Elementalism, an ambitious new GZDoom mapset. Phase 1 out now!

[R13]

awww yisss

[hakros]

3 minutes ago, Bauul said:

I am unbelievably excited to announce that Phase 1 has been released!  Check the OP for details!  I hope everyone enjoys it, it was a blast to make!

 

Thanks so much.

An Awesome work, congratulations for the release !!

[TJG1289]

Congrats on the release! This is probably the most excited I've been for a WAD in a long time! Can't wait to play it once I finish up 3 Heures D'Agonie 3. It looks absolutely incredible. 

[Cammy]

Congratulations to @Bauul and the whole Elementalism team! You guys deserve all the praise you can get and more for the stunning work you've put in, so pat yourselves on the back for a job well done. I'm stoked to give it a shot!

[Major Arlene]

Now that this is out I'd like to share my certifiably dumbest moment as a playtester as I had first tested W4 on software mode. Don't do that lmao

[katarn11]

Woke up today with a Calendar reminder set for this - So excited to try this out tonight!!!!!!

[R13]

Oh this is good. Unreal vibes right from the first map. Godlike soundtrack, hope to see it hit bandcamp. My CPU is crying trying to run new gzdoom, but I don't care. Well worth the wait.

[Pegleg]

On 3/1/2022 at 7:56 PM, Bauul said:

 

The mapset was designed with freelook in mind.  It's probably possible to play through it without (I don't think there are any situations that absolutely require freelook), but the fights are all designed with the player being able to freely choose their own target.  So I'd say it's highly recommended.

 

@Captain Keen

 

During playtesting, I played through W1-W4, F1, and a bit of E4 without freelook. I think it is definitely possible to play through the set without freelook if you don't want it on. That being said, I'm sure it does enhance the experience (if for no other reason than being to appreciate the visuals) with freelook on.

[philcul]

Maybe a stupid question, but is jumping allowed/necessary?

 

Looks great so far!

[TJG1289]

5 minutes ago, AdNauseam said:

Maybe a stupid question, but is jumping allowed/necessary?

 

Looks great so far!

From the first page:

On 3/28/2018 at 3:12 PM, Bauul said:

What gameplay settings should I use?

Jump and Crouch are required.  Freelook is optional, but heavily recommended.  All the necessary comp-settings are set in the ZMAPINFO so you shouldn’t have to worry about them.  However, if you find you are encountering odd behavior, please ensure your comp settings are set to Default.

 

[Thelokk]

Running through this one at the moment, the visuals are astounding, and the gameplay is surprisingly (GZ)Doom-like. The 'original' graphics (ie Doomguy's hands, weapons, monster sprites etc) look a bit out of touch considering the smorgasbord of environmental prettiness, but that's nitpicking.

Gameplay-wise I'm getting some strong BTSX vibes.

The story is so far generic and incosenquential, and I imagine it is meant to be. Not a huge flaw bth, considering the genre. 

Edited March 5, 2022 by Thelokk

[philcul]

1 minute ago, TJG1289 said:

From the first page:

 

Thank you, don't know how I missed that...

[Terminus]

Huge congratulations on the release, team!

I've had a blast playtesting this project and I can't wait to try this again at the final release.

This is hands down one of the best Doom wads out there, you guys are in for one incredible treat!

[Not Jabba]

Congrats! I know a ton of work has gone into this.

[Btyb88]

There goes all my free time!

[dististik]

Congrats on the release! Excited to have some new cool GZDoom maps to try out!

[philcul]

I can't believe how much fun I'm having with the enhanced shotgun. It feels so great to use!

And the maps are fantastic, like a great adventure. I found a secret by swimming in the water than opening a hidden wall and picked up goodies at the bottom of small lake! That feels so adventurous, like one of the 3D-games I played as a kid. The environments are so lively and detailed but it still feels like classic Doom. I don't know how you achieved such a perfect balance!

[Bauul]

So of course it wouldn't be a big new release without featuring at least one accidental softlock I somehow added at the last minute.  The Blue Key in W3 is broken, meaning you can't exit the map.

 

I'm uploading a fixed version to the above download links now, and will put out a hotfix patch for those who have already downloaded it.

[Daytime Waitress]

1 hour ago, AdNauseam said:

And the maps are fantastic, like a great adventure. I found a secret by swimming in the water than opening a hidden wall and picked up goodies at the bottom of small lake! That feels so adventurous, like one of the 3D-games I played as a kid. The environments are so lively and detailed but it still feels like classic Doom. I don't know how you achieved such a perfect balance!

A thousand times this. It's the perfect blend of Doom gameplay and realised nostalgia for Unreal-era explorable 3D environments. This is exactly what I imagine in my mind's eye when someone asks, "What does playing Doom in 2022 look, sound and feel like?".

 

Any tips on getting the best performance out of it when running on a complete potato would be very much appreciated, though.

[MFG38]

3 minutes ago, Daytime Waitress said:

Any tips on getting the best performance out of it when running on a complete potato would be very much appreciated, though.

 

Running the game at a low resolution (640x480 or some such) is pretty much the only way you're likely to get a framerate that resembles anything playable next to a hardware upgrade. E4 in particular is a massive map that caused me a lot of frame drops. Even on an RTX 3060, I was occasionally dipping into single digits.

[VanaheimRanger]

Alright, time to melt my GPU by trying to run this in VR because I'm dumb and stubborn.

[Captain Ventris]

This looks incredible. I’ll be anxiously awaiting its full release!

[jazzmaster9]

Congratulations on the release Guys :D Cant wait to give this a go.

[mattstru]

This has been incredible so far. I've only played one map a bit so I can't judge it for certain, but I'm LOVING the dark fantasy theme and effort that was put into the storyline and overall atmosphere. I'd like to upload some Youtube content for this, but may hold off until the full release. Any idea how much change is going to be implemented in the current state/mapset? Is it just going to be new content added? 

[DarkQuill]

Played through the first two maps so far, really great stuff. Earth/Jungle levels give a bit of a Turok vibe, and it's really good. The music is nuts, it's the kind of stuff you'd get from later UT2004 maps. Big fan of the ground-level fog effects too.

 

The intro bit when starting a new game could use a skip function, even if its only through the console.  Don't need to sit through that every time you start a new game.

 

Edited March 6, 2022 by DarkQuill
More info.

[A.o.D.]

None of the custom sounds or music plays for me.  What could be causing this?

[Bridgeburner56]

4 hours ago, MFG38 said:

 

Running the game at a low resolution (640x480 or some such) is pretty much the only way you're likely to get a framerate that resembles anything playable next to a hardware upgrade. E4 in particular is a massive map that caused me a lot of frame drops. Even on an RTX 3060, I was occasionally dipping into single digits.

While there are a few taxing maps if you're dipping into single digits then there's something not quite right in your set up. I've got a 2070 super and never drop that low (lowest would be around 45-50)

[Duderald]

Needs more ACS. Just sayin'.

[BetelgeuseSupergiant]

Oh my, finally, it's out!

[Bauul]

Thanks for the kind words everyone, I'm thrilled it's living up to expectations!

 

2 hours ago, mattstru said:

Any idea how much change is going to be implemented in the current state/mapset? Is it just going to be new content added? 

 

Just bug-fixing, there's no plan to add any more content to Phase 1.  Consider it a fully stand-alone release.

 

2 hours ago, A.o.D. said:

None of the custom sounds or music plays for me.  What could be causing this?

 

I'm not sure I'm afraid, I've not come across this before.  Presuming you're running GZDoom 4.7.1 it might be worth asking over at the ZDoom forums.