ZDoom

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- 3.29.18 @ 22:00; fixed map-breaking issue
- 4.01.18 @ 02:45; added a lock message to fake door
- 4.02.18 @ 15:20; made lava room with the star lift play better, minor accessibility changes
- 4.02.18 @ 15:26; fixed some undesirable ceiling lighting artifacts
- 4.02.18 @ 21:51; improved the maze Cyberdemon's A.I.
- 4.04.18 @ 17:18; added several rooms, detailing work
- 4.04.18 @ 17:25; added tasteful, spooky fog
- 4.04.18 @ 17:42; texture alignment and linedef straightening
- 4.05.18 @ 01:22; texture alignment, improved positioning of light sources, added some more monsters, retouched exit room, added clutter to grand courtyard, added small decorations, detailed some areas
- 4.05.18 @ 02:02; texture alignment, removed lock message from fake door. added debris instead, added perfunctory details to first room
- 4.05.18 @ 02:22; moved an obstacle that allowed the player to reach a non-gameplay related area
- 4.05.18 @ 19:45; minor detailing and streamlining in beginning rooms
- 4.09.18 @ 13:38; tons of minor detailing changes, "deep water" sector for waterfall room
- 4.09.18 @ 15:34; made the switch from DB2 to GZDBBF, found the simple joy of being able to brighten walls independently from sectors
- 4.12.18 @ 16:26; slew of changes, new rooms, more monsters, more detailing, more texture alignment
- 7.22.18 @ 15:13; several tiny changes, changed positioning of first shotgun
- 7.22.18 @ 20:34; detailing and texture alignment, enemy placements
- 7.27.18 @ 01:47; more monster placements, new areas and rooms
- 7.27.18 @ 02:35; numerous lighting and texture tweaks as well as some difficulty mode balancing
- 7.27.18 @ 13:32; fixed teleport issues
- 7.28.18 @ 02:15; detailing, added more key-locks to areas
- 7.28.18 @ 17:32; modified level music
- 7.28.18 @ 18:13; removed maze Cyberdemon and BFG marine, additional detailing and light sources
- 7.28.18 @ 23:26; opened up some cramped areas and added a fancy room
- 7.30.18 @ 01:20; squished some bugs, texture alignment
- 7.30.18 @ 02:35; added an enormous room and some connectors, implemented faux volumetric lighting in an area - very proud of how it turned out!
- 7.30.18 @ 03:56; added a ludicrous boss room that lets you exit to a secret level if completed
- 7.30.18 @ 04:13; added a secret
- 7.30.18 @ 13:29; fixed shadows in lava fountain room
- 7.31.18 @ 12:28; minor texture changes
- 8.03.18 @ 13:28; added more monsters and healing items to boss room
- 8.04.18 @ 13:37; moved a teleporter to a more obvious position, added some minor details to the blue key tunnels, new secret is now accessible
- 8.05.18 @ 02:27; added detail to spawn corridor
- 8.05.18 @ 13:21; added creepy moving walls to fleshy corridor, changed speed of hell-evator, added more imps
- 8.14.18 @ 00:48; ridiculous amounts of changes, completely reworked blue key room, removed two-sided skull switches, tons of detailing, texture alignment, weapon placements, monster placements, retexturing, lighting changes
- 9.27.18 @ 03:27; dozens of big and little changes, mostly involving enemy placement, pacing, lighting, detailing, and room flow and space re-usage.
- 9.28.18 @ 23:27; tons more little changes
- 10.9.18 @ 00:37; detailing, health and ammo pickup placement tweaks, new rooms, improved enemy placement and pacing
- 10.9.18 @ 00:57; put chainsaw in a more reasonable place
- 10.23.18 @ 17:51; added more rooms, detailed others, manipulated monster and ammo placements, improved flow, added a secret
- 10.30.18 @ 01:03; balancing, added co-op support, texture alignment
- 1.16.19 @ 13:19; so many changes over such a long period of time that I've essentially forgotten what they are, but rest assured they were all improvements =)

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hatakethecopyninja wrote:It was created with GZdoom and vanilla gameplay in mind.

