ZDoom

OK. So as the subject suggests, this is a 4 level Zdoom mapset. The levels are huge, and very detailed, but they play pretty well.

Screenies...

http://profile.imageshack.us/user/kysev ... p04tm8.png
http://profile.imageshack.us/user/kysev ... 04aek8.png
http://profile.imageshack.us/user/kysev ... pngjn7.png
http://profile.imageshack.us/user/kysev ... pngxc7.png

Link: http://www.speedyshare.com/419831990.html

Note: This has been up on Doomworld for the last week or so. If you already got it there, these are pretty much the same maps (with some modifications).

Thanks (again) to Jodwin, Dreadopp, KingKill33, Jimi91, gggmork and Creaphis for playtesting, as well as loads of feedback.

Last thing. Make sure you play these maps with the music ON. The music is by Jimi91 (Maps 1,2 and 4) and stewboy (Map 3) and it is awesome.


Any feedback, criticisms, thoughts etc appreciated.

Other maps in progress for this project:

Map 5 (50%)
Map 7 (80%)
Map 15 (20%)
Map 17 (finished)

Thanks people.

Looks very techy/death star

Yeah, totally. A few people have made that comparison. I think the first level has the biggest star wars feel. It is also a bit of a 'tourist' map, coz it is a bit cramped, and I didn't want to make the player fight too hard in such cramped quarters. (levels 2, 3 and 4 are much tougher in the gameplay department I think.)

Thanks for the comment.

Corridors are a bit cramped, but the detail amount is pretty good, and it shows your mapping skills. I like it.

You already have my thoughts about this mapset, Kyka. Can't wait to see some more maps.

§-Morpheus-§ wrote:Corridors are a bit cramped, but the detail amount is pretty good, and it shows your mapping skills. I like it.

Yeah. Map01 is pretty cramped. I think the next 3 are much less guilty of that. Thanks for the comments. I'm glad you like the maps.

Dreadopp wrote:You already have my thoughts about this mapset, Kyka. Can't wait to see some more maps.

Heh. As always, thanks Dreadopp. . In truth, I have got very little done the last few weeks on this. All my "Doom time" recently has been eaten up with helping out on the Claustrophobia1024 project. Not that I mind or anything. Have really enjoyed working with other people on those maps. That project will be so so good when it is done.

When I actually get a few more maps done for this project, you will be one of the first to know.

Heh, just played through this. The 1st level had me scared a lot, because I only had a pistol, and there were archviles and barons being thrown at me. The 4th level's never ending corridor thing was a bit repetitive, but pretty cool. Its almost like this could be boom compatible, because I didn't really see any slopes, particle fountains, or anything else of the like.

Very nice!

Mik57 wrote:Heh, just played through this. The 1st level had me scared a lot, because I only had a pistol, and there were archviles and barons being thrown at me. The 4th level's never ending corridor thing was a bit repetitive, but pretty cool. Its almost like this could be boom compatible, because I didn't really see any slopes, particle fountains, or anything else of the like.

Very nice!

Thanks .

I have spent a long time thinking about the question of Boom Compatibility. In the end, I did choose to make the project for Zdoom because:
- As I learn more about the 'extended' functions that Zdoom gives, you will see more of those incorporated into later levels. (Though not too blatantly... I want this project to still maintain a reasonable 'vanilla' feel to it.)
-Because the levels are so detailed, I guess I like the way Zdoom makes the levels look.
-Boom makes the levels play differently. It could be just me, but I find it a much smoother experience to play through these levels on Zdoom than I do playing through them on Boom. Boom seems to (imo) accentuate floor height variations, making the player seem to bounce around more. As well, Demons and Spectres seem to attack slightly differently in Boom. I find it much more annoying to dodge their bite attacks, especially given how cramped level 1 is. Zdoom seems to make everything smoother, which with the level of detail on these levels, is kinda important. Hitscanners react differently too.
Don't get me wrong, I love boom, I use it often. but Zdoom is probably my favorite port, and I guess I just really like the way Zdoom handles these particular levels. And I fully plan to incorporate more Zdoom features as this set of levels progresses.

Thanks for playing through them, and thanks for the comments. Much appreciated.

Kyka wrote:-Boom makes the levels play differently. It could be just me, but I find it a much smoother experience to play through these levels on Zdoom than I do playing through them on Boom. Boom seems to (imo) accentuate floor height variations, making the player seem to bounce around more. As well, Demons and Spectres seem to attack slightly differently in Boom. I find it much more annoying to dodge their bite attacks, especially given how cramped level 1 is. Zdoom seems to make everything smoother, which with the level of detail on these levels, is kinda important. Hitscanners react differently too.
Don't get me wrong, I love boom, I use it often. but Zdoom is probably my favorite port, and I guess I just really like the way Zdoom handles these particular levels. And I fully plan to incorporate more Zdoom features as this set of levels progresses.

It's the other way around. ZDoom changes how height changes are done from the original behavior; Doom itself had your view bounce slightly whenever landing, even on small height changes. This difference in ZDoom seems to lead a lot of mappers into a false sense of security in being able to throw height changes all over the place for floor detail without inhibiting gameplay, but the gameplay effect is just as bad. When you're in midair, you lose most or all of your movement control, and a floor that's bumpy enough to cause problems like that will have major issues for playability in any sourceport. You move forwards to dodge one attack, but step into a small floor bump and lose control for just a few tics while you helplessly slide right into another projectile.

Boom's transfer-heights, ZDoom's bridge things, or even vanilla-compatible self-referencing sectors can be used to make bumpy floor detail behave as though it's flat, though, allowing the problem to be avoided completely without necessitating visual changes.

Thanks for your comments essel.

I'll keep that in mind.