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The Ultimate DooMer

The /newstuff Chronicles #172

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Having emerged from the other side of a PC blowout with a 1.6 GHz Athlon, nearly 4x more RAM, new cards/drivers, my hard drive intact and all my former problems solved, it's time to get back to the business of reviewing maps (armed with the latest ZDoom for the first time in newstuff). Only 7 maps (including a tutorial), but an interesting bunch they are, and one of them is a gem. Off you go:

  • Doom: The Cyberdemon Army - Demo by cyber-menace
    4750kb - ZDoom - SP - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
    Firstly, if you're familiar with this map series then you've already played 3 of the maps - but crucially not the other one, so stay interested. For those who aren't familiar with DTCA, it's a ZDoom megawad in-the-making (with lots of inspiration from a certain ZDoom episode), and this is a 4-map demo of it. The first map (01) is a short linear tech map with a very tight ammo/health balance, the next map (19) is a heavyweight encounter which will have you doing various techy things like restoring power, shutting down security etc. and the 4th map (32) is set in a ruined town with a couple of bases and a cathedral. Detail is pretty good in places but a bit bare in others (particularly map 32) and ZDoom effects are used all over the place. Scripting creates a story-driven mission-based setup, complete with voice-acting in places. Gameplay-wise it's tough, with many new enhanced monsters making life difficult and ammo/health being a little scarce in some places.

    Onto the 3rd map (20) - woah. Not only does this map have some of the most amazing detail you'll ever see, it also has a gameplay setup to match. A giant rooftop festooned with pipes, tanks, lights, pits, tech stations and a huge temple-like structure containing a portal. The monsters come in organised groups and you operate out of the central building, which provides infinite ammo/health - but you can only go there between fights, and only once during each fight. A few powerups are scattered throughout the structures outside, but only become accessible after a certain time. The groups are big - very big - and you'll need brains as well as brawn to handle them. All of which adds up to the best map I've seen in a long time. In fact the only thing wrong with it is that none of the harder monster types are used, but doesn't stop this map from being a challenge (and watch out for a surprise later!).

    Overall this demo is an unconventional affair (we need more of that IMO) and one which will provide a lot of fun, despite the lesser quality of map 01, the lack of ammo in the opening part of map 19 (the berserk is right at the back of the area, too) and the size of map 32 (it drags on for too long). Even if you've already played the other 3 maps, grab this and play map 20 now! If you haven't, grab this and play all the other maps, too!

  • React by cycloid
    255kb - Boom port - SP - (img)
    A dark base map with some reminiscence of the early Doom 2 maps for some reason. Mostly dark metal, with some blue-tech, brick and rocky bits thrown in. Detail is quite good, with some neat warehouse effects and ceiling lighting/shadows. However, the texturing in the rocky bit, rail tunnel and warehouse leave something to be desired IMO. Gameplay isn't that difficult, although the zombies have suddenly decided to walk around with SSG's so watch the health a bit. It has a slightly dubious ending (blowing up a reactor while you're still in it) but on the whole it's not bad and is worth playing.

  • Carnival of Hell by Thomas Lutrov
    149kb - JDoom - SP - (img)
    A hellish Doom 1-style map for JDoom. As expected, there are plenty of torches to cast those nice lighting effects all over the place, but they do disguise the fact that the detail is quite low in this map (grab the lite-amp and see for yourself). One or two places are ok, but on the whole it is a bit lacking. One thing that isn't lacking however is gameplay - tough right from the start, with only one or two easier bits (and it can be quite fun too). There's enough ammo and health to go round, so it shouldn't get too desperate. It's ok, but detail freaks need to stay clear. If you don't have JDoom, you don't need to bother downloading it just for this unless you're a nostalgia hunter, a fan of hell maps or you like a challenge.

  • insertwackynamehere's Deep Water ZDoom tricks by Samual Horwitz
    8kb - ZDoom - n/a -
    A little wad demonstrating some of the various Transfer_Heights tricks that can be used in ZDoom. They're all well-known of course, but will be useful for those who want to learn them.

    Note by Cyb: Some of these files aren't copied onto mirrors just yet (as of this writing, 2:20am EST) so if you can't get onto 3dgamers just yet, wait a few hours until the mirrors are all updated.

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First post. Yay.

Meh. Slow week. The idgames links are broken though...

[Edit]
Yay. Linkies were fixed.

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sargebaldy said:

Wow, nothing at all for doom(2).exe... guess I'll play React anyway.

edit: it's pretty good stuff




The JDoom map does not use any port specific stuff. It's just the typical JDoom map: Plain Doom2 but much too dark. It's a shame mappers don't get more than the most basic stuff out of JDoom.

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heh





yer i spotted the 3d floor / room above room effect




i opened a cyc-b.wad thread in wads and mod so lump your constructive critisism in that if you'd all be so kind as it's still only my second map. and re: that texturing too


so will carnival... work on any port then?

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8thP!

Hm, now that zdoom doesnt seem to crash at the drop of a hat (in the next room) anymore i might try that cyberdemon army, the third level sounds very interesting, like a prolonged seige on your base that happens in waves..kind of like doom centipede heh

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readme.incoming says
|4. No demos or partially completed megawads. If you're not done with
it, it doesn't belong in an archive.

