stewboy

MAP07 is done - link in the first post!

I've thought a fair bit about trying my hand at streaming composition myself but I've not been brave enough yet - would it be useful?

In terms of software: You find whatever program is easiest for you to pick up, and then you just try it! If you're totally new to all music composition, most programs will seem a bit overwhelming, but some will be easier than others. If you have some basic understanding of music notation, all the better - try MuseScore. If you're not looking to get into notation-based programs, there'll almost certainly be some free DAW's that are pianoroll-based (or even try Sekaiju, which is purely for midi files I think). They'll probably be relatively simple, and not as powerful as more expensive options like Pro Tools, Cubase etc, but if you're just getting into it then something simple is probably better for you anyway. Another kind of music software is tracker-based ones. I've been using OpenMPT for a while, but it can be hard to get started with if you don't have some sort of existing sample library. Alternatively, try FamiTracker, which is a very simple chiptune tracker which I've also made a bunch of stuff with. It's limited, but still surprisingly flexible once you get good with it. They're both free programs. If you do go notation based (and I think there are definite advantages to knowing music notation), there'll probably be a few websites (or youtube channels) out there that may be of help. I've been a member of https://www.youngcomposers.com/ for many years, although I never used it much, but you might find it useful. In terms of musical ability: There's no easy shortcut here. You just have to keep writing music, and exposing yourself to a wide variety of existing music (and trying to figure out what makes it work), and over many years you'll get better at it. For me, music composition is a very instinctual process, but I had to do a LOT of it before I really developed that instinct into what it is today. Also, if you're just getting started, I wouldn't necessarily share everything you write to begin with. The first things that most people make in any sort of art form are rarely going to be good, and it might be discouraging if you get too much criticism at once. You have to develop a love for the art, and make things just for the sake of that love, and then that will keep you going!

Don't worry too much about Bandcamp Fridays. Maybe if I was making a million dollars a week, it would make a difference, but as it is it'll only add up to a few dollars difference for me.

I've put the soundtrack up on Bandcamp now if anyone's interested: https://stuartrynn.bandcamp.com/album/doom-heartland-ost

I do actually plan to do that (maybe this weekend), I just wanted people to hear them ingame first!

You absolutely should! Mess around with portals a bit - they can take a while to get used to, both editor wise and mental visualisation wise. I wouldn't worry about polyobjects or making your own trains yet though! As a matter of fact, for a while now I've been bouncing around an idea in my head for another 1024-style community project, in Eternity. It would help a lot of people to get used to these ideas, without overwhelming them with trying to create something like in Heartland.

I think 'fried powder' is being a bit unfair, but even if I grant you that falafel balls can be a bit dry on their own, I don't think that should count against them. I wouldn't necessarily eat an entire burger patty by itself (especially veggie patties, which admittedly can sometimes be a little bland) but I still like burgers that contain them. Tofu is another good example of something that is quite bland (though whenever I chop it up and fry it I always eat a couple pieces immediately), but I really like it when it's in a larger dish like a curry or stir-fry. A falafel sandwich just wouldn't be the same without the falafel. You wouldn't just drink a glass of pure sauce, right? But you still say the sauce is amazing, because it's being used in a context that just works for it.

I tried a bit of a Beyond Burger once at a decent bar and it was really good. I've also occasionally tried other sorts of vegetarian burgers at various places and they're generally at least decent, if not mindblowing. I've actually been trying quite a few processed meat substitutes in the last few months just for the sake of variety. I've found that most of the soy-based ones, even supermarket own brand ones, are pretty nice if you take them as their own thing - the closest anything's gotten to replicating the actual taste of meat for me is probably Linda Mccartney meatballs. In contrast, most quorn-based products I've tried have a weird slightly unpleasant flavour for me (though their 'mince' is OK), but I don't know if that's just me having a weird reaction to them. I've also tried a couple seitan things, but I think I still prefer the taste of soy-based products. I can also recommend 'THIS' bacon, though it might only be available in the UK at the moment. It does a decent job of replacing bacon in sandwiches - I've started putting it in my morning breakfast wrap every day. I recently tried some 'soya chunks' but I'm having trouble getting over the very weird texture. Blasphemy! Falafel is the most amazing thing to ever grace this Earth. Well okay maybe not quite, but I think it's still perfectly decent. There's an amazing falafel wrap place right next to where I did my postgrad and it was very reliably delicious.

