[Boom] Body Mind Spirit (bms_RC1.wad)

[ArchCynic]

"Body Mind Spirit" is intended to be a set of 32 boom-compatible levels featuring body-breaking challenging gameplay, mind-altering environments, and areas meant to truly test one's spirit...but this is just the first episode, and also my debut mapset. I did all the custom textures, music, levels, and most of the play-testing, so constructive feedback is more than appreciated. Just know, I am still learning and much of this is still relatively new to me.

 

"Body" is intended to be the light-hearted introduction to the behemoth that is bms.wad. Each level in this episode represents a specific color chakra from the bottom of one's kundalini to the top.

 

Are you brave enough to face the challenges that await you in bms.wad? Only one way to find out..
             
The other two episodes (Mind and Spirit) are not ready at this time, and I'd probably only finish them if others really wanted me to. However the other two episodes have a level or two with a song to characterize the energy of said episode.

 

Download now to embark on the ultimate journey of body, mind, and spirit.

 

IMPORTANT INFO:

• Play on dsda ver 0.26.2 or newer, but GZDoom also works within reason. Please don't play on Woof or any other source port, because I only tested/play in those two source ports.
• Use Arachno soundfont when playing for the intended listening experience.
• OpenGL, not software.
• No Jumping. No mouselook.
• Pistol start intended for each level.

 

Bug Fixes/Updates

Spoiler

(4/3/24) Update#1: Fixed two pillars at the beginning of MAP08 that prevented pogress from rising + fixed crusher wall from lookin funny.

(4/4/24) Update#2: Balanced several fights for lower difficulties in various maps, fixed a monster closet or two in MAP05, updated the broken cosmic hallway in the entryway of MAP05, and updated the final arena of MAP08 slightly in terms of lighting and adding a few more water pillars to walk on around the main platform.

(4/6/24) Update#3: Made several sectors monster blocking in MAP08 to prevent monsters from unintentionally falling off their tall perches + Updated the start of the Sacral Hall (The Orange One/Layer 2) + Updated one of the platforms in the Third Eye Hall (The Indigo One/Layer 7) to entrap the player until a switch is hit behind the vile.

(4/13/24) Update #4: Several Updates to many areas of MAP03 including added barriers around a switch to prevent skipping the second room's fight + Added difficulty for UV on MAP03 (+Pain and Revs)

(4/14/24) Update #5: Several visual updates to MAP02 for added visual clarity/general navigation/eye candy (looks way better) + Fixed the bug in MAP03 that prevented the bars in the second room from lowering all the way to the floor + updated the red room of MAP04 (a lot cooler) + small tweaks to MAP05 (linedef fixes)

(4/18/24) Update #6: Darkened the Sacral Hall(Orange one) in MAP08 + fixed the wobbling issue in MAP08 preventing arachnos from getting their groove on (damn you boom) + Visually updated both the prefight finale void room and the finale arena for MAP08 (the arena specifically has more lighting sequences and more pillars added for scenery) + various balance changes including more health/ammo in medium difficulty for MAP08 + Fixed the enemy pillars in secret area of MAP02 so they rise as intended once again. AND Cosmic Yellow Chaingunners Added!!!

(4/19/24) Update #7: Darkened the exit room of MAP01 to better reflect the lighting of MAP02. Actually fixed the yellow secret room of MAP02 (pillars rising properly) and re-aligned it on grid so the teleporter didn't look messed up + Updated the lighting of the yellow secret room. 

 

Map list

Spoiler

Episode 1 - Body

MAP01: Root

MAP02: Castle Agavoria

MAP03: Determination

MAP04: Tender Scars

MAP05: Temple Eros

MAP06: Hush

MAP07: Meditating Mancubi

MAP08: Cosmic Awareness

Soundtrack

Spoiler

Episode 1 - Body

MAP01 "Beginnings"

MAP02 "Castle Agavoria"

MAP03 "Determination"

MAP04 "Tender Tension"

MAP05 "Love"

MAP06 "Repressed Speech"

MAP07 "Meditating with Meat"

MAP08 "Cosmic Awareness Theme"

Screenshots

Spoiler

 

Edited April 19 by ArchCynic

[Beemer]

I'VE BEEN WAITING AEONS FOR THIS...

