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A project I have been working on here and there for a little over a year. I wanted to create an addon mod that would allow me to preform "fire-n-forget" style conversions of maps made for vanilla DOOM/DOOM2 to Heretic.
Despite being often considered to be just "Fantasy DOOM" convert maps between the game isn't such a clean process. Heretic has considerably less textures and most of the two series's AI doesn't have a true equivalent between them. So I've been creating a mod file that contains a bunch of new Heretic type textures and enemy AIs to bridge the gap. So far I've been using the ancient DMConv tool with a custom conversion script to handle the actual convert of maps.
I have also reclassified this mod as also being a resource package for Heretic. I've come to realize there is nothing preventing modders from developing new stages from scratch using all the new textures/monsters/objects I created for this conversion kit. If you wish to do that, please do. I'd love to see it.
VERSION 1.25 RELEASED! AS OF 1.2 THE TOPLOADER METHOD CAN NOW RUN STAGES FROM DOOM/DOOM2 IWADS! MAKE SURE TO LIST THE DOOM WAD YOU USE BEFORE THE MOD FILES. YOU STILL MUST RUN THE GAME AS HERETIC.
GENERAL LIST OF CHANGES:
Spoiler:
- May corrupt old 1.0 saves that use the toploader. Finish any stages you were currently playing before installing.
- The stage structure when using the Toploader wad is now setup like DOOM (DOOM level names, secret level return points, etc)
- SIGIL and No Rest for the Wicked support added.
- To prevent confusion the DOOM2 and No Rest episodes will only show up when the starter levels from those games are detected.
- A buffed up palette swap of the Undead Warrior has been added as one of the Revenant breeds. Now only some form of the Weredragons are missing.
- An option for music randomization has been added to the mod's option menu. Useful for playing older user made levels, which typically use the e1m1 or map01 level slot (subjecting the player to just those levels' music endlessly).
- Water stalker's health have been nerfed a bit (they only appear if toggled on in the option menu).
- Version 1.11 change: The gas pods collision width has been reduced. They were too wide compared to the DOOM barrels before, making stages like Barrels of Fun virtually impossible to complete. Version 1.1 saves are compatible with version 1.11. Lava Walk Boots are also no longer counted as stage items as the player is often expected to enter lava/slime to collect them all.
- Version 1.12 change: Fixed a bug that made levels E2M8 and E3M8 not end properly when the boss was killed. Changed the ending text to something less silly. Shouldn't break 1.1 or 1.11 savecodes.
- Version 1.15 change: added a Weredragon variant as one of the Hell Knight replacers. Buffed the health of the Pyro Succubus and Lesser Heresiarch. Final update for the forseeable future barring if I discover how to correct the MAP24/MAP29 linedef bug. Won't corrupt version 1.1 saves or newer.
Version 1.2 Updates:
- Several more enemies received buffs
- Fixed some minor floor textures not animating properly with the toploader method/
- This toploader method should now work if used with the DOOM/DOOM2 IWAD! No longer do you need to split the stages into their own seperate PWAD. YOU STILL NEED TO RUN IT AS HERETIC WITH THE HERETIC IWAD AS THE MAIN WAD. Make sure to list HereticMTOTopLoad.wad AFTER the DOOM wad in the load order.
Version 1.25 Updates:
- Fixed some bugs with the Saberclaws (low ceiling issues), and the Bastets (could sometimes get stuck in their teleporting mode while also able to attack).
- Added corpse mirroring for many of the minor enemies, similar to Duke Nukem monsters. Makes piles of bodies look less repetitive.
- Added half-arsed support for Freedoom/Final Doom. All the additional textures from those games are now added with their palettes fixed to Heretic, but I didn't take the time to find fantasy themed replacements for them (It took me about a month just to sort through and implement replacements for all of DOOM/DOOM2's textures). So if you don't mind the loss of immersion they are now technically playable.
FEATURES:
- Fantasy themed replacements for all of vanilla DOOM's textures, designed to try to be a fitting replacement for the original textures as much as possible while also retooling the style to a fantasy landscape.
- New monsters and items that more closely fit DOOM monsters that had no true equivalent in Heretic. All new monsters are coded in ZScript and most are designed be similar but not carbon copy AI of the DOOM monster they replace.
- A "smart" randomizer that introduces more enemy types than in DOOM. A consistent RNG seed is generated based on object positioning and enemies are randomized by species rather than individual. For example a converted map may feature one of three possible replacements for pinky demons rather than just always saberclaws.
