Doom: The Devil's Tattoo - Action Shooter vs. Gothic Horror

[CJacobsSA]

Hello! My name is CJacobs and I'm a fairly recent addition to the Doom modding community. I started making maps back in June-ish, and this is my very first actual release. The Devil's Tattoo will be an eerie, Southern Gothic-inspired trip to the depths of hell. Part fast-paced Doom action, part slow-paced horror action, it'll thrill you from start to finish. Or at least, that's the goal.

Includes 6 totally custom-made new weapons!

The first and second maps are available right now! It will eventually have 12 maps and a couple secret ones- at least, that's what I have planned at the moment. The final release will probably restructure a few things, this is mostly to demonstrate the general speed of the campaign as well as its aesthetic and some of its gameplay elements.

Please let me know what you think! I'm still a relative novice, so I have a lot of room to learn and grow, so I welcome your reactions and feedback.

More screenshots will be forthcoming as I make more maps.



NOTE: This was made for and tested in the latest 2.0 release of GZDoom. If you use another port to play this, it may look weird or be totally broken. Sorry!

CAMPAIGN DEMO MAP: THE MANOR
[DROPBOX LINK] Manor Demo.rar, 20 MB - Version 0.0.4.0 (10/25)

CHANGELOG:

0.0.4.0 - Too Old To Die Young - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQNFcYvILJE
-------

+ IMPLEMENTED THE SECOND LEVEL: BOOKENDS
+ The golden Revolver now fires a custom exploding bulletpuff so that it is a hitscan weapon again (Thanks, The Kins)
+ Added a bunch of decoration to the first level
+ Added more depth to the outside of the mansion and some more grass stuff
+ The Rocket Launcher's firing corkscrew is still messed up, I was unable to figure out how to fix it. I'll mess around with it more!


Sound
Tango Gameworks - Weapon Sounds (from The Evil Within)

Music
Scattle, "Remorse" - MAP01, The Manor
Carpenter Brut, "Roller Mobster" - MAP01, The Manor
LiPi Sound, "Abyss" - MAP02, Bookends

Graphics
Unknown Doom Forum User (Sorry!) - Revolver Pickup Sprite Base
Bloody Acid - Double-Shotgun Pickup Sprite Base
Graaicko - Machine Gun & Rocket Launcher Pickup Sprite Base
Gothic Team - Gothic Texture Pack
Abbuw - Horizontal Wood Texture
Aguares - Tile Floor Texture
NiGHTMARE - Several Hell-Themed Textures
Zrrion the insect & Mr.Enchanter - Base/Stone Textures

Scripts
Ghastly_Dragon, Tormentor667 - Rain Simple Script
Gez - Arena enemy spawn script fix

[CJacobsSA]

I've released an update! Version 0.0.1.0 is now downloadable from the OP. There's also a thread for the campaign on the ZDoom forums if you want to check it out there.

CHANGELOG:

+ Changed floor texture in underwater segments to not be a water texture
+ Added an extra script function to ensure the last enemy in the arena segment spawns (Thanks, Gez)
+ Extended Doomguy's arms a bit so that the sprites go all the way down the screen if you're using the alt hud
+ A couple teeny tiny linedef rearrangements to prevent rendering errors in the main lobby of the manor

I'm working on making custom doors for the ones that have key locks as per The Kins' suggestion, so that'll be in the next update.

[DarkNinja815]

Look's good! I don't know why people haven't commented yet.

[Linguica]

DarkNinja815 said:

Look's good! I don't know why people haven't commented yet.

It's for GZDoom, so all the Doomworld geriatrics are vomiting in rage.

CJacobs, I subscribe to your utubs, so I will give this a look when I have the chance.

[CJacobsSA]

DarkNinja815 said:

Look's good! I don't know why people haven't commented yet.

Thank you! :)

Linguica said:

It's for GZDoom, so all the Doomworld geriatrics are vomiting in rage.

