1994 tune-up challenge (*updated /idgames link*)

[Snarboo]

Final Release:

• 1994 Tune-up Challenge
  

After two years of hard work by a team of 22 people, the 1994 Tune-up Challenge is finally finished! I have to give massive kudos to everyone that worked on this, especially traversd. If it wasn't for you and your dedicated testing, this project would have never taken off the ground. :D

The project will be uploaded to /idgames tomorrow.


Preamble:
Everybody knows that most maps from 1994 are pretty terrible, but what if we took maps from the archive that permit modification and then redetailed them?

The purpose of this community wad is to improve on maps from 1994. Most maps from that time had strong layouts, but poor design decisions such as misaligned textures, bad texture choices, hidden doors and mandatory secrets to progress. The aim of this project is to fix those problems and take what was already strong about the original maps and improve it.


The Rules:

• All maps for this project must have permission for modification from the original author.
  
• Participants may modify a map in any way they see fit. However, the ultimate goal of this project is to work with a strong layout and tune it up to modern standards. Use your common sense: moving a vertex or line so you can better align a texture is okay, but making the map unrecognizable is not. Work with what you have.
  
• New areas may be added so long as they don't exceed the maps original size. In other words, don't take a small map and bolt on something the size of Deus Volt.
  
• Custom music may be chosen for your map, so long as it is a midi.
  
• A custom sky may also be chosen, so long as it is the same size as the original skies.
  
• You may name your map whatever you like.
  
• Textures are limited to the Ultimate Doom and Doom 2's texture set.
  
• The feature set is Boom and Limit Removing. A plain vanilla map or a Boom map are fine. Again, use your common sense.
  
• This will be for Doom 2. If this project receives more than 32 maps, they will be placed in a separate wad.
  
• Before working on your map, post what map you will be modifying. A link to your map's /idgames page is best, but a link to an outside page or file hosting service with your map is also fine. Please include the text file and post the original author's name.
  
• You may work on the same map as another person, so don't be afraid about someone claiming a map you wanted to work on.
  
• You may work on more than one map, but I ask you that you finish your current map before starting on your next one.
  
• When uploading your map, include the original and its text file for comparison.

Deadlines:

• traversd and GreyGhost will compile the wad together. They have final say on map slots.
  
• See this post for further details.

I recommend consulting Essel's mapping tips and tricks for good ways to detail and texture your map.


Wad Coordinators:

1. traversd
   
2. GreyGhost

Current Testers:

1. traversd
   
2. MegaDoomer
   
3. DoomHero85
   
4. Jodwin
   
5. dew
   
6. neg!ke
   

Former Testers:

1. Talvi
   
2. Super Jamie

Project Resource:

1. 1994 Tune-up Challenge Resource

*NOTE*: THE FOLLOWING LINKS ARE NOW FUNCTIONAL AGAIN!! :D

Project Resources:

1. Final Texture Wad by GreyGhost - fdgfxd2-final.zip (*Note to Testers*: This file is necessary for testing!)

Submitted Maps (New, Finished):

1. Snarboo, Helipad by Sean R. Malloy (Submitted)
   
2. MajorRawne with fixes by traversd, WOODHAL2.WAD by David Damerell (Submitted)
   
3. printz with fixes by traversd, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood? by Grant Monroe (Submitted)
   
4. Dragonsbrethren, Undersea by Brian Plumb (Submitted)
   
5. maggot202, Melange by Kenneth S. Forte (Submitted)
   
6. maggot202 with fixes by traversd, Command Control by Patrick Hipps (Submitted)
   
7. traversd, viper.wad by Ash (Submitted)
   
8. traversd, Execute.wad by Steven Doornbos (Submitted)
   
9. traversd, TECHBASE.WAD by Brandon Reinhart (Submitted)
   
10. walter confalonieri, Pie.wad by James Ojaste (Submitted)
    
11. UOD, SUBWAY.WAD by Neal Ziring (Submitted)
    
12. traversd, ORIGWAD.WAD by Jeffrey Bird (Submitted)
    
13. walter confalonieri, Nefarious Chateau by Denver J. Curtis (Submitted)
    
