[WIP] Doom 64: Unseen Evil - Run it back, Doom 64 style!
Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 4:54 am
Doom 64: Unseen Evil (or Unseen Evil for short) is an upcoming mod for GZDoom that transplants the Doom 64 atmosphere into Doom and Doom II. In addition to replacing various monsters and items with their Doom 64 counterparts, Unseen Evil also uses ZScript to transform existing Doom levels into Doom 64-style locations.
- Replicated weapon and monster behavior from Doom 64!
- All visuals replaced with their Doom 64 counterparts!
- Restored missing monsters, including the Archvile and Revenant!
- The Terraformer: a powerful level that transforms Doom levels into Doom 64-style levels!
- Quality of life improvements!
Doom 64 didn't have certain monsters due to space constraints, but a lot has happened since Doom 64 invented video games back in the 1860's. Thanks to technological advancements, you can now meet menacing monsters such as the Revenant and the Archvile in the realm of Doom 64! Of course, these fellas are being released separately from Unseen Evil for the community to use in their projects.
The Revenant and the Archvile are currently in a completed state, but there are still a few missing from the roster, such as the Spider Mastermind and the Icon of Sin. I plan on creating sprites for these fellas in the future!
After spending a lot of time refining the logic, the Doom 64-inator has evolved into THE TERRAFORMER! Using the power of ZScript and arcane magic, classic Doom levels are analyzed and transformed into Doom 64-style levels. First, the textures of the map are analyzed to figure out what sectors should be lit with which colors, applying gradients and other effects as needed. Textures can either perform minor adjustments (i.e. colored carpets, individually lit sectors) or flood fill similar areas (like areas lit by the sky or rooms filled with nukage!) Then, textures are replaced using a combination of Doom 64 textures, custom-made textures, and existing community resources such as Cage's Doom 64-style wall textures.
This system is designed to be easily modifiable from outside the code using various custom lumps. Support for vanilla Doom and Doom 2 are the priority, with support for community mapsets that use custom textures coming later. However, if a mapset only uses vanilla textures, it will be supported right on release!
Doom 64 has some minor issues here and there, but nothing that can't be ironed out. I'm interested in seeing what other fellas would like to see improved upon! Here are just some of the changes that will be made:
- Modified Former Human/Former Sergeant sprites to be more distinct from each other
- Improved item visibility
- More discernable textures for doors and switches
I'm really excited to let others experience Doom 64: Unseen Evil! I really enjoy the spooky vibe it applies to the classic Doom levels. I look forward to talking more about it in the near future.
