[Alpha] Constriction: 1024 - 1024mu2 restricted levels (Play-testers needed)

[DJVCardMaster]

Hello, fellow mappers! I present to you a new community project with mapping restrictions, Constriction: 1024, in which, in a similar manner to Congestion 1024, and Claustrophobia 1024, we make maps in a playable area smaller or equal than 1024x1024 map units. Maps will be made by the community, by mappers that have some experience, just to move around the texture pack we will be using, and to move around said map restrictions, keeping the mapset clean, fun, and visually striking. 




IWAD: DOOM2.WAD
Format: Boom-compatible (complevel -9)
Textures: OTEX.WAD (Exclusively)



Titlepic by: @RED77

What is the twist now?

We will use OTEX textures to its entirety, no other textures or new textures allowed, everything will be taken from OTEX.wad, made by the great Ola Björling "Ukiro", in a similar manner to Eviternity. You can get this fine texture pack from here: OTEX Website

EDIT: You can now choose between OTEX, or the mapset's "resource pack" which is nothing more than OTEX textures compiled with a new color palette, the titlepic, MAP01 as example and intermission music.

Constriction: 1024 resource file - Download

Why only 1024 units?

This is a community project with restrictions, we have many good references to other 1024 mapsets, I know it is short, but that is the idea. Who knows if,

Spoiler

in the future, a sequel in 2048 units could appear.

How is gameplay going to be on this wad?

The idea is to make maps that play similar to other 1024 entries, just like Claustrophobia or Congestion, so maps should not be gimmicky, or puzzling, or symmetrical maps with monsters, it will be your normal Doom playthrough, but with layout constraints.

Is there a deadline?

Yes, we have a soft-deadline for March 2024, then, we will playtest a bit and polish our maps for a final deadline/Release Candidate.

About claims:

You can make a slot claim, but you will be automatically asigned to a map without a number, unless you want to claim and make one of those maps marked as specials, which will require you to be a more experienced mapper, just to make clever restricted maps around certain minor gimmicks (See special maps) 

Special maps:

In this section, I call "special" maps to the ones that have different things than the rest, this is the list of maps that are special and why those are special, and what should the mapper have in mind to work around it (Just like in every Community Project):
-MAP07 - Clever usage of the 666/667 tags
-MAP15 - This level has the secret exit, be sure to think how it could be accessible.
-MAP30 - An Icon of Sin fight, try to work around your limitations to make an interesting IOS fight (You can obviously use Vanilla Textures just for its face)
-MAP31 - Secret level, this one also has a secret exit just as MAP15, it should be interesting so it encourages people to reach it 
-MAP32 - Super secret level, same as MAP31, make sure your map has some interesting twist or is visually striking so people wants to find it

I don't make any maps, I can still contribute?

Yes! You can contribute with graphics or music of your own, but those will be submitted to some quality rules aswell, and music for levels should be accepted by the mappers themselves to be used on the project. You can also be a play-tester and provide feedback to our mappers.

Rules:

Spoiler

-Maps should have a playable area of 1024x1024 or less map units, the player should move inside this area and not move outside by one pixel
-Maps are made in Boom, so you can do tricks and stuff with conveyor belts, apart from having more actions than the Vanilla Doom ones to play around
-Maps can have areas outside our 1024 square ONLY FOR AESTHETIC PURPOSES (Monster closets and conveyor belts aswell. Encouraged)
-Maps should be made entirely with OTEX textures, with no usage of other texture packs or even Vanilla Doom ones, OTEX texture names start with "O", so they are easy to find and use, and there are OTEX alternatives to Vanilla Textures you can use
-Maps should have difficulty settings
-Maps should be single-player focused, but will still need 4 player starts, you can do multiplayer settings
-Every map should have a skybox texture from OTEX, if you don't know how to change skyboxes, see "Some mapping tips" Section
-Don't make slaughter maps
-Arena maps are accepted if there isn't already an overflow of that kind of maps in the mapset (3 or 4 arena levels are fine)
-Avoid symmetrical maps at all cost
-Only one map claim at a time per mapper
-No levels made by automatic map generators (Slige, Oblige, etc.)
-Monsters or assets from MAP31 and MAP32 are forbidden
-No death exits
-Any mapper can claim a slot, but have in mind we want the levels to have a certain quality check and not to be mid-90s levels in quality, just to feel as modern as possible (See: Claustrophobia 1024), if you feel confident, you can claim a mapslot
-All mappers should be open to feedback, not only from the project's leader but also, and specially, from other mappers and contributors to the project
-The leader of the project have the decision of accepting/rejecting maps based in quality or gameplay
-Some rejected maps that did not make into the cut could be saved with mapper's permission for a future level compilation
-Coexistence rule: this one is not the least important just because is not attached to mapping, but as we are going to use a Discord for the project, and also use this thread for the work-in-progress, I'd like people to keep respect to other mappers or people who contribute to the project, any form of disrespect in any way will result in a ban in this project or even future ones.

