[Release] Shadows of The Nightmare Realm - Updated 16 November 2023

[Cas3]

Just finished playing and it was so amazing I had to create an account here just to say thank you! :D

[Remilia Scarlet]

So flattering ^_^;

 

Thank you!

[Arch-vile90]

A very very and very cool mod; so beautiful that forced me to create a patch to enjoy it with my personal mod for a new level of experience into that nightmare atmosphere!

Vote: 12/10!

[Endless]

HOLY HELL! This is the type of Wads I enjoy so much while playing in some cold cloudy day, the atmosphere is amazing, but THE SOUNDTRACK! THAT IS SPECIAL!. Nice job. 

[DeathwingDuck]

Signed up to comment about this mod. Just finished it and enjoyed it quite a lot. Very atmospheric. On normal it's fairly well balanced. Almost thought the final map was pure enemy spam until I noticed the portals. Pretty neat mechanic and the Final boss is actually manageable if you just keep moving. Nice flow of ammo and health means I don't get stuck eventually and have to resort to cheats, which I'm glad. Was also glad health and ammo would spawn in periodically during the final encounter. Very nice.

 

I'd probably say go lighter on the Yogg Saron voice clips. It was a cool sound clip to use but I ended up hearing the same lines a lot. The one trap with the invisible wall leading to a BFG and some other goodies was also kinda BS, but any other trap had a nice tell. Monster Ambushes were reasonable, since I could deal with them once I expected them after dying the 1st time. Also I used a Playstation Doom SFX mod since I feel they fit better with a horror theme since you kept the stock doom sounds but that's not a criticism, just a personal touch.

 

Overall this was really well made and hope you make more in the future. :)

[StormCatcher.77]

Congratulations on Cacoward! I have not yet got acquainted with this project. There is no time now, but I took note. I will definitely pass, next year.

[Sergio]

Hello,

wanted to try this but I'm facing some issues:

> How can I enable 3d models? Do I have to download them somewhere?
> same questions for high resolution textures.

Regards,
Sergio

[Remilia Scarlet]

@Sergio No, you don't have to download anything extra.  What I meant by that in the Readme was that you need those features enabled.

 

First make sure you're using the OpenGL renderer:

1. Start GZDoom, then hit escape
2. Go to Options
3. Go to Change Rendering Output
4. Make sure Hardware Renderer is set to "OpenGL-Accelerated"

For high res textures:

1. Start GZDoom, then hit escape
2. Go to Options
3. Go to Display Options
4. Go to to OpenGL Renderer
5. Go to Texture Options
6. Make sure "Enable Hires Textures" is set to "Yes"

Hope that helps!

[Kroc]

Well that was outstanding; Cacoward well deserved. Incredible atmosphere, top-class music. Challenging -- I'm not a pro player and tend to play on lower difficulties because there are so many slaughter maps, which are a waste of time, and I prefer exploration but I played SotNR on Normal difficulty and that was superbly balanced -- ammo was always tight, but never desperate and unwinnable.

 

I couldn't find the 8th secret on map 03, and on map 01 & 03 I was always short one kill!

 

I cheated on the boss level, the whole thing is set up as a time-consuming slaughter-map and I would have preferred a map that had you attacking the boss directly through different area set up to vary the attack patterns and player's weapons / position / play-style.

Edited December 13, 2017 by Kroc : boss.

[Sergio]

@YukiRaven

Hello, thanks for the fast answers. I've got a few more issues now (hope you can bear my questions):
 

1) Setting to open gl gives me a black screen. Is there anything I can do? Changing the resolution nets no result :(

 

Edited December 13, 2017 by Sergio

[Remilia Scarlet]

@Kroc Heh, the funny thing is, I based the boss fight not on slaughter maps, but on an old World of Warcraft raid.

 

@Sergio That doesn't sound like an issue related to SoTNR at all, but one related to your specific setup and GZDoom.  I'd suggest asking over in the Source Port area (or whever the mods thing might be a better place?).

[mjf6866]

this is an excellent mod!  loving it so far.  i really like the setting and Lovecraft-ian theme.  great use of colors and cool to see monsters from Blood, Quake and Heretic make appearances!  awesome job on the music.

 

10/10 so far!

 

Yuki...have you done any other maps?  i'd love to play more like this!

Edited December 21, 2017 by mjf6866

[Impie]

Turns out this mixes really well with Strange Aeons, apart from the bug that swaps the scepter of souls for the pistol upon entering a new level, which is a shame. Otherwise a pretty fun combo.

 

 

As for Shadows itself, I'm digging the Doom64/Quake vibe of this mapset overall. Only just sunk my teeth into it, but no bullshit so far, apart from the architecture around that damn red key lava pit on level 1. Too easy to get hung up on.

[MisterEyes]

Been lurking around Doomworld for a bit since exploring all the mods/WADS and other bits, stumbled across it, had to sign up to say what a great time I had playing it! The environments are really well done, and the soundtrack really makes it all come together, fun times all round! :D

[Mere_Duke]

I've completed this awesome pack :) it's very well-made and, as I like, it's not easy one.

