[wip // Looking for Playtesters!] Artifice - a Vanilla E2 Replacement

[JustAthel]

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Artifice is a full episode 2 replacement for The Ultimate Doom (-cl 3), completely vanilla-compatible. Following the events of Emblem, you find yourself whisked away to the dark crevices of the fallen civilization known as The Arvent, fighting to find the fabled Emblem you were sent to find. If only you had gotten the memo that the search was called off right after your disappearance...

 

Spoiler for Screenshots

Spoiler

  

 

This project features the following:

• Nine whole new levels*, which takes the E2 theme you all know and love, and twists it into its own original world!
• Eleven new enemies added to the roster! Keep your distance from the kamikaze bomber, watch out for the belphegor's triple barrage, and so much more!
• Two "new" powerups! Reach up to 300%** Health when you grab the Lifesphere and enjoy double the health per bonus pickup to get you out of tough binds!
• Introducing a new weapon, the Plasmatic Rifle, replacing Vanilla's Plasma Rifle. It has a lower rate of fire but the damage output has been buffed slightly to make up for this.
• A new soundtrack composed by yours truly!***
• A beautiful title screen made by Maria Kinnun (PocketNinja85)!

 

^{* - In this release, M4 is incomplete, but is still playable\explorable and has the basic gist down.}

^{** - Depending on your health, you may only get up to 200+, this will be fixed in the final version.}

^{*** - D_E2M3 and D_INTER are still missing from this release, I hope to get them done soon!}

 

This is being shared both as a way to gather community feedback, as well as to serve as my own little reminder / backup place should anything (heaven forbid) happen to my files, which with my luck as of late becomes closer and closer to reality with each passing day.

 

Like Emblem, this has been tested in Chocolate Doom and DSDA-Doom. More extensive testing will be done as development continues, but it's a safe bet to assume that this won't be compatible with ZDoom-based ports until AFTER everything else is done and polished.

 

What I am looking for is any feedback on how the WAD as a whole plays: are some encounters too easy / too hard? Are some levels too tricky to navigate? How do the other skill levels play out for you guys? Anything and everything would be greatly appreciated so that I can make this the best it can be!
 

You can download the DEV Public Beta version here! (artifice-dev-public-beta.wad) I look forward to seeing your responses to this, and I'm eager to not spend a whole two years on this project :D (/j) 

 

 

Edited March 20 by JustAthel
DEV Public Beta version!

[OpenRift]

Hey look it got featured in a video!!

 

[JustAthel]

Woah wait what?? Um... Huh.

[JustAthel]

About 5 months later, I have returned to this thread with updates to the project. As promised, most of the development of this WAD is largely being kept under wraps until it's at a state where I feel I can comfortably show off what I've done. However, with the amount of progress that's been done on the WAD, as well as circumstances both in my own personal life and in the community, I feel as though now would be appropriate to shed some light on what's going on.

 

First, the OP has been updated with the official TITLEPIC image for Artifice! It's a combination of a Fiverr commission and my own logo, paletted for use in game. I honestly don't think it looks too bad!

 

Map-wise, things have been kind of slow, but thanks to a recent surge in motivation (as well as speedmapping here and there), I can now say I at least have 6/9 levels started and somewhat exitable, with E2M4 and E2M6 being the most recent additions. In addition, I don't want to spoil TOO much, but the bestiary that is present in this mod has greatly expanded beyond that of Emblem, further utilizing some new tricks I've picked up, as well as some creative innovation that's come with editing Ultimate Doom stuff. There's even a new powerup put in! Screenshotted below are a couple of WIP editor shots, as well as an action shot in game, showcasing a bit of what's been added.

Spoiler for screenshots

Spoiler

Lastly, the MIDI soundtrack for the mod is about halfway completed as well! The end result will be something that sounds like one continuous song, broken up into twelve pieces. You can listen to the soundtrack by following this YouTube playlist link here. I hope to get a release out with everything done so far semi polished enough to be playable. Thanks for following the project, everyone! I'll see you guys, uhm... soon-ish!
 

