[Back on idgames] Silence.wad Version 4.1 Full Release (Vanilla Compatible Ultimate Doom Replacement)

[Wilster_Wonkels]

Back on idgames

 

I've been working since March on a vanilla compatible megawad for the Ultimate Doom, and this is it. I finally have Thy Flesh Consumed done and ready for its initial release. I wouldn't say that this project is anything super special, just a standard tier UDTWID type of wad.

 

I started designing E1 after hitting a stall in a UDMF project of mine, deciding that a fresh start on something simpler might be interesting, and so far it's been a lot of fun working on this.

 

One thing I paid very close attention to when working on E2 is balancing. I think I speak for quite a few people when I say that shotgunning Barons is a pain, so I've made sure that this shouldn't be happening in any of the levels, if you've explored the map thoroughly enough. I also made a point to inject more variety into E2. There are more open areas, to facilitate the bigger enemies, and a wider range of textures in use.

 

Episode 3's main difference is difficulty. There are more and crueler traps, less pickups, and more hazards. It's a bit harder than the first two episodes, at least in my experience. The same rules about balancing from Episode 2 carry over, but ammo is a bit tighter, so don't miss too often.

 

Episode 4 exists for pain.

 

This release also marks the (probably) final version of the soundtrack that I've been working on. At the suggestion of @Captain Keen I've kept it as a separate file from the levels.

 

Here's a video version of the complete soundtrack:

Spoiler

 

 

Another note I'd like to add here is to not expect an E4. I think I've done what I can with these types of maps, and honestly would like to move on to something else once I finish polishing these levels some more. I'll be combing through them a lot in the coming little bit, trying to find any way I can adjust them or optimize them and polish them off. I'd say this is very near the final product though.

 

Primary testing has been through Chocolate Doom, and as far as I've seen, there aren't any glitches or bugs. I've pistol started and completed each level, though some of them do get a bit tough at times.

 

Big shoutouts to some of the people helping me along the way in this thread, including @sandwedge (check out his video playthroughts, they've helped me a lot by showing someone's live reaction to these levels), @Captain Keen (I think he may be this wad's biggest fan at this point), @kalensar (for giving me the perfect quote to introduce the wad in the txt file), @Doomkid (for getting me to write that txt file), @Lippeth (for sticking around the whole way through and always giving good feedback), and @Rudolph (for sticking to his guns)

 

(yeah, take that @Snaxalotl)

 

Download:

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/megawads/silence

 

Screenshots

Spoiler

Episode 1

 

Episode 2

Episode 3

 

Episode 4

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by Wilster_Wonkels
Release of Final Update

[Doomkid]

Looks like a really enjoyable classic episode based on those screenies!

[kalensar]

That is really fun! I made to Mape1m4 before I died. Had a gold old time. Very nostalgic feel to it.

[FEDEX]

Vanilla.. it's always delicious :) congrat. for this one

[NightFright]

These kind of maps should always be tested with Chocolate Doom. If it's meant to be vanilla, it has to run without issues with vanilla-like ports.

 

That being said, I gotta check this out. Good luck on completing the rest of the episodes! We can never have enough of this stuff.

[Pistoolkip]

I played up to map 5. Enjoyable WAD, definite episode 1 feel and look. But the maps do get a bit samey in layout and visuals, as well as gameplay. If I showed you a 10 second clip you'de have  hard time guessing which map it was on.
Try adding some more landmarks and set pieces; fights and locations that stand out.

Video will be up later this week. 

[sandwedge]

 

Dude I love it!  Classic vanilla flavour!  It felt like it got a wee bit harder than Episode 1 especially the secret level with the crusher trap and monster hordes which killed me a couple time, but I actually prefer it to get a little harder - episode 1 is so easy after so many years after all and we have better experience, better mice and screens and so on.  The flow of it definitely feels like episode 1 in general in general though and I'm playing the rest of it right now, will post soon.  Great work!  I wanted a nice, light snack :)

Edited March 30, 2022 by sandwedge
meant episode 1 not e1m1

[JustAthel]

Interesting... I'll have to give this a run through pretty soon! Nice work on finishing your episode!!

