New Doom map for YOU to try!

[Ixnatifual]

Yesterday I created my first Doom (ZDOOM!) map ever, using Zeth. I have been working on it most of the weekend, as well. Overall, I think it turned out well.

It's going to be the first map of a campaign of 6-8 maps.

It's single player, but it does support different difficulty levels. However, unless you're some kind of pansy space marine, you will obviously play it on Ultra Violence (skill 4), since this is the coolest diff.

It'd be really great if you would also record a demo of your game(s) and send them to me at ixnatifual@hotmail.com, so I can see how people play the map, especially on their first try.

I think odds are you'll die the first time you play it on Ultra Violence, but it's very possible to succeed on the second try.

If you have the time, it'd also be nice if you could give me some comments on it, like
- Difficulty (made you sweat on skill 1? walk in the park on skill 4?)
- Textures (did i miss a texture alignment?)
- Secrets (impossible to find? clues too good?)
- Overall level dynamics (most boring map ever! i loved the room where..)
- Overall design (the rooms are too square and boring! the rooms are too circular and fluid!)

Suggestions are extremely welcome, but don't be too cruel!

TO PLAY THE WAD:
Zdoom -file ixmap01.wad -skill 4 -record try01

Have fun!

[EDIT] Removed the download file.

[Ixnatifual]

Remember to type STOP in the console at the end of the map, if you just quit it seems to mess up the demo.

[EDIT]: Doesn't seem to be the case after all, just happened to me once.

[Hirogen2]

When I just quit and replay some demo, it works fine. Dunno what happens to your demos though.

[Ixnatifual]

Maybe it was a one-time fluke. I tested a couple of times and the new demos worked :/

[HotWax]

Definately too easy on UV. I beat it my first time through (Demo attached). I didn't find any issues in level construction except that it's perhaps a little too flat. There are only really two floors and most of the gameplay takes place on one of them. The map kept to a common theme, which is good, and reminded me alot of classic Doom 1 maps, particularly with the monster ambush rooms that open behind you periodically. The one thing I didn't care for was fighting through half the map in pitch darkness, but that's just a personal opinion. The effect of the lights dying just as you leave the start of the level was pulled off well enough anyway, although having more enemies there (at least on UV) to greet you would have been an even bigger kick in the crotch.

Gameplay-wise it's fairly straightforward and really lacks anything memorable. If you were going for just another fragfest in yet another crate labyrinth, you succeeded, but it's always nice to have an unexpected twist waiting for you somewhere in the level.

For a first map, definately not bad at all. I wish *my* first map had been this cohesive...

[EDIT]And here's where I attach the demo... [/EDIT]

[Anonymous]

It's not spectacular, i'll agree but it's a fine start

I also wish my first map had been this good

[Ixnatifual]

I just improved the map. A lot. It is now undeniably cool. Basically I knew there were some room for improvement, and I think I pretty much did what HotWax requested above, mwahaha. I don't think there's more enemies in the starting area, though, but I can add that later. It's definetly worth taking a look at, even if you tried the first version.

I updated the file in the original post. I also attached a cool demo that reveals all the secrets.

Thanks for your comments, they warm my heart in the way I usually only feel when wasting hordes of demons! now I'll go watch HotWax's demo.

[cccp_leha]

The left DOORTRAK in the entry room's door is pegged. Unpeg it. Also, a bit more detail such as poles supporting certain ceiling areas, computer consoles, and little things like that never hurt. Other than that, it's a great first effort. Short, sweet and straight to the point. A bit bland in some areas, but not outside the norm.

[Ixnatifual]

[EDIT:] Ignore post.

[cccp_leha]

Thank you. Strangely enough, they're my own . I have a question: what other ZDoom fetaures except stealth monsters do you have in there? I didn't yet have time to look in an editor (shit, my own incomplete project is on self-deadline) nor could I notice just by playing through.

