Doom Core Delta (10th Anniversary Edition)

The updated Doom Core Delta has now found its way onto Idgames - https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/megawads/dcdelta

Also updated the Doom Core Trilogy with the new map arrangements, so that's also on Idgames if you'd like to go for the full ZDoom experience: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/dctrilogy

[EDIT] Oh right, and OpenRift made a dehacked patch for vanilla for those who would like to have it. Many thanks!: https://www.doomworld.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=125994

How is Core Trilogy suppose to be played regarding compatibility in gzdoom? Default, doom, doom-strict?

It should work fine under Default and Doom (strict), but with Doom the only issue I've noticed is with stair building on MAP09 which sometimes incorrectly stops at a certain height. The only other minor thing is Reverie's MAP18: Sleeping Spirits (MAP50 in this case) does not have a working ghost bug because of how ZDoom ports work.

Ok thanks, so you recommend default for best experience as intended? Do the bugs hinder progress in game in any way? And one more thing - my status bar is different in core episode than the one up there - it's dark gray with black and yellow stripes. I use GZDoom4.2.4a x64

I think either should be fine, honestly - it's up to what the player prefers. Of course if there happens to be any issues while playing do let me know - I'd be happy to try and fix them if it's doable.

That status bar is from Reverie - originally Doom Core had no status bar, and neither did Eternally Yours, so I stuck with the only new one from Reverie for the trilogy. It's just that I finally got around to making a new one for when I released Doom Core Delta.

It's time to begin!
 

The starting level turns out to be quite densely populated and dynamic. A considerable part of the monsters here are hitscanners so their extermination will not take much time away from us, there will be no problems with ammo either but minimal accuracy due to the fact that they can knock health out of us in large portions is still worth observing.

***

Not my favourite, to be honest. The general darkish lighting, the tedious and monotonous ambient on the background and the crate maze with teleports left not the best impression of the map as a whole.

***

I liked this map much more than the previous one, despite the fact that it seemed very confusing to me. It wasn't the first or even the second time that I realized how buttons on it work and even now I'm not sure that I managed to find the optimal route through it. And at the same time this map is bright and spacious, with fun and dynamic music in the background. All of this improves perception of it a lot!

In accordance with the name of the level, we will be locked in a confined space more than once without the opportunity to leave the formed arena for some time. And if the first time four revenants can be handled without problems, then the second time we will be surrounded on all sides by more than fifteen cacodemons. Fortunately, we have the ability to approach the key slightly from the side and prevent locking the area with the key. I don't know if it was originally conceived this way but in the end we have it.

Another respect for the gorgeous backdrops! They look so detailed and elaborated that you can make a separate map out of them! I love it when the author is so up to mapping and that's why I brought it to the preview of the video.

***

Due to the obvious excess of soulspheres and megaspheres on the map, it seemed to me one of the easiest in the megawad. It is very doubtful that you will have a significant need for absolutely all of them.

***

This map simply consists of four squares that require a certain order of study to advance through the level, despite the fact that they are all available to visit from the very beginning. It's hard to add anything else.

A short arena-like map which is structurally unlike Dead Simple. And this is good because recently references to it on the seventh slots of megawads have begun to come across more and more often.

By the way, I kept trying to guess which map (or which ones?) from Final Doom you were inspired... And I didn't have any ideas.

***

The number of monsters at this level is greater than at most of the previous ones but the strongest of them is hellknight - so it doesn't cause any special problems and you will not have to spend too much time on him. It is worth noting a pleasant moment in the level design: if you have a yellow key with you and find the last secret, you will not have to run far back to the yellow door through the poisonous slime which is a lot on the map according to its name.

***

Another map that I didn't really like. Firstly, in my opinion, the line between the simply annoying location of zombies and the obvious hitscanners hell has been crossed. Fighting them was no longer just uncomfortable but difficult. Especially when you go back and most of them were revived by archvile... Secondly, the player is forced to run to a certain point more than once in a short period of time almost by straferunning. Well, I don't like such moments!

