[Ultimate Doom Community Project] Solar Struggle - Making maps where names are pre-selected (Development thread) [Looking for artists] [WE HAVE ALL THE MAPS]

[CBM]

I am considering dropping out of this project unless you cant find someone else to do my map slot

 

I am afraid I wont be able to do the project justice and that it wont fit properly with the other maps

 

I dont wish to drag this project down

 

will my map be good enough from what I have shared about it thus far?

Edited October 21, 2021 by CBM

[PinkFlamingo]

1 hour ago, CBM said:

I am considering dropping out of this project unless you cant find someone else to do my map slot

 

I am afraid I wont be able to do the project justice and that it wont fit properly with the other maps

 

I dont wish to drag this project down

 

will my map be good enough from what I have shared about it thus far?

 

If you decide to drop out, I would like to take over the E4M8 map slot. I have been following this project for a while and love the concept of it.

Also, if this is ok with @ViolentBeetle?

[CBM]

57 minutes ago, PinkFlamingo said:

 

If you decide to drop out, I would like to take over the E4M8 map slot. I have been following this project for a while and love the concept of it.

Also, if this is ok with @ViolentBeetle?

Its fine by me. It will give me more time to work on stuff like 3D monster and item packs

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by CBM

[ViolentBeetle]

I don't think there was a lot of content in what I saw, didn't think it was bad, but not much to go on either. Good luck with your 3D monsters endeavours.

Swapped @CBM for @PinkFlamingo

[The Kingslayer]

Hey, been working on other stuff so E1M8 is a little slow but I'll be working on it today.

So instead of having walls lower when you kill all the Barons, I've created rooms with voodoo dolls that grab the blue key when all the Barons are killed. The idea is that you can explore the level and kill the Barons in any order you want, but whichever one you kill last has the blue key in its guts. I think that'd be a cool detail to include in the episode's intermission text. Makes a little more sense than "you killed all the bosses so now these walls lower for some reason"

[ViolentBeetle]

26 minutes ago, The Kingslayer said:

Hey, been working on other stuff so E1M8 is a little slow but I'll be working on it today.

So instead of having walls lower when you kill all the Barons, I've created rooms with voodoo dolls that grab the blue key when all the Barons are killed. The idea is that you can explore the level and kill the Barons in any order you want, but whichever one you kill last has the blue key in its guts. I think that'd be a cool detail to include in the episode's intermission text. Makes a little more sense than "you killed all the bosses so now these walls lower for some reason"

If you can make it work consistently. I know we aren't aiming for gzDoom, but people would play on it anyway, so make sure it works there.

[Nefelibeta]

My e2m8 slot is finished. The track is from Chex Quest 3 E2M5.

solare2m8.zip

 

A little bit of screenshots if you want:

Spoiler

 

[ViolentBeetle]

20 minutes ago, Nefelibeta said:

My e2m8 slot is finished. The track is from Chex Quest 3 E2M5.

solare2m8.zip

 

A little bit of screenshots if you want:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Looks great, I should be able to test it soon.

[Jark]

2 hours ago, Nefelibeta said:

My e2m8 slot is finished. The track is from Chex Quest 3 E2M5.

solare2m8.zip

 

A little bit of screenshots if you want:

  Hide contents

 

 

Nice looking map, I notice in the 2nd screenshot a few small misalignments - the wall above the switch, which if upper unpegged, looks a little less out of place but not a complete fix. I would suggest perhaps moving the switch sector forward a bit so it doesn't interfere with an upper texture.

 

Something else I noticed in editor was in the same room, you can set the walls of these decorations to upper unpegged so it aligns nicely with the rest of the wall.

 

(Left: Upper Unpegged          Right: Original)

 

Shortcut for Upper Pegging is (U) and Lower Pegging is [L] with a wall selected. (Not sure why the text is underlining itself here??)

