Bloodbath Babylon II - Savage Garden. Single map in a deadly, verdant oasis!

[EduardoAndFriends]

Howdy doody, Doom World folks!

 

 

This is Savage Garden, a linear set of fights set in a lush, overgrown demonic park featuring the same elements of splatter found in Bloodbath Babylon I but with a bit more oomph.

 

IMPORTANT INFO:

IWAD: Doom II

Comp Level: 9 (Boom)

Sourceport(s): Tested on GzDoom v4.11.3 and DSDA v0.27.4

NO JUMPING OR CROUCHING. NAUGHTY! DON'T DO IT!

Mouselook is all good, I won't tell.

Map #: Map01. (Map02 is a THANKS that stops you stumbling into Underhalls)

Let green torches be your guide. Green = go!

 

DOWNLOAD HERE: (Beta 4 - 19/03/2024) https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/2ykx3cqh4or552ov3p5pm/BBB02-Beta04.zip?rlkey=5iqcbyuw2pna6bj5oox2rqdrd&dl=1

 

This is the second map in what is planned to be a series of maps set in this lush Babylonian environment, the first map being "Into The Sandy City", which you can find here: 

I had the idea of making these maps not link together to provide myself with more creative freedom, but I've now found the first map leading directly into this one, so ... I guess things will link up eventually? I'll make that call when I've finished all the maps, I suppose. 

 

The Story (same as part one):

The UAC (yeah, those guys) are up to their tricks again. UAC archaeologists established a dig on the site of an ancient Babylonian city, at the heart of which once sat the fabled Tower of Babel. These wicked scientists discovered a manuscript, the reading of which lead to the possession of the supplied armed forces and with a grinding that shook the earth, stones and turrets pushed their way through the bedrock of ages. When the dust cleared, where previously there stood a parched desert, now stands a lush oasis bristling with greenery, cool water, and humming with life. Demonic life. The haunted city has been reborn. Our hero was unceremoniously called in from his well earned shore leave for another mission. Penetrate the city. Kill all in sight. Get to the Tower. And bury it under the sand once again.

 

New stuff!

Sexy new barrel sprites I cobbled together: 

Sexy new plasma gun sound and sprites (gotta go with green). Sound courtesy of Eviternity II.

Extra weak lost souls (you're welcome, as they tend to travel in packs). Weak cyberdemon too. He now comes in blueberry flavour.

Obligatory EduardoAndFriends FastPistol (TM).

Lots of explosions!

Yet ANOTHER yummy stewboy MIDI, Neighbouring Tribes. Love it so much.

 

CREDITS:

A massive THANKS to @Biodegradable and Tim Doherty for getting stuck in and giving the map a play for me. Cheers, blokes!

Textures courtesy of the hugely talented Ukiro by way of OTEX (imbedded in the WAD for future map usage, hence the WAD's size) and Insane_Gazebo by way of Sunder. All appropriate credits will be addressed when it's ready for an idgames upload.

Plasma sound and foliage sprites from Eviternity II. Appropriate credit will be addressed same as above.

Barrel from Hexen which I fudged around with.

Music: map music by stewboy and title and intermission tune by Jimmy Paddock. 

Blue cyber graphics from Fractured Worlds.

I think that's it. Will add more if I've forgotten anything. 

 

PICS:

 

As always, any and all feedback is much appreciated. Updates will come when needed, so keep your eyes peeled for 'em. Hope you have fun. :)

 

Edited March 19 by EduardoAndFriends
Blep

[DreadWanderer]

Brilliant, will test this as soon as I can and come back with feedback!

 

Edit: I am again very pleased with this map, it's also a noticeable step up in difficulty though as always very manageable. I can definitely see myolden's influence on you with that opening crossfire and the cyber surprise at the end! Generous and exciting fights based on movement and prioritization, more good use of verticality, and accessible secrets. Sadly I was again confronted by peeps who didn't wanna come out and play - namely, some at the red key fight who are still stuck in wooden boxes. Screen attached.

 

A few minor points:

1. Sometimes the progression doesn't feel very clear, for example in the beginning when I was searching for a switch near the exit to unlock the next part of the map. Got it after 30 seconds or so but was puzzled for a while, perhaps due to the placement of the relevant skull switch. A second example of this is figuring out how to get the yellow key, where I spent a good part of 2 minutes scratching my head. It's true that I got sidetracked by item and secret hunting, but might be worth keeping in mind.

 

2. The computer area map secret comes very late into the map and I don't really know how useful it is in that position specifically.