[Wilster_Wonkels]

2 hours ago, sandwedge said:

 

Dude I love it!  Classic vanilla flavour!  It felt like it got a wee bit harder than Episode 1 especially the secret level with the crusher trap and monster hordes which killed me a couple time, but I actually prefer it to get a little harder - E1M1 is so easy after so many years after all and we have better experience, better mice and screens and so on.  The flow of it definitely feels like E1M1 in general though and I'm playing the rest of it right now, will post soon.  Great work!  I wanted a nice, light snack :)

Thanks a lot for the feedback, I'm really glad to see that some people are getting a kick out of this. Gonna try to get on to E2 by the end of the week, but might take a few days break. Looking forward to your followup with the second half!

[Wilster_Wonkels]

10 hours ago, Pistoolkip said:

I played up to map 5. Enjoyable WAD, definite episode 1 feel and look. But the maps do get a bit samey in layout and visuals, as well as gameplay. If I showed you a 10 second clip you'de have  hard time guessing which map it was on.
Try adding some more landmarks and set pieces; fights and locations that stand out.

Video will be up later this week. 

Really appreciate the feedback. In future updates I'll see what I can do about making things stand out more in E1, and Episodes 2 and 3 I'll be sure to keep what you've said in mind to have certain areas really pop or give levels more specific themes.

[Kor]

Pretty good episode, I had fun playing it.  It looks like from the other posts you're planning on making this a full set of levels.  Look forward to it.

[sandwedge]

 

Finished it off!  (gonna reiterate my video description here) Same good quality throughout!  You might notice I feel a bit fatigued by the 7th level, which is partly that I was tired and my voice was a bit shot.  But perhaps it did start to feel a bit samey by then, however it's a short episode so it's not going to overstay its welcome.  Enjoyed the final baron fight as it was definitely tricky the first couple attempts but didn't take long to figure it out, and reminds me of the original fight.  Looking forward to any more episodes you might make!

[LerxstInWonderland]

Just played through the whole episode on UV with pistol starts. Really enjoyed it overall. I loved the classic look and feel, and it's been ages since I played DOOM as opposed to DOOM 2. It was fun to run around with the chaingun, mowing down copious amounts of zombiemen/shotgunners. I enjoyed the secrets, although I probably only found around about 1/2 to 2/3's of them on average per level. The texture worked seemed solid, and faithful to the original game. DOOM is obviously more limited in what you can do with enemy ambushes, but I feel you did a good job with the traps 

Spoiler

You definitely got me with the e1m6 yellow key trap!

 

Anyway, nice job with this episode! Look forward to playing the next episodes when they release :)

[Captain Keen]

On 3/29/2022 at 9:17 AM, NightFright said:

Good luck on completing the rest of the episodes! We can never have enough of this stuff.

 

I agree with this comment! "We can never have enough of this stuff." Really enjoyed playing this, and looking forward to the other episodes. Especially Episode 3, I'll play anything Inferno-themed. It's part of the reason I love Doom 1 wads so much, Techbase and Inferno Hell textures are my favorites of the OG Dooms.

 

On 3/29/2022 at 10:59 AM, Pistoolkip said:

Enjoyable WAD, definite episode 1 feel and look. But the maps do get a bit samey in layout and visuals, as well as gameplay. If I showed you a 10 second clip you'de have  hard time guessing which map it was on.

 

This is a fair criticism, but I think with just a couple tweaks here and there you could add a few very memorable areas. I really liked what you did with open spaces when you used them, so maybe you could exploit that just a bit more to make those areas stand out as specific to a map or expand them just a tiny bit. But great vanilla gameplay regardless if you alter anything or not. Thanks for posting your work @Wilster_Wonkels

[Hayden49]

What a good wad. Perhaps the first map is the least exciting since it is very short and not as action packed as the rest, but my favorite maps are E1M7 and E1M9, the barrel exploding is cumming (amazing). I'd like to see a full megawad of this, it's great. I am a big fan of E1's.

