Akeldama - Now on Idgames!

[Philnemba]

Wow all of these screenshots of everyones WIP maps are looking great!

 

Here's how big I intended Map 02 is going to be :) 

 

 

1 hour ago, complexDoomer said:

I had lost everything

 

Wow sorry to hear that BUT there is a bright side: your screenshot of your map layout still exist in the thread so it might not take you that long to recreate it.

 

I've learn long ago in case something happens to my PC or in some shape or form, I backup my work on 2 different flash drives. I learn this the hard way when I had a HDD crash on an older PC and lost all my work on an episode 4 solo project of mine :(

Edited January 12, 2019 by Philnemba

[DFF]

@valkiriforce if it is still open, I wouldn't mind making one of the secret maps. Looks like a fun challenge. Preferably 31.

[The_SloVinator]

Making progress.

Works on Chocolate Doom but I took screenshots with Crispy for better quality caps.

Still need to come up with the name.

Edited January 12, 2019 by The_SloVinator

[slayer's]

map 12 in works

[valkiriforce]

5 hours ago, DerFurer'sFace said:

@valkiriforce if it is still open, I wouldn't mind making one of the secret maps. Looks like a fun challenge. Preferably 31.

 

Currently trying to figure out what to do with the secret level slots; I've yet to hear from anyone else about any unique or special ideas - and again I'd prefer if we stayed true to Doom in keeping with the original monsters instead of using DeHackEd for anything. I'd like to rely more on the mapper's cleverness of any interesting ideas anyone might have. We also have a lot of people working on E3 maps so it's uncertain at this time what will be; I'm just waiting to see the results of these maps and seeing what we get and how we'll arrange them.

 

@DJVCardMaster Think I'll wait until the monster placement is done before I give it a spin, but so far I'm liking the layout, but it looks like there could be more light level usage in certain areas if it doesn't intrude too much with the visplanes. I could always give it another look when the map is finished and see if anything else can be done for it. More texture variation would help it to stand out as well.

[DJVCardMaster]

1 minute ago, valkiriforce said:

 

@DJVCardMaster Think I'll wait until the monster placement is done before I give it a spin, but so far I'm liking the layout, but it looks like there could be more light level usage in certain areas if it doesn't intrude too much with the visplanes. I could always give it another look when the map is finished and see if anything else can be done for it. More texture variation would help it to stand out as well.

Trying to see where to fit more light changes, the problem is that, in some areas, adding one more sector could make Vanilla explode.
Also trying to change textures and use more from the resource pack. I think I'll finish with monster placement in 2 days or less.

[DJVCardMaster]

First of all, sorry for the double post.

I'm adding a little bit of snow and turning caverns to red.

[DFF]

2 hours ago, valkiriforce said:

 

Currently trying to figure out what to do with the secret level slots; I've yet to hear from anyone else about any unique or special ideas - and again I'd prefer if we stayed true to Doom in keeping with the original monsters instead of using DeHackEd for anything. I'd like to rely more on the mapper's cleverness of any interesting ideas anyone might have. We also have a lot of people working on E3 maps so it's uncertain at this time what will be; I'm just waiting to see the results of these maps and seeing what we get and how we'll arrange them.

Maybe I misunderstood the front page, but if you need an extra mapper or anything i'd love to help. If not that's fine, seemed like an interesting project and thought to try and stick my foot in the door.

[valkiriforce]

I'll put you on the team list in case anyone drops out from mapping. There's a chance you could help out if you have any good ideas for a secret level slot - I was thinking about a possible map collaboration, but I'm interested in what you had in mind if anything.

[DJVCardMaster]

Well, I have a savegame buffer overrun (Save game file exceeds 180kb) because of too many items. So for anyone who's making slaughter maps or maps with too many things, remember to slow it down a bit, since your map could explode while saving.
One of the most overlooked vanilla limitations.
I'm tired. Tomorrow I'll reduce the thing counter from the map and share a complete version of MAP24.

