Bastion of Chaos - Low spec version is up!

[Bridgeburner56]

A wild Bridgeburner map appears…

 

Presenting Bastion of Chaos, a massive, gothic monstrosity of a udmf map for gzdoom using Otex.













Gameplay
Play revolves largely around set pieces with the encounters starting off as tight affairs and then building to epic slaughter fights. BUT there should be something for everyone here as difficulty settings have been implemented and well tested. All difficulties have been balanced to provide a similar experience which has been tailored to various skill levels. This is an epic slaughter map for all. Feedback has indicated that I have achieved this balance. The ingame play time is 90 - 120 minutes across all difficulties.

 

Jumping, crouching and freelook are intended/encouraged but not necessary to beat the map. There is currently one secret that you need jumping for. 

UV - For masochists only. Ammo is tight and carefully placed. Mistakes will be punished, demons are plentiful and endurance will be required. Recommended for experienced slaughter players. Tested by Nevanos, Dubzzz, NoReason, Insane Gazebo, Nirvana and Vortale
HMP - Similar in fight scope to UV but has had the nastier elements smoothed out. A bit more ammo and health and easier to grab in a tough fight, HMP should still be a good challenge to most players without requiring as much precision and endurance as UV. Tested by Aurelius, Ronnie James Diner
HNTR - Further slight reductions and changes in monster composition and more generous ammo/health makes HNTR fairly accessible. Will still challenge players but mistakes are not run ending and power weapons are more spammable. Tested by Phobus, Major Arlene, Terminus, DMPhobos, Bauul, Captain Caleb, Jimothy Padlock
ITYTD - Has the same enemy and item placement as HNTR but the half damage and double ammo mean that this is a much more relaxed playthrough. Good for those who are not experienced with slaughter or want more of a power trip filled romp. Tested by Liberation, Boris

I’d recommend HMP or HNTR for most players based on the feedback and testing so far.
 

Credits
In no particular order thanks to:

Primeval for the absolutely epic music. The icing on the cake. Link to the full map track
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ6X0XnoTJ4https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQ6X0XnoTJ4
Ukiro for the continuingly inspiring Otex texture pack.
Insane Gazebo, Major Arlene and TheMisterCat for the stunning titlepic and other graphics.
My hardworking testing team. This map wouldn’t be at this point without your input.
Everyone who has given me feedback, shouted encouragement, watched me on twitch and otherwise been there. You keep me going.
Boris for putting up with my demands and making the best editor known to humankind.
Major Arlene for keeping me moving forward.

If I’ve missed someone I apologise. Please let me know if I’ve left you out.
Archviles. You know what you did.

‘Required’ specs

Unfortunately this map requires a decent rig to be able to play. I think the lowest end GPU that this has been tested on so far is a 1050. I have made a custom version of the standard lights.pk3 file that has removed lights from monster and player projectiles so IT IS NOT RECOMMENDED TO PLAY THIS WITH LIGHTS.PK3 LOADED. I have played the map through with lights.pk3 loaded but it gave my RTX 2070 Super a workout in a couple of areas.

But good news! (hopefully). I will be making a ‘low spec build’ for this. You will still need a fairly good rig as the map is 120k+ lines but I will be putting together what should be a version able to be played on a wider range of machines. I haven’t made these changes yet as I want to implement any bug fixes/feedback first so I’m not editing two versions of the same map because that will definitely lead to fuck ups.

Known bugs/issues
If I used the nudebuilder in UDB then GZDoom would hang on load and the only way I found I could fix it was to not build the nodes at all. Some people have had an error that says “please rebuild bsp” (I don’t get it). AFAIK there isn’t actually an issue but if anyone has any insight on this that would be much appreciated.
The map takes a couple seconds to load on death due to the size. Think of it as an opportunity to take a breath :D
Probably some misaligned textures and nodebuilder voids hiding somewhere.

