(The Ultimate) Return to Hadron (IDgames)

[cannonball]

IDgames

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/megawads/uhadron

Here is the final episode of the ongoing saga where the real life planning and construction of the wad makes less sense than the storyline of the wad itself. This is a 9 map episode that replaces the maps in E4 of the Ultimate Doom. The maps are all limit removing* and should be able to be played in most ports outside of the likes of Dosbox/Chocolate doom etc. 

Update - As an aside I have tweaked the maps from Episodes 1-3 and revised some of the midi choices (All from within the doom community), so this is now a fully compiled 4 Episode Megawad.

 

*The dehacked uses boom derivative code pointers that may cause issues in some vanilla derived ports that want to preserve the mechanics of the original executable. This wad was tested in DSDA-Doom and Crispy doom.

 

It's inception came about due to two factors- the first was mapping for Walter C's Deadly Standards project where it showed a couple of avenues to where I could push things a little further compared to my previous work. The second was the ongoing question of turning Return to Hadron into a complete 4 episode campaign and also weaving a narrative into my still in progress Doom 2 megawad that is essentially in the same universe at Return to Hadron.

 

Brief blurb;

"After the destruction of the demonic fortress that housed the main players of the Hellish invasion of Earth, you black out and eventually awaken on the cold hard tarmac of a seemingly alien facility. Your only chance of returning home is to seek out a craft that you can pilot yourself. However this terrain is every bit as uncharted as the Inferno you just fought through and it is likely to be as hostile as Hell itself."

 

The maps within this are pretty challenging (Par for the course for maps by me I guess, expect some surprises and curve-balls at times too). There are difficulty settings that have above average levels of testing compared to other stuff I have made (Though to say they are foolproof would be going too far). I hope everyone enjoys this and please report any issues you might find because I have probably left something stupid or created a slime trail the size of the North sea when saving one map that one extra time.

 

Download link

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/1qptpjq26eedj5vu24kxv/uhadron.zip?rlkey=plqt8buq0dv2t8kk0e3ogmqhv&st=huxwcfou&dl=0

 

 

Old version(s)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/j5h2grb0sy2sq2lspsim6/uhadronRC2.zip?rlkey=oqhi7kwmsnkt9zfqfih3rf193&st=fnv0dfrf&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/izsthxnpzr75lwl983zqv/uhadronrc1.zip?rlkey=nlqep9axiwjuo1v9e01y0oa4f&st=q6y7b7ys&dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/0ds0i5g8hmk13gfzo3gqj/HadronE4RC1.zip?rlkey=7ggbrdjj5q9hseyf3bsgbncoo&dl=0 (RC1)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ioyu9n3g6v7egyys2s03c/HadronE4RC2.wad?rlkey=7n7yqff1wqn89xmtxu9tfgk5i&dl=0 (RC2)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fah6yh7efdgoy8ehmmsmk/HadronE4RC3.zip?rlkey=bcvze7jtdix42mpmk3ucefgk9&dl=0(RC3)

 

Maps

 

E4M1 - Mourning Facility

E4M2 - Meteorain

E4M3 - Malignancy

E4M4 - Tainted Eden

E4M5 - God Complex

E4M6 - Attack the Block

E4M7 - Quadraphobia

E4M8 - Cerulean Escape

E4M9 - Power Trip

 

Midis

 

E4M1 - Eye of the storm (Tristan Clark)
E4M2 - Xenotime (Dragonfly)
E4M3 - Of Serpents nailed to fate (Cammy for the AV Midi pack)
E4M4 - Subterfuge (AD_79)
E4M5 - Bipolar Boogie (Xulgonoth/Cammy)
E4M6 - Shhh the shadows are near (Decino)
E4M7 - Dark Walls (James Paddock from Cabin)
E4M8 - 2012 (ZDCMP2 Remix) (James Paddock)
E4M9 - Hangar 7 (James Paddock)

Intro - Beseiged City (James Paddock from Dawn of Chaos)
Intermission - Blood Rain (James Paddock from Beseiged)
D_VICTOR - Crawling Thorns (James Paddock)

 

Pictures

 

Spoiler

 

      

 

      

 

      

 

Many thanks to these people for play testing this wad and enduring some stupid gaffs and mistakes from yours truly.

