[Community Project] "Gorehounds of Doom"

[Origamyde]

5 hours ago, SCF said:

 

Nice map! Would work pretty well as an opener. It's a map that's fairly easy but without being boring. It looks nice and you still have to pay attention even if you're never under serious threat.

 

Here's a few minor things that jumped out at me when I played it:

• You can't return to the starting area once you go out into the streets (the door is one-way). As a result you can ge tlocked out of a secret and a few enemies. Not sure if that was intentional, but there doesn't seem to be much reason not to let you go back.
• In the blue key room, I'd recommend closing the doors and putting a switch to open them inside the monster closets, or something like that. Right now you can just get the key and leave, which makes the enemies pretty useless unless you're aiming for 100% kills.
• Speaking of which, getting 100% kills is impossible because of the revenants. That's your choice of course and not a huge deal, but you could add crushers to the whole area that start after you enter the teleporter.
• In the revenant room, only the front linedef of the teleporter pad is tagged. So if you enter it from the side it will not work.
• I'm not sure about the purpose of the area behind the blue key door east of the exit. There's a switch, but it just unleashes enemies and nothing else. Is it just meant to be optional?

 

Hey there, SCF ! 

 

While I do agree the blue key room could use some rework, the rest of the level was indeed intended to be playable in a specific manner (emulating a sort of fever dream that culminates with the Revenants chasing you, before you "wake up" from this nightmare). If necessary, though, I'll add crushers to make sure you can get 100% kills on MAP01 (completionists will be happy !). 

 

And yes, the area east is entirely optional. It's there to make sure you get extra ammo and health in case you fumbled it up until this point ;)

 

In any case, thank you for giving it a shot, and stay tuned for a future update incorporating your suggestions. 

[Origamyde]

For those interested, Dial G For Gore is now up to version 3 of its build. Changes and tweaks were made to account what SCF suggested to me.

 

Link : https://www.doomworld.com/forum/post/2483533

 

 

[Shawn]

Hello everyone, here is the first beta of my map.

 

Map Name: Transcendent Flesh
Author: Shawn
Theme: Abandoned lab/Time travel
Music: Transcendent Mind by Shawn
Difficulty Settings: Fully implemented
Ports Tested: DSDA-Doom 0.24.3, GZDoom 4.7.1

Wads required : Doom2.wad, rfhelltx.wad

Format : MBF21  (use -complevel 21)
Description: You are searching for the location of the initial secret teleportation experiments. After days of research, you finally find the entrance of an old lab that is thought to be where the first teleporter was ever made. Armed with your trusty handgun you decide to go in and put an end to this madness.

 

Spoiler

 

Notes: I've tried to pace the map like a horror movie, with a slow buildup beginning, a light lift puzzle and then after the teleportation sequence the map goes to full frantic gore/action mode until the end. Hopefully the beginning is not too boring, I've created a pseudo jump scare to keep the player on his toes.

Co-op/Deathmatch starts are placed. I tried some experimental stuff with teleporters, if you guys thinks it's too shoddy I'll remove/rework them.

 

Changelog for V2
---------

+ Added small variations in the main room every time you have to come back to it.
+ Added a new mini jump scare at the beginning of the level and moved the other one for later in the map.
* Changed the Arch-vile fight by adding more small monsters to distract the player.
- Fixed both teleporters and made them way more foolproof.
- Made the linedef that trigger the red skull key fight more reliable.

 

V3

---

*Made the map fully compatible with -complevel9.

 

V4

---

- Fixed the blue and yellow skull key teleporters sometime failing to work properly.

 

V5

---

- 100% items was unobtainable. Now you can get 100% items/secret/kills.

 

Comments and videos are all welcome from anyone. Any sort of feedback is appreciated, really. Thanks!

Transcendent_Flesh_v5.zip

Edited September 4, 2022 by Shawn
updated the map to v5

[CittyKat112]

1 hour ago, Shawn said:

Hello everyone, here is the first beta of my map.

 

Map Name: Transcendent Flesh
Author: Shawn
Theme: Abandoned lab/Time travel
Music: Transcendent Mind by Shawn
Difficulty Settings: Fully implemented
Ports Tested: DSDA-Doom 0.24.3, GZDoom 4.7.1
Description: You are searching for the location of the initial secret teleportation experiments. After days of research, you finally find the entrance of an old lab that is thought to be where the first teleporter was ever made. Armed with your trusty handgun you decide to go in and put an end to this madness.