[Ixnatifual]

I think the stealth chainguys are the only Zdoom things in there. I'm not completely sure what stuff is Zdoom stuff, but I avoided using some of the strange stuff in the Things section since I had no idea how to use them. Hopefully I'll learn them eventually so I can put them in the later missions.

I tried the Wind effect outside, but it didn't seem to work. Maybe that's some Heretic stuff? I remember there was wind in Heretic.

[Ultraviolet]

I wish id's original maps were of this geometric quality. You've done well. You've achieved 1998-ish detail level on the first try!

I suggest you look at maps/mapsets like The Darkening Episode 2 to see how they achieve additional detail. Your geometry is flawless, but some additional detail never hurts. Things like putting in a border-texture between two unlike textures -- such as using one of the support textures between flat metal and cement. You might even try using not only a transitional texture like that, but even making it stick out from the wall a bit so it looks even more three dimensional.

I noticed your use of lighting especially. That aspect made this a very immersive map. Gameplay was cool, especially the stealth-chaingunner surprise. You might try adding more events, though. Having monsters appear out of nooks in the walls that open up halfway through the map is a good thing, but it's very overused in most maps and kinda loses its surprise value. Something that is often used in Doom is a trick where you fill an inaccessible room with monsters and you link that room with the start through something like a ventilation shaft or some other construct that isn't big enough for the player to get into, and this is so that when the player makes a noise near the start he wakes up those monsters. In the room with the monsters should be a teleport, and when the monsters wake and start to stir they wander into the teleport. If you connect that teleporter to several teleport destinations (using the same tag) the destination for each monster that teleports in will be selected at random. It's a great way to re-populate your level in a way that makes the player wonder "hey, how the hell did these get here?" As it is, one can see the openings in the walls, and it lessens the effect.

Anyway, since you've told us here at the ZDoom forums about your wad, perhaps you should look into how ZDoom specific features can help your level. As I mentioned, your lighting makes this level immersive, so immersion is something you could work on refining (pick your best feature, make it really shine, and then lift up the stragglers). ZDoom offers easily-placable ambient-sound points. If you can find areas where you would want sounds to either repeat endlessly emanating from that point or sound the same no matter where you are in the level, or set the sound to repeat at an interval you specify, or at a random interval between X and Y (where X is what you specify to be the soonest the sound can repeat and Y is the longest time it can go without repeating), then ZDoom can accomodate you and the people on this forum along with various references on this site can help you.

ZDoom also has a very powerful, flexible scripting system that can do... lots of stuff, from spawning any object/item/weapon/monster anywhere in the level to changing floor and ceiling heights on the fly in any way, at any speed, in any direction you want. Textures on walls and floors/ceilings can also be changed on the fly with the same degree of flexibility. ZDoom's scripting is event-driven to a degree, so you can have things like starting a map, the death of a player, and so on call forth any of ZDoom's map-affecting functions.

There's a lot more ZDoom can do, but I thought I'd just give a "quick" mention of what I thought might be most immediately useful to you.

[Ixnatifual]

Definately too easy on UV. I beat it my first time through (Demo attached).

Well played! You even found a secret, and you came VERY close to finding the crate jump secret. You found the first arrow, but it was unbelievable that you didn't find the second one.

Couldn't help but feel sorry for you there, you even went all the way back up on the crates.

I just wish you wouldn't hump all my walls. Needless to say, it's not fun watching your map getting raped by a space marine

I'm uploading a demo recorded with the newest Zdoom in a couple of secs, then you should be able to see the secrets you missed.

[Giest118]

You are seriously telling me that this was your first map ever? If so, then OMFG you are an awesome Doom mapper! That's better than over half the stuff I make (and I'm currently making... er... my 17th map). I knew I was in for a treat when I saw the size of the wad. A part of me said that the size could be just because of the blockmap, but I was dearly mistaken. It was all in the detail.

You have done well.

[cccp_leha]

I'm not bragging (honsetly!), but ORAD is my second serious WAD. I just played many levels/levelsets and have worked on editing for a long time, a long time.