Doomworld Maximum Project 2024

[Stroopwafel]

This was a lotta fun last year, even if halfway through said year I forgot about it

Sign me up!

[Walter confetti]

On 1/8/2024 at 2:13 PM, Patrick_Plays_Doom said:

Map done

Format: Boom Doom 2 (doomformat)

Complevel: 11

Map name: Blasting and waiting

Custom Midi: no

Custom CWILV: Yes

Map: 10 (IDCLEV 10)

blastingandwaiting.rar

Nice simple map, pretty basic but kinda challenging, i liked it. Maybe add few more monster closets opening at your passage for giving more variety trough the station passage. FDA recorded with DSDA-Doom 0.27.4 with intended complevel: fda-walt-blastandwait2.zip

 

Played the other maps as well, pretty basic affairs but they are fun in their way. @Mr795 your map needs some more monsters and detailing, but it's a fun small map overall, i liked this map too.

@NiGHTS108 Sorry i didn't played it all your map, give up at finding the exit. A pretty shovelware, troll-ish map with a gameplay gimmick similar to one map in the Mega Project (the one from 2016 iirc?), it's ok.

[Biodegradable]

@Patrick_Plays_Doom

 

 

[Patrick_Plays_Doom]

1 hour ago, Biodegradable said:

@Patrick_Plays_Doom

 

 

It was 100% not my first wad ive been mapping for almost 3 years! however it was my first Cproject submission ever

the square room thing was kind of intentional i wanted to do something kind of bland techbase

[KnievilRoo]

here is the first version of my map! (heavily inspired by Barnett Newman) also the second one iv ever completed so far

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/171np1hdJuGjIc9q_rWj4i3EkneZRV6dB/view?usp=drive_link UDFM and tested for gzdoom (although everything is possible without free look or jump)

 

Ill prob change somethings further as the due date approaches :>

Edited January 13 by KnievilRoo

[AnArchaicApparatus]

EDIT: I'm a dum-dum. Keeping this as spoilered for archival purposes.

 

Spoiler

On 1/8/2024 at 10:05 PM, AnArchaicApparatus said:

'Got a notification from Stochastic commenting in here (You only started mapping last year? Good stuff.)

 

Sign me up! My level shouldn't take too much time, since I'm using stuff I worked on from years ago as prefabs to give the Warrens treatment (and make it up to par with what I like to make/play nowadays, and make something I wouldn't think of today or back then alone.)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Idk if this would land in the ZDoom category or not, but given that DSDA recently got UDMF support, I thought I may as well resurrect some Threshold of Pain and PSX inspired stuff I was working on almost a decade ago (as a teenager) but didn't finish because... uhh... I didn't finish anything back then, and am still kinda struggling to finish something I started a year later from then that grew out of control, and am working off/on on it.

 

Anyways, the current map is a combination of two separate PSX inspired levels from different WADs - which I plan to release unmodified as a bonus when/if I get this frankenmap ALIIIIIVVVEEE!!!! Here's a few unsorted notes about whatevers:

- Both of these WADs had snatched PSX sounds and a bit of basic dehacked, which are obviously not gonna be in the final compilation level

- Both WADs also had custom textures which were mostly uncredited Skulltag.pk3/IWAD textures that I added sharpening to, so the ones that were basically just IWAD textures (or are easily replaced again w' stock) have been replaced, and any useful textures that I would rather not lose entirely are gonna be replaced, probably with stuff that I re-crap-out myself for a good bit of them. This way my level fits a bit better w' everyone elses visually, and it doesn't hog space needlessly.

- Since it was PSX music for the levels, obviously that's either pushing or beyond the 2mb limit, so I'm making my own custom MIDI in its place, which is turning out to fit much better.

- Don't expect that many ZDoom-isms.

  > I don't plan on using that much decorate assets if at all, but if I do it'll probably be Nihility esque ambient sounds and some other similar non-gameplay-altering stuff, and see what I can do with default monsters and weapons.

