FLUORIDE - new single map using FOXTEX texture pack

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

It's a medium-sized map I've been working on for over a month.
Feedback and playthrough videos are very appreciated!

 

Get it from idgames: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/fluoride

 

IWAD,MAP: Doom2 MAP01
Format: UDMF
Tested with: GZDoom 4.7.1
No jumping
Freelook recommended because of height differences but not required
Difficulty: all skill levels implemented:
	UV is quite challenging but nothing crazy by today's standards
	HMP has similar enemy count but tones down some more spicy moments
	HNTR is significantly easier than the other two
Playtime: around 30 minutes

 

Credits:

    music: "Halls of Wandering Spirits" by Myrgharok from Ultimate MIDI Pack
    textures: FOXTEX by Foxhead and a bit of OTEX by ukiro
    sky: made by WARDUST

 

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)
added idgames link

[Matt Eldrydge]

Following this so I play it later, it looks good!

[LadyMistDragon]

Good map, and probably not something one should attempt in 15 minutes on their first try, the swarms are pretty constant!

 

 

 

[Kyka]

This map looks cool and interesting. I will give it a play. However I am not going to drink it. Just sayin'

Edited October 3, 2023 by Kyka

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Thanks @LadyMistDragon for the video! Haha, yes, the map would be much easier if you killed the monsters before going forward :D

[Biodegradable]

Another winner here, Jacek!

 

 

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Thanks @Biodegradable for the video!

 

These poor pinkies at the end were supposed to block the exit (so that you can't run past them) but yeah, they ended up looking weird, I think I should at least give them more room.

 

The truck is a 3d model I made in Blender so unfortunately it doesn't qualify as Doomcute. But I made it with Doom textures (actually it was mostly OTEX so I should give credit, forgot about that!) and I wanted it to blend in and LOOK like Doomcute so if you took it for sector-based geometry then my objective is achieved :) And the model has a simplified collision mesh made by invisible 3d floors so you can for example shoot under the chassis so there is at least some sector-based geometry to it.

 

The teleporter you were considering using to go back to hunt for secrets is actually just a teleport out of lava and thanks to your video I realised that once you enter the exit area you can't go back (which is not good if you want to max the map so I will fix that).

 

And actually it looks that the map ended up more difficult than I expected! When watching @LadyMistDragon's playthrough I put it down to the fact that she was rushing and trying to skip some of the fights (and the map punishes for that quite badly :D) but I see that you had hard time in some areas too. Still I think there were no unfair moments and lower skill levels are available as well. Maybe I shouldn't recommend UV for most players in my OP though.

 

Thanks again for the video and commentary - useful and entertaining as always :)

Edited October 3, 2023 by jacnowak

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

I updated the map - fixed two minor issues found in playtesting.

The link in OP points to the updated version.

Enjoy! :)

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Thanks @TheDuckXD , glad you liked the visuals and you had fun :)

Yes, this pinky ambush is a bit nasty. You can still hear the door opening sound behind you so I think it's not unfair but I guess it depends what weapon you have on you as you might not have much time to react/switch weapon. Maybe I should decrease the number of pinkies a bit.

Regarding that closing door - I fixed that in the update which I uploaded 12 hours ago :) The door is still closing (as it's part of the ambush) but it reopens once you get closer to the exit. I agree it was a bug as it prevented maxing then map but fortunately it's fixed now. (if you downloaded the map later than 12h ago then let me know as I'm not sure it's not too confusing - I mean, not sure if the linedef reopening the door isn't too close to the exit so that by the time you realize that the door reopened you already crossed the exit line...)

Thanks again for playing and for feedback!

[DoomBerry]

Very nice work. Great looking map, good traps, very neat layout.

 

[BerserkerNoir]

nice map.
It was very tricky in some parts.
Not gonna lie, some parts made me rage lol.
but thats on me, I used BD Monsters to play.

5/5

 

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Thanks @BerserkerNoir for the video!

I think the outdoor section is harder with BD as monsters deal more damage and it's so hectic there it's hard not to get hit by a stray projectile. Lucky that you picked that soulsphere at 4% health :)

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

I did a small facelift of the map - I added a little bit more detail and dynamic lights in some places, also tweaked health and ammo placement a bit.

I updated the link in OP, for anyone who already downloaded the map and intends to play it - please re-download if you want better looks :)

Hope you enjoy!

[Blacklight]

6 hours ago, Jacek Nowak (jacnowak) said:

I did a small facelift of the map - I added a little bit more detail and dynamic lights in some places, also tweaked health and ammo placement a bit.

I updated the link in OP, for anyone who already downloaded the map and intends to play it - please re-download if you want better looks :)

Hope you enjoy!

 

So the Level will still be overgrown with New Details? Well, since I briefly spoke about it in the Last Review after "666CRETS" (In Russian: https://doomguy.ru/community/topic/666crets-po-nastoyashhemu-podoomaem-kratko-pro-fluoride/).

 

The truth is: The map seemed pretty empty to me and only gives pleasure at the end. But this is the First Level on FOXTEX, so it's excusable. I'm glad that at least someone is trying New Textures! There will be time, I'll download it again and maybe I'll change my mind. With Mods, you can kill a couple of minutes.

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

@Blacklight the update is cosmetic, so if you didn't like the map then I don't think you will change your mind after downloading the new version.

The map has its distinct visual style that is not everyone's taste. Some people like it though. Thanks for playing it still!

 

Regarding FOXTEX - not sure if I'm really the first one to release a map with this texture pack but it's definitely less popular than it should be! I think part of the reason may be that it's really hard to package the map with textures from it. The whole pack is almost 1.5GB so obviously you can't include it with your map and due to various GZDoom-specific features it's not completely trivial to select stuff that you used in your map and need to include. And as far as I know there is no tool that will do it automatically for you. For OTEX you can use WTExport from Doom Tools but here it doesn't work due to pk3 format. I wrote a tool that automated this process for me and works with FOXTEX but it's very rough around the edges and not user-friendly. I might release this tool at some point if I find time to make it production-ready.

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Map is now on idgames and can be downloaded from there.

[Wo0p]

Oof! Indeed hard on UV but not insurmountable given enough persistence! I think some of the difficulty comes from me sucking at switching to something OTHER than the rocket launcher in tight quarters lol but you place some mean ambushes too ;) ...

 

The foxtex are refreshingly awesome and of really high quality, so I have to make a map at some point with them. Also a lovely skybox! Nice use of 3D objects for the architecture. And also the custom models, did you make the chairs in the conference room yourself or? I dig those in particular for some reason :)

 

Wonderful map.

[Jacek Nowak (jacnowak)]

Thanks @Wo0p, glad you liked the map!

 

Yes, the model for the chairs in the conference room is made by me in Blender, it's actually based on a real chair I have at home :)

Feel free to use it in your maps btw, I explicitly allow (and encourage) it in the text file.

[Wo0p]

2 minutes ago, Jacek Nowak (jacnowak) said:

Thanks @Wo0p, glad you liked the map!

 

Yes, the model for the chairs in the conference room is made by me in Blender, it's actually based on a real chair I have at home :)

Feel free to use it in your maps btw, I explicitly allow (and encourage) it in the text file.

 

Thanks! That was my next question haha :) And great attitude to have *Thumbs up*

[Serathis]

Felt more like a Half Life map to me, probably because of the textures used. It is a solid attempt, didn't blow me away but was very solid.