Confinement 256 Bugfixed/Polished and NEW EXPANSION

[Xyzzу]

First, the original:


To go with the release of the new set of maps I made, I decided to touch-up this behemoth just a little bit! 10 maps were changed ever so slightly; some were to make the ride through the whole thing a bit smoother, others were kinda near-impossible to complete for various reasons (lookin' at you, Barrel Mines!). One map of mine was replaced entirely by a brand-new map, also!

Here's the list of the exact changes:

Spoiler

CONF00: Fire Dust Labs
Added more ammo, skill levels, and a mastermind fight that's less annoying.

CONF02: Fountain of Imps

Finally figured out how to remove that HOM at the start, added armor at the end for the next map. XD

 

CONF09: Projectile Purge
Removed impassable lines so the pain elementals and what not are actually a threat, but now you die if you rocket jump out the area!

CONF14: Barrel Mines

Removed a few barrels. "Hallelujah!"

 

CONF21: Journey Across The Techbase
^{by Jaws In Space}
Added some blocking lines so the one imp and cacodemon don't end up roaming around the entire map out of sight.

CONF25: The Shooting Range

^{by Mosshopper}

Romero was on top of a lowering wall when he should be behind it.

CONF41: Small Cargo Starship

^{by Angry Saint}

Removed one teleport destination that didn't need to be there.

 

CONF42: Aggressor

^{by Jaska}
Removed a big HOM towards the end of the map and some inaccessible secret areas.

CONF51: Trial of Blood

^{by rdwpa}

For some strange reason, GZDoom didn't "count" the items you get at the start. Like, in the first tic of the map the game says you get all the ammo and weapons you were supposed to have, but it didn't actually happen, "Where's my chaingun?!". So that little oddity (a ZDoomism?) is gone in the form of some extra scrollers.

CONF58: Cyberbox 256
^{by Scifista42}

Added a BFG and invulnerability sphere on UV. ^{I don't see how anybody was supposed to complete this map originally!}

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The new map is (at least my version of) Stairway Outta Hell by @Arctangent. It replaces what was originally CONF17: Inertia.

Download Here.

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And now, the Expansion!


Two THREE important things to know first:
1. This is completely separate from the original 256 (so, don't load them together!).

2. This NEEDS to be played in PrBoom+ 2.5.1.5 with, I think, -complevel 9.
3. The text-file explains what each map does, I realize I haven't made it clear enough in-game despite the text-screens, my fault.

Numerous things in maps simply don't work in GZDoom, such as the puller object in MAP14. Many maps rely on the way certain sprites and textures render in the software renderer as well. Maps require using tricks that only work in vanilla/boom; compatibility options notwithstanding. DeHackEd patch doesn't behave like it's supposed to in (G)ZDoom, etc. Two maps have an MBF-exclusive feature as well, so they won't work in DOS Boom.

Anyway, this is a set of 20 maps (originally unfinished) and ideas I've had since development of the first Confinement 256, but ended up not making it to the initial release either due to lack of time, lack of motivation, lack of creativity or some combination thereof. These things were gathering dust and decaying away on my hard drive so one day I thought to actually make them a reality! Hence, this WAD.

Screenies:

Spoiler

Completely done and ready to be sent off to /idgames, but there's one problem: I need people other than myself to playtest it now!

So here, the Official Release of The Mystery of Scrapped Concepts.

Difficulty might seem all over the place, but I kinda wanted to have breather maps scattered about, like in "Community 256". Difficulty is also supposed to peak at MAP06 and then reset a bit from there.

 

 

Edited June 18, 2018 by Xyzzy01

[Dragonfly]

I'll try to find the time to give it a spin, Xyzzy! Good effort, congrats on getting the expansion release-ready!

[Gez]

2 hours ago, Xyzzy01 said:

Removed impassable lines so the pain elementals and what not are actually a threat, but now you die if you rocket jump out the area!

 

There is a block players flag for that kind of things.

[Xyzzу]

There is none when all my maps were made in vanilla format.

[LexiMax]

CONF17 causes a crash on GZDoom 3.3.2 running the software renderer.  No crash message, just an unceremonious quit.

 

Upgraded to 3.4.0, and the crash seems fixed, but I thought you oughta know.

[Xyzzу]

Huh, interesting. Wonder what was fixed in between versions.

 

On another note, I know this mapset is supposed to be harder than my first one, but I feel like MAP13 is way OP, heh.

[Xyzzу]

Scrapped Concepts now has all of today and tomorrow to get playtested before its official /idgames release. I've updated the release candidate slightly after getting some feedback from elsewhere. Mainly, MAP12 and MAP13 have been rebalanced, especially MAP13.

 

I feel like I haven't sold this mapset enough to you all; Would you be interested in knowing that some maps make intentional use of various engine quirks like Doom 2's monster projectiles triggering walkover linedefs, or archvile fire doing less damage by hiding behind a small ledge? What about ghost monsters or ol' the lost soul limit?

Plugging this short video again to indicate that this map exists completed in this compilation!