Doom 2: Revisited (WIP)

[Zesiir]

Hello everyone.

 

So this is an idea I got from GermanPeter's video about the purpose of Doom 2's level designs. I've seen I'm not the only one being inspired by it, but this is my interpretation. I released a re-imagining a while ago of MAP01 just for purposes of discussion, but since then I've polished it further and implemented it into a map pack.

 

The title is pretty generic and is just a placeholder for now.

This WAD is intended to cover Doom 2's first episode. The first 8 maps are complete, the remaining 3 are WIP.

 

The main focus on this project is to make the maps have more purpose and a realistic design while keeping the originals in mind.

As always with my maps, the intended experience is Ultra-Violence (where the maps will be harder than Doom 2) but I've implemented difficulties anyway that affect monster encounters, available powerups and so on. This is also my first foray into the ZDoom format.

 

Story:

 

Hell has invaded Earth. And unlike in the original game, you're not here to save
the population. No, you're here to escape. You've located the Starport, and now
seek to find a suitable spacecraft to flee the demonic hordes. But it's not going
to be that easy this time around.

 

WAD Info:

 

Game: Doom 2

Levels: MAP01-MAP08

Singleplayer: Designed for

Difficulties: Yes

Tested with: GZDoom

Map Format: ZDoom: Doom 2 (Doom format)

 

Freelook: Yes

Jumping: No

Crouching: No

 

DISCLAIMER: I've no idea if it runs well on other ports. If you want to be sure, play with GZDoom, and without mods.

 

Download: Doom 2 Revisited.zip

 

Screenshots (WIP, may look different and/or improved ingame. Contain spoilers!):

 

Spoiler

 

MAP01 - Entryway

 

 

 

 

MAP02 - Underhalls

 

 

MAP03 - The Gantlet

 

 

MAP04 - The Focus

 

 

MAP05 - The Waste Tunnels

 

 

 

 

MAP06 - The Crusher

 

 

MAP07 - Dead Simple (Needs new screenshot!)

 

MAP08 - Tricks and Traps

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 4 by Zesiir
Updated file

[Zesiir]

Bit of a shameless bump. Work has started on MAP08. Tricks and Traps has always been a favourite of mine so, in keeping with the startport theme I'm gonna try to do this one some justice. There'll also be more demonic influences, as was described in the story screen. Will post some WIP screenshots as soon as they resemble anything playable.

[BeeWen]

In the first secret with a rocket launcher, you can catch a soft lock if you jump off the rising platform and stay in the lower room.
There are also crooked textures to the left of the entrance.

[Notsee]

Wish this was compatible with vanilla Doom 2

[Zesiir]

3 hours ago, BeeWen said:

In the first secret with a rocket launcher, you can catch a soft lock if you jump off the rising platform and stay in the lower room.
There are also crooked textures to the left of the entrance.

 

Cheers for pointing this out, I'll make it so it can be lowered if one gets stuck.

 

Which entrance has weird textures?

[BeeWen]

7 hours ago, Zesiir said:

 

Cheers for pointing this out, I'll make it so it can be lowered if one gets stuck.

 

Which entrance has weird textures? 

 

[Zesiir]

I assume you mean the misaligned texture. Thanks :)

 

I'll update the file once I get some more feedback on the other maps.

Edited April 5 by Zesiir

[BeeWen]

It's interesting to see the variants of classic maps in this build. But the author needs to pay more attention to the correct formulation of textures, taking into account their multiplicity and compatibility with each other. Also, work more with the gradations of lighting locations, not forgetting that if there are no light sources in the niches, then the niches should be darker than in the main room.

[Zesiir]

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Can you provide an example of what you mean with the compatibility of texturing?

 

And yeah, I've gotten more involved in lighting my maps lately. So far it's pretty basic but I reckon I'll make more gradients of lighting as I go along,

and touch up the maps I've already released.

