Heavenly Rock - a "fun", chaotic map [Boom CP]

[KeaganDunn]

Amongst the three projects I'm working on at the moment, one of them was this - a small-scale slaughtermap that is hopefully fun and not too taxing or demanding at all. Unlike the hard crap I've made before (Bloodbath & Dwelling), this map gives you plenty of room and resources to work with. UV will still present some degree of challenge, such as the inclusion of archviles outside of one fight. Lower difficulties should allow you to play the map faster and looser. (There's also -solonet, too)

 

An explanation for this map? I was jaded on ideas one day and thought, "what if I just start drawing random lines?" Truth be told, it actually worked out. I finished the initial layout of this map in less than a week (I think). Approximate play time is 10-20 minutes.

 

I sent out a "pre-release" for @Biodegradable, @Clippy, and @Dubbag to playtest prior to putting this up on DW. Thanks a lot, boys!

B: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qpw0Dm8R2Us

C: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6OsWjgzq3E

 

 

 

INFO:

TESTED IN - GZDoom v4.5, GLBoom+ (dsda-doom v0.18), DoomRetro v3.6.?

IWAD - Doom II

MAPS - MAP01

FORMAT - Boom (-complevel 9)

INCLUDED - Map, MIDI, MAPINFO, Dehacked for map title, textures from 32in24-15_tex_v2

DESIGNED FOR - Single player. Co-op starts and multiplayer-exclusive things are present (should be no potential softlocks in co-op)

TOOLS USED - Ultimate Doom Builder, SLADE, Doom Writer

 

(If someone could enlighten me on the actual origin of the MIDI, that'd be greatly appreciated) :P

 

DOWNLOAD: https://doomshack.org/uploads/heavenlyrockv2.wad

 

Edited April 20, 2021 by Dunn & Dunn

[Dubbag]

This WAD is great! Good work man! Will be doing a video for Wad Show later.

[Clippy]

Good times, I had fun with this one - I played an earlier version - jam packed map that is actually nice and doesn't take too long - scarier at first sight but ultimately a fun experience with a unique atmosphere - kudos

Edited April 17, 2021 by Clippy
vid was alreadsy shared

[KeaganDunn]

9 hours ago, Clippy said:

Good times, I had fun with this one - I played an earlier version - jam packed map that is actually nice and doesn't take too long - scarier at first sight but ultimately a fun experience with a unique atmosphere - kudos

Indeed, man. Just like old times, eh? 

I made the start a bit less intimidating, made a few subtle changes, and increased the size of the room you didn't like. 

Also, I already linked the video in the OP. haha

Thanks a lot.

Edited April 18, 2021 by Dunn & Dunn

[Kinetic]

Pretty funky map. I played on UV and I felt like maybe there was a little too much ammo and health, although I suppose the map isn't supposed to be super challenging and more of a swift, fun map that gives you everything you need to blast demons with no hesitation or concerns about running out of ammo. I mentioned the abundance of ammo because I pretty much just killed everything with rockets and cells, bullets and shells being used rarely. Besides that minor criticism, the map was a blast and the MIDI fit well. Loved the final room with the "Coming Soon" sign and the window to what may lay ahead in a future map of yours.

[KeaganDunn]

Updated the WAD in the OP- some changes to ammo balancing and monster composition, as well as a few graphical tweaks.

Thanks for the feedback - any more is greatly appreciated!

Edited April 20, 2021 by Dunn & Dunn

[BoxY]

Really fun map, I like the laid back experimental mood. When you look at the automap it's pretty clear that it did indeed start life as random linedefs but the gameplay itself has plenty of direction and purpose. It's pretty forgiving with resources without being insultingly easy and the open layout leaves possibilities open for playing the map pretty much however you feel like.

 

I recorded a low effort max cuz bored: hrock-537.lmp (plays back with v2). Can be a lot faster but I'm sleepy today. Pacifist is possible too but the outside blue key switch is really annoying so I probably won't try recording it.

[Crock Wilson]

That was amazing. Seriously one of the most fun maps I've ever played. That part with the archviles and the moving walls blew my mind. I don't know if that's a well known trick or what, I've only been into custom wads for a year, but regardless that's the first time I've seen anything like it. The level of challenge and the mood set by the midi fit perfectly together. Outstanding job. I loved the little tease at the end too. I can't wait to check that out when it's finished.

[KeaganDunn]

49 minutes ago, Crock Wilson said:

That was amazing. Seriously one of the most fun maps I've ever played. That part with the archviles and the moving walls blew my mind. I don't know if that's a well known trick or what, I've only been into custom wads for a year, but regardless that's the first time I've seen anything like it. The level of challenge and the mood set by the midi fit perfectly together. Outstanding job. I loved the little tease at the end too. I can't wait to check that out when it's finished.

 

Thank you so much, Crock! Glad to hear you had fun with this one. What you saw at the end, however, I'm...not sure if I will have any excuses for that...

 

Same for you, @BoxY! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's not as mean as Bloodbath, instead meant to be fun. Thank you for the max demo! I might try a pacifist run myself.

