[RELEASED] Gridlock - A community project (maps aligned to the 64 units grid)

Hey, I just noticed that the test version doesn't have the CC4 textures compiled in the WAD. I can fix that with SLADE if anyone wants.

bioshockfan90 said:

Hey, I just noticed that the test version doesn't have the CC4 textures compiled in the WAD. I can fix that with SLADE if anyone wants.

I didn't compile them on purpose. It's a lot harder to edit the wad if it's full of cc4's textures (more files). I wanted to do it as the last thing, but if you'd like to, you can, it would save some time.

bioshockfan90 said:

Really weird, worked for me on a test run.

As a good rule of thumb, always test your map without shooting too. The way you can have monsters teleport without needing to shoot is to use a scrolling floor to force them to cross a teleport line, and make said teleport lines be one side of a raised floor. Then at some point in the map, cross a line to lower the floor and the monsters will teleport without ever needing to fire a shot.

Check out my map "Overgrowth" for an example of this (the outside of map teleporting area also abides by 64 grid restriction).

map08: Fun one. That archvile placement outdoors on the cliffs is pretty dickish, it can be revealed when you have basically no way to even get to cover in time.

map09: Liked the sneaky reveals of monsters in of areas already visited. There's a medkit in the middle of a busy intersection adjacent to the SSG, had to shimmy around it a few times at 98% HP. Not that I needed it -- I took damage in this map exactly once. map08 is quite a bit harder, so the map ordering confuses me again. Next to the secret with the chaingun and the ammo box, there is a ledge that is blocked off by an impassable line, for no discernible reason. I tried to jump to it a few times before the annoying realization that it was blocked off.

map10: Haha, I didn't notice that you hadn't updated this one yet. Got wrecked by the bosses, enjoyed the changes since the last time I played this.

map11: prBoom+ so DNP.

map12: Much more streamlined than the last version. Megasphere secret at the beginning practically guarantees success, which cuts out any tension. Should be a soulsphere or something.

map13: Will play the next version without the bosses.

map14: Liked this one. Played twice, and it's on the longer side, so I won't replay it again. Comments can be found upthread.

map15: I can't remember if this was the case in the version I played before, but I'm noticing now that health and ammo is stacked basically everywhere. Spent a decent amount of time with a lot of health, so had to leave behind cellpacks under soulspheres until I took damage. (This one is quite a bit harder than the two after it.)

map16: Decent map. Surprisingly tame after the mean double chaingunner warp-in at the beginning.

map17: I really like the larger scale of some of these maps. They remind me of '90s wads. This one was fun. I killed basically nothing but the archviles in the RK area, evading monsters and hitting switches. In the snowy area I killed only the shotgunners and chaingunners. Glad I didn't try running past the cyberdemons at the end though ;). The HKs in that area are basically totally ineffective -- I didn't even notice them until later, because their fireballs kept bumping into either the floor or the corners of their towers.

I updated mine: https://www.mediafire.com/?53au7uanq916ohs

I changed the megasphere secret to a soulsphere.

I updated the original link as well.

Nevander said:

As a good rule of thumb, always test your map without shooting too. The way you can have monsters teleport without needing to shoot is to use a scrolling floor to force them to cross a teleport line, and make said teleport lines be one side of a raised floor. Then at some point in the map, cross a line to lower the floor and the monsters will teleport without ever needing to fire a shot.

Check out my map "Overgrowth" for an example of this (the outside of map teleporting area also abides by 64 grid restriction).

Damnit, knew I should've made the map in Hexen format like I've been doing for my megawad and some other maps....

Oh well. Not much I can do about it at this point. Sectors can't have the scroll effect on them in Boom format, so if someone wants to take a crack at somehow converting the map into Hexen, but... good luck. Seems like that's one of the issues that I can't really find much of a way to solve without any reverse-engineering.

Also, great map! Yours is easily one of the best in the wad. Glad I was able to play it.

rdwpa said:

map17: I really like the larger scale of some of these maps. They remind me of '90s wads. This one was fun. I killed basically nothing but the archviles in the RK area, evading monsters and hitting switches. In the snowy area I killed only the shotgunners and chaingunners. Glad I didn't try running past the cyberdemons at the end though ;). The HKs in that area are basically totally ineffective -- I didn't even notice them until later, because their fireballs kept bumping into either the floor or the corners of their towers.