[LadyMistDragon]

First off, the aesthetics are EXCELLENT. It's not entirely in-focus necessarily (which is probably why you suggest OpenGL) but the styles in each map are utterly unapologetic. Undoubtedly weird but not quite so different that the shapes of the maps can'[t be determined.

 

Second is that while it may not necessarily be quite up to the challenge of Sunlust and its ilk initially, it's not necessarily a slouch after a while either. Even better is the framing of encounters in general. Besides the general tendency toward cinematics anyway, there are a number of suspenseful moments that end up paying off later.

 

So yes, absolutely continue this!

 

 

[Apparition]

First of all, congratulations on finishing the first episode! A multi-level wad is not an easy feat for beginner mappers.

Quick review (very tiny spoilers, if any):

Spoiler

I chose to play on HMP, as I rarely seek the challenge UV tends to provide. After finishing the episode, it mostly met my expectations of what that difficulty would entail. Sometimes it would duck below or jump above that baseline, resulting in a slightly bumpy ride, but never excessively. The combat explores a variety of encounters with emphasis on open-ended approach, which is not a bad decision as it's much harder to become tired of. However I was left a little peckish for tight and intricate arena encounters, which may be a bias of mine. I do have to highlight a couple of the arenas that were done well: map05 void hexagon and map08 closing flower - I genuinely love those two.

The soundtrack is fitting, working in tandem with the visuals constructing a world of psychedelic dreaminess(?). The music doesn't really demand the players attention and I see it as a good thing, though in hindsight I can not remember moments where it augmented my experience(outside of giving me a motivating chuckle after couple repeats while clearing the giant structure of map08). I rate it so-so. The visuals are unique with their high contrast but complimenting palette. While some textures take on these features better than others, I consider this as a core trait of BMS, and encourage to refine it further.

Actually, that applies to most aspects of this episode. It's as if the wad is figuring itself out through the first half [of episode one], and begins to settle with its identity in the latter half. What I see in the potential of that identity allures me, although I won't lie, it was a bit rough of an experience at times - especially in the beginning. But such is the course of starting mappers, have to get through those growing pains somehow.

TL;DR [of episode one] - spotty but promising work with personality.
 

[ArchCynic]

On 4/3/2024 at 6:24 PM, LadyMistDragon said:

First off, the aesthetics are EXCELLENT. It's not entirely in-focus necessarily (which is probably why you suggest OpenGL) but the styles in each map are utterly unapologetic. Undoubtedly weird but not quite so different that the shapes of the maps can'[t be determined.

 

Second is that while it may not necessarily be quite up to the challenge of Sunlust and its ilk initially, it's not necessarily a slouch after a while either. Even better is the framing of encounters in general. Besides the general tendency toward cinematics anyway, there are a number of suspenseful moments that end up paying off later.

 

So yes, absolutely continue this!

 

 

It means a lot to have others give the time to my first set of levels that were largely training exercises and teaching sessions into the complex world of doom mapping. I've seen several of your videos on youtube, and to some degree it feels surreal to have anyone bother with my creations. So thank you again for your time and energy that will only help in the long run.

 

I definitely wanted to create a balance of visual appeal and difficulty, especially on UV. Although I only learned about difficulty scaling somewhere around 5 levels in tbh...lol. I tried to give each level one particular fight for the player remember while also pushing myself to see how I could create different worlds with different colors (a yellow techbase vs an indigo crater) and accompanying music.

 

Thank you for your feedback! Really.

[ArchCynic]

On 4/6/2024 at 11:52 AM, Apparition said:

First of all, congratulations on finishing the first episode! A multi-level wad is not an easy feat for beginner mappers.

