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R1ck

[DOOM 2 MAP04] escape.wad

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I don't dare to call it speedmap just because I spent 4 hours in 2 nights (2 hours + 2 hours each night) when making this. nothing too complicated. just normal linear and straight forward stuff.

 

Spoiler

20229202_444533589264602_76772463708975520246518_444533585931269_18926043737398010314617_444533609264600_836446031956888

 

 

 

Port: Boom

Base:cc4-tex

Difficulty: up to UV

 

Tested with:

prboom-plus 2.5.1.4 [O]

prboom-plus (older) [X]

gzdoom g3.0.1 [O]

 

Rick: please let me know if I need to change anything before I upload it to doomshack :D

 

Download link: Updated

https://www.mediafire.com/?l1s84ot9roh4td5

 

thank you :D

 

 

Edited by R1ck

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Here's a casual playthrough for the sake of attaching times to comments: 

 

Spoiler

 

 

0:15 - These pinkies don't do anything but block you from hitting the shoot switch and aren't particularly fun to kill: 'zerking will lead to a combination of missed punches due to distance and one or two of the pinkies running completely out of punching range, and shotgunning isn't so compelling. So I'd get rid of these entirely, or replace them something like troopers.  

 

0:31 - The six monsters at the start are a light appetizer, but at this point you could spice things up at least a bit. 

 

tYrQM51.png

 

That red line seems like a good spot to trigger a closet trap near the top. The player will see the chaingunner and instinctively fight it using the hallway as cover, so this trap would anticipate that and apply a secondary source of pressure.

 

0:46 - This trap could be a bit beefier. The problem isn't so much that it's easy, but that it looks like it's hardly trying. You could mirror it or something and add a few non-hitscanners on the other side. Two-sided linedefs such as the one belonging to the closet also need a secret flag otherwise they are visible on the automap (in some editors the flag is 'not shown on the automap').

 

0:50 - This secret isn't the least bit secret. :) 

 

0:55 - The teleport destination should probably be facing the other way. 

 

1:07 - That central pillar is extremely well placed for a more substantial fight -- something involving an archvile or perhaps a pair of revenants. Door-camping is a natural strategy given the layout, so some monsters appearing in the main hallway simultaneously could be fun. 

 

For a standalone map of this length (~2 minutes for a blind playthrough) with spare aesthetics, I think it's important to have something that justifies the download, such as more exciting combat somewhere. I'd suggest at least a moderate overhaul before this is final.  

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Thanks, I'll fix it when I get home. in 9 hours.

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Just done with the first revision.

 

- added a couple of teleport trap and few more jabronies.

 

- change the monster in the closet trap near the switch.

   *Removed the teleport platform so the secret isn't that obvious.

 

 

- added Archville; you can fight or run.

 

Download

https://www.mediafire.com/?l1s84ot9roh4td5

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Hey R1ck, I played your map! I've been wanting to test some of your stuff for a while now but I rarely get any time to boot up my computer and casually play Doom. Nonetheless, this map took me only a couple minutes to beat, so thanks for the small commitment!

 

I didn't find anything strikingly wrong with it. So nothing to say as far as bug reporting. So perhaps I could give you some advice that might help make for better maps in the future.

 

1. The map is a little on the linear side, which means I'm mostly following a pretty well-defined path the entire time until I get to the exit. This isn't always bad, but generally people prefer to make their own choices. For future maps, you might want to consider a different kind of flow, like a central hub with a bunch of different locations branching off it (kinda like MAP08: Tricks and Traps but with less doors and a bigger and more interesting start area) or some sort of a circular layout that loops in and around itself (kinda like MAP11: Circle of Death) There are some great deathmatch mapsets you can refer to for ideas for maps with rooms that have multiple ways in and out of them. This gives the player a little more control in deciding what they want to do and how they want to advance in the map.

 

2. This is a skill that might take longer to develop, but I'd suggest a better economy of monster usage. Generally monsters that are pretty easy to kill and don't do much to put the player in a precarious position don't really add anything to the fun and can often make a map better by not being there at all. It's better to run full sprint through a hallway than peck away at zombie men and pinky demons until they're out of the way. However, to use monsters effectively depends more on how the map is designed rather than where exactly the monsters are located. There's not a lot of room for innovation for narrow corridors such as these, but perhaps you could have tried putting monsters in cages along the walls so they can snipe you from weird angles without just walking right into your crosshairs.

 

3. The map felt a little claustrophobic. There's not a lot to see and not much space to move, and the scale between tight spaces and large open areas remains pretty static. Not having space to move can be a good thing sometimes, but you can make the map 'feel' bigger without adding more to it by putting some windows along those long flat corridor walls so you can see what it looks like outside of the building and/or some sky lights above. Having outdoor areas are prime locations for secret and optional areas too (Like in E1M2 Nuclear Plant)

 

Hope this helps!

 

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I made an FDA in Eternity here of revision one. It may be a little too easy to cheese the encounters, but it was still rather fun, and I like small maps.

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20 hours ago, 40oz said:

2. This is a skill that might take longer to develop, but I'd suggest a better economy of monster usage. Generally monsters that are pretty easy to kill and don't do much to put the player in a precarious position don't really add anything to the fun and can often make a map better by not being there at all. It's better to run full sprint through a hallway than peck away at zombie men and pinky demons until they're out of the way.

Personally the way I see it, all sorts of monster deployments can be fun, it's a matter of how they are designed and whether they suit the intended flow/vibe of a level. Mowing down lots of hapless fodder monsters is one of the many core pleasures of Doom, I think -- I'd disagree in principle that such monsters 'don't really add anything to the fun'. I'd also agree with one of the points I've seen you make that silence can make maps more tense and frightening. Which of those (regular silence, constant noise, or something in between) you might choose depends a lot on what you are going for. I think instead of favoring one of the over, it's more important to being conscious about what you are doing and why, and to make sure you do it well. When I use lots of low-threat fodder monsters, for example, I try to make sure it's actually designed for enjoyment (i.e., the player has enough dps relative to the monster types being used, monsters can be conveniently killed, monsters are entertaining and viscerally satisfying to kill), instead of being a dull or annoying chew through lots of HP. (I'd also make sure this action is paced well in the context of the map -- over the course of a longer runtime, for example, it's possible the player might get partially inured to constant bloodshed, so I'll try to avoid that.)

 

I played the revision and I think that problem is less that the hallways are full of monsters and more that the weapon-species pairings make them not particularly fun to kill. There are just enough of the stronger hitscanners in places to dissuade you from going all-out with the berserk, given how much shell ammo there is. Punching is sort of an unnecessary risk, the way it's framed. The row at the start, of an imp, trooper, and a sergeant is a good example of this. So that means the single shotgun and chaingun will do a lot of the lifting. Unfortunately, chewing through all these monsters with a shotgun isn't so fun. Removing many would help, but I also think that replacing lots of the imps with former human troopers (even 2-4 for every imp, keeping the net HP somewhat similar) would be a good idea too: mowing through troopers, killing a few with every sg blast, is pretty fun, whereas with imps you're just cleaning up meat.

 

Also, @R1ck, the updated version of your wad should be in the OP. It's conventional to do that, so it's possible some people will just download the first version before reading onward. 

Edited by rdwpa

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