Cardinal Sin (Heretic) RC1.1 released!

[smeghammer]

Howdy all! I've been working on a Heretic map! Quite pleased with it overall - I'd love to  hear what you think though.

 

I think it is balanced OK, but I haven't really played Heretic for 'kin years, so I'm not sure about the placements. There's probably too much ammo, and it is relatively easy for me on UV. You need to do it in the order right though...

 

EDIT: 1.1 released based on feedback

 

GZDoom, freelook OK, E1M1.

 

>>> DOWNLOAD <<<

 

Screenshots:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bugfix #1

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by smeghammer

[smeghammer]

Bugfix #1

Fixed a bug where a switch in the stair maze didn't switch to the 'on' texture. Very odd - needed to ACS it.

 

Also added a difficulty-level based monster guard in front of said switch.

Edited March 20, 2021 by smeghammer

[Omniplex]

Just played through this level now, having a lot of ammo in the level made it easy though. It would be wise to remove some of them, and the level should be flawless. Nice use of ACS scripting; especially on the breakable mosaic wall and those raising 3D floors . I also like seeing new things in a WAD like those trees :)

[smeghammer]

Hey @Omniplex, thanks for playing, and for the feedback. I wasn't sure about the ammo thing... This is my first Heretic map and I'm not as familiar with the weapons/ammo as I am for Doom so I erred on the side of caution. I'll look to make some of the ammo/health skill level dependent.

 

Thanks for the encouragement - I'll definitely build a follow-up to it.

[smeghammer]

Updated the exit area as it was not really very nice:
 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

[Silhouette 03]

It's been a while since I played Heretic, and I don't have as much knowledge of the game as Doom...but why not? You tested my maps.. and even complimented them, despite their inherent shortcomings, so either you genuinely like my maps or have poor taste ;)

Anyway, This is the first Heretic map I've had the pleasure of testing. Played on Though art a smiet meister ( I also played on Black plague, but the difficulty was a bit much... I'm not a masochist, I swear) and tested in GZDoom 4.5.0.

 

Gameplay

Heretic is known for it's...distinct... difficulty, though your map seems to dial back on that difficulty, for the better in my opinion. This helps with the difficulty balancing, as you're not relentlessly screwing the player over until they become frustrated. Regarding the ammo balancing, I'd argue that there is a bit much in some areas, though I wouldn't worry too much, as it is easy to upset this balance. Maybe taking some ammo away wouldn't go amiss.

 

Layout

Some areas are a bit too narrow, in my opinion ( the maze area is the only real problem). This makes it incredibly difficult to move or strafe.

 

Texturing and detailing

Texturing is well done and I didn't notice any alignment issues, so no complaints. Detailing is about what I expected from a heretic map, though it isn't by any means barren or under detailed.

 

Bugs

This one door has no lower-unpegged setting ( I don't know if this was intentional, so let me know).  One sabreclaw near the switch that unlocks the secret door appears to be stuck. it also appears you may have put the wrong door color statue by mistake to the wrong color door( I hope this makes sense).

https://imgur.com/a/7tO7ZIb

https://imgur.com/a/7FUcAZI

 

Conclusion

A nice debut map, and a solid ground for future improvements.

 

I hope you found this to be helpful. If you need any testing done before a public release I'd be more than happy to do it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by Silhou3tte

[smeghammer]

 

@Silhou3tte, thanks for the playthrough and feedback - much appreciated. 

 

I definitely missed the unpegged door texture - thanks for that. 

The narrow stair maze... I must admit I like the dark, cramped areas. It started off as a wide stairway that I wanted to make a bit more interesting - I ended up cutting out most of it. Possibly too much :-)

 

Yeah, the door colour coding... I wasn't sure about that, because it is also the way to get to the blue key. Probably overthinking it TBH. I'll see if I can flag them better - I'll need to move the yellow marker too I think, otherwise there will be two yellow markers...

 

I tend to map by having a basic idea and then effectively doodling and seeing what sticks. It's relaxation thing as I am a python coder IRL and I need to plan quite carefully what I do code-wise.

 

This is my first Heretic map, though I have released a number of Doom maps as well if you are interested in having a crack at something else.

 

1 hour ago, Silhou3tte said:

You tested my maps.. and even complimented them, despite their inherent shortcomings, so either you genuinely like my maps or have poor taste ;)

 

Just replayed "Techbase Torment" :-) . I liked the simplicity of them. I get a bit overwhelmed by some of the huge and complex amazing stuff that comes out and find it very difficult to know where start (and to find time to fit in with job, kids, family etc.). Also, I tend to pick ones flagged as 'first map' as I know how hard it is to actually map, so any positive feedback I can give I think is always good for the mapper, as I know how much I like positive feedback coming my way, so "pay it forward", as they say.

 

 

Edited March 21, 2021 by smeghammer

[Silhouette 03]

9 hours ago, smeghammer said:

I tend to map by having a basic idea and then effectively doodling and seeing what sticks

Same here. For me it is deciding what type of theme, building a basic layout, expansion on that layout and than scrapping whatever I don’t like. It’s a time consuming process, but it works well.

9 hours ago, smeghammer said:

Also, I tend to pick ones flagged as 'first map' as I know how hard it is to actually map, so any positive feedback I can give I think is always good for the mapper, as I know how much I like positive feedback coming my way, so "pay it forward", as they say.

Heh, I try to make my maps somewhat simple in approach, though that sometimes doesn’t translate well. I’m not exactly “proud” of my first map, it was more a learning experience, a base on which to start with, though I acknowledge that it was my first try. But thank you for the kind words  and the positive feedback.

[Mangudai]

I played the map and I didn't dislike it. To be honest I'm not truly a fan of the narrow paths in the corridor area (the one where you find the crossbow).

But... I didn't get lost and in the end I didn't regret playing your map.

The only oddity I've found is that in the final area (the one with the iron liches) the tornado sent me inside the right pillar (basically there is no true wall)

Note that after finishing the map I got inside a level called "no escape" or something of this sort with no monsters and no exit. Intended, I guess? 

[smeghammer]

32 minutes ago, Mangudai said:

I played the map and I didn't dislike it. To be honest I'm not truly a fan of the narrow paths in the corridor area (the one where you find the crossbow).

But... I didn't get lost and in the end I didn't regret playing your map.

The only oddity I've found is that in the final area (the one with the iron liches) the tornado sent me inside the right pillar (basically there is no true wall)

Note that after finishing the map I got inside a level called "no escape" or something of this sort with no monsters and no exit. Intended, I guess? 

 

Thanks for playing, @Mangudai - glad you didn't dislike it :-)

 

You are not the only one to comment on the narrow corridors. I might change that bit. There will likely be other changes too based on all the feedback I've had so far.

 

I know what you mean by the tornado pushing you 'inside' the column - I think it is because that is a projected 3D floor and I guess the tornado effect doesn't take that into account. 

 

Yeah, the next map - it's just a placeholder at the moment as I'm planning to add more maps. I should probably change the MAPINFO to point to the normal E1M2 for the time being...

 

Anyway, thanks again for playing and giving me useful feedback.

 

 

[Silhouette 03]

1 hour ago, Mangudai said:

he only oddity I've found is that in the final area (the one with the iron liches) the tornado sent me inside the right pillar (basically there is no true wall)

The same thing happened to me, except the lich's tornado sent me inside the ceiling. I don't know if this is in the vanilla game, though I have very little knowledge of the game's bugs