  > I almost always use an old version of Zandronum from about a year since I worked on the original WADs for playing anything, but I plan to test this in DSDA if I can. There's still gonna be 3D floors and stuff since that was in the levels I made initially, but I'm still trying to make it work w' infinite height monsters and so on.

- I'm not really changing that many geometric or visual things that were already unless it's stuff that's needed to make the levels work together/as a final piece, or if something's otherwise new.

- I'm not sure if this idea was or wasn't kinda jumpstarted by Hebonkys new level or not (go check it out btw,) or if it's just from the kind of design gameplay style I've been working towards in my currently-private-playtesting-only work, (still go check out Hebonkys thing,) but here's my current plan for how I'm reworking this into:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

        I think both the levels are surprisingly good on their own, and even though I'm getting a nack for harder stuff now I still have a really squishy soft spot for low-tier DOOM 1 leaning quick-snack combat, so I'm not really gonna change much of what's there in the pre-made sections other than maybe adding a few more dangerous monsters and so on.

 

        However, with the yellow card being visible pretty early, and the yellow door leading to what was gonna be the exit, my new plan is to have the RedemptionDenied.wad chunk (circled in green below) be a completely optional, but very, very helpful side-section. A lot of useful resources and weapons are gonna be down there, though stuff like the Rocket Launcher and Plasma Rifle will be accessible later, though with less options being presented and overall more challenge.

 

        After what is now the exit, I'ma have that lead to an entirely new section, with challenge fights, probably combat puzzles, and a lot of higher-tier guys; In other words, a massive spike in combat style for the rest of the level. Not impossible by any means w'out the extra resources, but would need more cautious play and resource management.

 

 

EDIT: I said in the above bit that I'd aim for UDMF support in the level and related stuff... yeah the DSDA UDMF support ain't there yet lol. Gonna just ignore it from now on and keep on with ZDoom testing and keep some of the quirks.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

I have good news and bad news on my map.

 

Good news: The map is getting some pretty good progress, and just needs a few more relatively simple areas & doing finishing touches on a few of the current last areas.

Bad news: Even though it's a pretty low-detail level map, and the resources are pretty sparse and don't take up much room, turns out I'm just fucked unless I for some reason am bestowed an exception to the 2mb rule, or waste a bunch of time having to learn basic ACS and painstakingly recoloring each sector that way to keep the PSX effect (which it looks like I'm gonna have to do.) I didn't check the file size the whole time working on this, and apparently either UDMF maps bloat the file size a stupid amount, or I somehow did something that screwed it up royally.

 

Spoiler

 

I tried taking out certain things to see if they reduced file size w'out a magic map conversion program (if that's even possible/plausable for UDMF format levels currently), and here's some things that kinda worked:

- Removing the few new textures (~150 kb)

- Removing colored lighting (basically nothing)

- Removing excess Thing modifiers for skill levels and stuff, which would screw over anyone trying multiplayer and/or with any weapons mod that has >5 skill levels, as well as likely other unforseen stuff (~150 kb)

- Copy/pasting it into a differently formatted map (cut down the size by over half!) Hexen format works almost flawlessly, but I'm gonna have to redo all the colored lighting via ACS, sector by sector.

 

 

Anyways yeah I'ma probably do that last thing - if not now, then later after I got the map ready for playtesting in UDMF. I was having such a good time too, sheesh.

 

TLDR: Uhhh I guess dont use UDMF format for ya maps if ya have a tight file-size budget.

 

Next time I post in here will likely be the initial release candidate/playtesting majig.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Edited January 15 by AnArchaicApparatus

[Dewzan]

@AnArchaicApparatus I'm pretty sure the 2mb rule only applies to resources that aren't part of the map itself. My level so far is just over 2mb, and my submission last year was roughly the same size, so I think you're good as long as you're not using a truck load of textures or sound files.