GarrettChan
Plums
Monsieur.e

 

Extra credits below (These have been spoilered as some of these may give the game away regarding some elements of this wad - I will unspoiler these in future RCs and the final release)

 

Spoiler

Textures;

- 32in24-15tex_V2.wad compilled by Sarah Mancuso

- Noirpack by Fuzzball,

- Jimmytex by James Paddock

Sky - Mechadon (Extra sky used for the interpic)

 

Beam Zombie - Captain Toenail and Ghastly Dragon - It's dehacked parameters have been edited by myself to achieve what I had in mind
Mini Mind - If someone can give a definitive credit for this I would be most welcome - I can't remember if I tweaked the speed/health on this or whether it is the same as the one used in Deadly Standards 4)

 

Edited May 22 by cannonball

[Firedust]

Holy shit.

Big big fan of your UD episodes. In my head, Draft Excluder had always been the true episode 4 of the Hadron series (also my most favourite episode 4 of all time hands down), but I guess I won't be able to say that anymore :p

[Not Jabba]

15 minutes ago, Firedust said:

In my head, Draft Excluder had always been the true episode 4 of the Hadron series (also my most favourite episode 4 of all time hands down), but I guess I won't be able to say that anymore :p

Was just about to say this same thing!

 

This is really exciting, and although I knew cannonball was working on some solo project, I wasn't expecting it to take this form. I really like the blue/green/high-tech theme instead of it just being a red/marble/rocky Hell episode.

[plums]

This was fun to test and completely absent of the grind that you sometimes see in UD maps. I think I only shotgunned one or two barons through the whole episode and that was just me being frugal with rockets and cells. Beware, it gets pretty spicy in some places!

[Devalaous]

Neat, a full UD megawad is born!

[Egg Boy]

LETS GOOOOO

[GarrettChan]

I don't really like UD WADs because the design choice is much more limited than D2 being able to offer, but, if I have fun in an UD WAD, that says something :)

 

cannonball maps are always fun to play, and it has some beautiful looking maps in E4 for sure.

[Degree23]

26 minutes ago, GarrettChan said:

I don't really like UD WADs...

 

That's generally my feeling too - I love the SSG and extra monsters so much. But Return to Hadron was by far the most enjoyable Doom 1 WAD I have ever played, so I will definitely be getting stuck into this. What an unexpected present!

[Shepardus]

The Return to Hadron series has been my favorite Ultimate Doom WADs since I played them. I didn't expect there to ever be a fourth episode, so this is a very pleasant surprise!

[plums]

20 hours ago, cannonball said:

created a slime trail the size of the North sea when saving one map that one extra time

Yeah it's still there, or back, or something. (E4M8)

 

I rebuilt the nodes using BSP-W32 and that seems to make it go away. I haven't tried the level at all beyond seeing if that made a difference so it's slightly possible something else got messed up but hopefully not. I don't recall you doing any fancy sector effects or BSP tricks on this map at least.

https://user.fm/files/v2-58b316536f69d811523f4454a48af51d/HadronE4RC1-48.zip

See below for a version with additional fixes.

 

(maybe you have a different nodebuilder configuration for testing than you do for just saving the map? or that sector is haunted, could be either.)

 

Edited October 23, 2023 by plums

[Devalaous]

7 hours ago, Firedust said:

Holy shit.

Big big fan of your UD episodes. In my head, Draft Excluder had always been the true episode 4 of the Hadron series (also my most favourite episode 4 of all time hands down), but I guess I won't be able to say that anymore :p

 

Missed this in my earlier post, but I guess you can consider it the fourth episode of Cannonball's earlier 'ConC.E.R.Ned' megawad. Its only a year earlier than Draft Excluder too. It does say 'Episode 4 replacement for the Ultimate Doom which may or may not be related in any shape or form to Concerned :P' in the readme afterall!

