quakis

Been focused on getting MAP21 done, trying not to overthink certain parts of the level so I can finish up the major gameplay beats before doing a second pass on design and polishing everything up later. I should be on a good pace up until the month end deadline. I do have one question however, @aRottenKomquat - Is there still time after the deadline to make additional fixes/tweaks post-feedback or should I consider that within the deadline timeframe as well? Cheers.

Nah, it's cool, don't feel the need to redesign E2M7 or make major changes based off just one persons feedback, I'll never expect that from anyone. Also I feel you on the burnout, been there before myself. Taking a long break to seperate yourself from the project might reinvigorate that mood to strike again. This mapping hobby should remain fun at the end of the day, so feel free to take your time however long is required before continuing. I'll keep posting feedback and you can take from it as you see fit, whether you just want to focus on fixing any major bugs/issues for now and consider the rest of my feedback while working on any future projects instead.

RE: Missing Textures Missing texture name from the console, also cannot find this one in either Cleanout or OTEX11D! wads: SW1MARB E2M7: The Cybers Keep I'm a little mixed on this one, leaning toward it being one of the weaker levels so far in Cleanout, which might be due to personal preferences than anything else really. I didn't mind the gameplay focus around balancing along thin ledges since that quirk is used a few times across the level under different circumstances and even during the finale albeit on a larger scale. Portions of the level however feel a little redundant or filler, stuff already done better in maps like E1M5 or E2M5. Everything before the final fight probably needs more time in the oven which I hope to highlight below why I felt this way; Starting Cavern Segment: Honestly not a fan of this entire section, mostly because it's long and drawn out for pistol start being limited to pistol/fist/barrel usage. Couldn'd find it a fulfilling experience considering it's a very easy and simple section that goes on far longer than it should do and seems like it's padding out the length not in any meaningful way. The next swarm of enemies after pressing the switch wasn't anymore of a threat, only there to hold the player back from the upcoming real meat of the level. If this cavern section and the next sections felt like one more cohesive whole this might be a different story. Rather than a seperate segment that's forgotten about after clearing, it could server a similar function like the next bunch of caves and involve a more organic flow around the level. Sadly doing something like that at this late stage would probably require massive changes reworking the layout and progression. Blue/Red/Yellow Key Hunt: The key hunt reminds me very much of the E1M5 section, except its more congested and less interesting overall besides an additional gameplay quirk that helps to define itself. Balancing along thin platforms while fighting off enemies is a fine concept to play around with, it just doesn't get much opportunity to breathe much here because everything feels so squashed together as if every nook needs to be filled in while the meaty concepts aren't explored enough. There's one room using a thin beam to trigger a Cleanout Baron ambush - but safety is only a step away. The beam passing by a Cyberdemon was a neat idea to feel intimidated - but it's a simple straight line run forward. This also calls for a great opportunity to make certain beam balance challenges UV-only, with simpler challenges left for HMP and below. Each key location could have also had dedicated sections involving variations to this beam-balancing gameplay using different hazards or combat setups. The overall visuals and design around here is very rough, many textures are misaligned and the general presentation feels a little too messy. I didn't take any screenshots because there's quite a lot of them to point out. If we compared it to the visuals found in the final arena, that area looks more polished boasting a nice texture scheme and style. Looks like a whole different map entirely plopped down side by side with this one. Post-Exit Caco Swarm Arena: I had trouble during this fight, just couldn't figure out a good run, that's mostly on my behalf. It's not a bad concept though, overwhelming numbers while balancing around a death pit functions just fine. Health pickups did seem lacking, or rather the resources we do have access too are congested inside one of the more dangerous rooms. Most of the time it seemed like I just didn't have many good options with my routing to reach vital resources and couldn't corale enemies away without being overwhelmed. Either an intentional design choice for challenge or maybe an oversight, I'd feel better to point this out just in case. As I complimented the BFG & Lost Soul dy-synergy quirk in the previous level, here that very concept plays out much more prominently except now with the new changes to Lost Souls their current numbers might be a bit too overtuned, primarily in the room with Spheres/Armour. BFG seems the