I will obviously be checking this thread but I’m much more active on discord and there’s a dedicated feedback channel in my server
The Hellforge Discord

DOWNLOAD
Have at thee
Fixed a newly found skip. Finished version question mark? Low spec version still needs this update Low spec updated as well
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ZWK54XzL34ciZpANb9VM1kM2PgZ2Fbmu/view?usp=sharing

LOW SPEC EDITION
Halved the number of dynamic lights, blocked all windows to reduce sight lines and removed the ceiling sector portal in the final area. FPS is much better. Has been tested successfully on a 670.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1KPJ6CFTZzhEjJs0coOKtz4W8prrzey4v/view?usp=sharing

Old links

Spoiler

Fixed some rare softlocks and minor visual nitpicks. Possibly finished version
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1q9ywZVuWI_QiKhGBzk3WAhwKk3pcuJTN/view?usp=sharing

Fixed some visual glitches that somehow no one had spotted :D
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ttInCgcIylz7dlvKri3aw7dtGdUdmvvz/view?usp=sharing

Hotfix v0.93a - fixed a potential fight skip and a potential softlock
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1iIJ-iLY_cg9N_Rth51zPXfJIu9m7galE/view?usp=sharing

Hotfix v0.93 - fixed a couple of rare softlocks in the RL arena
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YKb6X_mb6AwtHLA43qUPn_mmd8ZwulCc/view?usp=sharing

v0.92 - Added in fog and additional light sequences. Fixed a couple of unlikely soft locks
https://drive.google.com/file/d/19L0_Icc-lmWz8PKxjuuneFVH-UlFFKkU/view?usp=sharing

Hotfix v0.91 - Sound propagation lines implemented. Should result in much smoother fps in all fights
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AffyrOfcqX4vntdvHdXMJoe6j8kDWGVR/view?usp=sharing

v0.9
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EU3PizZZNFlSB8H9yk-bSvbRGHaCQDaM/view?usp=sharing

 

Lowspec v0.1
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GPfhRGw5VpmWRH5Tz7DS5kCMlzzsvI6V/view?usp=sharing

 

 

[Nevanos]

Fantastic work as always!

[Bridgeburner56]

Holy shit the fps drop while firing has been solved. It's due to sound propagating through 33000 sectors which destroys fps apparently. I'm going to do some tests to see how many sound block lines I need to put in and then a hotfix will be pushed in the next 24 hours. I'll need to check through each fight to make sure all mobs activate.

Big thanks to @Marisa Kirisame for pointing me in the right direction.

[Phobus]

Congratulations on the massive release! The time and craftsmanship that's gone into the environment is visible for all to see, and you've put a lot of work into balance and difficulties, so I hope people take advantage of this to enjoy the map at a level they can (just about) handle.

 

 

To further qualify the system specs thing, my mildly overclocked GTX 1080 was basically fine throughout, running at 4k with the base GZDoom lights.pk3 on a slightly earlier version, until a a big battle near the end in a particularly open space finally made the frame rate drop significantly and for a noticeable length of time (on HNTR, where there are fewer monsters than you might see on higher difficulties). I did notice moments where there seems to be pauses for loading things up, though, so I'd be intrigued to see if running from an SSD (or, even better a PCIe M.2 SSD) would make the playing experience more seamless, at least near the start.

[Biodegradable]

It looks beautiful, Bridge. I'm absolutely appalling at slaughtermaps, but I did give it a looksee anyways just to gawk at the wonderful design. The use of sharp, contrasting colours and lighting just make this thing so damn fun to just stare at. Incredible work, man.

[Bridgeburner56]

I have done a few tests and the sound propogation is a massive fps killer. Like 50% - 70% drops with an sv_fastweapons 2 fist (so no projectiles).  I'm going to seperate each area out which will be a massive qol improvement. Job for tomorrow

[boris]

18 minutes ago, Biodegradable said:

It looks beautiful, Bridge. I'm absolutely appalling at slaughtermaps, but I did give it a looksee anyways just to gawk at the wonderful design. The use of sharp, contrasting colours and lighting just make this thing so damn fun to just stare at. Incredible work, man.

 

It's absolutely beatable by an average play (like me) on ITYTD, while still not being a walk in the park (so you'll still die a bunch of times). I'm usually not a slaughtermap player myself, but I had a lot of fun with the map on ITYTD.

[Biodegradable]

That is a fair point, Boris. In that spirit, I'll record a playthrough tomorrow on HNTR and see how I go.

[Liberation]

I can confirm that ITYTD is an absolute blast.

 

Congrats on the release BB!

[Phobus]

14 minutes ago, Biodegradable said:

That is a fair point, Boris. In that spirit, I'll record a playthrough tomorrow on HNTR and see how I go.

I'd do ITYTD if I were you, even if you are going to use one of your usual weapons mods (watch out for performance issues if you do, by the way). HNTR killed me a bunch of times on my testing session.

[Sapfiar]

Congrats on the release! Fantastic work!

