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schwerpunk

[RELEASE] Monochrome Mapping Project (latest fix August 1st, 2013)

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schwerpunk said:

Hm, I did not...

Hehe, in one case 'X' marks the spot ;)

v0.2 is available, no extra areas yet but I've made some changes to the existing areas - hopefully for the better. Some are more subtle than others, but have a look and see what you think!!

Latest update is available from ::: http://sdrv.ms/135YxeJ :::

Dave

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i am alive! finally i can return to map something, but because i am pretty slow when come to datails, it will take longer than expected. the screenshot posted so far are quite amazing! but i didn't played quite none of them yet.

edit: just played the primited, well, really impressed from it!

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schwerpunk said:

Hm, I did not...

FractalXX:
Here's my FDA. Played on HMP. I almost bit it a few times, but managed to survive to die in the long, dark corridor. Alone.

Anyway! It was some good, straight-up fun - made me realize why people like these kinds of maps. I enjoyed the design; reminded me of the Baron room at the end of E1. Lost souls seemed a bit glitched. Got some "unknown line" errors, but didn't notice anything amiss. Music was perfect. Played on GZDoom 1.7.0, although seemed to run fine (minus dynamic light, obv) in ZDoom 2.6.1.

Going to update the OP with this entry now, which bring us to update #11! :D

P.S. FractalXX, Jaws in Space, and Membrain are all tied at three entries each. Now taking bets on who'll be the first to five!


Thanks for the feedback. I think i'll update a map later on, but somehow ideas are just coming now. :D

Updated the map!
http://www.solidfiles.com/d/54164ffe03/

Fixed some timing mistakes. By watching your FDA I realized, that in the end, it's hard to understand what to do. Made it easier by giving some time to read the text.

Edit: Fixed the exit, too, cause it didn't seem to activate.

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Phendrena: Just finished a playthrough of v0.2. Let it be noted that I'm a bit hung over today, and your map didn't help my headache, lol (meaning it's very bright, is all). :P

1) the new detailing looks slick - I especially like the checkerboards.
2) the secrets are perhaps a little too well-hidden. I had to cheat to find them. Maybe make one of the arms on the 3D platform longer, to hint that there is an illusory wall ahead?
3) I pressed the 'wrong' button near the berserk pack, but nothing happened, then I tried pressing the other button and I got stuck in there. Not sure what was supposed to happen. idclip'd out and there was a Baron in the courtyard. That was a nice consolation.
4) It's not entirely clear to me what the secret button (the one in the building of the second main area) does.
5) the SSG secret room looks incredible. I'd love to see more of this kind of black room with little white details. I wanted to stay there. And not just because the darker tones were easier on my headache, heh.
6) love the new SoulSphere tease.

Overall, the map does feel pretty experimental. You're trying all sorts of neat tricks, which is great fun, but it makes it hard to detect if the map has an overall visual theme. Every new area seems to introduce many new art styles. Gameplay-wise, it feels like a daltonian's fever dream (hm, that's a decent name for a map...). Finally, I get the feeling that this entry is you mostly stretching your legs, and that if we see a second entry from you it would be a lot more focused.

Jaws in Space: New map looks great (thought of a name yet?). I especially like the city hall-looking building in the middle of the screenshot. Would love to see you make a monochrome skybox for this piece.

Cacowad: Good to have you back. We've had some great entries since I last saw you here. Make sure to check 'em out when you have a few minutes!

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schwerpunk said:

Phendrena: Just finished a playthrough of v0.2. Let it be noted that I'm a bit hung over today, and your map didn't help my headache, lol (meaning it's very bright, is all). :P

1) the new detailing looks slick - I especially like the checkerboards.
2) the secrets are perhaps a little too well-hidden. I had to cheat to find them. Maybe make one of the arms on the 3D platform longer, to hint that there is an illusory wall ahead?
3) I pressed the 'wrong' button near the berserk pack, but nothing happened, then I tried pressing the other button and I got stuck in there. Not sure what was supposed to happen. idclip'd out and there was a Baron in the courtyard. That was a nice consolation.
4) It's not entirely clear to me what the secret button (the one in the building of the second main area) does.
5) the SSG secret room looks incredible. I'd love to see more of this kind of black room with little white details. I wanted to stay there. And not just because the darker tones were easier on my headache, heh.
6) love the new SoulSphere tease.