[FireWarden1000]

I completed maps E2E1 - E2E3 of artifice-rough-sketch.wad with Crispy-Doom, you have a long way to go. The layout of the maps are well designed, the gameplay is the worst part of this DOOM mod. Most enemies are placed in the middle of a room. The Demons are not able to move down the stairs in most parts of the maps, enemies are not able to leave certain areas of the map, and most of the maps are overall very empty. I would give you a 70/100, because I am able to complete the maps, and the maps use the Ultimate DOOM theme. My recommendations, remove any extra rooms if the rooms do not need to be added to the map. Build smaller rooms, because larger rooms take significantly longer to build unless the room is intentionally left empty. Overall well designed maps, the gameplay needs to be improved.

[JustAthel]

I've probably already tackled most of those issues in my latest dev build which I'll hopefully get posting soon. It makes sense that the gameplay for the rough sketch is bad, because, well... most of the enemy placements are there just as a rough idea!

[JustAthel]

Hello, everyone! It's been a hot minute since I've stepped in this thread, but I'm pleased to announce that I am now uploading a "First Look" version of the wad!

 

You can download it here (artifice-first-look.wad). I will be updating the thread with the proper credits for all the resources used shortly. Here's what you can expect from this WAD:

 

You can also view the trailer I made for this version of the WAD here!

• E2M1-E2M9, completely playable! Some maps are incomplete, however most of them are in a state where I feel they can be shown off now.

• Eleven new enemies added to the roster! Keep your distance from the kamikaze bomber, watch out for the belphegor's triple barrage, and so much more!

• Two "new" powerups! Reach up to 300%** Health when you grab the Lifesphere and enjoy double the health per bonus pickup to get you out of tough binds!

• Introducing a new weapon, the Plasmatic Rifle, replacing Vanilla's Plasma Rifle. It has a lower rate of fire but the damage output has been buffed slightly to make up for this.

• A new soundtrack composed by yours truly! There's still a couple tracks missing, and a few of the tracks will be changed / added on to.

• A beautiful title screen made by Maria Kinnun (PocketNinja85)!

 

I'm uploading this now in the hopes that someone will play it and I'll get a new set of eyes on this to tell me how to improve, but also because during the development of this mod, I have run into a rather weird issue running this under pure DOS. The game seems to hang during specific points (such as a belphegor entering its pain state or when firing the Plasmatic Rifle), and I'm hoping to find a vanilla enthusiast to point me towards what's causing these issues and how to fix it. Everything runs just fine in Chocolate-Doom, so I suspect it MIGHT be something memory related? I've tried DOSBox and a VM running WinXP with the same results, so that has me stumped...

 

I hope you all enjoy, and I hope to hear some thoughts / feedback from you all!

[Immorpher]

I need to get caught up on this! :D

[JustAthel]

Hey, guys! Got some pretty exciting news! Artifice is now finally reaching the final stages of development before I can get an RC out! I have recently finished making E2M5, here are some screenshots for you to look over! This is the most "e2" map I've made for this entire mappack, for better and for worse 😅

 

Spoiler

 

I've also managed to fix up my issue with vanilla doom.exe--turns out you actually HAVE to have codepointers on frames that originally had them. Who knew? All that I have to really do is fix up the music tracks, make DM-specific arenas, and test on all skill levels, and we'll be looking at a release candidate! I want to make sure I'm taking my time with this and don't make anything overall boring or subpar. Hopefully I can get something running for you guys by the end of the year, we'll see.

 

Thanks for following the project, guys! The end is nigh!

 

Edited September 29, 2023 by JustAthel

[JustAthel]

Hey, everybody! Figured it's time for an update! Almost every single level seems to be complete (by my standards, anyways). E2M4 still needs a bit of work, but I thought I'd give a public beta / call out for any playtesters from the community as a whole. I've been able to do some testing in my own time, and have recently completed a full playthrough in Ultra Violence, but I know there's still a lot I can improve on. I figure with a fresh set of eyes, I could get the feedback I'm looking for!

