[Boom] 20 Years of Doom

[WH-Wilou84]

Hello there,

"20 Years of Doom" is a collection of 9 medium-sized Boom-compatible maps made by members of the French Doom Community to celebrate our favorite game's 20th birthday.
The project's goal was the following : Each map in this set is to be composed of various elements inspired by 3 consecutive maps from the classic Doom IWad and arranged in a new fashion, allowing you to revisit Knee-Deep in the Dead, The Shores of Hell and Inferno in a condensed yet revamped way. :)

The wad includes many new twists though, and the overall difficulty has been raised a fair bit so that modern players could still enjoy the gameplay. Cooperative / -solo-net mode is also implemented.

Here are some screenshots :



















Here is a link to the Release Candidate 2 of the wad : http://www.mediafire.com/download/rv3kk9aub1j73k3/20ydrc2.zip
( Requires Doom as the IWad )
Edit : Final /idgames link : http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?file=levels/doom/Ports/0-9/20ydoom.zip

We're still playtesting it before uploading this thing to /idgames, so feel free to point out any bug that you encounter :)
FDAs are always appreciated ( make sure to use the -complevel 9 parameter when recording ).

Please note that for continuity reasons, completing E1M3 will always take you to E1M9. If you don't play the maps in a continuous way, then E1M9 should be played after E1M3 nevertheless.

Well that's about it.
We hope you'll enjoy the wad. :)

[Walter confetti]

this looks really good looking!

[Memfis]

Played "E1", not very impressed but KDitD is like the worst possible Doom theme for me so that's not really surprising. Let's see what the next "episodes" will offer. Meanwhile, here are some notes/bugs:

e1m1: the switch that opens the exit is not animated, I think the problem is that the upper texture on that linedef is also a switch and in such cases only the top one animates.

e1m2: linedef 1302 needs lower and upper unpegged flags for better alignment. linedef 394 needs a secret flag perhaps to hide the secret on the automap. Maybe there are more similar problems in this map or in others, I didn't look at the automaps much.

e1m3: linedefs 2314 and 3209/3212/etc could use the block monster flag because it looks pretty silly when monsters are walking on these tiny ledges.

[Phobus]

I've just beaten E1M2 and figured I'd post some early thoughts...

E1M1: This is pretty good - architecture is a bit square for E1, but you've managed to capture the look and get a bit of extra visual fidelity in there as well. Found myself wanting a chaingun a few times though, due to monster density.

E1M2: Probably one of the least interesting maps I've ever played. Rectangular, over-sized hallways stuffed with too many monsters that offer no challenge aside from to my patience. The only saving grace was the MIDI, which I really liked. Massive disappointment after M1.


I'll post my thoughts on the other maps as I play them.

[Reisal]

Consider making a normal exit for E1M3 so it goes to E1M4 as well as a secret exit so it goes to E1M9.

[Memfis]

You don't understand. The point of the wad is to have 9 "normal" maps and no secret maps. So this progression is necessary.

[General Rainbow Bacon]

I really like these. I just got to episode 2. Seems like a good pack so far. I'll say more when I finish.

[Phobus]

Ok, E1M3 doesn't feel much like a homage to the original E1, even with the boss fight, but it is a good map. Interesting progression, not too dense with enemies and a series of binary choices for game play are a lot more like what we're after. The secrets were pretty nice too, although a proper E1 map would have a lot more of them ;)

E1M9 feels a lot more like an E3 map than one from The Shores of Hell for most of its layout, although the brief techbase interlude is spot on for theme. The cathedral looks good, the maze was surprisingly nice and the teleport-heavy part was also pretty cool. The tech section cements for me the idea that this Sid simply can't do interesting bases! Whilst this map was fairly heavy with rectangular corridors again, it plays so much better then M2 of this set that I'm happy to overlook that.

3/4 ain't bad, so I'm happy so far!

EDIT: E1M4 now - Nils The Red gets it :D This is a great map and feels very E2, with homages that work (including a couple of pointless keys), a good layout, interesting architecture, fights that challenge and surprise you... I'll be surprised if this isn't my favourite from the pack.

[General Rainbow Bacon]

So I've finished the episode 2 section. Awesome gameplay. There are a few things I'd consider changing in the final episode 2 map though. Some of the jumping is very challenging and got me frustrated at times, especially the one in the acid room. Also, the falling stairs trap before the red key should either be changed or made easier since if you miss a step or go too slow you have to restart the map, which believe me, will piss off a lot of people.

