[GZDoom] Unfamiliar

[Chief Smokey]

[Chief Smokey]

[Chief Smokey]

Episode III is almost ready to go. Some final testing and bug fixing is all that's needed and then Episode III along with updated episodes I and II will be released.

[Chief Smokey]

Well after 6-7 months of work, I present to you Unfamiliar Episode III: Circles of Hell.

Along with 9 new maps practically made from scratch (very little of the original maps remain in any form), there have been updates to Episodes I and II to bring them further into the new style.

As always, play in GZDoom with dynamic lights enabled and the sector light mode changed to Doom or Dark for the best experience.

DOWNLOAD:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/s4bry1wf ... 3.zip/file
https://www.dropbox.com/s/wmvw7qrsd75v2 ... 3.zip?dl=0

[m1lk]

thank you for episode 3. I enjoyed the Redux as well.

[Void Warrior]

Just an awesome job! I don't recognize the original DOOM at all! Only a couple of revenge and then with difficulty. In my opinion, it pulls on a Cacowards.

Tell me, are there any plans to rethink the fourth episode or Circles of Hell the finale of your work?

[Chief Smokey]

Tell me, are there any plans to rethink the fourth episode or Circles of Hell the finale of your work?

You'll have to beat Episode III to get an answer for that. I won't spoil anything.

[NightFright]

After holding back my playthrough since I wanted to wait for a more complete presentation, I couldn't delay it any longer and started jumping into episode one. All I can say is this: A powerful, highly competent and mesmerizingly colorful reimagination of the original Doom maps. Must have taken tons of effort to get it to this level of visual perfection, and the result is what I would call "Beautiful Doom" - in its purest and most essential meaning.

There's a small visual glitch with floor-aligned warning light sprites (FloorLantern_Animated, FRLFA/FRLTA) which jump up and down when animated, floating above ground without animation:


It can be fixed by cutting the 5 pixel wide part underneath the lamp base in FRLTA (see attachment). Ceiling lamp (FRLTC) suffers from a similar problem, but clips into the ceiling instead. Fix is the same.
On top of that, sprite offsets need to be changed: FRLFA (11, 21) and FRLTA (27, 24).

[Void Warrior]

Chief Smokey, when I was going through Episode 2, I came across this elevator bug on E2M4:

https://sun9-16.userapi.com/impg/fi7JVM ... type=album

He just took and fell below the limit. It was fun, of course, but the bug is critical.

[m1lk]

thank you for Ep 3. im playing through again from the very beginning. love the details, and how the map flows onto the next.

[Bofubutt]

The attention to detail is amazing, and the combat encounters feel challenging without being cheap. But Episode III just has way, way, way too many surprise instakill crushers. They aren't an obstacle, they're something that makes me lose minutes' worth of progress at a moment's notice if I haven't quicksaved. There are also a lot of timed doors in Episode III that only open once, such as the red key door in E3M5 or the very first door in E3M3, which is a huge issue.

Also, I got stuck in a secret in E3M3 (I think - it was the map where you have blue keys and red keys). There was a secret that was halfway up a lift on one of the walls, but if the lift raises while you're in the secret, there's no way to lower it again.

Definitely loving the overall feel and aesthetic. This pairs well with Project Brutality, and I'm gonna run through it with DRLA and see how that goes, too.

[Chief Smokey]

So I have been keeping tabs on bug reports and I intend to release a patch after enough have piled up. I've been fixing them more or less ASAP after getting the news so its just a matter of finding a time when there's a thorough and worthwhile amount of fixes, instead of having to constantly recompile the build and reset the download links when someone finds one elevator linedef I forgot to set to repeatable action or something like that.

[Chief Smokey]

I've fixed every bug and minor mapping error that has been brought to my attention, plus reduced the amount of crusher traps. The crushers were there mainly to instill a sense of anxiety and convey an atmosphere of cruelty - this is Hell after all - but clearly it hasn't gone down too well with players.

DOWNLOAD:
https://www.mediafire.com/file/aj7w88g1 ... 3.zip/file
https://www.dropbox.com/s/9xmq4rw3v3ee6 ... 3.zip?dl=0

As an added bonus, here's some trivia: The blue lava that appears in some maps was based on a real-world phenomenon involving the combustion of sulfur called "Api Biru".

[JohnnyTheWolf]

Cool! I remember playing the first episode a while back. I guess I have some catching up to do!

On a side-note, I feel like this mapset would be perfect for Xim's Doom 3 mod, but it seems that the maps feature custom actors, which is causing compatibility issues. If you do not mind me asking, what do I have to do to get the mod to run properly with your mapset?

If you do not want me to use a gameplay mod with Unfamiliar, I understand and I will stick to playing it the way it is intended.

[Chief Smokey]

Cool! I remember playing the first episode a while back. I guess I have some catching up to do!

On a side-note, I feel like this mapset would be perfect for Xim's Doom 3 mod, but it seems that the maps feature custom actors, which is causing compatibility issues. If you do not mind me asking, what do I have to do to get the mod to run properly with your mapset?

If you do not want me to use a gameplay mod with Unfamiliar, I understand and I will stick to playing it the way it is intended.

Unfamiliar is intended to be played standalone because it was designed according to the idiosyncrasies of vanilla weapon, item and monster behavior. I think its futile to attempt to balance a mapset to be compatible with so many gameplay changing mods since there's so damn many nowadays with their own quirks - plus loading other mods on top takes away from the author's intent if it affects the gameplay.