DARK MATTER V2: An atmospheric, cosmic horror experience (UPDATED 24/04/2024 - NOW WITH 2ND MAP)

[CravenCoyote]

D A R K    M A T T E R

 

UPDATE 24/05/2024

DARK MATTER (V2) is now released. This version includes a SECOND MAP (Dark Envy) as well as some very minor modifications to the first map.

DarkMatter2.zip

- - - - - - - - - - -

 

 

A tense, atmospheric and (potentially?) challenging experience for Doom 2 that can be finished in under 10 minutes.

Some of you might have seen some of the very few screenshots I shared in another thread. I went for a cosmic horror, yet still shooty, design.

 

Must be run in GZDoom (maybe LZDoom would work as well?).

I've been learning about DECORATE, slopes, lighting, fog, scripting etc.

 

Find your way through this dark, claustrophobic, abandoned space station. You're equipped well enough for fighting, but be careful because ammo and health are limited. Not all monsters must be killed if you'd rather not engage them, but there are enough supplies to kill all of them with a little care if you so desire. Some weapons require reloading to add to the heat of the battle.

 

Contains additional monsters, sounds, music, textures, weapons etc. Due to this, probably wont run with other mods, but HUD mods might be OK.

 

I hope you enjoy, and I would absolutely love to know what you think.

As always, videos, feedback and bug reports are highly appreciated. They help me to continue to learn and develop.

 

Iwad: Doom 2

Sourceport: GZDoom (maybe LZDoom?)

Jumping: No

Crouching: No

Mouselook: If desired

Secrets: No secrets here, no wall humping necessary!

Difficulties: Not implemented

 

Readme.txt

 

===========================================================================

Limit Removing engine : GZDoom

Primary purpose : Single Play

===========================================================================

Title : Dark Matter

Filename : Dark Matter.wad

Release date : 03/05/2024

Author : CravenCoyote

Email Address :

Misc. Author Info : Nothing notable, I'm pretty open if you have questions.

Description : A short cosmic horror experience that can be finished in under 10 minutes. Feel free to use this as a base to expand on if you like the theme and want to add more maps etc.

===========================================================================

* What is included *

New levels : 1

Sounds : Yes

Music : Yes

Graphics : Yes

Dehacked/BEX Patch : DECORATE

Demos : No

Other : mapinfo

Other files required : No

 

* Play Information *

Game : DOOM2

Map # : Map01

Single Player : Designed for

Cooperative 2-4 Player : No

Deathmatch 2-4 Player : No

Other game styles : No

Difficulty Settings : No

 

* Construction *

Base : New from scratch

Build Time : About 2 months on and off

Editor(s) used : Ultimate Doom Builder / Slade

Known Bugs : None known

May Not Run With : Anything other than GZDoom

Tested With : GZDoom

 

* Copyright / Permissions *

Authors may use the contents of this file as a base for modification or reuse.

Permissions have been obtained from original authors for any of their resources modified or included in this file.

You may distribute this file in any format.

If you use this map set as a base, please do credit me. I won't come after you if you don't, but share the love, yeah?

 

* Credits *

Various resources acquired from Realm 667.

DECORATE scripts edited myself.

 

Screenshots

(Spoiler tags so those that enjoy exploring the unknown don't get a sneak peek)

 

 

 



 



 



 



 


 

 

 

Updated 9th May 2024:

Fixed some missing textures

Buffed Jackal health a tiny bit 

Buffed Machine Gun damage a tiny bit

Added 4 shotgun rounds

Added 1 bullet clip

Replaced 'Imp' idle sound

 

Download:

DarkMatter2.zip

Edited May 24 by CravenCoyote

[oneselfSelf]

That was genuinely awesome to play through, nice work!

[ipaqmaster]

Great map. I don't think I've heard that song since Invasion UAC which was the late 2000s

[Zesiir]

Man, that was cool. Atmospheric and frightening. Good use of GZDoom format to add details to the map.

 

The first "hound" made me jump. I would love to see more maps like these, you've got talent for immersive settings.

 

Unfortunately I found a few minor issues;

 

Spoiler

 

Missing ceiling texture. Also, the Medikit is a bit difficult to reach. Might want to move it forward a bit.