I loved the lead up to the boss fight though. Very ominous. I think Episode 3 is going to be great.

[WH-Wilou84]

Thanks for the bug notifications & ideas guys, the team will hopefully address them soon. :)

Phobus said:

E1M1: [...]architecture is a bit square for E1

Fair point, yeah. When using STARTAN variants I tend to stick to square shapes mostly, as these textures take some time ( and many extra vertices ) to align properly on non-orthogonal walls.

[Phobus]

E1M5 - French Ham gets it too! A fantastic E2 map with some novel moving parts (like the stairs that disappear when you try to go up them the first time) and a great boss encounter with the two cyberdemons. Fantastic work by Jambon, although the music didn't seem to fit as well as I'd have liked.

E1M6 - The Slough of Kept Pandemonium - I read that as "Keepemonium" the first time and found that quite amusing, so that might have been a better name :p Otherwise this map is my new favourite so far. Very transparent homages (much like the previous map) stringing together to create a three-part journey. Each section has some good non-linearity and well-done secrets, fights were enjoyable, the familiar music was welcome and fitting... Really good stuff. This map set keeps getting better and better now!

E1M7 - Another map which wears its inspirations on its sleeve, the Unholy Mountain of Pain is very nice to look at and it does a good job of paying homage to the original open map of Doom, whilst upping the ante in hordes and combat. I loved the music for this map - a kind of upbeat version of D_E3M5, IIRC. This episode has won me over now and the run of four maps I've just done is well worth playing.

E1M8 - Largely a homage to Limbo, but with considerably thicker resistance. I enjoyed the exploration and openness here and was challenged considerably by the second Warrens tribute I came across, as well as the pit for the red skull key. The finale is balls out slaughter, which actually worked pretty well IMO, as you're in the middle of it rather than trying to advance through a wall of beef. The twin boss set-up makes its return and is pretty lethal when you're not ready for it! All in all, a good map and definitely the hardest in the set. Probably a little too intense to be something I'd come back to for a bit of fun but a good ending to the map set.


All told, this is a good map set, aside from M2. They're mostly close enough to the source material to feel right whilst adding modern touches to the aesthetics and ramp up the difficulty enough to feel more threatening without being cruel or a slog. A good tribute to a game that'll be turning 21 in about 8 months :)

[Salt-Man Z]

Just played E1M1 and loved it!

[cortlong50]

just played episode one and i love it, anyone saying that its not as fun needs to relax. seriously, some of the replies in here are super rude. and while some parts of this are bland...the original doom was bland (i just played through kditd two days ago for no good reason).
i think the art styles are actually quite similar.

i love this. keep it up.

[scifista42]

I've given this mapset a brief look last week, now I'm playing through properly and I'm enjoying it.

I play each map from a pistol start.

E1M1: I really liked this one. It could have only been better if the author put his focus on less orthogonal-based design instead of than kind of heavy detailing. I like detail, but don't need to see it, so I'm saying this map is great anyway.

E1M2: My only real concern about this map was its straightforward-ness, and the way how enemies are just served in front of you without much thought or intrication. There are much better ways how to prepare an interesting gameplay and spice it up. However I got used to the map's style half-way in and could enjoy it anyway. The pace was surprisingly fast, considering the high monster count. The map also had some long backtracking parts. At first I had considered them boring and uncomfortable, but eventually I didn't mind them, as the intended path was quite intuitive and I could get familiar with the map's layout better. Due to the abovementionedd reasons I consider this map to be less quality, but it was very enjoyable anyway.

E1M3: What I liked about this map was that it didn't rely purely on homages and cliched texturing and design choices. Instead, it provided an architecture which was structured like it could have been a real place, and like "oldschool" Doom at the same time. And thanks to this aspect, I find the map E1-alike in the greatest way. I enjoyed running and shooting through it far more than for example the previous E1M2. And even despite the fact that this map's gameplay was far less ingratiating with the player. I even died the first time in this map. I thought it'd be a good idea to jump into nukage before I even got a shotgun, and sergeants from windows finished me off. But - I thoroughly enjoyed exploring this map as kind of a real place. Its structure, even with faults like garishness and uneven flow, suddenly turned out very appealing when viewed like I did. One thing was objectively wrong though. Mandatory nukage runs. Fortunately there were just about two, but I'd like to tell the author to better don't do them anymore.