Here's the video I recorded: playlist, 4 videos, first run, almost 3 hrs of gameplay in total

 

Problems:

1) Level 03: It seems that I broke the elevator here.

2) Level 03 as well: Yellow Skull Key isn't working (exact moment in the video, note that I've already picked the Yellow Skull). I played this mod with Smooth Doom, dunno if it matters, but other keys at another levels just fine, all but this single one.

 

Unfortunately, I found not all the secrets, but at least I found the secret level. :D Though, at that moment I was searching for another secret, and finding secret level was completely by surprise for me. But hey, if was the first run, everything was completely unfamiliar!

It seems that I realized at least by the end the way you have secrets there :D

 

Anyway, this mod is great, with solid gameplay and a little story, like all good doom mods should be. Thank you for that! And yes, while some cacoward winners may be questionable, this one is a 100% deserved one. :)

 

[Remilia Scarlet]

@Mere_Duke yeah, don't use any mods.  I can't guarantee that they'll work with SoTNR (they probably won't).  If I ever update SoTNR (unlikely), I'll fix that elevator as well lol

 

Glad you enjoyed it!  It makes me happy to hear that people like it so much.  I honestly did not expect that.

[Mere_Duke]

@YukiRaven I did a research. Yes, the skull is the problem, exactly the CheckActorInventory() check.

For the compatibility, you should change line 656 in corax03.wad's script from

	if(CheckActorInventory(PlayerTID, "YellowSkull") == 0) {

to

	if(!(CheckActorInventory(PlayerTID, "YellowSkull") || CheckActorInventory(PlayerTID, "SmoothSkullYel"))) {

Besides that, everything seems to be compatible with SmoothDoom (and those spawners on the last level too). I tested it. Do you need a recompiled pk3?

 

By the way, I've found that you Alexa Jones-Gonzales, definetely I remember you and played your maps before, but I can't remember titles :) 

Also thx for the super readable code with indentations etc)

Edited January 9, 2018 by Mere_Duke

[Gez]

Checking for SmoothSkullYel explicitly will not fix the larger issue, as it will simply create compatibility with Smooth Doom but not with any other mod that also changes the keys.

[Bauul]

@Mere_Duke Smooth Doom replaces the Key items entirely? That's a risky decision! That's just bound to break compatibility with all sorts of modern (G)ZDoom maps.

 

I'd look to Smooth Doom to change that in the mod, not expect mappers to write custom scripts to cope with it.

 

[Mere_Duke]

23 minutes ago, Gez said:

Checking for SmoothSkullYel explicitly will not fix the larger issue, as it will simply create compatibility with Smooth Doom but not with any other mod that also changes the keys.

But as I said, by this I make it compatible only for SmoothDoom.

The Key issue was the only I've found playing it through with SD.

[Mere_Duke]

@Bauul From SmoothDoom.pk3/DECO/Items.txt

ACTOR SmoothSkullYel : yellowskull replaces yellowskull

It means that the new SmoothSkullYel replacing YellowSkull will act like the default key when applied to doors etc., but when you check YellowSkull availability (CheckActorInventory() for example), it fails as skullkey actor's name is changed.

[Gez]

A thing SmoothDoom could do to avoid this is have the SmoothSkullYel give a YellowSkull. (Stuff given directly to the inventory is not replaced.) This way, anyone who picks up a smooth skull would get the normal skull as well, and this kind of checks wouldn't get broken.

[Mere_Duke]

@Gez

32 minutes ago, Gez said:

A thing SmoothDoom could do to avoid this is have the SmoothSkullYel give a YellowSkull. (Stuff given directly to the inventory is not replaced.) This way, anyone who picks up a smooth skull would get the normal skull as well, and this kind of checks wouldn't get broken.

Hmm. That seems to work and better than patching all mods for SmoothDoom. Would you mind if I report this bug with you solution in SmoothDoom thread then?

From now I think it won't break anything though I know very little about deep doom mechanics.

[Gez]

3 minutes ago, Mere_Duke said:

Would you mind if I report this bug with you solution in SmoothDoom thread then?

Why would I mind? Feel free to share.

[Remilia Scarlet]

8 hours ago, Mere_Duke said:

Do you need a recompiled pk3?

No, but thank you. I'm not interested in making it compatible with other mods myself.

 

I also agree with Gez. This seems like a problem with Smooth Doom and should be fixed there anyway.

[Avoozl]

I thought smooth doom hasn't been updated in quite some time?

[Vorpal]

For once I had a day to Doom, and I sat down with this wad. Mind blowing visuals and atmosphere, original music. And I have a soft spot for single author non-megawads. I'm amazed this is even Doom. Gameplay suffers greatly however - the new enemies are hard, and aren't introduced but instead thrown right at the player in numbers and via "so close behind you that your ass hairs burnt off" teleport scares. The expectation of mouselook is almost unforgivable for me, the way some enemies' has them float to the ceiling and rain death upon you, and various too-long-for-autoaim sniper spots or 3D-floor perches that autoaim fails hard at... I'm curious and saddened about the mention of a mouselook-only map in the textfile. Also almost every door I need to "use" multiple times for it to open, not sure what is up with that (perhaps multiple linedefs with triggers too close to the door?). Lastly, a lot of the layout is box > hallway > box (extremely pretty hallways and boxes though) - it's definitely a phase I think every mapper goes through, and while it doesn't hurt gameplay, a project like this could be insane with some more flowing layouts / nonlinear progression.

