A.I.A: Episode 1 (Earthly Realm) - Limit Removing

[DannT]

 

A.I.A is a mapset completely assembled from machine generated textures, and when possible, obstacles and sprites have been updated as well. This started as a small experiment in order to flesh out some additional textures for existing maps, but quickly turned into a proof of concept to see how much could be done using this method alone. After a two-day bender creating several hundred sample images, I started the work of converting them to the Doom palette and proper dimensions. 

 

The goal was two-fold: to create a resource pack that might find some use by others, and to see how well they fit together. Episode 1 is a 12-map set that attempts to showcase as many as possible through small arenas without trying to mash all of the hundreds into the same space. Difficulties have been implemented, but overall it's not too punishing. Each is very short and shouldn't be too hard to UVMax saveless. There's a few speedrunning routes too, and ironman runs should be good for those who want to give those a try. It IS meant for continuous play, but pistol-starting should be fine. The main benefit of continuous play will be certain ammo drops for weapons sourced via secret areas, as well as a few health bonuses to help start the following level on a better note.

 

Map layouts were also A.I. generated just to give me a head start and help overcome mapper’s block. After that point, I traced them and continued in a more traditional manner. Such was the process with most of the work, especially the images since it wasn’t a matter of just pressing a button and dropping them in. I’d like to think of the AI process as a rapid development and prototype tool in the same way using a photograph would be a good first step in making a texture vs drawing each pixel by hand. I know there’s the concern that AI could render some traditional jobs as obsolete, but in this case, it let me reduce much of the laborious work down to a few days vs months.

 

As a bonus, the intermission text and midis are also AI generated to varying effects. And if you play in a ZDoom port, I've thrown in some bonus art between levels too.

 

Huge thanks to @Clippy for early testing, @Pistoolkipfor the tough love and telling me that I could always do better, and @azerty, @A Handsome Fridge, and @sandwedgefor their video playthroughs and final bug fixes.

 

Download: https://dannarchy.com/doom/AIA_EP1.zip

 

Format: Limit removing
Base IWAD: Doom2.wad
Tested in: Crispy Doom 5.10.3 & GZDoom 4.6.1 & PRBoom 2.5.0
Single Player & Coop

Playstyle: Continuous preferred 

 

Maps:

Spoiler

 

MAP01 - A.I.A

 

MAP02 - Zoml Romnt

 

MAP03 - Diimzzainia

 

MAP04 - Dal O'Tin

 

MAP05 - Poomwad

 

MAP06 - Zoomn

 

MAP07 - Oon

 

MAP08 - Rookroom

 

MAP09 - TC1 Demon

 

MAP10 - Bomom

 

MAP11 - Dokistoni

 

MAP12 - Boviin

 

[Walter confetti]

Pretty interesting mapset!

[Clippy]

So excited to see this come out bud home more ppl check it out!!

[A Handsome Fridge]

This is fun stuff, would recommend!

 

Personally I think AI texture generating is a perfectly sound method when it comes to Doom. Gotta put a little thought in it to make it look coherent and sensible though (by careful selection and additional editing where desired) and this mapset certainly shows that. Still a big fan of the animated flames, for instance. 

[Thelokk]

Intriguing one. I'm up to map04 only so far, but the texture set is really strong - maybe the switches take a bit to get used to, but the brutalist patterns and sprite replacements are top tier. 

 

6 hours ago, Dannarchy said:

to create a resource pack that might find some use by others

 

Does that mean that resources will be available for use at some point in time? I'd be more than interested in trying my hand at them sooner or later!

Edited January 11, 2023 by Thelokk

[DannT]

8 minutes ago, Thelokk said:

Does that mean that resources will be available for use at some point in time? I'd be more than interested in trying my hand at them sooner or later!

 

For sure. Once I get the next two episodes finished, I'll make a proper resource pack, which can either be linked to, or harvested for textures of interest. I have quite a bit already there, but I'm sure I'll be adding some more before it's done. Feel free to poke around in Slade if you want. Also if you're up for a map, I was thinking of having a set of guest maps once EP3 is done, so let me know if interested. I'll probably ping on people after EP2 is wrapping up, so I there's time.

