Rolling Acres (WIP)

[LugiasBitch]

Well, kinda new here, so forgive me if I break some policy or thing.

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If anyone is familiar with the shopping mall, you may have heard of Rolling Acres at one point or another. For those not familiar with the mall, let me take you for a brief history lesson.

Rolling Acres Mall started out in 1975 with Sears and JCPenney as anchors, with 50 inline tenants. Although the mall wasn't yet popular, it did gain traction, and was given a Montgomery Ward a year later, adding on a handful of new inline tenants. The mall then suddenly rose up in popularity. A new expansion brought in a second floor, and an O'neils which became Kaufmann's in the 80s. The mall featured many skylights which brightened the mall with natural light. You had an orange tile fountain as well as a mighty center court complete with a bubble elevator and a food court known as Picnic Place/Prom n' Eat. The mall even featured a 3 screen cinema, providing the ultimate name in shopping, dining, and recreational activity. The mall still grew as it saw Target come in as a fifth anchor in 1995. The mall also hit its peak that year with record sales, 140 inline tenants, and 5 full fledged anchors.

Then suddenly, everything went wrong.

Teen gangs began to plague the mall. A reported gunshot sent shoppers into a panic one night. Stores began pulling out. Management sold the mall away for 30 million, but a year later, the mall sold again for just 9 million. JCPenney and the Montgomery Ward (now a Dillard's) downgraded their stores into outlet centers. More stores began leaving. The cinema changed hands twice. And then, in 2005. Target left the mall, followed by Dillard's. In 2007, the cinema closed for the final time, prompting fear out of management as occupancy dwindled down below 25%. Kaufmann's was acquired by Macy's which remained inside the mall for just a year before closing its doors in 2008. That same year, management notified that the mall could no longer remain open, and would be closing its doors. The last 8 tenants in the mall included small organizations, a church, and a dollar store. And on Halloween day of 2008, the mall shut permanently. Meanwhile, Sears and JCPenney outlet would remain open for several years.

Sears faced its inevitable doom in 2011, and as things got worse and worse, the JCPenney outlet (renamed JC's 5 Star Outlet) closed its doors in 2013, leaving the mall totally dead with no retail business whatsoever. After 8+ years of decay, the mall was finally slated for demolition by the city of Akron.

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So why am I telling you this? What does this have to do with Doom?

Well, fear not, my fellow space marines, for I have actually fleshed out this idea, and have gone to work on it. Check below for pictures. Also, google Rolling Acres mall, and see if you can compare.

1 - Rolling Acres 1.jpg

1 - Rolling Acres 2.jpg

1 - Rolling Acres 3.jpg

If you want to see the project for yourself, here's a test build that I can release. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/108 ... 0Acres.wad

NOTE: Keep in mind that this project is unfinished as of now. Although I have no release date in mind yet, I promise that the mod will be complete sometime this year.

NOTE: This can only run with GZDoom for the time being.

NOTE: Due to a bug with the roof skybox, this mod DOES NOT WORK (very well) WITH ZANDRONUM. Unless someone can help me resolve this issue, I am afraid this will never be played on Zandronum.

Known bugs: HOM conflicts with the sloped floors outside. Weird graphical glitches with the roof skybox, specifically around the JCPenney building. Frame rate drops due to excessive amounts of, well, map. There is also a chance you can glitch and break the elevator's functionality.

NOTE: This mod is huge (partially thanks to custom music which can be toggled via Mall PA), so there is no guarantee that this mod will run in a stable manner on your computer.

Otherwise, do have fun. I am open to constructive criticism, and suggestions to help squash some bugs. This map has been tried and tested with vanilla Doom, Brutal Doom, Project Brutality, and Weasel's Nazis!

[LugiasBitch]

Oh, I almost forgot. It would be a sin to talk about the Rolling Acres Mall without showing the famous front entrance.

1 - Rolling Acres 5.jpg

[Nash]

I've been following this map on Facebook. This map's scale is massive, very impressive.

[grouchbag]

That is gorgeous!

[Rachael]

This here - this is truly amazing.

[LugiasBitch]

Hey. Time to share a small little update on how the mall is progressing. Here come the screenies.

1 - Rolling Acres 6.jpg

1 - Rolling Acres 7.jpg

1 - Rolling Acres 8.jpg

I still have quite a ways to go before this will be finished. I have much texture work to do, there's much troubleshooting to be done with the roof skybox, and some internal goodies to add in. This project is quite ambitious, and with a small crowd backing this thing up, I am determined to complete this mall.

NOTE: Due to optimization issues, reflective tile floors seen in the first screenshot have been disabled. If you absolutely want to see them, the ACS lines have been grayed out as messages.

[SAraisXenoQueen]

Oh fun. I think I saw this thing on TV once. It would certainly make for a good theme.

I assume there's going to be a trigger that changes the mall from pristine to "decayed hellscape"?

[BFG]

very nice, I like mall style maps because there is so much to explore. Also I've seen videos on those abandond malls, and they are downright creepy so it is a good setting. It kinda reminds me of the original Dawn of the Dead and that Christmas shopping map in Bloody Pulp Fiction.

[PandaDoomer]

Looks cool, I'll keep my eyes on this.

[Zen3001]

waiting here for the finished version

[LugiasBitch]

Alright guys. I haven't quit on the mall. I've been bogged down with day job and video editing somewhat unrelated things for youtube. But I can assure you that I've at least attempted to continue work on the mall. I think for this progress update, I'll share some screenshots of some unfinished areas, and share some insight about what still needs to be done.

1 - Rolling Acres 11.jpg

1 - Rolling Acres 10.jpg

1 - Rolling Acres 12.jpg

And that concludes this update. If anyone wishes to offer their insight or even some help, do let me know. I am in need of texture work. Offering to help guarantees your place in the credits.

[Rachael]

What kind of textures do you need?

[LugiasBitch]

Update time. Built a few escalators, and with the help of a fellow zdoom user, I started building up on eyecandy.

1 - Rolling Acres 13.jpg

1 - Rolling Acres Comparison 4.jpg

1 - Rolling Acres 15.jpg

Oh, and before I go, there's one question I would like to answer.

I assume there's going to be a trigger that changes the mall from pristine to "decayed hellscape"?

Sadly, I don't really have any plans for that. Building the mall itself is a very difficult task, and I'm afraid I wouldn't have it in me to go back through & design the mall as if it were abandoned and overrun with demonic beasts. However, with that said, I think I might just let someone else take a shot at doing it once the map is complete. It would make a very interesting set for a mood piece.

[everennui]

Holy Shit!

I've saw this on Facebook. After finally playing it, I can see why it has taken you this long. This is insane. Great job!

[protox]

There is a new Vice series called Abandoned and the first episode features Rolling Acres.

https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/vice ... st-episode