Cereal Killer (21 maps complete) Looking for community input!

[kuchitsu]

How do you make levels so fast? You've just released a megawad recently... I wonder what your mapping process is like.

[Crunchynut44]

kuchitsu said:

How do you make levels so fast? You've just released a megawad recently... I wonder what your mapping process is like.

I'm an insomniac, I map at early hours in the morning because I can never sleep. In a general sense though I map as quick as possible without testing or keeping things neat, so it only actually takes me between 1-3 hours to finish a map. If I don't do this I lose interest, and just delete what I have.

That took me about 5 years to be fair though.

[wallabra]

I do like a map every 3 or so hours, but then I take the time to improve it.

In this case I'd like to push my map to MAP33 and continue work on it. Later you can rename to the last slot remaining. It'll be a small redesign, but the biggest difference will be the ton of decoration I'll add to it :)

Also, I probably forgot to upload, because this is where it is in my copy:
[img]

[/img]

[baja blast rd.]

(Wad is in the main set now.)

Here's the wad I've been working on.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/c4u3pp842uro1zl/WIP_rdwpa_cnp.wad

The main CK resources (sky, palette, etc.) are in the wad, so all it needs is CC4-Tex (seems like CC4-Tex should also be loaded first). I also have a placeholder midi file so that we don't have to listen to "Running From Evil"; I'll be working on the track this week. Difficulty settings aren't there yet.

Screenshot:

Spoiler

[Crunchynut44]

Updated the OP with new maps 4 - 6. Massive thankyou to rdwpa for the awesome map!

[40oz]

Hey I saw the last screen on the OP and was inspired by that symmetrical gothic church stuff with the wood beams. I speedmapped this sloppy layout in like 20 minutes while I was at work (start is on the east, exit is on the west), but I'll have to come back to it later while I'm at home to finish it. I suspect this map ought to be pretty short but I'll try and reuse areas the best I can to extend the gameplay.

I have some other mapping projects on my plate at the moment that have priority so I might need like two weeks or so before this map is finished. Hope that's okay. If not I might use it for a different project.

[wallabra]

So... I decided the design of my previous map was crap and didn't let me to introduce another due to the crampiness, so I had to begin a new one from scratch, but what do I do now? I need to think of a good design...

I'll use a 4 hour stopwatch once I start my mapping... :) Then I can show the results in Dropbox (and maybe in video if you want me to record my long mapping, though the upload time will be probably like 1 hour and 20 minutes itself, given my Internet upload speed...).

If only there were a GZDoom Builder demo recorder... :(

EDIT: MAP DONE!!!!!!!! VAULT OF DEATH IS CCOMPLETED! :DDDDDDD Try to find some way into the Super BFG + BackPack Secret! (joke, it isn't very OP, but it's also hard to find ;) )

[Crunchynut44]

40oz said:

Hey I saw the last screen on the OP and was inspired by that symmetrical gothic church stuff with the wood beams. I speedmapped this sloppy layout in like 20 minutes while I was at work (start is on the east, exit is on the west), but I'll have to come back to it later while I'm at home to finish it. I suspect this map ought to be pretty short but I'll try and reuse areas the best I can to extend the gameplay.

I have some other mapping projects on my plate at the moment that have priority so I might need like two weeks or so before this map is finished. Hope that's okay. If not I might use it for a different project.

There is absolutely no rush :) This is just a slow building megawad that has no time restrictions, happens when it happens.

As for length don't worry too much, short punchy maps are all i'm looking for.

@Gustavo6046: Im confused are there new textures involved? I seem to have a lot of missing textures (outside the CC4 pack) missing.

[Fonze]

Alright, had a chance to play this; great stuff!