[Pistoolkip]

Cool experiment! When I playtested these I didn't realize about the AI experiment. Still, I'm glad I was able to help in making the earlier maps even better.

 

Good luck on the next episode!

[Peccatum Mihzamiz]

The textures look really interesting! Kinda trippy. This looks useful for the wider Doom community <) !

[RED77]

Really interesting. Especially the textures.

[s4f3s3x]

Uhm, this crashes DSDA v0.25.4 under complevel 2.

Console prints:

 

Spoiler

Playing: DOOM 2: Hell on Earth

adding /Users/xxx/.dsda-doom/Doom2.wad

adding /Users/xxx/.dsda-doom/dsda-doom.wad

adding /Users/xxx/Documents/DOOM_wad/PWAD/A.I.A - Episode 1 (Earthly Realm)/AIA_EP1.wad

Loading DEH lump from /Users/xxx/Documents/DOOM_wad/PWAD/A.I.A - Episode 1 (Earthly Realm)/AIA_EP1.wad

 

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1BRN1

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2BRN1

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1BRN2

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2BRN2

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1BRNGN

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2BRNGN

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1BROWN

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2BROWN

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1COMM

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2COMM

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1COMP

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2COMP

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1DIRT

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2DIRT

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1EXIT

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2EXIT

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1GRAY

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2GRAY

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1GRAY1

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2GRAY1

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1SLAD

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2SLAD

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1STARG

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2STARG

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1STON1

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2STON1

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1STON2

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2STON2

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1STONE

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2STONE

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1STRTN

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2STRTN

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1BLUE

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2BLUE

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1CMT

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2CMT

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1GARG

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2GARG

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1HOT

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2HOT

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1LION

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2LION

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1SATYR

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2SATYR

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1SKIN

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2SKIN

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1PANEL

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2PANEL

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1ROCK

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2ROCK

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1MET2

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2MET2

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1WDMET

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2WDMET

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1MOD1

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2MOD1

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1ZIM

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2ZIM

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1STON6

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2STON6

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1TEK

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2TEK

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1MARB

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2MARB

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW1SKULL

P_InitSwitchList: unknown texture SW2SKULL

portmidiplayer: No output devices available

R_TextureNumForName: The file /Users/xxx/Documents/DOOM_wad/PWAD/A.I.A - Episode 1 (Earthly Realm)/AIA_EP1.wad seems to be incompatible with "DOOM 2: Hell on Earth".

R_TextureNumForName: RSKY1 not found

 

 Also crashes Crispy Doom 5.4
Works fine in Woof 10.5.1

 

Edited January 11, 2023 by s4f3s3x

[DannT]

Thanks for the note. I believe it's due to the fact that I cleared out the TEXTURE1 definitions so there were no stock images available. I did copy the switches over in my main working WAD, but left them out when I extracted just the EP1 content. I had a similar issue when I left out the Skies, so I'm guessing the port is expecting those to be defined. I was also getting error when I included the entries, but had no patches in them, so I guess I'll throw some dummy images there just to keep the errors at bay. 

[DannT]

Fixed a few errors in UMAPINFO (referencing the RSKY texture file instead of the SKY texture entry), and added dummy patches for the switches I'm not using just yet. Tested in Crispy v5.12 and DSDA v0.19.7 just now, but let me know if any older ones are still throwing some issues. 

 

Updated the download link in original post. 

Edited January 13, 2023 by Dannarchy

[dmnwizard]

Oh, that's great! I really really wanted to play A.I.A. since the day I watched you and Clippy play it. Congrats for this beauty, Dannarchy, and thank you for creating it!

[DannT]

On 1/14/2023 at 5:35 AM, dmnwizard said:

Oh, that's great! I really really wanted to play A.I.A. since the day I watched you and Clippy play it. Congrats for this beauty, Dannarchy, and thank you for creating it!