 

 

Spelling error. Probably supposed to say 'This door doesn't work."

 

 

 

[NaliSeed]

Wow, those non-existing screenshots look great. 

[CravenCoyote]

4 hours ago, oneselfSelf said:

That was genuinely awesome to play through, nice work!

Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it!

 

2 hours ago, ipaqmaster said:

Great map. I don't think I've heard that song since Invasion UAC which was the late 2000s

Thanks! I thought it was fitting, although I'm toying with the idea of maybe changing it to something a tad more ominous.

 

1 hour ago, Zesiir said:

Man, that was cool. Atmospheric and frightening. Good use of GZDoom format to add details to the map.

 

The first "hound" made me jump. I would love to see more maps like these, you've got talent for immersive settings.

 

Unfortunately I found a few minor issues;

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Missing ceiling texture. Also, the Medikit is a bit difficult to reach. Might want to move it forward a bit.

 

 

Spelling error. Probably supposed to say 'This door doesn't work."

 

 

 

Thanks for this feedback! It's really appreciated. I get a bit jumpy with games and I can't tell you how many times I managed to spook myself while testing. Looks like Slade decided to remove that texture and I didn't notice. And good spot on the typo. I'll get these fixed as soon as I've finished work!

 

20 minutes ago, NaliSeed said:

Wow, those non-existing screenshots look great. 

Wanted people to not know what to expect when going in, so I've now added to original post in spoiler tags for those that would rather see beforehand.

Edited May 2 by CravenCoyote

[MisterLivers]

Looks great! ill try it on UV!

[MisterLivers]

I Played this on UV, and I absolutely love this WAD! the atmosphere, the doom 64 / PS1 sound effects, the darkness with the red, orange and blue lights, this was a fun WAD! good job!

[MisterLivers]

I also love the horror feel, doom and horror go together and this is a great example!

[CravenCoyote]

The bugs/issues that @Zesiir found have now been fixed (as well as another texture that was being naughty). Original post has been updated with the new version.

 

3 hours ago, MisterLivers said:

I Played this on UV, and I absolutely love this WAD! the atmosphere, the doom 64 / PS1 sound effects, the darkness with the red, orange and blue lights, this was a fun WAD! good job!

Thank you, I'm pleased you had fun playing!

[LadyMistDragon]

Cool little map! It's not long but does what it sets out to do

 

 

 

 

Edited May 3 by LadyMistDragon

[MBison]

Fun map. Would love to see more like this. Short and sweet.

[CravenCoyote]

On 5/3/2024 at 7:59 AM, LadyMistDragon said:

Cool little map! It's not long but does what it sets out to do

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for your video as always! Was a lot of fun for me to watch you play through. Based on your video, I've actually slightly reduced the HP of winged baron at the end to make it a little less of a bullet sponge.

 

On 5/3/2024 at 10:14 AM, MBison said:

Fun map. Would love to see more like this. Short and sweet.

Thanks for taking the time to reply with your feedback. Glad you found it fun!

[Delisk]

 

 

[CravenCoyote]

On 5/5/2024 at 3:51 AM, Delisk said:

 

 

Thanks for your video! I was surprised to see you walked right by the Shotgun and Chainsaw, but it's cool that you finished the map without them. I found it interesting to watch and see how you handled things

[Astar]

Oh boy, what a map!

 

Completed it on 100% and looked at literally every little detail.

I’m literally now in search of something atmospheric, since I also want to focus on the horror component in my future wads.

 

There's something special about your wad. It's a dense, very eerie atmosphere, darkness and enemy sprites.

 

And, my god, THESE DOGS... I shit my pants every time they show up!

 

Great job, a big seal of approval from a horror fan.

I look forward to your future projects!

[CravenCoyote]

33 minutes ago, Astar said:

Oh boy, what a map!

 

Completed it on 100% and looked at literally every little detail.

I’m literally now in search of something atmospheric, since I also want to focus on the horror component in my future wads.

 

There's something special about your wad. It's a dense, very eerie atmosphere, darkness and enemy sprites.

 

And, my god, THESE DOGS... I shit my pants every time they show up!

 

Great job, a big seal of approval from a horror fan.

I look forward to your future projects!

 

Thank you so much for your feedback! I had such a fun time creating this one that..