[GermanPeter]

Oh man, how did I not see this, this is awesome!
I played the first map before but took a quick look at the others, very impressive.

 

There are a few missing textures though, like the waterfalls (I assume), and many in the other maps.

Doors you can't open normally should also use a different texture than those you can open, just makes it less confusing.

 

Incredibly cute interpretations, though. Very creative, and all maps put their own spin on the originals. I especially love seeing an actual train yard, that's so adorable! And I love how you actually get to experience the proper hallway in the Waste Tunnels before it crashes down. A+!

[BeeWen]

8 hours ago, Zesiir said:

Can you provide an example of what you mean with the compatibility of texturing? 

To visually show the texture irregularities on these maps, you need a lot of screenshots. It is easier to explain some basic design principles. Especially since you use a standard texture pack.
Ceiling heights should be set along the vertical borders of textures, which have all sorts of horizontal lines. So that the drawing of stone blocks, for example, does not "cut off" in their middle - it looks ugly.
If the wall has one texture, then it is better to make an opening in it with the same texture. Otherwise, this opening looks from another location.

[BeeWen]

19 minutes ago, GermanPeter said:

There are a few missing textures though, like the waterfalls (I assume), and many in the other maps.

It was advised to launch this project iWAD the name "Plutonia Experiment", it has all the necessary textures.

Edited April 12 by BeeWen

[GermanPeter]

31 minutes ago, BeeWen said:

It was advised to launch this project iWAD the name "Plutonia Experiment", it has all the necessary textures.

Ah, seems like a strange choice for a WAD focused around Doom 2 in particular.

[Stabbey]

A tip I got when I asked for feedback on my WAD Nukage Treatment Pools was to do more interesting things with ceilings. In one large room I added big beams with lights, in another I added narrow tracks with lights, and made interestingly-shaped skylights. Stuff like that might serve this mapset well.

[Zesiir]

11 hours ago, GermanPeter said:

There are a few missing textures though, like the waterfalls (I assume), and many in the other maps.

 

On 4/2/2024 at 3:20 PM, Zesiir said:

Plutonia.wad is required as I use textures from it.

 

The first post literally says it requires Plutonia... ;) The main reason for this is more texture options, I didn't want to use any custom texture packs. I really like Plutonia's brick, wall and waterfall textures and I haven't figured out how to attach them to a wad without it requiring the IWAD yet.

 

Maybe you guys can help with this? Seeing as it's still a WIP.

 

11 hours ago, BeeWen said:

Ceiling heights should be set along the vertical borders of textures, which have all sorts of horizontal lines. So that the drawing of stone blocks, for example, does not "cut off" in their middle - it looks ugly.

 

Honestly that just comes off as nitpicky. I don't really mind visuals like that unless the main focus is on the object itself and the player is supposed to look at it. I don't think I'll be doing that anymore than I already have, it's fine for the vision I have of the wad.

 

10 hours ago, Stabbey said:

Stuff like that might serve this mapset well.

 

You're definitely right. Even less detailed stuff like pipes, uneven surfaces etc would make ceilings look a bit more interesting. I'll look over the mapset so far and see what can be done. But it's important to remember that for realistic environments, sometimes a ceiling is just a celiling.

Edited April 13 by Zesiir

[GermanPeter]

5 hours ago, Zesiir said:

The first post literally says it requires Plutonia... ;) The main reason for this is more texture options, I didn't want to use any custom texture packs. I really like Plutonia's brick, wall and waterfall textures and I haven't figured out how to attach them to a wad without it requiring the IWAD yet.

 

Maybe you guys can help with this? Seeing as it's still a WIP.

You can just copy them from Plutonia and add them to the WAD file using Slade. You need to create a "TX_START" marker somewhere, then a "TX_END"-marker immediately after it, and inbetween you put all the textures. Just create these with "New Entry", which defaults to the marker, and then type in those names exactly. These let Doom know where the new textures begin and end.