 

  Hide contents

 

Notes: I've tried to pace the map like a horror movie, with a slow buildup beginning, a light lift puzzle and then after the teleportation sequence the map goes to full frantic gore/action mode until the end. Hopefully the beginning is not too boring, I've created a pseudo jump scare to keep the player on his toes.

Co-op/Deathmatch starts are placed. I tried some experimental stuff with teleporters, if you guys thinks it's too shoddy I'll remove/rework them.

 

Comments and videos are all welcome from anyone. Any sort of feedback is appreciated, really. Thanks!

Transcendent Flesh.zip

I'm currently playing it, will post another comment once I beat it. I have encountered two issues so far - you can get softlocked in the super shotgun room if you decide to go in that room with the cacodemon in it before pressing the switch that gives you the blue key. The second issue, I'm not even even sure if that's an issue because this might be intentional, but you can go through these fences in both normal and the 'otherworld' version of the map.

 

Edited May 1, 2022 by CittyKat112

[Shawn]

17 minutes ago, CittyKat112 said:

I'm currently playing it, will post another comment once I beat it. I have encountered two issues so far - you can get softlocked in the super shotgun room if you decide to go in that room with the cacodemon in it before pressing the switch that gives you the blue key. The second issue, I'm not even even sure if that's an issue because this might be intentional, but you can go through these fences in both normal and the 'otherworld' version of the map.

 

 

Weird, they are blocking when I test here. Do you use -complevel 21 ? I specifically use the block player flag here and in the window.

[CittyKat112]

8 minutes ago, Shawn said:

 

Weird, they are blocking when I test here. Do you use -complevel 21 ? I specifically use the block player flag here and in the window.

Oh damn, I forgot to say I tested it in GZDoom and my version is old and only supports MBF, not MBF21. Also I couldn't finish the map and died at the fake exit switch :D

How do you get to the secret btw? I used noclip to get to the room where the secret was.

Also, how do I load both the map and rhelltx with it using command line arguments? Dragging and dropping .wad files in DSDA Doom executable doesn't work for me...

Edited May 1, 2022 by CittyKat112

[CittyKat112]

The map was pretty good so far, and that moment where you're having 'hallucinations' was pretty awesome. Too bad I didn't get to that fight, I guess it's supposed to be the last fight before exiting the map?

11 minutes ago, Shawn said:

 

Weird, they are blocking when I test here. Do you use -complevel 21 ? I specifically use the block player flag here and in the window.

 

[SCF]

1 hour ago, Shawn said:

Hello everyone, here is the first beta of my map.

 

I don't think the start is boring or too long (and I liked the jumpscare bit). The whole "hell version of the same areas" thing was executed well, and I also liked the little details like the cacodemon in the vat being alive now. The one issue I noticed is that both the teleporters only have one linedef on them, and since teleporter linedefs only work from the front side you can completely miss it if you enter the pad from another side, which happened to me once. Also, after a bit more testing I found you can actually get yourself stuck if you hit the edge of the teleporter linedef (like if you walk straight towards the teleporter, but strafe a bit to the side first so you're only half on it). You get teleported to the next room but you can't move. Sometimes I'd get unstuck eventually, and sometimes I'd drop off the pad entirely and then get softlocked.

 

1 minute ago, CittyKat112 said:

Also, how do I load both the map and rhelltx with it using command line arguments? Dragging and dropping .wad files in DSDA Doom executable doesn't work for me...

 

You can load multiple wads with "-file a.wad b.wad c.wad" in the command line argument

[Large Cat]

@Shawn Played through on UV in DSDA Doom (-complevel 21). Here's my FDA: transflesh.zip. I died once to some pinkies popping up in front of me in the first encounter, which was unforunate, but not a big deal. I died once at the big blood fight as well, and I'll talk about my feelings on the fight later.

 

First, potential bugs. I believe CittyKat112's issue is indeed GZDoom not behaving with MBF21, as the expected lines blocked my movement in DSDA Doom. I was able to reproduce SCF's issue; walking with too much sideways velocity onto the trippy teleport sequence will land you in the room around the conveyor, and since there are blocking lines, you can't get back on track and are softlocked. I'd suggest replacing the blocking lines here with conveyors that push the player sideways back onto the main conveyor sequence. One new bug of my own: the first time I collected the red skull, it seems I failed to trigger the accompanying fight, so you may want to have the triggering lines hug the key less closely.

 

The progression was easy enough to follow for me, though there seem to be points where getting confused is possible. The first red key switch is a bit hidden, and there's a fair bit of area to search for it; the platform that the switch lowers could be more visibly labeled as the red key object. The switch that releases the pinkies in the first fight really blends into the decorations and provides no feedback when pressed. After getting the red skull key, some stairs start raising, but these stairs are unrelated to the direction to progress; I don't think there's any reason to cover up the red skull door before getting the key, as this only confused me.

