"OCTATE" - My first map, dedicated to my father John W. Anderson (aka "Dr. Sleep")

[Mr. Hypnos]

My first DOOM level, inspired by and dedicated to the memory of John W. Anderson (aka "Dr. Sleep") and my unlikely discovery of the legacy he left behind. I only wish I could've found you sooner.

 

On May 15th, 2022 my world was completely turned upside down when I learned that the man who had raised me for the first 18 years of my life (and the only father I had ever known) was not genetically related to me, and that my biological father was actually a man named John W. Anderson, whom I had never met and who, unfortunately, passed away in April of 2018. I received this news via an email from a woman (now my aunt, his sister) through a website for an ancestry DNA test that she and I had both taken, where we had been connected with 26% shared DNA. It was then validated by my mother soon after. I was totally blindsided by this information and had a difficult time believing and accepting it initially, especially since the past 15 years of my life had been spent mourning the loss of my father who raised me after he died of cancer in December of 2008.

 

I quickly learned that John Anderson was a level designer for the video game series Doom and worked under the alias "Dr. Sleep.” I had no idea what Doom was at the time since I only played video games casually, but I began to do some research once the initial shock of this life-changing news had subsided. Since John was no longer here for me to meet and get to know, I thought that designing a Doom map of my own would be a great way to learn more about him on a much deeper and personal level. Several of my new family members (aunts, cousins, and even a brother!) noticed many similarities between our personalities, appearances, interests, and talents. So, trying my hand at level design naturally appealed to me because of these genetic traits that he and I shared with one another.

 

I started to brainstorm ideas for my first map "Octate" in November of 2022 and finally completed it in late June of 2023. I first began by sketching ideas out on paper and had many long nights spent learning how to use the level editors (Doom Builder, Slade) required to bring my ideas to life, while also familiarizing myself with the Doom franchise in general. "Virgil's Lead" of the Doom II Master Levels was the first map of my father's that I played (and the first Doom level I ever played, period). The starry night sky featured in this level is what inspired me to create an outer space-themed map, which is what "Octate" is. I also thought that it might be interesting to continue the narrative that my father had written for his levels by using the same characters from "Dante's Inferno" in mine, although my story has many personal references regarding my newly discovered reality. As the creation of my level progressed, some of these references began to influence the design and concept of the map itself, particularly the penultimate and final rooms and the intentional use of monsters as key antagonists. Because of the thematic importance and personal meaning attached to this level, a secret is required in order to exit. 

 

Overall, it was an absolutely incredible experience designing this map and there's nothing that I want more than for my father to be here to play it. But since that isn't possible, I want to share it with the next best thing: his Doom family. Because this is my first attempt at creating a map, I'm certain that there are things that can be improved upon and learned from. So, any feedback will be greatly appreciated and taken constructively. I hope you enjoy playing it as much as I did creating it.

 

 

• Name: Octate
• Map Format: Doom/Doom2
• Ports Tested: PrBoom+, GZDoom, ZDoom, Crispy Doom, Eternity
• IWAD: Doom 2 
• Map: MAP01
• Music: "Doom's Day" by Blake Brown-Anderson 
• Gameplay: Single play
• Difficulty Settings: Yes
• Multiplayer Placement: No
• Build Time: 6 consecutive months, approximately 400 hours (but probably more) 
• Textures: Starry night sky borrowed from "Virgil's Lead" of the DOOM II Master Levels, created by John W. Anderson (aka "Dr. Sleep"), TITLEPIC and INTERPIC created by me with Paint.exe and Doom II stock images, Waterfall texture from GothicDM
• Requirements: No jumping, please!

 

 

*Update 7.20.23*

 

There are several issues that have been corrected in this version, including:

 

• the "softlock" in the Arachnotron cage and green armor sector
• some very nasty textural bugs found in GZDoom, due to incorrect floor/ceiling heights in skyboxes (starting room and large arena)
• consistency with the starting position of several switches throughout the map
• more of a visual emphasis placed on the required secret, which may have been hidden a bit too well initially (my "Vesperas" ledge, perhaps?) 

