THE POWER LEVELS FOR DOOM 2!

[memes4lyfe]

okay. i'll do that. also, for some reason, map03 crashes in dosbox to an enlarged pixelated version of dos. try loading it in dosbox and you'll know what i mean.

[memes4lyfe]

done. now i'm in the testing phases in map05. also, for some reason, map03 keeps crashing in dosbox for some reason. is it not compatible?

[DynamiteKaitorn]

You have more than 64 linedefs scrolling in a map. Vanilla DooM can't handle more than 64 scrolling sectors at one time.

[memes4lyfe]

ok. i will fix that. sorry for the double post. i didnt know i already posted.

also, i feel like youre the only one following this post now. anyways, what do you think of map05? i just finished it yesterday. you can find the link at my first post.

[memes4lyfe]

i have a strange feeling that nobody is following this post anymore...

[DynamiteKaitorn]

gg

[memes4lyfe]

welp, looks like this wad is DOOMED. (heh heh...)

anyways, i will be working on map06 today. maybe i'll do a wood level.

[LordEntr0py]

I haven't played these yet, but I'll check them out tonight and give you some feedback. Don't be disheartened!

 

 

[Kepehn]

I played your maps again and I really liked the improvements on map 3! I feel like your latest maps are getting better, of course as more you create, more experience you'll gain.

 

MAP 3

I love this area, Well done!

 

MAP 2

Since the first maps don't have secrets, you could add some. This door, having the same texture, you could turn it into a secret area.

 

MAP 3

This door opens only one time, after it closes it's impossible to get in again. You should set DR (Door opens Repeatly) or D1 (Door stays open).

 

MAP 3

This swicht turns on but it doesn't do anything, it has no tag.

 

MAP 4

The switch opens the door, but the door is NOT locked! (it should be), I had to go to Doom Builder to know what the switch does. Well you can trigger a switch to open the door or open the door without the switch (witch doesn't make much sense for me), but once you open the door (and it stays open) and then you go turn the switch you'll have no idea what it does, unless you're lucky to turn the swich first. My advise is to remove the action (open door) on the door.

 

Keep it Up :)

[memes4lyfe]

actually, the first two maps DO have secrets. you just need to do some good old fasioned wall humping.

[memes4lyfe]

also, i will address the issues you had in the next beta. as well as ten more levels. also, is slade 3.0 compatible with dosbox? im asking because i want to add custom weapons, level names, and monsters.

[Egg Boy]

Slade is compatible, but not decorate, which is what almost all custom weapons and monsters use. Same with level names. However, you can change level names with dehacked, you can also add 2 custom monsters with dehacked, but it's kind of complicated. This is also the reason your script probably wasn't working, in vanilla, and non zdoom based ports, scripts don't work.

Basically, adding custom monsters and weapons you find on realm667 are going to make your map a zdoom compatible map, almost exclusively.

Edited March 13, 2019 by Egg Boy

[VanRado]

On Map 2 - there's a door at the end of the winding hallway (where you get the red key IIRC) that appears narrower than the texture used and hard up against the wall at the end of the hallway.  That looks a bit odd, I would suggest having it decorated with a frame.

 

In the room with the Arch Vile, there's some brown slime on the floor with green slime as a waterfall on one of the walls.  1) Pick either green or brown; I don't think it works to have green slime instantly turn to brown when it hits the floor.  2) The green slime seems to emerge from nothing at the top of the wall.  It would look a lot better to create a sector behind the waterfall with a floor height just lower than the ceiling height of the main room so it appears the slime is coming from "somewhere".  Take some cues from Final Doom as they do this a lot and it looks neat.

 

In general, I like how the first map is quite small and easy.  It sets the tone of the megawad and eases the player into the campaign.  I also like the dynamic use of lighting.  I played it through on Brutal Doom and it's cool to have to use the torch.