 

I don't think the beginning sequence is too long. After all, I played through it several times during testing (three on demo and a few more for further testing). The jumpscare is as frightening with the monsters so far away, but the distance also minimizes the chance I get creamed by revenant missiles, so it's a tradeoff. I was a little disappointed that the jumpscare wasn't a portent of things to come, but that's okay; at least we get to see it one more time in the second teleport. Something you could capitalize on: the player treks through a few areas multiple times, most notably the the first indoor room, so you could implement some spooky alterations to the room with each new visit to keep the atmosphere fresh. Even without that, the opening does well to familiarize the player with the area before corrupting it.

 

Visuals are (paradoxically) both clean and gory; nothing trenchant for me to point out here. I really dig how much movement there is in the flesh elements of the rocket launcher room. Flesh is creepiest when it moves. The music was a little "hammy" for my taste, but that's probably a personal preference thing.

Combat was satisfying for me. Not too tough, but still requires some thought and movement. I think the strongest fight occurs right after getting the SSG; you have to balance arriving monsters with taking cover from the "cage" area projectiles, which is a great dynamic. The post-red-skull-key fight was less engaging for me; after killing the monsters who arrive in your face, nothing else is a threat, so you're just mindlessly chewing through meat for most of the process. I was really not a fan of the hell knights and archvile combo. The hell knights aren't a real threat due to the excess of available space, and the archvile is straight-up peek-a-boo through some vision-obscuring meat, which is a pace-killer. I think it's even worse if the player doesn't see the archvile and is jumpscared by flames, unable to figure out how to avoid the damage. I think this fight would work better with a central piece of cover and the AV placed with you and the hell knights. For the final battle, it's nothing revolutionary, but it works fine. The spectres take away from the experience for me, unexpectedly blocking my movement and making it infeasible to properly use the rocket launcher without gibbing myself.

 

That's my feelings on the map at this point. You called the map a "beta," but I think it is a fine entry even in its current state; any further additions are just gravy.

[Shawn]

Thank you all for the great feedback so far. In the next few days I'll tweak the map a bit, giving special focus to the teleportation area (Hopefully I will find a way that is 100% foolproof).

 

3 hours ago, CittyKat112 said:

How do you get to the secret btw?

 

Here is how you access the secret room :

Spoiler

You have to be in the "hell" version of the map, the access is in the room where the rocket launcher is. Behind that big fleshy furniture there is a eye switch, just press it to reveal the secret room.

 

 

3 hours ago, CittyKat112 said:

I guess it's supposed to be the last fight before exiting the map?

 

The final fight is the one where you can obtain the yellow skull key in the giant pool of blood. I did not reuse that setpiece for the final fight, maybe I should. I'll think about it.

 

2 hours ago, SCF said:

 

The one issue I noticed is that both the teleporters only have one linedef on them, and since teleporter linedefs only work from the front side you can completely miss it if you enter the pad from another side

 

Yes, I'll definitely fix that and be super careful to make it work all the time. I don't want players to be stuck and have to noclip or restart the map, that would be super frustrating.

 

2 hours ago, Large Cat said:

the first time I collected the red skull, it seems I failed to trigger the accompanying fight, so you may want to have the triggering lines hug the key less closely.

 

Thanks, I will modify that.

 

2 hours ago, Large Cat said:

The switch that releases the pinkies in the first fight really blends into the decorations and provides no feedback when pressed.

 

This texture was broken in the first version of the resource wad. You can try redownloading the fixed version here : https://www.doomworld.com/forum/post/2482655

 

2 hours ago, Large Cat said:

After getting the red skull key, some stairs start raising, but these stairs are unrelated to the direction to progress;

 

I really wanted to block the player, force him to fight and not to flee to the next room. I agree this part is a bit confusing.

 

2 hours ago, Large Cat said:

Something you could capitalize on: the player treks through a few areas multiple times, most notably the the first indoor room, so you could implement some spooky alterations to the room with each new visit to keep the atmosphere fresh.

 

That's an awesome idea ! I'll definitely add some subtle things. Thank you !

 

2 hours ago, Large Cat said:

The hell knights aren't a real threat due to the excess of available space, and the archvile is straight-up peek-a-boo through some vision-obscuring meat, which is a pace-killer.

 

I'll try to think of something to make that part a bit more exciting.

 

And with that I'll go back to work on the map to make it even better for you guys. Thank you for the great feedback and the demo, it helped me a lot to see how someone navigate the map for the first time. It's great.