14. ArmouredBlood with fixes by traversd, Fort Borg by John C. Boyle (Submitted)
    
15. 40oz, Ultima 1 by Jon Charlson (Chaff) (Submitted)
    
16. traversd, WILLE1M1.WAD by William Leslie (Submitted)
    
17. 40oz, Tunnels by Dominique Lavergne (Submitted)
    
18. ArmouredBlood, Elements by Henry Chang (Submitted)
    
19. CodenniumRed, TTADOM11.WAD by Bilbo, Reepicheep, Technocop, Jonnybag (Submitted)
    
20. Krispavera with fixes by traversd, The Fortified Castle by Dominique Lavergne (Submitted)
    
21. Mr. Freeze and Krispavera with fixes by traversd, SWEET.WAD by James Bearden (Submitted)
    
22. lareman with fixes by traversd, Hades House of Horrors - Part Two by Robert Zubek (Submitted)
    
23. tatsurd-cacocaco and Solarn, Brian and Craig Spark's Map 3 (Submitted)
    
24. masayan with fixes by traversd, Brian and Craig Sparks Map 1 (Submitted)
    
25. masayan, Ice Nightmare 2 by VT Ice (Submitted)
    
26. Mr. Freeze with fixes by traversd, Hades House of Horrors - Part One by Robert Zubek (Submitted)
    
27. tatsurd-cacocaco, OUTLAND.WAD by Russel Gruber (Submitted)
    
28. tatsurd-cacocaco, Castle to Hell by Richard Dignall (Submitted)
    
29. rf', wetwrkd2.wad by Zen Psychosis (Submitted)
    
30. walter confalonieri and traversd, Pure Evil by Doug Ryerson (Submitted)
    
31. GreyGhost with fixes by DoomHero85, Xenomorph 'The Complex' by Daniel Griffiths (Submitted)
    
32. Phobus, Vampire 5 by Darrell Bircsak (Submitted)
    

Keep in mind that your map may be relocated based on difficulty. If you would like a map with a special, such as Map 7, please tell me. I would like to avoid using map specials, but at least one map can use them if necessary.

Most importantly, have fun. :)


Some maps to pick from:

• Wad Pack series - If you pick a map from these, be sure to post the original wad as listed in the text file.
  
• WOODHAL2.WAD
  
• Xenomorph 'The complex'
  
• OUTLAND.WAD (IMPROVISE, ADAPT, OVERCOME)
  
• FORTRESS.WAD
  
• Hades House of Horrors - Part One
  
• Hades House of Horrors - Part Two
  
• Helipad
  
• Melange
  
• Undersea
  
• Bridge of Death
  
• Rocket Jones Volume 1 - The Nest
  
• Ultima 1
  
• Castle to Hell
  
• HQ
  
• Brian and Craig Sparks series - 1 2 3 4 5
  
• Fort Borg
  
• The Fortified Castle
  
• the Watering-Place
  
• The Tunnels
  
• the Rescue
  
• Elements
  
• Ice Nightmare 2
  
• Tiger's Den

[Solarn]

This sounds like an interesting challenge. I'm in. At least if I work on a bad 1994 map, everything I do will seem good in comparison.

[Mr. Freeze]

I'm totally up to it.

[GreyGhost]

Count me in. I could also round up some really bad `94 maps that aren't in the archive.

[Snarboo]

I can too, given I found my D!Zone Gold disk recently. :p If outside maps are rounded up for this, I would at least like for there to be a known author behind it.

What sort of feature set would be best for this? Limit-removing, Boom, advanced port? I'm also thinking that this project could use 1024's rule that you could not add gameplay area outside of the default dimensions, but you can add scenary.

[Solarn]

I can't really map for anything beyond Boom yet and my favourite choice would be limit-removing.

[40oz]

I'd love to do this. Are we actually allowed? I suggest you make an archive list of a bunch (more than 5 or 6) of 94 wads that of which say in the text file that they CAN be used as a base. If I recall correctly, a lot of them say you can't.

It would also be nice if the maps were playtested to check if they are not absolutely horrendous and have no layout whatsoever.

