[Release 1.3] Unloved (GZdoom mapset)

[BlueEagle]

Unloved mapset for GZdoom

Release 1.3 (FINAL)

This is my first major project for GZdoom. It's a non-linear mapset with 5 quite large maps. The difficulty is quite high, so watch your health&ammo carefully! This set is a bit different from most Doom maps, because I've tried to capture a somehow Silent-Hill kinda type of atmosphere with the gameplay of Doom and I hope you enjoy it :)

download from idgames archives (~40mb)
http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/?id=16060

Please give crits&comments as much as you like! I will upload to idgames as soon as there are no changes required anymore.

Have fun :)

Here are some screenshots:

[Snarboo]

I like what I see so far, especially the textures and texture work. The last shot is probably my favorite because I love effective mood lighting. Not sure what else to say, but I look forward to seeing more. :)

[Patrick]

Looks creepy. You should use ambient music for this, that would really set the mood.

[Abyssalstudios1]

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/7959/1695j.jpg

Looks very nice. Is all going to be underground? If done properly, that would be amazing.

[Chrispaks]

Looks like you know what you're doing!

[Mr. Freeze]

Holy crap that look cool. Can't wait to see some more screens.

[Walter confetti]

oh well, nice stuff!

[aaglo]

Those look cool - I like that light/shadow-play.

[BlueEagle]

Thanks a lot for your nice comments so far! :)

@Patrick: Yeah, so far I've chosen music tracks that combine ambience with intense dark moody melodies. I think the quake style ambience would make this map set too dark and depressive.

@Abyssalstudios1: In fact some maps are going down and down and even more down. I want the player to really feel lost underground. There are houses underground, graveyards and other disturbing images...

Here some more screens:

http://www.gungirl2.com/stuff/unloved_dev07.JPG
A nice item right outside the window in the back yard.

http://www.gungirl2.com/stuff/unloved_dev08.JPG
The only bright map in the set.

http://www.gungirl2.com/stuff/unloved_dev09.JPG
The most disturbing map (so far) is called "mother". She has locked herself up in her room...

http://www.gungirl2.com/stuff/unloved_dev10.JPG
On this map, there is only one way: down.

[punnyone]

wow! This project looks amazing!

Just the ambiance alone in the shots is enough to make me want to play it.

[BlueEagle]

Thanks man :)

Just to give you a little detail of the "story" and the other elements in the mapset. This is still Doom in the original way. I don't try to make the experience anything other. There are no cutscenes, no dialogue or other long messages to read. The only storyline will be built (or not built) in your own imagination, which I'm trying to build with subliminal elements and scenery throughout the mapset.

Just like in Silent Hill games, where you can just run around and try to find the exit, or, you can stop for a moment, look around and think about what might be happening in the protagonists mind right now and what has caused this horror of imagination.

In short: still Doom gameplay, but with a twist ;)

[Kyka]

I gotta agree. This project looks really atmospheric and spooky. I like the look of it. :)

[PRIMEVAL]

That looks really good!

If you need anymore Quake styled music, I came out with a "Halloween" EP of sorts: http://rapidshare.com/files/144808596/VP-Halloween.zip
Made it a couple years ago, 4 of 6 songs are Quake styled/influenced.


Really looking forward to this, I love dark games. =}

[BlueEagle]

Cool thing, gonna listen to it tomorrow :)

I think I'm getting rid of the bright map in the set, it really sticks out and I think it's not really fitting the rest of the style. Gonna make it a secret level or release it as a seperate map some time, because it's very open and quite fun ;)

[Solarn]

That bright map reminds me of Oneiros in Clive Barker's Undying. Hell, the entire concept reminds me of Undying. Which is good, because that's one of the best games ever.

[BlueEagle]

Hi fellas!

I've found some really creepy atmospheric ambience sound, which I'm using in the newest map in the set (which is SHOCKINGLY another creepy basement). But I'm trying to give every location a unique feeling.

Some new pics!

http://www.gungirl2.com/stuff/unloved_dev12.JPG
A hidden place in your bedroom. Where does it lead?

http://www.gungirl2.com/stuff/unloved_dev13.JPG
Your back yard.

http://www.gungirl2.com/stuff/unloved_dev14.JPG
A creepy basement.

As you can see on the last picture, I'm remaking most of the lighting right now by adding dynamic light objects to the maps.