 

Spoiler

 

Please note I am quite a nitpicker of such things, and if they are intentional feel free to keep them that way :)

 

Edited October 23, 2021 by Jark
Strange text issue

[Nefelibeta]

1 minute ago, Jark said:

 

Nice looking map, I notice in the 2nd screenshot a few small misalignments - the wall above the switch, which if upper unpegged, looks a little less out of place but not a complete fix. I would suggest perhaps moving the switch sector forward a bit so it doesn't interfere with an upper texture.

 

Something else I noticed in editor was in the same room, you can set the walls of these decorations to upper unpegged so it aligns nicely with the rest of the wall.

(Left: Upper Unpegged          Right: Original)

Shortcut for Upper Pegging is and Lower Pegging is [L] with a wall selected.

 

  Hide contents

 

Please note I am quite a nitpicker of such things, and if they are intentional feel free to keep them that way :)

 

 

Oh thanks! I never figure out those alignment stuff lol. I just notice that there are other misalignments in the map. Will fix it once ViolentBeetle gives his feedback.

[ViolentBeetle]

7 hours ago, Nefelibeta said:

My e2m8 slot is finished. The track is from Chex Quest 3 E2M5.

solare2m8.zip

 

A little bit of screenshots if you want:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

I enjoyed the map. However the theme of the episode is going underground, so sky shouldn't be visible.

Also BFG isn't allowed in Episode 2, although I didn't find a way to get it, so maybe it is all a tease?

[Lorenz0]

Author: Lorenzo

Map: E2M1

Midi: Eris Falling - Reaching Deeper

 

Download: E2M1v2.zip

 

Edit: updated the file

- Chaingun was moved a bit so that it couldn't be grabbed from below

- Replaced all shotgunners whose shotguns could be grabbed with other monsters

- Added a small trap in the secret area

 

Hopefully this will be the final version.

Edited October 25, 2021 by Lorenz0

[DFF]

1 hour ago, ViolentBeetle said:

I enjoyed the map. However the theme of the episode is going underground, so sky shouldn't be visible.

Also BFG isn't allowed in Episode 2, although I didn't find a way to get it, so maybe it is all a tease?

Question regarding my map then (E2M3), I was designing the Commercial Exchange as a sort of large tower building within a crater, with the sky visible on the top stock-exchange floor, and the player going down the tower and exiting through the underground facilities. Is this acceptable? or should there be no sky whatsoever?

I understand this was originally mentioned for map08 which should be rather close to the core, just was wondering about something as early as map03. I may let the player go outside at the bottom of the crater to show the player the scope of the tower itself but if not thats a feature that is mostly unesessary.

[ViolentBeetle]

23 minutes ago, DFF said:

Question regarding my map then (E2M3), I was designing the Commercial Exchange as a sort of large tower building within a crater, with the sky visible on the top stock-exchange floor, and the player going down the tower and exiting through the underground facilities. Is this acceptable? or should there be no sky whatsoever?

I understand this was originally mentioned for map08 which should be rather close to the core, just was wondering about something as early as map03. I may let the player go outside at the bottom of the crater to show the player the scope of the tower itself but if not thats a feature that is mostly unesessary.

I suppose it would be acceptable, and perhaps even better for storytelling. But the sky should be high above, so it'd feel you are deep underground. No windows to the side or open landscapes.

I will extend the same kind of permission to E2M2 and E2M4 as well as E2M9 (Which actually has side windows I let slide due to to it not being part of normal progression), but anything in the second half should have no sky whatsoever.

@Wavy @Weird Sandwich @Jark @cannonball take note on this clarification.

Edited October 23, 2021 by ViolentBeetle

[Jark]

9 minutes ago, Lorenz0 said:

Author: Lorenzo

Map: E2M1

Midi: Eris Falling - Reaching Deeper

 

Download: E2M1.zip

 

100%ed in just under 7 minutes

 

Initially the atmosphere matches the music pretty well - I discovered that you can get the chaingun and accompanying ammo boxes by bumping the ledge from below rather than going around, what I assume is, the intended way.