 

Grade: B+

Difficulty: D

Best: E1M7

2nd best: E1M9

Hardest: E1M8

[Captain Keen]

@Wilster_Wonkels Ok, I played through this again, because I can never get enough of Doom 1 vanilla wads. This holds up very well. I am only posting again to say, if I were you, I wouldn't spend a lot of time changing this or redoing a ton of things, the wad is damn good as is. I would instead put your efforts on E2 and E3. Are you planning on releasing those episodes separately or together?

 

If you were to tweak anything, personally I would only recommend maybe jazzing up a few of the open areas a bit, and E1M1 is the only map that as a whole seemed a little lackluster on replay. Great work, though, if your E2 and E3 are anything like this I can't wait to play them.

[Wilster_Wonkels]

7 hours ago, Captain Keen said:

@Wilster_Wonkels Ok, I played through this again, because I can never get enough of Doom 1 vanilla wads. This holds up very well. I am only posting again to say, if I were you, I wouldn't spend a lot of time changing this or redoing a ton of things, the wad is damn good as is. I would instead put your efforts on E2 and E3. Are you planning on releasing those episodes separately or together?

 

If you were to tweak anything, personally I would only recommend maybe jazzing up a few of the open areas a bit, and E1M1 is the only map that as a whole seemed a little lackluster on replay. Great work, though, if your E2 and E3 are anything like this I can't wait to play them.

Thanks a lot for your feedback, I'm really glad you're digging it so far.

 

I plan on adding the other levels onto this wad and updating it each time I finish an episode. That's a fair point about E1M1, I didn't really know where I was gonna go with the wad when I designed that level and it was my first time ever working strictly with vanilla compatibility so I made it simple to compensate.

 

I might try to clean up E1 some more but overall I'm moving on to The Shores of Hell, currently working on level 2. This episode should be a bit more open and with a better sense of variety now that I'm bringing in cacodemons/barons/lost souls and more of the hell textures. Bigger enemies need bigger areas, so I'll see where it takes me.

[Nikku4211]

Nice episode. I had no idea E1M9 was going to be one of those difficult levels with dense areas filled with hitscanners, though.

 

FDA-approved first demo attempt, for Chocolate Doom:

silecazh.7z

[Pistoolkip]

Here's the video!

 

 

[Captain Keen]

18 hours ago, Wilster_Wonkels said:

I might try to clean up E1 some more but overall I'm moving on to The Shores of Hell, currently working on level 2. This episode should be a bit more open and with a better sense of variety now that I'm bringing in cacodemons/barons/lost souls and more of the hell textures. Bigger enemies need bigger areas, so I'll see where it takes me.

 

Sounds like a perfect plan! I look forward to playing it.

[Doomkid]

Hey @Wilster_Wonkels, I'd love to add this first episode to my Big Vanilla Wad Pack. When you release future episodes, I will of course update it!

 

Is there any chance you'd mind filling in a standard Doom wad text file so the wad isn't "floating around in the pack" without any attached info, so to speak? (I can do this if you want, but I figured it makes more sense for the author to do it).

 

Thanks for working on these maps, this is the kinda stuff I crave.

[sandwedge]

On 4/2/2022 at 8:54 PM, Wilster_Wonkels said:

That's a fair point about E1M1, I didn't really know where I was gonna go with the wad when I designed that level and it was my first time ever working strictly with vanilla compatibility so I made it simple to compensate.

 

This reminds me of how Romero said he would work on the first map last once he'd mastered the tools/ episode design.  Especially since the first impression might be important in hooking your players.  Maybe you already know that but thought that might be useful for the next episodes.

[The Royal We]

I edited the comment because I posted it in the wrong post. Soon I'll play these too so I can actually contribute some comment.

Sorry for the confusion.

Edited April 4, 2022 by The Royal We

[kalensar]

Segwaying a second post since I played through 7 of  9 maps.