You can download the DEV Public Beta here! (artifice-dev-public-beta.wad).

 

What I am looking for is any feedback on how the WAD as a whole plays: are some encounters too easy / too hard? Are some levels too tricky to navigate? How do the other skill levels play out for you guys? Anything and everything would be greatly appreciated so that I can make this the best it can be! FDAs are more than welcome in this regard!

 

Lastly, I have posted in the OP some new screenshots of my favorite areas from each level. I want to try to get all of the finishing touches on the WAD and get this finished pretty soon, so that I can move on to more newer projects of mine. I look forward to hearing your opinions, and I hope you enjoy what I've got so far!

 

Spoiler for things \ bugs I'm aware of:
 

Spoiler

• Not all skill levels are implemented properly across all levels
• Not all secrets are fully fleshed out
• Some tutti-frutti / texture issues in some secret areas
• Some levels don't even have secrets in them yet
• E2M4's exit door is actually an exit switch. I am unsure the most about the progression of this level and would love to get feedback on this one specifically
• Not all music tracks are done
• The demos are not yet implemented
• Patching DOS Doom.exe with the DEHACKED patch in the wad freezes. This will be fixed in the final
• Lack of ZDoom compatibility
• Kamikaze Bomber's double explosion, but this is more of an accidental "feature" than a bug(?)

 

Edited March 20 by JustAthel

[FireWarden1000]

While the Brutal Doom Mod is playable with Artifice, progressing in the levels will not always be possible, or be able to achieve 100% Kills without activating cheat codes.

I will not include an introduction or conclusion for the WADREVIEW, because there are levels in the WAD that appear to be unfinished.

I completed Artifice with DOOM mods, and without DOOM mods.
I admit writing the WADREVIEW for Artifice required multiple playthroughs, and took me weeks to write.
 

MAP01 - COLLAPSE    70/100
MAP01 is a large sized, and empty level with minimal exploration involved, but will require the player to travel through the same areas in the level multiple times to progress in the level. There are numerous themes within MAP01 which will be present throughout the entire WAD, which will include a Tech Base theme, Gothic Castle theme, and Limbo theme.

 

MAP02 - STAGNATE    68/100
MAP02 is a large, and empty level with well detailed outdoor environments noticeable throughout the level, but the interior locations are full of empty space. The Warehouse in the Starting Area is well detailed, but is relatively empty to explore, and the Factory Area is unfinished with completely empty locations as well as the Secret Areas.

MAP03 - TRAVERSAL    78/100
MAP03 will feature more gameplay variety which takes place in indoor locations as well as outdoor locations, and will be the first level with 3 Key Cards. The best part of the level were the enemy ambushes, because the enemy ambushes were numerous, but the monster block Linedefs will be present in the level.

 

MAP04 - TEMPORAL    62/100
MAP04 is the worst level in Artifice, because the level repeats, and the level is missing the Blue Key, which prevents the player from reaching 100% Kills. The build quality of the MAP04 level feels rushed out the door, and exploring the level is not necessary, because the Level Exit is accessible in the Starting Area.

 

MAP05 - ARTIFICE    85/100
MAP05 is the best level in Artifice, because of the scale of the level, with multiple pathways to explore, numerous Secret Areas to find, theme variety, gameplay variety, level difficulty, and the level actually resembles Ultimate DOOM level design. The level is best described as being a large size maze, because the level layout will take time to understand where to go next while the player is being attacked by enemies in the distance. Enemy ambushes will catch the player by surprise, because the level design is dynamic, and the gameplay is very challenging with powerful enemies appearing throughout the level.

 

MAP06 - IRISBOUND    85/100
MAP06 is the 3RD best level in Artifice that takes place in outdoor locations which involves the player to explore a cave system, and the level will have a resemblance to the original DOOM levels. The best part of MAP06 is the exploration, because the level design is open ended, the difficult increases with the presence of more powerful enemies, and the Secret Areas were well designed.