MAP01:
Very pretty map; I noticed the PLAYPAL and COLORMAP differences immediately. Very pretty greens. Great architecture here, too. As for the gameplay, I gotta say that the turret-HK was kinda a waste, as he really didn't shoot much with his small platform, save when I shot him, of course. I played this directly after playing one of rdwpa's map sets, so I was on high alert for traps and generally fled like a baby at first signs of trouble, or at least established a way out right away and trended in that direction. This map was really easy, though, with most encounters likely being easily skipped, though I didn't attempt to. Of course as a MAP01 to a megawad it should be pretty easy, and of course the monster count reflected what you'd expect from a megawad MAP01. Also, apparently the player can activate the PE before setting of the PG's trap, which led me to an interesting "Oh God I fucked up" situation. Still, fun use of the plasma rifle in this map and the fights were fun. The AV by the end needs to be tweaked. Slime trail seen from entrance door above the ceiling architecture near the PG. Shown in demo.

MAP02:
Beautiful natural landscape made even better by the vibrant greens. A bit tougher than the previous map, so difficulty was right on point. I liked the placement of the arachnotron which was up high and directly across the final big room from the YK. The PG appears to be becoming a common thing at this point, and quite frankly I like it. The revs surprised me at the end, since I got lucky and got the previous manc to fight the HK that was there. The manc killed the HK and I wound up stuck between the revs and him, so I fled, likely flailing my arms like a muppet. The caco in the end was okay, better than the AV, but certainly expected. Good monster set for both of these maps so far.

MAP03:
Another AV in the exit; let the art breathe! Still, I liked this map. Some really strange choices in monster placement here; like the baron. Why was he even there but to either soak up plasma or be led over to the manc for infighting? Also, the BK grab, one turret-rev? That was more inconsequential than the hallway leading to it where a rev rises from the floor. That said, I loved the YK grab. I expected it to be much easier than it was, so I left 2 HKs alive down below. I also heard what I thought was teleporting behind me (I was facing the window) but didn't see anything so I concentrated on the rev for a sec, but long enough for 2 cacos and a PE to surprise me, heh. That was a fun fight. Of course easily cheesed, as with all of these last three maps, but fun nonetheless. The difficulty level across maps seems to be fairly constantly moving slightly up, so progression on that feels very well-done.

MAP04:
Died a few times on this map before I realized I'd have to stop screwing around. Pretty map, fun fights. The shotgunners and arachnotrons had my name, it seemed, lol. But another map where fights were easily cheesed. Then again I suppose if you're (random player) gonna cheese fights and half-ass your way through everything, then it sounds like you're not having fun, so play something else, right? Still, I like that the difficulty is growing at a steady rate. I just hope that maps from other contributors do not skew your balancing across maps. There was a monster-blocking line at the entrance to the little cave/building thing by the exit door that should be removed. Also, somehow I missed that the SSG was not a secret... don't ask how ;p One last thing to note; the exit room encounter of this was far better than any of the previous maps, save a caco behind MB lines, which I understand was to block the exit, but was still kinda weird.

MAP05:
Exit could have used more monsters, but I loved the beginning, the RK grab, and the BK grab. I didn't like the use of MB lines on the CG's going towards the switch to lower the YK, but I did like the rest. The 3 caco+HK trap was pretty nice as well. Of course very nice-looking map and the difficulty curve fit well.

MAP06:
Didn't finish in the FDA; ran out of time for this and got a little upset at my last death. Whatever; stupid mistakes. Died a lot on this map anyway, like most rdwpa maps. This map fit in really well aesthetically, but really did not fit into the map06 slot at all. Would be a great map if moved later in the megawad, of course after more are added. I had a lot of fun on this map, despite my frustration at my own playing; the beginning encounter was fun, as were the other ones I played. I found two secrets here and I thought that both of them were cool. Wasn't a fan of the lowering platform with the medikit on it, but that was due to it being more sadistic than annoying, lol. Looking at it objectively it was a cool, sneaky thing to add to the map. The RK grab seemed best handled at the offset, running straight for it, running straight out by way of the PG, then running over to the berserk pack secret. Of course that led to the problem of what to do about the AV when you have to run across the map, but my first attempt at doing so an SR-50 took me over to safety fairly well, if by the skin of my teeth. I liked the RL grab, that type of tuff is always fun, and the use of the terrain and snipers-giving-each-other-cover worked out very well for this map. Most felt like they were covered from another, forcing the player to handle them in a different order than they may have liked. Cool stuff, rdwpa!



