Doomworld "Secret Santa" Project - SECOND MAP POSTED

[Snakes]

Hello, everybody. For those of you haven't been following this thread over the last few days, I'd like to welcome you to the official Mapper's Secret Santa Game thread! A lot of you are probably wondering "Dhat the hell this all about?" or maybe even "Secret Santa? You guys have really lost all inspiration, haven't you?" But wait!!!!! Allow me to explain this concept in full form:

What is this project (or even Secret Santa)?
The basic idea behind this project is this: you sign up to make a map, and will be PM'd the username of another project participant. At that point, your task will be to make a map in the style of your assigned username.

Let's just say, as an example, I signed up for the project. The name that the project leader PM's me is Khorus. It would be up to me to make a map that imitates Khorus' mapping style as best I can.

After you finish your map, it will be posted in the thread, at which point everybody (save the project leader, of course) will have to find out which mapper you are imitating. It's as simple as that.

"Sounds lame. What does this sort of thing accomplish?"
Glad you asked!

While on-paper, this concept might come off as a bit silly, there is a lot of potential to be found from a mapper's and player's perspective. My post here fleshes out some potential benefits from this project. Basically it boils down to this:

• Potential for growth as a mapper - Mapping outside of your style may inspire you to approach the creation of a wad from a different perspective. The benefit of this is that it could inspire to enhance your architectural and gameplay perspective in unexpected ways. Perhaps you'll expand your ability to add small-scale details, or maybe you'll finally get a handle on how to build outdoor/indoor areas. That sort of thing can go miles in making a person a stronger mapper, and in the process, you'll get to pick up tips and ideas from the rest of the community in an open format... Like a normal thread, but with new maps and way more fun!!!!
  
• Learning new formats - Obviously, some have no interest in this. I have to imagine, though, that are many who have thought about mapping for a different port than their norm or attempting to appeal to a different kind of gameplay (e.g. survival-mapper has to make a slaughtermap, etc.). What better opportunity to have a stab at it than this?
  
• New ideas - Let's face it, no one can produce a perfect imitation. Some of the author's signature will be left in the imitation no matter what. However, for both the imatator and imitatee (words?), this is a great chance that seeing how your own ideas mesh with those of others.
  
• Notoriety - Hey, if your putting your name out there, more people are going to see what you're all about. No harm in that, right?
  

Who can participate in this project?
Anyone! The more participants, the more interesting this project becomes. The only requirement that should be in place is that you have some prior complete wads to share. That way someone trying to imitate your style won't be taking a shot in the dark.

Resources? Source port?
Here's the real tricky part: you'll have to adapt to the mapper's preference. Obviously, there are mappers who use all kinds of resources and map for different ports. Almost all of them, though, are best-known for their work on particular project. Base your map off of that should that be the case. The most difficult part will be to draw influence from a ZDoom mapper if your used to mapping in Boom format or something of that matter. I say, though, be bold and brave!

How dedicated do I have to be?
This project should be about having fun and experimenting. The only request is that you put a decent effort into your map to pay a little tribute to whichever mapper you're assigned to imitate. It's like DTWID, but with community mappers and not as severe scrutiny.

Can I upload my wad to /idgames
Absolutely. While I'll keep a copy of all of the wads on my hard-drive, these are to be treated as individual releases that can be uploaded to your discretion. Please post them here first for the sake of the contest, please.

When does this bad boy start?
Sign up now! Over the next week, this project is open to anyone to sign up to. When you do ask to be included, it'd probably best to provide an example or two of your wads.

After everyone submits their name, they'll be PM'ed within the next week.

A mapping deadline would probably something along the lines of 2 months, supposing there will even be one.

DEADLINE TO SIGN UP HAS EXPIRED. A pair of testers, however, is still something that we could use.