Overall, the map does feel pretty experimental. You're trying all sorts of neat tricks, which is great fun, but it makes it hard to detect if the map has an overall visual theme. Every new area seems to introduce many new art styles. Gameplay-wise, it feels like a daltonian's fever dream (hm, that's a decent name for a map...). Finally, I get the feeling that this entry is you mostly stretching your legs, and that if we see a second entry from you it would be a lot more focused.

Thanks again for the feedback.
After reading and the reading again your points above I went back and had another look at what I've done so far and then re-examined what I originally set out to do - create a map using Da Werecat's Black & White textures. In the first room and also the first outside area there is a good and visually striking contrast between the two colours. Moving inside keeps the same contrast but adds the patterned floor texture into the mix.

Moving into the second outside area and comparing it to the first, on first glance isn't that bad however I let black & white stripes move in and it doesn't match what I started with, this onslaught of stripes continued inside and frankly just looks crap with the way I used the texture.

So, all this has changed. The overuse of stripes has gone and we are back to contrasting Black & White - it looks so much better.

Onto some of the other points:
1, 5 & 6) Glad your enjoying these bits. There will be more of the black with white edging (I originally considered constructing a maze like map just with that style and I may yet). Ahhhh, the SoulSphere.... He get's around........ ;)
2 & 4) The Secrets - As you will see the arms of the upper section now meet the wall on both sides, but remember 'X' marks the spot (look at the entrance to the secret). The secret switch has gone. The secret area is still there but it should now be 100% clearer what that switch did.
3) The 'wrong' button - Pressing the button gives the on screen HUD message and spawns the baron. The other switch should raise the platform to allow you to exit that section. I've adjusted the platform and it should now work as intended.

I've not uploaded the revision yet as the other half nicked the laptop and made me walk the dog so I'm typing this on my phone!!! I'll upload the revision and some more screenshots later on.

Did you get the Chainsaw btw???

Dave

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BOO! You thought I'd forgotten about this? :P

Good and Evil, Black and White.

It's an Icon of Sin map on MAP01 (just remembered that after I pasted the link, durr), but seeing as this is in ZDoom you can probably test it without a hitch. It's in it's beta stages at the moment (playtesting, maybe some more decoration), but I wanna get some feedback first.

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Obsidian: I will admit, I thought you'd got yourself otherwise occupied. But you've popped in at the just the right time - the project is really dialing up, with entries coming out of the woodwork, in some cases from previously unheard of sources.

I added some screenshots with your entry's listing in the OP ([pic1] [pic2] [pic3]). I hope you don't mind.

    Here's my FDA. Played on HMP if that makes a difference. Below are my general impressions:
  1. Are these Da Werecat's textures? Anyway, you make excellent use of B&W contrast, and in a way that's different from our other entries.
  2. I really like the hard, black lines you've put along the edges of the walls. It shows very clearly the dimensions of the room, and isn't nearly as disorienting as I would've thought.
  3. The effect with the 'shadow Imps' in the second room is really special.
  4. The secret is not only very useful, but gives a different aesthetic perspective to this map.
  5. It's a little invasion-y for my tastes, without much room to maneouvre. I would love to see this aesthetic applied to a more open, asymmetric map.
  6. Different details on the walls were nice, especially the moving ones.
  7. Maybe consider making the black borders on the bottoms of the walls block player/monsters - I got snagged a couple of times.
  8. Great WIP entry; I can't wait to see more!


Phendrena: I'm glad you found my feedback useful. I'm trying to be more critical when I give impressions, because those are usually the tips that are the most beneficial to mappers. Of course, it's just as important to point out what's right about a map!

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schwerpunk said:

Phendrena[/b]: I'm glad you found my feedback useful. I'm trying to be more critical when I give impressions, because those are usually the tips that are the most beneficial to mappers. Of course, it's just as important to point out what's right about a map!

I did find it useful as it made me look again as I was getting carried away.

Now, what do you make of these.....









Yes, I procrastinate and go off at a tangent. This is purely to see how it would look. If your curious grab the wad and look at MAP02 - What you see in the screenshots is what's there.

V3.25 Uploaded and can be grabbed from the usual link ::: http://sdrv.ms/135YxeJ :::

Dave

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Dave: Those screenshots look great. Pretty different from what we've from you seen so far. Is this for a third, indoor area? Or is this going to be another map altogether? Because the aesthetic shift is significant when compared to the outdoor areas. Not that I don't think it could work as part of the same level.