 

MAP07 - ICARUS    85/100
MAP07 is the 2ND best level in Artifice featuring a very ambitious level design which will require the player to fight through large waves of enemies to unlock the gates that will lead to the level exit. While MAP07 is the grindiest level in the WAD, because of the number of enemies present in the level (over 400 enemies), the overall size of the level, and the amount of exploration necessary to complete the level is unmatched in comparison to the previous levels. The size of the level reduces the difficulty of the level, because of the amount of space the player is provided to avoid being overwhelmed by enemies, and the best part of the level is searching for the Secret Areas.
 

MAP08 - THIS WAY COMES    80/100
MAP08 is the dramatic ending to Artifice with an emphasis on abstract level design, and will be the most challenging level in the WAD, because of the level design which will feature small size arenas full of enemies, and the Final Room will take place within an arena as well. The gameplay during the first half of the level will be relatively uninteresting which will feature mostly lower level enemies, and the level difficulty increases as the player progresses in the level. MAP08 is the most difficult level in the WAD, because the monster arenas will be more Random Number Generator based, with more by the numbers enemy encounters which decreases the chances of surviving the arenas to at least 50%, because there are no hiding locations in the arena, and you will have to dodge all of the enemies to complete the arenas successfully. In the Final Area in the level, the player will be within a close distance from the Boss Enemy, and the player will be required to sprint through the arena to survive the arena.

 

MAP09 - STATIONARY    72/100
MAP09 is a Secret Level in Artifice, and will be a Slaughter Map featuring 2 Arenas with enemies teleporting into the area. There is plenty of room for the player to move around in the level which will provide the player an excess amount of resources to complete the level. The level will have no side locations to explore, but the level will contain well designed visuals, and the level takes place on islands consisting of both indoor as well as outdoor locations with a Boss Enemy appearing at the end of the level.

 

FINAL SCORE:

Artifice 76/100

 

GAMEPLAY: 74/100
GRAPHICS: 77/100
PRESENTATION: 77/100

NOTES:

Spoiler

 

MAP01
- There are Monster block Linedefs in the level.
- There is a missing texture on the door next to the Secret Area teleporter near the Level Exit.

MAP02
- The Warehouse in the Starting Area is completely empty.
- The Factory is completely empty.
- There are Monster block Linedefs in the Ruins area.
- The Yellow Key Secret Area is completely empty.
- The Secret Area past the teleporter in the Yellow Key Area is completely empty.

MAP04
- Level Exit is accessible in the Starting Area, which breaks the progression in the level.
- The level is missing the Blue Key, and the Blue Key is not required to complete the level.
- The hidden Green Armor should be a Secret Area.

MAP07
- The Level Exit is accessible after taking the lift to the center area of the level, and the player will be able to strafe into the area around the metal bars to access the teleporter.
- There are numerous monster block Linedefs present in the outdoor area.
- The outdoor rock walls are missing textures.
- Lava appears to be falling from the sky in the outdoor area near the Castle.

 

 

[JustAthel]

Thank you for the reviews! Admittedly making E2M4 is kicking mine in. I've repurposed what I want the level to be in the final version, it's just been a matter of getting enough motivation to actually finish it up. I'm curious though on what made it difficult to progress when playing in ZDoom?

[FireWarden1000]

JustAthel, Artifice runs fine with the latest GitHub version of GZDoom, but will have compatibility issues with the Brutal DOOM mod:

 

- Monsters are not able to teleport into the level, which prevents the player from reaching the Level Exit.

- The monsters that appear in the WAD are not the same as the monsters in Artifice, which will unbalance the difficulty. (Kamikaze Bombers are replaced with Archviles).

- The Secret Areas in the level look different.

 

The main problem involved monsters not teleporting into the level which will prevent the player from reaching the Level Exit.

 

Release what you are able to finish, and complete the unfinished content at a later time or even compile the content into a new project.

[JustAthel]

Ohh so it seems most of the issues stem from decorate overwriting dehacked, similar to what Emblem would do if you tried to launch its vanilla counterpart in a ZDoom based port, got it!