E1M9: This map once again suffered from heavy linearity. It also didn't feel like original Doom that much, too much height variation in a RoTT-esque way. Not that it's a concern, but in my opinion it's inappropriate. At first I thought I got skipped to an E3 recreating, only later I've recognized E2. Nice map, enjoyable to play for most of the time. Unfortunately, sometimes the focus on scripted gameplay and mappers control over player's actions was exaggerated, and that spoils my experience, when I don't feel like I have many possibilities and can freely choose between them. Those moments like when I got powerful weapons just before I needed them for barons, was the case. I didn't have enough ammo and had to chaingun down the barons anyway. Sid Zetmeck should better learn that the player is not some mouse in a maze, but an intelligent person who likes his freedom and comfort and wants to be treated as an intelligent person too.

[scifista42]

E1M4: Another map I liked a lot. Very loyal to E2 spirited structure and gameplay, while looking and flowing nice (I should add that I'm not a big fan of original E2). The occasional gimmickness was actually pleasant. I must be a horrible person, when I don't have what to complain, my reviews tend to be short - but take it as the map was really great. My very only complaint about Nils The Red's design choices is the thing when I enter a room with a teleporter, but I must press a switch behind the teleporter before I progress, because if I didn't do it, I would have to repeat my journey. IMO, the switch needs some highlight and the teleporter to be placed so that I find it later, or that it opens after the switch is pressed.

E1M5: Nicely done E2-like level as well, I've enjoyed the zealous floor gimmicks - fortunately they didn't cause game-breaking problems like I was afraid. Newschool architecture and oldschool feel blends well here, the homages were even unnecessary. Linearity of this map was hidden in a convincing way, I didn't mind it. The final fight was okay. I've seen much worse, when the fight becomes a test of pure endurance instead of skill. My ideal boss fight should be primarily test of skill. This one was skill + endurance together, so well. Lastly, as with many of the previous levels, nice music track. :)

[scifista42]

E1M6: This map actually followed the project instructions very closely. Very relying on homages, but they were tweaked enough in the layout. It turns out well and I like a lot how elements from inferno maps blend together in a "natural", non-forced way. I've even got a feeling that EVERYTHING in the maps has been interestingly referenced here. There was a switch above some raising stairs early on, which could be activated from below before the stairs raised. A certain non-scrolling texture with faces felt quite strange, that's no complaint though, I'm just wondering. I liked how rocky ledges were lifts, so that I could grab guns from fallen sergeants. A small fault I noticed were poorly hinted secrets, sometimes not hinted at all, just pressing a random wall - I managed to get 3 out of 6. I mostly enjoyed the last Pandemonium part, it was done nicely, aside from an inescapable damaging water pit which I'd personally remove at all costs. The very last ambush was nothing like in the original Doom, but I liked that original part a lot, it fitted well to the overall spirit.

E1M7: Honestly and with an apologize, when I saw the author's name, I was like: "Oh Jesus,", because I've remembered his Survive in Hell slaughter megawad which I've *touched* recently. That more, this map was a pleasant surprise, and I have to praise JC, as he went very far with his design skills compared to his 2008-2012 work. Well, even despite some slaughterishness, I've enjoyed this map. It's got a sense even in the context of E3 gimmickness. For once I was glad that Doom1's monster cast is limited, and I could shoot things quite easily without revenant or mancubus or pain elemental's constant threat. Nice layout, homage-heavy in a way similar to the previous map, with a fair amount of original ideas and interesting shapes and gameplay mechanics. Also a catchy music track. :)

E1M8: I was quite worn out already, so upon seeing the monster count, I've rolled eyes. But very soon I've found out that this map's got a lot of care and effort, so I decided to overcome my reluctance and properly fight and enjoy the map through. Well, what I did mind was the red marble flat being hard to distinguish from a damaging blood flat. It was likely to cause me some pain, and it happened. The red key maze was devious. It didn't satisfied me at first and I had to use cheats to return back for a radsuit, because otherwise I wouldn't manage it. But ultimately it was an interesting, challenging part, if only I knew before that I need radsuit. The sergeant ambush part gave me some trouble too, until I've found out the ideal strategy, which was to cowardly run back and snipe them all from behind a wall. Heck armor bonuses, after an endurance test to kill all barons, I've had to absolve another endurance test to pick bonuses from closets. However, overally this was quite a very epic Hell map, making sense even when viewed as 'realistic' (how could the Doomish Hell actually be structured), which is awesome. As far as the linear parts went, the progression was predictable, but nonlinear parts tended to be confusing at times, fortunately I didn't approach problems. I didn't beat the ending, Zandronum got lagging. It's a shame, but still, I'd rate this map and the wad overall positively.