 

Okedokey! We have a super classic feeling wad here folks! The Author did his homework on making this oddly named but lovable beast of wad. Its got an Episode 1 feel just oozing all over the place. This is a blastem, run and gunnem, Door fighting, sneak attacking, and massacring on both player and monster side kind of Doom 1. The sights are actually really good in this as I find myself just sight seeing more than often as I'm making my way around. It has excellent replay value since the secret hunting is rather easy and painful all at once. Many times I just intuition out a few of them but then I see a few that I can't reach or just continue on with the mayhem.

 

Regardless is this a great nostalgia feeling piece and should adorn any wad collection with pride. Its not easy and its not overly difficult. Excellent balance and care was put into practically all the encounters and it shows very well.

 

7/10 cacos.

[Dubbag]

ok so there is a story behind my downloading and playing of this WAD. My toilet blew up on a sunday and I had to stay at my parents house for the night. My mother let me use her office computer and I installed Doom on it for something to do all night. I downloaded this WAD onto her computer. I loved it! I thought every map was brilliant and fun to play. I love your use of textures and base design. Just so you know, my mom almost never uses her computer so this WAD will probably be sitting in it for decades giving it somewhat of a little personal legacy. Thank you so much for making my night easier.

Edited April 4, 2022 by Dub Bag

[Wilster_Wonkels]

21 hours ago, Doomkid said:

Hey @Wilster_Wonkels, I'd love to add this first episode to my Big Vanilla Wad Pack. When you release future episodes, I will of course update it!

 

Is there any chance you'd mind filling in a standard Doom wad text file so the wad isn't "floating around in the pack" without any attached info, so to speak? (I can do this if you want, but I figured it makes more sense for the author to do it).

 

Thanks for working on these maps, this is the kinda stuff I crave.

I went through that template you gave me and filled out what I could. I've never done one of those before so here's to hoping I didn't screw it up. The download link is updated in the OP and includes the txt file with the wad now. (oh, and I hope that @kalensar doesn't mind me quoting him in the description. The phrase "oddly named but lovable beast of a wad" was too good not to use.

 

48 minutes ago, Dub Bag said:

ok so there i a story behind my downloading and playing of this WAD. My toilet blew up on a sunday and I had to stay at my parents house for the night. My mother let me use her office computer and I installed Doom on it for something to do all night. I downloaded this WAD and onto her computer. I loved it! I thought every map was brilliant and fun to play. I love your use of textures and base design. Just so you know, my mom almost never uses her computer so this WAD will probably be sitting in her computer for decades. Thank you so much for making my night easier.

That's an origin story worthy of Sam Raimi. Thanks for the kind words, glad you liked it.

[Dubbag]

4 minutes ago, Wilster_Wonkels said:

That's an origin story worthy of Sam Raimi. Thanks for the kind words, glad you liked it.

played all the maps not one bad one!

[Doomkid]

19 minutes ago, Wilster_Wonkels said:

I went through that template you gave me and filled out what I could. I've never done one of those before so here's to hoping I didn't screw it up. The download link is updated in the OP and includes the txt file with the wad now. (oh, and I hope that @kalensar doesn't mind me quoting him in the description. The phrase "oddly named but lovable beast of a wad" was too good not to use.

Perfect! I know it's a bit tedious, but these sorts of text files are so helpful for providing info about the wad, especially a few years down the track. (They're also required for idgames uploading, when and if you ever want to do that - I always upload my favorite creations there since it's the longest-lived archive of Doom wads out there.)

[kalensar]

1 hour ago, Wilster_Wonkels said:

@kalensar doesn't mind me quoting him in the description. The phrase "oddly named but lovable beast of a wad" was too good not to use.

 

 

 

 Please be my guest.

[Lippeth]

Always love an E1 replacement, and this is a really good one! It's got that old school design with a more modern attention to detail. I played the first three (and ninth) levels in GZDoom, then tossed it into DOSBox and played four through about half of six, and I look forward to finishing it tomorrow.