[FINISHED] RIDDLE OF THE VACANT BARON [UzDoom/GzDoom]

[IgnyteZero]

After a year of working back and forth with this wad it's ready for the public. It's based on Doom 2 and contains 13 campaign maps (VACANT01-VACANT13), 2 secret maps (VACSEC01 - VACSEC02) and 1 exclusive deathmatch map (VACDM01). You need will need either UZDoom or GZDoom to play it, and those are the format it has been tested on. The wad seems to work with LZDoom but is not fully tested on it. It is mainly designed and tested for single player but should work perfectly for 4 player Co-Op also.

Dynamic Lightning needs to be activated for optimal play (the latter part of map 9 will be insanely hard otherwise). Freelook is adviced, especially if all secrets are to be found. All normal difficulties are supported and the maps become increasingly both harder and larger the further in you get.

I've uploaded it to id archive and Moddb (https://www.moddb.com/mods/riddle-of-the-vacant-baron)

[Edit: 29/11-25] - Uploaded a new version which fixed some minor issues on map 11, mostly texture alignments
[Edit: 1/12-25] - Uploaded v1.03, containing more minor fixes
[Edit: 2/12-25] - Uploaded v1.04, because of a bug that made it impossible to get to Secret Level 2. It is now fixed.
[Edit: 3/12-25] - Uploaded v1.05, which hopefully is the last one with last minute fixes that somehow was missed for the release version.
[Edit: 6/12-25] - Uploaded v1.06, fixing an unreachable secret on map 1 and a problem early on in Map 10 seemingly hindering progress if using UZDoom.
[Edit: 19/12-25] - Uploaded v 1.08a-d, The 1.08 versions contains fixes making progression order a bit more obvious for map 4, 5 and 6.
[Edit: 20/12-25] - Uploaded v1.10, changing how the Flamethrower and Freeze Gun are balanced, as well as fixing a bug that made it impossible to get to secret map 1 among other things.


STORY:

As a marine sergeant you were part of a large assault on the nefarious nazi leader Baron von Sheissmolk. Closing in on his keep your forces were taken by surprise, ambushed by a demonic incursion, slaughtering everyone around you. It's seems it is now up to you, the sole survivor, to enter the barons fortress and stop his evil conspiracy.

ABOUT THIS MEGAWAD:

Back in 1994 when I was 20 I somehow got my hands on Doom Construction Kit, probably through some magazine, and being a lover of everything Doom and Heretic back then I decided to try it out and make a custom Doom 2 level. The result of that was what is now the second map of this megawad. Having quite fun I decided to make another and test them on my friends, and as a long time ttrpg gamemaster I started in my head to create a very simple story around the maps I did about this evil nazi baron making a pact with the devil that turned on him. Of course except for the elements of the actual worldbuilding and environments within the maps there was no real way for me to tell this quite simple and shallow story. I made a couple more maps, realised I needed a beginning and added what is still the first level of the wad, which was just a quick barebone level to have some sort of logical starting point to connect the maps.

I named the wad Johan.wad after myself and tested it on my friends playing co-op with them. They may not have loved it, but they sure didn't hate it either so I decided to continue the story, making up to 15 levels all in all. But... time went on and as I got to map 8 I was a bit burnt out and both myself and my friends had moved on to newer more novel games anyway, such as Quake or Red Alert etcetera. So I stopped. The maps were never really shared with the world, and they were all quite unpolished as it were.

So for almost 30 years Johan.wad lay forgotten on my hard drives, until I decided to document it on YT just for myself really. But a guy from Peru, Giancarlo, somehow found those clips and played the wad and suggested I finish the story. And I found myself interestingly enough inspired to do so as I was in a nostalgic retro mood anyway. So I made some quick research into the community, what the popular sourceports today were, and what tools to use for editing.

Now one year later I feel finished with it. It's not a masterpiece perhaps, but at least I think I've made some justice to my 30 year old younger self and my visions and ideas back then.

So for anyone interested I've included the original Johan.wad with this package. It is an unfinished work ofc, but it is seven fully playable maps and the skeleton of an eight. Fully compatible with vanilla Doom 2.

[IgnyteZero]

Before someone reports it, I might as well point out the following:

KNOWN ISSUES:

* It is sometimes impossible to get a perfect 100% kill score on map 4 and map 9. This is somewhat by design, as those levels at a few instances are adding in monsters a little randomly. The solution would be to mark those monsters at not ever counting towards kill score, but I personally find that just as misleading.

* The mirror hall on map 12 sometimes momentarily glitches out it seems. It's been a bit hard to replicate consistently, and I suspect the issue might be more of a performance thing in how GZDoom handles mirrors.