[CittyKat112]

10 hours ago, Shawn said:

The final fight is the one where you can obtain the yellow skull key in the giant pool of blood. I did not reuse that setpiece for the final fight, maybe I should. I'll think about it.

That would be epic, I think it's a bit disappointing that this fight never actually takes place and was still hoping it will even after I saw that area before going into the room with a fake exit switch.

[muumi]

spoo-ooky

[Thelokk]

1 hour ago, muumi said:

spoo-ooky

 

Domo-doom.

[Snaxalotl]

Thelokk has announced that she is abandoning all projects that she is involved in, I have a channel in my discord server for those that still want to still be involved. All deadlines are unchanged and I claim no credit for this project, I just really don't want this all to go to waste. And if Thelokk wants to pick up the project again I have no issues with it.

https://discord.gg/PwPqcVsEDR

[Misty]

I'd like to take my level with me and leave spot for those who wanted join after initial sign-up. I hope, project gets finished because there are so many promising levels. 

[RastaManGames]

I, as well, want this project to be finished. This is gonna be very despaired if my work gonna be lost for nothing...

 

@Snaxalotl What about current state of this CP? I mean, is there will be new thread or further actions gonna be in this thread as well?

Edited May 4, 2022 by RastaManGames

[SCF]

Very unfortunate. I hope it can still be finished, even we don't end up with as many maps. Since my entry is already done it makes little difference to me, but I can imagine people who've just started feeling less motivated to work on it now. Either way, I'll still be around to play new submissions and give feedback.

 

[Snaxalotl]

5 hours ago, RastaManGames said:

I, as well, want this project to be finished. This is gonna be very despaired if my work gonna be lost for nothing...

 

@Snaxalotl What about current state of this CP? I mean, is there will be new thread or further actions gonna be in this thread as well?

Further actions should still be posted to this thread, I'll make a separate thread for the release of the project.

[RastaManGames]

8 minutes ago, Snaxalotl said:

Further actions should still be posted to this thread, I'll make a separate thread for the release of the project.

 

Okay then! I just wanted to clear out that I am not gonna exit from this CP and my entry still valid.

[Salmon]

Well, that's a shame.  I hope Thelokk is able to take up leadership of the project again in the future.  It's a fun concept and I thought things were going well.

 

At the moment my "map" for this consists of a concept, a MIDI, and an outline sketch.  I've been focusing on my MAYhem contribution since it has an earlier deadline.  I'll see where things are at when I'm done with that but right now I'm a maybe on still contributing.

 

Thanks to @Snaxalotl for (sort of) taking over the project!

[muumi]

Anyway, first version of my map is complete.

 

Map Name: Inmost Gibs
Author: Muumi
Theme: absurdly hellish

Sky: Custom by Muumi
Music: Legion of Fear by Knightrider of Doom
Difficulty Settings: Implemented but I have only tested UV
Ports Tested: DSDA-Doom
Description: Formless flesh tunnels in the inmost planes of hell filled with uncomfortable amount of lotus pod textures.

 

Download: inmost_gibs.zip

 

Screenshots:

Spoiler

 

 

 

[CittyKat112]

32 minutes ago, muumi said:

Anyway, first version of my map is complete.

 

Map Name: Inmost Gibs
Author: Muumi
Theme: absurdly hellish

Sky: Custom by Muumi
Music: Legion of Fear by Knightrider of Doom
Difficulty Settings: Implemented but I have only tested UV
Ports Tested: DSDA-Doom
Description: Formless flesh tunnels in the inmost planes of hell filled with uncomfortable amount of lotus pod textures.

 

Download: inmost_gibs.zip

 

Screenshots:

  Hide contents

 

 

 

Dimensions MAP32 music XD

Ok, this is epic. I didn't beat the map because I'm going to bed soon, but I got to the red key room and like three arch-viles spawned in so I got killed... For like eightieth time. I'm gonna play the rest of the map tomorrow. Cool visuals, but that skybox is a bit weird imo. I'll try to UV max it after I beat it with saves tomorrow, I don't have any strategies and I don't know what to expect next. Seems like it's the first map in the set focused entirely on combat...

Edited May 4, 2022 by CittyKat112
It's MAP32 not 03, dumbass.

[muumi]

3 minutes ago, CittyKat112 said:

Dimensions MAP03 music XD

Huh, I just picked something scary and fast paced :D 

9 minutes ago, CittyKat112 said:

Cool visuals, but that skybox is a bit weird imo.

