Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

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Payload4367
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2016 7:26 am

Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by Payload4367 »

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AKd9aWxB_3g&t=67s

===========================================================================
Primary purpose : Single play
===========================================================================
Title : Dark Encounters
Filename : drkenctr.wad (available end of Oct. 2017)
Release date : 10/31/17
Author : Paul Dechene
Email Address : ----
Other Files By Author : Test Subject 43 (testsb43)
Dark Invaders (drkinvds)

Description Dark Encounters - 32 Map MegaWad for GZdoom
"I knew they would come back some day...The leaders and generals of the
world were content with their victory...my victory...heh. Never been much for
parades, so I slipped back into my role as a good-ole space marine. I argued for
a time about the potential for another invasion. Like before, they said their "new"
technology would handle any threat. Yeah...sure it will...
I...knew...they...would...come...back..."
***Please see text file for gameplay information.***

In This Wad...
No jumping, mouse-look encouraged.
Gameplay is in the style of the original Doom 2.
Difficulty is slightly harder than Doom2 with encounters
of varying difficulty thrown in through-out the maps.
Survival will require accuracy, agility, ammo management, spacial
awareness, and the following...

****On Hurt Me Plenty****
Employ at least ONE of these approaches to avoid running out of ammo, or
use them all to have ammo-a-plenty.
1.Find the secrets (most are not hard to find)...or
2.Explore the entire map...or
3.Use the berserk/chainsaw on targets of opportunity (my personal favorite).
****On Ultra Violence****
Employ at least TWO of the above approaches to avoid running out of ammo, or
use them all to have ammo-a-plenty.
****On Pistol Start****
Employ ALL THREE of the above approaches to avoid running out of ammo.

For best effect use dynamic lights, but sector lighting is implemented
for better performance.

Additional Credits to : iD Creators of DOOM & DOOM2. GZDoom. scifista42 for
Grasstex - Doom textures with grass tops. GZDoombuilder.
Eradrop for the sky textures. Cakewalk. Sonar LE recording software.
Slade3. DoomWorld. Orangefreesounds.com, Free-loops.com,
Freesoundeffects.com (for ambient effects). All the great mappers
and modders out there who never cease to amaze and entertain me.
All music composed, recorded and performed by Paul Dechene.


===========================================================================
* What is included *

New levels : 32
Sounds : No
Music : Yes
Graphics : Yes
Dehacked/BEX Patch : No
Demos : No
Other : No
Other files required : None


* Play Information *

Game : Doom 2
Map # : MAP01-MAP32
Single Player : Designed for
Cooperative 2-4 Player : Player starts only
Deathmatch 2-4 Player : No
Other game styles : No jumping, mouse-look encouraged.
Difficulty Settings : Hurt Me Plenty and Ultra Violence only.



* Construction *

Base : New from scratch
Build Time : 10 Months (Jan 2017- Oct 2017)
Editor(s) used : GZDoom Builder Doom2 UDMF
Known Bugs : None
Tested With : GZDoom 1.9, GZDoom 2.1, GZDoom 3.0

DOWNLOAD LINKS:
idgames archives: https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/level ... s/drkenctr
drop box: http://www.mediafire.com/file/vrx99vx8z ... kenctr.zip
Attachments
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Last edited by Payload4367 on Sat Nov 18, 2017 5:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
jdagenet
Posts: 77
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2011 10:26 pm

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by jdagenet »

Unfortunately this turned out like most GZDoom map sets that people make.

I could only play about the first three or four maps before I simply got bored of playing. Maps generally consisted of very large, open areas (or very small for some maps) jammed pack full of monsters. The layouts of these maps were bland and often linear with a ton of useless and ugly looking 3D floors and slopes. Limiting yourself to Doom 2 textures only also didn't aid you since Doom 2 has some of the worst textures out there. You used strange combinations of textures (like switch textures on ceilings to act as lights) that just didn't work and the extreme scaling applied to some textures just looked terrible.

Music choice was extremely repetitive. The same distortion guitar over drums cliche got old really fast and just turns people away. There needs to be a lot more variety in terms of the levels and the music to keep people playing.