[AnArchaicApparatus]

14 minutes ago, Dewzan said:

@AnArchaicApparatus I'm pretty sure the 2mb rule only applies to resources that aren't part of the map itself. My level so far is just over 2mb, and my submission last year was roughly the same size, so I think you're good as long as you're not using a truck load of textures or sound files.

You just gave me the widest smile of relief. 'Just checked back and you're absolutely right.

 

I basically just have a few 128x64 and 64x64 textures with a 32x32 or two for custom switches w' a likely 128x128 or two, and a midi, and that's it, though I might add some sounds later for ambience, so I'll definitely be good on that front.

 

Thank ya so much, now I can keep that smile as I keep working!

Edited January 15 by AnArchaicApparatus

[Mizuki_Jun10]

I'm interested, I hope I don't forget it or leave it behind, please sign me up.

[Biodegradable]

@KnievilRoo It's a good start, but it's quite rough around the edges. There's some nice detailing going here and there, but your texture work is also really wonky and slapdash. There's also a couple of odd situations where the demons are placed in cramped conditions that make them helpless to fight, completely useless and I even spotted a gaggle of non-hostile chaingunners that just stood there. Overall the map has a bit of a "rushed" quality to it. Remember, DW Max runs for the entire year, so take your time to craft your map.

 

 

[Plerb]

I'll probably make a map for this at some point this year. One question though, is it okay to use some textures from Equinox?

[Obsidian]

2 hours ago, Plerb said:

I'll probably make a map for this at some point this year. One question though, is it okay to use some textures from Equinox?

 

If the permissions allow it, then sure!

[Plerb]

Hmm, this is what it says in Equinox's text file on idgames:

Quote

Authors may NOT use the contents of this file as a base for
modification or reuse.

I'm guessing that's a "no", then. :/ I could always try and contact BPRD and ask him if it's okay, I don't know if he'd respond though.

[AnArchaicApparatus]

Alright, my level is pretty much done aside from whatever I might add/have to fix if there's any technical or gameplay issues.

 

Author: AnArchaicApparatus
Map Name: Alpha Sector 21-B - (Who Up Playing They Station?)
Format: UDMF (ZDoom-Based Ports)
Custom MIDI: Scrapmap Pamparcs by AnArchaicApparatus/Enimapod (Me, lol.)
Custom Resources: Textures & Flats, CWILV, credited in the readme, below, and in a file inside the WAD named CREDITS
Base: Two unfinished levels that I made in 2016 inspired by PSX Doom and Threshold Of Pain by John Gourley AKA scalliano (should be just under the image for archival purposes; was gonna put them in a different post instead of DropBox, but the zipped folder is just squeezed above the file size limit.)
Notes:
- This level has some challenging stuff later, and needs ya to use ya brain a smidge at least once. be forewarned.
- Requires jumping in a few spots.

- Hardware rendering recommended due to colored lighting

- Even though this is obviously a ZDoom-Comp. level, most of the script-ey stuff is Boom style w' voodoo rigging and so on, cus I ain't learning ACS for just one level, and voodoo stuff is more fun/tactile imo.

- Bonus external playtesting by Isabella Chains

 

--

OLD [- LINK -]

LOOK AT THE POST BELOW! I be having uploading issues out the ass.

--
 

 

Version history:

Spoiler

11:29 PM, 21/January/2024:

- Fixed red key doors and a lift that screwed over Dewzan in their playthrough

- Added a different light fade in the final area, and fixed a light color screwup that made a bit look like it was different light levels arranged weirdly

 

 

 

 

Archival old WADs used to make the level:

Spoiler

Asunder.wad (Last edited 08/August/2016)
RedemptionDenied.wad (Last edited 23/July/2016)

 

OG post in here when I was starting the tweaks and adding new stuff:

n 1/8/2024 at 10:05 PM, AnArchaicApparatus said:

On 1/8/2024 at 10:05 PM, AnArchaicApparatus said:

'Got a notification from Stochastic commenting in here (You only started mapping last year? Good stuff.)

