Docking Crater Alpha - Doomworld /idgames database frontend

Title:	Docking Crater Alpha
Filename:	levels/doom/a-c/crater.zip
Size:	118.35 KB
Date:	08/23/94
Author:	Jin H. Kim "Time Traveler"
Description:	Huge. Structured. Kinda cool. My best yet?
Credits:	Why don't I mention the names of the people who made Doom and its subsequent accessories? It's quite simple. It's a GIVEN that these people are to be thanked. If it wasn't for all those out there, (and they know who they are) I wouldn't be squandering my precious Time making wads!
Base:	New level from scratch
Build time:
Editor(s) used:	Deu5.1, Deu5.2gcc, Deu5.21, BSP1.1, BSP1.2x, VNB, IDBSP1.0, IDBSP1.01d, IDBSPWAT, reject 1.0. (Due to the size and complexity of the wad as it was in its development stages, node builders failed me one after the other. Read far below)
Bugs:	No real bugs. But there is a minor HOM effect but that cannot be helped. There is a lot of detail involved and I feel that any slight HOM you might notice is outweighed. Then again, the 1.2 to 1.6 upgrade patch might be out by now. In that case, rejoice!
Rating:	(8 votes)

Download mirrors:

/idgames protocol:

idgames://777

Reviews:

Anonymous	Ah, I remembered playing this good-old map two decades ago. It obviously has its early design flaws, actually so many that nowadays it would be considered as meh. But at that time it looked spectacular: big, panorama's, a large maze, lots of monsters, switches, radiation runs, suspicious ambiance. Rated as 1994 map: by far not the best one, but p.d. good, so 4/5.	x
Doomkid	Really good for it's age, the environment is trying to be realistic as mentioned above. It's well made, but it just kinda bored me. I think I may have played this in years gone by and it impressed me far more back then.	x
lupinx-Kassman	Probably one of the best 94' maps I have played. It's clever and atmospheric, which is all the more impressive considering it was made using only Doom's stock resources (save for some new cheesy weapon sfx). I liked the way rad suits were used in this map as well. Worth a play.	x
Anonymous	Now THIS is a '94 wad that would make Tom Hall proud! It feels very true to his original Doom Bible with realistic architecture and non-linear gameplay. Granted, this map does suffer from '94 flaws like repetitive texuring and a lack of details. However, the sheer ambition of this map makes it far superior to its contemporaries. 4/5	x
Anonymous	big, strongly sci-fi themed level from '94. recommended.	x
Anonymous	This is a large but undetailed moonbase, with lots of uniform white textures, and a crate maze that's the spit of E2M2. It has from the same problems as most other "realistic" environments, in that it is staid and dull. There are some toilets (we learn that the imps use urinals), a sickbay, a pool rooms etc, lots of square corridors and little rooms. It's grander than most early levels and not awful, but very unexciting nowadays.	x
Anonymous	A very large and plain, but still not bad-looking greyish moon base, with realistic in-/outdoor touches. The atmosphere hurts you, so be sure to use your supply of rad suits wisely. The fights are easy but good, if a little repetitive. The progression feels very non-linear, as if you can stroll around pretty much anywhere you like. This sometimes makes things confusing, though, and you often feel lost. Perhaps it's just a little too big? The new sounds are so-so. --3/5	x

View crater.txt

WAD Authoring Template V1.4   (Clip this line)---ooh a new version...
================================================================
Title                   : Docking Crater Alpha   
Filename                : CRATER.WAD
Author                  : Jin H. Kim  "Time Traveler"
Email Address           : xjinkim@fullerton.edu
Misc. Author Info       : AAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
			  You would not BELIEVE how much trouble I went
			  through!  Do I honestly have NOTHING better to do?

Description             : Huge.  Structured.  Kinda cool.  My best yet?
				