I really should get back to playing through this one. I made a patch for the trilogy, and the one for Doom Core Delta restores the three cut maps from the original, either integrated into the campaign for a 35 map game, or split between the main 32 and an optional minisode.

Ive played through the start of the megawad multiple times; both this, the original Doom Core, and the supermegaultra combined edition, and alongside Valkiriforce's Pulse, which has further cut maps from Doom Core in it, ive generally had a lot of fun with his work, I just need to buckle down someday and not succumb to 'Megawad Fatigue'

@Devalaous I just inserted three maps cut from the original Doom Core into Doom Core Delta on slots MAP33, MAP34 and MAP35 and will public their playthrough after the main 32 levels of DCD. After all, they were in the original from the beginning and the playthrough of the 10th anniversary reprint will be incomplete without them.

56 minutes ago, Devalaous said:

and an optional minisode

So there is such a minisode called Rejects. It remains only to remove The Gutterway map from there and embed it in the patch.

In a sense, this map turned out to be even more confusing than Refueling Base which served as a source of inspiration for this map. You need to find not only three keys but also three buttons that cannot be pressed without them. They are almost all in different places so you will have to run around the map and even make circles on it a lot. However, I just like to unravel such this and this level will definitely take a place in my top of the best in this megawad!

***

Fortunately, the equipment here is quite enough even to survive an almost simultaneous attack by three cyberdemons and after that the map doesn't cause any problems at all. I was only strained by a room with descending pillars and chaingunners on them: firstly, the simultaneous attack of them from different sides is pretty annoying and it is unlikely that I will ever like it and secondly, some pillars are lowered in a less obvious way than others so it becomes problematic to achieve 100% statistics.

***

In short, this map is the original The Factory which is modified to a much better state: there is no painful reference to the gradually raising bridge from original E2M2, no stupid dark angular room from which you can easily get a bullet or other similar unpleasant moments.

The monitors with the question "Are you saved?" which I saw on MAP10, MAP12 and probably somewhere else are a little touching. It will be necessary to somehow calculate how many such warnings there will be for the entire megawad for fun :))

This map gave me an ambivalent impression. On the one hand, the monotony of the design and the density of the population slightly tired me and did not give me pleasure either the first or the second time and even more so in the following. On the other hand, based on the information in the text file, the author has implemented his original idea in full for which I cannot but give him credit!

***

I generally like maps with puzzles and this one is definitely no exception. As far as I remember, a similar puzzle will be implemented on MAP08 of Reverie - and Jim Flynn's levels will again be indicated as a source of inspiration. @valkiriforce, can you specify which him levels are you talking about? I must admit that I am not very immersed in his work...

***

"Just a miniature wood level hovering over a sea of toxic waste." - there's almost nothing more to say. Unless only that this map serves as a competent and timely respite between the previous two and the next three maps all of which are larger than average in size.

The first secret level is quite difficult to navigate on it, since it is quite non-linear and the effect of pressing some buttons is extremely unobvious. An undoubted plus for me was a lot of of references to the original parts of the games, both on wall screens and inscribed in the very structure of the map. But the dangerously large and often annoying number of hitscanners who cause player anxiety from the very beginning of the level is a minus for me. However, the choice of the fantastic soundtrack "Legion of the Lost" from TNT as an accompaniment finally tilts the scales towards sympathy!

***

Excellent semi-slaughter map in a "tech base" style with both a discouraging and dynamic start which sets the tone for all the following events. A huge excess of ammunition, armor and various spheres unleash and allow you to destroy even 400+ monsters without any regard for reliability and your own health.

A huge city map with very detailed houses and such a dense population that at first it is difficult even to leave the starting point. It is not recommended to run fast here for two reasons: firstly, visiting not all houses from the very beginning is useful to pass the level and secondly, doing this is harmful to health on any map with a population of 450+ monsters in general. This map personally seems to me the hardest among all the 32 in the megawad and at the same time one of the best in it. In the imaginary top of the best city maps that I have ever passed this one would definitely be in the top five.