 

 

 

OCTATE.zip

 

 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Mr. Hypnos

[OverflowingMocha]

I found it incredibly interesting to read all that, so I decided to try the map out.

 

Spoiler

 

It's shocking to me how good this is for a first map, I love everything about it, gives me heavy TNT E2 vibes, with the techbase theme using various textures from silver to marble, the simple details like all the computer panels, the laid back combat, the starry sky, etc - the visuals of this map in general are quite fun to look at.

 

I especially love the lighting, for a first map the lighting in this is really good, and the music really mixes in well with the combat of this map, the secret to exit the map was a bit frustrating though, it took me like 15 minutes to find it.

 

 

A very solid effort, especially since this is your first map, I'm glad you're proud of it, you should be.

I hope to see more stuff from you in the future! After playing this, I'm very interested in seeing what you make next.

[Daytime Waitress]

I can't begin to imagine the rollercoaster of emotions this experience has taken you on, OP, but your attempt to honour your father's legacy by taking up his craft is admirable, and I'm touched that we get to go on that journey with you.

 

Even without the personal attachment, this is an especially impressive first map - there are just so many moving parts that, for someone taking their first steps into mapping themselves, I can't even fathom attempting to load even half as much into one space. The adorable doomcute and detailing; the use of literal moving parts and teleports; the fact that the progression isn't too cryptic, but you can't shut your brain off entirely (especially for that exit - well played). I thoroughly enjoyed my customary first shot on HNTR, and am very much looking forward to seeing how you scale up the difficulty on other levels.

 

The only negatives I could attribute to it at all is that the MIDI (which is a grand choice) is mixed way too loud, and I got softlocked into the spider cage.

 

As someone who has actually never played Dr. Sleep's maps, I'm gonna leave it to the old guard to compare where you're similar and where you leave your own mark, but if this is what you're punching out for a first attempt, I can't help but hope you find your home within this community and continue to gift us with such enjoyable work.

[MrFroz]

I remember downloading "Crossing Acheron" after it was hailed as one of the best WADs of 1994 on this very site. I loved it and shortly after playing it I made a level for The Ultimate Doom in 2011 inspired by it. Not long after John passed, I remember playing a few Doom WADs which had dedications to him on their custom intermission screens. I'm sure many from this community wish he would still be here to make more of his amazing work.

[brick]

A very lovely map, and absolutely phenomenal for a first effort. I loved the more classic and laid back gameplay, and the combat slowly ramping up in difficulty while staying true to the style that inspired it. The mixture of tech and marble worked really well for me, the way you use the marble in particular reminded me of the similar aesthetics in the Inferno series. The recurring figure of 8 pattern (or is it infinity? or both?) is a very nice touch and reinforces a visual and thematic consistency that is also something I've always associated with the Inferno maps. Your music track fits the more adventure and exploration focus of the map really well and is a very nice tune in its own right. I didn't have too much trouble with the secret exit, I thought the visual hint was well done, and while it's an unconventional design choice the personal importance is very understandable.

 

Congratulations on a great first release! I cannot imagine what the past year must've been like, but I'm happy for you that you have found an outlet, and reading your post it seems like you are coming to terms with the shock and are in a better place than you were last summer. John Anderson was and still is one of my favourite mappers, it is such a joy to play a map that captures the spirit of his design but also infuses it with an energy that's entirely your own, it's such a successful fusion of styles. Thank you for sharing the map with us. I hope you decide to stick around and continue mapping, you've certainly got the talent, but whatever you do I wish you all the best.

 

1 hour ago, LGmaire said:

the techbase theme using various textures from silver to marble, the simple details like all the computer panels, the laid back combat, the starry sky, etc - the visuals of this map in general are quite fun to look at.