On the plus side: You finished a entire 32-map megawad all on your own which tells me you're capable of finishing things and that you're reliable, something most of the mod/level creators aren't capable of. You just need pointing in the right direction when it comes to creating a good map layout that engages the players and keeps them playing from start to finish.
My advice? Look at mappacks that are extremely popular in the community: 2002ADO, Plutonia 2, Whispers of Satan, Speed of Doom, etc. What is it about those maps that keeps players coming back and how can you adapt those aspects into your own maps so people don't get bored after a few levels?
PLA
Posts: 23
Joined: Tue Dec 30, 2014 10:48 am

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by PLA »

Don't listen to him! I downloaded this wad on one of the Zandronum servers, the maps looks really impressive and well-thought-out, at first I thought it maybe have only 5-9 maps, but damn I am glad I was wrong and I had a blast playing through all 32!
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WARCHILD_89
Posts: 452
Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2013 12:27 pm
Graphics Processor: nVidia with Vulkan support
Location: MIA between doomed dimensions

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by WARCHILD_89 »

I played the first two maps as test and already put it on my TO DO LIST of megawads I have to play through. Makes a lot of fun with Quaker540's Add-On (like it more than the naked brutal doom).

Definitely worth a download for me.
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drfrag
Vintage GZDoom Developer
Posts: 3141
Joined: Fri Apr 23, 2004 3:51 am
Location: Spain
Contact:

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by drfrag »

I'm playing it right now with BD v21 and ZDoom32 and it's a very cool megawad. This is the wad that made me discover the savegame bug with dynamic lights, i must confess that until recently i used to play with GZDoom 2.4 but then i met that BD 21 crash on ancient cards. I'm glad i made the switch since BD is clearly faster now even in GL mode and with less graphic problems (this is a crappy 10 year old machine with only GL 2.1). I don't know if it's the old renderer or the lack of zscript support or both.
So definitely a highly recommended download. :D
Payload4367
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2016 7:26 am

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by Payload4367 »

Thanks a lot guys. Really glad you're enjoying it. That first comment was rough...lol...but, different strokes for different folks, I guess.
omnitrick
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 6:30 am

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by omnitrick »

As is likely with most people on this forums, I have been playing Doom since it was released in 1993. My dad bought it for me in Staples one night just before Thanksgiving. I've been addicted ever since and have played hundreds if not thousands of megawads since then. This one is a gem. This is my first comment in this forum after browsing and enjoying it for years.

I have invested at least 15 hours of gameplay into Dark Encounters using BD v21 and GZD v324. Honestly, I was sold on the first level. The placement of weapons, ammo, monsters... everything is very well done. The levels can become massive and sprawling, but I only found myself running around not knowing how to get somewhere I needed to be a couple of times.

The variety of monsters used is diverse and satisfying. I personally love the revival of the original pistol in BD v21 (headshots FTW), but there are many wads (some mentioned in the first reply in this thread) which make it unusable due to the underwhelming use of zombies. I found was able to use it a satisfying amount in every level so far of Dark Encounters.

Lastly, the architecture is, in my opinion, simply incredible. As much as I love running through hordes of ambushing monsters blasting countless rounds with a chaingun and seeing my screen filled with red and green, I also have a great appreciation for attention to detail in architecture. You did a great job of keeping the levels very interesting and dynamic in a way. I never found myself getting bored with what I thought (I hardly ever read descriptions) was a megawad made from levels created by a group of devoted people who truly understand the original game.

With all that said, I haven't beaten Dark Encounters yet. I'm excited to see where it goes from here, as it very much feels like a story (although very minimal) is unraveling and I'm hooked.

Not only did you create 32 levels in under a year (creating just one decent level is an accomplishment in and of itself), you added custom graphics, sounds, music, performed testing, and went as far as to describe how to achieve optimal pleasure in your description above. Honestly, I can't think of anything I would complain about at this time. Bravo!
Payload4367
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2016 7:26 am

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by Payload4367 »

Thank you for the kind words and for taking the time to comment. Excellent, detailed post. I really appreciate it.
User avatar
WARCHILD_89
Posts: 452
Joined: Sun Nov 17, 2013 12:27 pm
Graphics Processor: nVidia with Vulkan support
Location: MIA between doomed dimensions

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by WARCHILD_89 »

omnitrick wrote:As is likely with most people on this forums, I have been playing Doom since it was released in 1993. My dad bought it for me in Staples one night just before Thanksgiving. I've been addicted ever since and have played hundreds if not thousands of megawads since then. This one is a gem. This is my first comment in this forum after browsing and enjoying it for years.

I have invested at least 15 hours of gameplay into Dark Encounters using BD v21 and GZD v324. Honestly, I was sold on the first level. The placement of weapons, ammo, monsters... everything is very well done. The levels can become massive and sprawling, but I only found myself running around not knowing how to get somewhere I needed to be a couple of times.