 

Regarding the secret:

 

Spoiler

You can see the plasma secret wall indentation on the automap, just a nitpick of mine however I think the secret would be just as findable if on the automap it did not appear as obviously. The secret itself was mysteriously empty and long for what lead to just a plasma rifle: perhaps a closet could open on the long path to the PR once you get it to spice things up.

 

 

The map is quite laid back as one expects for a traditional episode opener, however the fights are perhaps a bit too easy and avoidable - The fight past the red door can be easily cheesed by just going back through the door, monsters can't open the door either to chase you as it is a Open Repeatable (Red) action. The red key ambush has half of the zombiemen kill each other as they are bunched up.

 

Otherwise a pleasant breather-opening map, good natural forms on the outskirts and a nice midi to match.

[Nefelibeta]

So I kinda just make the outdoor sceneries into underground lava lake or some sort. Hopefully it will work?

solare2m8update.zip

[Wavy]

Some progress on my map: I've been in a bit of a mental/creativity block and haven't really done a lot yet (really just the starting room and another unfinished room), but I'll still try to see what I can get done though. For now, enjoy this screenshot of said starting area:

 

[Jark]

1 hour ago, Wavy said:

Some progress on my map: I've been in a bit of a mental/creativity block and haven't really done a lot yet (really just the starting room and another unfinished room), but I'll still try to see what I can get done though. For now, enjoy this screenshot of said starting area:

 

 

The following is just a few thoughts to assist the creative process, I do not mean to patronise and I am well aware you may have thought of all this already. 

 

If you're stuck on ideas, look closer into what sort of location you are making - Storage Complex. Ok, there will probably be some conveyor belts with assorted crates on (I know no working conveyors but static ones will be just as thematically appropriate) which have to lead somewhere, might lead to a sorting area with inexplicable crushers or ready to deliver vehicles (Trucks, trains, spaceships, underground river boats). Same goes with where those conveyors originate from, perhaps a packing plant where floor lamps and barrels are crated up. Now that I'm thinking a bit, you could have rubbish/transport chutes which are like vertical cylindrical vents which could lead to all manner of places (Trash compactor?).

 

As ViolentBeetle has specified, E2M2 homages are welcome, an easy area to do would be a crate maze in a warehouse with plenty of nooks for monsters and items alike. One thing E2M2 did not explore more thoroughly is crate platforming progression, later instalments and wads have - but it is still a viable way of getting the most out of an area, traverse through the maze then platform over the top of it at a later moment (also makes for better interconnectivity).

 

If we're taking storage complex more literally, then you might have areas like those mini garage things you see in storage wars - small rooms with a single door all lined up next to each other:

 

Spoiler

   

If you're really stuck, you could put together a mood board (collage of images on the related location/thing/idea) and see if you can go from there.

 

As the theme is corrupted techbase, you can differ slightly from the specific location by perhaps having an 'infected' area of flesh and blood (perhaps one of the aforementioned rubbish chute drops into a fleshy hive).

 

Some food for thought at least.   

   

[Wavy]

Thanks for the advice @Jark! That other room I mentioned is supposed to be designed in a similar way as E2M2, but broken off into a Hell valley sort of thing (just need to add some crates though):

 

I still need to create the actual layout to my map, so I'll take what you said into consideration while doing so. Thanks!

Edited October 24, 2021 by Wavy

[rouge_means_red]

Yeah my map is going nowhere. Someone else can take E1M5 from me, sorry

[ViolentBeetle]

4 minutes ago, 7Soul said:

Yeah my map is going nowhere. Someone else can take E1M5 from me, sorry

Sorry to hear that. Perhaps another time.

Unassigned your map.

[SMG_Man]

just wanted to pop in since it's been a while, I'm getting some ideas roughed in for e4m6

[PinkFlamingo]

As I am working on a boss map (E4M8), I was particularly interested to see what @Nefelibeta and @muumi made for their boss maps (E2M8 and E3M8). Below are my reviews of their maps. I played on Ultra Violence difficulty.

 

E2M8 by @Nefelibeta

Spoiler

 

I played the first version of this map (before you changed the outdoor areas to indoor) so this review refers to that version.