***

Another very short and relaxing level (along with MAP15) which can be called a very timely break after previous long trials. The map is made in a very pleasing to the eye bright blue color and is so easy that the most difficult moment on it I can only call a timely jump from the rising bars to the box. We will have to do this on the way to the yellow key.

***

Not a bad dynamic and rather short level, which seems longer due to the fact that we have to run from one end to the other several times. Resistance due to the abundance of narrow corridors and cramped rooms will also seem fiercer than it really is. As far as I understood, according to the original plan this level was supposed to be one with the next two. Well, it will be interesting to find out where the monsters guarded the path so diligently...

The largest and most densely populated level in the megawad. This stronghold is so big that it can afford to be not too confusing to the player - it is still absolutely impossible to pass quickly... If the fact that this stronghold was built almost without an initial plan and anticipation then @valkiriforce definitely deserves applause! It's hard to say that the map turned out to be very rich in details but it seems very solid and is really perceived as a fortress that we are clearing from monsters step by step.

***

We have not yet left the fortress which we reached on the last map but only climbed to its second floor. It is much smaller and, in fact, only the battles with cyberdemon and the spider mastermind are interesting here. We have a choice: kill them one by one as soon as we get them or suffer a little adversity associated with cyber's rockets flying past us and open the blue door - then we will have the opportunity to make them infight with each other.

***

Creating of this level was inspired by two maps from TNT - MAP11 and MAP32. From the second there are several separate wooden houses standing on the water and from the first one of these houses is filled with boxes in such a way that we will have to squeeze between them, climb up and down from them and even pass through doorways in a certain way so that one of them descends. But unlike both of them, this level feels much more calm and serene. There are no really healthy and dangerous monsters here and those that exist do not arrange for us sneaky traps like attacking from behind or locking in a cramped room with subsequent shooting from all sides. I think "Suspense" which is one of my favourite tracks in first Doom also works for this atmosphere.

A short map in the hellish style (perhaps the only purely "hellish" map in the megawad) with easily guessed sources of inspiration: MAP29 from Doom II, MAP24 & MAP27 from Plutonia, MAP24 from Memento Mori and other similar levels. Why there is no cyberdemon on this map, although it usually appears at such levels? I've been particularly interested in this question ever since I found out that it WAS in the original Doom Core at MAP22!

***

A pure slaughter map on which the search for all three color keys for the gradual opening of all the doors at the fork will be accompanied by a heavy and bloody battle with a horde of monsters which due to the constantly arriving new fighters will be reduced extremely reluctantly. I'm not a fan of this kind of levels at all so the only moment when I experienced at least some positive emotions was the exit from this Nexus.

By the way, while I was going through this map, there was a strong smell of Memento Mori in the air again...

***

Even though this map is objectively large, densely populated and it's impossible to pass it quickly, I still spent a lot of time on it even by my standards. In particular, I spent a decent amount of time trying to arrange the most massive infight for the entire megawad at the very end of the level. But I don't regret it at all ;)

The first of the three maps which was made specifically for Trilogy version and was not appear in the original Doom Core. That seems to be the usual techbase but not all the textures that I see here are used very often, so from a visual point of view the map was more likely to surprise me than not. The map requires increased accuracy due to the very large concentration of monsters at the end as well as due to the fact that this is one of the few maps in the entire megawad where it is impossible to find a new megaarmor instead of the one you have worn down in constant battles.

***

The second of the three maps which was made specifically for Trilogy version and was not appear in the original Doom Core. The map seemed a little boring to me because of the monotonous brown color scheme and semi-dark lighting. Although I can still note a few interesting points like a cage with four archvile or a couple of non-trivially hidden secrets.

***

This map was also not in Doom Core but it can't be called absolute new. The first half of it (on which 171 monsters out of 277 live) was conceived for the original megawad but in the end it was not inserted there and now it can only be found like MAP13 in Pulse. And the second half is the MAP28: Unknown left almost unchanged from Doom Core. All this was done in order to free up another slot for another new map.

