[Final release] “Hell's Bane” - an Ult Doom megawad

[Chris Hansen]

This thread is about my personal anthology project for The Ultimate Doom called "Hell's Bane" to celebrate Doom's 30th birthday and my 25th anniversary as a level designer. Here I will post status updates and eventually provide a download link and  generally communicate with the community about it.

 

What is Hell's Bane?

This is a Boom compatible megawad replacement for The Ultimate Doom. It features 4 episodes with 9 levels each all themed in the vein of the original game. The levels are all levels that I have released either solo or as part of projects over the past 25 years. There are also a couple of new levels to fill in the gaps. "Hell's Bane" is oldschool Doom with a few Boom tricks behind the scenes.

 

Who's this even for!?

Well, I guess if you're into highly modified stuff and find the original Doom bestiary boring, then this probably isn't for you. I'm guessing you'd really have to be in the mood for some old school Doom if you feel like ploughing through all 36 levels, which is why this megawad's target audience would perhaps be better suited for those in the mood to play an episode in their favourite flavour. Or maybe you are familiar with my work and are just really curious to see what I did with the old levels - you know, how I hacked them to pieces, stretched them or pounded them back into the new millennium. But who am I to judge or decide. All I wish is that if you download this megawad that you will enjoy it for what it is: A love letter to Doom and celebration to the fact that I've spent 25 years placing vertices and splitting linedefs.

 

Important sourceport info

In order for the boss levels to function correctly you will need one of these sourceports or newer. The wad is Boom comp and requires a sourceport that supports UMAPINFO if you want the intended experience:

 

• DSDA-Doom 0.26.2
• PrBoom+ 2.5.17um
• PrBoom+ 2.6.66-ucrt64
• PrBoom+ 2.61um-w32
• Woof 11.2.0-win64
• GZDoom dev builds from 16th July 2023 onwards (boss levels wont work in GZDoom 4.10)

 

@EffinghamHuffnagel coded a MAPINFO lump for ZDoom that makes the boss levels work properly in that sourceport.

 

General play info

• Boom compatible sourceport with UMAPINFO support required (see info above)

• Pistol start intended, but feel free to play continuously of course.

• Jumping and mouselook NOT intended. May break progression if you do.

• No-clipping definitely NOT recommended.

 

Download

Link to /idgames

 

hellbane.zip January 13th, 2024

Also available at my personal website on this page with info and screenshots.

 

hb_rc1.zip November 26, 2023

hb_rc2.zip* (changelog) December 4, 2023

hb_rc3.zip* (changelog) December 18, 2023

^{*Note: In-game demos will desync badly in RC2 and RC3. They will be re-recorded for the final release.}

 

Feel free to help me spread the word about this megawad to other doomers outside this website who might have an interest in it. I don't have or use social media, so any help in that department is greatly appreciated.

 

Status

Done and done

 

Credits

• Music by @BattleCat (aka Lazernaut), @wallabra, @MFG38, @continuum.mid, @LightningBoltForever, @Crunchynut44, Cacodreamin', @Korp, @Bobby "J and @Herr Dethnout
• Testers @Biodegradable, @GarrettChan, @LadyMistDragon and @jgs1989. Also, @boris for helping finding lots of pesky bugs!
• Episode ending artwork by @NotMuchNormal
• Story by @Endless

• @Mechadon for advice on making sky textures

• Tech advice @plums

 

Map list

Spoiler

E1M1: The frontier 				(Frontier Settlements: Distress!) modified
E1M2: Meek 					(Meek) modified
E1M3: Main-frame 				(CH Retro Episode) modified
E1M4: Command center 				(CH Retro Episode) modified
E1M5: Chemical processing plant 		(CH Retro Episode) modified
E1M6: Primary base 				(CH Retro Episode) modified
E1M7: Laboratories 				(CH Retro Episode) modified
E1M8: The grinder 				(Gore) modified
E1M9: Strategical offensive array 		(CH Retro Episode) modified

