Self Review Yourself

[Johnatone]

I don't know if this is the right forum for this, and I don't know if I should even do this in the first place; you might think it's stupid. Nonetheless, here we go...

how many of you remember your very first map? did it suck? did it rule? the point of this thread is to self review your map and link it so others can download it and tell you 'wow, you used to suck this much?' (or vice versa). So I begin.

First Spawn

It took me a while to complete, but I was learning as I went. Of course, I had mapped out some things but other than that, I had no idea of what I was doing. It was originally planned to be a military base merged with ancient ruins, but it ended up being an almost complete base with no purpose (if they designed bases like this in reality, they'd be fucked).

The texturing is boring, to say the least. At the time I didn't know how to preview textures in DOOMCad, so the Startan3 is the primary texture througout the entire map. Then again, my alias is monochrome. The layout of the map is pretty straightforeward and although it's not completely square rooms, it's still pretty ugly. Use of triggers and transparant sidedefs make the secrets not impossible to find, but they're pretty pointlessly placed.

Gameplay sucks. I always play DOOM on ultra violence, so I tried to balance the gameplay for that skill, meaning anyone who plays on the easier levels will find the level unchallenging. I put the cyberdemon and spider mastermind in there, but if you don't find one of the secrets then you're pretty much fucked on ultra violent mode without cheating (you run out of ammo).

I made the title pic which impressed my friends but probably won't impress you. It inspired the shitty story I wrote for the level and included in the TXT file. The intro pic is just me smoking, which is the stupidest picture to use for a DOOM level because it holds no relevance and makes me look stupid (well, more so than the level does), but it ties in with the title pic and the story. The level title, 'Millibeast,' was inspired by Ichor; I actually dedicated one of the secrets to him because I enjoyed his sig so much. You have to use the map cheat to see it though.

The title music is my own, a piano song i wrote based on 'Into Sandy's City' and Marilyn Manson's cover of "Sweet Dreams." The intermission song is from Rise of the Triad. And the level song is a techno song that really doesn't fit that I found randomly on the internet.

If you play this level, you will hate it. If you like it, you either don't have a good knowledge of maps, or have some reason for liking it that even i couldn't begin to imagine. Hopefully the next map(s) i release won't suck.

YOUR TURN! :)

[deathbringer]

Its long since deleted, but my first map as as bad as you expect, it had a room with a BFG on a pedestal, a 'hole in the wall' which was textured over so you couldnt see it (i couldnt do doors then, even though i was using wadauthor which make doors pretty much automatically), this led to some stairs up to a coridoor with rock on the floor, flesh on the ceiling and red marble walls with 3 demons, as well as sporadially placed health potions, clips and shotgun shells, along with about 15 medikits against the back wall incase the player was injured in his battle against 3 demons with a BFG XD. Then you went through another gap in the wall to a long room with a few shotgunners, water on the floor, green marble on the walls and gravel on the ceiling, and at the end there was a baron in a 'cage', with a bunch of soulsphers just incase he porved too much to beat XD

[Epyo]

http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?id=11601

Here, Crackers and Tea. Take it, I don't want it!

[Ichor]

Hepta.wad, a small deathmatch map. Not bad for my first attempt, but hideous compared to some of my more recent maps.

[The Ultimate DooMer]

Operation: Lightning - map 07 (originally a DooM 1 map, as were most of the others) was the first real map I ever did. Took 3 weeks to do, as I only knew the basics then. It's a cool idea, nicely done with all the switches etc. but too hard for most and some areas are quite bare.

(the first 3 maps I did were one or two rooms of mine with some rooms from other maps I threw together as boss maps for some of my compilation episodes, so they don't count).

[Kid Airbag]

"The Baron's Domain"

This was my first-ever attempt at level editing, and it looks a mess but has some innovative little places.

[ReX]

Quo Vadis text file
Quo Vadis zip file

My first attempt at DooM editing was an ambitious effort. I planned a 3-level wad, where the only weapon the player had (besides the pistol) was the beserk pack. Because of the level of detail it required a source port to avoid VPO errors. The level set had quite a few puzzles, and progressively meaner monsters. The trick was to use enemy in-fighting, telefragging, crushing ceilings, and exploding barrels to dispose of the larger enemies.

Originally, I was very pleased with my release. However, as I gained some experience I realized I had made many errors common to a beginner -- misaligned textures, inconsistent themes within a level, mostly 90 degree walls, obscure puzzles. Still, for a first effort, I am quite satisfied with the way it turned out.