I especially love the lighting, for a first map the lighting in this is really good

Whenever I look back on my reaction to first playing John Anderson's maps back in the 90s, two thoughts immediately spring back into my memory: "the texturing is impeccable" and "the lighting is really, really good." It is only fitting that almost 30 years later these same two qualities would stand out so much in a map made by his son.

[Pickles]

That is an incredible story to a map. My condolences. I'm gonna download it and edit my post later once I've gotten around to playing it.

 

Edit:

Preemptive extra Edit: I seem to have messed up the framerate in my settings. Sorry for the horrible desync issues.

 

This map certainly took me by surprise. Beginning with the music; holy crap! I'm generally used to just hearing midi soundtracks in Doom, so immediately I was slightly taken aback from the different music format. Not to mention the track itself. The driving percussion creating a decently paced track that evokes visions of games like Marathon; all of this sliding into a final contemplative section at the end to allow a moment to take in your surroundings in their entirety.

 

Right after that, though, are the just-as-striking visuals. I've been hearing comparisons to TNT Evilution thrown around, and I can honestly agree with the thought. Large, deliberately decorated locales and mostly laid-back, but occasionally pulse pounding combat with some fairly obscure, and in a single case necessary, secrets. Most interesting in this particular map were the frequent rapid teleports to redirect a sudden trap in another direction. It hits you with the disorientation of the trap twice and was very effective at keeping me on my toes throughout.

 

Shoutout to the one fight that I definitely wasn't prepared for but came out fine regardless, I nearly soiled myself when that archie showed up. Probably the singular scariest moment I've had since I started checking out peoples' individual maps on this website so far. 

 

Other than that, I don't have much more to say. The map goes through 3 individual key hunts before delivering you unto the exit. It's challenging, but mostly fair, and first playthroughs should free up a good 30 minutes or so to get a hang of the flow of the map.

 

That being said: This map is incredible for a first map. There are issues like a softlock in the Arachnotron room with the Baron ambush and some missed texture work in places, but I recently made a first map, and it doesn't hold a candle to this at all. This must have been a monumental effort.

 

Final verdict: A job well done. If this is truly your first map, you're well on your way to becoming a Doom mapping legend.

Edited July 17, 2023 by Pickles

[dististik]

Really great first map! I love the unique texture variety and cute attentions to detail like the desk computers throughout the map or bevels in the waterfalls. Combat is nice and breezy and the map itself flows pretty naturally to me, especially for your very first outing. I'm relatively new to classic Doom so I've only heard of your father through his level in episode 4 of Ultimate Doom (one of my favorites from that episode, coincidentally) and through learning more about this community as I've grown to care more about the game. That said, he clearly has a lasting legacy, and it seems just from the few replies already you've done a stellar job living up to it. I hope we get to see more mapping from you in the future!

 

3 hours ago, Daytime Waitress said:

and I got softlocked into the spider cage

 

Almost happened to me as well, the door was weirdly vibrating in place but when I interacted with it at a different angle it opened up fine. Was worried it was an issue with the port I was using instead of a bug in the map itself; would you happen to be using Woof?

[roadworx]

holy shit this was unexpected as hell

 

this is actually a pretty great first map, ngl. i'm gonna concur with @LGmaire and say that it gives off some pretty heavy tnt vibes, though more from their other works than from evilution. in general it has a really great 90s feel to it - honestly, if it weren't for the non-midi music, i'd be convinced that i was playing something from 1996. i'm a sucker for 90s maps, so please take that as a compliment!! i'm not sure if you'll be staying in the community or not, but if you do, i'd love to see more maps from you.

