The Parasite of Good Will [cl9] (NOW ON IDGAMES)

[Emperor S P O O N]

CONTENT WARNING: The following wad contains extreme mature themes. Player/viewer discretion is advised.

This warning is not here for laughs.

You have been warned.

TRAILER:

Preamble:
There is a place for those blessed from damnation. A place where souls never grasp time. In these caverns of rot an infection grows, incarcerated in its incubator. There an ancient being resides festering. His body bearing a hideous resemblance of those who look upon him, and in the dark halls and crevices of these chambers does he mold Hell's new guard.

 

Few crumbs of Death's harvest abscond from this misery, only to find themselves somewhere else unwelcome. They speak of a voice that calls to them in that prison; an alien murmur of pain and anger whose choir rings through untold miles of viscera. Such tales of horrid tongues struggle to recount the words spoken to them.

 

Description:

This is a horror map I decided to cook up one early-mid-October evening using scraps from a Darkzone map I abandoned thinking this would be a great outlet from the bore and chore of Calculus and Physics. What it turned into was probably my latest obsession, and I'm not sure if that was for better or for worse. I suppose only time will tell. Regardless, this is the result.

 

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• This map is NOT INTENDED FOR CASUAL PLAYERS! I've implemented some leniency for first time players, but for the most part I will not hold your hand.
• This map is extremely dark. Recommend playing this map in the dark or turning up the brightness on your monitor.
• This wad uses @Muusi's SoftFX mod, which is best utilized using the Software renderer. OpenGL may or may not work based on what source port you're using.
• This wad uses a DEHACKED file and a LOT of sprite and sound replacements that are essential to the wad's function and artistic intent. It is STRONGLY encouraged to play this wad without mods.
• It is also recommended you turn off textured automap in your settings. Many sections use silent teleports to create the illusion of looping corridors, and many other sections hide linedefs to mask surprises that would otherwise be prematurely spoiled.

 

SCREENSHOTS:

Spoiler

 

WAD INFO:

• Singleplayer Only
• Complevel 9
• IWAD: Doom 2
• Recommended Source port: DSDA-Doom
• Balanced for UV, but lower skill levels have been accommodated

Tested Source Ports:

• DSDA-Doom            version 0.26.2
• PrBoom+                version 2.6.2
• Eternity Engine        version 4.02.00
• ZDoom                   version 2.8.1
• GZDoom                 version 4.10.0

Will Not Work In:

• PrBoom+ (OpenGL mode doesn't support the SoftFX mod, which is weird because DSDA-Doom's OpenGL works fine)
• GZDoom (Hardware Renderer, for the same reason as PrBoom+)

 

If you're unsure of anything else, check the README.txt file included in the dropbox link below first before asking in the thread here. Thank you all, and Happy Halloween!

DOWNLOAD through Idgames Archive: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/tpogw

DOWNLOAD HERE through Dropbox: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/sqxv7kht4me9z2z4djzv2/h?rlkey=mhpzni11skq88mcbdi0px3hii&dl=0

DOWNLOAD through Doomshack.org: https://doomshack.org/uploads/tPoGW.zip

Edited December 29, 2023 by Emperor S P O O N
Forgot to add trailer to topic post

[TheShep]

This is slowly getting buried in the forums so I'm helping to bump here. I just now downloaded it after seeing it on the 2nd page... will try later!

[Treehouseminis]

This looks sick.  I love softFX.

[Shulbocka]

I tried it last night actually, and...

- You weren't joking about it being extremely dark, because heck yeah it is

- I had a hard time figuring out where to go. I wandered around for almost 10 minutes and couldn't find where to go after activating the eye switch. It's possible I'm just dumb and blind though 

- oh yeah, and the sounds at the very beginning area were extremely unpleasant. I think they're map sounds and intentional, but I couldn't figure out what was causing the sounds or where they were actually coming from

 

Based on the screenshots and description though, this map looks and sounds really cool. I was just unable to get to the meat of it.

I'll give it another go tonight and try to be more thorough. This was the first map I played yesterday for my Halloween game-sesh. 