EDIT: Fixed it in an instant, save file from the start is 175kb, right at the limit. And also here it is, the full map. (Load it with the resources wad!!)

I hope I don't have to make any more changes, but if I have, there's not too much problem. So please give feedback. Check if something's wrong or gameplay is too unforgiving/easy.

Gameplay for me it's a little bit difficult, but I'm not the best doomer of the world, and there are some tougher maps already.

I made some detail changes in some sections, but nothing to risky, since most of the areas are on the Visplane limit.

 

EDIT2: By the way, map is called "Alexandria's Library"

Edited January 13, 2019 by DJVCardMaster

[valkiriforce]

I played Alexandria's Library, here are some thoughts of mine:

 

-I felt the Plasma gun being placed in a secret kind of hurt the map, since I was left without a powerful weapon to finish off the last Cyber, so I skipped them and went for the exit. I also think the secret lacks any hint that you're supposed to shoot the gargoyle face; I did try pressing around that room but missed that I was supposed to shoot or hit it in some way.

-Needs a player 2, 3 & 4 start.

-I was pretty short on rockets for most of the map even after finding that secret with four rocket packs. I had to skip the barons of hell near the Plasma secret, and the cacodemons/pain elementals in the Northwest book section, and the hell knights past the yellow door to be able to stand up to them later on.

-I noticed some minor misaligned textures in some places (like the snow that surrounds the place where you drop into the cave) but nothing too major.

-That northwest bookcase area with the cacos and pain elemental would look nicer with some more light contrast; I don't think it would hurt the visplanes too much to change the 176 lights to 144 and the trap closets to a lower level like 112. I also think sector 219 could be a little darker including the trap closets.

-I think the sector 127 area where you grab the super shotgun early on could have a different ceiling flat; it's another minor thing that shouldn't hurt but it could look really interesting with either a RROCK04 flat or one of the animated ones. The beams in that area could be slightly darkened to 128.

-There should be an exit sign behind the exit teleporter.

 

I quite enjoyed this map despite having to skip on some enemies. I like the ideas behind things like the maze revealing the whole room later on, or the small red rock cave section and the wormhole church. It helps to have all these little defining features to make any map stand out. I do like the light contrasts you've added since you last posted the map, but I do think some areas would benefit with some additional light difference. It makes some areas feel rich in atmosphere like this for example:

 

 

If it proves to be too much to handle I could always take a look and see if I can manage to make these changes within the limits. Overall I quite enjoyed this map and I felt it was sort of a Memento Mori-like experience.

 

[EDIT] I've also updated the first post to include your map download with a couple of screens.

Edited January 13, 2019 by valkiriforce

[gaspe]

Quickly played the map on gzdoom. First the ammo/health distribution is insane, stimpacks, clips and shells everywhere and often in the way. You can spare a ton of things if you group most of them with medkits and box of shells, there's no need to put single clips or single armor bonuses on every corner. Didn't enjoy the gameplay, it's a basic frontal shooting gallery with rooms and corridors, the encounters are bloated and you'll mostly retreat to the previous , when you enter in a new room you can retreat to the previous area and kill safely the monsters. The RL courtyard was the most interesting part, the monster blocking line prevent it to be more dynamic, even the teleporting imps aren't engaging. At the BK I didn't kill the barons, you put barons on turrets if you want to discourage the player to kill them, so the revenants don't teleport in, and still they would teleport to the turrets. You can just pick the key and flee. When you enter in the chapel the first time, the cacodemons will become a shield for the chaingunners on the other side. At the RK I only killed the arch-vile. The switch that lowers the maze doesn't have so much sense, you got nothing in return (a sheels and a medikit?) plus there's a boring encounters with too much cacos rammed in the closets. The cyberdemon battle is the most unispired setup you can have to end a level. Visually it's a bad kind of all-brown everywhere that is boring to look with no interesting things, the big empty square rooms don't help. Not that 1 sector of snow improves the visuals, and it makes a jarring transition to the cave.

