Confusion Constructions (my first 9 maps that took 22 months to make) [limit-removing Doom 1]

[slowfade]

I'm so glad this day has finally come: I can release this mapset I've been working on for 22 months. I was reaching the end of my endurance, imagination, keyboard functionality (my right arrow key is breaking right now), and was so close to a burnout. These are the first Doom maps I've ever done: As far as I remember I discarded only one map, and that was something I spent about an hour or less on, a beginning of a twisty corridor that with my skills of that time I couldn't get to look any good so I discarded it. All other maps I've been improving, extending, and detailing since then. Sure, with a couple of these maps I would've been better off discarding them and starting again, but my mapping pride didn't allow for that, so I just kept going. But of some of them I'm quite proud because they turned out more impressive than I could imagine in the beginning. To give you some perspective, when I began I didn't know how linedef actions worked.

 

This is a somewhat niche mapset (you'll see if you try it), but maps 7 and 8 should be more palatable to those interested in the more traditional gameplay. Although they still aren't in the most traditional style...

 

With some maps I was afraid I had bitten more than I could chew, but fortunately things worked out. I learned the hard way the obvious truth of mapping: Everything that is visible has been designed to be there (or just thrown together). Not a single line appears on its own. As I went on I learned better and saner ways to do things. I made the classic mistake of not thinking of detailing while constructing the areas. Another mistake was to not learn texturing, and worse, texture alignment, until much later in the process. I had to adjust the textures in pretty much every space, thousands and thousands of misaligned and untextured (as in, same default texture) walls. Another mistake I made was not using typical heights dividable by 128, 64, 32 and so on. It caused much pain with vertical texture alignment.

Check out the readme if you want to know more about individual maps and some random stuff.

 

I hope you'll try these maps out! I'd love to see gameplay videos and speedruns, although I guess every mapper says that. True nevertheless. Tell me what you think; I'll be glad to hear any comment at all, good or bad. If you know someone who might like these -- I don't -- let them know.

----What you need to know----
-IWAD: DOOM.WAD
-Limit-removing Doom 1. Use complevel 2 if port allows it.
-Looks best in software renderer, like the original.
-NO jumping, NO crouching, NO freelook!! Why do I even have to say this?! This is meant to be played like Doom 1, you know how it's supposed to be!!
-Designed to be played on UV and UV only.
-Pistol starts fine.
-Developed/tested with Crispy Doom and PrBoom+, and in theory should work with every port that supports limit-removing original.
-File: https://www.dropbox.com/s/fdp9afej5sxk0lt/confcons.zip?dl=0 (my dropbox), https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/a-c/confcons (idgames)

 

----Stroller challenge!----
Paging all strollers! During the past two weeks or so, just when I thought I was pretty much done, I started appreciating the stroller speedrunning category more and more. I realized that with some little changes and additions, and endless balancing of resources and moving them from place to place a bit to make both stroller and ordinary gameplay work together, I got the last map (E1M8) stroller-viable. I even added an alternative teleport route that avoids telefragging a monster, which couldn't be avoided before; I know modern stroller rules allow for telefragging, but this is for players who might like to avoid even that (but it will make things harder). Strolling it won't be easy but I've done it myself with saves. And keep in mind that I'm not a good Doom player and know basically no stroller techniques.

EDIT: I've managed the stroller in 18:15! Download here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/625h67le1505rn7/confcons-e1m8-stroller-1815.zip?dl=0

It's recorded in Crispy Doom using -gameversion 1.9 parameter, and can be run like this: crispy-doom -file confcons.wad -gameversion 1.9 -playdemo confcons-e1m8-stroller-1815.lmp

 

I'd also like to see a normal pacifist run of E1M8. I predict it will happen very quickly if someone starts attempting. If I kept playing I might be able to do it myself soon -- with saves my best time is 13:11 but it uses a more dangerous approach I wouldn't dare if I were without saving and loading.

 

Completing E1M7 in pacifist, on the other hand, will be fiendishly difficult. It will be impossible in stroller and I didn't even try to make it viable. But pacifist should be possible: I've done it myself with saves (and many, many loads) but I didn't write down my time (it wasn't all that great). I didn't calibrate E1M7 for the pacifist run, but I did add one additional invisibility that will make a certain area possible, because otherwise it might not be -- at least not without exceptional luck. (Or a strategy I couldn't think of.) I would love to see this run but I don't think it'll happen anytime soon, if ever.

 

EDIT: I've done a 23:02 UV-speed run of E1M7 (that's like any% in other games). You can get it here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/r3ctwkv4ay5h5bx/confcons-e1m7-uvspeed-2302.zip?dl=0

 

----Screenshots----
Obviously, if you don't want any spoilers, don't look at these.