SUBMISSIONS AND SLOT CLAIMS:
 

Spoiler

MAP01 - DJV - "Dwarf Fortress" Download V6
MAP02 - @Drywtler - "Mining Facility" Download V4
MAP03 - @MortisCausaDonatio - "Dam Gendarmerie" Download V3
MAP04 - @RED77 - "Monsters in my Pocket" Download V4
MAP05 - @Silhouette 03 - "Of Marble and Stone" Download V4
MAP06 - @Tiramisu - "Ice Brain" Download V8
MAP07 - @DRON12261 - "The Lost Shores" Download V5
MAP08 - @exl - "Lactose Yard 16" Download V2
MAP09 - @Scorpius - "Castle Vendetta" Download V3
MAP10 - @ViolentBeetle - "Heretic's Well" Download V3
MAP11 - DJV - "Library of Restricted Knowledge" Download V4
MAP12 - @PinkFlamingo - "Devian Depths" Download V1
MAP13 - @Weird Sandwich - "Compression Algorithm" Download V2
MAP14 - @ViolentBeetle - "Watering Hole" Download V6
MAP15 - @DFF - "The Transformer" Download V7
MAP16 - @ThatWeNGuy - "Going Steady" Download V1
MAP17 - @RataUnderground - "Bath" Download V5
MAP18 - @exl -  "Pit o' Despair" Download V3
MAP19 - @Pierrot - "Mastaba" Download V2
MAP20 - @SharkyChip - "We Need to Go Deeper" Download V3
MAP21 - @Snikle - "Frank's Fluids" Download V3
MAP22 - @dmh094 - "The Garden of Tears" Download V6
MAP23 - @Tiramisu - "An Unsuspicious Village" Download V3
MAP24 - @Mycomedes - "Bloodache" Download V1
MAP25 - @TheV1perK1ller - "Skies of Vengeance" Download V5
MAP26 - @knifeworld "Iron Sepulchre" Download V3
MAP27 - @Tiramisu - "World of Goop" Download V2
MAP28 - @OldManHan - "The Dome of Creation" Download V7
MAP29 - @Mycomedes - "Lily of the Nile" Download V3
MAP30 - @Moustachio - "Lament Constriction" Download V4
MAP31 - @Walter confetti - "We're All Killin in a Yellow Submarine" Download V3
MAP32 - @DFF & @Heretic926 - "The Descent 1024" Download V1

Detailed cheatsheet

Slots are asigned by me in order, unless you want to claim an specific map, map order will be changed late in development according to gameplay or even aesthetics.

Other contributions:

Graphics by @RED77 & me.
Status bar by @galileo31dos01

Discord:

We have a Discord channel for this project, you can join regardless of if you want to contribute or make a map or not. Just come, but keep things friendly. Here is the link to the SERVER.

How to submit a map:

Spoiler

Maps should be submitted as follows:

Submit it in this thread or better in our discord server
author-lvlname-version.wad or zip (Example: DJV-loremitsumhell-v1), please always respect this naming convention

MAP##: -Map number-
Name: -Level name-
Author: -Author's name or nickname-
Music: -midi used for the level, if there is any new midi-
File: -file goes here- (Dropbox, Google Drive or MEGA re suggested and recommended, or even direct download if the thread or discord allows it)

Some mapping tips: 
 