The variety of monsters used is diverse and satisfying. I personally love the revival of the original pistol in BD v21 (headshots FTW), but there are many wads (some mentioned in the first reply in this thread) which make it unusable due to the underwhelming use of zombies. I found was able to use it a satisfying amount in every level so far of Dark Encounters.

Lastly, the architecture is, in my opinion, simply incredible. As much as I love running through hordes of ambushing monsters blasting countless rounds with a chaingun and seeing my screen filled with red and green, I also have a great appreciation for attention to detail in architecture. You did a great job of keeping the levels very interesting and dynamic in a way. I never found myself getting bored with what I thought (I hardly ever read descriptions) was a megawad made from levels created by a group of devoted people who truly understand the original game.

With all that said, I haven't beaten Dark Encounters yet. I'm excited to see where it goes from here, as it very much feels like a story (although very minimal) is unraveling and I'm hooked.

Not only did you create 32 levels in under a year (creating just one decent level is an accomplishment in and of itself), you added custom graphics, sounds, music, performed testing, and went as far as to describe how to achieve optimal pleasure in your description above. Honestly, I can't think of anything I would complain about at this time. Bravo!


yes you nailed it my friend! I support this statements. Unfortunately I had to stop at the map with all the flames in the beginning because the quaker´s brutal doom addon made my framerate go down. I have to use the normal brutal doom version.
omnitrick
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 18, 2017 6:30 am

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by omnitrick »

WARCHILD_89 wrote: yes you nailed it my friend! I support this statements. Unfortunately I had to stop at the map with all the flames in the beginning because the quaker´s brutal doom addon made my framerate go down. I have to use the normal brutal doom version.
Agreed. The unplayable FPS was very disruptive after thoroughly enjoying the megawad up until that point. Even with the ridiculous amount of fire, I found the concept very enjoyable. I was able to power through it after zeroing most of the performance settings, but it obviously would have been nice not to have needed to do so. :)
Payload4367
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2016 7:26 am

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by Payload4367 »

omnitrick wrote:
WARCHILD_89 wrote: yes you nailed it my friend! I support this statements. Unfortunately I had to stop at the map with all the flames in the beginning because the quaker´s brutal doom addon made my framerate go down. I have to use the normal brutal doom version.
Agreed. The unplayable FPS was very disruptive after thoroughly enjoying the megawad up until that point. Even with the ridiculous amount of fire, I found the concept very enjoyable. I was able to power through it after zeroing most of the performance settings, but it obviously would have been nice not to have needed to do so. :)
Yeah, it was an idea that I implemented poorly. It never appears in the mapset again :) Thanks for playing and commenting.
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Someonewhoplaysdoom
Posts: 105
Joined: Fri Feb 14, 2020 11:07 am
Location: Colombia

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by Someonewhoplaysdoom »

OMAYGAD This is one of the best Megawads I played recently, and is incredible that is a work alone. I really liked the use of different soundtracks per level. This gives intense vibes and variation even when the single soundtracks repeats. It gives sensations of the change of rhythm per map. Also the text between uses of some objects are great.

The mecanics of few suplies with secrets easy to find are an interesting touch to add some challenge, and the fact that on almost all levels you can find computer maps are really helpful with this mechanic (Even if I first tried this map with Lithium, a mod that removes the needs of some tipes of ammo XD)

A great mappack. :D :D
Payload4367
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2016 7:26 am

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by Payload4367 »

Thanks for the kind words, my friend. I'm glad you had fun with it. After all, that's the whole point, right. Take care and be safe.
broomann43
Posts: 2
Joined: Wed Jun 08, 2022 8:44 pm

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by broomann43 »

I'm on map 16 and so far I am REALLY loving it! Such a good glow-up without going too far, and I am routinely caught off guard with the increasingly frequent use of floors-over-floors (in a good way). This megawad is tons of fun on UV, and I am really appreciating the use(ish) of real-world locations too. Great job on this, evokes memories of early 2000's megawads but with more technical cleverness. The secrets have all been very easy to find, but that's fine, I'm usually not very good at hunting them all down anyway.
I will keep plowing through - thank you so much for the hours of entertainment I'm still getting out of this! I'm glad I didn't let it slip under the radar. Whatever time you put into this was worth it!
Payload4367
Posts: 51
Joined: Fri Dec 02, 2016 7:26 am

Re: Dark Encounters MegaWad AVAILABLE NOW

Post by Payload4367 »

Thank you very much. I am glad you are enjoying it. Map 16? Great! Expect more ahead...of everything :)
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