dr. Sleep' Anderson has taken the time to carve out for us, andenjoy...Sleep's efforts are certainly worth the download andhave stood the test of time, having a place amongst the true classics thatDOOM(2) offers.

[Jon]

yay more oldstuff chronicles!

[Guest NunoC]

** goes through nostalgia trip **

[Swedish Fish]

What's your new computer specs? Is your DOOM archive fully intact? If not, contact me..

[Guest NunoC]

My Doom archive consists of old .wad compilations in magazine CD's I still have, so yes, it's intact. :)

[NiGHTMARE]

Read the Subject next time :)

[Guest Mattrim.]

Check your email, Anthony. :)

[msquid]

Matt is back! Rejoice!

[Guest NunoC]

* NunoC swallows his tongue :)

[SailorScout]

Dr. Sleep was also responsible for helping update DEU into DETH (before it was passed onto TeamTNT). I remember he had an old site on StormTroopers.. not sure if it's there anymore, but I enjoyed going there occassionally.

One of my favorite old maps he made was Recant, for Heretic. Very nice detail to it, with some interesting architecture and layout.

Finally, he also worked on Daikatana for about half a year, so anyone who actually owns that game (like me) might notice some of his style in the early levels.

Good to see you back btw Matt. :)

[Guest Mattrim.]

Good morning, SailorScout.

Anderson had nothing to do with upgrading DEU into DETH -- he was the 'face' of the utility (read: publicity) whereas Antony Burden was the programmer (mostly) responsible for DETH. Dr. Sleep's professional editing credentials also extend beyond Daikatana and DOOM2: The Master Levels into both Blood and Unreal.

http://www.stormtroopers.com/drsleep/ is still up though it has not been recently updated.

And thank you...I am happy to be back. ;)