Spoiler

-Remember that only the player has to be restricted to said 1024 rules, you but you can place and do whatever you like outside the boundaries, like scenery, objects, monsters or even shootable switches
-Nearly all of Vanilla Doom textures have their OTEX counterpart, if you want to use a Vanilla Texture, you can search for its counterpart in OTEX.
-Lost in terms of aesthetic? Some mapsets Eviternity would be your go-to for aesthetic design, you can take the style of some of said megawad maps to inspire your own vision of the level
-Lost in terms of layout? See Congestion 1024 or Claustrophobia 1024, the grand-daddy and daddy of this project, some of the maps have really creative ways to tackle certain layout stuff, DON'T COPY, but learn and work around it.
-Avoid doing many monster closets, as they could potentially fill the playing area with them, making you work with less space, always try to work in favour of teleporting monster traps
-Remember, Cacodemons or flying enemies can go over the level boundaries easily, so you can make them appear from outside to spice up things
-Walls that lower and open up previous areas of the map are good ways to make your level interesting, make them interconnected, and have bigger spaces to maneuver in potential future monster encounters
-Small paths could make for a bad player experience on regular maps, but here you may have to use/abuse them, trying to find a good way to do it and not make the maps cramped or annoying to play
-Remember to change the skybox texture by making a dummy sector, use the linedef action "271 - Transfer Sky Texture to Tagged Sectors", use tag 0 for regular sectors or the tag the sector already has for another function, and adding to said linedef the texture you want, remember to place it as an "Upper" texture, in the front side-def
-Have fun, no one is pointing a gun at you to make a restricted map, be sure to have fun while mapping and creativity will come easily :)

Update: all maps have been submitted, time for play-testing!

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

32-MAP ALPHA RELEASE: 

For testing purposes to general public, we have released a full compilation of all the maps.

What does this release have?
 

The entire mapset

Almost all CWILVs implemented
recolored message font

Alpha 1.1: DOWNLOAD ALPHA V1.1

 

Edited June 9 by DJVCardMaster
typos - broken English - added rules - slot claims

[RastaManGames]

I want to claim free slot, so maybe I can came up with something.

Never worked with such limitation...

[DJVCardMaster]

21 minutes ago, RastaManGames said:

I want to claim free slot, so maybe I can came up with something.

Never worked with such limitation...

You are now assigned, be sure to also check the Discord if you want !

[TheV1perK1ller]

I'd like to claim a slot too, thanks!

[ViolentBeetle]

I'll take one of the earlier generic slots. 1024 seems like I'll need to find two days at most to knock it out.

[MortisCausaDonatio]

Maybe i can do something for this too. 

[DJVCardMaster]

1 minute ago, MortisCausaDonatio said:

Maybe i can do something for this too. 

Do you want me to add you to the "slot claims list"?

[Drywtler]

Let's give it a shot! MAP05 for me

[PRO-RC]

I'd be cool with a regular map slot

[dmh094]

I’d like to claim a spot :D never worked with a limitation like that before (stops me going ballistic with map length as well) :) sounds like a good project to be part of! 

Edited May 18, 2023 by dmh094

[knifeworld]

Count me in!

[SharkyChip]

I'd like to claim a slot for this project. I loved mapping with restrictions in a different community project and I'm excited to give this a shot

[Eon Toad]

This project sounds fun. I'd like to claim a slot.

[Weird Sandwich]

I like mapping with size restrictions, so sign me up with a random slot.

[DRON12261]

I take MAP07. I've wanted to try this with the 666/667 tags for a long time. And i try to make something more than just a revealing arena with mancubus and arachnotrons.

Spoiler

I might even get a little inspiration from Valiant MAP07)

 

Also liked the other megawads in that "Something 1024" line in terms of detail. Only I remember there being balance issues - the battles were actually kind of stuffy. Hopefully this one will follow a more measured and smooth gameplay.
 

And yes, it's nice to see a mention of quality control here.

I may not have the highest productivity because of the heavy workload, but that won't be much of a problem thanks to the fairly friendly deadline and the map size limitation, which will prevent a long mapping.

Edited May 19, 2023 by DRON12261

[MortisCausaDonatio]

8 hours ago, MortisCausaDonatio said:

Maybe i can do something for this too. 

Sure Map 14 then

[Walter confetti]

Eh, screw it. I have a idea for a secret map, I'd like to take MAP31 please.

Edited May 19, 2023 by Walter confetti

[PinkFlamingo]

This sounds like fun. Can I have a slot, please?

[Tiramisu]

Oh wow, I always wanted to do one of these! Sign me up please, and quick! :D

[Scorpius]

Heyo. I'd love to make something for this! May I take a slot?

[DJVCardMaster]

4 hours ago, Scorpius said:

Heyo. I'd love to make something for this! May I take a slot?

Of course! Added.

[RastaManGames]

MAP##: 01 (For now it is like that, since I am not sure about slot. This map is really spicy.)
Name: "Corporate Hell"
Author: @RastaManGames
Music: @Velvetic - Young & Dead

Description: I don't know who was the architect of this highrise building, but this place can really drive someone nuts. Why there is two elevators? Who knows... But seems that you have to search every damned room in a way to unlock your way out. This place is already knee-deep in the dead and you may be potential addition to this twisted collection of rotting corpses.
File: [DATA REDACTED]

Screenshots:

Spoiler

Notes: Playable area (that is unrestricted to move) is within 1024x limit. Battle may be hard, but it is doable. There is plenty of health and ammo everywhere. Also, map was successfully tested out in "DSDA-Doom" V0.25.6 & "DoomRetro" V.4.9.1.