Edited November 3, 2023 by Shulbocka
I'm an idiot

[Emperor S P O O N]

1 hour ago, Shulbocka said:

the sounds at the very beginning area were extremely unpleasant. I think they're map sounds and intentional, but I couldn't figure out what was causing the sounds or where they were actually coming from

No, there aren't supposed to be any sounds at the very beginning. If I'm correct, you must be using a ZDoom derived source port like GZDoom or such. In which case, you should check your compatibility settings like I mentioned in the Important Notes section of the description and the README.txt file.

But thanks for the feedback anyway! I look forward to your continued feedback.

[plums]

So I played through this a few times, partly to help me figure out what I thought about it. I'll write a longer comment in the next day or two as I think on it some more, but in brief, the atmosphere and sense of dread is top-notch, but the maze in the dark is pretty frustrating (a hard problem to solve since it's one of the central mechanics that contributes to the atmosphere) and some of the combat and gameplay in general feels a little undercooked. I liked it enough to give it a few goes so I obviously enjoyed myself enough.

 

I can report some bugs/potential issues now though: (potential spoilers)

Spoiler

 

-Some of the moving squiggly bits on the ceiling and floor in the dark-maze are visible on the automap. It actually looks pretty cool this way and I would support making more of them visible. In any case since most aren't I assume it's not intentional. (edit: actually taking a second look, they probably are this way intentionally. Still, having some more being visible might not be so bad?)

 

-The cyberdemon's firing frame looks odd with SoftFX. An easy solution is just to make that frame fullbright with dehacked (that it's dark in normal Doom in the first place is odd anyhow, IMO).

 

-You can softlock yourself in the room with the casket, if you trigger the linedef to close the walls and run back in time. A thematically-appropriate solution might just be to have all the geometry in that room come together and crush the player.

 

-The secret exit goes to MAP31 after the text screen (UMAPINFO, didn't try other ports).

 

-I found the caco corpses in the last fight overly obstructive for visibility, especially as it's already so dark. I don't know if you'd consider using my deflated caco corpse, I can even edit it so the eye still glows like in the SoftFX corpse if you'd like.

 

 

-I think you can force the ZDoom sound compatibility option in (Z)MAPINFO: https://zdoom.org/wiki/MAPINFO/Map_definition#Compat_Option

 

Quote

 

<Compat Option> = [value]

 

You can alter some compatibility options in MAPINFO as well. Specifying a compatibility option with no parameters turns it on, but the user can override the setting later. If [value] is 0, the option is forced off for the map, and a setting of 1 forces it on, regardless of the CVAR settings. This ensures that a map that requests a certain option to be on or off can be played correctly no matter what the user's settings are.

 

 

the option is compat_sectorsounds

 

Oh, and DSDA-Doom's hardware renderer has been rewritten from PrBoom+'s version, to properly use the palette and colormap, and more closely match the look of the software renderer in general.

Edited November 2, 2023 by plums

[Emperor S P O O N]

Hey, thanks for the feedback!

Spoiler

7 hours ago, plums said:

-Some of the moving squiggly bits on the ceiling and floor in the dark-maze are visible on the automap. It actually looks pretty cool this way and I would support making more of them visible. In any case since most aren't I assume it's not intentional. (edit: actually taking a second look, they probably are this way intentionally. Still, having some more being visible might not be so bad?)

Now that you mention it, that might be a good idea. It wasn't intentional, partly because I was so focused on the atmosphere, but also partly because I didn't want to make the silent teleports too obvious. I guess it was already too obvious considering that I left the non-fleshy bits on the automap, so might as well forgo the magic in favor of readability.

 

6 hours ago, plums said:

-The secret exit goes to MAP31 after the text screen (UMAPINFO, didn't try other ports).

So, hang on. I'm a little confused: What port were you using? I know GZDoom and ZDoom might have an issue, but I didn't notice this with DSDA-Doom at least.

 

6 hours ago, plums said:

-I found the caco corpses in the last fight overly obstructive for visibility, especially as it's already so dark. I don't know if you'd consider using my deflated caco corpse, I can even edit it so the eye still glows like in the SoftFX corpse if you'd like.

Oh, yes please! I'd love to have them for this map.

 

Can't wait to see what else you have to say about the map!