* Because of how the key selection in the temple works on map 10, I am considering reworking how the red and yellow key distribution function to better accommodate for co-op play. But it shouldn't be an issue.

* The Flamethrower should only be toggled on slot 8. For some reason it toggles on slot 6 also. I have not been able to figure out why as the Zscript only alloactes it to slot 8.

* Yes, map 12 is supposed to be like that. It is by intention.

[IgnyteZero]

Uploaded version 1.08


It includes a rework of an early area of Map 4. This was a part of that map that I was never happy with and knew I had to change, but somehow forgot or overlooked, which made the progression on the map confusing, especially with all new areas I had added to the map.

There's a also a bunch of minor changes and fixes, especially for easier difficulties.

As a sidenote I will also comment further on it, since someone who had looked on Map 12 wondered if it was a Terry-wad. IT IS DEFINITELY NOT! It has a horror theme though. The start is unique but follows the narrative for anyone paying notice. Yes, there is some use of texture glitches later on it, but this is to mimic a collapse of reality. The map is 100% playable start to finish. Same goes for one of the secrets on Map 11.

Also, I am working with a guy on original midi-music for the maps for a future larger update.

NOTE:

For anyone interested in playing the wad with more adrenaline inducing mods, it works great with Project Brutality it seems. Do not try to run it with Brutal Doom however, as that just crashes.

[IgnyteZero]

CHANGELOG:

1.14
Minor fixes
- Slightly nerfed the Freeze Cannon, so to be a little less effective in boss fights
- Added green and red letter textures
- Added a message with clues on Map 5 by a SS soldier corpse
- Added another mission marker on Map 5, to direct the player to the new clue
- Changed the inhabitants of one cell in the cellar of Map 5
- Made Bridge Control functionality more obvious on Map 6
- Added a power terminal message on Map 6
- Added one monster on Map 6
- Some cosmetic changes on Map 6

1.13
Major fixes
- Hopefully fixed a reoccuring bug on Map10 that created an invisible step and see through wall at a stair in the yellow path area, that could potentially result in a softlock.
- A lot of the story has hinted towards the demonic possession of the barons soldiers and scientists. The possessed scientists has however, except their corpses, been quite absent. They are no longer, as several science zombies have been added to a number of maps

Minor fixes
- Added an extra mission marker on Map 1
- Made the path forward in the library on Map 2 a little more obvious
- Added some hidden bonuses on Map 3 and 7 that foreshadows a hard to get secret on Map 11
- Fixed the mission markers on Map 9 to work as intended
- Removed middle textures at a stair in a secret on Map 9 that shouldn't be there
- Two secrets had lost their secret status on Map 10. They have now returned.
- Fixed a secret door that wouldn't open on Map 10
- Fixed the blue skull key door on Map 10. It shouldn't close now after being opened.
- Fixed a teleporter in the yellow area on Map 10. It should now always be reusable.
- Some texture alignments on Map 10
- Added a teleporter to the strange pillar isle on the first lava lake in Map 11
- Fixed a secret in the flesh area on Map 11
- Some technical changes on the fleshy area on Map 11 to disencourage cheesing the bossfight
- Corrected some fleshy parts on Map 11
- Added missing textures on Map 11
- Some difficulty balancing on some maps, including bossfights on Map 11 and 12
- Some minor fixes on Map 12
- Added story clues to Map 13, related to its secret
- Added credits to title screen

1.12
Major fixes
- Mission marker system updated along with custom animated sprites
- Visuals/Geography on the mountain parts of Map 3 improved, to make it look and feel a little less claustrophobic and at least a bit more like an actual mountain area. Also, these changes follows the narrative better with some added visual cues.
- Added another secret on Map 4

Minor fixes
- A line on Map 1 was changed from "always show" to "show as 1-sided"
- Moved around a few objects on Map 6, where a backpack previously were unattainable.
- Fixed an issue that when certain mods make monsters able to open any door or press any button, they now shouldn't be able to reach a specific button on Map 6 that would reveal the yellow key a bit too early.
- A "Search" mission marker added to map 13
- Another cosmetic update to the library on Map 2
- Added some extra monsters for Ultra-violence on Map 4
- A few minor texture changes and design polishing on Map 4

1.10
Major Fixes
- Rebalanced the Flamethrower and Freeze Cannon to make them more fun and a better alternative to the plasma rifle. Raised damage output and ammo cap considerably, but beware, they now both consume hellgas at a much larger rate.
- Fixed a linedef on Map 8 that disappeared, making it impossible to reach the first secret level. It should now work as intended.

