[GZDoom] Four Rooms

[Grizzly Old B]

14 minutes ago, Arrowhead said:

Regardless great work on this WAD. Are you in the process of planning anything else? I quite like this level.

 

Yeah, I'm planning to do more mapping stuff in the future, but it'll take a while.

 

However, if you're interested, I can give you access to my first (and yet unreleased) Doom level which I created in early 1996. Warning: It is a very 1996 map. It is, in parts, quite obscure. It even has arrows! ;-) So, if you're still interested, just send me a PM.

[Biodegradable]

Here's my playthrough as requested, mate. It's an interesting puzzle-style map for sure and I enjoyed it.

 

 

[BerserkerNoir]

Played it a non vanilla way, nice map!

 

[Grizzly Old B]

13 hours ago, BerserkerNoir said:

Played it a non vanilla way, nice map!

 

Thanks a lot for your playthrough! Looks great with that mod, although a bit too dark, but that may be partly Youtube's fault, partly the map being quite dark by default already.

 

Unfortunately the mod seems to break the map a bit, messing with its scripting parts: Normally, when you approach the yellow key, it teleports away – first to the green nukage room (so that you can still see it behind the bars from below), then over to Caco Island, where you can finally get it. In your run, you could just grab the key at its original location in the center of the north-east room, so there's really no reason to visit Caco Island anymore.

 

I've seen the same behavior when someone played the map with Project Brutality. Seems that some mods mess with the scripting linedefs or so, no idea what's happening there. Or should I maybe use named script functions rather than numbered ones? Can the latter be “overwritten” by the mods? I'm completely new to scripting in Doom, so if someone could give me a hint on how I could fix this, I'd be very thankful.

Edited October 19, 2023 by Grizzly Old B

[Aeddes666]

Dark, cramped, hard, with very cool architecture and texturing.
Got struggled at start (low ammo) but i survived.
The secret to get rocket launcher is smart. I thought it is a mid tex set wrongly as "passable".

Waiting for map 02.

Good job!!

 

 

[CravenCoyote]

Played though this on stream tonight - my first ever custom wad playing live.

Was happy that @Grizzly Old B was there to join in!

 

Four Rooms starts at 02:03:07

 

A great map, had a lot of fun with it. Fiendishly designed in some places but didn't feel unfair. The soundtrack was amazing, too - suited the map really well in my opinion.

 

I died a few times, but I'm not a great player. Didn't stop me from wanting to finish it though, which is awesome!

Edited October 29, 2023 by CravenCoyote

[tatsu91]

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1965226893 Just Finished it and enjoyed feel it needs a little more health but i am also not super good at it lol

 

[Finnisher]

 

 

Thanks for requesting a playthrough!

 

I go through my thoughts in detail in the video as I go but in short:

the small spaces and traps (with hitscanners) made some rooms feel like there is no "right" way to do them, you have to tank damage and hope you survive. Example is the room in the thumbnail.

 

Granted I am more a big fight / slaughter kind of guy but I do believe player should never be forced to take damage via enemy placement / room design.

 

I did like the map overall though and it's very inventive and impressive for your second ever map for sure!

 

 

[Grizzly Old B]

12 hours ago, Finnisher said:

I go through my thoughts in detail in the video as I go but in short:

the small spaces and traps (with hitscanners) made some rooms feel like there is no "right" way to do them, you have to tank damage and hope you survive. Example is the room in the thumbnail.

 

Thanks a lot for your playthrough! I will admit that the map is not particularly blind-friendly. There are a couple of situations where you have to “learn” how to deal with them if you don't want to die, unless you're a very skilled player. (At least on UV; on lower difficulty levels things get much easier.)

I'm aware that there are people (probably many) who don't like that approch, and that's totally okay. So it's a good thing that your comment is here as a heads-up warning for those players.

Besides, I will say that you mastered the level quite well, dying less often than many others. Also, I've not seen too many people discovering the rocket-launcher-on-crate secret and the automap double secret.

