Doom and school

[Crendowing]

Ummmmm, I don't know how many of you have ever played the map for Doom 2 called DOOM PA High. It's a map that some guy made that's modeled after the high school he went to. The music on it is a MIDI of Manson's version of Sweet Dreams.

Anyway, onto the point of this poll. I had this idea of making a map that was modeled after MY school. Any U.S. DW members ever heard of Alamo Heights High School in Texas? Well, I was wanting some suggestions before I started work on it. What do you think of the idea of making a map modeled after a school?

[EllipsusD]

As with most real-life location wads, making a map of your school would just seem... boring. (I have seen some maps using that subject that were moderately done, but they departed from the actuallity of the setting to add puzzles) I say that it would be boring because you are one of the few people who feel some connection to the place you are trying to portray.

I could be wrong. I just think that the "find key, open door" type of puzzles that doom utilizes would not fare very well in a realistic setting.

[gameboynin]

come on realistoc stting boring?the doom2 city stages were semi realistic..what would you need the key for anyway the cafetria.

[Crendowing]

Hmmmmmm, I guess my assumption was right. Almost none of you have ever played the DOOM PA High map. Believe me...ALL 3 KEYS ARE INVOLVED! And there's no special function for them either. You just need to find them to progress (many doors are locked).

I think I see what EllipsusD means now.

[danarchist]

I may have played it...I played two high school wads.

One had a stadium and involved a viking or somehting, I didn't really like it. I think it had multiple levels.

The other one rocked...it had locker textures, a Spider Mastermind in the gym, and a big courtyard in the middle. I used to play this one all the time with D!s random item generator feature. It was hella fun because of the level's non-lineral setup.

I also played a level based on some college in England...it had a bunch of custom textures, and was fairly decent. But it wasn't a high school. Anyways, levels based in high schools rock...I've always wanted to make onw based on my high school...its hella big and twisty...it would make a better level for half-life or something because it has something like 4 stories.

[Naked Snake]

I dont like HS levels. I had a friend that died in a school shooting.

[Submerge]

I also played a level based on some college in England...it had a bunch of custom textures, and was fairly decent. But it wasn't a high school. Anyways, levels based in high schools rock...I've always wanted to make onw based on my high school...its hella big and twisty...it would make a better level for half-life or something because it has something like 4 stories.

Was it the Unholy Trinity? That map is great.

[Crendowing]

Dan, did the one with locker textures also have tile textures for the shower/pool room and the red brick texture for the hallways? 'Cuz if it did, then that's DOOM PA High.

[EllipsusD]

So much talk about this level... do you have a link I could download it from? I would like to try it out.

[Crendowing]

I have temporarily put it on here.

Before you play it, you must know that the lowest 2 difficulties are "walkthrough" portions. I'd also suggest that you wait until you have plenty of time to play, 'cuz it's HUGE!

[danarchist]

Dan, did the one with locker textures also have tile textures for the shower/pool room and the red brick texture for the hallways? 'Cuz if it did, then that's DOOM PA High.

No, I don't think so, but it did have a lion mascot texture for the main entrance.

[danarchist]

I have temporarily put it on here.

Um, I got this:
Description: pafinal.wad: No such file or directory

[Crendowing]

Hey Dan, try it now. AOL is case sensitive, and I remembered it was "Pafinal.wad", not "pafinal.wad".

[EllipsusD]

Thanks for putting it up. I really appreciate it.

[Crendowing]

Were you able to get it EllipsusD?

[danarchist]

I found that one school wad I was talking about...its called eaket.wad, but I don't know where you can find it online.

[Lüt]

I started a map of my highschool, which I think was turning out quite well, but I never finished it. When I get done with Millennium and experiment with EDGE 3D floors, I think that's the map I'll use to experiment with. Most real-life-to-Doom maps suck because the author doesn't know what they're doing. I think I could do a rockin' school map, but then again I haven't exactly tried, so if it started to suck I'd scrap it.

[EllipsusD]

Were you able to get it EllipsusD?

Yeah. I played it yesterday. Foolishly I started out on Ultra Violence. It doesn't really give you much time to get oriented... cripes, a Spider Mastermind, and Archvile, and a Baron surrounded by god knows how many lesser evils and all I had was a shotgun. Yipes.

I agree that this map was well done but I would say that it still falls victim to the problem that plagues most real-location-to-wad wads. The map is very large and in that it becomes very maze-like. Though certain key-to-door areas are present, they seem almost randomly placed, though the arrangement most likely translates to the set up of the actual school. Though you have a lot of freedom in the level, the direct problem with this is that once you figure out the three key location all you have to do is enter those rooms, leaving the rest unvisited. The main point here is that the people who enjoy this map the most will be the ones who have actually been to the school and understand how well the translation was made.

I admit that this map is better than most others that take from similar locations. The architecture is well done, and it cleverly incorporates the feel of there being something beyond the walls of the school. But I hope you can understand what I mean when I say that translating a real location to a wad is not the best idea.

[Crendowing]

Yes, I understand fully.