[plums]

Small caco corpse. I opted for only one line of glowing green in the eye, two looked too big IMO, but I'm happy to change it if you want. Going to post this in the main SoftFX thread as well.

https://user.fm/files/v2-5cc2d5ea5a3eb7e1423879dfb4c694dc/headl0_softfx.wad
 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Also it looks like the latest version of SoftFX fixes the Cyberdemon firing that I was talking about earlier, if you don't like the idea of making it fullbright when it shoots try getting the frames from the latest version.

 

As far as UMAPINFO:
 

Spoiler

 

It works fine in DSDA-Doom (and PrBoom+), in Woof/Nugget Doom you still get the secret exit text but then go to MAP31 (as defined in nextsecret). This is probably a bug with those ports, I'll file an issue later today. I don't see a UMAPINFO-only solution though, so you might want to make a MAP31 (or other map) that's empty and all black, you could even have the player start on a conveyor that immediately takes them through an exit linedef, and set the UMAPINFO for MAP31 to show the endgame sequence.

 

 

 

Edited November 2, 2023 by plums

[LadyMistDragon]

 

[Emperor S P O O N]

I forgot to mention that Difficulties aren't all implemented yet. So sorry about that. I've update the post with that now.

[TheShep]

Did a playthrough. Will get most of it into a VOD I believe. It's split here because my internet went out mid-stream and didn't come back until the morning.

 

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1966352955 start at 1:09:05 ish until my internet goes out.... i think i figured it out well after the stream died so... not sure when the next area picks up.

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1966457488 ends at 32 minutes.

 

as i said, if i highlight it eventually, it'll be the 2nd vid more than likely. but there seems to be enough content to make a pt 1 and 2 so I might.

[Emperor S P O O N]

RC2 is OUT NOW! Same link as before, but I'll put it here anyways:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/sqxv7kht4me9z2z4djzv2/h?rlkey=mhpzni11skq88mcbdi0px3hii&amp;dl=0

Changelog:

Spoiler

- Made pulsating veins appear on the automap
- Made unnecessarily long halways shorter where possible
- Added candles to certain places to aid navigation
- Fixed softlock after archvile fight where player could be trapped in the room with the coffin
- Fixed some nodebuilder shenanigans in the final area (hopefully)
- Fixed some nodebuilder shenanigans in one of the flesh halls
- Added @plums deflated caco corpse sprite to free up screen space (Thank you!)
- Added it
- Added ZMAPINFO so now you can play it in ZDoom-derived ports
- Forced ZDoom-derived ports to set "Sector Sounds use Center as Source" to true through ZMAPINFO
- Map's music now works in ZDoom-derived ports
- Secret exit now works in ZDoom-derived ports
- Added EMAPINFO so now you can play it in Eternity Engine
- Both exits now work in Eternity Engine
- Set Cyberdemon firing sprite to Always Lit
- Removed damaging floor effect from cyberdemon fight
- Split archvile fight into 3 waves of 4 with 15 seconds in between rather than 2 waves of 6 with 15 seconds in between
- Nerfed the archvile fight if you're without the BFG
- Added monster blocking lines in techbase room to prevent revenants from getting stuck on stairs

 

[plums]

Just gonna spoiler this whole big comment:

 

Spoiler

 

Hey, had finally started to write about this map and then you posted an update, so I had to see what was new :) I think the changes generally work well and fix a bunch of the things I was going to write about. The AV fight is probably better as it is now, I kind of enjoyed how much it escalated before but seeing LMD beat her head against it I can appreciate why you don't want someone to go through that. Interestingly in my first playthrough I went there before the BFG and I made it out by hitting all the switches and leaving ASAP, and then rushing through the corridor so I had time to meet the viles before I was backed into a corner. Further plays always seemed to guide be to the BFG first anyhow; I wasn't sure if that was the intent but it seems like it is.

 

So the good: the atmosphere and visual design is excellent. It really feels like a nightmarish place, oppressive and aberrant. The music fits the mood perfectly. I'm not sure how to write too much more about this, but it all definitely sells the map and makes it worth playing.