most optimal weapon here with the speed at which enemies spawn in, but far far too risky with the potential projectile spam from Lost Souls on death and they litter the arena very fast. In the end I approached this fight as less of a battle to win and simply one to survive until the platform leading to the exit has risen enough to rush forward and complete the level. General Afterthoughts: I think E2M7 lacks some focus, throwing a bunch of ideas against the wall and seeing what sticks, but that lack of focus hurts what could be a distinct level if it clamps down on some core concepts it already builds upon. Right now it's like 3 confused levels merged together. E2M5 feels more cohesive and balanced by comparison. If the starting cavern was intergrated as a more organic portion of the key hunting section, maybe serving as a secondary pathway between areas once the main portions are unlocked, it won't feel so out of place and serve some non-linear functionality for key hunting. While at the same time doubling down on the level's core gimmick and exploring variations of that as suggested above, reducing any filler and making the pacing a little more snappy before heading over to the finale, it might feel like a more coherent level. But once again that would involve a significant amount of work it'd probably turn into a new level. Alternatively, skipping past the cave section might be a more appealing option to get straight to the main course as it should be the penultimate level for Phase 2 afterall. E2M8: The Tower of the Dead I enjoyed this boss level albeit there's still room for some pacing improvements and minor polish. The starting berserker mosh pit honestly feels like a better version of E2M7's cave section, it's still not difficult but it's not boring either. I'm not too sure on it's purpose though considering the next segment with raising the platform fills in that gap well enough for a memorable combat setpiece. Again I don't dislike it's presense here since it works out as a cooldown after E2M7's finale while pumping you up for the fight coming up. Texture HOM here: I love the concept for the raising floor fight, like you're getting closer and closer to a big fight, however... 10 switches to raise it 10 times might be a bit too much, nothing seems to happen after each press either. I guess you could be pressing them while fighting off the insitial hordes spawning in, but I spent my time clearing the area first before doing anything. I guarantee most players will do this before proceeding on and then it becomes quiet for 9 more switches. I'd personally reduce to 3 minimum, each press pulling in some tougher enemy compositions, starting off tame and escalating as a fight for breathing space. Keeps the pacing snappier and to the point. While standing here (last platform raising switch) and trigger the wall (lift) the whole platform will lower to the very bottom, which then means waiting a long time to get back up to the top. Maybe have this sector also raise up alongside the big one so you don't need to apply a lift action here. Or have the lift only lower a small amount. Either option works, whichever seems more suitable. Is it possible to hide these monster pits? They stand out too much and I almost thought a trigger broke somewhere. Since you're using Boom format you could silently teleport those enemies in by making the usual monster closet outside the map and using doors/converyer belts to spawn them into position when you're ready. They won't need to be alerted beforehand either. Should have the same effect as here without the monster pits. I did a similar thing in my 50Shades level with the Mancubi near the exit (MAP05) These Bulldemons are stuck and can't do anything productive: I'm not sure if this idea will work well, but the finale on UV might benefit from a few turret-placement enemies to watch out for around the outer edge, maybe Cyberhellbarons, as it's a little easy to avoid the Cyberdemons. Those guys should (in theory) keep you wary with their more erractic projectile attacks and might push players to move back into the centre where the Cyberdemons are usually roaming around. They should serve as a good distraction. Again an untested idea, but the last fight might need a little more bite for an episode finale since many of the ground combatants are easy to avoid (or killed by Cyberdemon infighting). E2M9: The Icon of S(imps) Forgot to post thoughts on this one after finding the secret exit in my initial Phase 2 feedback, better late then never. Just a literal blast to play, it’s chill compared to the level preceding it but requires a little finesse to get started. Once a flow is established it just a cathartic experience blowing away imp after imp in large numbers. There’s not too much to say about this one besides it’s a nice reprieve after that “Epic Slaughter” arena in E2M4 and works well for pacing. It’s a relatively simple level in terms of goals and whether or not gunning down every imp is something you want to engage in. Fun change of pace and a suitable secret level gimmick. Phew, Phase 2 complete. Good episode overall, on par with the first episode so far maybe with some stronger contenders. I'll be starting Phase 3 soon!