 

Spoiler

perhaps it doesn't have to end at just one map... 😉

 

 

[Astar]

7 minutes ago, CravenCoyote said:

perhaps it doesn't have to end at just one map...

I'm so on it!

[Wo0p]

This was wonderful ^_^ just played through it on HMP (Because filthy casual that I am) in GZDoom. I found this oopsie but otherwise no problems running through it:

 

Spoiler

 

Atmosphere is spot on but I still think the heavy fog should have been switched for some more darkness instead but hey, it's an artistic choice. And that's what you chose so who am I to say you should do something else?

 

The highlight location was the red key room. It had its own red theme and strobing guiding lights. It was right proper tense entering that room! You know how there's always a tinge of apprehension when picking up a key item in almost every WAD in existence since that usually means combat is about to start and you're not quite sure where it's going to come from. Well your red key room really intensified all that usual apprehension to new heights. Great work :)

 

The new monsters and arsenal all felt properly implemented and not just as graphical replacements, which was nice to experience. I especially liked the machinegun. It felt proper meaty to handle! (Giggity giggity)

 

As others have mentioned, I would love to see more maps of this style from you ^_^ again, great work!

 

EDIT

Accidentally posted this in "The Craven" thread by you lmao. So here it is instead in its proper place! Sorry for the confusing reply.

Edited May 8 by Wo0p

[CravenCoyote]

I always love reading what you have to say, @Wo0p, and I actually did a little experimenting with your suggestion. In the area after the bridge where you collect the blue key card, I made the area darker and reduced the fog. It might look a bit subtle, but now I've mentioned it you might find it easier to notice 😉

 

Thanks for pointing out the missing texture, somehow I haven't noticed that. I'll have to check the map again tomorrow. I swear I'm going to punch Slade in the face because the maintenance options seem insistent on removing textures that have been used. 

 

I wasn't initially planning on it, but I've started work on Map02. This wad has really helped me to learn a lot, so adding to it and refining my skills with it has been very enjoyable 

[Korsuv]

Good map. You put few monsters, but enough to install a stressing atmosphere; I like the way you can hear them all around, without seeing them. You feel like on an alien base. I liked some details, like the phone you can trigger and hear that... you are alone.

[Wo0p]

3 hours ago, CravenCoyote said:

I always love reading what you have to say, @Wo0p, and I actually did a little experimenting with your suggestion. In the area after the bridge where you collect the blue key card, I made the area darker and reduced the fog. It might look a bit subtle, but now I've mentioned it you might find it easier to notice 😉

 

Thanks for pointing out the missing texture, somehow I haven't noticed that. I'll have to check the map again tomorrow. I swear I'm going to punch Slade in the face because the maintenance options seem insistent on removing textures that have been used. 

 

I wasn't initially planning on it, but I've started work on Map02. This wad has really helped me to learn a lot, so adding to it and refining my skills with it has been very enjoyable 

 

You're kind for saying :)

 

No problem, at first I thought the light was just very bright but then I noticed the tell-tale sign of checker-marked texture! And that's when I got confirmation hehe.

 

Heck yeah, onwards to map 2! 

[DJVCardMaster]

Are you sure this is not an ad stunt to promote Pearl Jam's new album, right?

[Lila Feuer]

This looks like it was made for people like me, so yes, I think I will be playing this one down the line!

[Smolspidey]

This is one of my favorite maps that I have played so far!

[Yousuf Anik]

Very beautiful atmosphere. It will be a great inspiration for me.

[Aeddes666]

Good map. Spooky.
Waiting for the sequence.

 

 

[CravenCoyote]

On 5/10/2024 at 3:30 AM, Aeddes666 said:

Good map. Spooky.
Waiting for the sequence.

 

Thanks for your video, glad you liked it! Map02 in the works and I'm working on that as and when I get time 😁

[fell-z]

Nice map.

The first doggo has jumpscared me a little.

[CravenCoyote]

WAD now updated with a second map, Dark Envy.

As always, my maps are generally pretty short. I hope you enjoy the second map as much as the first - perhaps more.

 

OP updated with the new file.

There are some extremely minor modifications that have been made to the first map as well. Nothing that warrants a re-play unless you want to!