Zen3001 wrote:is it vanilla doom compatible or not?

rockthemike13 wrote:Just got around to trying your level...Overall great map, I hope to see more of your stuff.

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First of all, thanks Cali and Zen and everyone else who has offered their feedback; it really doesn't go unnoticed and is more valuable than you think. After all, you guys are the consumers!! I'm glad people are enjoying it!

I'm a little intrigued however that I haven't received any responses on the level music. I personally still think it needs work as I'm not much for composition. I'm trying to find ways to add some metal elements like a double-pedal bass and some rhythm instruments or at least some stylistic changes like a damned key change! If anyone has any musical talent or ideas, I'm more than open to suggestions!

If it wasn't already apparent from the patch notes, I do indeed intend to continue work on the map. In my eyes it is still far from completion and I'd love to share my best effort with this community. I love the moments where I get excited and think "Aw, I GOTTA put THAT in!!" Until that is no longer the case, and this feels like a finished product, expect more updates, routine or otherwise. =) School will be starting up towards the middle of August, so I won't have as much time as I'd like, but the fun part of this map for me is that it constantly evolves. It's on no real timetable to completion as I feel like this hinders the creative process. After all, and being an (amateur) writer myself, someone who is seriously considering publishing a book will agonize over every word, every phrase, and how each phrase flows to the next. This is very much how I approach mapping, and it's been rewarding thus far.

As I've said in the OP, if anyone has any feedback or would like to see this worked on or would even like to offer their own creative effort or suggestions, feel absolutely free to PM me. I'm no dictator when it comes to my creations, but you might need to explain your side a bit more than you normally would if you suggest some radical changes

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I'm glad you mentioned the split-switches. They were actually going to be phased out soon. The effect wound up looking tacky to me, and as you said, they might be confusing. To that, I was also actively working to make their effects more obvious.

Nothing infuriates me more as a player than something I missed due to poor level design or vagueness, but I also appreciate secrets and replay value. In the development of this map, I thought about how I might get someone to keep coming back. I tried to walk the line between intrigue and frustration as many retro developers have, but perhaps I crossed the threshold at some or several points.

I thought that if there were some unexplained mysteries during the first playthrough, they might be interesting enough to entice the player to try to find them in another go-around. I may have gotten overzealous with this aspect, but I tried to make secrets or non-obvious effects contribute more minimally. You might get some reward for finding them, but they shouldn't make or break the experience. They aren't supposed (in theory) to be necessary to complete the map. This might anger some completionists, but I felt that replayability was ultimately more important, especially with a level of this size. I will definitely revisit some areas and make their purposes clearer and their contents seem less of a requirement and more of an exploration reward.

For example, the yellow skull key is meant to be non-essential as of the current version of the level. It is supposed to segment off an entire portion of the map but be fairly difficult to find. Your reward is some more exploration and ripping and tearing in a new area, one that you probably missed and wondered about the first time. Granted, this area is barely begun at this stage, but the idea remains. There are also plans to incorporate some minor puzzle elements; nothing grand, but hopefully interesting enough to help the level stand out and give it character.

I tried to subtly hint at how to accomplish this but perhaps fell short. I feel that some of the necessary game areas you mentioned may need more polish than I anticipated. As for some of the slaughter areas, I tried to stay away from that gameplay aesthetic as much as possible. I didn't want the player traveling through a meat grinder as much as I wanted them experiencing an atmosphere or an adventure. Some slaughter-like areas will get a second look from me, but ones like the chaingun room I am loathe to part with. I may add some more verticality to open up the space or decrease the number of certain demons like the pinky in areas. Mobbing from them has seemed to have claimed more than one intrepid adventurer thus far. Again, I greatly appreciate the feedback and am working to deliver an even greater experience!! Thanks guys!