 

Sign me up! My level shouldn't take too much time, since I'm using stuff I worked on from years ago as prefabs to give the Warrens treatment (and make it up to par with what I like to make/play nowadays, and make something I wouldn't think of today or back then alone.)

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Idk if this would land in the ZDoom category or not, but given that DSDA recently got UDMF support, I thought I may as well resurrect some Threshold of Pain and PSX inspired stuff I was working on almost a decade ago (as a teenager) but didn't finish because... uhh... I didn't finish anything back then, and am still kinda struggling to finish something I started a year later from then that grew out of control, and am working off/on on it.

 

Anyways, the current map is a combination of two separate PSX inspired levels from different WADs - which I plan to release unmodified as a bonus when/if I get this frankenmap ALIIIIIVVVEEE!!!! Here's a few unsorted notes about whatevers:

- Both of these WADs had snatched PSX sounds and a bit of basic dehacked, which are obviously not gonna be in the final compilation level

- Both WADs also had custom textures which were mostly uncredited Skulltag.pk3/IWAD textures that I added sharpening to, so the ones that were basically just IWAD textures (or are easily replaced again w' stock) have been replaced, and any useful textures that I would rather not lose entirely are gonna be replaced, probably with stuff that I re-crap-out myself for a good bit of them. This way my level fits a bit better w' everyone elses visually, and it doesn't hog space needlessly.

- Since it was PSX music for the levels, obviously that's either pushing or beyond the 2mb limit, so I'm making my own custom MIDI in its place, which is turning out to fit much better.

- Don't expect that many ZDoom-isms.

  > I don't plan on using that much decorate assets if at all, but if I do it'll probably be Nihility esque ambient sounds and some other similar non-gameplay-altering stuff, and see what I can do with default monsters and weapons.

  > I almost always use an old version of Zandronum from about a year since I worked on the original WADs for playing anything, but I plan to test this in DSDA if I can. There's still gonna be 3D floors and stuff since that was in the levels I made initially, but I'm still trying to make it work w' infinite height monsters and so on.

- I'm not really changing that many geometric or visual things that were already unless it's stuff that's needed to make the levels work together/as a final piece, or if something's otherwise new.

- I'm not sure if this idea was or wasn't kinda jumpstarted by Hebonkys new level or not (go check it out btw,) or if it's just from the kind of design gameplay style I've been working towards in my currently-private-playtesting-only work, (still go check out Hebonkys thing,) but here's my current plan for how I'm reworking this into:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

        I think both the levels are surprisingly good on their own, and even though I'm getting a nack for harder stuff now I still have a really squishy soft spot for low-tier DOOM 1 leaning quick-snack combat, so I'm not really gonna change much of what's there in the pre-made sections other than maybe adding a few more dangerous monsters and so on.

 

        However, with the yellow card being visible pretty early, and the yellow door leading to what was gonna be the exit, my new plan is to have the RedemptionDenied.wad chunk (circled in green below) be a completely optional, but very, very helpful side-section. A lot of useful resources and weapons are gonna be down there, though stuff like the Rocket Launcher and Plasma Rifle will be accessible later, though with less options being presented and overall more challenge.

 

        After what is now the exit, I'ma have that lead to an entirely new section, with challenge fights, probably combat puzzles, and a lot of higher-tier guys; In other words, a massive spike in combat style for the rest of the level. Not impossible by any means w'out the extra resources, but would need more cautious play and resource management.