 

The biggest problem is that you've made it feel like a place that is hostile to the player and somewhere you shouldn't be, and while this is great for the mood, it asks a lot of the person playing it. Unlike Doomguy as a character, the player is actually allowed to leave at any time, and if someone finds this too frustrating they're not going to think "wow I'm really going to have to give this my all," they're going to exit and play something else. Of course you can't appeal to everyone, but you want to be sure you're not going to drive too many people away. Hopefully the updated version offers enough concessions to the player to not put too many people off. IMO the payoff is worth it, but I'm also someone that enjoyed Eternal Doom, as well as Hexen, so I don't really mind being lost or unsure of how to proceed in a map if I find other aspects of it appealing. The dark maze, as I mentioned before, is maybe the most player-hostile. Mazes are inherently hard to make fun in Doom, because simply being lost for long amounts of time isn't usually fun. I think the changes you've made to it probably help, but you'll have to get someone with fresh eyes to tell you for sure.

 

I did think the big fight at the end was kind of clunky when I first played it, but having gone through it a few times, my opinion of it is higher. My first impression was that it felt a bit like "here's a bunch of monsters in a room," and that while it didn't need to be harder, it didn't feel nearly as planned out as some of the other parts of the map. Having played it a few times now I can tell that ammo is quite well calibrated and while my least favourite part is that it's easy to get trapped by flying enemies you can't even see, it looks like you staggered them well enough to give the player time to avoid that at least somewhat. Also playing in the newest dsda-doom with the new smooth fake contrast option makes the geometry just a *bit* brighter and this helps things overall and especially in that final fight. (In Woof and Nugget you can increase the overall level brightness, which I was reluctant to do but is maybe a good option for anyone really frustrated by the dark I guess.)

 

Also the UMAPINFO fix for Woof/Nugget is in the works, though I don't know when it will be in a proper release.

 

Anyhow some more minor stuff:

 

- The new crushers to prevent the coffin softlock don't do enough damage, and there's spots you can be trapped without taking damage from the damaging floors. If you change the crusher speed to "slow" it should do more damage. Or just forget my idea of crushing you in there and close the area fast enough that you can't get back in.

 

- AVs can also teleport into the cradle coffin, before or after you do, which seems like it shouldn't happen.

 

- And as of RC2 can no longer teleport out if you leave early?

 

- You can apparently get the berserk without triggering the door open linedef.

 

- The big eye at the end is pretty blocky looking, I don't know that you need to edit it down to 1-unit linedefs but probably at least halving the widths of the blocks would help a lot. It would also be really cool if you could get the iris to move a bit!

 

- What's up with the armour bonuses at the end? Feels pretty random.

 

- I really liked the sliding floor in the demon fight, it makes the place feel like it's working against you or at least sort of alive and indifferent to you.

 

- I think you could've left the damaging floor in the cyberdemon fight but it's not critical, removing the megaarmours balances it out.

 

- Possible for AVs to kill you when you're running to the switch from the cradle, dunno if you have to straferun,

 

- Not sure what I think about the door fakeouts, it's probably fine.

Last but not least I recorded a casual max for RC2. Don't know if you'll get anything from this other than a bit of enjoyment; definitely don't balance too much around this since I've played the map numerous times at this point.

https://user.fm/files/v2-02bf209f9273280441f60dbf0da127f5/tpogw_rc2-plums_casualmax.lmp

 

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by plums

[Emperor S P O O N]

Wow, that is quite the list of stuff... Really helpful!
 

Spoiler

 

I tried my best to make the mazes not shite. I tried to keep to 3 rules when making the mazes:

1. There's a subtle yet recognizable trail leading to the intended path
2. Going off the intended path is at the very least rewarded
3. Dead ends are never dead ends

I suppose these rules don't really work when the walls are completely dark and some paths silently teleport you to places you've been, but hey at least I tried. I can try harder when I review more footage of people playing it

 

43 minutes ago, plums said:

And as of RC2 can no longer teleport out if you leave early?

Uh, could you elaborate? Is this in the demo file? It's, like, 9:30pm as of writing this, so maybe tomorrow I can look at it, but I'm not sure what you mean by this.
 

43 minutes ago, plums said:

You can apparently get the berserk without triggering the door open linedef

Sounds like a linedef skip. Not sure how to resolve that, unless you have some suggestions...?

 

43 minutes ago, plums said:

The big eye at the end is pretty blocky looking, I don't know that you need to edit it down to 1-unit linedefs but probably at least halving the widths of the blocks would help a lot. It would also be really cool if you could get the iris to move a bit!

