Spoiler: Flavor text inside!Hooray! It's now downloadabable!
Currently contains MAP01 to MAP09, but more to follow in the future.
Check it out now on its itch.io page!!
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(original post follows)
(upd may 3 - description needs to be rewritten at some point but i am le tired)
Hello, doom friends --
Squenched Avacausage (you heard me) started as a bit of an intellectual offshoot from my main TC/game project. In the process of developing that, I started also developing a severe mapping itch - but the gameplay elements there aren't yet far enough along enough to really start, so I started getting ideas for Doom coming to mind. Plus, I figured it would be some good practice for broader level design principles (for a game with a pre-established gameplay formula) for when I come back to that, as well.
The final push I needed in particular was being introduced to Going Down by Cyriak, via Decino's youtube channel. After playing through it, something about the off-kilter nature and wild pace of GD really lit a fire in my brain and I could hardly say no to those urges.
It's really been too long. This is the first time I've touched Doom mapping since 2019 when I made a pair of very boring speedmaps for Doom 1, and probably committed innumerable clueless mapping sins in the process. But, this time, I really tried to take it seriously - actually doing newfangled things like thinking about enemy encounters and how they work together... So, in that sense, I consider this my first "real" doom project. It's built with Boom compatibility in mind and makes extensive use of its features, but is of course fully playable in gzdoom. I have been really enjoying working out voodoo doll logic and other such hooey.
After all that, though, I have... no idea what I've created. I wanted to do my best to make something distinct and different but still fun and challenging, and I think I just might have got there in the end.
In general, the gameplay style revolves around tight quarters and dense, frantic combat. Not a slaughter map, but there are some pretty dense mosh pits going on in spots. It gives me quite a bit of trouble when playing it, but I deliberately tried to keep it above my own skill ceiling (which isn't that high). Aesthetically speaking, I have no idea. I have channeled my latent surrealist tendencies, which has been quite enjoyable. And my dumb sense of humor. I've tried to keep something of a "period-accurate" level of detail for a passion project of perhaps the 1997-1999 range, with a mixture of stock and custom textures. I can guarantee it is not going to be everyone's cup of tea. Sorry, I guess?
So far, the wad consists of a single, large level. It's taken between 30 and 40 or so minutes to play, which was not my intent at all. It just kind of happened. Needless to say I will be more careful next time. Indeed, if/when I expand the project (I sure would like to), this map will likely be a sort of prolonged intro
sequence followed by a large number of smaller maps.
So, as for releasing it, I am still working out the best way shape and form to do that. I haven't really released any doom levels before so I am still kinda figuring out the protocol. It's Damn Close to being ready for a first-level-only release, just trying to get some preliminary feedback from a few people I've forced to play it. And I need to get some appropriate music for the level (currently using a midi rendition of Take Five by Dave Brubeck... because I'm me). Oh yeah, and working out other difficulty levels. Uhhh what else... tested primarily in PrBoom+ with complevel 9, works fine in gzdoom 4.x.x and probably older, it's not going anything particularly exotic.
Anyway, pictures! They have deliberately been taken with monsters disabled so as to disallow any sneaky pre-planning to be done.
Spoiler: Pictures!But enough rambling, I am sure you are wondering - what IS a squenched avacausage?
That knowledge is but one part of your journey of self discovery.