However, even before I read all this in a text file, this map already seemed to me like a gluing of two different parts. The first one is extremely straightforward and simply overflowing with obvious secrets and it can be passed without looking behind player's back at all. The second one is more complicated in structure, there are much fewer monsters and secrets on it and it is associated with the search for all three keys. Both parts do not intersect with each other in any way at all and there is no need to go back, even the smallest one.

And the last three maps:
 

The fact that the source of inspiration for this map was MAP28: The Sewers from Plutonia can be seen absolutely everywhere. So its location on the 28th slot (in the original Doom Core it occupied the 29th) looks absolutely appropriate.

***

Another big sewer map but which this time was not in Doom Core. Although it has almost nothing in common with the last one: metal textures are mainly used in its design, instead of brown slime, bright green splashes under our feet and in general, it feels bigger, larger and there are semi-slaughter moments on it more than once. As the penultimate test, this map looks much more appropriate than the previous one - and this is another reason why I like the set and arrangement of maps in the Delta version more than in the 2011 version.

***

I can't stand IoS in general and such a small map as last gives the impression of a crumpled ending, so I won't dwell on it for a long time. However, I will note that this is the first map in my memory that is played at the Ultra-Violence difficulty in one way and in a completely different way at lower difficulty levels! I've never seen anything like this before...

Formally, the megawad is completed but it's too early to sum up and go looking for a new one. There are still three maps that were originally intended for Reverie, became fillers in the original Doom Core and were thrown out of Doom Core Delta! In my opinion, this is quite unfair and they also deserve attention...

***

***

This megawad is the purest classic which can be updated as much as 10 years after its release and which will not become obsolete after another 10 years! Thank you very much, @valkiriforce, for the great pleasure! The next megawad will be Reverie, but again I do not undertake to designate the dates...

And now some personal impressions:

1) Top of the best maps:

- Map10: Artillery Base

- Map12: The Old Abandoned Mill

- Map14: Magnum Opus

- Map15: Toxic Wastelands

- Map16: Fistful of Lead

- Map17: Spire of a Dove

- Map26: Cages Apart

- Map32: Like a Fist

2) Top of the least liked maps: 

- Map09: The Foxtrot

- Map13: Subterranean Suburbs

- Map23: Nexus

- Map30: Frontiers

3) Top of the best soundtracks:

- Map03: "Not for Peace" (Cybernator)
- Map10: metal remix of the Las Vegas Theme (Top Gear)

- Map21: "Suspense" (The Ultimate Doom)

- Map28: "The Sewers" by @stewboy

- Map29: "Gut Wrencher" (Duke Nukem 3D)

- Map31: "Legion of the Lost" (Final Doom: TNT Evilution)

The appearance and number of different kinds of monsters at the Ultra-Violence difficulty. I have combined the secret and cut-out maps from Doom Core in one column.

Of the interesting things here are a couple of points: imps occupy not the first or even the second place in terms of the number of representatives in the megawad and @valkiriforce really does not like lost souls who do not depend on the pain elementals. But why? ;)) The answer to this question is also interesting for the reason that such a small number of lost souls is observed both in Reverie and in Anomaly Report.

All these posts got me to resume the painful work of patching Valk's Doom Core Trilogy, the combination of Doom Core Delta, Reverie and Eternally Yours (with a bonus Terrace View stapled onto the end). Its not easy getting 77 maps all defined in multiple xINFOs. I'd already done the seperate wads, so why not the combined version? Now it will work with Eternity and DSDA/Woof, once im finished anyway.

2 hours ago, Devalaous said:

All these posts got me to resume the painful work of patching Valk's Doom Core Trilogy, the combination of Doom Core Delta, Reverie and Eternally Yours (with a bonus Terrace View stapled onto the end). Its not easy getting 77 maps all defined in multiple xINFOs. I'd already done the seperate wads, so why not the combined version? Now it will work with Eternity and DSDA/Woof, once im finished anyway.