 

I'm being critical because I see huuuuuge potential from Yuki, and despite my complaints I intend to binge through this whole wad tonight. Though I'm only 2 maps in so far I'm very glad this was a Cacoward winner. Flavors of Quake and Doom64 hit me right in the dick and I'm super excited to see how Umbra turns out.

 

 

 

[Remilia Scarlet]

1 hour ago, Vorpal said:

Gameplay suffers greatly however - the new enemies are hard, and aren't introduced but instead thrown right at the player in numbers and via "so close behind you that your ass hairs burnt off" teleport scares. The expectation of mouselook is almost unforgivable for me, the way some enemies' has them float to the ceiling and rain death upon you, and various too-long-for-autoaim sniper spots or 3D-floor perches that autoaim fails hard at...

This was by design.  I didn't want to make maps that holds hands, but one that gave me a challenge personally.  I happen to enjoy that kind of gameplay...

 

1 hour ago, Vorpal said:

I'm curious and saddened about the mention of a mouselook-only map in the textfile.

I love mouselook, and have absolutely no problem straying away from classic Doom.  I've played the classic formula for so long that I'm incredibly bored with it.  This was also inspired by Quake, and thus I designed things around using mouselook.  It's not for everybody, but my goal is not to please everyone (or anyone, for that matter).  My goal was, and always is, to make a map that I enjoy.  If others happen to like it, great ^_^

 

1 hour ago, Vorpal said:

Also almost every door I need to "use" multiple times for it to open, not sure what is up with that (perhaps multiple linedefs with triggers too close to the door?).

That's odd, and the first time I've heard of this...  I suspect it has nothing to do with the maps themselves.

 

1 hour ago, Vorpal said:

Lastly, a lot of the layout is box > hallway > box (extremely pretty hallways and boxes though) - it's definitely a phase I think every mapper goes through, and while it doesn't hurt gameplay, a project like this could be insane with some more flowing layouts / nonlinear progression.

Again, this was by design.  I HATE non-linear gameplay in FPSs, hence why the maps are designed this way.

 

You may not enjoy my next map since I build on these very ideas you disagree on.  But again, I'm also not aiming to please anyone.  I just want to make the kind of maps I enjoy.

 

Thanks for the feedback, however!

[Vorpal]

Criticism shut down! I can respect that though, I'm the same way with my own maps where things that people dislike are elemental to how I like to play. Still, at some place on my brainstem is a nagging thing that does prevent me from mapping purely for myself and forces me to concede some points for a public presentation. The difficulty settings seem to be good though, I'm having a much better time on Medium, much appreciated for implementing!

 

If Umbra is just as mouselook dependent though it'll be fisticuffs behind the school at 5:00. I kid I kid, mad respect for one of the most bleeding "goth" atmospheres I've had in Doom (something I very much desire and look for, and almost no one has ever delivered).

 

But no really I will fight you if you make me mouselook in Umbra.

 

38 minutes ago, YukiRaven said:

That's odd, and the first time I've heard of this...  I suspect it has nothing to do with the maps themselves.

The first instance of it happening happens at 4:18 in my map01 vid. Noticed it a lot on my first attempt (not recorded) on UV too in the first two maps.

 

edit: another at 8:59

Edited January 11, 2018 by Vorpal

[Steve D]

5 hours ago, Vorpal said:

For once I had a day to Doom . . .

 

 

And I'm glad you did, and that you decided to put up your video. Not only is it fun to watch, but it kicked me in the ass to finally get going and play this. I should mention that I tried to play it shortly after release, but using ZDL, I simply wasn't actually going into the SONTR maps. I went straight to normal Map01, even though I clicked into the "empty" map slot box. I was extremely busy at the time -- as usual -- so I never asked any questions about how to get this thing going. I thought maybe I should make a batch file for it, but feeling lazy, I instead tried ZDL again, and after achieving the usual result, I went to the text file, as I had before, and saw this thing about using the console to switch maps, and "map corax##" and decided to try "map corax01" and bingo! Hello, pretty map! :)

 

I didn't start at the start, so maybe I'll do that tomorrow and use the console for "map corax-start." Or maybe not. I've already died a couple times in corax01, but I've made headway, and I guess I wonder if it's absolutely necessary for me to begin in the difficulty selecting room? I'm showing 104 monsters in corax01, so is that correct for UV?

 

It's been said many times before, but I'll say it again -- this is bloody gorgeous! I spent time just admiring its exquisiteness in between battles. Love the music, too. The flying blood-spitter skulls are trolling me like crazy. Since I play in GZDoom Dark Mode, I'm having hell's own time keeping a lock on them. And our good old buddies the Skrags are here! ;) Those troopers firing purple plasma are fairly dangerous, and that flame-shooting flying fire monster is a real load.

 

Anyway, I'm enjoying the hell out of this. Thanks for reminding me, Vorpal!