 

 

EDIT: I said in the above bit that I'd aim for UDMF support in the level and related stuff... yeah the DSDA UDMF support ain't there yet lol. Gonna just ignore it from now on and keep on with ZDoom testing and keep some of the quirks.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited January 22 by AnArchaicApparatus

[Dewzan]

@AnArchaicApparatus Just tested your map, and I had an issue with one of the red key doors. It opens up as if it's a regular door, and the red key markers are on the sides for some reason. Ended up softlocking myself trying to go to the next area without the red key, and the lift won't take you back. Regardless, this is an excellent submission, even if it has those four flanking cybers that go so wide to cut you off, that they were practically glued to the outer wall. Very well done!

[AnArchaicApparatus]

5 minutes ago, Dewzan said:

@AnArchaicApparatus Just tested your map, and I had an issue with one of the red key doors. It opens up as if it's a regular door, and the red key markers are on the sides for some reason. Ended up softlocking myself trying to go to the next area without the red key, and the lift won't take you back. Regardless, this is an excellent submission, even if it has those four flanking cybers that go so wide to cut you off, that they were practically glued to the outer wall. Very well done!

It was a bit wonky trying to understand what you're saying w'out screenshots, but now I'm looking in DoomBuilder and get what you're saying. The door screwup was probably a result of me being... uh... 13 when I made the map, and I was big stupid back then, but I didn't double-check all the stuff going on now. Nice catch!

 

The markers are just differently arranged for variety probably.

 

The lift not working is just because I forgot to add a lowering speed when I slapped the walkover actions on to aid backtracking, and forgot to test that quick when I did it. Another reason for me to stick with Boom.

 

 

Idk what you're really saying about the Cyberdemons.

 

 

Thank ya! I have the doors and lift sorted out, should have the fix uploaded shortly. Bless ya for finding that.

[AnArchaicApparatus]

2 hours ago, AnArchaicApparatus said:

Alright, my level is pretty much done aside from whatever I might add/have to fix if there's any technical or gameplay issues.

 

Author: AnArchaicApparatus
Map Name: Alpha Sector 21-B - (Who Up Playing They Station?)
Format: UDMF (ZDoom-Based Ports)
Custom MIDI: Scrapmap Pamparcs by AnArchaicApparatus/Enimapod (Me, lol.)
Custom Resources: Textures & Flats, CWILV, credited in the readme, below, and in a file inside the WAD named CREDITS
Base: Two unfinished levels that I made in 2016 inspired by PSX Doom and Threshold Of Pain by John Gourley AKA scalliano (should be just under the image for archival purposes; was gonna put them in a different post instead of DropBox, but the zipped folder is just squeezed above the file size limit.)
Notes:
- This level has some challenging stuff later, and needs ya to use ya brain a smidge at least once. be forewarned.
- Requires jumping in a few spots.

- Hardware rendering recommended due to colored lighting

- Even though this is obviously a ZDoom-Comp. level, most of the script-ey stuff is Boom style w' voodoo rigging and so on, cus I ain't learning ACS for just one level, and voodoo stuff is more fun/tactile imo.

- Bonus external playtesting by Isabella Chains

 

--

UNFIXED [- LINK -]

Please look a few posts after this, uploading to this site is crappy for me.

--
Note: Has a lil bug, will be fixed in a jiffy

 

 

 

Archival old WADs used to make the level:

  Reveal hidden contents

Asunder.wad (Last edited 08/August/2016)
RedemptionDenied.wad (Last edited 23/July/2016)

 

OG post in here when I was starting the tweaks and adding new stuff:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Either this website has fucked up upload-ification stuff, or my internet is just that bad. I tried uploading this as an edit, but it keeps giving me an error each time.

 

Anyways:

----

UPDATED LINK, hopefully I don't have to do this too many more times, if any.

----

[JackDBS]

Alright sick. Starting work on my map.

[Biodegradable]

@AnArchaicApparatus You've got a damn cool map here, mate. Sadly, that big slaughter room felt impenetrable for me on UV. I'll take it for another spin tomorrow on HMP and hopefully I can finish it that way. Really cool details, architecture, traps, level progression, etc. Best map submission so far!