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS

• Snakes (Project organizer)
  
• Fisk
  
• Jimmy91
  
• Xaser
  
• Memfis
  
• Phobus
  
• Joshy
  
• walter confalonieri
  
• skillsaw
  
• Esselfortium
  
• Ed
  
• Sgt Dopey
  
• The Green Herring
  
• chopkinsca
  
• gemini09
  
• Mista_T
  
• Khorus
  
• TimeOfDeath
  
• Stewboy
  
• fiend-o-hell
  
• Grain of Salt
  
• Dutch Devil
  
• lupinx-Kassman
  

Playtesters

• st. alfonzo
  
• grouchbag
  
• [WH]-Wilou84
  
• j4rio
  

Feel free to ask any questions you'd like, and let's just hope that someone will be able to answer them! Hopefully people sign up to save me from looking like an idiot :)


CURRENT MAP BEING DISSECTED/PLAYED/ENJOYED/DISCUSSED/ETC.:
Download

[Guest DILDOMASTER666]

I'm in.

avast ye wad and avast another wad and on /idgames I have like one map done

[Alfonzo]

Dog ham it! Having released next to nothing I am not eligible to map for this project, but if you're ever in need of beta testers, I'd be happy to contribute.

[Jimmy]

Alrighty. Sign me up. :)

[Xaser]

All right. Why not? :P

At risk of sounding elitist (though I don't mean it this way in the slightest), I'm not sure how well this would work with new mappers, though. It takes a bit of work to get a defined style, though those past the "basic training" stage of simplistic rooms and little architecture should be okay.

To kinda help with this, I think participants should be required to link a few "suggested playing" maps, to give others an idea of what seems most representative. My list, I suppose, would contain MAP15 and MAP25 of PRCP and my contributions to NEIS, which paints a different picture that someone who looks at something like Zen Dynamics, for example. :P

I guess "look at recent stuff" might be a good enough suggestion, though for some it may be tough to locate things. A PM would work, though that would spoil the surprise. :P

[Memfis]

I'm in.

Snakes said:

After you finish your map, it will be posted in the thread, at which point everybody (save the project leader, of course) will have to find out which mapper you are imitating. It's as simple as that.

It would be fun to guess WHO is imitating too, so please don't give out this info. :)

Oh, and here is my works:

on idgames - sbspd020 MAP02, ht MAP17, whitemar MAP04, vodeim21, kashimir, spd6 MAP12, stckblod, map18mem, greenday, kurogane, sf2011 MAP13, bofp
other - kukuku, menkui, tayutayu, icarumem-map01, RELIVEx2-demo, mm2mem-map01, doomtownBETA, tntmem12, mem_old1, REQUIMEM_2map_demo

Also, did I understand correctly that we will imitate only each other? So, no Anders Johnsen, Matthias Worch, etc? If so, then this is not as interesting as I thought. ( easier to guess who is being imitated + I was hoping to get some Requiem/AV/etc styled maps to play :D )

[Phobus]

Yes Memfis, we decided that a "secret santa" style of imitating other people who have signed up to the project would be best for the challenge element. Besides, if valkiriforce signs up we'll have some classic mapping to emulate :P

And I'm in!

A fair chunk of my most recent work isn't actually released yet (tied up in WIP community projects), but this page covers the main body of what is out there. CC3 it's MAP18, ZPack it's E1M2, E2M1 and E2M0; Ten is MAP05 and MAP16. I'd not bother with Virus for this project, as it necessitated it's own style (what with the flying player and all). Page 1 in that search is mostly small maps and stuff I'm just mentioned in the text file in and Page 3 is old stuff (and more text file mentions). There's a few community project contributions that aren't listed there but are downloadable as well - one map in each of PRCP, Doom II Unleashed, NOVA and two in MAYhem

@Xaser: I guess if we do have any mappers with only one or two releases show up, we'll just have to do our best to emulate what they did (whoever is assigned them will anyway).


I'm looking forwards to the challenge :P

[Joshy]

I know I said I'd quit mapping (seriously, I have), but I've got my mid year holidays soon (my semester finishes Friday), so a day or two on a small map for an interesting project wouldn't hurt. :-)

So, yeah. Count me in.