I know, but my potato-powered toaster of a laptop is already taking up to 30-45 seconds just to save the map in UDB, and I might end up breaking the eye as a result of fiddling with it. I'll leave it where it is for now. If it gets bothersome enough to me, I'll look into smoothing out the eye shape.

 

43 minutes ago, plums said:

What's up with the armour bonuses at the end? Feels pretty random.

Yeeeeaaaaa, idk. I think that's the remnant of a sleepless night. I can take those out.

 

43 minutes ago, plums said:

Possible for AVs to kill you when you're running to the switch from the cradle, dunno if you have to straferun,

The doors that open the av closets can be shot closed with a hitscan. They can still teleport to the arena, but it does give you more room to run down the pathway. I know I didn't telegraph that at all, and I'm kinda ashamed that I didn't think about that. I can try making the textures and all that be all black and then upping the brightness in the closet...? For RC2 right now, strafe running is a pretty effective strategy.

 

43 minutes ago, plums said:

Not sure what I think about the door fakeouts, it's probably fine.

What door fakeouts? Not sure what you're talking about there. There aren't any door fake-outs.

 

 

Thank you so much for the feedback! Really glad you enjoyed it so far.

Edited November 6, 2023 by Emperor S P O O N
Spoilers

[plums]

Spoiler

 

1 hour ago, Emperor S P O O N said:

2 hours ago, plums said:

And as of RC2 can no longer teleport out if you leave early?

Uh, could you elaborate? Is this in the demo file? It's, like, 9:30pm as of writing this, so maybe tomorrow I can look at it, but I'm not sure what you mean by this.

It's not in the demo. In RC1, if you hit all the switches to leave the AV warp-in area, and exit to the casket before killing them all, they will warp in to the hallway and you'll have to fight them there. In RC2 they don't warp into the hallways at all. It looks like what was sector 2800 in RC1 has been split into multiple sectors in RC2, maybe the trigger to make them open no longer works as a result?

 

1 hour ago, Emperor S P O O N said:

2 hours ago, plums said:

You can apparently get the berserk without triggering the door open linedef

Sounds like a linedef skip. Not sure how to resolve that, unless you have some suggestions...?

No, it's just that the player can touch the berserk pack before they trigger the linedef, because picking up items is done with the player's square/radius but triggering linedefs happens when they cross the linedef with their centre. You just need to move the linedef back about 10 units.

 

1 hour ago, Emperor S P O O N said:

The doors that open the av closets can be shot closed with a hitscan.

Oh that's cool. Yeah not obvious at all though :) Obvious way to telegraph something like that is to put a similar AV behind a door somewhere earlier, where the player can't do much except try to shoot it, and have that shot close the door as well. I don't know where you'd put that though.

TBH just strafe-running seems like the safer strategy as there are too many to safely close at once near the end, and one hit is death unless you somehow don't get knocked off the ledge.

 

1 hour ago, Emperor S P O O N said:

What door fakeouts? Not sure what you're talking about there. There aren't any door fake-outs.

In RC2 there are several sections where walking through the maze causes a door to open nearby, except the door is actually just buried behind the wall and doesn't actually do anything. e.g. sector 3500. Sorry for not being clearer.

 

Understandable if your computer is already struggling to make that eye section more refined. :)

edit: One option might be to make some textures that cut out the eye shape smoothly instead of trying to do it just through geometry.

 

Edited November 6, 2023 by plums

[knifeworld]

Incredible horror map, loved it!

I played on dsda-doom 0.26.2 recently with RC1 version.

I just ran through everything again in RC2 with -nomo on the newest dsda version.

Spotted these visual bugs (last one isn't really a bug but still looks goofy IMO):
Seems to be some bleeding flats in one of the first areas.

Spoiler

Some weirdness in 2 parts of the finale area.

Spoiler

hanging body at the end appears lower than the ceiling, the way I usually fix some of the hanging corpses doing this, is to raise it up inside a tiny sector with untextured walls.
 

Spoiler

 

[Emperor S P O O N]

Spoiler

 

9 hours ago, plums said:

In RC2 there are several sections where walking through the maze causes a door to open nearby, except the door is actually just buried behind the wall and doesn't actually do anything. e.g. sector 3500. Sorry for not being clearer.

Huh... I don't remember putting those in. I'll leave them there 'cause they're spooky, but hopefully it doesn't turn this into a creepypasta.