 

3. Very very minor: the triggering of the other secret in the plasma gun area is a bit awkward, in the sense that you must drop down after taking the secret teleporter. At first I thought the trigger was broken but then I realized what's up. Not sure if this is even an issue tbh, but maybe it would be cleaner if all the goodies were on the same level and the secret triggered on the top platform. Screenie for your convenience.

Overall, banger. Bangin' banger. The core experience is fun as heck and that's what matters the most. Everything else is fixable. 

Edited January 24 by DreadWanderer

[Firedust]

Awesome screenies as usual! Still yet to play the first installment in the series.

[EduardoAndFriends]

2 hours ago, DreadWanderer said:

Brilliant, will test this as soon as I can and come back with feedback!

 

Edit: I am again very pleased with this map, it's also a noticeable step up in difficulty though as always very manageable. I can definitely see myolden's influence on you with that opening crossfire and the cyber surprise at the end! Generous and exciting fights based on movement and prioritization, more good use of verticality, and accessible secrets. Sadly I was again confronted by peeps who didn't wanna come out and play - namely, some at the red key fight who are still stuck in wooden boxes. Screen attached.

 

A few minor points:

1. Sometimes the progression doesn't feel very clear, for example in the beginning when I was searching for a switch near the exit to unlock the next part of the map. Got it after 30 seconds or so but was puzzled for a while, perhaps due to the placement of the relevant skull switch. A second example of this is figuring out how to get the yellow key, where I spent a good part of 2 minutes scratching my head. It's true that I got sidetracked by item and secret hunting, but might be worth keeping in mind.

 

2. The computer area map secret comes very late into the map and I don't really know how useful it is in that position specifically.

 

3. Very very minor: the triggering of the other secret in the plasma gun area is a bit awkward, in the sense that you must drop down after taking the secret teleporter. At first I thought the trigger was broken but then I realized what's up. Not sure if this is even an issue tbh, but maybe it would be cleaner if all the goodies were on the same level and the secret triggered on the top platform. Screenie for your convenience.

Overall, banger. Bangin' banger. The core experience is fun as heck and that's what matters the most. Everything else is fixable. 

Thanks, mate. Dang it again with line triggers not working?! I wonder what the difference between our sourceports / methods of play are as they always trigger for me and didn’t present as an issue for testers, lol. Ugh, more switches needed I suppose, that’s a drag. Thanks for pointing that out, will be interesting if anyone else has this issue. Further feedback will dictate what’s to be done.

 

Hmm, will take some shaking to rethink the switch into the gardens proper if you couldn’t find it quickly, bum. I put a green torch on it for guidance but as it’s facing the other way so you can see the gardens open it’s not immediately apparent, I suppose. If it’s the other way around for easy viewing, you won’t see the garden walls open when you activate it, doh.

 

lol computer area map was for poor souls who have real trouble getting that mega sphere but it was placeholder at best, that’s true.

[DreadWanderer]

14 minutes ago, EduardoAndFriends said:

Thanks, mate. Dang it again with line triggers not working?! I wonder what the difference between our sourceports / methods of play are as they always trigger for me and didn’t present as an issue for testers, lol.

 

I have no clue, I'm running DSDA 0.27.5 and it's very unlikely that in a previous version the linedefs work but on this one they don't. Could have been the pathing but then again the map is quite linear so I also consider this to be unlikely. Complevel 9 is forced from a frontend since I'm using Doom Runner.

Edited January 24 by DreadWanderer

[TheCyberDruid]

Love the map :) It's again challenging without being overwhelming or unfair. The design is great and I can't wait for more.

[EduardoAndFriends]

23 minutes ago, DreadWanderer said:

 

I have no clue, I'm running DSDA 0.27.5 and it's very unlikely that in a previous version the linedefs work but on this one they don't. Could have been the pathing but then again the map is quite linear so I also consider this to be unlikely. Complevel 9 is forced from a frontend since I'm using Doom Runner.

Bum, bugger, and bother it. It would be something funky in a voodoo closet. He might be skipping a line in the closet… hmm. Time to get creative. 💅

 

I wonder whether to not have the switch to open the gardens and have them always open but have something at the top of the lifts to lure the player up instead…? You can’t do anything up there until you have the yellow key anyway and if you want the supercharge you’ll have to explore. Hmm.
 

Will wank about in DB tomorrow for some (hopefully) elegant solution. Might have to rebuild the red key fight from scratch or at least demolish the triggers as a switch may not work what with the floor lowering etc. would get too sticky and clunky.