 

The moving walls is in fact a common setpiece now, since Sunlust MAP29. My version of it in Heavenly Rock is a lot easier and not as demanding :P

 

Edited April 22, 2021 by Dunn & Dunn

[baja blast rd.]

Fun map.

 

Spoiler

Loved the "coming soon" preview at the end. :)

 

[KeaganDunn]

6 minutes ago, rd. said:

Fun map.

 

  Hide contents

Loved the "coming soon" preview at the end. :)

 

It's an honor, rd!

 

Next WAD (what I showed at the end), I'm probably gonna end up dropping the other shoe and betraying everyone, haha. Hope not.

[Blip]

Damn this map is really awesome I really enjoyed it. Is it possible that you can't go back to previous areas when you start the final arena? Because I really wanted to find the remaining secrets but didn't find anything to go back.

[KeaganDunn]

3 hours ago, BlipBlerp said:

Damn this map is really awesome I really enjoyed it. Is it possible that you can't go back to previous areas when you start the final arena? Because I really wanted to find the remaining secrets but didn't find anything to go back.

Thank you! When you approach the exit switch a wall will lower nearby to reveal a teleporter, which will take you back to the rest of the map. :)

[Casual Doomer]

Dunn! I had been looking for the author of this map. I enjoyed this so much I recorded a play thorough. If you're interested, check it out. I love how tight the combat is and the enemy placement. (This is ver. 1 by the way. I hadn't realized that you had made a ver. 2)

 

[KeaganDunn]

1 hour ago, Casual Doomer said:

Dunn! I had been looking for the author of this map. I enjoyed this so much I recorded a play thorough. If you're interested, check it out. I love how tight the combat is and the enemy placement. (This is ver. 1 by the way. I hadn't realized that you had made a ver. 2)

 

A pleasure to see people looking for this! Thanks so much for playing!

 

This map will be included in a set I’m working on that might surface soon, with a few tweaks and improvements.

[Soulless]

On 4/17/2021 at 6:52 PM, Dunn (& Dunn) said:

Unlike the hard crap I've made before (Bloodbath & Dwelling)

Well, I understand this statement if you didnt reach your expectations for those maps, but crap? I found Bloodbath quite fun,

since I played the early version of Dwelling I cant really judge it, but even on the early version was pretty cool.

Ill check this one out for sure.

[Clippy]

1 minute ago, Soulless said:

Well, I understand this statement if you didnt reach your expectations for those maps, but crap? I found Bloodbath quite fun,

since I played the early version of Dwelling I cant really judge it, but even on the early version was pretty cool.

Ill check this one out for sure.

 

agreed - it's not crap - it's well crafted and thought out - and an intense experience - meant for really good players

 

just cause I was crap at playing it doesn't make it a crap set

 

I hope the ones with the real skills check it out

[KeaganDunn]

"hard crap" was mostly a jab at myself for the difficult stuff I made before this map, because I wanted to make it more accessible and tailor to a larger audience.

No self-deprecation here, no sir... (looks around in fear of Jimmy sliding the jar over)

 

However, there ARE some genuine issues with Bloodbath and the original Demonkind's Dwelling alike. The latter I'm already addressing with the new Dwelling.
I played through Bloodbath again just a couple weeks ago, and there's a lot of stuff that should've been pointed out and fixed when I was still working on it. A lot of obvious texture alignments and inconsistency, and the ridiculously strategic ammo starvation in some of the maps, making them more artificially difficult and generally less fun from a blind playthrough. It could have benefitted from more playtesting, and there are still some critical bugs lying around in there. But I'm not considering fixing all of that - Bloodbath is a thing I made from almost a year ago now, and there's a certain charm with leaving them the way they are to see how far you've come as a mapper. I'm still proud of the set in general - it was essentially my debut set as the mapper I am now.

 

It doesn't matter what you make; there will always be an audience for it. :)

[Soulless]

Gave it a spin, fun map. Vey clean texturing and quite amusing midi.

The only thing that was kinda odd was the optional yellow key room, not really sure when it becomes accesible,

during the exit room encounter and while trying to infight got the BFG and an easy escape, then I loaded back to get 100%

and after clearing the exit room noticed there were still some to kill, it was then when I noticed the mentioned door was opened,

it felt like I should have been there before the final fight.

I think it should be mandatory, but thats just my opinion.

2/3 secrets found. Solid.

Edited December 11, 2021 by Soulless

[cannonball]

Heh - The "Men in Black" theme in doom (Well I guess anything goes these days).

 

General thoughts, very tongue in cheek at times but pretty darn good fun. The incidental combat at the start was probably the hardest part, of the traps I think the yellow key was the hardest mostly because the demons/spectres can be very good at blocking you in the event of an archvile targeting you, note to self, use more plasma. The red key was hilariously goofy of course.

The ending was a little weak, it is quite easy to defeat and frankly the BFG is not necessary to finish the job. I guess this would require a room that was a little less boxy to make the final fight a little more compelling.

Overall a solid map. Most of it is fine, I just think the ending needs a little work.

Edited December 11, 2021 by cannonball