CJacobs, I subscribe to your utubs, so I will give this a look when I have the chance.

Haha, I figured this might be the case. The ZDoom forum thread is already quite a bit more active. :v

Still, though, I look forward to reading your reaction when you do play it!

[CJacobsSA]

Another update has been released! Check the OP for a fresh download.

CHANGELOG:

0.0.2.0 - Papillon, Editors
-------

+ Added some vines to the side of the mansion for flavor
+ Added color-specific doors to the manor lobby (Thanks for the suggestion, The Kins)
+ Added a custom flat for the underside of doors
+ Added TEXTURES, ANIMDEFS lumps and relevant folders
+ More tweaks to the gun animations so they're a bit smoother looking
+ Try typing IDFA to see the rest of the weapons if you haven't!

[Linguica]

K, I played through it, here's the notes I took:

* Starting pistol feels wimpy, but that's probably intentional?
* The level's strict room-hallway-room layout feels very... "old school". In general, it's more pleasing to have areas that loop around and interconnect in a more organic manner.
* I appreciate that the scripting is so light.
* Shotgunners don't use the new shotgun sound, even though they're presumably using the new shotguns?
* In one of the first areas with 3D floors, I noticed I kept getting stuck on the lower floor because I was "running into" imps above me. I looked at my compatibility settings and saw I was on "Boom (strict)" and changing it fixed it. Anyways, I don't know if you set a forced compatibility setting in a MAPINFO or something but it would probably be a good idea.
* I "used" the eye statue thing before i even had a chance to read it. If you can, you should disable the teleporting thing for a second or two after the text pops up so that people have a chance to actually see / read it before pressing use on everything like they're trained to do.
* The challenge room of waves of enemies went on for too long. It should have been half the length and twice the difficulty, maybe.
* I didn't even realize that I picked up a *second* kind of pistol. I just assumed it was giving me another pistol for some strange reason and ignored it. I don't even know what the difference is - one fires faster, does that mean it's more powerful? I think the two pistols and the automatic rifle all use the same ammo pool, why would anyone not just use the rifle?

[CJacobsSA]

Linguica said:

K, I played through it, here's the notes I took:

* Starting pistol feels wimpy, but that's probably intentional?
* The level's strict room-hallway-room layout feels very... "old school". In general, it's more pleasing to have areas that loop around and interconnect in a more organic manner.
* I appreciate that the scripting is so light.
* Shotgunners don't use the new shotgun sound, even though they're presumably using the new shotguns?
* In one of the first areas with 3D floors, I noticed I kept getting stuck on the lower floor because I was "running into" imps above me. I looked at my compatibility settings and saw I was on "Boom (strict)" and changing it fixed it. Anyways, I don't know if you set a forced compatibility setting in a MAPINFO or something but it would probably be a good idea.
* I "used" the eye statue thing before i even had a chance to read it. If you can, you should disable the teleporting thing for a second or two after the text pops up so that people have a chance to actually see / read it before pressing use on everything like they're trained to do.
* The challenge room of waves of enemies went on for too long. It should have been half the length and twice the difficulty, maybe.
* I didn't even realize that I picked up a *second* kind of pistol. I just assumed it was giving me another pistol for some strange reason and ignored it. I don't even know what the difference is - one fires faster, does that mean it's more powerful? I think the two pistols and the automatic rifle all use the same ammo pool, why would anyone not just use the rifle?

Thanks for playing! In order of listing:

- Yeah, the default revolver is supposed to be pretty much only good against zombiemen/sarges and imps, the reason I have you fight a couple demons with it is so grabbing the shotgun feels more rewarding since it comes so early on. But I've narrowed down the demons you HAVE to fight with it in the latest update so that might help out a bit!

- Good catch with the shotgunners, I hadn't thought of that. I'll change that in the next hotfix. :)

- That's interesting, I didn't know I could force a compatibility setting in MAPINFO. I'll make sure to do that too.