I'll just attach the file here instead: qtextures.zip

Re: Missing Textures I have the following console errors when loading both the Cleanout and OTEX11D1 wads with DOOM.wad in E2M5: I checked both the Cleanout and OTEX11D1 wads in Slade for these texture names and cannot see them included List of texture names for convenience from console errors I cannot find within those wads using SLADE (so far): WOODMET4 WOOD9 MARBGRAY I have some minor extra notes for some of the previous levels I should bring up: E1M3 - I forget to mention these texture issues around the perimeter found during my intial playthrough either causing HOMs or have the wrong texture applied. Incredibly minor really which is why I must have forgot about them but I think worth mentioning if you'd like to polish things up. E2M3 - I really like the update to the bascketball hoops using midtextures instead, since they fix the sight lines really nicely. I went ahead and created a simple midtexture you can use freely as a replacement for the hoop net if you want to, I went for a longer style of net so it stands out with a little dash of red and blue colour. I've packed it into a wad file so, assuming I did it right, it should be easier to extract the texture into your own wad if you decide to make use of it: Download Here E2M5 - That massive structure off to the distance is a great foreshadowing of where you'll be going, however the skybox here covers most of it up from the starting location as shown in the first and second screenshot. Would look pretty cool with the sky opened up a little like this screenshot to get a good starting look at the scale of it: Back to main playthrough: E2M6 - The Spaceport As mentioned before, I'll be playing in smaller chunks and try to post feedback more often. Compared to the previous level this one was a rather tame and chill experience, which is a nice change of pace right after that wild and long excursion during E2M5 and it helped get back into my playthrough without much trouble. Many of the combat encounters weren't too tough to deal with, typically facing off against large numbers that involve moving around a lot and circle strafing. The Rocket Launcher was used abundantly here. Slime hazards kept things a little more interesting between balancing limited Hazsuit usage or resorting to dancing around on platform away from the hazards. This limits options like retreating into the big cross-platform room during one encounter unless you can afford chip damage or have a Hazsuit on hand. The new Lost Souls revealed another neat quirk of theirs during the last arena fight just before the exit; Using a BFG against a huge group of them can be very suicidal because of their projectile retaliation on death. This forces a little more thought behind when and where to shoot the BFG or be punished holding down the fire button without care, I quite like that dynamic. Minor issues I came across: - Inside the blue key arena, those towers with Cyberdemons and Cyberhellbaron aren't too effective unless you're a long distance away from them. Perhaps reducing or removing the window lip near them might provide a better vertical viewing angle for shooting out from. They barely pose a threat at the moment and never had to worry about their presence. - Super minor flat misalignment but I'll mention it anyway: Inside the same arena you have a red-light flat (TLITE6_5) along the top. An ever slight adjustment of the upper/lower areas to be on-grid would fix the alignment without changing much at all to the area and line that flat up nicely. - This barrier inside the wide-long corridor with tons of health/armour bonuses has a HOM, it's highlighted white so you can clearly see it. - During the last fight you can hide here and be safe, even with Caco/LS flying around because they must always descend, making them very easy targets for rockets. It doesn't help you too much against the other foes around the arena however but can trivialise the incoming Caco / LS swarm. - Inside these caves you can see a blue skull textures here. I thought it was a secret but turns out it's just a path for noise to travel through.

I'd like to continue, so the end of the month sounds good to me and that deadline helps me keep focus. Cheers.

Been working on it on and off when I do find the time, have a good concept with where to take the map and have even opted to end the map sooner than intended to not drag this out too much. Right now I'm trying to reinterpret the hodge-podge mess of ideas into something more coherent and cutting out what doesn't work, which involves redesigning large sections to fit within my current scope. Once the core set pieces are properly in motion it should be smooth sailing going forward. I have barely touched on the visuals besides a few tests so that's still on the todo list once gameplay is good to go. Here's a screenshot of the current layout which will likely change overtime, primarily the right portion and central route: Mapping has been slower than desired with a lot of other things getting in the way of that. Having a clear deadline to work toward would also help considerably in managing my time and making this more of a priority. I'd still like to submit my work for this project, however, if you're looking to wrap up the project soon and want to reallocate my slot to someone else who can push out a map in a faster timeframe then I won't complain, just let me know how you feel.

1) It could be possible, was having doubts many of those textures errors could simply be missed, but doesn't seem to matter how I launch via GZDoom those textures are missing. When launching I drag both the Cleanout & OTEX11D1 wads into GZDoom then choosing Ultimate Doom on prompt. 2) Yeah I have every intention to resume feedback, things just haven't gone to plan as of late. Too many other distractions honestly. Can't promise anything but I'll consider trying to get back into my playthrough somewhere closer toward the weekend.

Still working on my entry, had a few hiccups figuring out the gameplay but should have something solid to work with now. Hoping to get more work done on it this weekend.

Haven't had much of a chance to get back around to this, sorry for the lack of updates for my playthrough but good to see you've been making some significant additions in the meantime. I still intend to finish up E2 and continue with feedback. Going forward I'll consider posting in smaller chunks instead, probably every one or two maps, to make this easier to manage long term. I do have some feedback regarding the new Lost Soul changes by replaying through E2M3. They improve the pacing substantially by dying quicker and yet still pose a danger with their death throws. It's honestly a good addition, combat is less of a slog while still maintaining the same enemy count as before. That kitchen fight in particular has shifted from an easy, defendable position to become a "fish in a barrel" situation. Gunning down the oncoming skulls before they close in too much is now vital or risk having to dodge the projectiles in a tight position. Enemies keep spawning near the exit making it difficult to simply leave, forcing some awareness and prioritisation. It used to be a boring fight, but became more tense and dangerous with a simple enemy tweak. So far I like the new versions and curious how they'll behave in the levels I haven't explored yet.