 

 

6 hours ago, knifeworld said:

hanging body at the end appears lower than the ceiling, the way I usually fix some of the hanging corpses doing this, is to raise it up inside a tiny sector with untextured walls.

I think that's just vanilla Doom. I don't think it'll be too big of an issue. Glad you liked the map, and thanks for the feedback!

[Emperor S P O O N]

Spoiler

12 hours ago, plums said:

Last but not least I recorded a casual max for RC2. Don't know if you'll get anything from this other than a bit of enjoyment; definitely don't balance too much around this since I've played the map numerous times at this point.

https://user.fm/files/v2-02bf209f9273280441f60dbf0da127f5/tpogw_rc2-plums_casualmax.lmp

Just finished watching this demo. Nice work.
Had some thoughts:
- The pinky-berserk fight (which I like to call "The Lungs") seems like, from how you played, a little too easy to cheese. I can probably make that door open a little slower or just set the door ceiling height really really low so that you actually engage with the fight rather than exploit it.

- Since it seems that pretty much anybody can do without the invuln in the final fight, I should probably make that only available for lower skill levels if there's no objections to that...?

 

[plums]

Spoiler

7 hours ago, Emperor S P O O N said:

Huh... I don't remember putting those in.

Oh no, the map is haunted!

 

 

6 hours ago, Emperor S P O O N said:

The pinky-berserk fight (which I like to call "The Lungs") seems like, from how you played, a little too easy to cheese. I can probably make that door open a little slower or just set the door ceiling height really really low so that you actually engage with the fight rather than exploit it.

Yeah that's fair. I did actually fight my way through it the first time since I didn't have the knowledge of the level beforehand. But making the door take much more time to open is totally fine.

 

6 hours ago, Emperor S P O O N said:

Since it seems that pretty much anybody can do without the invuln in the final fight, I should probably make that only available for lower skill levels if there's no objections to that...?

I actually find grabbing the invuln early to be too risky since you have to platform a bit and risk getting trapped if you fall. Once it becomes safe enough to get it you are basically in clean-up mode anyhow. Although TBH I do enjoy the respite from the dark a little bit -- it's too bad that light-amp goggles last so long and brighten everything up to max. Anyhow yeah it should be fine to leave it for lower skills only, and on HNTR at the least you should probably make it easier to get.

 

[Emperor S P O O N]

Spoiler

I'm thinking I can probably get away with buffing the AV fight by giving you all 12 AVs regardless of if you have the BFG, but I'll keep it split into 3 waves of 4 with 15 seconds in between. I tested it out, and I think I can get a solid 1 out of 6 chances of success myself without the BFG. I could probably do better if I practiced and if I wasn't so bad at the game. It's definitely harder without it, but I think it makes the room much MUCH scarier which was my intent. If that's too much, then I'll leave it as it is from RC2. Any objections?

 

I'm also thinking of adding decorations (corpses, meat piles, etc.) to the dark mazes to add a little variety and to, at the very least, slightly distinguish pathways. I'm a little worried it might cause some performance issues, but I think if I'm conservative about how and where I place them I can probably get away with it without too much of a frame dip.

 

I'll likely have an RC3 by tonight. Hopefully I won't have to produce an RC4 after that, but I won't cross my fingers. I probably should have just gone with the BETA_v#.# naming convention in hindsight, but hindsight being what it is I'm not going to retroactively change the naming convention just for that.

Edited November 7, 2023 by Emperor S P O O N
Clarification

[knifeworld]

On 11/6/2023 at 2:11 PM, Emperor S P O O N said:

I think that's just vanilla Doom. I don't think it'll be too big of an issue. Glad you liked the map, and thanks for the feedback!

True, not really an issue. But they do appear the same in the target port in both cl9 and mbf21. I guess what you mean is that it's due to some of the vanilla sprites themselves behaving that way.

And np! glad to help. Looking forward to more cool maps.