- I wanted to do your suggestion regarding the eye statue, but I couldn't figure out how to script it. Is there some kind of "make usable" ACS function? Would I have to make another script and then assign it to the line behind the statue (which is what actually gets 'used' to tp the player)?

- Yeah, the golden revolver not being different enough is a common complaint. So I've changed that! It is now much more distinct. I also heard the 'arena goes on too long' thing from someone else so I'll most likely be trimming it down with some audio editing in the near future.

Coincidentally I've just pushed an update that addresses some of your complaints. The changelog's in the OP, but here it is as well: :)

0.0.3.0 - Broken Bones, Kaleo
-------

+ Made the Revolver fire slightly faster for convenience's sake, it now fires a bit faster than the default Doom pistol
+ The Double-Barrel's reload animation is less jiggly
+ Also fixed an arm frame that was cut off in said animation
+ The golden Revolver now fires tiny invisible explosions that deal splash damage, to differentiate it from the normal weapons a bit (no self-damage though)
+ Changed how the storage closet doors work in the basement segment
+ Optimized enemy spawning script just a tiny bit
+ Gave the outside of the mansion a bit more depth/texture

I'm just stepping out of the house now unfortunately so this is all I had time to do. However, I'll probably quietly push out a hotfix tonight that addresses some of the smaller feedback I've received, like removing a couple of the health packs from the arena segment and the mapinfo thing.

edit: Hotfix is in place. New changes:

+ (HOTFIX) Removed some of the health packs from the arena segment
+ (HOTFIX) Forced proper 3D compatibility in MAPINFO (Thanks, Linguica)
+ (HOTFIX) The eye statue now won't activate until it finishes speaking
+ (HOTFIX) Shotgunners now use the proper shotgun sound
+ (HOTFIX) Gave the Golden Revolver firing sound a bit more oomph
+ (HOTFIX) The Golden Revolver's explosion radius is more reliable now

[CJacobsSA]

Pushed out a relatively small update, no real changelog to speak of so I didn't make a new one. I've added a bunch of decorations! Candelabras, cobwebs, barrels, the works. If anyone has any ideas for other decorations I could add (or places to get more decorations from), please let me know. :)

There was one minor change, however: The golden revolver's projectile moved at 150,000 speed to give the illusion of it being a bullet and not an invisible rocket projectile. This was so fast that it didn't give the projectile time to ascend if you aimed upward with it, meaning you couldn't shoot enemies that were standing on inclines or above you. It now moves much slower (but still pretty much instant) so that it has time to ascend to enemies above you/in the air.

[CJacobsSA]

The second level, 'Bookends', is here! It's more ornate and library-themed.









I took peoples' criticism about how Doom levels should by cyclical to heart for this one, so I had some fun with making loopbacks. I've tried so far to make it so you can beat the maps without jumping, by the way, so if at any point you get stuck and can't move on in my campaign without having to jump please let me know.

The download link in the OP has been updated! Here's the changelog:

0.0.4.0 - Too Old To Die Young - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQNFcYvILJE
-------

+ IMPLEMENTED THE SECOND LEVEL: BOOKENDS
+ The golden Revolver now fires a custom exploding bulletpuff so that it is a hitscan weapon again (Thanks, The Kins)
+ Added a bunch of decoration to the first level
+ Added more depth to the outside of the mansion and some more grass stuff
+ The Rocket Launcher's firing corkscrew is still messed up, I was unable to figure out how to fix it. I'll mess around with it more!

[CJacobsSA]

I've decided that instead of learning to sprite guns myself, which is proving to be way frustrating for me, I am going to do my part for the starving artists among us and commission them instead. So hey, if you are good at making sprites that fit Doom's general visual style, PM me or email me (CJacobsSA at gmail.com). We can talk pricing and what I'll be wanting you to draw up. I'm basically just looking to make them more Doom-y, because I like the way they look, it's just that the shadows and lighting don't match up at all.