[Reisal]

I COULD get away with making a cheesy '94 style map but I will get obcessed with adding minor details to the level.

But again, this won't be my focus until I finish the rest of my episode 2 maps.

[Snarboo]

JohnnyRancid said:

I'd love to do this. Are we actually allowed? I suggest you make an archive list of a bunch (more than 5 or 6) of 94 wads that of which say in the text file that they CAN be used as a base. If I recall correctly, a lot of them say you can't.

I did a quick check and there seems to be enough maps from that time that allow for modification. Most of them are for Doom, but that isn't really a problem. If not, it wouldn't be much of a problem to include some from '95 as well. The difference isn't too huge.

It would also be nice if the maps were playtested to check if they are not absolutely horrendous and have no layout whatsoever.

That was the plan. In fact, the idea came when I was digging through some old wads and noticed that the actual map structure was fine, it was the poor texture choices, lighting and monster placement that made them so bad.

[Solarn]

Say, what did happen in '94 that made it the year of infamously horrible WADs? I'm not exactly up to snuff on my Doom history, since I only became involved in the community at all a few years ago.

[Spleen]

Solarn said:

Say, what did happen in '94 that made it the year of infamously horrible WADs? I'm not exactly up to snuff on my Doom history, since I only became involved in the community at all a few years ago.

DOOM was released on December 10, 1993....

Think about it........

[Stupid Bunny]

Solarn said:

Say, what did happen in '94 that made it the year of infamously horrible WADs? I'm not exactly up to snuff on my Doom history, since I only became involved in the community at all a few years ago.

It wasn't really anything specific that happened; instead, it was the fact that mapping was a new and exciting novelty and no standard for good or bad maps really existed beyond the existing IWADs. As a result, there were hordes of people putting together really crappy maps and putting them online because, at the time, making any custom map was cool, no matter how ugly or unplayable it was. The ickiness of a lot of the maps was further exacerbated by the fact that there were no limit-removing source ports and only primitive editing tools, which meant that even the best maps could only achieve so much.

I was 3 years old at the time, so I don't know personally, but this is my best guess as to why "1994 map" is a euphemism for crap. :)

EDIT: Oh yeah, the actual project. I would love to get in on this...I might go see what 1994 maps I can dredge up (that I'm allowed to build off of, of course) and begin thinking about what I might use.

[Solarn]

Spleen said:

DOOM was released on December 10, 1993....

Think about it........

Yeah, but does one year really make that much difference? Maybe I should have asked "What happened in 1995 that made it not simply the second year of crappy WADs?"

[40oz]

Solarn said:

Say, what did happen in '94 that made it the year of infamously horrible WADs? I'm not exactly up to snuff on my Doom history, since I only became involved in the community at all a few years ago.

Mapping was relatively new, and tons of doomers were getting into it for the first time. They didn't really have a lot of wads to look at for inspiration, so just about anything people made was considered good. Unlike today, where it's increasingly easier to differentiate good and bad wads. Especially since we have newer and easier editing tools with handicaps such as autoaligning textures and editing in 3D mode.

There are definitely good wads from 1994, but 95% of them are really interesting concepts people tried to replicate but failed miserably, or just some random deathmatch mockups people created just to deathmatch their friends in, with no real interest in impressing anyone. Nowadays it seems like people want to get their name out there, so they are much more careful with their design and playtest things often.

It's mainly because around the time it was released every was shitting their pants about it and played it all the time. Being introduced to deathmatch for the first time was a popular concept, and being able to easily customize it opened the eyes of many new players. Over time Doom began to get older, seperating the general public to go pursue other games, from the dedicated doomers who are still here.

[Snarboo]

StupidBunny basically hit the nail on the head, but in 1994 to 1995, making maps for Doom was in its infancy. The editors at the time were primitive and buggy, there was very little available documentation, and simply being able to make a map and upload it to a BBS or FTP was quite an achievement. Imagine trying to make a map with an editor that has no visual mode, which makes aligning textures a snap, and having to compile and run the map everytime you wanted to see how it was turning out.