PROGRESS SO FAR:
- Released
Here's a video showing how my conversion mod handled MAP14 from the original DOOM2. For obvious copyright reasons I will not be releasing any official converted maps with any public release of my mod. I only used them in my videos as a proof of concept to show how the conversion works on maps DOOM veterans should be very familiar with:
Several more videos, one showcasing the conversion of vanilla stages:
EDIT: More DOOM2 map examples added:
Spoiler:
KNOWN ISSUES:
- While the conversions are pretty good occasionally something just doesn't match up right, due to sizing/theme/etc. Unavoidable unfortunately.
- For some reason the pit with the invulnerablity relic in DOOM2's Map24 (The Chasm) is buggy. The floor lifting effect refuses to work correctly and for now I am unsure why. For now I recommend either avoiding collecting that item or be prepared to use a noclip cheat to escape. Its really bizarre, especially with the Toploader wad being it is programmed to completely overwrite Heretic's linedef/sector special data with DOOM's version wholesale, thus all linedef specials should behave identical to DOOM/DOOM2. All but the linedef triggers in that one specific pit apparently
- MAP29 has a similar bug on one of the rising platforms in the lava pits. Save before entering them, or expect the possibility you might have to perform the noclip cheat. Still no idea why this happens. In theory the toploader version of my mod is using DOOM's linedef/sector type data, with the Heretic version not being used at all.
- For now FREEDOOM and FINAL DOOM maps still use their vanilla textures, just converted to Heretic's palette. Don't know when, if ever, I'll go through the process of replacing them all. It will take a VERY long time to do, very tedious. If anyone else is interested in taking up the task or even just partially replacing the textures let me know. The textures/flats are all store in their own subfolders for ease of locating (textures/unconverted, flats/unconverted).
- In case it wasn't obvious use Heretic as your base game, not DOOM/DOOM2.
- Load the DOOM stage(s) you wish converted as you would normally a custom wad. Include "HereticMTOBase.pk3" and "HereticMTOToploader.wad" as additional mod files.
- For best results list the DOOM wad first, HereticMTOBase.pk3 second and HereticMTOToploader.wad last.
- Go to the equivalent Heretic stage. For example a DOOM stage that replaces E1M1 will still replace E1M1. A place holder episode has been provided for DOOM2 stages (MAP01 still = MAP01).
- If you wish to convert stages from the original DOOM/DOOM2 iwad you will need to copy them to a seperate pwad first and use that file.
WARNING: Vanilla Heretic stages will not function correctly while HereticMTOToplader.wad is active. Try loading one and you will see what I mean
Method2 - Manual conversion using DM2Conv:
- I'll fill in the details once I have more time. For now one piece of info for those familiar enough with DosBox and command prompts to try winging a manaul conversion: do not use HereticMTOToploader.wad with manually converted stages. You will get errors. Only use HereticMTOBase.pk3.
BIG LIST OF CREDITS:
Spoiler:
//DOLPHMAN - Ripped Shadow Caster Sprites
//Ant19831983 - Ripped the censored SNES MK1 Raiden fatality sprites used for the ash piles.
//The Unhappy Orchestra - MAP30 Music
//Uses Assets from the Following Game
- DOOM and DOOM2
- Hexen
- Freedoom and Final DOOM
- Strife
- Shadow Caster
- I M MEEN and Chill Manor
- Mortal Kombat 1 and 2
- Powerslave
- Diablo 1 & 2 (sounds)
- Gradius 3 Arcade (1 Sprite)
- Super Castlevania 4 (sound effects)
- Final Fantasy 6
- Uses assets from the following Realm667 contributors. Many of the enemies/objects have been reprogrammed by me to better fit my plans for them:
Submitted: ETTiNGRiNDER
Decorate: ETTiNGRiNDER
Sounds: N/A
Sprites: Magnet Interactive Studios / Mat Weathers
Sprite Edit: ETTiNGRiNDER
Idea Base: Sprite left over from an unreleased Hellraiser game, heavily reworked
It's a fairly interesting concept, and other than previous conversion attempts, this one seems to do many things better, especially since it's adding new enemies and textures which haven't been in Heretic before. Retexturing is a hit-or-miss thing, ofc. In E1M1 and E1M2 it seems to work quite well while E2M4 looks quite bland with large and repetitive textures, reminding me of low-skill levels on shovelware CDs. This might be due to the texturing of the original map, but maybe different replacements can be chosen in some areas in order to compensate this effect.