E2M1: Rip it! 					(Monument, Rip it, Tear it, Smash it!) minor fixes
E2M2: Beta station 				(Monument, 2002 ADO) minor fixes
E2M3: The wailing halls 			(Monument, The Wailing Horde) minor fixes
E2M4: Hive of the horde 			(Monument, The Wailing Horde) minor fixes
E2M5: Chasm control 				(Monument, The Unknown Chasm) minor fixes
E2M6: Smash it! 				(Monument, Rip it, Tear it, Smash it!) minor fixes
E2M7: Hunt'em highnlow 				(Monument, High/Low 2) minor fixes
E2M8: Domain of evil 				(Monument) minor fixes
E2M9: The end? 					(Monument, The Wailing Horde) minor fixes

E3M1: The trickster's behest 			(128KB challenge) minor fixes
E3M2: Chart the course for carnage		(exclusive) new from scratch
E3M3: The bloody realms 			(Bloody realms of Hell) untouched
E3M4: Obituary written 				(2002 A Doom Odyssey) revamped
E3M5: Twisted high 				(High/Low 3) modified
E3M6: The remedy				(exclusive) new from scratch
E3M7: No way back				(exclusive) new from scratch
E3M8: Death will be no respite			(exclusive) new from scratch
E3M9: Flay the obscene 				(Flay the obscene - DeathmatcH) revamped

E4M1: The blessed hex 				(The Blessed Hex) revamped
E4M2: Hell unleashed				(2002 A Doom Odyssey) modified
E4M3: Disreputable stronghold 			(2002 A Doom Odyssey) modified
E4M4: High'n'low 				(High/Low 4) revamped
E4M5: Indominatable haunt 			(2002 A Doom Odyssey) modified
E4M6: Odious grounds 				(2002 A Doom Odyssey) modified
E4M7: Bond of hatred 				(Bond of hatred) modified
E4M8: Deus in absentia 				(High/Low 4) revamped
E4M9: Good vibrations 				(Good vibrations) modified

 

Soundtrack

Spoiler

Episode 1

E1M1 "Gate crasher" -  @Battlecat

E1M2 "Unending cruelty" -  @BattleCat

E1M3 "Relinquished command" @BattleCat

E1M4 "They must be contained" -  @BattleCat

E1M5 "Dark matter anomaly" -  @BattleCat

E1M6 "Rooftop" @Korp

E1M7 "Second wind" -  @BattleCat

E1M8 "March of the blue jays" - @LightningBoltForever

E1M9 "Ripper" - @Cacodreamin'

 

Episode 2

E2M1 "Armageddon apparatus" @MFG38

E2M2 "Looking down the barrel" - @wallabra

E2M3 "Mephisto's Lament" - @MFG38

E2M4 "Don't look it in the eye" - @LightningBoltForever

E2M5 "Cauldron" - @wallabra

E2M6 "Sight implement" @wallabra

E2M7 "Pebbles in wine" @wallabra

E2M8 "Final frontier" @MFG38

E2M9 "Metrozipper" - @wallabra

 

Episode 3

E3M1 "Forest Orchestra" - @Herr Dethnout

E3M2 "Aquatic nightmare" - @Crunchynut44

E3M3 "Just say no to yes" - @northivanastan

E3M4 "Claustrophobic Corridors" @BattleCat

E3M5 "After hours" - @LightningBoltForever

E3M6 "The awaiting tempest" - @Korp

E3M7 "Whims of the malevolent" - @MFG38

E3M8 "Tethered" - @Bobby "J

E3M9 "The devil's riff" - @Crunchynut44

 

Episode 4

E4M1 "Xazozwag" - @Kor

E4M2 "Staring over the canyon" @LightningBoltForever

E4M3 "Red light" - @Cacodreamin'

E4M4 "Ruin" - @Cacodreamin' @wallabra

E4M5 "Galvanise" - @Crunchynut44

E4M6 "Wasp's Nest" @wallabra

E4M7 "Feud" @LightningBoltForever

E4M8 "Invite the apocalypse" - @MFG38

E4M9 "Back to the rail" - @wallabra

 

Intermission @BattleCat

Title  @BattleCat

Victory @LightningBoltForever

Bunny @LightningBoltForever

Screenshots

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 14 by Chris Hansen
added link to /idgames

[Biodegradable]

7 minutes ago, Chris Hansen said:

What is needed?