 

The Arch Vile in map 2 was an unusual ramp up in difficulty that came out of nowhere.  You probably should start thinking about mapping out the difficulty curve across the 32 map megawad.  I mean actually plan when the player will get certain weapons, when certain enemies are introduced and when the player can get certain weapons ahead of the "proper" time via secrets.  Personally, I think the Arch Vile appearing out of nowhere on map 2 just ramped things up too quickly and it was not a "good" surprise.  It certainly didn't follow the slow burn that was map 1 and 2 leading up to that event.

 

The Commander Keen thing on map 2 was bemusing.  Actually, while I type, I'm thinking that the end of map 1 was a bit weird.  You have the exit door with another door to the left that led to the outside area.  In my mind I thought that would have been a secret door and the ending switch would have been to lower the ledge for the powerup.  I didn't realise that was the exit switch.  I just assumed the exit switch was in front of the exit door, which I ignored because I wanted to go outside.  The ending switch for map 1 should have been more decorated at the very least.

 

I haven't played the infamous map 3 yet, but perhaps start thinking about a "theme" for how the maps should end.  If you look at Doom 1, endings mostly occur in a little room with the exit door and a switch.  Plutonia mostly has that spotlight teleporter with sometimes an ending that has you "jumping into the void".  What will be your hallmark for an ending?  (I mean it could be Commander Keen - but then almost every map will have to have CK at the end, i.e. you are hunting the hanging CK as the objective for the map.  That could be interesting, every map has some sort of torture chamber that you need to work your way to have access to, and every time the chamber gets more elaborate and depraved...)

 

Anyway, on to map 3.

[memes4lyfe]

the reason that there is a CK in map02 is because the archvile was suppossed to open a door, but it couldnt activate the 666 tag. so i put in a commander keen. also, map03 is impossible. i will fix it in the net update. you will have to noclip. or at least IDKFA.

[VanRado]

7 minutes ago, memes4lyfe said:

the reason that there is a CK in map02 is because the archvile was suppossed to open a door, but it couldnt activate the 666 tag. so i put in a commander keen. also, map03 is impossible. i will fix it in the net update. you will have to noclip. or at least IDKFA.

 

I did see that in the thread, but my brain didn't make the connection when I was playing.

 

Map 03 was good.  Needs more exploration at this point.  The hallway thing isn't so bad because there were other parts to the map.  If it was a novelty hook, that kind of map needs to be deep in megawad to give the player a break from solving the same puzzles over and over.  You should definitely consider some sort of novelty like this for somewhere between 18 - 22.

 

Interesting things happening with the ceiling in the beginning part of the map.  However if you're going to have different ceiling textures, those sectors should be a different height than the surrounding textures.

 

I don't know what's happening with these textures here.

 

So this triangle ending thing.  I like it.  Could be a thing.  Ceiling texture should match the floor texture though.

[-TDRR-]

If you can make the weapon sprites, i can add them into the game. However, because this is DEHACKED, the new weapon has to replace another one, which one will it be?

 

Monsters can be added without replacing other monsters, but i need more info in what you want these monsters to do.

Edited March 14, 2019 by -TDRR-

[Egg Boy]

Alright, playing Beta 0.8 now. All information will be put into spoilers, preceded by the map number.

 

Map02:

Spoiler

Poor guy is stuck, it appears the hallway is too slim for this guy. Remember, monsters hitboxes are squares, not circles, which is the default indicator in most editors, you can change this in preferences. Also, keen is still here, one way to change this would be to make a door on a timer, so when you enter the room it closes for 30 seconds or so, of course you'd have to extend the battle so it takes that long, or make the timer shorter. I also noticed most of the doors were lower unpegged, unlike those found in map01.

 

Map03:

Spoiler

 

Not sure if this is intentional, but the ceiling in this spot does not match the texture surrounding it, as a result it looks strange.

 

HOM here, pls fix.

 

This switch doesn't work, had to idclip into that door I assume it's supposed to activate.

 

There we go! Much better than the original version, I like the arachnotron fight, still there weren't any ambushes, which was kinda of strange. Every fight was straightforward, you aren't really surrounded in any sort of way, as you can just back up into oblivion. Still, it was much more fun and interesting than the original, I even got to go outside!