 

Thanks again, bruz. 🥸

[EduardoAndFriends]

2 minutes ago, TheCyberDruid said:

Love the map :) It's again challenging without being overwhelming or unfair. The design is great and I can't wait for more.

Thank you very much! So glad you liked it. :D

[alopecia_assassin]

Thank you for the certified good $h!t.  

[DreadWanderer]

1 hour ago, EduardoAndFriends said:

Bum, bugger, and bother it. It would be something funky in a voodoo closet. He might be skipping a line in the closet… hmm. Time to get creative. 💅

 

I wonder whether to not have the switch to open the gardens and have them always open but have something at the top of the lifts to lure the player up instead…? You can’t do anything up there until you have the yellow key anyway and if you want the supercharge you’ll have to explore. Hmm.
 

Will wank about in DB tomorrow for some (hopefully) elegant solution. Might have to rebuild the red key fight from scratch or at least demolish the triggers as a switch may not work what with the floor lowering etc. would get too sticky and clunky.

 

Thanks again, bruz. 🥸

 

Up to you, I am a total mapping noob so I cannot provide assistance with the red key buggers.

 

Regarding the switch for the gardens - I'm personally fine with it as is, but I'm in the post blind run stage where I have the knowledge. You could remove the computer map secret and simply place it in view at the top, though visibility is a bit tricky. Decino would surely bite lol. The other reason why I'm not too fond of this solution is that your secrets are generally not that hard to find (thanks btw), so offering an area map this early will probably make the level a bit too easy.

[Insaneprophet]

No problems downloading this time, yay me. 😀 Another great map, more focused on the lock in arenas this time but what can I say... they cant all be perfect. 😝 Maybe I got lucky but I didnt think there were any problems with progression or the fights themselves and all four secrets seemed fairly straight forward. I did find a missalligned texture. If your in the automap secret look to the left side of the ledge, the brick textures with the skulls dont line up. Anywho thanks for sharing this, Im loving the ancient babylonian setting.

 

Edit- after reading the other replies I wanted to note that I got 100% kills playing in lzdoom.

Edited January 24 by Insaneprophet

[EduardoAndFriends]

8 hours ago, Insaneprophet said:

No problems downloading this time, yay me. 😀 Another great map, more focused on the lock in arenas this time but what can I say... they cant all be perfect. 😝 Maybe I got lucky but I didnt think there were any problems with progression or the fights themselves and all four secrets seemed fairly straight forward. I did find a missalligned texture. If your in the automap secret look to the left side of the ledge, the brick textures with the skulls dont line up. Anywho thanks for sharing this, Im loving the ancient babylonian setting.

 

Edit- after reading the other replies I wanted to note that I got 100% kills playing in lzdoom.

Oh goodie, we can thank the lovely knifeworld for the tip on tweaking the url. :D thanks mate! Glad to hear you bagged all the kills, and thanks for the offset texture notification. 

[EduardoAndFriends]

9 hours ago, DreadWanderer said:

 

Up to you, I am a total mapping noob so I cannot provide assistance with the red key buggers.

 

Regarding the switch for the gardens - I'm personally fine with it as is, but I'm in the post blind run stage where I have the knowledge. You could remove the computer map secret and simply place it in view at the top, though visibility is a bit tricky. Decino would surely bite lol. The other reason why I'm not too fond of this solution is that your secrets are generally not that hard to find (thanks btw), so offering an area map this early will probably make the level a bit too easy.

I’m just spitballing but I might replace the area map with moving some cells up there so you can have more ammo for the cyber if you root around. Will think on it, cheers :)

[DreadWanderer]

21 minutes ago, EduardoAndFriends said:

I’m just spitballing but I might replace the area map with moving some cells up there so you can have more ammo for the cyber if you root around. Will think on it, cheers :)

 

That's also an option, I was still pretty loaded when I got to him, plus he's got low HP, but I won't complain :D

[unraveler]

Great map, but it seems currently impossible to do UV-max

 

[Michael63]

I have completed this. Very nice and cool map! Thanks!

[DreadWanderer]

2 hours ago, unraveler said:

Great map, but it seems currently impossible to do UV-max

 

 

I thought I did something wrong, glad to see it's not just me

[EduardoAndFriends]

2 hours ago, unraveler said:

Great map, but it seems currently impossible to do UV-max

 

Thank you. Working on fixing this when I have a sec 👍

[EduardoAndFriends]

57 minutes ago, Michael63 said:

I have completed this. Very nice and cool map! Thanks!