[DJVCardMaster]

Thanks for the feedback, I'm going to get back to work on it these days. There are lot's of things yo fix. Apart from the gameplay. 

Keep the feedback coming.

Going to take some while anyways, luckly I have much more time since I'm not under time constraints. 

 

And by the way, most of the things you pointed out seems manageable ay most. So I don't think I could have a hard time.

Edited January 13, 2019 by DJVCardMaster

[valkiriforce]

Yeah, the barons on the pillars are another encounter I realize could be easily skipped. That probably would have saved a lot of rockets for me between them and the revenants that teleport in. Possibly more punishing encounters like having the revenants teleporting at ground level would raise the stakes. I'm also wondering what could be done for the last Cyber encounter if anything; maybe introduce a more connected scenario of opening more traps for the player to keep busy before the exit (similar to Plutonia MAP06's exit with the switch setup).

[DJVCardMaster]

2 minutes ago, valkiriforce said:

I'm also wondering what could be done for the last Cyber encounter if anything; maybe introduce a more connected scenario of opening more traps for the player to keep busy before the exit (similar to Plutonia MAP06's exit with the switch setup).

I was wondering if raising the exit pillars so it takes more time to open the exit was a cheap way to fix that area or was a good idea, don't know what you think. Maybe adding more switches is better. But we'll see.

 

The Baron room was intended, but it seems more like a waste of ammo. I would probably keep them, but do something else with the revenant trap. Or try some other combinations.

[Juza]

I realized I'm going to change change some things in this first section of the map, so why not show what's here before I alter it huh.

[Tango]

22 hours ago, The_SloVinator said:

Making progress.

Works on Chocolate Doom but I took screenshots with Crispy for better quality caps.

Still need to come up with the name.

 

looks awesome, I love the library + snow theme!

[valkiriforce]

@DJVCardMaster Oh by the way, I totally forgot to mention this but in the section where you find the rocket secret those two imps on the bookcase are actually stuck. I've yet to try the map out on other difficulties as well so I'll be sure to post again if I need to.

 

@Juza Really liking what looks to be a subway station. I'm quite fond of trains in Doom.

Edited January 13, 2019 by valkiriforce

[DJVCardMaster]

14 minutes ago, valkiriforce said:

@DJVCardMaster Oh by the way, I totally forgot to mention this but in the section where you find the rocket secret those two imps on the bookcase are actually stuck. I've yet to try the map out on other difficulties as well so I'll be sure to post again if I need to.

 

Yes, already deleted them a while ago.
Already checked all the points you stated and fixed them, and gave it some playthrough.
Managed to give some areas a little bit more of detail and a little bit more color, aswell as playing a little bit with light changes when I could.
Gave Baron Room and Cyberdemon Room another twist, preventing the player from cheesing it (Exiting it early). With more ammo to fight them, also removing some ammo and health in spots where you can easily be on 100% health.
More ammo on the chapel.
More fair on rocket ammo and plasma cells.

Another Update! (No need to change the link on the main post, it's the same)

 

4 hours ago, gaspe said:

Quickly played the map on gzdoom. First the ammo/health distribution is insane, stimpacks, clips and shells everywhere and often in the way. You can spare a ton of things if you group most of them with medkits and box of shells, there's no need to put single clips or single armor bonuses on every corner. Didn't enjoy the gameplay, it's a basic frontal shooting gallery with rooms and corridors, the encounters are bloated and you'll mostly retreat to the previous , when you enter in a new room you can retreat to the previous area and kill safely the monsters. The RL courtyard was the most interesting part, the monster blocking line prevent it to be more dynamic, even the teleporting imps aren't engaging. At the BK I didn't kill the barons, you put barons on turrets if you want to discourage the player to kill them, so the revenants don't teleport in, and still they would teleport to the turrets. You can just pick the key and flee. When you enter in the chapel the first time, the cacodemons will become a shield for the chaingunners on the other side. At the RK I only killed the arch-vile. The switch that lowers the maze doesn't have so much sense, you got nothing in return (a sheels and a medikit?) plus there's a boring encounters with too much cacos rammed in the closets. The cyberdemon battle is the most unispired setup you can have to end a level. Visually it's a bad kind of all-brown everywhere that is boring to look with no interesting things, the big empty square rooms don't help. Not that 1 sector of snow improves the visuals, and it makes a jarring transition to the cave.