Those black-with-white-lines pillars are giving me a hardon. Very cool looking. The inversed shades from one room to the next is an excellent stylistic touch as well. Will there be gameplay/layout differences between the black room(s) and the white room(s)? From the screenshots alone my only real critique would be the inclusion of the SPCDOOR(?) texture. Imo, it looks out of place next to the austere look of the environs.

P.S. I still haven't found the chainsaw, even with your hint. :P

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schwerpunk: The chainsaw is in the same room as the SSG. There is a very subtle visual clue, look at the white piping on the floor....

MAP02 was a quick knock-up to visualise how it would look purely done in that style. I am tempted to do a small-ish map purely in that style. At the moment I am working to convert the indoor areas of the existing map and also alot on a large section I've been working on separately. I'll update more after the weekend :)

Screenshot Gallery

Dave

P.S. I wouldn't worry about SPCDOOR as it was just a quick door i needed as I didn't have time to knock some up. I have now though knocked-up some better door and lift textures that fit the theme much better!!]]]]]]

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Hi all,

I've playing around with the map and I've added a few areas and changed some existing areas to better fit where the map is headed. Due to the layout changes I've removed most of the enemies although some still remain. This update is to demonstrate the numerous changes to the map. As you can see from the first screenshot I am making progress converting the existing indoor sections! Not all done yet, but i am getting closer to a completed map, layout is probably 75% done.

Grab V0.4.0 from the usual link ::: http://sdrv.ms/135YxeJ :::

Dave









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It really has some Virtual Reality impression. Excellent!

I remember a horror-based level for Duke Nukem 3D with annoying effects, it has some similar black/white areas. Don't remember which, can't find it easily again; it started in a bloody house with some surreal effects and leads to a nightmare reality with deathtraps...

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Dave: Here's my FDA (I'm just running around lost for most of it).
Great looking screenshots, and plays decently for not having any monsters. It was a bit disorienting at times, but I think it will play better when you add monsters. The secret room button to pyramid secret glitched out on me, I think. I went down, but couldn't move forward, then the lift went up and I couldn't get back down.

I'm liking the new Tron-like visuals; very unique. I'm tempted to copy this aesthetic for my next map. The flow is a lot better. I like the building that breaks up the two outdoor areas - good pacing. And the multi-level apartment building seems to work flawlessly.

Although the monochrome 'bricks' texture seems a little flat. Which might seem like an ironic thing to critique in a project like this, heh. I wonder what it would look like with some subtle highlighting? (I tried futzing with it in SLADE, but apparently I suck, so I can't give an example of what I'm thinking about).

Death Egg: Looks interesting... Like a cartoonier version of what Dave's doing. I half-expect to see Oswald the rabbit coming out of one of those rooms, lol.

Would love to see you further develop this. Shall I put you down for a pending entry? There's still not deadline, so you can take your time. ;)

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Death Egg Loving that screenshot, can't wait to see your completed map!!

schwerpunk The whole map, ideally, is supposed to look very flat and plain. I'm going quite minimalist so there won't be any intricate detailing or anything else. If you open the map in Doom Builder 2 (or your editor of choice) there are two other flat brick textures. I'm not totally settled on the current one but I wanted the outer edge to look different than the rest of the map.

I've not checked but I imagine that one linedef has been flagged as impassable when I moved the pyramid. Not had a chance to play tonight unfortunately - i have uploaded a minor update though v0.4.1, have fun getting the blue key now.........

More to be added in the second area and also the climatic battle :)

Dave

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Death Egg said:

Really early version of my map. I have way more planned than just this, and even then what's done is still sort of lacking. Just thought I'd give a small preview of what's to come.

I made an FDA, but it's me just running around, *usefail-ing everything, heh. Anyway, it looks great. Flawless sector over sector effect.

Do you have gameplay in mind for this map, or is it just a proof-of-concept?

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schwerpunk said:

Do you have gameplay in mind for this map, or is it just a proof-of-concept?

This was mostly proof of concept right now since there isn't really much to do, but I'm planning this building to be the start of a much more grandiose map.

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Very close to having Monochromatic Nightmare completed and ready for a full play test. It should be ready for the weekend so I thought I would share with you this picture as a teaser, it is the direct lead-in to the final confrontation:



Dave

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I'm really liking all the different styles of the maps submitted for the project. The only thing that I wonder is whether we should look for more homogeneity in appearance if we're headed for megawad status. While I like the way my maps look, for example, I also really love the heavy lines and stark contrast in the true black-and-white maps we've got as well.