Been going at this for half a year now, so it's about time Doomguy upgraded from tatty parchment to a sturdy clipboard and have updated the banner. I've also made some further changes to the listing format again which I've noted below: Moved the "Speedmapping Events" section to the top of the tracker to be more visible due to their shorter timeframes. Included an "Inactive Project" subsection so I easily can keep track of those separately after doing a status roundup and having no response. I must stress I want this tracker to be focused on actively in-deveploment projects looking for help, so listings here may eventually be dropped if I cannot ascertain the status of the project. There's no harm re-adding an entry at a later date should activity return. "Closed Projects" are now listed under their own header due to the excess amount of them. These will continue to remain here until their eventual release day. The "Released Project" section has been adjusted due to the initial bulkiness, instead manually listing them as simple links with release dates. I'm still uncertain how I want this section to look exactly so I may make additional changes or revert back to the old method. Included some additional icons to help visibly see which projects need musicians and/or artists. These icons may later change to fit their designation if I can figure something else out: [Musicians Wanted!] and [Artists Wanted!] Because we're halfway into 2023 and I don't want to bump too many topics at once, across this month I'll be sending out PMs to project leads for any projects listed in the tracker that haven't seen recent activity in their threads and have long past their initial/extended deadlines to determine what their current status is. Cheers!

Just wanted to elaborate a little more on E2M5. I haven't played or seen Okuplok so indeed the reference was lost on me. There's definitely tons of health but my main problem was reaching it in time before the projectile spam melted down what was left of my health. Sometimes I'd grab a Soulsphere and immediately lose any benefit from it. If these were all Revenants like your inspiration, I might have managed by with less of the frustration because they're glass cannons. Not that you need to replace the type of enemy either, but probably find the right configuration considering how these guys behave. It could also involve some alterations to the arena or some additional dynamic like temp cover that raises and lowers to keep the player moving. They're really dangerous enemies in close quarters afterall, I think that's the risk with adding new enemies is balancing them out to not only fill holes in the roster, especially without the DOOM2 options on hand, but also ensure that they're providing some kind of challenge or different spin to how combat plays out. The Cyberhellbarons in that scenario did feel excessive in such large numbers compared to any other fight in the level due to their sheer power. I think the COBarons are a nice twist, always got to watch out for that second fireball. To be fair that was only one small section I didn't find engaging, otherwise enjoyed clearing many of the other fights. That big fight where you grab a BFG and drop down into a Cybie/Pinkie gauntlet was a fun one to figure out. My solution here was to rush the key after setting up some infighting and deal with that scenario first before cleaning up whatever was left in the main room. I also like how the battle scale gradually escalates from the simpler graveyard skirmishes up until the end where Cyberdemons become more common foes. It didn't feel constantly exhausting even though the enemy counts and expectations were raising or more limitations were thrown onto the player. E2M5 was a neat slaughter romp I'd like to eventually see more polished up. I'm only halfway into it but so far the second episode has been a stronger selection of maps, here's hoping this continues.

Returning with partial feedback for Phase 2: Escalation. I played up until E2M5 and decided it's a good point to take another break until next time. Since these maps and the battles within them are getting longer and tougher, I don't want to burn myself out trying to play the whole episode before I can give proper feedback, so this might be a slow burning process. I've also decided to forego general level screenshots and just focus on screenshots pointing out issues I find. Based on what I've been playing so far there's a heavy use of Lost Souls that tend to slow things down in most levels. Have you considered adjusting the Lost Souls to have half health instead? There’s already many enemies with lots of health including the new additions and it might help to improve pacing and how combat feels across the board. If they died consistently to one full shotgun blast, they can still remain a nuisance in large numbers, just without any of the tedium involved to destroy them. Now for my initial feedback for Phase 2: Escalation: Play method: UV, Pistol Start, GZDOOM  E2M1: Boom Boom (Right Off ‘A Your Feet) E2M2: Hellville E2M3: The Prison E2M4: Boiling Blood City E2M5: Necropolis of the Unholy Cemetery

May I claim MAP21: (U), assuming the slot is still available?

There's an ongoing community project like that at the moment, but I have no idea on its recent progress via Discord, since the thread itself hasn't been updated in a while.