Minor Fixes
- Removed a sector action wrongly marked as a secret on Map 8
- Made the three buttons that opens the way to a hard to reach secret on Map 8 a bit easier to spot.
- Cosmetic and texture fixes on Secret Map 1
- Cosmetic and texture fixes on Map 9

1.09 (no public release)
Major fixes
- Fixed an unreachable secret in Map 4
- Added teleports on Map 5 for two pits that would softlock and kill you before
- Fixed a platform at the end of Map 5

Minor fixes
- Added a missing texture for a platform in Map 4
- Some texture alignments fixes on map 4, 5 and 11
- Fixed a door with unpegged textures on Map 8
- Fixed an isssue where certain mods that made monsters able to open any door or press any button (such as Project Brutal) didn't result in crushers stopping and block any progress on Map 1

1.08d
Minor Fixes
- Cosmetic alterations to the throne room roof at the end of Map 12
- Fixed a missing texture on map 5 related to a certain door changed in 1.08, and made some cosmetic corrections to that area.

1.08c
Minor fixes
- An ambush on Map 4 close to the reworked area accidentally had the wrong difficulty settings, making it harder on easier difficulties. Fixed that and also added health at that spot for easier difficulties.

1.08b
Minor fixes
- Some minor cosmetic edits on Map 2, 4 and 6

1.08
Major fixes
- Reworked an early part of map 4, as the progression order was confusing. A part of the map I hadn't reworked well enough from the original.

Minor fixes
- Made it visually easier to figure out what happens when you press the green card button on Map 5.
- Removed the temporary midi-file. Music will be added in a future update.

1.07 (no public release)
Minor fixes
- Lowered friction for some slime, lava or sewage surfaces on a few early maps
- Added a missing secret reward on hurt me plenty and lower difficulties on map 8.
- Changed the texture on one specific small wall part on map 8
- Added some more health for hurt me plenty and lower difficulties on maps 8-11
- Added interaction to certain terminals on map 8 that lacked it before
- Testing a simple midi tune as menu music. This midi-file is just a placeholder.

1.06
Major fixes
- As per 1.03 a secret on map 1 became unreachable. It can now be reached as intended.
- An early Linedef portal wasn't working as intended on Map 10 in UZDoom, hindering progress. It should work now.

Minor fixes
- Realigned wall textures on Secret Map 2
- Added a wall texture for Secret Map 2 for an easter egg
- A couple texture realignments on Map 8

1.05
Minor fixes
- Fixed a mislocated polyobject on map 11
- Made some cosmetic changes to some corners and doors on map 7 that had been overlooked
- Some light source items were missing on Hurt me Plenty and easier difficulties on map 7. They are now back.
- Added Light Amplifier Goggles for Hurt Me Plenty difficulty and easier in the late cave area on map 7
- Changed a misplaced texture on map 7
- Replaced a texture that somehow had gotten mixed up for the release version, mostly affecting map 4

1.04
Major fixes
- Fixed a typo in MAPINFO making it impossible to enter Secret Level 2 as intended

Minor fixes
- The Overlord has had it's difficulty raised for Ultra Violence and Nightmare difficulties
- Fixed a possible softlock on map 11
- Fixed a missing texture and a few more texture alignments
- Fixed so both monster and item counters correctly shows 0 at start on Secret Level 2

1.03
Minor fixes
- A few texture alignment issues fixed
- As per 1.02 a couple of textures got corrupted. This should be fixed.
- fixed a possible softlock on a secret on map 1

1.02
Minor fixes
- Two inactive monsters were fixed on map 11
- A few texture alignment fixes, most on map 11

1.01
Minor fix
- Added two missing textures on map 11

1.0 Release Version

[IgnyteZero]

Made a little x-mas update and uploaded v1.12 of the wad, with a new secret on Map 4, improved geography visuals on Map 3 and updated the Map markers with custom animated sprites.

Merry X-mas and happy new year!

[IgnyteZero]

Uploaded v1.13 to ModDB

I found out the reason why I've had to do so many bug fixing updates. Many of those including fixing bugs I thought I already had fixed. Somehow before release I had mixed up two of my release candidates, and as such I released an early candidate as final version instead of the intended one. A huge mistake on my part, as it's created a lot of unnecessary extra work, and many of you unnecessarily playing with buggy maps.

Anyway, this update should cover the last of the major issues, as a few still remained on later maps. There's also some balancing of some bossfights at later maps, and I added a few zombified scientists into the mix to match the narrative and environments in the mod.