As in my first level -- DANTE'S GATE -- I have tried in CROSSING ACHERON to achieve a gaming atmosphere that is not only fast-paced (once the fur starts to fly), but just plain creepy. Once again, I went for the aesthetics (you know: The Look); but this time, I also tried to keep the game from being too easy. I think once you get inside, you'll find that CROSSING ACHERON has been fully optimized for DEATHMATCH. But it's just as enjoyable (if I do say so myself) in Single-player and Coöperative modes.
CROSSING ACHERON (pronounced 'ak eron) is a sequel to DANTE'S GATE -- thematically, anyway. (It's an E1M3 only because I thought the music was more appropriate than M2.) For any of the two or three of you out there who have read Dante Alighieri's THE DIVINE COMEDY -- or even only "Inferno" -- I'm sure you've been able to appreciate the many allusions to this work in DOOM. I have tried to take a tack of my own along the same lines. (I do this not only because I think the idea is neat, but so that people will think that I'm very clever.) I'm not so naïve as to expect everyone to rush out and get a copy of "Inferno" (I mean, it IS pretty tedious stuff, at times), but it's well worth the read -- and a little patience is a virtue that is often well-rewarded.
(By the way: Acheron is a river in Hell (basically). But don't look for any rivers in here: I tried it several different ways and just wasn't convinced.)
I thank those of you who sent me mail on my previous effort, and I hope to hear from more of you about this one. (Just a line would do: "It's great!" or "It sucks!" or "Now I know what John Cormack MEANT to do in "Unholy Cathedral.")
Thanks. Hope you like it.
Credits:
Raphaël Quinet and Brendon J. Wyber for DEU 5.21; Colin Reed for BSP v1.1 (can't DEU without it); War Machine for endless Deathmatch tests (am I getting any better?); Terry C. Ramey and Sebastian Kirke for BETA critiques and other witty and useful suggestions (I didn't use any of 'em ); Vanni Fucci and his figs; And, of course, those id guys. (You and Quinet owe my wife a BIG apology. But you have MY regards.)
Base:
New level from scratch
Build time:
A really, really, really long time
Editor(s) used:
DEU 5.1, 5.21, and 5.21GCC by Raphaël Quinet & Brendon J. Wyber
DoomED by Renegade Graphics (only to print maps)