Quick review (very tiny spoilers, if any):

  Reveal hidden contents

I chose to play on HMP, as I rarely seek the challenge UV tends to provide. After finishing the episode, it mostly met my expectations of what that difficulty would entail. Sometimes it would duck below or jump above that baseline, resulting in a slightly bumpy ride, but never excessively. The combat explores a variety of encounters with emphasis on open-ended approach, which is not a bad decision as it's much harder to become tired of. However I was left a little peckish for tight and intricate arena encounters, which may be a bias of mine. I do have to highlight a couple of the arenas that were done well: map05 void hexagon and map08 closing flower - I genuinely love those two.

The soundtrack is fitting, working in tandem with the visuals constructing a world of psychedelic dreaminess(?). The music doesn't really demand the players attention and I see it as a good thing, though in hindsight I can not remember moments where it augmented my experience(outside of giving me a motivating chuckle after couple repeats while clearing the giant structure of map08). I rate it so-so. The visuals are unique with their high contrast but complimenting palette. While some textures take on these features better than others, I consider this as a core trait of BMS, and encourage to refine it further.

Actually, that applies to most aspects of this episode. It's as if the wad is figuring itself out through the first half [of episode one], and begins to settle with its identity in the latter half. What I see in the potential of that identity allures me, although I won't lie, it was a bit rough of an experience at times - especially in the beginning. But such is the course of starting mappers, have to get through those growing pains somehow.

TL;DR [of episode one] - spotty but promising work with personality.
 

I commend you for sticking it all the way through the entire mapset. I feel bad in hindsight not considering much of lower difficulties when creating the first few levels of Body. BMS was originally to be made with that badass UV-only mindset, but I quickly realized how much better the wad could be with more accessible difficulties to help players eventually tackle the challenge of UV if they so choose to do so. And it's kinda fun!

 

Needless to say, I can only imagine how grueling the opening is for lower difficulties, because they've only been balanced (or nerfed) recently with my updates to the wad since release. But were never originally designed for HMP and below. The red room of MAP04, for instance, only just got its difficulty properly adjusted a few days ago by showcasing different numbers of revenants at the start of the fight (Easy - 1, Medium - 2, Hard - 3)

Spoiler

 

There are so many things to consider when creating levels for Doom, and I learned so much over the course of these last 5 months. This arch-vile sincerely appreciates your honesty, because your enjoyment playing through these levels is what matters above all at the end of the day.

 

And who knows, Episode 2 just might be what you're looking for when it comes to tight and intricate arenas! Only time will tell..

[Timilyo80]

I can barely believe that this is a "debut mapset", this WAD is already really good and have such an interesting vision! With a title like "Body Mind Spirit", I wasn't expected to play something with such a creepy and distorted atmosphere, I liked the surprise. The music definitely helped with the atmosphere by sounding chaotic (ex: map08), but it also sometime sounded like a bunch of random notes, which was less interesting to listen to (ex: title music). The gameplay was really good with a bunch of well thought encounters like the blue/purple fight with arch-vile/pain elemental in map08 and the red key fight in map05.
If I could try to put a rating on each levels, I think it would look something like this: Map01 - Good introduction to the weird aesthetic and more focused toward simplistic design. I couldn't care less for the platforming challenge... 6/10 ; Map02 - Nice cramped fights with some sort of ammo starvation at the start (might be annoying for some, but that's up my alley). The WAD start to show its fangs and I like the MIDI 7/10 ; Map03 - short and sweet, nothing too special tho 5/10 ; Map04 - The yellow room is good with long distance threats, the orange room is so short it become kinda impactless and the red room is mostly just cleaning up imps. Doesn't feel as filler as the previous level tho 6/10 ; Map05 - lots of cool set-pieces and nice colors, but you accomplish stuffs without clear indication on if it did anything, making progression really confusing first time around 6/10 ; Map06 Short and sweet, but with good enough set-pieces to make it more impactful than map 3 6/10 ; Map07 - Really nice open-ended map with an interesting use of mancubies that I only figured out at the end 7/10 ; Map08 - a grand epic map with a bunch of creative and difficult fights to perfectly end the chapter 8/10. I don't know if it's an exaggeration or not, but I think the potential completed WAD could be a solid contestant for a Cacoward, or at less a shout-out in the Most Promising Newcomers. Good luck on the continuation of this cool project!
With all that said, here's a list of stuff that could be better:

 

General : When you crush arch-viles, you wake them up and make them attack the player in unfavourable situations. I don't know if that's intentional, but if you want to fix that, I recommend you to watch Decino's video on crushers and instakill the arch-viles (link). Also, I really like the inclusion of the SS soldiers and I don't mind the fact that they aesthetically clash with the other demons, but I still want to mention that you can easily find sprites on places like Realm667 to change the SS sprites if you want to make them blend in with demons.

Map03 : You can skip a fight and potentially get softlock by pressing the switch in the floor in the big yellow triangle arena
Map04 : The last fight in the yellow room can be trivialized by dropping in the water and take the lift farther away. Maybe you could, at less, make the water 5% damaging floor to give a lil bit of consequence and not make this strategy a "get out of jail free card". Also, in the red room, there's a high chance that an arch-vile will target you right before the bars open, making its attack near unavoidable.
map05 : I think this map could be turned into a key hunt instead of a button/teleporter hunt. When you find a random key, you are able to run around to find its door, while random switches doesn't give you any clue on what they do and could open a door you didn't know even existed. When you find a random locked key door, at less you know what you need to open it, while any switches could potentially open this door and, personally, unmarked doors/floor bars with nothing else special around them are hard to remember for later. I didn't even understood that to open the exit you needed to go through 3 colored teleporters. I was expecting to find keys or at less switches to open it. At the end, that's your decision to use keys or not, but Boom allow you to use 6 keys and "all 3/6 keys needed" doors, so why not use them? Also, the arch-vile at the beginning of the blue key fight pretty much have a free hit on you (at less I don't know how to avoid it without blocking its teleportation destination) and I was able to reach the blue/orange liquid zone without the rocket launcher and, when I realized my mistake, I was already pass a point of no return. It's easy to just circle strafe in the final fight of this zone, but I would still block it behind a key/switch accessible after getting the rocket launcher.
Map06 : I'm not sure how to avoid the arch-vile attacks in the rocket launcher room. I mostly rely on making them infight other monsters to distract them.
Map08 : I also tried to play this WAD on GZDoom to see if it worked well, and I discovered that the walls of pinkies weren't stuck on each others, allowing them to move freely toward me. I know you want this WAD to be played on DSDA, but if you want to fix this, you can try to make lines around them block monsters.

(sorry, but this comment got way too long, I'm only rereading it once. I hope my english is good enough...)

[ArchCynic]

16 hours ago, Timilyo80 said:

I can barely believe that this is a "debut mapset", this WAD is already really good and have such an interesting vision! With a title like "Body Mind Spirit", I wasn't expected to play something with such a creepy and distorted atmosphere, I liked the surprise. The music definitely helped with the atmosphere by sounding chaotic (ex: map08), but it also sometime sounded like a bunch of random notes, which was less interesting to listen to (ex: title music). The gameplay was really good with a bunch of well thought encounters like the blue/purple fight with arch-vile/pain elemental in map08 and the red key fight in map05.
If I could try to put a rating on each levels, I think it would look something like this: Map01 - Good introduction to the weird aesthetic and more focused toward simplistic design. I couldn't care less for the platforming challenge... 6/10 ; Map02 - Nice cramped fights with some sort of ammo starvation at the start (might be annoying for some, but that's up my alley). The WAD start to show its fangs and I like the MIDI 7/10 ; Map03 - short and sweet, nothing too special tho 5/10 ; Map04 - The yellow room is good with long distance threats, the orange room is so short it become kinda impactless and the red room is mostly just cleaning up imps. Doesn't feel as filler as the previous level tho 6/10 ; Map05 - lots of cool set-pieces and nice colors, but you accomplish stuffs without clear indication on if it did anything, making progression really confusing first time around 6/10 ; Map06 Short and sweet, but with good enough set-pieces to make it more impactful than map 3 6/10 ; Map07 - Really nice open-ended map with an interesting use of mancubies that I only figured out at the end 7/10 ; Map08 - a grand epic map with a bunch of creative and difficult fights to perfectly end the chapter 8/10. I don't know if it's an exaggeration or not, but I think the potential completed WAD could be a solid contestant for a Cacoward, or at less a shout-out in the Most Promising Newcomers. Good luck on the continuation of this cool project!
With all that said, here's a list of stuff that could be better:

 

General : When you crush arch-viles, you wake them up and make them attack the player in unfavourable situations. I don't know if that's intentional, but if you want to fix that, I recommend you to watch Decino's video on crushers and instakill the arch-viles (link). Also, I really like the inclusion of the SS soldiers and I don't mind the fact that they aesthetically clash with the other demons, but I still want to mention that you can easily find sprites on places like Realm667 to change the SS sprites if you want to make them blend in with demons.

Map03 : You can skip a fight and potentially get softlock by pressing the switch in the floor in the big yellow triangle arena
Map04 : The last fight in the yellow room can be trivialized by dropping in the water and take the lift farther away. Maybe you could, at less, make the water 5% damaging floor to give a lil bit of consequence and not make this strategy a "get out of jail free card". Also, in the red room, there's a high chance that an arch-vile will target you right before the bars open, making its attack near unavoidable.
map05 : I think this map could be turned into a key hunt instead of a button/teleporter hunt. When you find a random key, you are able to run around to find its door, while random switches doesn't give you any clue on what they do and could open a door you didn't know even existed. When you find a random locked key door, at less you know what you need to open it, while any switches could potentially open this door and, personally, unmarked doors/floor bars with nothing else special around them are hard to remember for later. I didn't even understood that to open the exit you needed to go through 3 colored teleporters. I was expecting to find keys or at less switches to open it. At the end, that's your decision to use keys or not, but Boom allow you to use 6 keys and "all 3/6 keys needed" doors, so why not use them? Also, the arch-vile at the beginning of the blue key fight pretty much have a free hit on you (at less I don't know how to avoid it without blocking its teleportation destination) and I was able to reach the blue/orange liquid zone without the rocket launcher and, when I realized my mistake, I was already pass a point of no return. It's easy to just circle strafe in the final fight of this zone, but I would still block it behind a key/switch accessible after getting the rocket launcher.
Map06 : I'm not sure how to avoid the arch-vile attacks in the rocket launcher room. I mostly rely on making them infight other monsters to distract them.
Map08 : I also tried to play this WAD on GZDoom to see if it worked well, and I discovered that the walls of pinkies weren't stuck on each others, allowing them to move freely toward me. I know you want this WAD to be played on DSDA, but if you want to fix this, you can try to make lines around them block monsters.

(sorry, but this comment got way too long, I'm only rereading it once. I hope my english is good enough...)

Damn. I appreciate you immensely for your feedback. A response of this size shows that you resonated with my vision on some level through all the flaws of any fledging, and it helps me a ton to hear from others in what ways I can improve or what stood out in your mind during your experience with my maps. I think on some level it is inescapable for any one person to foresee how others will tackle their creations, but I thoroughly appreciate pointing out softlocks or ways in which you think encounters can be improved. It sounds like overall you felt the experience got better with each level which is good news to me since I made each level sequentially (MAP01 being literally the first level I made, and 08 being the most recent), so the grades gradually going up definitely puts a smile on my face.

