valkiriforce

Wow, that would actually be amazing to have available once you're finished - it'd be nice for the trilogy not to be stuck under the ZDoom tree. I know I left some mistakes in the trilogy release I've been meaning to patch for a while (namely the map titles) but if there was anything else amiss I'd be happy to address it.

Hey Brad - it's been a while. Had a couple of strange errors happen recently: -I was testing out a rocket jump with IDDQD enabled, and for some reason I wasn't getting the normal push-back you get from firing a rocket directly at the wall. It was pushing me in random directions. I later learned it had to do with me using the Kill Monsters command, so I wouldn't have any distractions when testing it out. I guess it's not exactly a major bug, but I thought to bring it up nonetheless. -I played MAP30 of TNT: Evilution recently and the building staircase to the red key bugged out and didn't reach the top. Same thing happened with the staircase in the Icon of Sin area, as well.

Soothing.

Think about what it is you enjoy about megawads, and study everything you can about it - layouts, monster encounters, how certain enemies/weapons are introduced (gradually or all at once). Also, consider what source port you'd like to target for the project, as it can give you more of a specific goal and it helps to shape the personality of the gameplay experience. The 'vanilla' experience can be more lightweight in terms of visual work and map size, while limit-removing can lead to bigger vistas and larger group encounters. That's not to say either experience is exclusive, though - it all comes down to your personal preference and what makes you most excited about it. You'll have to convince yourself before anyone else when working on a large project. Another good practice is to keep a notepad/document and make a list of potential map names, finished maps and any other useful notes to remember. It could be music tracks, texture packs, sky boxes or anything else you'd like to play around with. Just don't confine yourself too much with a specific rule set, as you should be allowed to experiment and keep the fun of it going in any way that works for you.

This accurately describes my early mapping experiences - I'm rather curious about the source of this image (sorry if this is off-topic).

Try Oceanside - it's based on my hometown and mostly uses pop/rock midis.

@Lila Feuer Those skulls aren't actually shootable switches, they were just decorations. The red switch unlocks one of the northern buildings over the waters which holds the red key.

Hopefully that STEPTOP texture gets fixed as well - it can always be replaced with something else since it tiled vertically on my map.

Some more feedback - sorry I've been out of the loop. Played MAP12 in the first beta and switched to beta 2 afterwards because I forgot about the updates. Continued on HNTR. MAP12: No problems here - almost thought the arch-vile was a bit much until I spotted the rocket launcher hidden behind the nearby pillars. Only spotted a bleeding texture in a couple of sectors (sectors 75 & 76 - sorry if this has already been addressed in beta 2): MAP13: Almost felt there were too many Pain Elementals on easy, but given the large amount of rocket and shotgun ammo it made things much more manageable. The two arch-viles near the blue key were a bit of a scare, but thankfully block lines made them easier than they appeared to be. I don't think I have any real complaints about this one. MAP14: It seems cruel to have two arch-viles (sector 813) teleport into the nukage pools for easy players; I would either just have one or none appear on the lowest difficulty. I might cut back slightly on the revenant usage for easy players.

Hey Brad, nice update! I do seem to have a problem with it mysteriously crashing on me - it's somehow related to changing the r_ditheredlighting option. I was able to play just fine at first with it turned on, but turning it off would cause the game to crash upon choosing a difficulty setting.

Idgames link is live - I hope you all enjoy it!

I continue my HNTR (easy) playthrough: MAP07: I might take at least one mancubus out and maybe replace the pain elemental with a cacodemon on HNTR. MAP08: I was getting chewed to bits with all the chaingunners - I would definitely tone it down for the easier setting. Also, the chaingunners on the ledges near the yellow key area should probably have block monster lines, as I was able to push them off the platforms with chaingun shots. MAP09: I honestly feel the cyberdemon was a bit too much on HNTR - I would replace it with something else for a casual playthrough. Maybe a couple less pain elementals as well. MAP10: This one had an even worse cyberdemon, as it's literally just left of the player as you exit a teleporter platform area in sector 444. This one felt like a lite-slaughtermap, so it's kind of hard to say just what should be toned down and where, but I definitely would give something like the invulnerability much sooner given how hostile that area is with the cyberdemon. The map honestly felt like an ultra-violence experience playing it on HNTR. I also found that baron/hell knight hallway in sector 159 pretty tight for a casual playthrough, so I'd take at least some barons out of there on easy or replace them with easier monsters. MAP11: Just a few small changes: I would make the steps leading out of the water in the eastern area have a different rock texture to make it easier to find your way out. I definitely think the chaingunner in sector 126 should be removed, as it's much too malicious upon climbing up those steps - not a very good decision on my part. I would also remove a handful of imps in the starting open area and a few hitscan enemies in the eastern water cave area as well. I think most of it wasn't bad difficulty-wise, although quite a huge shift from the previous map's difficulty.