Appreciate it. Now I really need to get moving on part 2.

[Unregret]

Nice map theme! Please we need more maps like this.

[DannT]

I've gotten way sidetracked, but I have two more finished for EP, plus the two bonus maps. Getting there. 

[kalensar]

This looks great! Goona try it asap. <3

[ChopBlock223]

Fascinating stuff.

 

From the screenshots, I'd bluntly say that the textures themselves have a cheap and kind of ugly look, in that they bring to mind the less refined digitized photos you'd see Capstone use for games like Tekwar and Witchhaven back in the 90s.

BUT, the way they are put to use for the architecture here all looks very nice and sound in itself, and the architecture actually looks quite good. It makes for an interesting, and very coherent, visual.

 

Couldn't make a full judgment without playing it, of course, which I'll want to do, so I guess it goes on my To Play pile, for when I've got some time.

[THEBaratusII]

Definitely like the aesthetic of this WAD. Although I found myself soft-locked at MAP05 while trying to find the last secret. and also some of the music tracks seem to be quieter than Doom II's Intermission music.

 

Screenshot :

Spoiler

 

UPDATE : There's also a visual bug with one of the switch graphics (tested with DSDA-Doom and Crispy Doom)

 

Screenshot :

Spoiler

 

Edited March 11, 2023 by THEBaratusII

[taufan99]

First of all... wow. Just wow. This feels like stumbling upon a stand-alone 1990's shovelware FPS game with all its glorious bizareness, although also with more brevity. However, instead of leaving you with a jaded feeling, it just keeps you curious as time goes by. Map flow feels decent and challenging enough, at least up until MAP11, in which I feel like it's a bit too hard for me. Otherwise, I give it 9.25/10. Especially recommended for fans of shovelware/shovelware-styled maps.

[netcurse2000]

Really interesting mapset. Very short but original maps.

 

 

Edited March 12, 2023 by netcurse2000

[netcurse2000]

Map04 - map 06

 

 

[netcurse2000]

Map07 - map09

 

 

[netcurse2000]

Map 10 and 12

 

 

 

[DannT]

On 3/11/2023 at 4:19 AM, THEBaratusII said:

Definitely like the aesthetic of this WAD. Although I found myself soft-locked at MAP05 while trying to find the last secret. and also some of the music tracks seem to be quieter than Doom II's Intermission music.

 

UPDATE : There's also a visual bug with one of the switch graphics (tested with DSDA-Doom and Crispy Doom)

 

 

Thanks for the update. I'll fix that softlock area and see what's up with the switches. I know I stupidly tried to clean up my PNAMES node and it threw everything into disarray, so I might have overlooked that one. 

 

Yeah, the MIDIs are AI too, and I hate them, but people asked for machine generated music too. I tried to clean them up as best as I could, but I have no idea what I'm doing. 

[DannT]

And appreciate the playthroughs @netcurse2000. I actually stumbled upon the videos on Youtube, but thanks for adding them here. I'm finally back into the swing of things, and taking a bit more time with EP2, as well as fixing up stuff in EP1, so hopefully it's a better package by the time the whole thing is done. 

[Rudolph]

Okay, I finally got to play through the whole thing. At first, I was not expecting much: the dreamy/nightmarish aesthetics were amusing, but the level design was merely serviceable. But then towards the end, things started getting actually interesting, with maps that felt like twists on the "Dead Simple" formula, and I enjoyed them quite a lot. If Episode 2 even comes out, I will definitely check it out!

 

My only issue with Episode 1 is that the music is just too quiet and I have to raise the volume to maximum just to hear it.

Edited January 28 by Rudolph

[DannT]

On 1/28/2024 at 9:19 AM, Rudolph said:

 If Episode 2 even comes out, I will definitely check it out!

 Thanks for playing.  EP2 did come out in December and I put a bit more into the level design this round.  I made another thread for it, which is here:

 

 

 

I hate the music too.  Maybe by EP3 some better option will be available.