It's a really nice looking techbase! Very clean texture work. I liked how you progress through the map, collecting the keys and all of the weapons while encountering increasingly more difficult traps. The length of the map is also good as a final map of an episode.

The boss fight at the end was very well done. I loved the atmosphere in the dark blue room where you face the Cyberdemon. While this is a fairly standard fight, the darkness and the strobing lights make it challenging to see where exactly the Cyberdemon is and the low-tier enemies create a good distraction, making the Cyberdemon's moves unpredictable. Overall, I really liked it. I believe it's a fitting and memorable end to the second episode.

 

Some minor points of critique:
- Somewhat halfway through the map, I felt like I was getting way too much ammo and power ups for what I needed to handle the fights. Towards the end I was using the plasma and rockets for everything, which took away some of the suspense and tension. I think you could maybe get away with removing almost half of the ammo (considering there is also the berserk to punch out enemies when you run low on ammo).
- The trap when you grab the plasma gun felt easier than most of the previous traps. Maybe the cliff's edge could be made a bit more narrow or one or two Barons could be added to increase difficulty?
- I found a misaligned brick texture at the base of the final elevator.

 

E3M8 by @muumi

Spoiler

 

Wow. Fantastic looking map with great atmosphere. Really feels like you are running around at the base of a sci-fi super structure. I wonder, what is that sector art in the beginning of the map? Is that the space elevator seen from a distance? Or something else?

The map plays really well. The Mastermind is placed far enough from the player for auto-aim to not work, but close enough to the player to still get sniped by the Spider's machine gun. I will use that approach in my own map E4M8 as well. Combat is chaotic in a good way. Ammo balance is also good. There were a few moments where I thought I was going to run out of ammo but I never did. Overall a very memorable map to end the third episode.

 

Very minor point of critique:
- I'm not a big fan of damaging blood. Maybe lava would be more fitting? That's just some nitpicking though.

 

 

Progress on my own map: E4M8

Spoiler

 

I have been working for about two evenings on my map now. The overall layout is finished and I believe I can have a playable first version this week. According to Wikipedia, the surface of Venus is very hot, rusty and dominated by volcanoes and craters. I imagine it also being very dark because of that thick cloud layer above. So, I am going for a rather dark map with lots of contrasting bright volcanoes and lava streams.

The Spider Mastermind is at the center of a lava-filled crater and out of reach of your attacks (assuming auto-aim and no freelook). The player needs to walk around the crater's edge, avoid getting sniped by the Mastermind, while also encountering some monster traps along the way. Eventually you will reach an elevated point in the map, from where you can shoot the spider. Here is a very early screenshot:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited October 25, 2021 by PinkFlamingo

[fran]

16 hours ago, 7Soul said:

Yeah my map is going nowhere. Someone else can take E1M5 from me, sorry

 

Hey @ViolentBeetle I want to take this slot if is possible!!

[ViolentBeetle]

8 minutes ago, fran said:

 

Hey @ViolentBeetle I want to take this slot if is possible!!

OK.

[muumi]

Thanks for feedback!

1 hour ago, PinkFlamingo said:

I wonder, what is that sector art in the beginning of the map? Is that the space elevator seen from a distance? Or something else?

 

It supposed to be the space elevator from afar :) Ill consider about changing the blood.

[ViolentBeetle]

@The Kingslayer

Since Lorenzo submitted his map first, he won a race to decide the space ship's design and you should copy it as your map's exit area. Seems like it'll be a big floating UFO thing.

Edited October 26, 2021 by ViolentBeetle

[DJVCardMaster]

Dropping V4 here aswell, I think it is close to final.



DJV-E4M4-V4.zip

Edited October 26, 2021 by DJVCardMaster

[xdude_gamer]

11 hours ago, DJVCardMaster said:

Dropping V4 here aswell, I think it is close to final.



DJV-E4M4-V4.zip

Looks like a very demented army base or maybe a hellish tech base

[dac]

I'm alive, I'm alive.