Dimension of the Boomed

[Urthar]

I'll do an additional pass for Easy difficulty, and fix that sequence break. Thank you SiFi270 for finding that, I'll do as you suggest.

 

Fixing the break should be quick to do, but retuning Easy will probably take a couple of days.

 

 

[VGA]

I want to note that the Cyberdemon and the Spider Mastermind have reduced hitpoints in this. So don't worry too much, strafe and launch missiles and they will go down. The lost souls, too.

 

@Urthar I am using the Final Doomer + mod with the Plutonia weapon set on HMP difficulty. It looks cool and also makes my life easier because these weapons are more powerful mid-range :D  ... Hey I die sometimes so it's balanced!

[Brewtal_Legend]

5 hours ago, Urthar said:

I'll do an additional pass for Easy difficulty

 

Despite my whining in my first post, I think the Mancubi on level one on easy difficulty was fair, and did add a lot of tension which I liked. The revenant in a hallway however on normal skill is what I found to be a bit much really. Granted, I am more of a casual player and not the best doom player in the first place. But It kinda seemed like easy should have been more along lines of normal difficulty. Just my opinion and I am definitely not as hardcore as most other players around these days despite having been playing since the original.

 

I forgot to mention in my first post that I love how the levels start out as nods to the original quake levels as well.  

[DoodGuy]

I just noticed that the difficulty is much easier than the alpha, why that decision? Some of the removed monster spawns are noticeable, like the Mancubus in the first map and 2 shamblers in the second map.

[VGA]

Haha you really can't please everyone :D

[Urthar]

BETA3 Release: (Download removed.)

 

• Fixed sequence break in MAP05.
• Rebalanced Easy difficulty.
• Re-recorded demos in correct comp level.

@Brewtal_Legend, it's mostly the same and it didn't take as long as I feared. The minigun is pretty effective at stun-locking Revenants, so I'm fine with having them around on normal.

 

@DoodGuy, there's a variety of reasons for the changes from the Alpha, but the main one was that I wanted to make sure that the episode progressed in diffculty, so the earlier maps got toned down a bit. The Mancubi and Shamblers are still around on Hard difficulty, in pretty much the same places as the Alpha, and in Coop there's even nastier stuff lurking about.

 

@VGA, yeah there's quite few tweaks to the Doom monsters.

Edited April 28, 2018 by Urthar

[Marcaek]

The architecture in this does a great job of feeling both 3d and accurate to the style of Quake maps. I'll have to play the rest of the maps to comment on gameplay.

[Urthar]

On 25/04/2018 at 1:12 PM, VGA said:

I am using the Final Doomer + mod with the Plutonia weapon set on HMP difficulty. It looks cool and also makes my life easier because these weapons are more powerful mid-range :D  ... Hey I die sometimes so it's balanced!

 

I gave Final Doomer a go and it's a fun mod, however I did hit a snag with the BFG which I use in DotB as a power-up in lieu of not having Quad Damage. I could pick up the first one just fine, but all subsequent ones wouldn't give me any additional ammo which sort of renders them useless. Since they are mostly placed as secrets, it doesn't break the episode as a whole, but it's less than ideal.

 

Fixed an obscure sound-block bug on MAP01 Normal difficulty that was rendering a certain Mancubus deaf in Boom ports, but was fine in ZDoom ports. I'll update BETA3 shortly but leave the file name and link the same. (Opps, broke something. Updated the update ><' )

Edited April 26, 2018 by Urthar

[Uncle 80]

Hi, I'm actually having problems extracting the ZiP. Tried with explorer and winrar, all I get is the TXT file, and it says the WAD in the archive has a corrupted checksum. I tried re-downloading the ZIP, but still no luck... may the archive be corrupted or is the problem on my end?

 

edit: I tried another zip to make sure the problem wasn't on my end, your boomqtex zip worked just fine. It's just this beta3 that won't extract correctly here, even after re-downloading and trying to fix the archive :(

Edited April 28, 2018 by Uncle 80

[Urthar]

On 4/28/2018 at 7:11 PM, Uncle 80 said:

Hi, I'm actually having problems extracting the ZiP. Tried with explorer and winrar, all I get is the TXT file, and it says the WAD in the archive has a corrupted checksum. I tried re-downloading the ZIP, but still no luck... may the archive be corrupted or is the problem on my end?