Playtesters

 

Reporting for duty, mate. 🫡

[Bri0che]

Wow, interesting, I'm also working on a UD megawad… I am happy there are still some Doom I enjoyers :D

I will watch this carefully ! 

 

Edited June 26, 2023 by Bri0che

[LadyMistDragon]

No one expects a new Chris Hansen megawad, not the least after contributing to the ADO sequel. I don't know if I'll have the time but please add to the playtesting list!

[Chris Hansen]

Thanks for the support. I know an Ult. Doom megawad is for a limited audience, but I just love making maps for it. And you gotta do what you love, right? :)

 

I'll send you a PM, @LadyMistDragon. Thank you!

[RaRu Des2122]

I love Ultimate Doom too! Although there are fewer types of monsters in it than in Doom II, this does not prevent you from creating interesting maps based on it and situations on them. And no archviles and pain elementals will increase an initial number of monsters!

And having already played your maps from 2002ado, 2022ado and the High/Low series earlier, I will be happy to play this megawad as well. And most likely, even record its walkthrough...

How are things going, @Bri0che? How many levels have been made?

Edited July 9, 2023 by RaRu Des2122

[SilverMiner]

For a long time before now I thought you made e3m7 and pcorf made e3m6 of Doom Odyssey. lol

[GarrettChan]

What the heck, Chris Hansen releasing 32 maps...? Sign me up for playtesting please.

[Bri0che]

On 6/26/2023 at 8:44 PM, RaRu Des2122 said:

How are things going, @Bri0che? How many levels have been made?

 

This far I've almost completed Episode II :p 

I'm proud to see how productive I am with mapping those days, but I don't think my maps are as creative as Chris Hansen's

Edited June 28, 2023 by Bri0che

[Captain Keen]

This looks great. Ultimate Doom wads are my favorite. My life has been a little crazy lately, otherwise I’d ask for a play test link. When are you hoping to have this done or at least have a release candidate up? (2022ADO was one of the best wads I’ve ever played imho)

[Herr Dethnout]

A new megawad? and is for ULTIMATE DOOM?! My man, you sell me it already

Finally, an oportunity to use Domino for midis again, I'm in on this. >B)

On 6/24/2023 at 4:48 AM, Chris Hansen said:

What is needed?

 midi composers

[Chris Hansen]

2 hours ago, Captain Keen said:

When are you hoping to have this done or at least have a release candidate up?

I don't know. I've been dormant the last year when it comes to Doom and are only just starting to feel like I can find some creativity and productivity again. I'm almost done with E3M2, so that leaves with me 3 more maps to complete. One of them is pretty far ahead already. Maybe I can complete all 3 maps before Christmas. That's my goal at the moment, but take it with a grain of salt.

 

54 minutes ago, Herr Dethnout said:

A new megawad? and is for ULTIMATE DOOM?! My man, you sell me it already

Finally, an oportunity to use Domino for midis again, I'm in on this. >B)

I'll send you a PM and we take it from there. Would love to get another musician onboard!

[Chris Hansen]

Status report:

 

Testers are doing their thing and doing it well! Even tried and tested levels of old still have minor issues and bugs in them. Thank you @GarrettChan, @Biodegradable and @LadyMistDragon! I am super busy trying to keep up with them!

 

2 more levels have been finished and there's "only" 2 to go in episode 3 which will be brand new from scratch. This episode will have the most new stuff, so the 5 of you who are interested in this old fart's even older stuff will at least have something new to play ;)

 

@Endless has delivered one of hell of a neat story for this megawad! Complete with amazing and campy 80s or 90s action movie clichés! I f*cking love it.

 

 

 

[RaRu Des2122]

54 minutes ago, Chris Hansen said:

Status report:

 

Testers are doing their thing and doing it well! Even tried and tested levels of old still have minor issues and bugs in them. Thank you @GarrettChan, @Biodegradable and @LadyMistDragon! I am super busy trying to keep up with them!