 

3 hours ago, Daytime Waitress said:

As someone who has actually never played Dr. Sleep's maps, I'm gonna leave it to the old guard to compare where you're similar and where you leave your own mark, but if this is what you're punching out for a first attempt, I can't help but hope you find your home within this community and continue to gift us with such enjoyable work.

it seems pretty different from his style, though you'd need more than one map to really be able to tell. the lighting is definitely very reminiscent of dr. sleep tho, i will say that much

Edited July 17, 2023 by roadworx

[Daytime Waitress]

54 minutes ago, dististik said:

Almost happened to me as well, the door was weirdly vibrating in place but when I interacted with it at a different angle it opened up fine. Was worried it was an issue with the port I was using instead of a bug in the map itself; would you happen to be using Woof?

 

Nah, dsda 0.24.3.

[Pickles]

1 hour ago, Daytime Waitress said:

 

Nah, dsda 0.24.3.

 

I got softlocked in that room running PRBoom+ on -complevel 7.

[Murdoch]

What an absolutely extraordinary story. I first joined the community around 1997 or so when I got on the Internet, and even before then I knew of Dr Sleep's legendary status thanks to things like magazine cover CDs featuring new maps. Even his earliest maps showed a level of care that was often wanting in many other releases from the same time period. I do not have time to play this tonight, but absolutely will this weekend. The shots look great. My sympathies for the loss of both of your fathers, especially at such a young age.

[watto3699]

Really cool map my man!

Almost unbelievable that it's a first release. whether you meant it or not, you've really nailed that mid 00's doom map feel, instant nostalgia.

[JonExMachina]

Your post alone was enough to make me tear up a little, man. I'll absolutely be playing this.

[OceanMadman]

That was a really nice map. Very pretty visuals and good gameplay. I like the music you chose for it too. I haven't played anything by Dr. Sleep apart from E4M7 which is a map I like, but I will at some point.

[Harmonica]

That's very interesting story! Here's my playthrough. I thought the Spider Mastermind was misplaced as it offers no challenge, at least if you're not speedrunning. Also the rather long waits at the end, first for the pillar coming down and after that for the lift felt unnecessary. At least there should be monsters teleporting in imo. Overall, a really good and interesting first map, and I really hope to see more from you!

[HiMyNameIsChair]

Oh my goodness...! let me tell ya'...  just seeing the post title and reading your story was enough to get me choked up...!

 

Having taken the time and played this, and being fairly familiar with his past work, I feel confident in saying... Your father would have loved this...! It is.. so steeped, in old-school charm... lots of non-secret secrets, it's somewhat interconnected, and little things, like the high contrast lighting, and how the shadows are drawn really do bring to mind his work. Honestly even having the map require you to find a secret, in a way feels like an homage to maps of old where progression wasn't always clear.

 

To think this is your first map, honestly blows my mind, it's a great map, and a beautiful homage to a figure the community loved very dearly... he would have been so proud~!

[JonExMachina]

Yeah, man, that was honestly fantastic. I fell into pretty much all of your traps, even when I was expecting them, and loved the experience as a whole. Great and creative use of texture, a fun layout with some really satisfying loops. I never knew your dad, but I know he'd been very proud of that. Really glad I played your map, and I hope you continue mapping!

[TJG1289]

Well, Dr. Sleep's son releasing a map as a way to connect with his father was not on my Bingo card for the year. That was some story to say the least! 

 

The map is really good! I can tell there was a lot of effort put into it, as this was pretty in-depth for a first map by a newcomer to Doom in general. The lighting, skybox, and music choice is a very nice combo, and really help bring that 90s map feel to this. Stuff like non-secret secrets (some with monsters in them) also make this feel like a 90s map to me. The Spider Mastermind by itself in a room also screams 90s to me. I've only every played Dr. Sleep's Ultimate Doom map, so I can't really compare this map to his, but this on its own is a very good map! Idk if you plan on making more maps, but I would not be opposed to that!

 

The only issues I had were some weird texturing issues in the screenshots below. I played on GZDoom if that matters. (There's also a similar one to the starting room that I forgot to take a screenshot of, nearby the hidden invul in the reactor area)

 

[Dusty_Rhodes]

See buddy, told you they'd like it ;)

 

Seriously though, it's been amazing helping you out with this map, testing it, and watching grow from a concept to a complete wad file. It's an amazing level and I'm so glad to have gotten to know you over the course of its development. 