 

edit: I tried another zip to make sure the problem wasn't on my end, your boomqtex zip worked just fine. It's just this beta3 that won't extract correctly here, even after re-downloading and trying to fix the archive :(

 

Ok. I've downloaded this 3 times on separate machines to test it, and it seems ok.

 

(Beta download link removed.)

 

If it breaks again, then something seriously odd is happening. (If anyone else is having problems with this file, let me know.)

Edited May 28, 2018 by Urthar

[jerrysheppy]

Playing this and I'm really digging it so far.   

 

I'll have more thoughts later I'm sure, but one thing I wanted to mention is a possible bug I found on map03: the text string for the silver key switch (the message that plays when you try to press it without a key) still references a blue skull key, rather than a silver key.  For comparison, the silver key door seems to play the correct text string.

 

This is in a copy of beta 3 that I downloaded a couple of days ago, for the record, so maybe you fixed it already.

[Uncle 80]

I  apologize for the trouble. This is the weirdest error I've ever encountered, but it may be browser-related. I tried downloading the archive 10 or so times using my default browser which would be Firefox. Each time the WAD could not be unpacked due to file corruption, but the txt file was ok, using either explorer, winrar & winzip. No other ZIPs gotten from the same site would produce the same problem. Finally I tried downloading the zip using Internet explorer instead, and suddenly it worked??? Weird!! Anyways. NOW, I'm going in!! :D

Edited April 29, 2018 by Uncle 80

[jerrysheppy]

Having played onwards, I found a similar text string bug/oversight in MAP04, this time with a gold key object.  Again, it says 'you need a yellow skull' rather than 'you need a gold key'.  Is there a bug with Dehacked where you can't replace the text strings for keyed objects (as opposed to doors)?

 

MAP05 is really cool, if short and gimmicky.  The texturing seems closest to The Wizard's Manse, but the actual concept/core conceit of the map, with its weird otherworldly void at the start and its geometry puzzle sequences within, feels much like an Elder World map.

[Grain of Salt]

37 minutes ago, jerrysheppy said:

Is there a bug with Dehacked where you can't replace the text strings for keyed objects (as opposed to doors)?

 

No, but there is a bug in whacked where the string ID it generates for one of the key/door messages is not the right ID needed to change the string, and you have to change it manually in the text of the deh lump. Maybe it's this issue that dotb has run afoul of...?

[Urthar]

I'm running par times at the moment, and everything seems fine in PrBoom+ (I think.). I'm pretty sure the key messages are just a ZDoom thing. I'll tidy them up before final release.

 

But thanks for the feedback, it's all appreciated.

[jerrysheppy]

Ah yes, I *am* playing in gzdoom, for whatever relevance that has.  Sorry I forgot to mention it.

 

Finished the set and it was wonderful overall.  MAP06 was the least visually appealing map by a long shot, and almost feels like it doesn't belong here.  I think that's because the huge, boxy construction of most of the major spaces doesn't let you show off the careful attention to detail that's so evident everywhere else.  Fortunately, MAP08 exists to let us properly see what you can do with the Netherworld aesthetic and texture set. :)

[whirledtsar]

I was so impressed by this lighting effect that I opened the wad in Doom Builder expecting to find some next-level trickery, only to find it's just a darkened midtexture :P

[Urthar]

Yeah, back on Page2 there's some guides to how various tricks were done, along with a couple of related tutorials in the editing forum:

 

[whirledtsar]

7 hours ago, Urthar said:

Yeah, back on Page2 there's some guides to how various tricks were done, along with a couple of related tutorials in the editing forum:

 

Thanks. Also of course I should say the wad is awesome, I'll be excited for the final version.

[DavidN]

Incredible work :) I've only played the first level so far, but I love the sense of scale, and the way the map wraps around itself during your ascent to the top. The Quake style is really well done and you really forget that it doesn't break the Doom engine limits. The only thing I could suggest is that the doors with obvious seams in them to split open look a bit strange when they open by raising from the bottom.

 

Started level two, jumped into the water to get that obvious armour, and... well, okay, I'll just go home, then!