 

Map04:

Spoiler

Minor misalignment here.

 

Nice! I was hoping you added that in, maybe make the walls fall a bit faster so it's harder to react to, or make the hallway longer, so that the player is trapped in and has to fight the imps (They didn't hit me at all, I'm at 9 health because a mancubus took 50 hp with one shot).

 

Map05:

Spoiler

 

Now this, is cool! I like that you get this little house to snipe the mancubode from feels very old-school. I didn't know you could go in at first, and a former sergeant opened the door, almost filling my face with hot lead. Maybe, once you flip that switch, that wall made of wood opens, revealing a revenant, or two, which you have to fight in an enclosed space.

 

Might want to fix this tho, either by pulling the top down by a few pixels, making it look like an actual roof, or just texturing it as a sky.

 

This platform wont lower.

 

Here's why, the sector that's supposed to lower is tagged 0.

 

Why does this door raise all the way to the ceiling?

 

I would make it so this door only works from one side, and also make sure the textures are alligned on the side you aren't supposed to open it from.

 

Things get a little spicy at the end here, good thing there's that invlun secret! I almost ran out of ammo after whiffing some bfg shots too!

 

This was the best map by a mile! Still pretty linear but gives you a few options, like you can go to that outdoor area with the pond first, or the room with the crates. The fights were also a little tougher, both of the fun ones happen in the outdoor area. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of "fire mindlessly down a hallway" moments in this wad, that aren't particularly challenging. What I would do is have opposition coming from different places force the player into a situation wherein they have to fight or run. Hiding behind cover and plinking away at barons in the distance just isn't fun. Regardless, map05 was a huge improvement, and easily the best of the set. I look forward to playing more, just make sure you fix the errors that make this, and map03 incompletable.

Also: in your OP you mention that no one is interested in the project. Most people don't really want to play an incomplete set, that's what playtesters are for, so usually you wont have a dedicated playerbase until a release candidate comes out, or, at least, a whole episode. You may want to retitle the thread, when the first episode is complete, "Doom - The Power Levels Episode 1 Release" or something along those lines.

Edited March 5, 2020 by Egg Boy
removed all pictures as this thread is inactive.

[OliveTree]

I can't help but adore this, I'm not sure why

[memes4lyfe]

i'm currently fixing the errors in the maps and making map06. and since you suggested i release it in an episodic format, i decided to do just that. beta 0.9 will now just have improvements and map06. beta 1.0 will have maps 7-10. just to make it easier for me.

[memes4lyfe]

1 hour ago, -TDRR- said:

If you can make the weapon sprites, i can add them into the game. However, because this is DEHACKED, the new weapon has to replace another one, which one will it be?

 

Monsters can be added without replacing other monsters, but i need more info in what you want these monsters to do.

so, i want a possessed dude weilding a chainsaw, but is really weak. something like the ogres from quake but melee only and weaker. as for the weapons, how were weapons implemented in the days before SP's? without replacing weapons. werent wads made to not have to replace stuff?

[-TDRR-]

1 hour ago, memes4lyfe said:

so, i want a possessed dude weilding a chainsaw, but is really weak. something like the ogres from quake but melee only and weaker. as for the weapons, how were weapons implemented in the days before SP's? without replacing weapons. werent wads made to not have to replace stuff?

You can't just add weapons with DEHACKED, you need to replace one. WADS don't have anything to do with it, simply put, DEHACKED modifies doom2.exe's frame table to edit weapon and monster behavior. The weapon table has a fixed amount of 7 weapons and you can't add any more without editing the source code.

[memes4lyfe]

i was thinking my weapon would share a slot with the chaingun. like the super shotgun. is that achievable in dosbox?

[memes4lyfe]

also, egg boy, what do you mean the platform wont lower? i tested it and it worked perfectly!

[-TDRR-]

1 hour ago, memes4lyfe said:

i was thinking my weapon would share a slot with the chaingun. like the super shotgun. is that achievable in dosbox?