I have been experimenting with animated sky textures lately. Definitely curious to hear people opinions on them :)

 

11 minutes ago, CittyKat112 said:

I don't have any strategies and I don't know what to expect next.

Spoiler

its going to get worse...

 

[CittyKat112]

1 minute ago, muumi said:

Huh, I just picked something scary and fast paced :D 

I have been experimenting with animated sky textures lately. Definitely curious to hear people opinions on them :)

 

  Hide contents

its going to get worse...

 

I figured as much, hopefully I'll manage to max it within a day or two... I'll post another comment after I'll beat it during practice run with saves and then post a demo when it's ready.

[SCF]

On 4/19/2022 at 7:46 AM, RastaManGames said:

RMG-SweetTremorV5.zip

 

Another map with good atmosphere. I like the little details like the impaled heads popping up. Few comments:

• It looks like you only get 8 shells for the final two enemies. I had enough ammo saved up, but I imagine it's possible to get stuck and then you have to punch a baron to death.
• You can actually shoot and hit the barrels through the window at the end. Ultimately has the same effect as pressing the button, but it looks kinda weird.
• Although I saw the secret blue armor, I didn't manage to find it. It's a bit misleading that the secret wall is unmarked, but the regular wall next to it has blood splatters and decorations.

1 hour ago, muumi said:

Anyway, first version of my map is complete.

 

Map Name: Inmost Gibs

 

Great map! Love the whole design and architecture, and the non-stop action. Very fun. The only gripe I had was with the three barons that teleport in after you grab one of the keys. They don't really do anything except waste your ammo so I just ignored them. Oh, and I missed the red key switch at first, probably because it blends in with all the red brick and is never directly in front of you unless you walk a specific path.

 

Also, unless I'm missing something, the blue armor secret seems pretty obscure. The lift you can lower is the same texture as many other pillars, and it's only on one side and not the other.

[Maribo]

3 hours ago, muumi said:

Download: inmost_gibs.zip

Had to give in and run through this one on its own because I too love the color red and hell-flesh reality. Wonderful map that backs up its visual aesthetic with competent combat, though the Archvile tunnel section is probably the closest thing to traditional horror in it... but the yellow skull key room, the one with the sector hands and mouth is the bit that stuck out the most to me in the visual department. The big square final arena with the cacos that come out of the corners also has that hive-like thing in the center and that's a really cool-looking setpiece too. Though I do think the actual fight that takes place in that arena is defused a bit too freely, but maybe that's because I stumbled upon the solution that works for me after a couple of quick deaths and found it pretty consistent.

gibsm1507.zip - mostly casual max run through.

[CittyKat112]

So I beat it with saves within 15 minutes. Tried to record a demo, died 17 times. I was hoping there's gonna be a cyberdemon at some point, I was surprised there's only one in this map :D I didn't have any problems finding secrets (even though I learned how to get blue armor from this thread). Will post a successful demo sometime soon... Probably.

[muumi]

thanks for feedback people. Ill check demo later. 

1 hour ago, CittyKat112 said:

I was hoping there's gonna be a cyberdemon at some point, I was surprised there's only one in this map :D

I wanted to have more bosses but there just was not much room D:

Blue armor lift was supposed to have different texture but I guess I messed it up. Ill make the red door more visible, maybe change it to blue. Those 3 barons might indeed be in need of demotion to hell knights

[CittyKat112]

4 hours ago, muumi said:

thanks for feedback people. Ill check demo later. 

I wanted to have more bosses but there just was not much room D:

Blue armor lift was supposed to have different texture but I guess I messed it up. Ill make the red door more visible, maybe change it to blue. Those 3 barons might indeed be in need of demotion to hell knights

Makes sense... If you put two cyberdemons in that room instead of just one and there would also be a spider mastermind in the adjacent outdoor area, taking them out would be a massive pain in the ass :D Hope you're gonna make another map for this CP but with larger scale fights and stuff. Talking about pain... Here's my UV max demo. 64 attempts lol. Got a bit sloppy near the end, my best run with saves took me 12 minutes instead of 13. Oh well...

imt_gbs-00064.zip

Also, that fight with the four arch-viles after you grab the red key is the easiest fight in the map :0

Edited May 5, 2022 by CittyKat112

[muumi]

Watched both demos, cool to see some different strats. About final area, yep I did not expect people to run to the inside of building in the final fight and use the lab room's sides as cover. Ill consider if I should add some stationary monster there. Also Cittykat112, 64 attempts, huh that is some determination. 

 

I recorded quick demo myself if anyone is interested of seeing how I stumble through it. Totally messed up final fight but somehow pulled it.
gibs-00003.zip