Not every map from that time was bad, however. There were quite a few that were fun and playable, even today. I believe many people had the right idea, as a few maps had interesting designs. And it's not like bad maps aren't released today. :)

[Mr. Freeze]

Solarn said:

Yeah, but does one year really make that much difference? Maybe I should have asked "What happened in 1995 that made it not simply the second year of crappy WADs?"

The DooM community had standards by then.

[Spleen]

Snarboo said:
Imagine trying to make a map with an editor that has no visual mode, which makes aligning textures a snap, and having to compile and run the map everytime you wanted to see how it was turning out.[/B]

I still do that, because I just align textures by doing math in my head ("hmm lets see it's 256 width and offset by 64..."). I find 3D modes awkward to use, either way.

The bigger problem is that building nodes probably took forever on a 1994 machine. :p

[Creaphis]

I would also be intrigued by a challenge that takes modern maps and tunes them down to '94 standards.

[40oz]

I was looking through the shovelware "Instant Doom" archive, and played these wads. I think these have potential:

Corridors of Hell
Text

All monsters wake up at the start, pretty difficult, few secrets, playable from start to finish, open areas welcome for detailing.

Ice Nightmare 2
Text

Kinda long. Ammo is a little generous. Quite a few traps. Health is a little low. Rooms are a tad small for details, good if you are a 1024 mapper. Inspiration is apparrent. Monster count increases a lot as you progress.

The Tigers Den
Text

Lots of monsters. Good layout. Tons of big areas welcoming details.

[Snarboo]

Hey, thanks, I'll look into those.

I'm thinking that picking 15 to 20 maps will be better in the long run. That way, it will give mappers more options, and the chance that we will have over 32 maps is probably slim.

Edit:
I did a quick run through of both of those maps and they do indeed look promising. I'll start searching for some more right now.

Edit 2:
I'm going to post a few maps that I've recently downloaded here for scrutiny. Also, I'd like to get your opinions on things like custom textures. Should there be a custom texture set, a set of textures compiled from all 4 retail Doom wads (Ultimate, 2, TNT, Plutonia) or Doom 2 defaults only?

Not every map I'm going to list will be chosen, these are just for ideas.

Hades House of Horrors - Part One

Short map, but decent layout. Could easily be expanded.

Hades House of Horrors - Part Two

Sequal to above. Medium size, few monsters, lots of small, tight tunnels and wide open spaces.

Helipad

Another short map. Suffers from common 1994 problems. Might be too small, but has interesting layout.

Melange

Very small map. I've seen this in quite a few wad compilations on D!Zone disks. Pretty standard.

Undersea

Medium map that takes place in a cave. Nothing about it seems to be under the sea, though. :P

Bridge of Death

Small level. Reminds me of a low rent version of Military Base.

[Butts]

Not a bad idea, I *might* participate if I feel like it.

[Kyka]

Creaphis said:

I would also be intrigued by a challenge that takes modern maps and tunes them down to '94 standards.

There are far too many of these type of maps already.




On topic, I think this is a great idea for a project, and i would love to see this seriously get off the ground. Also it would be very cool if there were a few "well known" maps from 1994 (whatever that means) mixed in there, so people would be like "OOOoooohhh, I remember this map."

Anyway, good luck with it.

Spleen said:

The bigger problem is that building nodes probably took forever on a 1994 machine. :p

Probably? Probably?

[Super Jamie]

I've often thought the exact same thing as OP. Some maps were very good gameplay wise, just butt-ugly by today's standards. Looking forward to seeing the results.

Hoover Dam is one that springs to mind. It looks pretty good as-is, but there's almost no vertical alignment, and the interior machines and lifts look fucking retarded.

[esselfortium]

Creaphis said:

I would also be intrigued by a challenge that takes modern maps and tunes them down to '94 standards.

This was actually the original plan for KDiKDiZD, before it turned into what it is now. :P

Also, I built about 90% of Testing Facility (testfcil.wad) in Hellmaker, with no 3D mode and doing all texture alignments by hand. It's not *that* terrible a process :P

[Jodwin]

I'm lost wondering what would be the real difference between a tuned-up 1994 map and a bog standard (G)ZDoom map? That's the only reason I voted no.