 

(Does Return to Hadron's first episode have a title btw?)

[bioshockfan90]

Fantastic stuff! Reminds me I need to continue my playthrough of E2 and finish this series good and proper. Congrats on the release Cannonball! :)

[cannonball]

9 hours ago, Devalaous said:

 

Missed this in my earlier post, but I guess you can consider it the fourth episode of Cannonball's earlier 'ConC.E.R.Ned' megawad. Its only a year earlier than Draft Excluder too. It does say 'Episode 4 replacement for the Ultimate Doom which may or may not be related in any shape or form to Concerned :P' in the readme afterall!

 

(Does Return to Hadron's first episode have a title btw?)

The first episode of Return to Hadron is essentially self-titled (Again the consequence of a rather haphazard development cycle).

 

Draft excluder was and always was a standalone episode that essentially has nothing to do with any other Ultimate Doom wads I have made. The reason for that was because at the time I was planning to simply make something that showed that I had progressed beyond the rather flawed project of ConC.E.RNed. It was only after this that I went back to decided to “Remake” the previous works I had done (Though again we moved further and further away from this as each episode was released).

[plums]

New E4M8 fix for these issues below: https://user.fm/files/v2-652f520a4f59179f86ebbde076d51449/HadronE4RC1-48.zip

 

E4M8 has some weird HOMs in the fight where you first get the BFG. I didn't catch this in the prerelease version because I didn't play through this map because of the other problems. It's new to this release, missing some lower textures. "Map is haunted" confirmed.

 

 

Also, the cyberdemon in the red key dropdown area can become alert before you go down. At first I thought it was intentional, but it seems inconsistent, so it's probably a variaton on the Sleeping sergeant bug. Moving the cyber a few units fixes things.

Edited October 23, 2023 by plums

[cannonball]

No haunting this time, this is what happens when I used UDoombuilder's error checking function and obviously it flags unused textures (except of course the textures in question here are not used initially but are when the wall lowers). In short this one was on me.

Edited October 23, 2023 by cannonball

[plums]

BTW I hope I'm not overstepping by posting a wad with fixes, would just be a shame for anyone playing the RC to get to the last map and think it's broken.

[dobu gabu maru]

Ah, so this is what you've been up to, you sly dog! Maps look awesome cb, and knowing you it'll be a blast to playthrough. You're like the pizza place of mapping—just damn good stuff every time I visit.

[cannonball]

10 hours ago, plums said:

BTW I hope I'm not overstepping by posting a wad with fixes, would just be a shame for anyone playing the RC to get to the last map and think it's broken.

It’s fine and it is nice to have some hot fixes to prevent players thinking that the world they are inhabiting isn’t slowly descending into a hom-filled nightmare (funnily enough I was going through that mapping and fixing them around the time you posted these so hopefully RC2 should be covered now in regards to visual issues on this map).

Edited October 24, 2023 by cannonball

[Omniarch]

I discovered a HoM in E4M7 (line 2074), the result of a missing lower texture.

 

Other than that, this was an absolute blast to play! I had no idea more RtH was in the works, so this came as a welcome surprise. I really appreciate the encounter design in particular: despite the shift away from the free-form action of prior episodes -- which leverages D1's bestiary better than any other wad I've played -- to a more set-piece approach, I didn't find myself noticing the absence of D2's roster at all. The mini-mastermind and plasma zombie help with this, of course, since both fill some of the gaps in the base game's bestiary, but it is a hella impressive feat nevertheless.

 

The increased aesthetic, tonal and thematic range is also appreciated - I love the industrial elegance of RtH E1 / E2, for sure, but I'm glad that E4 is such a bold departure from the norm vis-a-vis UD wads in general, especially since the whole 'Thy Flesh Consumed' aesthetic has been extensively explored in Draft Excluder already.

[cannonball]

Cheers for the feedback so far;

 

Here is RC2

 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ioyu9n3g6v7egyys2s03c/HadronE4RC2.wad?rlkey=7n7yqff1wqn89xmtxu9tfgk5i&dl=0

 

Changes (Not many)

 

E4M7 - Fixed hom created when the final trap is released.