Spoiler

E1M1 - Crane Over Toxic River

https://www.dropbox.com/s/dhlf1i7y01wwcll/confconsm1.png?dl=0

 

E1M2 - Base For Increased Box Production

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wrgbjr2a4vnbh93/confconsm2.png?dl=0

E1M3 - Dam Dynamics

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9fi6que2l37oxi1/confconsm3.png?dl=0

E1M9 - Skull Tower Rider (not a secret map in this WAD)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/9qxfyfby60jb9q8/confconsm9.png?dl=0

E1M4 - Poison Isles

https://www.dropbox.com/s/6ko8f9sapxuvh85/confconsm4.png?dl=0

E1M5 - Facility Five

https://www.dropbox.com/s/4o8cn4xxs2rh4ht/confconsm5.png?dl=0

E1M6 - Floodgates

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7hhv3zrsfd9762k/confconsm6.png?dl=0

E1M7 - Arena Of Blood Poppies

https://www.dropbox.com/s/a7792akeqzth5dq/confconsm7.png?dl=0

E1M8 - Dark Tower Endures Until Not

https://www.dropbox.com/s/06qpm9q66a71flj/confconsm8.png?dl=0

 

 

Edited April 4, 2023 by slowfade

[Insaneprophet]

Started this up and wasnt prepared for a no monster puzzle. Very cool though. It took a minute to get my bearings and i played around for about a half hour on the first level. Got 5 of 6 secrets. Considering replaying it and looking for that last secret before starting lvl 2. Thanks for making these.

[Insaneprophet]

"Confusion Constructions" is the perfect name for this! So fucking cool! I am in awe of the mind that imagined this creativity!

[galileo31dos01]

I gave this a spin today. It's certainly imaginative and a whole unique experience, a lot of hard work put into these constructions. At E1M9 currently as these maps are taking a while each, the first around 40 minutes due to missing one final secret. I didn't stick to find more than the six I found in M2 and only one in E3, so perhaps another time. The amount of sector machinery and interactivity is really entertaining. And I shall add as far as particular details I loved the little arrows based on the diamond light flat, simply genius.

 

Admittedly the "logical" part of some of the puzzles eluded me, like the exit in M2 or the X3/X4 in M3, and came down to trial and error with careful use of saves. Maybe that's what you referred to in the text file with "limited nature of the linedefs",or maybe there were clues I overlooked, and you warned us so I'm calling it fair game, though I still missed that "aha!" after trying to solve that stuff. Only in those two cases, other ideas like the big RK door rush or the YK nukage pit and the ration of medikits in M2 were cool things, and the scenery in general is worth a gallery of screenshots. I guess I need to immerse myself more in the confusion.

 

Thanks for sharing!

[slowfade]

Thanks for playing! It seems you've liked what you've seen, and that's great to hear. I hope you'll make it to the end at some point and see everything the wad has to offer. And I hope people who might not like the style of the first maps would jump to M7 and M8 and see if they like them. I still haven't bothered with sending the wad to idgames...

 

About those puzzles galileo32dos01:

Spoiler

I feel there should've been better communication about the puzzles but I really couldn't think how... Here's the solutions:

-The one at the end of M2: Near the switches there are floor lamps. I'm using sprites almost nowhere else in the wad (but looking back, of course that's not something the player really notices). Near the switch that needs to pressed first there's one lamp. Near the switch that is second there are two lamps. And the last, third, has three lamps around it!

-The X3/X4 I'm prouder of. The piles of light blocks (of size 32*32*8 in 3D) are countable. On the other side of the '=' the floor has a shape from which (this was my intention anyway) can be discerned a number of blocks that fit the 2D area. Once that value is multiplied by either 3 or 4 (and only one of them is correct, of course), that is the number of lights blocks equal to the visible pile. The player then presses the switch with the right amount. But yeah, even though it's kind of logical I couldn't communicate it that well. On a technical side, I'm happy with this construction: With just one switch press, the map 1. signals that the choice was made 2. blocks access to the other answering booth 3. enables or disables the player getting towards the key. Two correct answers are needed for the player to get to the key and continue. (The answers are 4x and 3x to first and second.)

 

Edited February 27, 2023 by slowfade

[Ravendesk]

Absolutely crazy stuff. Very atmospheric.

I have finished a few early levels and skipped a few, but e1m8 was the map that got me. Incredible visuals, tech and progression, absolute beast.

 

Congrats on the release and finishing your 22-months work. This is definitely not a traditional mapset, but an impressive one for sure.

 

[kalensar]

Was sold on E1m1 scrnsht. Awesome to see a Doom 1 was this early in 2023

[slowfade]

Thanks for trying it out, people. If there are any more comments I'd be glad to read them. And gameplay footage, if it ever appears, would be awesome to see.

 

I've updated the main post with the idgames link, and a link to a speedrun demo recording of the last map (E1M8) in stroller (by myself). The time is 18 minutes 15 seconds. If you want to see how to complete the last map without running and shooting, check it out!

 

I'll be doing a normal pacifist run at some point (I've already done one but never released it), and I've been having some ideas for an UV-speed of E1M7. But mainly, in Doom, I'm just busy working on my next wad.

[Helm]

this is quite special already and I am just stuck on map01. Could you give me a gentle hint for accessing blue key? 

 

Spoiler

I'll trade you for some footage when it uploads
 

 

 

[slowfade]

The blue key you'll find inside the sandy hut with red lights at its doorway. To get there you'll first need to use the crane to lift the crates, then get along that route and hit the switch that lowers rock around another switch, which allows access to an elevator, which eventually leads on the roof of the sandy hut, where its doorway is lowered using another switch. Inside the hut, on the right side of the doorway (from the perspective of entering the building) there's a switch in the darkness, which will raise a step that allows accessing blue key at the back of the building. When entering the building there's a trap floor that lowers into poison, so be careful of that.

[Catpho]

This is really cool. I love it when someone spins these elaborate idtech1 structures. Still trying to beat m1 and its gonna take a while, so this post is like a iou a playthrough vid.