Also tried to fix some of the problems you mentioned that shared in common with Valkiriforce. But some others are maybe a personal taste issue in terms of aesthetics/gameplay.
You could be more specific on "big empty square rooms".
I think quickly playing the map on GZDoom ruins the experience a little bit, making it way easier to play (Higher framerate and smother aim, save spamming, resurrect, some minor tweaks and "fixes" in the engine that makes it playing for some reason easier than in Vanilla), it happened to me that the map was pretty easy on GZDoom.

I like this more, but still could be subject of change. 

[Walter confetti]

some stuff done tonight:

[valkiriforce]

@Walter confetti The GAVA, VH and MUTT textures are actually easter eggs I included in my maps; they're not really meant to be used as regular map textures. I should probably have clarified this sooner.

 

@DJVCardMaster I was looking over how you handled the exit sequence and I just had a great idea; instead of using the teleporters for unlocking the exit, you should lower sectors 269, 270 & 271 to -64 so the player who enters that area is forced to solve it before leaving. You can also lower the exit steps (sectors 280-283) down to -64 and uncover the central switch and change its function to opening a trap behind the bookcases to the north of the player with enemies (likely revenants) and put another switch there. That switch can lower both the bars and another trap south of the player where the other bookcase wall is and add more monsters there and another switch. This switch will raise both the exit and red door staircases by 16 so you've successfully solved this area if you've survived it. You could also change the function of the teleporters by making them a platform for monsters to teleport in (maybe a pair of arch-viles - hence the "Keep silence" texture you added awakening said monsters and maybe others as well) I think that would make for a great setup. Here's a little visual of the idea:

 

 

The red areas would be the traps that are unlocked, and the yellow parts would be the switches that lower the bars + raise the staircases. What do you think?

[DJVCardMaster]

3 minutes ago, valkiriforce said:

 

@DJVCardMaster I was looking over how you handled the exit sequence and I just had a great idea; instead of using the teleporters for unlocking the exit, you should lower sectors 269, 270 & 271 to -64 so the player who enters that area is forced to solve it before leaving. You can also lower the exit steps (sectors 280-283) down to -64 and uncover the central switch and change its function to opening a trap behind the bookcases to the north of the player with enemies (likely revenants) and put another switch there. That switch can lower both the bars and another trap south of the player where the other bookcase wall is and add more monsters there and another switch. This switch will raise both the exit and red door staircases by 16 so you've successfully solved this area if you've survived it. You could also change the function of the teleporters by making them a platform for monsters to teleport in (maybe a pair of arch-viles - hence the "Keep silence" texture you added awakening said monsters and maybe others as well) I think that would make for a great setup. Here's a little visual of the idea:

 

 

The red areas would be the traps that are unlocked, and the yellow parts would be the switches that lower the bars + raise the staircases. What do you think?

Pretty complex Idea, but I will try and do it. For the moment I'm going to take a little break.

[DFF]

@valkiriforce any idea about a secret map theme? generally? unique or more moderate? I had a cool idea for a unique secret map idea that is similar to AV map 31.

 

I was thinking a map called like Stereo or Anaglyph, where its a hellish cave like setting with brickwork and outdoor areas, but the gimmick is the left and right side is a divided courtyard with maybe rocks running down the middle, and the left and right side are respectively red and blue color scheme (like the anaglyph 3d glasses idk), with the player going down either path to get the red or blue key (both are open giving the player a choice, but both have to be done to get both keys), once both paths were done and both keys were taken, the player runs down that middle path and has monsters spawn in on both sides of the map, with the exit being at the end (possibly visible from the ends of the two colored paths). thoughts?

