[Untitled] - Eleven Boom maps about age and decay - Remastered Director's Cut Uncensored Limited Edition

[Thelokk]

 

 

"The smell of death and blood hangs heavy on you, yet the stench barely registers to your deadened, dulled senses. You look around, a wasteland of sepia colors where what little remains of your enemies of old shamble like barely animated corpses. It's a world that has already died - all it needs is its mercy killing."

 

RC2 HERE

 

Hmm, didn't you see this one already a few months ago? well, apparently you did not see the whole thing! Thelokk finally capitulates to remasters, since this is the one mapset of hers anyone sorta gave a shit about its previous form it felt somewhat like unfinished business. So, here you have it! the new [Untitled], still [Untitled], with a bunch of new stuff in it. What's inside the box?

 

• Entirely supersedes the previous version, and is the version that will eventually take its place on /idgames.
•  Four new maps. Three bigger boys and one trolly progression breaker. All of them are reworks of maps that were originally meant to be part of the project, and that I felt deserved a second lease on life.
•  One map sadly didn't make the cut, and is now excised from the wad. No worries, she was put down as humanely as possible *revs chainsaw*.
•  Revised combat for almost all maps. Admittedly, no complete rehashes, but lots of small fixes here and there. Most of these fixed made the maps more difficult.
•  Map order reshuffling.
• Thelokk sells out to DeHackEd? you bet she did! Not by a whole lot though.
• Music? Sorry, my shortware radio is still broken. 

 

 

IWAD: Doom 2.

Format: Boom, -cl9. Designed for software rendering, target port is DSDA. 

Maps: 1-10 and 31, accessible only by IDCLEV.

No jumping or crouching, freelook entirely optional. DM and COOP starts only - this one is meant to be a solo trip. 

Resources: 100% vanilla textures. Additional resources include a revised (by me) version of PalPlus, and DeHackEd stolen borrowed from Scythe 2.

Testers: @thelokk, Saltator, Cristiana Montanari

 

And here you have some screenshots of the new maps. Other assorted screenies are available below, in the old, tired, spoilered original OP.

 

Wanna see more stuff by yours truly? Dinner is served.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Old OP:

 

Spoiler

 

[Untitled] is an eight-maps  Boom mapset for Doom 2, inspired and designed around themes of old age, decay, time passing and the general descent of all things to a more or less early grave. Accompanied by a suitably dark and drab palette, the mapset focuses on intricate yet clean - some would say dull - architecture, washed out colors and the whole range of monochromes that traditional Doom textures can achieve. The PWAD uses exclusively IWAD resources, skies included. And music too... in a way.

While resources might be vanilla, be warned that gameplay is definitely not. There is some light puzzle solving, some light slaughter, and I suggest most players default to HMP as a start. UV can be ruthless, and maxing requires AV jumps, rocket jumps, glides and sr50.

 

Just like my previous megawad, there is a... umm, philosophical, you could say? raison d'être behind the mapset. Spoilered for those easily triggered / those who just care for killing demons:

 

Spoiler

 

I have turned 40 this year - which, considering my poor health, means I am likely well past halfway my lifespan. Tough shit, but such is life - entropy is a friend the sooner we come to terms with, the better. I often find solace from traumatic thought by sublimating them into creation, and Doom mapping is no exception. I wondered - "how can I express that frightening, yet somehow... almost comforting, quaint sense of time past chasing and slowly, gently erasing time future, in map form?" What kind of world could I create for a Doomguy who is well past their prime, who now clutches their shotgun, their answer to all life's problems, as a useless anchor in the face of an enemy who does not care about bullets?

This mapset is what I came up with. Weaved with this main thread are other themes (womanliness, motherhood, body dismorphia, suicide) that have more and more become relevant to me as time passes. 

 

 

IWAD: Doom 2.

Tested in: GZDoom, DSDA-Doom.

Jumping / crouching / freelook: not necessary, the latter might be activated at will to enjoy some vistas.

Textures: UD and Doom 2.

Palette: PalPlus by @Sigvatr.