Thanks for the feedback! Yeah, the HKs won't behave properly at all in that area sadly, I think I'll have to change them to something that can actually shoot down at the player. I've got an idea.

bioshockfan90 said:

Damnit, knew I should've made the map in Hexen format like I've been doing for my megawad and some other maps....

Oh well. Not much I can do about it at this point. Sectors can't have the scroll effect on them in Boom format, so if someone wants to take a crack at somehow converting the map into Hexen, but... good luck. Seems like that's one of the issues that I can't really find much of a way to solve without any reverse-engineering.

I'm not sure what the point of that would be since if it were done, it wouldn't be compatible with the projects goals.
Also, I know very little about boom format, but I thought that boom supported scrolling floors.

rdwpa said:

map09: Liked the sneaky reveals of monsters in of areas already visited. There's a medkit in the middle of a busy intersection adjacent to the SSG, had to shimmy around it a few times at 98% HP. Not that I needed it -- I took damage in this map exactly once. map08 is quite a bit harder, so the map ordering confuses me again. Next to the secret with the chaingun and the ammo box, there is a ledge that is blocked off by an impassable line, for no discernible reason. I tried to jump to it a few times before the annoying realization that it was blocked off.

Thanks for the feedback! I'm going to fix the issues that you found soon...

http://edge.sourceforge.net/edit_guide/boom_ref.htm
Scroll down to Section 12 to read about scrolling floors in Boom format.

bioshockfan90 said:

Damnit, knew I should've made the map in Hexen format like I've been doing for my megawad and some other maps....

Oh well. Not much I can do about it at this point. Sectors can't have the scroll effect on them in Boom format, so if someone wants to take a crack at somehow converting the map into Hexen, but... good luck. Seems like that's one of the issues that I can't really find much of a way to solve without any reverse-engineering.

Also, great map! Yours is easily one of the best in the wad. Glad I was able to play it.

Boom indeed supports scrolling floors. I've also used it on my map (MAP06), but not for the ambushes. Instead, I used it to trigger multiple actions with one switch (like in an ACS script in zDoom), with a moving dummy player in a separate part of the map, so it crosses multiple lines with each activating something.
It's action special is 253 (Scroll Floor, Move Things). You can also check MAP03 for it, it's a better example.

Woah, I didn't know you could do that scrolling floor thing in Boom D:

Well, I'll fix that dickish Archiville in the cliff on map 08 hahaha

I was testing the wad on Gzdoom and I noticed when you reach the exit on map 16 it just restarts the map instead of moving to map 17.

Edit: Oh and map 11 still had the boss in it.

bioshockfan90 said:

Damnit, knew I should've made the map in Hexen format like I've been doing for my megawad and some other maps....

Oh well. Not much I can do about it at this point. Sectors can't have the scroll effect on them in Boom format, so if someone wants to take a crack at somehow converting the map into Hexen, but... good luck. Seems like that's one of the issues that I can't really find much of a way to solve without any reverse-engineering.

Also, great map! Yours is easily one of the best in the wad. Glad I was able to play it.

Scrolling is indeed supported in Boom format. Also I dont know what program you use to make maps, but if you dont use Doom Builder 2, I think you should :)

Ninehills42 said:

Scrolling is indeed supported in Boom format. Also I dont know what program you use to make maps, but if you dont use Doom Builder 2, I think you should :)

Nah, I stick with good ol' GZdoombuilder. I like being able to do the ACS shit and overall I like the polish about it. But I didn't know that about the scrolling floors in Boom format, so I'll check that out for sure. Will post a fix later on in the day hopefully.

map18: Start scenario was good. In the blue key area, you should hand out the rocket launcher for all those cacos -- the SSG gets rid of them too slowly, and that scenario is not so threatening anyway. I tried to ditch them altogether, but they managed to clump at the door and fire at me while I was dealing with the imps behind the blue door, so I had to fight them. The steps there could use monster-blocking lines too -- imps can get knocked off while still alive, and then they have to be sought out and killed, because they can scratch you from below. I couldn't progress past this point because of a ZDoomism in the form of a zero-tagged SR lift (which has the RL). Make sure to test Boom-format maps in prBoom+ -complevel 9.

map19: This seems to be the old version of this map. The poster provided a new version with a few changes.

map20 and map21: My new keyboard is crap and lags in a very strange manner (lots of dropped inputs too) so I can't really play maps that don't allow me to stand mostly in one place during fights or move inaccurately. Looking forward to replaying map20 and playing map21 though when another one arrives.