Other than that, it looks like an interesting attempt to breathe some new life into the good old Doom maps while also spicing up Heretic gameplay a bit.
...while E2M4 looks quite bland with large and repetitive textures, reminding me of low-skill levels on shovelware CDs. This might be due to the texturing of the original map, but maybe different replacements can be chosen in some areas in order to compensate this effect.
I gave the original E2M4 another look. Yeah, perhaps it is not the best showcase piece for this mod set. Not much was lost in translation by the conversion, ID just happened to go extra bland with their choices in textures for that stage so there wasn't much to work with to begin with
I mainly chose it because I knew I could clear it easily and it would showcase more of the enemy variety than an episode 1 stage.
How will it work technically? Are you just loading this on top of any Doom wad (without having to change any original data) or is it rather like you have to convert Doom maps manually and use them in Heretic instead?
NightFright wrote:How will it work technically? Are you just loading this on top of any Doom wad (without having to change any original data) or is it rather like you have to convert Doom maps manually and use them in Heretic instead?
For now its a manual conversion. The mod itself just adds a bunch of extra content to bridge the gap between the games.
Probably one of the biggest flaws currently is it relies on DM2Conv, an ancient DOS based conversion tool from the mid 90s. Sadly the newest functional DOOM-to-Heretic auto-conversion tool I could find. So I'm stuck using a tool that requires DOSBox and the usage of DOS style command prompt commands. Good news is it doesn't require any more editing after the conversion. The only manual changes I made to the maps in my videos was adding a few DOOM2 monsters to spice things up (The blue succubi are the replacements for Chaingunners for example).
It would be probably easy enough to make an addon patch for top loading, which would be nice for people who don't want to deal with DM2Conv. I would keep that an addition addon though, since it would make my mod incompatible with vanilla Heretic, corrupting the object layout of Heretic maps (Heretic Maulotaurs and DOOM Shotgunners use the same object ID for example). Plus the manual conversion method is better for anyone who would want to tweak their maps post conversion.
Given the project Dm2conv includes source, perhaps it could be recompiled in Free Pascal. Though given the DOS-isms in it and the inline assembler, maybe not
Craneo wrote:This looks very cool! will there be a "Textures and Props only" version? that would go great with Wrath of Chronos!
Given that the main mod file is nothing more than a bunch of textures and props I suppose it could also be used for building new content. So yes.
Given the project Dm2conv includes source, perhaps it could be recompiled in Free Pascal. Though given the DOS-isms in it and the inline assembler, maybe not
Shoot, I wouldn't even know where to begin on converting the Dm2conv source anyways. It works well enough with DosBox and making a "top loader" addon for my mod would handle anyone that just wants to do an easy mode conversion of their favorite vanilla asset DOOM/DOOM2 maps.
Almost done with all the replacement material for DOOM2. Just got to complete the Icon of Sin's replacement. After that would be creating the Top Loader plugin and some play testing to make sure everything is in working order.
If all goes well a public release could be ready by late next week.
This can be especially interesting with vanilla maps NOT from official id releases, e.g. DTWiD, since you won't recognize familiar level structures then and it really feels like all-new Heretic content. Fingers crossed that testing goes well!
Finished Icon of Sin replacement. Got the prototype of the top loader plugin complete. Here is a screenshot of DOOM2's MAP03 "converted" using the top loader wad:
So I've reached the final testing and cleanup phase.
This looks more and more like a TC with custom maps. Hard to see these are basically retextured Doom maps. Which is meant to be a compliment.
I mean, all this was already possible before. The converter you are using exists since ages, but the difference here is that it's not going to be a plain automated conversion. A lot of manual corrections are involved with extra content thrown in as well, so it's definitely much more interesting.
Was busy visiting relatives over the weekend, so didn't get much done then. We made a point to have our reunion in a very isolated, outdoorsy place for the obvious reason. Not much time to be using computers and no internet access.
But what testing I have been able to get in has gone well. Glad I did it: the top loader plugin had numerous bugs that were easy for me to fix but would have been completely game breaking if left in. Couldn't even get past map02 because vanilla Heretic doesn't recognize fast doors even when being run through GZDoom
But I've fixed that and a number of other issues. My conversion certainly seems harder than DOOM2, though nothing insane. Once I play through at least half of the converted stages I'll probably set up a public release.
I also made a mistake in my last screenshot. I was using an unrelated character class mod: the player weapon seen in the pic doesn't actually appear in my mod. There are two added weapons to fill in for the BFG and super shotgun respectively.