[Snarboo]

The idea is similar to the Oblige map tune-up community wads. It's not necessarily about drowning an old map in details, but more about taking what is a good underlying concept and improving it. A lot of 1994 wads that I've seen have great layouts, but have 1994 problems such as bad texture choices, unpegged door tracks and hidden doors.

I think any map based on an old one should play to its strengths rather than its weaknesses. This is all about creativity with an old layout than it is making a standard (G)ZDoom map. :)

I've played through a few more maps, so here are some more impressions:

Rocket Jones Volume 1 - The Nest

A very good medium sized map. Good texture choices and progression. This one might not need a tune-up.

Ultima 1

An old map based on Ultima Underworld's Stygian Abyss. Rather flat and bland, but an interesting layout. A very non-linear map.

Castle to Hell

A medium castle style map. Ammo balance is bad outside of the castle, but is better as you progress.

HQ

A base situated in a mountain. Absolutely fantastic use of lighting for such an early map. Progression is a little confusing, but otherwise good.

I think's that's enough maps from the Ultimate Doom. I'll start looking for some old Doom 2 maps.

[Lüt]

I'd join, except I'm already doing this to like 100 of my own 1994 maps.

Solarn said:

Yeah, but does one year really make that much difference? Maybe I should have asked "What happened in 1995 that made it not simply the second year of crappy WADs?"

Nothing special happened, it's just that the average map quality has had a steady upward improvement over the years and 1994 is the low point where it began.

esselfortium said:

This was actually the original plan for KDiKDiZD, before it turned into what it is now. :P

Bah, and I was about to link him to KDiKDiZD :P

[Super Jamie]

Snarboo said:

Ultima 1
An old map based on Ultima Underworld's Stygian Abyss. Rather flat and bland, but an interesting layout. A very non-linear map.

Does anyone actually remember UW1's level 1? Whilst the top-down layout is okayish in ultima.wad, the scaling and detail are way off. With stuff like 3D bridges and sloping floors, you could make an almost perfect replica of Underworld now.

Unfortunately, it would still probably be a boring Doom map.

[Snarboo]

Here are a few maps for Doom 2:

Brian and Craig Sparks series - 1 2 3 4 5

A seres of 5 maps for Doom 2 made by two brothers. Most are of medium size and have good design. The first map is a small Entryway style map, the second is a church that leads to a sewer, the third is a Doom 2 style map that has a small error in ZDoom, the fourth is a medium Mansion map, and the last is a sewer style map similar to the Gantlet.

Oddly, none of them come with a text file in the zip, but there is one listed for them on /idgames.

Fort Borg

A medium sized Doom 2 map. Starts in an organic area, then progresses to areas similar to the Inmost Dens.

The Fortified Castle

Other maps by this Author: the Watering-Place The Tunnels the Rescue

Abyssmal texture choice, but an interesting layout. A castle map that sees you battling from courtyard to courtyard. Edit: I forgot to load the texture wad along side it. Uses heretic textures. The maps by this author feel like a marriage of Heretic and Doom, and it mostly works.

Elements

Not to be confused with Elements for the Ultimate Doom, although it is very similar. Starts in a cave leading to a firery cavern, followed by a cistern and a descent into the Earth along a spiral staircase. Pretty difficult overall.


That's enough maps listed by me. If anyone has a map they would like to suggest, please post it! :)

[Super Jamie]

Any of these:

superjamie@one:~$ ls /media/1000/DOOM/PWADs/1994
acheron6.zip  deadbs10.zip  dmpris.zip    njdoom2.zip   sewers2.zip
castevil.zip  dm2gm1.zip    gather.zip    njdoom.zip    ultima.zip
cleim10.zip   dm2gm2.zip    invade1.zip   paganini.zip  ziggurat.zip
dante666.zip  dm2gm3a.zip   kneedeep.zip  selfdead.zip

Actually, Dr Sleep's Acheron and Dante would probably make really good candidates.

My vote's still with Hoover Dam. That could be breathtaking.