Playtesters: @sandwedge, @Shanoa, @Maribo, @knifeworld, @Vile

 

 

MAPLIST:

 

Spoiler

 

MAP01 - Dissolving Light

MAP02 - La Fabbrica

MAP03 - Gemini Clasp

MAP04 - Super Rosa Stabat

MAP05 - The House is Empty Now

MAP06 - La Fame e la Sete

MAP07 - One Day This Will No Longer Be Yours

 

MAP? - ??!

 

 

MUSIC:

 

Spoiler

"When music fades, silence can speak" - Dorothea Niles

 

 

 

Other stuff by me:

Check me out on the Doom Wiki

 

 

 

Finally, some screenies:

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by Thelokk

[Shanoa]

Ah, more maps to play! (and die into) I might prioritize this one over your other mapset simply because this one is still in beta so I figure that might be helpful to play it first.

 

Regarding spoilered stuff:

Spoiler

I've often wondered how it would be if I managed to put traumatic thoughts into mapping...although unfortunately I never had the creativity to come up with stuff. I did often ponders on "what if I put my reoccuring negative emotions into a map, what sort of "monstrosity" would I cook up." I'm curious to see how you've weaved these themes together.

 

Most importantly, take care of yourself as best you can Thelokk.

 

Congratulations on the release and thank you for the maps.

 

@Thelokk Found these in MAP01:

Spoiler

Right at the start, the tiny hole close to the soulsphere, i'm guessing it's supposed to damage you over time but it does not damage and it's inescapable. Of course nothing a quick "new game" won't fix cause it's like 2 steps away, figured i'd mention it but I chalk it off as a "non-issue"

 

As you press the switch to progress in the first major room, there's an HOM near the staircase. I'm also hearing no music but I feel it's intended.

 

Edited September 4, 2022 by Shanoa

[Thelokk]

1 hour ago, Shanoa said:

As you press the switch to progress in the first major room, there's an HOM near the staircase. I'm also hearing no music but I feel it's intended.

 

Turns out it was a single vertex moved over by a single pixel -_- them pesky little things. All fixed now!

[LadyMistDragon]

The subtitle in parathesis should be "MtPains Need Not Apply."

[Ravendesk]

Played the first two maps so far, great visuals as always, love the soundtrack by John Cage.

I'll write something more comprehensive once I finish the rest of the set.

 

[rparhkdtp]

just finished now.

 

The darker and dimmer palette reminds me of the primal horrors of Doom that I felt as a child.
But it would have been nice to have added more dark space to match.
Map 3 was very good by design. It felt like Doomguy was fighting between the buildings of hell.
As soon as I entered map 4, I pressed the map button and my prediction was correct.
Map 6 only spins round and round at the end. like a pinwheel.

(Most likely I don't know), but when I accidentally fall into something, there's no way to go back, so I have to restart or use cheats.

It was fun.

 

I was sad when I read the introduction of the map and met the kidney of map 1.

[Thelokk]

6 minutes ago, rparhkdtp said:

just finished now.

 

The darker and dimmer palette reminds me of the primal horrors of Doom that I felt as a child.
But it would have been nice to have added more dark space to match.
Map 3 was very good by design. It felt like Doomguy was fighting between the buildings of hell.
As soon as I entered map 4, I pressed the map button and my prediction was correct.
Map 6 only spins round and round at the end. like a pinwheel.

(Most likely I don't know), but when I accidentally fall into something, there's no way to go back, so I have to restart or use cheats.

It was fun.

 

I was sad when I read the introduction of the map and met the kidney of map 1.

 

Thanks for playing! I might very well have forgotten to make a sector damaging, I'm known for that kind of oversight.

[Daytime Waitress]

Would've given this mapset a spin on your past contributions alone, but this line...

 

12 hours ago, Thelokk said:

 

  Hide contents

What kind of world could I create for a Doomguy who is well past their prime, who now clutches their shotgun, their answer to all life's problems, as a useless anchor in the face of an enemy who does not care about bullets?