Overall thoughts on ordering: map20 and map21 are well placed, but map15 is harder than everything else but those. That one will probably be seen by most as a massive difficulty spike. map08 also should be placed later. map03 is probably a better intro than map01. map01 is more traditionally 'introductory' but it's actually more pressuring due to the cramped scale and weaker armament and an infinitely tall hell knight at one point. map03 is also one of the best designed maps from the set, which might make the player more likely to see the whole thing through.

rdwpa said:

Overall thoughts on ordering: map20 and map21 are well placed, but map15 is harder than everything else but those. That one will probably be seen by most as a massive difficulty spike. map08 also should be placed later. map03 is probably a better intro than map01. map01 is more traditionally 'introductory' but it's actually more pressuring due to the cramped scale and weaker armament and an infinitely tall hell knight at one point. map03 is also one of the best designed maps from the set, which might make the player more likely to see the whole thing through.

I had a hard time deciding which should be the first one and I also thought about MAP03. The reason I picked Retrofit is that it's quite simple, vanilla-looking, short, and not so hard, but that may change in the final version. I know MAP15 is a hole in the progression due to its difficulty, I just put it there to fit with the atmosphere and the theme. The other two levels of Ninehills42 are more hellish like and therefore they had to be somewhere at the end. Castle of Atlantis is after tech levels but before hellish ones to fit into the progression, so is Crimson Castle.

We'll have to rethink it, though.

I would like to introduce to you my Dinosaur Foot level.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/k4rkcyx3gm71cyk/Dinosaur_Foot.wad

map30: This one was quite an interesting boss map. In the end I worked out a strategy for the last stage (my favorite, which resulted in all three deaths) of killing the AVs quickly and then spamming the boss with plasma. At that stage his actual attack is no longer too threatening, and due to his elevation, you can actually just stay in the same quadrant he is in and attack him without too much fear of getting hit, as long as you move around a slight amount. I died a fourth time, but the boss did at the same time. :D

One mistake maps with higher-HP monsters and high but limited ammo often make is doling out bullet ammo (and to a lesser extent shell ammo) as freely as the rockets and plasma. This ends up putting the player in a weird position where they have to choose between boring themselves during the non-threatening sections by plinking away at strong monsters with the CG and SSG (even the SSG starts to be quite slow when monsters have a lot of HP), or using up a lot of ammo for the strong weapons that would be more effective later. (The RL can be classified along with the CG and SSG since there's 6000 HP of spider mastermind to be dealt with.)

So, yeah, I'd recommend either lowering the HP of the first stage of the boss quite a bit or making more plasma available. Preferably the former. The first stage of the boss is really not dangerous at all. 8000 HP is twice as much as it needs. 4000 would be enough, especially since it's conveyed that it "warps away" upon taking a certain amount of damage, instead of having only as much health as a common cyberdemon. Cleanup in the spider mastermind stage is slow going because the rising pedestals aren't synced very smoothly. There should only be a slight period where no spiderdemons are visible at the same time. Right now it's quite a noticeable delay. Instead of the "W1 Floor Start Moving Up and Down" action, which introduces some randomness to when the movement begins, what you can do is set up a looped voodoo doll conveyor (the voodoo doll teleports back to the start after reaching the end) and control the movement of those platforms more precisely, with generalized floor movement triggers. The looped conveyor could be separate from the existing one, and the action that currently makes the floors start moving can be changed to one that frees the voodoo doll in the looped conveyor.

Here's the final version of my map. I won't add or change anything else unless there's a bug. All other links in my posts are updated.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/s5bob76jcm9z0in/64x64_Overgrowth_final.zip

Please test, give feedback, check for bugs, the usual.

I started a new map also, right now in the MAP25 slot (subject to change).