No, that can't be done in DOSBox. You should maybe replace the BFG or the Chainsaw instead.

[Egg Boy]

2 minutes ago, memes4lyfe said:

also, egg boy, what do you mean the platform wont lower? i tested it and it worked perfectly!

What source port did you test it in? Either way, if you tag it right, it should work in all of them. However the line was not tagged to the platform's sector.

[memes4lyfe]

36 minutes ago, Egg Boy said:

What source port did you test it in? Either way, if you tag it right, it should work in all of them. However the line was not tagged to the platform's sector.

zandronum

[memes4lyfe]

40 minutes ago, -TDRR- said:

No, that can't be done in DOSBox. You should maybe replace the BFG or the Chainsaw instead.

maybe replace the chaingun with a super chaingun. like what the spider mastermind uses. (fires 3 pellets, has the shotgun sound, and slightly different design than the chaingun. with 3 barrels instead of six) also, it wouldn't hurt to add in a Hell Razer from doom 2016 in the style of doom 2. which has a dangerous hit-scan laser attack, but is weak. as well as that chainsaw dude i mentioned. because chainsaw battles are cool!

[Phade102]

I am looking at some screenshots of your maps, and I believe you are looking at a far too big a project for your current skill level. with massive unallignments, what looks like untested maps, and now you wanting to add a ton of custom monsters, it seems that you need to take a few steps back, start with some basic levels, learn from the start and not rush straight to the end.

 

Theres a reason maps from the 90s are pretty much universally laughed at by todays mappers, its because back then people really didnt have a grasp on the finer aspects of the engine (And the editors avaliable weren't as great) but you do seem to be at least willing to learn, which is good. However, your project right now looks like another 90s style custom project, and that probably wont turn out all that great. I would suggest you go play doom 1 and doom 2, pay attention to the map design, encounters, ect, and see what you can learn from those. replay the maps over and over if you have to, but right now I just believe your project is too ambitious.

[memes4lyfe]

9 hours ago, Phade102 said:

I am looking at some screenshots of your maps, and I believe you are looking at a far too big a project for your current skill level. with massive unallignments, what looks like untested maps, and now you wanting to add a ton of custom monsters, it seems that you need to take a few steps back, start with some basic levels, learn from the start and not rush straight to the end.

 

Theres a reason maps from the 90s are pretty much universally laughed at by todays mappers, its because back then people really didnt have a grasp on the finer aspects of the engine (And the editors avaliable weren't as great) but you do seem to be at least willing to learn, which is good. However, your project right now looks like another 90s style custom project, and that probably wont turn out all that great. I would suggest you go play doom 1 and doom 2, pay attention to the map design, encounters, ect, and see what you can learn from those. replay the maps over and over if you have to, but right now I just believe your project is too ambitious.

i don't suck at mapping, i swear!

[LordEntr0py]

Okay, I've played through beta 0.9, and what I loved about it was seeing your mapping skill increase with each subsequent level.ganic.

 

See, the earlier maps mostly involved opening a door, killing the monsters in the room, then moving onto the next, but I felt like you were really starting to get a handle on the flow by the fourth map. And by the fifth map, you were designing some really interesting locations and the encounters were starting to get that dynamic feel. There was plenty of scope for encouraging infighting.

 

The outside location on Map 5 and the wooden section beyond the blue door are examples. Those cramped library sections made a good contrast to the wide open spaces, although they did get a little repetitive.

 

2 hours ago, memes4lyfe said:

i don't suck at mapping, i swear!

No, you don't. The speed at which you're learning is evident. There's some really good advice in those posts, though, that it would be worth taking on board.

You're obviously not letting yourself get too caught up on petty details and ploughing on with making the maps, and I envy your ability to do that. I think it's paying off in spades, and I think you should keep pressing forward in the way you have been doing so far. But it might be worth slowing just a little in some areas of your maps to think about aligning some textures or beautifying some areas.