 

Here's to many more!

[Somniac]

This was a fun and unique feeling map!

 

It exudes classic vibes, but has a dreamlike quality, no doubt aided by the music, which I really liked. Combat was mostly laid back but there were a couple of difficulty spikes that were fun and engaging. The texturing was very tidy overall, with lots of nice little details and great lighting. I also got softlocked in the Arachno cage, but its cool. I think what's more important is that hopefully, this was cathartic for you and that you enjoyed making it.

 

Thanks for sharing this, and your story, with us. 

[Mr. Hypnos]

Hey guys, I want to apologize for taking so long to reply back to everyone. But honestly... I'm speechless. I never expected to receive this much positive feedback and so many kind words about my level. I want to thank all of you for your condolences also, it means way more to me than you'll ever know. This past year has been an extremely hard one for sure, but after reading all of your comments over the past several hours, I finally have a sense of peace with the reality of my situation that I haven't felt since finding out about it. It's truly amazing. I just want to thank you for caring enough to take the time to play my level and for writing such thoughtful replies. I'm going to attempt to reply back to everyone specifically, it might just take me a while...

[kalensar]

 

It was good enough that I cheated to get to the end of it so I could do it on a single play.  Using Give Megasphere 3x via GZD console, so yeah I took a lot of damage while playing on HMP.

Difficulty 6/10

 

Has a lot of good monster placement just with low tier monsters used very effectively. Lots of surprise teleports that arent dirty at all, but rather just refills the map a tiny bit to keep the action going. Nothing even close to slaughter or dirty tricks. Very straighforward map that was just used tactically well.

[Mr. Hypnos]

23 hours ago, LGmaire said:

It's shocking to me how good this is for a first map, I love everything about it, gives me heavy TNT E2 vibes

 

Thank you so much for the compliments and especially for playing it. I've honestly never played TNT before but I definitely think I'm going to have to now... I tried to put a strong emphasis on the visual aspect of this map, so I'm very glad to hear that you enjoyed the lighting and texture choices. 

 

23 hours ago, Daytime Waitress said:

Even without the personal attachment, this is an especially impressive first map - there are just so many moving parts that, for someone taking their first steps into mapping themselves, I can't even fathom attempting to load even half as much into one space

 

I really appreciate this, thank you. Trust me, my initial sketch designs were extremely simplistic. I was definitely trying to avoid being too ambitious on my first attempt at mapping for obvious reasons, but the level just sort of continued to grow as I learned how to do new things. Honestly, I think my attitude started to change a bit when I read my dad's Doom Builder Guide and came across him saying that rising staircases were one of the trickiest things in Doom to execute. I'm not sure if they were done the same way in the 90's as they are now, but either way I made it a point to learn how to do it, almost just to show him that I could. It was a very experimental 6 months with a lot of trial and error, but all in all I'm thankful that things went as smooth as they did.

 

23 hours ago, MrFroz said:

I remember downloading "Crossing Acheron" after it was hailed as one of the best WADs of 1994 on this very site. I loved it and shortly after playing it I made a level for The Ultimate Doom in 2011 inspired by it

 

That is so awesome, I would love to play your level. I actually just downloaded "Crossing Acheron" a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Believe me, I wish he was still here as well. I would've loved to discuss his levels with him and even just Doom in general. It genuinely hurts to think that I'll never get to meet him, at least in this lifetime.

 

21 hours ago, brick said:

A very lovely map, and absolutely phenomenal for a first effort. I loved the more classic and laid back gameplay, and the combat slowly ramping up in difficulty while staying true to the style that inspired it

 

Thank you so much for the extremely kind words. I'm glad you could appreciate the more classic gameplay. It's definitely the style that I prefer since the combat feels a bit more realistic and strategically placed. 