And one super-long FDA for you, sir: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ge1j39kdyznpcpc/CerealUVFonze.lmp?dl=0



All-in-all, this map set is turning out to be a blast and I really look forward to its expansion into a megawad! Keep up the awesome work CrispyNuttyCrunch!

[Crunchynut44]

Thanks so much for playing everything so far, and you seemed to really enjoy the levels and that's great! The WAD so far is in a huge need of balancing and fine-tuning, but this is something ill fix at the end. Such as rdwpa's map slot and the gameplay issues with my maps, I also have a small addition to the bestiary coming that changes the monsters such as the Baron, which is why it has a place holder in 03. I also have no intentions of leaving the AV's as they are at the end levels, again they are kind of just place holders until the WAD is more complete.

You're not the first person who thought the SS on 04 was a secret, ill have to fix that haha.

Thanks for all the advice, it has been noted and ill take everything into account later on.

Watching the FDA now :D

[Crunchynut44]

Map 07 is done :D (God damn I love those hanging vine textures).

Screenshots:

Spoiler

[scifista42]

Crunchynut44 said:

http://i.imgur.com/il5UMUi.png

A metallic ceiling overhand with sudden green vines hanging from it AND an antigravity lava pool not only makes little sense logically, but aesthetically too, I'd say.

[Crunchynut44]

scifista42 said:

A metallic ceiling overhand with sudden green vines hanging from it AND an antigravity lava pool not only makes little sense logically, but aesthetically too, I'd say.

I've gone the route of dear old Sandy Peterson where if it looks cool, do it :D

[wallabra]

Omigod I used gothmash.wad by accident as well! I wanted some gothic textures... I will replace once I get better from my ache.

EDIT: What did you think of this new graphic for your mod? :)


I made it myself and rendered it via Blender. Credits to the font, which I borrowed from a cellular life simulation prototype named Thrive. :)

Also, I've replaced all of the GothDM textures! Download updated. :)

Layout:


Can use of a expansion to verticality, but I have no idea yet :/
Maybe there are bars that are halfway up in the entrance to the final East Area? This way, there are two routes:

• Jump over them using a teleporter to a ledge;
  
• Lower the bars using a switch somewhere else before continuing.
  

Also, some few secondary areas (just for action or exploration/goodies purpose) would still fit in this bare layout :)

EDIT 2: As promised, this update gives some more verticality and gameplay time to the map! :)

New layout:


Screenshots:

Spoiler

I can add more details (somehow) later, if you want, but I don't think I will be able of thinking in some way of populating so many areas with them details. :/

Also, I can make the custom Baron monster in DeHackEd or DECORATE. I only need to know which to choose; actually, if you choose DECORATE, I already have one actually! Without more sprites! :D However, it can sometimes magically throw barrels, so be warned... Also, the filename says it's tailed, but unfortunately not :'(

[Impboy4]

Gustavo, your map doesn't come close to crunchy's community rule:

If you wan't to submit a map/s feel free, so long as they meet the same standard as my maps...

I suggest you go back to the drawing board and try harder.

[wallabra]

Impboy4 said:

Gustavo, your map doesn't come close to crunchy's community rule:

I suggest you go back to the drawing board and try harder.

I did meet the standard, I made the map fun, it can be put in another slot, and I will-- oh I forgot to compose a music for it! Anyways, I will surely make a music for it. But it have a small touh of verticality, and I might make it more detailed soon.

EDIT: MIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDI!!!

Now on to detailing my map! :D

If you reject my MIDI, then... I don't know, maybe you compose one yourself? :P

EDIT II: Well, I updated the map with lots of fixes :) Won't update in a while to give time for the playtesters. I will add details, but only if no one's gonna playtest this, otherwise I'll only add details tomorrow!