 

... is especially compelling and, to be quite honest, chilling. Not just for the premise alone, but particularly because it flies in the face of the Ultimate Mary Sue that nuDoom has sought to create.

 

Very much looking forward to exploring this.

[Thelokk]

22 minutes ago, Daytime Waitress said:

particularly because it flies in the face of the Ultimate Mary Sue that nuDoom has sought to create.

 

Thanks, and agree. I should give partial credit to @YourOpinionsAreWRONG's 'The thing you can't defeat' (mapset of the year) for inspiring me to go certain places with my maps' themes this time around.

[Thelokk]

RC1, fixed some issues pointed out by testers. Likely the version that will go on /idgames in a few days. 

[Ravendesk]

Finished the set, very cool, although surely much harder than your previous release.

 

Some thoughts + some bugs:

Spoiler

In map 02 softlock is possible at the teleporter that is closed by the ceiling almost at the very start of the map. If you open it with a switch and then walk over the linedefs that close it again, it will close forever and will never open.

 

I really loved the megasphere secret in map 02. A secret that require avj to get in would be nothing new, but the secret that requires avj to get out is pretty fresh!

 

Map 05 yellow key platforming is next level, but shouldn't the pit beneath either hurt or have a teleporter out? It is inescapable unless I missed something. Some about other pits in that map, it seems to have lots of the inescapable ones without damaging floor.

Also getting just the blue armor for all that hard platforming feels underwhelming, I was expecting some supersecret. But maybe I missed something.

 

With I had berserk at the start of map 06 but that's just what I always wish for.

 

Map 03 is my favorite in the set probably, very interesting one.

 

[Thelokk]

2 minutes ago, Ravendesk said:

Finished the set, very cool, although surely much harder than your previous release.

 

Some thoughts + some bugs:

  Hide contents

In map 02 softlock is possible at the teleporter that is closed by the ceiling almost at the very start of the map. If you open it with a switch and then walk over the linedefs that close it again, it will close forever and will never open.

 

I really loved the megasphere secret in map 02. A secret that require avj to get in would be nothing new, but the secret that requires avj to get out is pretty fresh!

 

Map 05 yellow key platforming is next level, but shouldn't the pit beneath either hurt or have a teleporter out? It is inescapable unless I missed something. Some about other pits in that map, it seems to have lots of the inescapable ones without damaging floor.

Also getting just the blue armor for all that hard platforming feels underwhelming, I was expecting some supersecret. But maybe I missed something.

 

With I had berserk at the start of map 06 but that's just what I always wish for.

 

Map 03 is my favorite in the set probably, very interesting one.

 

 

Thanks for checking it out! YK floor will be damaging next fix. For the others, if you're referring to the library platforming section

Spoiler

there is a secret that allows resetting.

 

[Ravendesk]

3 minutes ago, Thelokk said:

 

Thanks for checking it out! YK floor will be damaging next fix. For the others, if you're referring to the library platforming section

  Hide contents

there is a secret that allows resetting.

 

Oh, I see, that's a neat one. But I also meant

Spoiler

the pit where the secret blue armor is.

 

[Thelokk]

11 minutes ago, Ravendesk said:

Oh, I see, that's a neat one. But I also meant

  Hide contents

the pit where the secret blue armor is.

 

 

Aaah, alright, got it. Goes into the pile for the final version!

[Thelokk]

RC2, fixing a lot of the issues @Vile kindly pointed out in their stream. 

[FEDEX]

Hi @Thelokk i tested your wad with LZdoom, and all the music didn't work at all.. (title/maps/interscreen)

[Stupid Bunny]

I love dour, bleak maps, so I’m really into the concept around this. I can’t play it just now but it’s on my list. The screenshots look grimly beautiful. 

[Thelokk]

17 minutes ago, FEDEX said:

Hi @Thelokk i tested your wad with LZdoom, and all the music didn't work at all.. (title/maps/interscreen)

 

 

Spoiler

The music is working cause there is none :P

 

[FEDEX]

Good catch :)

[Thelokk]

Thanks to the wonders of emailing the /idgames crew (seriously, just do it, it speeds up the upload process so much) this one just dropped on /idgames. 