 

21 hours ago, brick said:

The recurring figure of 8 pattern (or is it infinity? or both?) is a very nice touch and reinforces a visual and thematic consistency

 

It's great that you noticed this. Not to get too heavy, but I think a lot of it has to do with the duality of nature, and how there are two sides to every coin, day and night, good and evil etc., but without one you can't really appreciate the other. For example, I was given a life without my biological father in the physical, but truth and destiny seem to have circled back around in order to allow me to still experience a relationship with him, although not in the way I would've expected or hoped for. Relating that idea back to the design of my level, if you notice that for each room there's also an answer room that tends to resemble the first but is still independent of it, (starting room/exit room, small arena/big arena, first lab with incubator models on desk/actual lab with incubators etc.) keeping all of them interconnected in the overall design. Though, I'd be lying if I said that I meant for it to be this way from the very beginning. The parallels just sort of occurred to me one day. So, staying thematically consistent was very important once I became aware of it. 

 

21 hours ago, Pickles said:

I'm generally used to just hearing midi soundtracks in Doom, so immediately I was slightly taken aback from the different music format

 

It was so surreal watching your play through video, thank you very much for that. I'm glad that the music helped enhance the atmosphere of the level. I initially wrote it as a piano piece not long after finding out about my father (he played piano too, imagine that) and felt that it would only be right to use it as the music track for my level. I thought that an electronic rendition would be a bit more suitable for a video game though, which is how the percussive/synth portion of the song came about. 

 

21 hours ago, Pickles said:

It hits you with the disorientation of the trap twice and was very effective at keeping me on my toes throughout.

 

This is the exact purpose I was hoping it would serve, very awesome to hear that it did its job. 

 

21 hours ago, Pickles said:

Final verdict: A job well done. If this is truly your first map, you're well on your way to becoming a Doom mapping legend.

 

This is definitely my first map, trust me. And thank you for the extremely high praise.. I'm at a loss for words. 

 

20 hours ago, dististik said:

Almost happened to me as well, the door was weirdly vibrating in place but when I interacted with it at a different angle it opened up fine. Was worried it was an issue with the port I was using instead of a bug in the map itself

 

I really appreciate your kind words about my map, thank you. Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what is "softlocked"? I never had any issues with it in the testing that I did but I'd definitely like to get it corrected. 

 

19 hours ago, roadworx said:

i'm not sure if you'll be staying in the community or not, but if you do, i'd love to see more maps from you.

 

I would certainly like to. My second map is in the very early stages at the moment, but it's coming along way faster than "Octate" did since I'm more familiar with Doom Builder now than I was six months ago. It means a lot to me that you and so many others on here would be interested in playing my future releases, I did not expect that whatsoever. And I'll definitely take the 90's comment as a compliment. I'm a pretty nostalgic person in general so that's completely fine with me!

 

17 hours ago, Murdoch said:

My sympathies for the loss of both of your fathers, especially at such a young age.

 

Thank you man. That means a lot to me, really. And I also appreciate you planning to play my level this weekend, I hope you enjoy it. 

 

15 hours ago, watto3699 said:

Almost unbelievable that it's a first release. whether you meant it or not, you've really nailed that mid 00's doom map feel, instant nostalgia.

 

Thank you for the compliments. I haven't played any 2000's Doom maps at all, so it was completely accidental. But I would definitely like to check some out now for sure. 

 

14 hours ago, JonExMachina said:

Your post alone was enough to make me tear up a little, man. I'll absolutely be playing this.

 

I know that it's a very heavy (and maybe even uncomfortable) story to share on a Doom forum, so I think it's just incredible how compassionate everyone has been responding to it. It means more than words can describe. Thank you for playing it also. 

 

13 hours ago, OceanMadman said:

That was a really nice map. Very pretty visuals and good gameplay. I like the music you chose for it too. I haven't played anything by Dr. Sleep apart from E4M7 which is a map I like, but I will at some point.