 

2 more levels have been finished and there's "only" 2 to go in episode 3 which will be brand new from scratch. This episode will have the most new stuff, so the 5 of you who are interested in this old fart's even older stuff will at least have something new to play ;)

 

@Endless has delivered one of hell of a neat story for this megawad! Complete with amazing and campy 80s or 90s action movie clichés! I f*cking love it.

 

 

 

 

Great news! I wish inspiration all of you and look forward to further updates!

Edited July 7, 2023 by RaRu Des2122

[WARDUST]

 I love ultimate doom, more than Doom2 i think. It has an amazing look! Looking forward the download 

[JXC]

Will there be custom monsters?

[Chris Hansen]

4 minutes ago, JXC said:

Will there be custom monsters?

Nope, sorry. Lot's of other projects will tickle your fancy if custom stuff is your thing. This is about as oldschool as it can get - without going vanilla. I might have designed levels for a while now, but I'm kinda stuck doing what I've always been doing and never really graduated to the more advanced stuff.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Chris Hansen

[jgs1989]

Can I help play test?  I love ultimate doom wads (I prefer them over doom 2), and me and my wife play co-op so we can co-op test these maps as well.

[RaRu Des2122]

@Chris Hansen By the way, I looked - the remnants of the levels from CH Retro Episode, High/Low, 2002ado, 2022ado etc. would be enough for additional fifth episode. Probably... ;))

 

Or are you planning to limit yourself to vanilla and not go beyond it?

 

 

[Chris Hansen]

10 hours ago, jgs1989 said:

Can I help play test?  I love ultimate doom wads (I prefer them over doom 2), and me and my wife play co-op so we can co-op test these maps as well.

Yes, please. There's room for one more. I'll send you a PM with the details.

 

21 minutes ago, RaRu Des2122 said:

@Chris Hansen By the way, I looked - the remnants of the levels from CH Retro Episode, High/Low, 2002ado, 2022ado etc. would be enough for additional fifth episode. Probably... ;))

 

Or are you planning to limit yourself to vanilla and not go beyond it?

 

 

Not a bad idea, but it I think I want to stick with "just" the 4 episodes. A 5th episode consisting of the mentioned levels might be get a little messy or without focus or theme. And I'm running out of time and steam and will have to focus all my energy on the remaining 2 levels for episode 3. Thanks for your interest and input, always welcome and appreciated!

[hatehatehatehate]

Excited for this. You're one of my favorite mappers ever.

[LightningBoltForever]

Hey there! I'm a little late to the party, but are MIDIs still needed? 

[GarrettChan]

25 minutes ago, LightningBoltForever said:

Hey there! I'm a little late to the party, but are MIDIs still needed? 

Oh hey, it'll be good to have some of your work here. Hopefully Chris will take some, heh.

Edited July 20, 2023 by GarrettChan

[Chris Hansen]

8 hours ago, LightningBoltForever said:

Hey there! I'm a little late to the party, but are MIDIs still needed? 

Yes, please! I'd love to have another talented musician onboard. My dream is that the megawad will feature a soundtrack of brand new midis. I'll send you a PM.

[Biodegradable]

God yes @LightningBoltForever Episode 4 is in dire need more some more tunes!

[Chris Hansen]

Hey, be nice, bio! But at least you learned how to skip to another track in GZDoom! :D

[Chris Hansen]

A little status report.

 

Progress has been good on E3M6 over the last month or so. Still very much WIP but I think it's ok to post a couple of screenshots:

 

 

12 levels still need a midi track, but the musicians are hard at work and have a couple of new tracks in the pipeline, so that number will probably get smaller soon! You guys rock! Can't thank you enough!

 

NotMuchNormal has sent me some stunning artwork not long ago, so each episode will have a unique piece when you exit the boss levels. He really came through and I can't recommend him enough. I won't show them here, you'll just have to wait and see :)

Edited August 25, 2023 by Chris Hansen

[RaRu Des2122]

@Chris Hansen, by what time approximately do you think to finish everything? Has anything changed?

[Chris Hansen]

The plan is still to finish it before or around Christmas. But I don’t have the spare time I used to have, so take it with a grain of salt. And no, nothing has changed. Everything is currently proceeding as planned.

[Knor964]

I can't wait! Looks a fun mega wad!

It would be a great christmas present :D