Edited May 19, 2023 by RastaManGames

[DJVCardMaster]

2 minutes ago, RastaManGames said:

MAP##: 01 (For now it is like that, since I am not sure about slot. This map is really spicy.)
Name: "Corporate Hell"
Author: @RastaManGames
Music: @Velvetic - Young & Dead

Description: I don't know who was the architect of this highrise building, but this place can really drive someone nuts. Why there is two elevators? Who knows... But seems that you have to search every damned room in a way to unlock your way out. This place is already knee-deep in the dead and you may be potential addition to this twisted collection of rotting corpses.
File: RMG-CorporateHell-V1.wad (Google.Drive)

Screenshots:

  Hide contents

Notes: Playable area (that is unrestricted to move) is within 1024x limit. Battle may be hard, but it is doable. There is plenty of health and ammo everywhere.

I'll post it out in Discord for people to play-test, looks cool, but you'll have to change all Vanilla textures for OTEX ones in a future version.

[RastaManGames]

4 minutes ago, DJVCardMaster said:

I'll post it out in Discord for people to play-test, looks cool, but you'll have to change all Vanilla textures for OTEX ones in a future version.

I mean... Name me a good alternative for "SHAWN" then, since all similar textures from O-Tex has these black seams.

[DJVCardMaster]

Not sure about your map @RastaManGames, feels more like a battle arena or a small DM map rather than an actual level, as it is totally symmetrical. Another grippe would be the appearance of monsters from Doom II secret maps (Commander Keens, SS soldiers), that are actually a big no-no for this project. The key-hunt aspect feels more like a way to slow down your exit, rather than a creative way to progress. Theme-wise, I like the idea of a building just like Going Down, but I don't feel the layout is quite intriguing. I would keep the theme tho'.
Talking about textures, I will try to search similar textures for now. But don't worry about that, you have plenty of time to work on something.

[RastaManGames]

Not sure that I want to start from scratch, since this is my best of 1024x.

I think that at this point I can just drop off from this project and free up slot for someone else.

[DJVCardMaster]

1 minute ago, RastaManGames said:

Not sure that I want to start from scratch, since this is my best of 1024x.

I think that at this point I can just drop off from this project and free up slot for someone else.

There are no deadlines for now, so don't feel pressured! You can keep the slot claim if you want and maybe wait for other submissions to get inspired, this limitation is really hard to work on and the main problem is not "drawing it" on the builder, but rather trying to think about it 😄.

[RastaManGames]

8 minutes ago, DJVCardMaster said:

There are no deadlines for now, so don't feel pressured! You can keep the slot claim if you want and maybe wait for other submissions to get inspired, this limitation is really hard to work on and the main problem is not "drawing it" on the builder, but rather trying to think about it 😄.

There was a clear idea on my mind of the one floor of highrise building and I made it into "arena-type" map.

Not sure that I want to spent time just for re-drawing entire map, especially when O-Tex doesn't have a decent textures of nice buildings from the city (if we gonna exclude brick textures with some old-fashioned windows).

And, to be honest, O-Tex is kinda overrated (in my honest opinion). There is some texture packs that is a way more appealing for me (even "32in24-15Tex_V2" are decent enough on my taste).

No, seriously, if my map are that boring in the terms of progression and it also too symmetrical - I can deal with it. One map less or more, but this project gonna be completed sooner or later.

After all, my quirk is city-themed maps and not something very old-fashioned or vanguard that can be easily turned into 1024x map.

Edited May 19, 2023 by RastaManGames

[Silhouette 03]

Could I have a slot please? I'm a novice mapper, but I can post some of my work if you want. Also, how do I make sure I keep within the limits?

[DJVCardMaster]

Just now, Silhouette 03 said:

Could I have a slot please? I'm a novice mapper, but I can post some of my work if you want. Also, how do I make sure I keep within the limits?

Yes, you can. 

I myself, use the "old reliable" linedef ruler, but there are many ways to deal with it, the crudest one is making a 1024mu square, and then replacing it part by part with rooms, but there may be several other ways to tackle it, feel free to join our Discord so we can debate and suggest ideas for it.