[Emperor S P O O N]

RC3 is OUT NOW!. Link is also the same, but I'll post it again:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/sqxv7kht4me9z2z4djzv2/h?rlkey=mhpzni11skq88mcbdi0px3hii&amp;dl=0

Changelog:

Spoiler

 

• Switched out Cyberdemon sprites with the updated SoftFX version sprites, but kept the firing state full bright because the launcher doesn't glow (yet...?)
• Fixed issue where AVs couldn't teleport out of AV fight if player left too early
• Added monster blocking lines in AV fight to prevent AVs from teleporting with the player into the coffin
• Removed random armor bonuses in final area
• Fixed softlock in coffin room AGAIN by making them slow crushers
• Don't blink. It doesn't.
• Moved berserk linedef trigger 10 units up so now it's less likely to not trigger it
• Fixed nodebuilder shenanigans in final area AGAIN
• Fixed flat bleeds in castle stairwell
• Exit door from lung fight opens slower to prevent cheesing
• Added AV closet in T-intersection between final area and AV fight to introduce the idea of shooting the AV closet window closed
• You are being judged. Remember that it's watching.
• Set invuln in final fight for lower skill levels only
• Invuln is now placed on tentacle stairwell in final area (HNTR and ITYTD only)
• Added decor corpses and gore to dark mazes to add variety and aid navigation
• Buffed AV fight so that the fight is the same regardless of if you have the BFG or not.
• Moved a teleport linedef in the second stage of the dark maze down 16 units to smoothen teleport visually

 

 

Let's hope I won't need to make any more updated versions before an Idgames release.

[plums]

Looks good!

 

Only question is if you had any plans to reduce the difficulty on lower skill levels. I thought from your previous posts you were, but now other than that invuln and maybe another item or two it looks like it's the same? If not that's fine, you might want to warn people in the text file at least.

[Emperor S P O O N]

52 minutes ago, plums said:

Looks good!

 

Only question is if you had any plans to reduce the difficulty on lower skill levels. I thought from your previous posts you were, but now other than that invuln and maybe another item or two it looks like it's the same? If not that's fine, you might want to warn people in the text file at least.

 

I did mention that I was gonna wait until everything was settled functionally. I should've clarified that by "functionally settled" I meant that there were no pressing bugs/mishaps/nodebuilder shenanigans that would clod up my to-do list in addition to balancing for lower skill levels.

But thanks for reminding me, I almost forgot! That does mean there may be an RC4, which makes me slightly disappointed that I have to extend the development of the wad even further but I suppose that's just how things go sometimes. I'll definitely have to give myself more time to finish the next project I take on, or simply do better at planning ahead of time.

[knifeworld]

A new nodebuilder slither appeared in the upper area of the finale, it's visible from a bunch of different angles, annoyingly, (I'm sorry for discovering it, lol)... the creature knows and keeps sneaking them in... Figured I should mention it quickly before the final RC.

Edit: Forgot to mention I was skimming through RC3 version, in latest dsda.
 

Spoiler

 

Edited November 8, 2023 by knifeworld

[Emperor S P O O N]

RC4 is OUT NOW! Link, as always, is the same. Will still provide it here regardless:

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/sqxv7kht4me9z2z4djzv2/h?rlkey=mhpzni11skq88mcbdi0px3hii&amp;dl=0

 

Changelog:

Spoiler

• Fixed weird hanging decor in a dark corner that was clipping into the ceiling
• Fixed nodebuilder shenanigans in final area ONCE AGAIN (hopefully...)
• Added some candles in final area to aid navigation to exit
• Fixed softlock in final area where you can get stuck in sharp corner
• Added monster blocking lines to av fight entrance to prevent monsters from getting stuck in there
• Adjusted difficulty for lower skill levels.
• They are bats. They might prey on your blood. They might not.

 

[Emperor S P O O N]

If no one else has any feedback to provide on RC4, then I'll go ahead and clean it up for the final release.

[Emperor S P O O N]

The final release should be available now through the Dropbox link. Hopefully, soon, it will be up on idgames. I'll post the dropbox link here once more for the sake of convenience:
https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/sqxv7kht4me9z2z4djzv2/h?rlkey=mhpzni11skq88mcbdi0px3hii&amp;amp;dl=0

I didn't change too much with this one. Just added a CREDIT image and fixed a minor spelling mistake.

[Emperor S P O O N]

The Parasite of Good Will is now on Idgames Archive!:
https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/s-u/tpogw

It's also available on Doomshack.org!:
https://doomshack.org/uploads/tPoGW.zip

Edited December 7, 2023 by Emperor S P O O N

[Emperor S P O O N]

Made a trailer. Check it out!