[Super Mighty G]

These are in game? Because why, oh why, IS THE SPRITE CLIPPING NEVER ADJUSTED?

[Patrick]

Cool shots man, what are you planning on doing with this? Can we expect a release date?

[Terminus]

I'm loving the screenshots and the creepy feeling this wad has. Last screenshot on first post is a winner. Looking forward for this!

[BlueEagle]

Thanks guys :)

The sprite clipping is set to smart. I like it this way :/

Yeah, the release isn't too far away. Can't say when it's finished, because the map hub is expanding in all directions. I'm trying to accomplish some kind of non-linearity, without the "where-the-f*ck-do-I-have-to-go-now" feeling. The maps will not be top-notch-detailed, but I still try to keep it pleasing for the eye.

A public beta in the near future should be possible, but I don't know when exactly. The resource files are kinda big and I don't want you downloading 30mb for only 10 minutes of fun.

[Patrick]

30 MB for 10 minutes is perfectly acceptable to me :D It's better than 30 MB for 10 minutes of boredom.

[BlueEagle]

Alright, just completed another path of the mapset. 2/7 of the mapset is now complete.
Three new shots!

http://www.gungirl2.com/stuff/unloved_dev15.JPG
Aligning those bricks was really a pain! And they are not even perfect :(

http://www.gungirl2.com/stuff/unloved_dev16.JPG
Giev teh itme!

http://www.gungirl2.com/stuff/unloved_dev17.JPG
Some underground tree in your basement (what else).

[Sporku]

I am thoroughly impressed by what you are doing with this project. It just oozes atmosphere. It's pretty rare that I see colored lighting used effectively (ie. without everything looking like a tuttifruity brightly colored mess). Now you just need some nice atmospheric music and you're all set.

[Clusterone]

I'm excited to play this man :) it looks amazing :) So if you need a beta tester message me :)

[BlueEagle]

First post updated!

Known bugs:
- No new title pic yet (lol I forgot to remove the one from Blood texture pack.. oh well)
- When playing with Beautiful Doom 5.0, don't load monsters.wad! Some scripts get messed up by that.
- The secret for the Soul Sphere isn't complete yet

Download link is in the first post.
have fun^^

PS: These are my first levels for doom since 1995 or so. I'm open to any kind of advice you can offer :)

[darkreaver]

Looks super cool!

[punnyone]

You weren't kidding when you said each level is unique and stands out, this is great so far!

[Patrick]

hoo boy, you just had to release this when I was at work. I shall download this when I get home!

[pavera]

I just had a looksee at the beta, and what I've played of it so far is one of the most uniquely stylized Doom experiences I've ever played. And the levels are pretty tough, like you said. The atmosphere is really great, with some neat little touches here and there (like the Revenant cry in the basement when there was nobody there).

One thing, though, is that I'm finding some of the areas to be a little too dark. In the first (real) level's starting cell, I had a hard time figuring out how to get out of there because I couldn't see the indented section of that wall. That's really just a minor thing, because otherwise the darkness and inability to see things has actually added something to the atmosphere in this wad (where darkness in other games has just obscured my vision and annoyed me). There are instances where I'll get close to a wall and just barely be able to see the skull staring straight back at me. Creepy!

Gameplay wise, most of the fights seem to be "monsters jump out of walls, back up and pick them off" types. Not necessarily a bad thing, but I got kinda tired of fighting off imps and demons the same way throughout the first level. The chainsaw zombies were a nice touch though.

Anyways, I haven't finished playing the entire beta yet, so I'll have more feedback when I do. This might shape up to be one of the best releases of the year.

[ArmouredBlood]

Played to the yellow key, then got cornered on a cross and surrounded, and died with only a few revs and stuff left. Was an awesome experience so far, and since you said there're going to be six keys and the first one took maybe half an hour or so? Tons of gameplay ahead. Like krispavera said the trappy nature got a bit annoying sometimes, but there were plenty of cool traps that offset some of them being used a time or two too many.

I'd also like to say, great choice of music for the living room. Too bad I'm sure blizzard copyrighted it ... your use of the stuff making this a 30+mb wad are well worth downloading ;) too bad zipping takes off maybe 1-3 megs.

I'll try to get a demo up to where I died, then keep going until I die again, although I really should be doing some other stuff ...