[ASaltShaker]

Looks amazing. I haven't finished the map yet in HNTR, but from what I've experienced (up to the staircase with Revenants and the teleporting enemies), it has been an enjoyable ride, even for someone who isn't too experienced with slaughtermaps!

 

I experienced framerate drops when looking at the extremely detailed eyecandy, but it wasn't to the point of unplayability. When I'm on the areas with a little less decoration, it runs smoothly. Really just because of my computer which isn't too good (RX560 is it's graphics card, iirc). Also, whenever I had to restart to my last save because of a death, or loading the map in general, it takes a bit more than usual. It's just a nitpick, though :p

 

Looking forward to finishing this map. Love how the map has difficulty settings.

Edited July 29, 2020 by ASaltShaker
added a nitpick

[Marisa the Magician]

Nice, time to put it to the test.

[Major Arlene]

As always, I'm super proud of you for continuing to create awe-inspiring works and this has been your best to date. For those of you afraid of slaughter maps, I understand! But definitely give it a roll on ITYTD- you're doing yourself a disservice by missing out on this map. 

[Terminus]

Congrats on the release of this absolute mammoth of a map!

You know I'm not a big slaughter fan but on HNTR this was an absolute blast, the visuals alone were worth the entire trip. The map in itself is really fun and has a little bit of everything for everyone.

Keep up the fantastic work my man o/

[random_soldier1337]

2nd screenshot looks like a great demake of Nekravol from Doom Eternal. Amazing the level of creativity that even with relatively low quality assets, something as cool, if not cooler, can be made as modern games.

[RonnieJamesDiner]

Bridgeburner has carved a niche creating totally unique, and especially memorable slaughter maps that are both accessible to a surprisingly wide range of players, and stunning eye candy that demonstrate the kind of powerful level design that GZDoom is capable of supporting.

 

Bastion of Chaos is no exception – in fact, this is a clear refinement of Bridge’s style, his tricks, and his commitment to crafting a gorgeous environment that tests the players’ metal against unyielding forces. Let me be clear, Bastion of Chaos has an oppressive nature throughout, and razor sharp teeth when it wants to take its pound of flesh – but the elegance in his craft is that Bridge is able to offer the feeling of an overwhelming slaughter spectacle without actually burying the player under insurmountable odds. You will die a lot, but you’ll want to keep going even more.

 

Divided into two distinct categories, the gameplay will bounce you between transitional combat encounters sharp enough to keep you focused, but light enough to keep the pace moving, and the hallmark slaughter arenas that only grow in strength and ferocity as you penetrate deeper into the explicitly unwelcoming citadel. While the former serve as moments to catch your breath and sneak glimpses of the incredible structures that lie ahead, the latter serve as Bastion’s bread and butter – a series of lock-in fights that require nothing short of careful movement, strategy, and more than a little grit. Effectively placed powerups and expertly timed, unfolding arena waves take what could have been an exhausting exercise in masochism, and turn them into tenaciously rewarding experiences.

 

Of course, there are two exceptional elements that cannot go unnoticed; the music, and the aesthetics...

 

From the towering, oppressive marble shrines; fetid, bloody flesh pools sunk into the broken stone; and the daunting chambers marked by their excruciating attention to scale and detail... to the striking Great Wall that cleaves the map in two – foreshadowing the monstrous inner sanctum that lies at the helm of this dreadful place – the visual and architectural presentation is consistent, cohesive, and seriously impressive no matter where you look. Across my 4-hour playthrough, there was this remarkable sense that I had found my way into some hellish, hallowed acropolis; an island in an ocean of blood that stretched into the chilling red horizon; that my journey was only taking me further into dire and ancient territory, and my presence had made me public enemy number one. But such a reputation is nothing a BFG-9000 can’t handle.

 

Thankfully, I wasn’t alone in my quest, either – I had the incredible score of Primeval’s soundtrack at my back, pushing me forward with an evil grin and a headbang. It’s rare to find music that matches Doom levels not only in tone and style, but to the beat of every ebb and flow. Primeval’s work here is astonishing, mixing slow, atmospheric pieces enriched by a haunting Latin choir, with heart-pounding rhythms that seem to leech the intensity out of your blood and convert it into raw, demon slaying power. Reminiscent of something Andrew Hulshult would produce, and methodically scripted across the level by Bridge to draw emotion from the player in all the right ways, this is Doom music taken to new heights.

 

I hope the Cacoward team is ready to play some slaughter, because this level deserves every mentionation it’s going to get.