 

This map pack also contains my 50th released map this year alone (out of about 100 done), including a full megawad. They're soon to become over 60 once some community stuff / collaborations drop. If you don't mind, I think I might take a couple of days off mapping...

Edited September 9, 2022 by Thelokk

[General Roasterock]

I think what your work has taught me most of all is exactly where my priorities lie for being a mapper vs being a player. Every time I've gone into a WAD, I've tried to account for both simultaneously, what exactly was going into the map from inception and what I should be getting out of it. Now I understand exactly how extreme the difference between presentation and experience can be, how I can have entirely different reactions on each side, if that makes any sense. We clearly have different balances as to what point in development gameplay comes into picture, and I don't think I have standards for that. I'm gonna leave everything else to the professionals, but you are clearly doing something special here.

[Thelokk]

2 hours ago, General Roasterock said:

I think what your work has taught me most of all is exactly where my priorities lie for being a mapper vs being a player. Every time I've gone into a WAD, I've tried to account for both simultaneously, what exactly was going into the map from inception and what I should be getting out of it. Now I understand exactly how extreme the difference between presentation and experience can be, how I can have entirely different reactions on each side, if that makes any sense. We clearly have different balances as to what point in development gameplay comes into picture, and I don't think I have standards for that. I'm gonna leave everything else to the professionals, but you are clearly doing something special here.

 

Thanks for the kind words and the support :) that such differences in ideas can close a gap, instead of widening it, says a lot about this game and the special community around it.

Edited September 9, 2022 by Thelokk

[Thelokk]

Hmm, looks like some renovation has taken place around here. I'd go and take a look at the new OP if I were you...

[thelamp]

No promises about doing the whole thing! This was pretty painful for me :^)

 

^{and yeah I loaded the old file by accident so the HOM I found was probly fixed since first release :S I'll load the correct file next time~~}

[Thelokk]

45 minutes ago, thelamp said:

No promises about doing the whole thing! This was pretty painful for me :^)

 

^{and yeah I loaded the old file by accident so the HOM I found was probly fixed since first release :S I'll load the correct file next time~~}

 

Thanks for giving this little thing a try, yeah the HoM is fixed in the latest version.

 

I admit it is partially meant to be a painful experience - kinda like life itself, innit? I promise it gets even more painful later on.

 

Some say I'm a 'niche' mapper, which I guess means I map the inner crevices of an Aztec temple or something. Set is a bit heavy on techbases for me  but that's how this little thing turned out.

[thelamp]

Recorded this last night and fell asleep before it was done uploading, more suffering contained within; enjoy.

 

 

[thelamp]

Aaaand another one from this morning that uploaded much more quickly (because it's half the length!! maybe I'm improving?? haha jk)

 

 

[Thelokk]

39 minutes ago, thelamp said:

Aaaand another one from this morning that uploaded much more quickly (because it's half the length!! maybe I'm improving?? haha jk)

 

 

 

Nicely done! I'd say MAP02 is the big stumbling block of the first third, but I'll fully disclose and admit it's not the hardest map overall. Taking part in a certain... ongoing monthly project has somewhat changed my outlook on Doom mapping, and some of the stuff I make nowadays is certainly more 'palatable' so to speak, but [Untitled] is borne out of a certain outlook on mapping / gaming / creating in general, and seeks to be true to that outlook. Unfortunately, that meant making a few spots borderline unfair on purpose. 

Edited November 19, 2022 by Thelokk

[United VirusX]

the map detail is top notch and the difficulty caught me off guard in the first map but set me up to expect the difficulty to ramp up in the later maps deff want to do a deathless recorded playthrough of this when I get the chance 

[knifeworld]

Glad to see this one continued! Also I knew I recognized that heretical ios wall and curved steps

Spoiler

(i am so sorry, not)

Scared to find out what got dehacked, will find out later though gotta get some sleep. Nvm I saw Scythe, looking forward to finding out which one it is.