EDIT: Screenshot from new map, for teh hypez. No name yet but it's going to be epic.

mArt1And00m3r11339 said:

I would like to introduce to you my Dinosaur Foot level.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/k4rkcyx3gm71cyk/Dinosaur_Foot.wad

Three words.

What. The. Hell.

It's a slaughtermap, but there's no room to go anywhere due to the lamps. Not to mention, the PEs shooting out a hundred skulls while you can't do anything about them yet.

It's pretty hard to find walkable gaps between the lamps.

Maybe it could have been beatable had it not been for the massive amounts of PEs.

Have you beaten your map, martian doomer?

Royal_Sir said:

Three words.

What. The. Hell.

It's a slaughtermap, but there's no room to go anywhere due to the lamps. Not to mention, the PEs shooting out a hundred skulls while you can't do anything about them yet.

It's pretty hard to find walkable gaps between the lamps.

Maybe it could have been beatable had it not been for the massive amounts of PEs.

Have you beaten your map, martian doomer?

Yes, I have. I played my level on ZDoom.
My Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e4bAYJ2njk
Unknown Space Marine's Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3imUXZYoPUI
Julien Fouquet's Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUXO7TT4mvA

Interesting how the ports change the max times. In (G)Zdoom, torches block projectiles, which significantly lessens the infighting. Also the pain elementals aren't neutered by them.

mArt1And00m3r11339 said:

Yes, I have. I played my level on ZDoom.
My Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1e4bAYJ2njk
Unknown Space Marine's Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3imUXZYoPUI
Julien Fouquet's Demo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUXO7TT4mvA

Allright, I apologize. Slaughtermaps aren't my forte, I'm not that good with them. I shouldn't be the one judging them.

Royal_Sir said:

Allright, I apologize. Slaughtermaps aren't my forte, I'm not that good with them. I shouldn't be the one judging them.

It's okay. I don't know if my level is going to get accepted into this community project, though. FractalXX will have to take a look at it.

rdwpa said:

map10: Haha, I didn't notice that you hadn't updated this one yet. Got wrecked by the bosses, enjoyed the changes since the last time I played this.

Glad you liked it. :)

mArt1And00m3r11339 said:

I would like to introduce to you my Dinosaur Foot level.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/k4rkcyx3gm71cyk/Dinosaur_Foot.wad

I'll include it in the package, once I get to my PC.

Nevander said:

Here's the final version of my map. I won't add or change anything else unless there's a bug. All other links in my posts are updated.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/s5bob76jcm9z0in/64x64_Overgrowth_final.zip

Please test, give feedback, check for bugs, the usual.

I started a new map also, right now in the MAP25 slot (subject to change).

EDIT: Screenshot from new map, for teh hypez. No name yet but it's going to be epic.

Spoiler

http://i.imgur.com/kOCv6lO.png

I didn't expect less from you after Overgrowth. Looks beautiful!

Voltcom9 said:

Here is an update to 'Europa Facility' which now works in PrBoom. https://www.dropbox.com/s/jhf288zqy20jf5c/V9_Europa2.wad?dl=0

I would like to remove 'Trouble on the Bridge' from the wad because it really seems subpar compared to the other maps so far in the mapset.

Are you sure? If yes, I'll swap another map in its place.

I played "Trouble on the Bridge" in GZDoom. It has a boss monster in the version of the wad I have (which I'm not sure is the most recent one), but it was stuck and didn't affect gameplay.

This is a cute and silly map, and it looks good. Giving up on the map would be slightly wasteful. The main problem is it's too short and insubstantial.

Would recommend expanding the northern area significantly, with a few more of those islands and buildings and structures: one can serve as an exit, one can be for decoration, one can contain supplies, etc. Textures need to be aligned, ofc, and the facade of the area the player starts in will need to be polished, now that it can be seen. The current low level of detail is perfectly fine. The current exit trigger should be replaced with a teleporter that sends the player to that island, where they can fight the cyber (with a plasma rifle or something), maybe with additional monsters coming in. The black water should be damaging. A radsuit (maybe on a pillar accessed by a lift, so it isn't so easy to get while the cyber is still alive) could allow for some leisurely exploration of the islands.

(If no changes are made, at the very worst it should be moved to a secret slot. This sort of micro-vignette fits that role nicely.)