 

Thank you man, I really appreciate it. If I can suggest a few, I'd say to definitely check out "Minos' Judgement" (my personal favorite), "Geryon" and "Vesperas" from the Doom II Master Levels.

 

11 hours ago, Harmonica said:

At least there should be monsters teleporting in imo. Overall, a really good and interesting first map, and I really hope to see more from you!

 

Thank you for recording the play through video, I love seeing the different ways that people play it. It really helps me see the level from a new perspective. That's a great critique also.. why didn't I think of that? 

 

10 hours ago, HiMyNameIsChair said:

To think this is your first map, honestly blows my mind, it's a great map, and a beautiful homage to a figure the community loved very dearly... he would have been so proud

 

Wow, thank you very much for this. I would hope that he would have been proud of it, but his peers would definitely know. This means the world to me. 

 

6 hours ago, TJG1289 said:

The only issues I had were some weird texturing issues in the screenshots below. I played on GZDoom if that matters

 

Thank you for the very kind words and also for playing it. I'm not too sure what the issue seems to be with the random misaligned textures. The same thing was happening to me in GZDoom at one point also, but I can't remember for the life of me how I fixed it. I want to say that it was a setting that I had to change in the source port, maybe disabling vsync?

 

6 hours ago, Dusty_Rhodes said:

Seriously though, it's been amazing helping you out with this map, testing it, and watching grow from a concept to a complete wad file. It's an amazing level and I'm so glad to have gotten to know you over the course of its development. 

 

Man, I don't think you know how important you actually were to this whole endeavor. You were there from the beginning, literally. I couldn't have asked for a better mentor or friend. "Thank you" doesn't do it justice. 

 

5 hours ago, Somniac said:

I think what's more important is that hopefully, this was cathartic for you and that you enjoyed making it.

 

Thank you very much for playing it and for the kind feedback. But yes, it was extremely cathartic for me and probably even necessary for me to ever be able to accept the absolute reality of this situation. I enjoyed every second of it from beginning to end, but I'm also relieved that it's now complete. It was a journey. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Mr. Hypnos

[Cammy]

This felt like a really special experience to play, so I can only imagine what it must have felt like to build this. The deft and confident usage of vanilla textures in this map are leagues beyond most beginner work; your architecture, theming, and lighting are just as impressive, and the latter of those three in particular really makes this feel like Dr. Sleep's own work, painted with a finer brush.

 

I think the music and your wise choice of sky are really what tie Octate together. The resounding reverb of your minimalist instrumentation makes it feel like it's pouring in through the windows, sung by the deep space sky itself. It makes one feel alone, but not lonely - like a bittersweet dream.

 

My condolences for both your father and your dad. Please take care of yourself - I hope this isn't the last we'll hear of you.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Cammy

[dististik]

1 hour ago, Mr. Hypnos said:

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but what is "softlocked"?

 

It's a kind of generic gaming term to mean as a player getting stuck in a position where you can continue playing the game but where continuing progress is impossible. As a blanket Doom example imagine it as getting stuck in a deep pit away from the level's exit with no lift to take you out.

 

What specifically happened to me (and a couple others it seems) is in the cage with the arachnotron after opening the door from the inside, the baron teleported in and the door got stuck in a weird closed state while I was fighting it. I'm away from my PC at the moment but I can take a closer look later and try to replicate it so you know what to change to make sure it doesn't happen to more people.

Edited July 18, 2023 by dististik

[pcorf]

Glad you finally posted this. 75 likes already! (yes I had 75% secrets)

 

And as I said when we exchanged private messages. This is a brilliant first map. I thought the gameplay was great from start to finish, very classic, abstract and old school. And I also thank your late biological father for the inspiration he has given for many of my own maps including my tribute map in Community Chest 3. When the right time comes we shall meet one day I think.