Edited July 29, 2020 by RonnieJamesDiner

[SilverMiner]

Geometry looks good :)

I hope gameplay is not bad too

 

[Bauul]

The fact that this map contains no less than

 

Spoiler

95 Pain Elementals

 

makes it Cacoward worthy alone.

[Jaska]

1 hour ago, RonnieJamesDiner said:

You will die a lot, but you’ll want to keep going even more.

 

Good observation. Played first HNTR. Changed to ITYTD after dying too many times in the RL fight.

 

So, slaughter isn't the style which I like playing. Actually only slaughter I've played is Sunlust and I stopped in that womb? map. Maybe I tried Sunder and after dying all the time stopped also. Easiest difficulty was enough forgiving to continue this to end. I still died a lot. The architecture, use of dynamic lights, texturing, detailing and scripting of the map was so interesting it kept going. Music is great ofc. It took over three hours overall. I was surprised how many secrets I missed. Too many monsters :D

 

Edited July 29, 2020 by Jaska

[Arbys550]

Now that I got a new laptop that doesn't run super hot with GZDoom, I can now play these kinds of wads. I'll definitely give this a try in the near future.

[Bridgeburner56]

@Jaska brb changing the map name to Too Many Monsters 😁

Glad you enjoyed it. I'm hoping that itytd keeps non slaughter players interested and doesn't wear them down too much while still providing a.... sweat inducing experience 

[Jaska]

29 minutes ago, Bridgeburner56 said:

@Jaska brb changing the map name to Too Many Monsters 😁

Glad you enjoyed it. I'm hoping that itytd keeps non slaughter players interested and doesn't wear them down too much while still providing a.... sweat inducing experience 

 

Yeah, I would recommend it even for people who don't like slaughter. For very last thing put noclip2 on and look at all the beauty.

[Arbys550]

I played it a little but the framerate was too low for me to enjoy it. Plus GZDoom just feels weird to me.

[Starduster]

I'm gonna have to check this out in noclipping mode! The screenshots look 🔥, I'll edit when done.

 

EDIT: This map is a work of art - each area has so much attention to detail; I even took some screenshots of my fav areas while noclipping. As far as gameplay goes I can't say much because my left mouse button is screwed (can't kill stuff! lmao) and the framerate sometimes plunged into the teens when guys started spawning in. I really appreciate the look. It appears to be inspired by the architectural behemoths that are the latest Sunder maps while maintaining originality with its edgy, hellish look. You can feel the evil of each area, and that is something few and far between in Doom.

 

Suggestions:

• Add a custom HUD. I can't stress this enough. 
• Maybe some more optimization for a better framerate?

Once I get a new mouse and find more time to play the whole thing I will post my thoughts on gameplay.

 

Screenies of nice areas:

Spoiler

 

Edited July 29, 2020 by Starduster

[notTyrone]

Masterpiece.  Definitely worth a "fly around" before you exit just to take it all in.  Incredible to watch this map evolve, from that first room hand drawing the window arches (before the arch tool was added), to what it is now. 

 

AoH when?

[Starduster]

2 hours ago, Arbys550 said:

I played it a little but the framerate was too low for me to enjoy it. Plus GZDoom just feels weird to me.

Had the framerate issue too. After setting up GZDoom to where the sensitivities are just right and playing on it for a while, you'll find GLBoom weird. 

[Bridgeburner56]

Updated the op regarding jumping/crouching. Jumping, crouching, freelook are all encouraged and built around. The map is beatable without them though. There is one secret that you can't get without jumping but I think I will change that so uvmax can be achieved without jumping. There are some pits that become death pits if you can't jump but those will be staying as such because I'm evil 

[666shooter]

1 hour ago, Arbys550 said:

I played it a little but the framerate was too low for me to enjoy it. Plus GZDoom just feels weird to me.

My computer did its best with LZDoom, but lagged so bad in the first pit fight with the plasma rifle I could barely move, and died very, very quickly. I liked what I was able to see, though, and the screenshots are quite gorgeous. If I get a better laptop I might give this a fair try.

[Bridgeburner56]

1 hour ago, 666shooter said:

My computer did its best with LZDoom, but lagged so bad in the first pit fight with the plasma rifle I could barely move, and died very, very quickly. I liked what I was able to see, though, and the screenshots are quite gorgeous. If I get a better laptop I might give this a fair try.

The sound block version should fix fps drops during fights (using the plasma is the worst gun for this as well). Hopefully this will make it playable for you. There will also be the lower spec version released in a week or 2 (depending on how many bugs/issues get found).