 

 

[Raith138]

I wanted to make something last year but I got busy. I have got an idea for a map that I want to try, so count me in!

[AnArchaicApparatus]

19 hours ago, Biodegradable said:

@AnArchaicApparatus You've got a damn cool map here, mate. Sadly, that big slaughter room felt impenetrable for me on UV. I'll take it for another spin tomorrow on HMP and hopefully I can finish it that way. Really cool details, architecture, traps, level progression, etc. Best map submission so far!

 

 

@Biodegradable thank ya so much for playtesting my level!

 

If ya haven't already, ya don't have to do the HMP run if you don't want, your UV go-around told me what I screwed up on quite well, thanks again.

 

Now, long story short, I definitely know what to fix, cos' the parts that sounded like they almost gave you an aneurysm are definitely a product of me not thoroughly going through all the gameplay factors on my own!

 

The only big note that I can say for ya in this testing session is that you didn't go back through the alternate route shown by the red light and the health/armor bonuses. That's a big chunk of the level and - while intended to be optional - gives some cool stuff. Either way I'll probably try to mark it better, though I am kinda curious if ya just didn't wanna go go back there for whatever reason.

 

 

Here's a play-by-play that I wrote while watching, in case anyone is curious:

Spoiler

- To get the rockets and stuff, jumping is good, and def allowed and intentional.
- As I mentioned before, I guess 13 year old me (back in 2016) did their homework well enough lol, since there were not that many real changes throughout the initial base section (until ya get up the lift that is).
- The neo-KDITD look was also a biproduct of me being a very meat-and-taters loving fella back in the day, and my love for Doom 1 style hitscanners-and-low-tiers-heavy combat still hasn't left from back then.
- With the DOORTRAK pegging, I've had that pointed out by a few people playtesting my WADs, and at this point I've kinda just decided to keep it as part of my style; That way I also get to have a little giggle whenever it's brought to my attention.
  > To be honest I'd consider the weird use of STAR textures in the broken bridge to be more of a janky lookin thing! It'd look better with SHAWN2 or that ASHWALL looking floor, maybe even BROWNHUG.

- For the Blue Key fight thing:
  > With the not-having-the-tools and, "Oh my kingdom for an SSG," thing, right when ya enter the base there's a SSG straight ahead, which also has a fight. The fact that it wasn't kinda obvious though is largely my fault, especially since my first playtester (cited as Isabella Chains) also missed it on her HMP playthrough. I'll probably add more lights to make it more obvious.
    + The, "When did I get an SSG?" moment was the other SSG right through the blue key door, kinda to make sure the player has it even if they don't see, or just don't wanna get the SSG from earlier, so it doesn't punish the player too furiously.
  > The whole deal is that both sides have the exact same enemies, but ya fight them in a different context. The Hell Knights are kinda to prevent cheesing it and just going up the stairs past the other enemies. I might remove one of them
- The music being a bit, "funny," at points was not fully intentional, but it having a bit of wacky playfulness combined with the darker bits won't hurt I guess.

 

- I noticed ya didn't go through the area right before the yellow-key-hallway that's lit in red. There's still a good chunk of fellas in there, and a few challenges, though rewarded with some nice little rewards both immediately and further down the line.
SPOILER:

Spoiler

  > Before even the red key, ya get the plasma and the rocket launcher in that order, so even if ya just stumble in a bit there's already a reward for exploring
  > It gives ya the red card, which rewards with a megasphere in that door in the hitscanner/caco slaughter fight
  > Going through the lil red doors grants a BFG, but ya gotta fight like hell for it! After that ya get another megasphere for ya troubles