E4M8 - Fixed glitches and slightly tweaked the blue key pickup (nothing major)

 

Beyond this;

 

Well this is potentially the last RC involving these 9 maps alone. This is the point where the four episodes will be combined into a final megawad. Though details are still a little unclear in my mind in regards to how this panned out, though I do have a compilation of E1-3 that had some edits (Mostly visual though there are a few misgivings that I have addressed, mostly streamlining E3M7/E3M8 a little bit to make them a little less stodgy) that was just sitting on my hard drive so I would be adding to that.

[Firedust]

Started my playthrough, having a blast so far. Will edit this post if I run into any bugs.

Just a couple things:

1. E4M3 has no means for the player to return to the previous areas. Kind of a shame for those trying to get full kills and secrets on first playthrough. Same applies to E4M1 - if you miss that green armor, you can kiss all secrets goodbye! Unless I missed something, in which case I apologise.

 

2. E4M4 is really tight on ammo at the start, especially for the blue key fight. Even if you manage to locate all the secrets up until that point, you're still left with very little, and there isn't enough space to instigate infighting without clearing some of the meat yourself. I mean, you get several cacos, couple barons, and a horde of imps and pinkies... While it is doable, you'll be left with nada once you're done cleaning up.

Also, you know, the fast marines... When I first encountered them here, I thought, 'hey, these guys aren't as bad to fight as I remember', and then it dawned on me... Unlike their super irritating Scythe / Machete brethren, these guys stop moving entirely once they start firing! Definitely a positive change in my books, because they still pose a serious threat minus the deathmatch obnoxiousness.

EDIT:

E4M5: secret sector 187 is empty on UV. Very mean.

E4M7: This one really reminds me of that map from Microslaughter Community Project - you've got a wall of pinkies shielding you from cyberdemons and you have to get through as quickly as you can before it gets too dangerous.

E4M8: BFG fight, some barons teleport into the area from where you dropped down into the pit, left to hang by the waterfall or yellow key door and unable to do anything, which means they are useless.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Firedust

[Firedust]

Alright, I am done! Thank you for making this wonderful episode, had a blast!

Just want to say, I really appreciate you having stuck around and making maps for such a long time, even if you've been busy irl. I've really enjoyed your output ever since I played the first RTH episode and your Slaughterfest maps. It's been a great pleasure and joy.

 

This leaves us with two questions.
Episode 5? Yes? Maybe?
And...
Is the episode endscreen from your D2 megawad? :D

P.S.: Your Hell Revealations and Hardfest 2 maps were fantastic as well.

Edited November 3, 2023 by Firedust

[cannonball]

7 hours ago, Firedust said:

Alright, I am done! Thank you for making this wonderful episode, had a blast!

Just want to say, I really appreciate you having stuck around and making maps for such a long time, even if you've been busy irl. I've really enjoyed your output ever since I played the first RTH episode and your Slaughterfest maps. It's been a great pleasure and joy.

 

This leaves us with two questions.
Episode 5? Yes? Maybe?
And...
Is the episode endscreen from your D2 megawad? :D

P.S.: Your Hell Revealations and Hardfest 2 maps were fantastic as well.

 

Cheers for the feedback, hopefully I should be able to tweak things to resolve some of the issues you picked up. Just a couple of notes, unless I have screwed up there is a teleporter behind the exit portal in E4M3 that takes you back to the start of the map, the secret in question in E4M5 should have a soulsphere on all skill levels, though as a last minute decision I tweaked that area and accidentally removed the power up on UV (This should have been fixed in RC2 unless again I screwed up).

E4M7 is indeed inspired majorly by RJD's map from Microslaughter (It was my favourite map from that wad).

 

So to answer the two questions in your post;

E5 - This won't happen, I would say that I am planning to move on from making maps under complevel 3, but I suspect I will always chip in a map or so for any project that peaks my interest.