I got both the trilogy for GZ and the separate wads for DSDA, having applied your QoL patches to the latter. That being said, I would very much like to see if it's possible to have a seamless, full experience in DSDA, so I'm looking forward to your trilogy patch!

23 minutes ago, DreadWanderer said:

 

I got both the trilogy for GZ and the separate wads for DSDA, having applied your QoL patches to the latter. That being said, I would very much like to see if it's possible to have a seamless, full experience in DSDA, so I'm looking forward to your trilogy patch!

UMAPINFO doesn't have all the fields necessary to have it *exactly* like Valk intended, the intermission music will be Reverie's for all three episodes (Who thought 'InterMusic' should be for text screens? That should have been 'InterTextMusic'!) and only the Doom Core Delta episode will have a castcall I believe. But it SHOULD be possible to have all 77 maps across three episodes (Plus Stormfall, Anastas' Pledge and Military Strength added as Map 78 to 80, I have them accessed after Like a Fist). I was originally going to have an EMAPINFO too, but its mostly redundant with devbuilds of Eternity reading UMAPINFO, and I wasn't going to define 80 maps with all the fields *again*. I also fixed the MAPINFO to correctly show the names of the new levels (The Doom Core Delta section still had a few leftovers from Doom Core, causing automap/CWILV mismatches), created episode graphics so that GZDoom and DSDA/Woof doesn't generate ugly graphics on the fly anymore, and replaced most of the Eternally Yours CWILV graphics to reflect Valk's renaming of many of them in that release.

7 hours ago, Devalaous said:

Plus Stormfall, Anastas' Pledge and Military Strength added as Map 78 to 80, I have them accessed after Like a Fist

I partially agree. It would be more rational to really put the cut levels on slots from the 78th to the 80th but getting on them after Like a Fist is somehow not very logical, in my opinion. It would be better to do this: we get to the Stormfall map after the 25th, on Anastas' Pledge - after the 26th, on Military Strength - after the 27th (in short, 25-78-26-79-27-80-28). So the player will be able to immediately compare both levels: first the newer one, then the older one cut out of Delta.

Way ahead of you there; thats literally what it is set up as in my patch for this Megawad, I didn't want to do it a second time. This time, you go through all the bullshit of Like a Fist and your reward is basically three more Valkiriforce levels. I quite like Stormfall and Anastas' Pledge, so im definitely not going without them! I just wish the other Doom Core levels from Pulse were named, then I could just make a full episode of the cut DC levels.

I really enjoy Valkiriforce's work, it hits the classic-style itch like few other mappers do these days, was happy to port this to the Unity port, and to make patches for this and its siblings.

(The patch for the trilogy is working perfectly for Woof and Eternity btw, but not for DSDA and PrBoom Plus. Seems the latter have some kind of issue with high map numbers or something, the story texts stop working after Eternally Your's first one, and completing Terrace view on those ports goes to Stormfall for some reason. The syntax in the UMAPINFO is correct, so its the port itself..)

19 hours ago, Devalaous said:

All these posts got me to resume the painful work of patching Valk's Doom Core Trilogy, the combination of Doom Core Delta, Reverie and Eternally Yours (with a bonus Terrace View stapled onto the end). Its not easy getting 77 maps all defined in multiple xINFOs. I'd already done the seperate wads, so why not the combined version? Now it will work with Eternity and DSDA/Woof, once im finished anyway.

Wow, that would actually be amazing to have available once you're finished - it'd be nice for the trilogy not to be stuck under the ZDoom tree. I know I left some mistakes in the trilogy release I've been meaning to patch for a while (namely the map titles) but if there was anything else amiss I'd be happy to address it.

I admit, I had to replace MAP01's track ("Turbo Tunnel Race Theme" from BattleToads); the fact that it would not loop properly got on my nerves. I used Bobby Prince's "Facing The Spider" instead, which might not be as upbeat, but still feels appropriate given the map's flow.

Given the issues surrounding MAP01's music (and my own failed attempts at getting the track to loop properly, besides being insanely loud) I wonder if DCDelta and Eternally Yours would be good candidates for a midi project?