UAC Technology Center

[Smoke_333]

This is my first official WAD. It is for Doom 2 and I would like feedback on it. It's quite straightforward in my opinion, however that's how I like levels.
Backstory:
The UAC Technology Center, once bustling with workers and employees has gone silent since the demonic invasion. You assume the worst as you enter the facility.

Here are some screenshots:




Again, let me know what you think and what is good and what could be improved on. Hopefully I was successful in creating an eerie atmosphere.

https://www.mediafire.com/file/5awrq8e7 ... r.wad/file (Old Version)

Edit: Final Version: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xswxyJ ... sp=sharing

[grouchbag]

Not trying to be mean, but there aren't any screenshots or a download.

[GiraffeMan]

8/10
Pretty Epic Map. Here's the good stuff:
~Intricate level design, really like it.
~There's a few areas I feel are pretty creative. I see tons of potential.
~Balanced Loot to Monster Ratio (Could use a bit fewer shells though.)
~Atmosphere Was Done Pretty Well
~Like the soundtrack you picked.
~Little To No Artificial Difficulty
~Epic Teleportation Pranks
~No Poorly Aligned Textures and Crappy Seams (Please Keep Doing That)
Bad Things You Should Work On:
~Missed Opportunities for Secrets
~Weird Placement of Guy Hanging From The Ceiling Near The Blue Locked Door
~Soundtrack Cuts Off At End and Starts again, rather than immediately starting again. (You can fix this by either downloading the MIDIs yourself rather than looking for an mp3 of it off the internet, but if you do use an mp3, you can cut off the silence in the audio. Here's a website where you can trim it. https://audiotrimmer.com/)
~Map name is still Entryway. (Not too much of a concern, but if it were named Technology Center that would be pretty cool. Use the MAPINFO lump in Slade3 to change the soundtrack, sky texture, and map name. You can also add a text screen like the ones that appear at the end of a Doom episode.)

Anyway, good map. Keep up the epic work.

[Yatte_Mimashou]

Looks great!

[Matias]

Nice map even tho it's not something i would normally play due to the creepy atmosphere.

There is couple small issues worth checking out
-You can get slightly stuck to the platform where the chaingun is, seems to be a invisible wall or something
-Due to tightness of the blue keycard room and the room after blue door you sometimes feel like you are getting stuck to stuff and you can also get boxed in by the enemies fairly easily. This might have been your intention with those areas so i can't really say is it a issue or not

[DavidN]

Nice first map! It sticks to small areas and is a bit boxy, but you use traps/movement well and you've definitely got a lot of potential It isn't linear like a lot of beginner maps, and the rooms tend to improve as the map goes on - the multi-level one with the stairs in the north is much more interesting! You can also keep things interesting by having the player take a path back from the retrieval of a key that's different from the one they came in by, or by adding some monsters/obstacles on the way back.

I'm trying to put videos together of my playthroughs in the hope that it helps mappers see what a player is thinking coming at a level for the first time - here's 20 minutes of this one. A lot of the points turn out to already have been mentioned above, but you definitely surprised me a couple of times



Edit: Couple of extra things from poking about in the editor!
- The player can get stuck if they ride the pillars in the blue key room up after the Revenant steps off - you'll want to provide a switch at the top like you did for the backpack column so they can free themselves.
- Not a problem exactly, but it's odd that the backpack pillar and the platform near the starting hub room share a tag, making them move together when one or the other is activated.
- Secrets should generally have a hint as to their presence It looked like all three in this map were behind fairly innocuous walls - there should be some subtle difference like a different variant of a texture, light shining through, or something to indicate that something's there.

[Smoke_333]

Thank you all for the feedback!

@Giraffeman I added another secret to the end, I think 4 is a good amount for this sized level.

@Matias There was a impassable line which I have since fixed. In the revenant room its definitely possible to get cornered by the revenants, but if done right that can be avoided.

@DavidN Nice video! I took your feedback into account and have fixed the pillars so they player doesn't get stuck on them. Sometimes a revenant will, but its rare enough that I figured it wasn't worth worrying about. I also fixed the backpack pillar tag. I couldn't find a way to make the revenant room more exciting, so I think I will leave it as is. I was inspired by Deimos Lab with the blue area and I'm glad you saw the connecting. I also toned down the health packs near the beginning and change the blue armor to green. The awkward hallway at the end has been removed too, so the pillared room leads right to the final area. The flatness of the first few areas will stay that way for now, but in the next map I make I will vary the floor and ceiling height more.

Since this is my first wad the rooms near the beginning are less advanced than the ones near the middle and the end as as I was making it I was learning more and more techniques. Here is the latest version if you all are interested: http://www.mediafire.com/file/l54fmjto7 ... C.wad/file

[VitSm]

...
Since this is my first wad the rooms near the beginning are less advanced than the ones near the middle and the end as as I was making it I was learning more and more techniques. Here is the latest version if you all are interested: http://www.mediafire.com/file/020n22vv7d0mas2/UACTC.wad

Your link give me just eternal 'Upload still in progress' message.
Edit: Sorry, didn't notice link in the OP.

[Smoke_333]

...
Since this is my first wad the rooms near the beginning are less advanced than the ones near the middle and the end as as I was making it I was learning more and more techniques. Here is the latest version if you all are interested: http://www.mediafire.com/file/020n22vv7d0mas2/UACTC.wad

Your link give me just eternal 'Upload still in progress' message.
Edit: Sorry, didn't notice link in the OP.

Oops, I fixed the link in the latest post. Should work now. http://www.mediafire.com/file/l54fmjto7 ... C.wad/file

[Get Phobo]

Very good first map.

Only bug I noticed is that the revenants in the revenant room can get stuck in their pillars without a chance to ever get out, since the pillars only get triggered once. I would also suggest adding more monster-openable doors to make fighting those knights and revenants more challenging. Other than that, a great first map with many scary ambushes.

[FoxPlays]

Interesting wad. I especially liked unusual traps!

This is insiped me to make a video about this wad

[cortlong50]

kick ass map.

now make a megawad this fun. because youve got the touch.

[Smoke_333]

[size=115]Interesting wad. I especially liked unusual traps!

This is insiped me to make a video about this wad

Glad you liked them! Nice video as well.

kick ass map.

now make a megawad this fun. because youve got the touch.

Thanks! That would take a long time though but it's good to know it would be supported!

[Kills_Alone]

Not bad, I didn't like the random teleport that brought me back to the Revenant room with the four computer terminals. And the final battle was annoying because there where so many Cacos I had to drop in the slime like four or five times and thats what dropped my health to ~8 making that Baron more of a mofo then normal but not really an issue if you stand on an area where you can strafe back and forth.

Perhaps when the Cacos attack you could have a secondary bridge rise up or a switch the player could use to create more floor space. Some rooms felt a little sparse detail wise. Otherwise I enjoyed it.