The endscreen is indeed a pic from outside the start of Map01 of Atomic, and indeed the purpose of RTH E4 was to connect the dots between E1-3 and Atomic because making random lore is fun. Hopefully I can actually make some progress on Atomic next year.

[Firedust]

Just now, cannonball said:

Just a couple of notes, unless I have screwed up there is a teleporter behind the exit portal in E4M3 that takes you back to the start of the map, the secret in question in E4M5 should have a soulsphere on all skill levels, though as a last minute decision I tweaked that area and accidentally removed the power up on UV

I believe you accidentally put the soulsphere outside the secret xD

[DoomGuy2077]

I'vee only played the first map and I already love it. the amount of hitscan enemies in your face makes you run into items by pure luck. A moment of panic can can disappear in a second. 

[brick]

On 11/1/2023 at 4:49 PM, cannonball said:

This is the point where the four episodes will be combined into a final megawad. Though details are still a little unclear in my mind in regards to how this panned out, though I do have a compilation of E1-3 that had some edits (Mostly visual though there are a few misgivings that I have addressed, mostly streamlining E3M7/E3M8 a little bit to make them a little less stodgy) that was just sitting on my hard drive so I would be adding to that.

I was curious about this, the first thing I did after downloading this was checking if it would fit with the uhadron that you released around the time E3 came out, but I didn't think it would be possible because of the new Dehacked work and the different textures. Excited to see how this works out, and how Atomic will pan out.

[cannonball]

RC3 is now out;

 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/fah6yh7efdgoy8ehmmsmk/HadronE4RC3.zip?rlkey=bcvze7jtdix42mpmk3ucefgk9&dl=0

 

Changes

 

Spoiler

E4M1 - A lift has been added in the blue area to allow access to the secret near the start (If missed).

E4M2 - Monster block lines added for the fight behind the yellow door (Cacos have proven a little troublesome in a couple of playthroughs)

E4M4 - Yellow key fight has been tweaked, it should still be balanced for all difficulties, the end fight has also been modified in particular to eliminate a strategy oversight.

E4M5 - Slight tweaks to the geometry and visuals

E4M6 - Tweaked the position of the escape switch from red skull fight so you cannot camp in there (The far away cyber can see you in there).

E4M7 - End fight redesigned, shotgun and chaingun added near the start but hopefully in an unobtrusive position

 

E4M3/E4M8 and E4M9 are unchanged or have undergone very minor adjustments to the point where I have forgotten what they are.

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by cannonball

[cannonball]

Update;

 

So here is the first draft of the full 4 episode compilation

 

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/izsthxnpzr75lwl983zqv/uhadronrc1.zip?rlkey=nlqep9axiwjuo1v9e01y0oa4f&st=q6y7b7ys&dl=0

 

Changelog

 

Spoiler

E1M1 - Fleshed out the map in terms of external windows, extra 2 shotgunner in YK room
E1M2 - Moved Chainsaw and initial cacos in warehouse area. Raised the sky in the outdoor area to increase the size of the silos.
E1M3 - Computer map area freely accessible, map obtained by alternativemeans, general texture cleanup, especially around the secret exit.
E1M9 - Start area visual clean up.
E1M4 - Sky lifted, crusher in BK room removed and fight tweaked.
E1M5 - Keyboards/Mice added to monitors
E1M6 - Shotgunners at the start removed. Rocket launcher/Plasma gun do not need to be lowered.
E1M7 - Visual tweaks, extra hint given to obtain BFG secret.
E1M8 - Boss fight tweaked, 2 cybers and some monsters in the corners.