- I guess if ya hate jumping already, it fits that a particularly slapsticky bit of music played when ya got to that section lmao
  > Also, welcome to the newest from-scratch bit of the WAD! Obviously the wilder stuff starts here, so it's kinda obvious.
- In a WAD I've been working on since around 2017 but actually kept with, I do that multi-choice thing a lot, though largely with just ammo. In that context, that's already implicitly coreographed by having that kinda formation happen a handful of times throughout the set... though here it's prolly not gonna be in too many levels since it's definitely not the most common design decision, so I might wanna mark that when I tweak this entry.
- Notes on the choose-your-own-monster-adventure:
  > Nice to see that other people approach this combat puzzle differently! Basically everything from this point onward in combat for this level is due to me playing Sunder (up through and including MAP10,) and my playstyle through that WAD included causing infighting when possible. In this fight, that's also my approach, but usually I chose to have two types at once, then let the stragglers fight the remaining type.
  > Overall this level is definitely me trying to experiment a lot with different fight ideas that I'm not crud at, but only recently was introduced to so I may as well practice.
- I might add both the Rocket Launcher and the Plasma for that caco fight, maybe hidden inside the closets, to kinda reduce SSG-tedium

 

- I guess ya didn't really see the hint on the lift in the Cybie/Archie room that says, "Be patient, let them take care of, "it."
  > The whole point of this section before hitting the switch was to have it be a very aggressive hazard puzzle, hence a cartoonish amount of archies in an unavoidable long kill-hall.
SPOILER:

Spoiler

  > The intended progression is to have the cyberdemons kill the archviles by taking the cyberdemons up that lift. I felt devillishly clever making that, but I was probably too far up my own ass to coreograph it better than I did.
  > The green teleporter is what leads to a spot above the lift to lure the cybies to. I'll probably make that where the teleporter into the area leads to instead of just down in the arena, so it doubles the hint
  > I didn't really intend to have those 64-wide hatches be a spot to shoot the archies through; Same with using the invuln, so I guess I accidentally made a red herring in the puzzle
  > The cyberdemons are also best left alive! That's kinda a common slaughter trick thing to my knowledge, since cybies are ruthless infighters. I'll probably try to coreograph that fact better if I can.

    + A thing I try to go about with in slaughter fights is that, "if it's tedious, it's probably not the optimal way of doing it," and I just didn't playtest it with me killing those cybies. Honestly I wouldn't be that cruel to deliberately throw four cybies at the player with just a plasma and a rocket launcher unless there was a better solution than, "shoot them lmao," but it's clear that this needs better coreographing.

   

- Since you said you're not that good at slaughter maps, I think the best tip I can give is that infighting is key, and managing your space is often the door. If it wasn't for me discovering that fact, I never would have done the more enemy-intensive parts of this level, cos' not knowing that fact made mid-tier-heavy combat so irritating to me for so long.
  > As I mentioned earlier, my biggest influence with the crazy fights back here is from playing Sunder, and a lot of fights in that WAD become more fun when ya view them as puzzles to disassemble instead of just noise - which I would fucking hate if it was to be honest! That kind of combat design is what made stuff like Hell Revealed age so poorly versus Sunder being one of the most influential WADs of its time and to this day - combat sludge and cheap shots versus blocks of guys that interact as things to deconstruct and use their factors against them.
  > Again, the cybies work really well at turning solid enemy walls into liquified walkable space, to dodge and be free to go through.
  > In this case with the buttons releasing the mid-tiers, ya can just let the hell knights and revenants duke it out pretty much. The thing with that though is that it's much better if the hoards of smaller guys are already gone, but if ya break through they can still do a little infight dance anyways, and get some smaller guys in the crossfire
  > For the resources, I'm planning on also giving more ammo now to tear through enemies even if the cybies are gone. Every time I played this on UV it worked smoothly just because I knew exactly what to do, but having more options is more fun anyways.
  > Don't worry about the mid-fight-save, I do that all the time. That just means you actually respect your time and patience, bless ya for that honestly.