 

I hope you will trust me when I say the intro sequence is more than random notes...well, they are, but they are also emblematic of the third episode. That's why the intro is broken into three sections(spirit first, mind second, and body last), but it does sound off for sure :)

 

Your insight into each level means a lot to me. I want each level I create to feel like a new place for people to explore while using familiar textures. I'm glad you like the inclusion of the SS soldiers; I tend to view them as a great liaison between zombiemen and chaingunners, but I probably won't change their sprites much more than I already have. Many of the crusher sequences with arch-viles were intended to not be insta-kill, such as in MAP04, 06, and 08. Perhaps it adds a bit too much difficulty? I tried to ensure there are ways to avoid their ire, albeit limited on the later encounters. Map 05's aimlessless was always intentional from the beginning. I did not want to create an easily solved map. It's one of those maps you are supposed to "follow your heart" (if you get the reference, you know what I mean), but I do agree that gatekeeping the blue key fight could be done better.

 

And that platforming in level 01 should not be cared for by anyone. It's all part of my diabolical plan to eradicate platforming from doom through trauma (I literally made it out of spite from other jump puzzles I got sick of failing).

 

I'm glad you felt the episode ended on a good note, I worked the most on the last level :)

 

Seriously, thanks!

[Pure Hellspawn]

Really high quality maps. Would love to see the last two episodes finished.

[Arwel]

Nice unique look & feel here! Enjoyed it a lot!

Very special mapset. Looking forward for more episodes.

[ArchCynic]

On 4/17/2024 at 4:16 PM, Arwel said:

Nice unique look & feel here! Enjoyed it a lot!

Very special mapset. Looking forward for more episodes.

It means a lot to hear from others in the community enjoy my first jab at mapping. I was planning on working on Episode 2 only if this post got more than 1k views, and it looks like that just might happen. bms_RC2 will include updated Body levels and the brand new Mind episode (and maybe even the secret levels), so it'll be a big update for sure that will look to grossly improve the quality of the maps now that I've gotten more familiar with the craft. I only hope you'll stick around for the journey.

 

On 4/10/2024 at 8:03 PM, Pure Hellspawn said:

Really high quality maps. Would love to see the last two episodes finished.

I'm grateful to hear you enjoyed the first episode enough to desire the completed mapset. Mind and Spirit will have their own distinct atmosphere, music, and challenges that I can't wait for everyone else to sink their teeth into. The biggest hurdle I see now is learning how to tweak enemies and repurpose them for my own designs (The Mastermind and Keen are absent from Body intentionally). Need to find a good resource to teach me how to dehack enemies beyond simply replacing one enemy's features for another's.

 

I'll continue updating RC1 for a few more weeks before I kick myself into gear on the next episode. Be sure to check the updates for any cool new additions until bms_RC2 drops in the future!

[Pure Hellspawn]

17 minutes ago, ArchCynic said:

It means a lot to hear from others in the community enjoy my first jab at mapping. I was planning on working on Episode 2 only if this post got more than 1k views, and it looks like that just might happen. bms_RC2 will include updated Body levels and the brand new Mind episode (and maybe even the secret levels), so it'll be a big update for sure that will look to grossly improve the quality of the maps now that I've gotten more familiar with the craft. I only hope you'll stick around for the journey.

 

I'm grateful to hear you enjoyed the first episode enough to desire the completed mapset. Mind and Spirit will have their own distinct atmosphere, music, and challenges that I can't wait for everyone else to sink their teeth into. The biggest hurdle I see now is learning how to tweak enemies and repurpose them for my own designs (The Mastermind and Keen are absent from Body intentionally). Need to find a good resource to teach me how to dehack enemies beyond simply replacing one enemy's features for another's.

 

I'll continue updating RC1 for a few more weeks before I kick myself into gear on the next episode. Be sure to check the updates for any cool new additions until bms_RC2 drops in the future!

 

You may want to look @ DECOHack. I don't know if it pertains to Boom but I've worked with DECORATE long ago and it's a lot easier than DEHACKED. DECORATE and ZScript are ZDoom based only however.

[Human Being]

Bro, I had no idea you were mapping. Can't wait to play this. Looks amazing though straight away!