EDIT: As for maps I've done: Check out (released in chronological order):

Newdoom Community Project 2: Map13, 27, 32.
Claustrophobia1024: Map13, 28.
Imperfections Has Its Charms (ihic.wad)
SoD
PRCP- Map01,07,26
Surge

That should be it... I think.

[Walter confetti]

This looks really interesting... sign me in!

As for the maps, well i made more than 100 maps with standalone projects and various community wads, but imho the best in the bunch are Treasure Chest maps and 1994 tune-up maps, altough this last one it was based upon a already made layout, so... hadephobia map16, maybe...

[skillsaw]

This sounds awesome, so I'll sign up.

My stuff:
Sector 666 (1998)
Aeternum (2007)
ZPack (2008) (E3M1, E3M8)
Stronghold: On the Edge of Chaos (2010) (STR08, STR23, STR24, STR31)
Vanguard (2011)
Lunatic (2011)
Hanging Gardens(2011)
32-in-24 11(2011) (MAP02, MAP15)

I think that's everything.

Also, I hope no one draws Mechadon's name. Especially anyone who's seen what his Back to Saturn X "speedmaps" turn into. Tee hee.

[esselfortium]

Sure, what the hell. I'll give it a shot.

My relatively recent released works:

32in24-11: Occupy Doomworld (2011, Boom-compatible, deathmatch) - map03 and map17. ignore the Torm's Detail Guide parody map, please :P

SpaceDM9 (2011, Skulltag/Zandronum, deathmatch) - I built s9dm01 and s9dm02's layouts (03's layout is by Mechadon), and detailed all three maps.

Doom the Way id Did (2011, vanilla, single player) - mainly worked on e1m1, e1m3, and half of e2m2. This was, of course, me aiming to mimic the design styles of Romero and Petersen, though, so your mileage may vary.

Vaporware Demo (2011, Eternity Engine, single player) - A single map for Eternity, intended to be part 1 of a mini-episode.

Claustrophobia 1024 (2009, Boom-compatible, single player) - I did map19, Nova Scotia Robots. I tried to make reasonable, interesting use of the limited 1024x1024 space without cramping up the map too badly.

Leap of Faith (2012, vanilla, single player) - One of my three submissions for the Doom 2 the Way id Did project. This one is aimed at emulating Romero's Doom 2 style, so your mileage may vary again, but it incorporates a lot of elements I quite like and I badly needed to have some more single-player stuff in this list. :P

This list would've been much easier to compile if I had more half-decent single player stuff released.

[Ed]

I think it'll be fun, I'll bite.

Here's a few of my newer maps:
Valhalla
Abraxas
Convolution (e2m2)
MDM8

..and a few older ones too:

RC-01
SC1
SC2

[Doomguy 2000]

skillsaw said:

This sounds awesome, so I'll sign up.

My stuff:
Sector 666 (1998)
Aeternum (2007)
ZPack (2008) (E3M1, E3M8)
Stronghold: On the Edge of Chaos (2010) (STR08, STR23, STR24, STR31)
Vanguard (2011)
Lunatic (2011)
Hanging Gardens(2011)
32-in-24 11(2011) (MAP02, MAP15)

I think that's everything.

Also, I hope no one draws Mechadon's name. Especially anyone who's seen what his Back to Saturn X "speedmaps" turn into. Tee hee.

What about that april fools days map? I think that would count as another map.

[Snakes]

Thanks guys! Cool to see a lot of great mappers taking part in this :)

skillsaw said:

Also, I hope no one draws Mechadon's name. Especially anyone who's seen what his Back to Saturn X "speedmaps" turn into. Tee hee.

Mechadon's idea of a speedmap scares the crap out of me, but at least making one of those menas there's an alternative to, say, Vela Pax! If he participates, I'm going to be sweating through entire selection process.

st.alfonzo said:

Dog ham it! Having released next to nothing I am not eligible to map for this project, but if you're ever in need of beta testers, I'd be happy to contribute.