 

Maybe not the most realistic but it was fun to play. Very tight on ammo and health (at times). I got through it even though it was a struggle for me as I played it on my laptop. I had 2% of health remaining when I found the megasphere. Cyberdemon battle was good and was expected. Spiderdemon was a surprise but I destroyed it with the SSG. Found 3/4 secrets missing the soulsphere in the octagon room.

[dististik]

Got around to replicating it; it seems like if you try to open the door before it fully closes it breaks and the only reason I was able to open it up again was because you have the two linedefs next to the door also set with action 31.

 

 

A video of the bug in question:

 

 

I'll be honest in that I've never seen a door act like this before; even if I remove the tag from the main door's linedef it still behaves this way. Hopefully someone with a little more experience can shed some light on the matter as I couldn't find anything particularly helpful for how to fix this with a cursory Google search. If it helps I'm playing in Woof! and it seems that PrBoom+ and DSDA-Doom also experience this issue so perhaps it's due to the ports faithfully emulating vanilla behavoir?

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by dististik

[Mr. Hypnos]

Got around to replicating it; it seems like if you try to open the door before it fully closes it breaks and the only reason I was able to open it up again was because you have the two linedefs next to the door also set with action 31.

 

 

A video of the bug in question:

 

 

I'll be honest in that I've never seen a door act like this before; even if I remove it's tag from the main door's linedef it still behaves this way. Hopefully someone with a little more experience can shed some light on the matter as I couldn't find anything particularly helpful for how to fix this with a cursory Google search. If it helps I'm playing in Woof! and it seems that PrBoom+ and DSDA-Doom also experience this issue so perhaps it's due to the ports faithfully emulating vanilla behavoir?

 

 

Hmm, bizarre. If I had to take a guess, I’d say it probably has something to do with those two linedefs  on each side with the same door action that’s causing it to malfunction. I can try removing the 2 vertices and see if it behaves properly later today. Thanks for taking the time to troubleshoot it. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Mr. Hypnos

[MrFroz]

6 hours ago, Mr. Hypnos said:

That is so awesome, I would love to play your level. I actually just downloaded "Crossing Acheron" a few weeks ago and really enjoyed it. Believe me, I wish he was still here as well. I would've loved to discuss his levels with him and even just Doom in general. It genuinely hurts to think that I'll never get to meet him, at least in this lifetime.

 

It was the first and only level I did for The Ultimate Doom back in 2011, it's called "A Marine's Dream":

 

 

That's a screen from the map, I remember specifically borrowing those demonic-looking cubes that give the sensation of floating without support from "Crossing Acheron". Play my map if you want (link) but it's really not that good, I have done more and better stuff since then. Although recently I saw someone playing it on YouTube with a Doom 64 texture pack and it looked a lot better with those, but it's still not the work I'm the most proud of. Thanks for taking interest!

[Mr. Hypnos]

4 hours ago, pcorf said:

Glad you finally posted this. 75 likes already! (yes I had 75% secrets)

 

And as I said when we exchanged private messages. This is a brilliant first map. I thought the gameplay was great from start to finish, very classic, abstract and old school. And I also thank your late biological father for the inspiration he has given for many of my own maps including my tribute map in Community Chest 3. When the right time comes we shall meet one day I think.

 

Maybe not the most realistic but it was fun to play. Very tight on ammo and health (at times). I got through it even though it was a struggle for me as I played it on my laptop. I had 2% of health remaining when I found the megasphere. Cyberdemon battle was good and was expected. Spiderdemon was a surprise but I destroyed it with the SSG. Found 3/4 secrets missing the soulsphere in the octagon room.

Thank you again for taking the time to play my level and for helping me out with with that texture bug on the octagon lift, so glad that you spotted it! The blue soul sphere actually isn’t one of the 4 secrets, though I suppose it certainly could be since it has the potential to be overlooked. I’m definitely going to check out your tribute map very soon. I’ve been wanting to play it for a while now but have been so immersed in wrapping up Octate that I haven’t had time to do much else. 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Mr. Hypnos