But that's ok, there's been like 30+ demos of wads on the archives so I don't even know why that rule is there.

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Epyo said:

But that's ok, there's been like 30+ demos of wads on the archives so I don't even know why that rule is there.

I guess it's there so people don't keep uploading their WADs each time they finish a new room.

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HOLY CRAP! I wasn't expecting a review like that at all! Thank you very much Ultimate Doomer! It's a darn good thing I did a massive reconstruct on MAP20's gameplay. The old camping in the middle structure does get boring fast, but now you have to use the other archtecture to hide and come out for mass destruction. I wish Grazza wasn't away so he can see what I've done to the map. You try deleting over 1000 map spots and putting a completly different order in. It takes awhile. I think I'll improve some more of the other maps for the full project. The problem with Map32's inside area is that it limits my space for detailing, but I hope I can get past that.

insertwackynamehere: Are you stuck just outside? Or are you having troubles with the security buildings? If you are stuck outside there should be a building with a skull switch in it on the far left hand side of town. It will open a door to the security building on the far right hand side of town.

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cyber-menace said:

I wish Grazza wasn't away so he can see what I've done to the map.

Actually, I'm just back. I haven't had time to play it yet, but I'm delighted to hear that what was already a very promising map in visual and conceptual terms now has gameplay to match.

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Epyo said:
But that's ok, there's been like 30+ demos of wads on the archives so I don't even know why that rule is there.

Hmm, just recently I was messing with the Hell Revealed episode 1 demo and the recordings that go with it...

It's true that the uploading of arbitrarily defined demos in development should probably be restricted somehow, but I doubt, for instance, that a full episode demo release wouldn't be quite welcome (such as the one for Hell Revealed that I just mentioned, the A Doom Odyssey 2001 episode, or whatever.)

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Huh. I submitted my wad on Friday. I wonder what happened to it?



...damnit! I wondered why it came out to be 0 bytes. Argh, now I have to wait ANOTHER week...

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Check out the REJECTS file to see if your WAD wasn't rejected for some reason.

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MAP20 of The Cyberdemon Army has awesome realistic architecture. And the whole thing plays like half-life or Quake II even tho DTCA is way better /me adds DTCA to list of projects to wait for in 2004 which already includes RTC-3057, Doom Rampage Edition, Deimos Anomaly Unleashed, etc.

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Haha, SR's wad didn't make it! :P
I tried telling him, but he didn't listen.

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Dron said:

MAP20 of The Cyberdemon Army has awesome realistic architecture. And the whole thing plays like half-life or Quake II even tho DTCA is way better /me adds DTCA to list of projects to wait for in 2004 which already includes RTC-3057, Doom Rampage Edition, Deimos Anomaly Unleashed, etc.


This is getting out of hand... this is the best mapping day of my life. Thank you very much...

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What happened to my submission? I uploaded it last Friday. I figured it was too late for last week's /newstuff and thought I'd see it reviewed this week.

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Bah, I'd just typed in a moderately lengthy response to Bloodshedder and DooMAD's posts, but the forum software in its wisdom decided to eat it.

In brief: I think this type of "IMO" is very useful, as it helps clarify the difference between matters that are purely of taste, and objective criticisms (e.g. technical errors) and comments based on the reviewer's judgement of how the community will tend to view something (e.g. whether most people will view something as good or bad mapping).

DooMAD: Yours was one of three wads that arrived in /newstuff around the cut-off point for #171. I didn't try to squeeze it in at the last minute though, since I was really pushed for time (I needed to get to the airport the next morning). Apologies for not making 100% sure UD was aware of those three wads.

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Graf Zahl said:

The JDoom map does not use any port specific stuff. It's just the typical JDoom map: Plain Doom2 but much too dark. It's a shame mappers don't get more than the most basic stuff out of JDoom.

It is my first wad and I tested it alot on jDoom and it seemed to stuff up on other ports like Legacy. I don't know how to do any jDoom effects or anything. Is it all scripting or something?

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boris said:

I guess it's there so people don't keep uploading their WADs each time they finish a new room.

Right. Which they used to do--totally silly one-incomplete-level "this is gonna be teh megawhat one day!!!11one" kinda stuff. So I put a rule in.

But stuff like a 3-level or 1-episode demo of something that's obviously going to happen one day (or a one-hub demo of something that's going to happen 4 years later, even <blush>) is fine. I would like it if when people upload the final one they'd mention to me what to delete since I sometimes don't have time* to do research.

* "don't have time"=="can't be arsed" in UKspeak :)

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Ty Halderman said:

* "don't have time"=="can't be arsed" in UKspeak :)

That particular usage is widespread.

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CyberArmy, nice maps with a little problem: Ammo.

cyber-menace, i would apriciate it if you could either decrease the monsters or hugely increase the ammo on the Reactormap. I was out of ammo getting to the health center with a baron in my back.
And i am not the thyson type with a baron ;)
"give ammo" did the trick for now, but i want to finish a map without cheating, so look after it.

And for the rooftop, THATS what i would call a cyberdemon ^.^
Nice, big target.
But for this level too, way to less ammo for the bossfight.
IMO you should script it so that the rest of the cybis dies when the big one is gone.

So Long, The Werelion!

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