Good that you found the broken secret with the hall-of-mirrors effect. (One other person pointed that one out to me before.) It only becomes obvious when stepping back after pressing the switch. Which I probably never did during testing. I guess I'll have to fix this in an update sometime.

[Finnisher]

21 minutes ago, Grizzly Old B said:

 

Thanks a lot for your playthrough! I will admit that the map is not particularly blind-friendly. There are a couple of situations where you have to “learn” how to deal with them if you don't want to die, unless you're a very skilled player. (At least on UV; on lower difficulty levels things get much easier.)

I'm aware that there are people (probably many) who don't like that approch, and that's totally okay. So it's a good thing that your comment is here as a heads-up warning for those players.

Besides, I will say that you mastered the level quite well, dying less often than many others. Also, I've not seen too many people discovering the rocket-launcher-on-crate secret and the automap double secret.

Good that you found the broken secret with the hall-of-mirrors effect. (One other person pointed that one out to me before.) It only becomes obvious when stepping back after pressing the switch. Which I probably never did during testing. I guess I'll have to fix this in an update sometime.

 

My pleasure, and many things are ultimately subjective.

 

The map still flowed well and I shall replay it to find the secrets too, interesting to see how it feels after you know what's coming!

 

The HOM lift secret I'd say just make the switch repeatable and the platform a lift so you can retake it (so move the switch to the front of the platform).

That way it also starts raised so you cannot shoot the imps from below right away. Maybe even move them a little further from the opening so they spot the player only after they take the lift up.

[Finnisher]

Oh wanted to add one more thing I don't think I mentioned in the video:

 

I do like when you are returning from the outside how the level has changed on your way back. It's always a neat design to me.

Also I got some Plutonia 2 and Over Board vibes from the map both of which I like. Over Board and Going Down are probably some of my favourite wads of all time.

 

Speaking of I think Going Down did smaller(ish) levels and spaces really, really well. Also mouldy's maps have hectic combat and bit of tongue in cheek attitude too, not everything needs to be somber in tone.

 

Just saying in case this is the type of levels you prefer to make and wanna draw some inspiration in the future.

 

Oh and my favourite bit of the level were probably

the 3 arch viles at the end, how one stays there and the other 2 teleport to the other rooms. But seriously replace that chaingunner in the alcove after or at least give him the ambush tag so he aggros only on spotting the player (so you hear him first and he doesn't shoot you instantly), lols!

Edited November 8, 2023 by Finnisher

[Grizzly Old B]

On 11/8/2023 at 8:25 AM, Finnisher said:

Also I got some Plutonia 2 and Over Board vibes from the map both of which I like.

 

The boat at the end was meant to be an Overboard reference, yes. I do like Cyriak's work a lot. Plutonia 2 I haven't played yet though. I think I've watched a playthrough once (probably by BigMacDavis), but cannot remember too much. The dark sections of my map and the many chaingunners may certainly evoke Plutonia-ish vibes, but it wasn't meant as a reference, at least not on a conscious level.

[Beemer]

Great Map, took me 45 minutes to 100% this, great secret placement as well :)

[fuGue_tv]

full playthru linked below. I was having some beverages while playing thru this one, but it was a pretty tough map! the first room felt like an escape room. It took me a little while to start getting into it, but I ended up liking this map. 

if you didnt catch it live, def check the link below.
 

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1981617281

 

[Grizzly Old B]

@TheV1perK1ller just released the most skillful and precise playthrough of “Four Rooms” that I've seen so far, demonstrating spectacularly that the level can be beaten with 100% kills and secrets in little more than ten minutes:

 

 

I'm wondering how long he practised for this run.

 

Note: This is not the brushed-up standalone version of “Four Rooms”, but rather the earlier version included as map 185 in the RAMP 2023 community project.

 

[TheV1perK1ller]

I would say that it took me a couple of days to remember where to go, best way to approach the encounters, etc.

 

Thanks for the kind words!

[Austinado]

 

[Grizzly Old B]

Haha, thanks for resurrecting this thread! 😁 (And for playing my map, of course.)