[Scotty]

I had a go at the 6 map demo earlier and really enjoyed it (although i didn't finish map 6... slaughter maps aren't my thing), so i'd like to submit a map (when it's done). Those first 5 maps were right up my alley though, awesome stuff, and i feel inspired to take a break from my Nova III map for a while.

It'll be some sort of little tech base jaunt. Fairly short and based around 1 main area, with the goal of keeping it under 60 enemies. That should keep it fitting with the other maps made so far, i hope. Gonna try and finish it in under 15 hours... spent about 3 so far and here's some sort of gratuitous crappy preview image.



PS - regarding midi's, must it be a whole new composition or just non "original Doom" music? I swear map 5 in the demo is from Donkey Kong Country.

PPS - the splash screen is hilarious.

[Killer5]

Hello. I had a lot of fun playing your maps.

I would suggest removing monster block lines however. It really ended up just preventing the monsters from attacking me while I stood still spamming my shotgun until the monsters were dead.

[baja blast rd.]

FDA for map05, recorded a couple days ago: http://www.mediafire.com/download/a03c0i0agliu4do/ck1-6_map05_rdwpa_fda.lmp. Haven't checked if map04's FDA stays in sync.

Got a bit sloppy with the mancs and AVs (favorite parts). Like Fonze, I was expecting quite a bit more at the exit.

Liking map07, especially the lighting and "illogical" vines and stuff.

scotty said:

(although i didn't finish map 6... slaughter maps aren't my thing)

This characterization surprises me. Monster density and composition is on par with many midgame Valiant maps that no one would call slaughtermaps. Even the fights with 20+ monsters have a lot of very low-tier monsters. You can run around and set everything loose at once, but that's possible in many open maps like this, even in iwad-type stuff.

Anyway, here's a demo that avoids all secrets (and messes up the last part of the AV section ;) -- I'll probably nerf this a bit for a different reason, that being that if you try to handle it while standing just outside the exit area, one particular warp-in can be a bit unfair): http://www.mediafire.com/download/1gddody6xbjz5y3/cknt06_rdwpa_demo.lmp

[Scotty]

rdwpa said:

This characterization surprises me. Monster density and composition is on par with many midgame Valiant maps that no one would call slaughtermaps. Even the fights with 20+ monsters have a lot of very low-tier monsters. You can run around and set everything loose at once, but that's possible in many open maps like this, even in iwad-type stuff.

Hey rdwpa, i didn't mean any offence there (or whatever), it's just my blanket term for maps that throw a whole load of stuff at you at once, and i sure got my ass kicked on trying your map. I have to be in the mood for that, hah! I'll definitely give it another go at some point though.

[Crunchynut44]

@Gustavo: Played your map, and thoroughly enjoyed more than your first entry. Though I am going to have to reject it as it just doesn't fit the current map set. Don't be discredited though as it isn't a bad map, visually I would work on things like trims and indentation (for example the sludge waterfall) to make things more organic and realistic. As well as proper shading and light variations. Gameplay wise everything was fine other than the traps involving 64-unit hallways and Barons. Probably too much ammo but that's not a big deal.

The MIDI also was quite good, very complex in nature and somewhat embellished the mood well. I liked it.

Scotty: Looks pretty cool man, looking forward to playing it! As long as the MIDI is a new MIDI made by you, it can be a remix, redux, remake or whatever of an existing MIDI but it has to be somewhat original and unique to this project. The reason for this is because I also want to release a MIDI pack alongside the mapset when it's finished :)


I would agree with rwpda that it is by no means a slaughter map (only 150 monsters), it's the open space and enemy placement that makes it a challenge, However far from being grindy or slaughter in any way. Once you clear out the stragglers at the start the map becomes much more relaxed, with plenty of cover and places to hide for the the traps.

[Crunchynut44]

I updated the OP with Map 07 and whole bunch of gameplay updates with my maps. Some notable ones being the PG trap on 04 as well as turning the SSG around so the stairs are visible immediately, and a whole bunch of removed MB lines. Other maps have been updated as well.