I've had fun with this wad, it definitely serves its purpose well. Congratulations to the authors, and wish you good luck (not only) with your future mapping!

[WH-Wilou84]

scifista42 said:

E1M8: [...]I didn't beat the ending, Zandronum got lagging.

That's unfortunate.
Admittedly E1M8 hasn't been tested with Zandronum but my relatively-recent ZDoom version seemed to handle the ending brawl just fine, so I assumed its derivatives would do so.
You're probably using an OpenGL renderer I guess... ?

Still, thanks for playing. :)

[scifista42]

[WH]-Wilou84 said:
You're probably using an OpenGL renderer I guess... ?

Nope, I use software. Zandronum appears to be less optimized than ZDoom, and laggy anyway, for example if I try to launch a wad with missing textures, there's a huge loading lag. My computer also isn't the best, I'm unable to play modern games on it. Rage, RoTT 2013, even Wrack, with minimum details and screen resulution, get laggy to the point of being unplayable.

[Reisal]

OP, you should reupload to Mediafire or another reliable file host.

[WH-Wilou84]

Mr. Chris said:

OP, you should reupload to Mediafire or another reliable file host.

Yeah, thanks Mr. Chris, seems like JC's personal website is being moved or something.
Here's another link : http://www.mediafire.com/download/rv3kk9aub1j73k3/20ydrc2.zip

[Salt-Man Z]

Whew, just finished this today on HMP. Nice job! Those last two maps in particular were pretty grueling. Congrats all around, what a great WAD.

[yakfak]

this is a really cool level set, thumbs up. perhaps one snag is that the boss battle at the end of E1M5 is way off the charts in difficulty for what otherwise plays like a fairly easy WAD. great work nevertheless.

[plums]

Hey, I just got around to playing this, quite fun! I played on UV pistol starts. No demos I'm afraid, with the long-ish maps and time I have for playing I had to tackle most maps in a few short spurts.

I liked the numerous homages that were still somewhat original, and the way multiple iwad maps got blended together. The new textures fit nicely alongside the old ones, and the whole thing had a strong 'classic Doom' feel without being overly derivative.

I have one major complaint about E1M5: if you miss the rocket launcher as I did, you can get locked into the cyberdemon fight with no way to go back and get it, at which point that fight is basically unwinnable. I highly suggest putting in a 2nd RL in that arena. For my game, I just opted to use TNTWEAP5.

Other than that, the E2 maps seemed kind of shorter in comparison to the rest, and there's quite a spike in difficulty in the later maps - especially the end of E1M8. Nothing too serious though, and stuff that's bound to happen in community-style projects to some extent.

Lastly the ending text gave me quite a chuckle. 20 years indeed, how time flies when you're in Hell!

[WH-Wilou84]

Bump,

/idgames link : http://www.doomworld.com/idgames/index.php?file=levels/doom/Ports/0-9/20ydoom.zip

Thanks again to everyone here for your feedback / suggestions, most of them have been taken into account for the final release. Cheers :)

[Caleb13]

Aw damnit, looks like I came one day too late. Because I started playing the mapset on friday, but had to interrupt the gameplay with only 2 maps remaining. And today I found out it was released to /idgames on saturday... Oh well, nevermind, I found only minor stuff anyway. I will at least post what I found, so it is not complete waste.

-----------------------------
I've never played Doom 1 too much, because compared to Doom 2, it was dull and repetitive. But I think you managed to capture and condense its feel and most memorable areas into these 9 maps perfectly. Also, I don't think I ever played a Doom 1 map with 2000+ monsters, so kudos for that. Just a few minor things I spotted along the way (in Zdoom 2.8-pre417):

-E1M3: I think sector 196 should be secret.

-E1M5: Imps (thing 124 and 125) are faced away from player.

-E1M6: Not exactly a bug, but for multiplayer it would be better if the armor secret (linedef 105) was reusable.

-E1M7: Similar thing as above, but with blue armor (sector 117).

-The music. Most of the tracks are adequate, but E1M2 and E1M3 tracks sound like 70s TV game show music, not something suitable for Doom.

[plums]

Hah, I loved the music for E1M2. E1M3 I could take or leave but I didn't find it extremely out of place.