Yeah, that'll be unavoidable unfortunately, I just can't seem to resist constantly adding more portals everywhere. Thanks for playing it though, I'm glad you enjoyed it! A brief update on how this project is going - MAP07 is done, but I want to wait until I've done the music for it before putting it here. Here's a screenshot though!

Check out https://openmidiproject.osdn.jp/Sekaiju_en.html. I've never used it for actual midi creation, but it's got at least a few tools that are useful to me that my usual editor doesn't have (in particular, the ability to select all note events in the file and change their velocity). No idea if it can do what you want it to, but it's worth looking at.

This map is turning out slightly more complex than I thought it was going to be.

I'm assuming the default one too. I've never actually personally changed any of the compability flags - it should work fine on a clean install of Eternity, so whatever the defaults are I guess.

That's the big one for me. You can have bridges, tunnels, and simple room-over-room setups with 3D floors (and I have even done so myself), but if you want to create levels that truly make the most of vertical space, portals are just so much simpler. Don't just think of room-over-room - think room-over-room-over-room-over-room.

Thanks, skillsaw! I'm glad you liked it :) I'll try and fix the issues in MAP03. I don't know what I can do to further help the player understand they need to return to the start after getting the BK - I guess I'm depending on them already having noticed the RK area. The lava in MAP04 was never meant to be damaging, just another kind of floor - which maybe makes lava a weird choice. I'll try a different liquid. In MAP05 the skull switches are right at the beginning - I'll put them up the initial stairs though so you're more likely to run into them. And I'll put more stuff in MAP06. I guess because I was so used to how the map worked, I wasn't finding it very difficult. Gameplay has never really been my focus, I just like creating weird rooms that connect to more weird rooms. But I guess gameplay is still important to make it fun to play through! Here's a couple very-WIP screenshots of MAP07 as well!

There's another way to make levels unique and memorable without necessarily having their own visual themes, and that's to have a unique gimmick to the layout instead. Have a big central setpiece that the level revolves around. Levels which are just disconnected room after disconnected room get very forgettable no matter what their visual theme is. The maps that tend to leave the biggest impression on me personally are ones that feel like one big coherent place. It might limit the length of the level, but I think a 5 minute memorable level is preferrable to a 30 minute forgettable one.

There's a few in development right now that I'm aware of, though nothing that would get released before 2021. Keep your eyes peeled!

For me, its particular implementation of portals is definitely unique enough to justify making content for it. I've always been more of a creator than a player, so I don't particularly care about any sort of compatibility with anything else, or demos, or menu options. I care only about what I can create with it, and I've found that this particular source port has enabled me to explore my own mapping style in ways that simply wouldn't be possible in any other port. In fact, I've said this before and I stand by it: you can create the sorts of levels in this port that you just wouldn't really find in any other FPS in general, at least not without a great deal of effort and fiddling around. Or maybe that's just me being weird and wanting to create weird levels that nobody else would want to do anyway. I'm having a blast working on Cubic Worlds, and in the end I don't even terribly mind if only a handful of people play it, though of course I'd love to see it get more attention. It just really suits my own weird mapping desires.

MAP07 of my Eternity project. I'm just making this one up as I go - still in its early stages, of course.

I had a play through just now, on ITYTD. I think that was a good difficulty setting for me - I only needed to reload a save once, near the end. I enjoyed the map - it was fairly cramped, but I got used to it by the end and didn't mind too much. I only once got lost, but not for long. I also never found the plasma rifle - I'm assuming there is one, considering there's cell packs everywhere. I was able to rely on rockets though - there were loads available on ITYTD. I also liked the map visually, it felt quite consistent.

The closest I've ever come to something like that is in my current project that I'm writing for, a lot of my tracks are using similar harmonic ideas, based on stacked open 5ths. I was worried that this would be considered as a lack of imagination if anyone noticed - maybe I should just say that I've been doing it deliberately to make it a more cohesive soundtrack! Other than that it has literally never even occured to me that this is a possible thing to do. I guess you would really need to have a project all of your own to pull this off, rather than several people writing for the one mapset which is more normally the case.

MAP06 is done - link in the first post! Have a go at it if you want to fight some cute baby cacodemons.

Finally finished the layout for MAP06 of my Eternity project!