Any thoughts?

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Dave: Looks great. I'm definitely enjoying the playfulness of your map.

Membrain: I've been wondering about the same thing lately. All of these different styles are probably helping get a feel for how a monochrome megawad might potentially look, I do think I our bread and butter will likely still be CEIL5_1 & FLAT19. Although I'm leaning more and more toward officially including Da Werecat's resource wad.

    There are a couple of ways we could go (including combinations/variations of the below):
  1. Stick with CEIL5_1 & FLAT19 for the whole megawad.
  2. Use primarily CEIL5_1 & FLAT19, but allow some other simple textures, as we've been doing for submissions so far.
  3. Stick with Da Werecat's textures, or Phendrena's fullbright Tron-style for the whole megawad.
  4. Start the megawad with CEIL5_1 & FLAT19, then work in Da Werecat's textures into the later levels.

    (Sidenote: someone mentioned the progression into a Hell as an allegory for descent into an increasingly colourless world, and I like that).

  5. Same as above, except Da Werecat's, and/or fullbright, textures could be used at any point.
  6. Not worry about the megawad making sense, and just pack a bunch of cool, colourless maps together.
  7. Make two separate megawads - one for people who would prefer to map in Da Werecat or fullbright style, and another for the CEIL5_1 / FLAT19ers.
  8. Something I haven't thought of.
  9. Other.


I do think it's important that we establish some sort of aesthetic narrative, for lack of better phrasing. Also, I'm not too concerned about 'cutting' some of the already submitted entries from our main megawad, as we will likely be uploading them to idgames for posterity anyway, so it's not like they won't get their time in the sun.

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Version 0.5.3 is available for you to have a look at.

You can't get to the end of the level yet as I need to add in a final, small-ish, section. I've adjusted some of the layout in the second main area and also placed some nastiness :)





Have fun.

Dave

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Oh, i keep posting updates about my map but as you can see no comments about other wads. When I decided to submit a map I wanted to complete my map first and then have a gander at the others as I didn't want to be influenced by those maps. I will be poking around all the other wads soon enough though as they are look rather interesting :)

Dave

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Right then.....

While it isn't completed, you can play through the WAD to the end now. I still have some sections to add and a complete re-write of the end script (t can get stupidly difficult tbh)...

Anyway, for you pleasure:

Monochromatic Nightmare v0.5.5

It is fully scaled to difficulty levels so if you find it hard on UV or HMP then you can bring it down to ITYTD if you need to.

Have fun and die well hero,

Dave

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Here's an FDA of me bobbing about (I died stupidly). I like how you've gone full city with this map, and also how you've visually distinguished the two main areas by their brick perimeters.

What does the button after the red key door do? I thought it might open the door that says "that doesn't seem to work," but it did not. After running around looking for loose ends, I idclip'd through that door. Also, in the area with the yellow key/door, it's possible to get stuck inside the right side room.

It feels a lot more focused, but the styles are still very diverse and manifold, so it feels a touch overwhelming IMO.

Music lends itself nicely to the playfulness of this map. :)

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schwerpunk said:

What does the button after the red key door do? I thought it might open the door that says "that doesn't seem to work," but it did not. After running around looking for loose ends, I idclip'd through that door. Also, in the area with the yellow key/door, it's possible to get stuck inside the right side room.

It feels a lot more focused, but the styles are still very diverse and manifold, so it feels a touch overwhelming IMO.

Music lends itself nicely to the playfulness of this map. :)

The button behind the red key door raises a wall along the ledge where there are loads of imps. The wall, currently, has two vertical white lines running down the wall but I might change this to make it clearer. That will give you access to the lift leading down to the yellow key and also, if your quick enough, a secret underground armory (it restocks itself too).

The area with the yellow key will be expanded but there is a reason why you get stuck in the room, this will be be clear when I add in this section. Although I am in two minds about making the Yellow key a hidden secret as it would be interesting given what comes after you teleport out. Would five secrets be too many??

The music, I'm still pondering... The current midi is Stage 1 from the classic arcade game R-Type but I am thinking of perhaps something more comical, and British!!

You do like to run around and randomly jab and shoot walls. Do many doomers do this?? I don't so I'm curious as to whether I should play with this trait to spawn some additional monsters.... ponder ponder

Dave

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