E2M1 - Start area fleshed out some more along with the rocket launcher area. 
E2M2 - Visual tweaks
E2M3 - Visual tweaks, 1 secret altered slightly
E2M4 - Start area tweaked, switch to access the start added.
E2M5 - Start area tweaked
E2M9 - More lighting added, lift command added the cell stashes on descent phase. Extra secret added, BFG added to one secret.
E2M6 - None if I recall
E2M7 - Mastermind fight tweaked, more floors lower in final fight, lowering lift now acts as a lift to stop camping during the fight, a few visual tweaks
E2M8 - Secret area tweaked to prevent camping, BFG secret added that is accessible from secret 1

E3M1 - Tweaks to red key area. floor lowers to allow greater access after the fight.
E3M2 - A few general tweaks
E3M3 - baron added to lowering rocket launcher platform. Visual tweaks
E3M4 - BFG secret altered slightly.
E3M5 - Visual tweaks
E3M6 - No changes
E3M9 - No changes
E3M7 - BFG obtained via a different route, one cyber removed. Platforming removed and replaced with a walkway to the yellow key fight. Ending fights altered slightly.
E3M8 - General revision of some fights, Some fights heavily tweaked or removed entirely, these replacedby more concise versions in earlier sections of progression.

E4M1 - None
E4M2 - None
E4M9 - None
E4M3 - None
E4M4 - None
E4M5 - Extra interconnectivity added to the map.
E4M6 - None
E4M7 - None (Unless the final fight was done between RC3 and this)
E4M8 - End fight altered to make it more threatening and quicker to beat.

 

I also revised the midi choices throughout

 

Spoiler

E1M1 - I hope this doesn't suck too much (James Paddock)
E1M2 - Prelude to Misri in B Minor (James Paddock for AV Midi Pack)
E1M3 - Stargaze (Psyrus)
E1M4 - Aerial Tombs (Alfonzo)
E1M5 - Copperhead (Alfonzo)
E1M6 - Darkness Calls (James Paddock)
E1M7 - Fragments (AD_79)
E1M8 - Fallen Sun (James Paddock)
E1M9 - Earthglow (Tristan Clark)

 

E2M1 - Alien Jungle (Stuart Rynn - BTSX E2M1)
E2M2 - Broken Mirror (Tristan Clark)
E2M3 - Crawl (Jeremy Doyle)
E2M4 - Arcadia, Arcadia demade (John Weekly AKA Primeval)
E2M5 - Reaching Deeper (Tristan Clark)
E2M6 - Paint the town red (James Paddock from Cabin)
E2M7 - Radioisotope (AD_79)
E2M8 - Stigmatism (Primeval)
E2M9 - Jailbreak (Stewboy)

 

E3M1 - Jaws of fate (AD_79)
E3M2 - Stomping Grounds (Lee Jackson TNT Midi pack)
E3M3 - Keepsake Fever (Alfonzo for TVR! Midi pack)
E3M4 - Deep Forest (Stewboy)
E3M5 - Pluvious (Bucket)
E3M6 - The face of wraith (Stewboy)
E3M7 - Weather Warning (James Paddock BTSX E2)
E3M8 - No more history (Cammy for the Ultimate Doom midi pack)
E3M9 - Featherfall (Stewboy)

 

E4M1 - Eye of the storm (Tristan Clark)
E4M2 - Xenotime (Dragonfly)
E4M3 - Of Serpents nailed to fate (Cammy for the AV Midi pack)
E4M4 - Subterfuge (AD_79)
E4M5 - Bipolar Boogie (Xulgonoth/Cammy)
E4M6 - Shhh the shadows are near (Decino)
E4M7 - Dark Walls (James Paddock from Cabin)
E4M8 - 2012 (ZDCMP2 Remix) (James Paddock)
E4M9 - Hangar 7 (James Paddock)

 

I have played through all of the maps to make sure 100% of everything is possible on UV, though knowing me I probably did something unconsciously to break something.

[Firedust]

If I were you, I'd prolly create a separate thread for the complete project, seeing as how this one was used just for e4 :)

Edited April 26 by Firedust

[Auron]

2 hours ago, cannonball said:

Update;

 

So here is the first draft of the full 4 episode compilation

Since I've played episodes 1 and 2 last month I jumped into the full compilation (really enjoyed ConC.E.R.Ned and Return to hadron).

 

In E1M1 you can pass through these fences:

 

 

 

Playing on GzDoom 4.12.1 with software mode and doom strict compatibility mode.