[Uncle 80]

A great wad indeed. I will admit I was a little put off by the gameplay changes from alpha to beta versions, but I'm starting to get used to it. I think those 4 levels from the alpha were perfect as they were, but it's not like they are ruined in this release or anything. Quite surprising to see "that Quake monster everyone hates" being implemented, but it works really well too. I will indeed keep following this project and look forward to seeing more levels from you (even though I haven't finished beta4 yet :) Still trying to find some time to get through that spider level from pistol start....

[Urthar]

@ DavidN

 

It's sort of problematic because those tech doors in Quake are built from slanted brushes to follow the seams of the texture, and while I could take a close look at Espi's sliding door in 'Suspended In Dusk', it's a lot of linedefs just for a few doors. It's further compounded by my intention to make the next episode in ZDoom format, where I'll be using polyobjects to create solid sliding doors, and while I've seen those Quake tech doors implemented in GZDoom with 3D mesh objects, I'm aiming for software renderer compatibility.

 

But anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

 

@ Uncle 80

 

Yeah, I was rather paranoid about that monster, but it's considerably less evil than the original in this particular incarnation.

 

Well, there won't be anymore Boom/MBF maps for this, as I mentioned the next episode will be ZDoom format with all the Z-Magic of 3DFloors, PolyObjects, Decorate etc. And hopefully monsters re-renderered at their correct aspect ratio. Oh, and Fiends, most certainly Fiends and the Grenade Launcher. But none of that be will for quite, quite some time.

 

Good luck with the spiders!

Edited May 10, 2018 by Urthar

[Flesh420]

Nice maps.

I'm playing it with Doom Retro and the water in map02 doesn't damage me if I stand submerged for a long while. 

[VGA]

7 hours ago, Flesh420 said:

Nice maps.

I'm playing it with Doom Retro and the water in map02 doesn't damage me if I stand submerged for a long while. 

I think that's how it is on all source ports. Right? I doubt there's a way for a boom-compatible port to simulate drowning damage...

[Urthar]

You can swim and drown in ZDoom format, but yeah in Boom format Doomguy is equipped with a built in air supply and weighted boots.

[Flesh420]

Ahh ok.  I didn't know that.  Thanks.

[Flesh420]

@Urthar

Did you draw and plan all these maps out before building them in editor?  They're fucking amazing.

[Urthar]

3 hours ago, Flesh420 said:

Did you draw and plan all these maps out before building them in editor?  They're fucking amazing.

 

Glad you like them. :)

 

Doombuilder is so fast and east to use that I generally use it as a design tool. Occassionally I draw things, but mostly I block things out in the editor itself.

 

I didn't do much planning on these particular maps though. The original Quake maps generally don't have any strong underlying architectural structure to them. They're fairly adhoc solutions to the challenge of jamming a level inside a 4096 unit cube, which was one of the limitations of the Quake engine. To try to capture that feel I built  in similar adhoc fashion, one area at a time, trying to leave myself room to join things up. I did stray over the 4096 unit space, since I couldn't put rooms above over rooms, but generally I tried to keep things tight.

 

One major exception are the homages, where I opened the original maps in TrenchBroom and very carefully attempted to rebuild them in Doom. Mostly for fun, but also as an exercise to learn how to make things that looked like Quake.

[NightFright]

Dunno if it was noticed already, but some doors and objects still refer to the skull keys instead of the gold/silver/blood keys, e.g.:

You need a yellow skull to activate this object

 

The appropriate keys to add to DEHACKED are

PD_YELLOWSO

PD_REDSO

PD_BLUESO

 

If you also want to cover the entries that ask for yellow/blue/red key:

PD_YELLOWK

PD_BLUEK

PD_REDK

 

Yellow/blue/red card:

PD_YELLOWCO

PD_BLUECO

PD_REDCO

 

Other than that, awesome maps which totally nail the Quake atmosphere! Everything looks and feels totally polished. This is basically the Doom/Quake conversion I had always dreamed of. Thank you so much for creating this, it's amazing!

[Urthar]

You're welcome. :)

 

Yeah, I added a ZDoom language lump to cover the activation messages for keys. I'll probably leave the card messages alone since I think Quake referred to them as blue or yellow.