This will be the last map addition until I have reached the next milestone map (so map 11), 07 is a good place to leave it as it is a boss map. I hope you like it!

[baja blast rd.]

http://www.mediafire.com/download/966mmy68lrlf2u6/cknt1-7_07_rdwpa_fda.lmp

Favorite one yet, despite the simplicity. I made this more complicated by choosing to save plasma in the very first encounter -- second is the sort that does work better as a "selective path-clearing spam" encounter.

It's a Dead Simple sort of arena, but the mancs and arachnotrons are quite far from being the focus, which is a plus.

1) All on-the-ground teleport destinations should probably be marked with a pad or something. Would look better.

2) Forced weapon switches might be annoying. SG and CG would be better off handed out before the fights start.

[baja blast rd.]

Another playthrough, since it's short enough for that.

http://www.mediafire.com/download/4rwl944b3w9y51f/cknt1-7_07_rdwpa_demo.lmp

The secret won't register if the player approaches the teleporter at the narrowest point, due to how small the sector is there.

[Crunchynut44]

Damn masochist making my boss map look like a trivial walk in the park haha XD Noted, will fix that ASAP.


A question to everybody, what do you think of the custom elements so far? MIDIs, colour palette, titles...

[wallabra]

Thank you for comprehending. May I do a very beautiful boss map you can use later, reusing the MIDI I just made?

[Scotty]

Gamma Control

Beta version - possibly incomplete, probably some bugs (i know there are one or two misaligned textures). I thought only 41 monsters was too little and it seemed a touch barren, but then i tested the map and thought it was actually a nice challenge despite this, so decided to share this early version anyway to try and get new perspectives and opinions on it. Midi is a placeholder for now. Please enjoy.

Couple of screens:

Spoiler

http://www.mediafire.com/download/dz33myk8j4kqca3/Cereal+-+Gamma+Control.wad

[baja blast rd.]

#1 thing that would help a lot aesthetically is a lot more lighting contrast.

Opening the map in GZDB confirmed what I felt in game:

http://i.imgur.com/Hg8g8vD.png

Everything is 160, with a few bits going down to 128 and up to 192.

The sparseness could work with more atmospheric music and with a darker outdoors (128) contrasted with areas of 176-192.

The archvile should warp to the ground or something -- it basically immediately starts infighting with the arachnotrons, and wouldn't be so threatening up there even if it didn't.

scotty said:

Hey rdwpa, i didn't mean any offence there (or whatever), it's just my blanket term for maps that throw a whole load of stuff at you at once, and i sure got my ass kicked on trying your map. I have to be in the mood for that, hah! I'll definitely give it another go at some point though.

No offense taken. (I set out to make something challenging but quite light, at least before the ending. I think I tend to underestimate the difficulty of my maps sometimes. :D)

[Crunchynut44]

scotty said:

Gamma Control

Beta version - possibly incomplete, probably some bugs (i know there are one or two misaligned textures). I thought only 41 monsters was too little and it seemed a touch barren, but then i tested the map and thought it was actually a nice challenge despite this, so decided to share this early version anyway to try and get new perspectives and opinions on it. Midi is a placeholder for now. Please enjoy.

Couple of screens:

Spoiler

http://i.imgur.com/jGn9DmC.png
http://i.imgur.com/bMLgmny.png
http://i.imgur.com/YEJPeVl.png
http://i.imgur.com/TzogKN7.png

http://www.mediafire.com/download/dz33myk8j4kqca3/Cereal+-+Gamma+Control.wad

Really liked it man, it's extremely eye-pleasing and fits the play style of the WAD perfectly. Will make a really suitable map 08 too!

[wallabra]

I had a hard decision today, and I decided I would have to do my own mapset with the maps refused so far, and maybe, a CP based on it(?). Also I will make it public once I have first 4 or 5 maps done.

I see you around :)