Caesium Rift - a Boom-format first level

[Sikreci]

Hello, Doomworld! Long time lurker, longer time Doom player, first time poster. I picked up a level editor for the first time in about 15 years (we're not gonna talk about my teenage UT2004 DM map that was rated 4/10) after having discovered DavidN's YouTube channel a bit over a year ago. Playing RAMP and watching his recent video series on Hellville finally gave me the courage to try making a level myself. Also I figured I should do it before some kind of AI-powered neo-SLIGE makes Doom mapping completely futile.

 

Download:

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/a-c/crift

 

 

The Basics:

Caesium Rift

Doom II, Boom format

Requires OTEX_1.1.WAD (didn't want to inflate the download size for just one map when everyone has it anyway)

One level, replaces MAP01

Single-player only

Play time: 7-20 minutes

Tested with prboom+, DSDA-Doom, GZDoom

Built using SLADE 3.2.1, ZenNode 1.2.1, eevee's Doom Text Generator

Music by my good friend Breton Parks

Thanks also to Mak0rz of The Entryway Discord for playtesting

 

Background:

All difficulty levels are implemented, but Ultra-Violence was my primary focus for building and balancing the map. I think it's a little bit harder than vanilla Doom II, but I expect that skilled Doom players (not me) will find it occasionally uncomfortable but rarely deadly.

 

I've had the basic concept of this level in my head for a few years now, it was nice to finally make a finished product out of it. Many lessons were learned in the creation of this map, some harder than others. I tried to incorporate some of my personal favorite gameplay concepts into this project, primarily my love of big chaotic fights with lots of infighting, layouts that allow for high mobility, and visually interesting set pieces. Getting all the textures aligned was a pain in the butt, and it can never really be perfect because of the irregular shape of the map.

 

Screenshots:

Spoiler

 

Thanks for checking it out, and thanks for playing. I hope you enjoy it!

 

Version history:

1.0: Initial release

 

Known issues:

- Two stubborn slime trails

- Yellow key might rarely get obscured by gore

Spoiler

It's in the big central pool in the canyon (the one with the dead marine in it) after pressing the skull switch in the control room

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Sikreci

[ScrappyMcDoogerton]

Really nice map here. Hits all the right notes for me, with engaging combat and fun visuals/architecture.

 

My suggestion, if you want the yellow key to be more visible, you can put it on a small rock for the player to climb onto in the middle of that blood pool, and make the outer lines of the rock be monster blocking so that no enemies die on it.

[Sikreci]

It actually is surrounded by monster blocking lines and I haven't had an issue with it since I did it but I can imagine a situation where it might still happen. Adding a little rock is a good idea that crossed my mind but I'm ashamed to admit I couldn't get it to work correctly when I tried, haha.

[LadyMistDragon]

This was actually pretty good! Very nice texture usage in all honesty. Ammo was a little tight which might be your intention. I only found 2 secrets though as it happens. Video will be up in 45 minutes.

 

 

[Sikreci]

Cool, thanks for playing! Yeah on UV I wanted ammo to be very tight without any secrets found. I played it again and again trying to get it just right so that I was frequently low, but never completely out. It was my way of forcing myself (and hopefully other players) to be more mobile and aggressive rather than just finding a nice choke point and funneling the enemies through it. Hopefully it mostly worked, looking forward to seeing your video!

 

As far as secrets...

Spoiler

The malfunctioning demonic computer screens throughout the level all unlock secrets. The soulsphere, mega armor, and megasphere all have a computer screen near their locations which matches the screen elsewhere on the map that acts as a switch to unlock the secret. The computer screen visible inside the mega armor secret from the spawn point, combined with the easy secret in the old concrete control room are meant to be hints to get your gears turning a little bit. There's also a berserk pack hidden behind a misaligned shootable wall in the canyon, which there's a fair chance you'll trigger in the crossfire without even looking for it.

 

Edited April 30, 2023 by Sikreci

[baja blast rd.]

Cool map. Loved how areas transformed into bloody ones when the late viles showed up.

 

 

[Sikreci]

Nice run, didn't give you much trouble at all! Looks like I might have overdone it with the secrecy of the secrets though, haha.

[thelamp]

Cool map great use of OTEX. Really liked the midi as well!

 

 

[Sikreci]

Thanks for the video and commentary, glad you had fun! It definitely would have been a bit easier if you had found the first secret, which was funny and slightly maddening because it was basically the only computer screen in the concrete room you didn't try to use, haha. I'll definitely be dialing back the complexity of the secrets on my next map, the hints are far too subtle to notice in a fast-paced game like Doom.

[DoomGappy]

Damn, Really great stuff. Got my ass beat but will come back eventually.