Even if you have enough stuff on your hard drive that you'd be willing to share, I could see people drawing an idea from that. Also, sure you can test!

[skillsaw]

Doomguy 2000 said:

What about that april fools days map? I think that would count as another map.

Here it is, although I don't think it's particularly relevant to this.

[45th Parrallel]

Yeah, I'll join this project

[Xaser]

Could you link to a map or two of yours? I can't find anything via /idgames search.

[45th Parrallel]

Here are some maps of mine

Project Orion
http://www.doomworld.com/vb/wads-mods/57315-project-orion-v0-1-alpha-released/

Powerslave 2
http://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?t=31164

I never got these finished so they're beta quality

I am also working on a one man ZDoom megawad I'll release that once I get 3 maps done

[Captain Ventris]

This sounds like it will be a very cool project, but God have mercy on whoever draws Essel's name. :P

[Snakes]

I think Xaser and Ed are the two that would give the most trouble. They both have such imaginative visual styles that duplicating them would be a huge problem for me.

Also, here's some of my work:

Midnight Tek Frenzy

Doom II Unleashed - Namely map 27 and the second half of Map25

And of course, my grotesquely-pimped Unholy Realms demo, which probably is the best example of my stylistic tendencies (ALL of them)

sgt dopey said:

Yeah, I'll join this project

Cool! Added.

[The Green Herring]

I could sign up. The problem is that I'm not so sure my style is distinct enough, plus a large number of my levels are crap. Anyway, a convenient list can be found here, though I warn that not all of them are single-player.

[Phobus]

We'll just have to remember not map in a "TGH!" anywhere while emulating your style, as that might be a give-away ;)

[Chopkinsca]

Actually, I'm in. Maybe this will get me back in a mapping mood.

My main works:
phocas.wad
cchest2.wad map32
phocas2.wad
templed.wad

[gemini09]

Sign me up too. I want to do Fisk.

I'm just kidding.

I'd really like to to see somebody imitating me. Maybe it'll be like playing a map of my own that I'd never even seen before. That'd be quite the perspective.

I have a lot of different maps here and there but I will be selective:

Gem04, map29: http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?id=15528

Alien Vendetta, map31: http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?id=11790

Nimrod Project Doom, map13: http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?id=14015

10 Sector, map23: http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?id=10973

[MTrop]

You know what? Why the hell not. Sign me up! I'm curious what somebody would come up with in my style, if I have one that is.

A whole page full of my more current stuff is here, and my older stuff is here.

I wouldn't try to mimic some of the older stuff, unless you want to mimic this.

EDIT: I'd like to point out that in MAP29 of Community Chest 3, I was kind of emulating Erik Alm, so you don't have to use that map.

[Captain Ventris]

gemini09 said:

I'd really like to to see somebody imitating me. Maybe it'll be like playing a map of my own that I'd never even seen before. That'd be quite the perspective.

I'm now secretly hoping that someone will have some form of existential meltdown when confronted with their imitation.

That should be the mapper's goal: Show the other mapper THE ESSENCE OF THEIR BEING

[elic]

I wish I could contribute to this, but I'm working on more than enough maps at the moment. Also most of my good stuff is currently unreleased.

[TimeOfDeath]

I agree with Memfis that it would be cool if the imitators remained hidden as well.

Also, will the imitatees be chosen randomly, or will the project leader decide who imitates who?

[Mechadon]

If I wasn't already balls deep in other stuff, I'd probably throw my hat into the ring. Maybe I'll change my mind later on though. But for now, I guess no one has too look forward to making a "Vela Pax" styled map :P

(I don't think "fucking huge map" is really a style per-se :P)

[Khorus]

I'll come out of hiding and make a map for this.

On top of posting links to ganymede and speedy shit, I'm going to show this in the hopes I get a new strife map to play. :D (Over two years ago already? Holy fuck.)