My pleasure, thank you so much for playing. 🙂

[EduardoAndFriends]

Curious. Just tested Beta 1 in DSDA 0.27.5 and Woof and that red key trap works fine. I ran it slow, I rushed it, I creeped up to the key ... no issues. Hmm. Well, I'm extending the flight path for the voodoo doll regardless in case it was a line skip folks were experiencing not making the monsters shoot up from their closets. Weird. 

[EduardoAndFriends]

UPDATE: Beta 2 now available. Tested exhaustively in DSDA v0.27.5 and GzDoom. Download link in OP.

 

The Captain's Log (Change log):

• Rejiggled the entrance to the gardens after the first fight. No longer need to hit a switch to enter, you can go straight in, but you might want to scale the lifts for goodies. So ... I'm leaving it up to the player. You do you. Wanna dive into the next fight without grabbing the fresh armour and ammo? Be my guest. :)
• Also took out two pillars and widened the exit area and the revenant recesses. Just more room to move and less cramped. Also removed a hanging curtain of vines for a clearer outlook.
• Gave the red key fight a good flossing. The trigger sector to kick off the voodoo doll conveyor belt has been greatly reduced in height so far less chances of line skips (if that was the problem). Also the voodoo runway has been extended.
• The plasma gun fight ... the megasphere secret is now on the teleporter you land on to get the megasphere. Shouldn't be hard to miss, hopefully!
• Also removed the blue armour from the plasma gun fight and put in a green armour at the very start. Seemed a bit overkill, especially with how easy the megasphere is to get. Sorry if this ruffles feathers.
• The two cell packs that were near the megasphere are now in the cliff secret. If you want more juice for the end baddies, you might want to explore the craggy areas.
• All monsters all very much killable but do let me know if this is not the case for you and I shall once again stare into the abyss and shout at it loudly.

Thank you very much, everyone who has tested and given this map a play so far. I REALLY appreciate it. Handshakes all 'round. Fresh updates coming when needed.

 

-Edz xo

Edited January 26 by EduardoAndFriends
I FORGOT SOMETHING

[Dagazur]

Video's still processing HD but here ya go.
 

 

[ryiron]

Fun map. Recorded a dsda-demo. I made it through without dying (though came close a handful of times). Some assorted notes/thoughts:

• I love the architecture and texturing. The opening room, with the high ceilings and archways that look through to the water features sets the tone well. I like the ancient garden temple vibes.
• The progression in the starting fight isn't super obvious. The switches could probably just be directly behind the mancubi.
• Similar in the SSG area. The two switches weren't immediately obvious. Not sure why there are two switches since you aren't trying to prevent an early fight escape here.
• Wasn't a huge fan of the area with the blue armor. There's a lot of perched enemies so I basically just hung out at the entrance and played cover shooter. The revs are especially annoying to hit. The biggest danger in this area seemed to be face rocketing myself on the crates :-).
• The red key fight is cool. Good little mini challenge. The subsequent caco cloud also works really well with the couple of pain elementals in middle and the mancs/arachno pestering you.
• The PG fight is fun, but a bit on the easy side because you can get circle strafing pretty quickly. There's maybe a few two many mancubi blocking the way out. They aren't denying any useful space, and I don't think they really did anything during the fight.
• The final fight with the cyber is great. Really clever use of confined space and a minimalist monster count to finish the map off.
• Secrets were fun to find. The mega would've been useful going into the final fight. I didn't really need the secret plasma, there's loads of it in the PG arena and I left there pretty well stocked.

 

bb-ryiron.zip

[DreadWanderer]

7 hours ago, EduardoAndFriends said:

UPDATE: Beta 2 now available. Tested exhaustively in DSDA v0.27.5 and GzDoom. Download link in OP.

 

The Captain's Log (Change log):

• Rejiggled the entrance to the gardens after the first fight. No longer need to hit a switch to enter, you can go straight in, but you might want to scale the lifts for goodies. So ... I'm leaving it up to the player. You do you. Wanna dive into the next fight without grabbing the fresh armour and ammo? Be my guest. :)
• Also took out two pillars and widened the exit area and the revenant recesses. Just more room to move and less cramped. Also removed a hanging curtain of vines for a clearer outlook.
• Gave the red key fight a good flossing. The trigger sector to kick off the voodoo doll conveyor belt has been greatly reduced in height so far less chances of line skips (if that was the problem). Also the voodoo runway has been extended.
• The plasma gun fight ... the megasphere secret is now on the teleporter you land on to get the megasphere. Shouldn't be hard to miss, hopefully!
• Also removed the blue armour from the plasma gun fight and put in a green armour at the very start. Seemed a bit overkill, especially with how easy the megasphere is to get. Sorry if this ruffles feathers.
• The two cell packs that were near the megasphere are now in the cliff secret. If you want more juice for the end baddies, you might want to explore the craggy areas.
• All monsters all very much killable but do let me know if this is not the case for you and I shall once again stare into the abyss and shout at it loudly.