You should also copy and paste the "PLAYPAL" and "COLORMAP" from Plutonia so all the colors show up correctly.

It's very simple. I think you also might be able to find a WAD that's JUST the textures from Plutonia, so you could just drag all those files into there that way.

 

I think it's necessary, because considering this mapset is literally about Doom 2, it's odd that it'd need textures from something that's unrelated to the maps you're remaking. Not a dealbreaker, but feels like a weird change (especially since not everyone has those IWADs). Including them in the WAD itself is a better option.

Edited April 13 by GermanPeter

[Zesiir]

Thanks so much for the help with this.

 

You're right, it's a Doom 2 project so it should require it's IWAD. I'll get to work on this soon and then upload a new file, along with other changes.

[Notsee]

5 hours ago, Zesiir said:

 

 

The first post literally says it requires Plutonia... ;) The main reason for this is more texture options, I didn't want to use any custom texture packs. I really like Plutonia's brick, wall and waterfall textures and I haven't figured out how to attach them to a wad without it requiring the IWAD yet.

 

Maybe you guys can help with this? Seeing as it's still a WIP.

 

 

Honestly that just comes off as nitpicky. I don't really mind visuals like that unless the main focus is on the object itself and the player is supposed to look at it. I don't think I'll be doing that anymore than I already have, it's fine for the vision I have of the wad.

 

 

You're definitely right. Even less detailed stuff like pipes, uneven surfaces etc would make ceilings look a bit more interesting. I'll look over the mapset so far and see what can be done. But it's important to remember that for realistic environments, sometimes a ceiling is just a celiling.

I think the Plutonia textures are available at Realm 667 

[Zesiir]

2 hours ago, Notsee said:

I think the Plutonia textures are available at Realm 667 

 

Yes, I found the textures packed in a wad file. I know how to load them as an additional resource, but I'm wondering if I'll be required to include this wad file along with the main one in the zip?

[Notsee]

Why not ask for permission and put the two in a PK3?

[Zesiir]

Sure, could try that :)

 

Not sure how to contact them though.

And the textures are made by ID/Team TNT so are permissions necessary?

Edited April 13 by Zesiir

[roadworx]

i mean TeChNiCaLLy you can't put them directly into your wad, but at the same time, it's so commonly done that absolutely nobody will care if you do. dario casali isn't gonna bust down your door with a swat team behind his back because you yoinked some textures from a nearly 30y/o game - in fact, i doubt he, romero, carmack, or even any of the current id employees would so much as blink an eye.

 

there's zero point in not doing it, so go ahead. the community is at least partially built on ripping assets from games anyways

[Zesiir]

Well I mean... Romero might, but only because it'd look cool.

[BeeWen]

1 hour ago, Zesiir said:

Honestly that just comes off as nitpicky. I don't really mind visuals like that unless the main focus is on the object itself and the player is supposed to look at it. I don't think I'll be doing that anymore than I already have, it's fine for the vision I have of the wad.

Do you consider this a quibble? In vain.
The aesthetic side is of great importance, especially with the number of different projects being produced in our community.

 

[Zesiir]

I get blocking edges and aligning door seams, but the other textures you've screenshotted above really don't bother me that much.

 

Unfortunate that it bothers you, but I will not be changing them.

[Zesiir]

Hey folks, I've updated the file now, fixed issues and taken aboard feedback posted in the thread to improve the existing maps,

as well as finished MAP08 - Tricks and Traps.

 

The WAD no longer requires plutonia.wad and I've embedded the texture files I'm using inside it. Only the Doom 2 IWAD is required now.

I've also added some new screenshots.

Edited April 19 by Zesiir

[Zesiir]

Updated with additional fixes, some secrets, texture alignments & replacing missing textures.

[Notsee]

Could you add a secret exit so you can access map 33 Betray

[Zesiir]

I've thought about adding a secret map actually, but the plan is to finish the episode maps first.

 

I'll gladly take more suggestions on what can be done :)

[Notsee]

K