 

was thinking maybe a duke 3d track, radiago from ROTT, or MM2 07 as a MIDI

Edited January 14, 2019 by DerFurer'sFace

[valkiriforce]

I guess it depends on the execution and if it's convincing enough to look at, and if it plays well. It sounds interesting enough, but I don't want to hide the fact that there are currently more people working on E3 maps right now than there is room for; maps 23, 25, 26, 28 & 29 are still a work in progress, and we've yet to figure out what to do with maps 30, 31 & 32; and I know Aquila, Malrionn and Walter at least signed up for an E3 slot. It's really my fault for losing track after signing people onto specific slots, but I'm curious to see what comes of it.

 

All that aside, I'm definitely in favor of something more unique than moderate for the secret slots. Also there's a good chance we'll see about getting a unique soundtrack somewhere down the road, but it doesn't hurt to have some midi music to go along with for the time being.

[Khorus]

People are making quick progress, inspiring to see what everyone is creating :)

 

Made a good start on my map. Titled "Climbing Blood Mountain", it should be an adventure map with a sense of place and atmosphere like my favourite AV levels. The mountain weeps from demonic influence, dare you enter?

 

Edited January 14, 2019 by Khorus

[Walter confetti]

8 hours ago, valkiriforce said:

The GAVA, VH and MUTT textures are actually easter eggs I included in my maps; they're not really meant to be used as regular map textures. I should probably have clarified this sooner.

 

Whoops, my bad. I'll change them.

[The_SloVinator]

Last cap before I finish the map.

 

Small bad news, though. My mouse wheel stopped working but I ordered a new mouse, so I'll get to work as soon as I get it.

I could continue but with mouse wheel, it's faster & easier. haha

 

Oh & the name of the map will be: Orphanage

Edited January 14, 2019 by The_SloVinator

[dt_]

Just having a quick play through of some of the submitted maps (all look great, good work) but couldn't help noticing that map01 (generator) has a rocket launcher and arachnotrons in it; it's your project I get it, but does that mean it's ok for all us E1 mappers to use them?

[valkiriforce]

@Philnemba @Doomkid @The_SloVinator @Gothic @pc234 @ETTiNGRiNDER @complexDoomer @Juza @NaZa @wolfmcbeard @Pegleg @Aquila Chrysaetos @Malrionn @Walter confetti @Classicgamer6 @Breezeep @Khorus @pcorf Tagging all the mappers here - I think it's important that everyone involved play the available maps or at least look at them for an idea of what's been established so far - it's also good to see everyone posting some progress on their maps so we all get an idea of what everyone is making. It wouldn't be a megawad of variety if we had too many people working on the same themed maps. I'm also assuming anyone working on a later slot map for any episode is working on something big; I think it's good to have plenty of short/medium maps but some bigger ones would be nice to have as well; me and waverider's maps are the biggest so far, so we could use a little more of that in some way.

 

5 minutes ago, dt_ said:

Just having a quick play through of some of the submitted maps (all look great, good work) but couldn't help noticing that map01 (generator) has a rocket launcher and arachnotrons in it; it's your project I get it, but does that mean it's ok for all us E1 mappers to use them?

 

I mentioned this in the first post:

 

Quote

Hopefully this doesn't come off as being too controlling - I'm willing to be lenient towards any maps that go against any of these points. MAP01 for example has a few Arachnotrons in it and a rocket launcher since me and waverider collaborated on it early on and I hadn't yet established these guidelines. It would help to follow these points more closely to help develop a sense of progression for a community-based project.

 

However I have considered replacing those monsters and the rocket launcher, or making them multiplayer components. I would like to have more of a feeling of progression instead of jumping the guns early.

[dt_]

Oops must have missed that somehow, no worries.  It's maybe not an issue to offer them early as long as ammo is not too generous throughout E1