Thank you very much, everyone who has tested and given this map a play so far. I REALLY appreciate it. Handshakes all 'round. Fresh updates coming when needed.

 

-Edz xo

 

Thank you cap'n, will give it a new go and post my (hopefully UV max) run as soon as I can.

Edited January 26 by DreadWanderer

[EduardoAndFriends]

5 hours ago, Dagazur said:

Video's still processing HD but here ya go.
 

 

Nice! Thanks for recording a vid, I'll give it a watch when I get a sec. :)

 

4 hours ago, ryiron said:

Fun map. Recorded a dsda-demo. I made it through without dying (though came close a handful of times). Some assorted notes/thoughts:

• I love the architecture and texturing. The opening room, with the high ceilings and archways that look through to the water features sets the tone well. I like the ancient garden temple vibes.
• The progression in the starting fight isn't super obvious. The switches could probably just be directly behind the mancubi.
• Similar in the SSG area. The two switches weren't immediately obvious. Not sure why there are two switches since you aren't trying to prevent an early fight escape here.
• Wasn't a huge fan of the area with the blue armor. There's a lot of perched enemies so I basically just hung out at the entrance and played cover shooter. The revs are especially annoying to hit. The biggest danger in this area seemed to be face rocketing myself on the crates :-).
• The red key fight is cool. Good little mini challenge. The subsequent caco cloud also works really well with the couple of pain elementals in middle and the mancs/arachno pestering you.
• The PG fight is fun, but a bit on the easy side because you can get circle strafing pretty quickly. There's maybe a few two many mancubi blocking the way out. They aren't denying any useful space, and I don't think they really did anything during the fight.
• The final fight with the cyber is great. Really clever use of confined space and a minimalist monster count to finish the map off.
• Secrets were fun to find. The mega would've been useful going into the final fight. I didn't really need the secret plasma, there's loads of it in the PG arena and I left there pretty well stocked.

 

bb-ryiron.zip

Cheers, thanks for giving it a shot and thanks for your thoughts and notes.

 

15 minutes ago, DreadWanderer said:

 

Thank you cap'n, will give it a new go and post my (hopefully UV max) run as soon as I can.

Cheers, lad. Lemme know how you go!

[DreadWanderer]

Here it is - everything went smoothly, except for my sloppy play. Dunno what's going on, I think I'm losing it, maybe I just need a new mouse. In my defence, this is one of your trickier maps. The new revenant trap at the red skull key scared the crap out of me, and I almost croaked against the cyber. But yeah, great fun!

P.S. If you know the title of stewboy's track, please let me know so I can write it in the description. Cheers!
 

 

Edited January 26 by DreadWanderer

[EduardoAndFriends]

1 hour ago, DreadWanderer said:

Here it is - everything went smoothly, except for my sloppy play. Dunno what's going on, I think I'm losing it, maybe I just need a new mouse. In my defence, this is one of your trickier maps. The new revenant trap at the red skull key scared the crap out of me, and I almost croaked against the cyber. But yeah, great fun!

P.S. If you know the title of stewboy's track, please let me know so I can write it in the description. Cheers!
 

 

Yeah boooooi! Just watched and you had me on the edge of my seat. Thanks! The tune is “Neighbouring Tribes”, it’s such a bop.

[DreadWanderer]

27 minutes ago, EduardoAndFriends said:

Yeah boooooi! Just watched and you had me on the edge of my seat. Thanks! The tune is “Neighbouring Tribes”, it’s such a bop.

 

Awesome, thanks, I'll update the description. Thanks for watching!

[DoomGuy2077]

Great map, yet again. The opening took me an embarrasing number of attempts. the I figured out I needed to set compatability to Boom in GZDoom. I always thought leaving it on default would default to the map authors intended settings. GZDoom deals the player an enormous amount of splash damage from their own rockets.

[EduardoAndFriends]

7 hours ago, DoomGuy2077 said:

Great map, yet again. The opening took me an embarrasing number of attempts. the I figured out I needed to set compatability to Boom in GZDoom. I always thought leaving it on default would default to the map authors intended settings. GZDoom deals the player an enormous amount of splash damage from their own rockets.

Thanks, mate. :D Curse you, GzDoom!