 

 

I made a little checklist for myself for what I gotta change in the same notepad I wrote all that down in:

Spoiler

- Make first SSG more obvious w' lights, and maybe some blinking
- Replace STARGR stuff w' SHAWN2 in the broken bridge
- Maybe take away one Hell Knight in the blue key fight
- Make the bonus route much more obvious too w' lights and stuff
- Make choice-weapon bits more obvious w' signage I guess
- Fix the weird fog bits in the three-types fight
- Maybe add both bigger weapons in the hitscanner/caco fight?
- Add a translucent mid to the brown-brick overlook
- Make the teleporter into the big arena go to the green teleporter, so it works as a much better hint.
- Have the blocked-off fence to the lift switches not impassable, so it's easier to find the way in, and get the right conclusion to the puzzle.
- Show off the enemies in the slaughter fight first
- Give more rockets and cells in the big slaughter fight

 

 

Yeah, hearing ya suffer that bad means I really gotta fix this shit lol, sheesh did I fuck up on making this approachable at the end.

 

Again, thanks for playing!

 

 

 

Here's a summary of the last little note w' slaughter fights in there that might help ya in the future. It has a few spoilers, but would be good to note:

Spoiler

A thing that works to really cut down on how much ammo ya have to use, can make a fight easier and/or more fun, etc in slaughter scenarios is using infighting to your advantage. "Free up room, let them take care of each other for you as much as ya can, take care of the stragglers," is my default way of dissecting these types of fights, and it's worked pretty good for me so far. I haven't played many slaughter WADs other than Sunder (and I'd like to keep it that way to be honest), so I don't know how much most designers make scenarios based around that kind of gameplay as a focus, but it is a very good thing to keep in mind.

 

The main back section w' the cybies was heavily designed around that kind of infighting-puzzle, though I'll be adding more ammo to make it more playable without fully committing to that option.

 

 

 

Once again, thanks for playing and filming! It'll be a be a bit prolly until I get to tweaking, but it shouldn't take too long when I get on it.

Edited February 5 by AnArchaicApparatus

[DoctorNuriel]

Progress of my entry Club FIREBLU:

 

Spoiler

 

[Raith138]

1 hour ago, DoctorNuriel said:

Progress of my entry Club FIREBLU:

 

  Hide contents

 

That looks super cool, looking forward to playing it.

[osminee]

Hey, I know that I didn't manage to finish my piece of mapping the year before, but count me in, this time I'll be watching the clock :)

[minglel99]

finally i wont be mapping just for myself, count me in

[minglel99]

name: Descent Into The Abyss

Author : minglel99

Format GZDoom Doom 2 UDMF

song : Beams of light by Walkman

New Resources : Belphegor from Realm667

                         Proton Marine/Plasma Marine from ZDoom Monster Pack

                         MIN_WRNB from Noir Pack

 

Notes : 

the map itself is still in development and is not finished yet, so no this is not the final product

if youre having troubles finding the secret fight :                          go to the mega armor/soulsphere fight                                                                                                                                                                                          jump down to the lighted up spot near the teleporter

                                                                                                find the slightly lit up floor

DMP2024_DescentIntoTheAbyss.rar

[Forgotten Soul]

Hey, I think I can make map in this year.

[Obsidian]

Alright, time to add my contribution! A massive thanks to everyone who's submitted a map thus far. :)

 

Map name: The Underneath

Format: Limit removing

Music: "K_DONUT" by yakfak

Textures: Stock

Difficulty settings: Nope

 

I had the idea of making a multi-tiered level where the combat happens below and you can retreat to the higher section to heal up a limited amount of times. Hammered it out in about a day's time.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Obsidian]

Oh yeah, and just reminding everyone again: if you're packaging textures in with your map, make sure you've renamed them. Telling you now so you won't have as much work to do if you haven't started your map yet, heh.

[Hebonky]

I am a bit of an idiot myself!

I do really wish that UDB had a feature like slade where you could mass rename things by replacing the first few characters... would make this less terrible

Edited March 13 by Hebonky