Additional Credits to   : Why don't I mention the names of the people who
			  made Doom and its subsequent accessories?  It's 
			  quite simple.  It's a GIVEN that these people are to
			  be thanked.  If it wasn't for all those out there,
			  (and they know who they are) I wouldn't be 
			  squandering my precious Time making wads!
================================================================

* Play Information *
			      
Episode and Level #     : E1M3
Single Player           : Yes
Cooperative 2-4 Player  : Yes
Deathmatch 2-4 Player   : Yes (at least half a dozen jump-in points)
Difficulty Settings     : Sort of (only monsters that warp in randomly are  
			  set for difficulty.)
New Sounds              : Yes - Shotgun and pistol(chaingun) from T2.WAD
New Graphics            : Yes - So as to simulate the martian landscape, I 
			  patched in the sky texture from Episode 2.
New Music               : No
Demos Replaced          : None

* Construction *

Base                    : New level from scratch
Editor(s) used          : Deu5.1, Deu5.2gcc, Deu5.21, BSP1.1, BSP1.2x,
			  VNB, IDBSP1.0, IDBSP1.01d, IDBSPWAT, reject 1.0.
			  (Due to the size and complexity of the wad as it was
			  in its development stages, node builders failed me
			  one after the other.  Read far below)
Known bugs              : No real bugs.  But there is a minor HOM 
			  effect but that cannot be helped.  There is a lot of
			  detail involved and I feel that any slight HOM you 
			  might notice is outweighed.  Then again, the 1.2 to
			  1.6 upgrade patch might be out by now.  In that case,
			  rejoice!

WHAT!  No entry for Time taken?? 
	At least a good 25 hours or so... more like 125....
	(Check that...  At least double that Time....  circa 7/08/94 to circa
	 7/15/94 and then a looong rest and then circa 8/07/94 to 8/20/94)
								  
* Copyright / Permissions *

Authors may NOT use this level as a base to build additional
levels.

You MAY distribute this WAD, provided you include this file, with
no modifications.  You may distribute this file in any electronic
format (BBS, Diskette, CD, etc) as long as you include this file 
intact.

* Where to get this WAD *

FTP sites: infant2.sphs.indiana.edu, ftp.uwp.edu

BBS numbers:  The Wine Cooler (310)860-9171  (The BBS name might change as of
8/20/94) and wherever I can upload it.  You know, it's amazing how small the
world is.. I uploaded dmfmj20.zip (one o' my "releases," see below) to infant2
and ftp.uwp and guess what, three or four days later it showed up on one of
my favorite BBSs.  Amazing.  What a cheap ego boost. 
	    
Other:  Hmm..... good question.....

The story thus far:

Minus 7 days:  You come out of hypersleep.  It's gonna be a while 
before you get used to your weightless body.  And who the hell is landing that 
damn starship inside your head?
	Minus 6 days:  Sarge finally lets you get out of the hypersleep pod.
Good.  You've been holding back for 12 hours now and you gotta drain the old
dragon.
	Minus 3 days:  Re-orientation completed  Pre-orbit computations and
nav target identifications completed.  
	0 day:  Docking complete.  Pass through entrance checkpoints.  
Assignment of quarters and equipment acquisition.  Time to "rescue colonist
daughters from their virginity."  
	Day +1:  UAC Scientists are shipped back to earth in ziplock bags.  A
top secret research experiment gone wrong.  A grunt like you wouldn't normally
know these things.  But you have some friends.
	Day +4:  Panic on the station.  All available vessels scramble to pick
up remaining unaffected civilians.  The top brass and research scientists left
two days ago.  Nobody said anything until yesterday when those brown bastards
started slaughtering the masses.  
	Day +5: 5 people volunteered to remain behind and fight it out.  Your
Commanding Officer, Stuart Baker, gunned down a squad of possessed soldiers 
that tried to stop the last escaping vessel.  Baker died annihilating those 
turncoats with his plasma rifle.  He held the key to the top secret research 
room and the armory and now you can't get to him.  Two more guys were stationed 
in the main warehouse protecting some equipment.  You don't know what happened 
to them and they took the chainguns.  You and your buddy were behind Baker but
just missed getting him some support.  You two got ambushed and now your buddy
is lunchmeat and you're out of shotgun shells. 
	And damnit, the kitchen's no longer serving food.

Ok, folks, so there it is.  A "semi" part 3 of 3? of 4? of 5?  I don't
know.  I just work here.  I think that this level should be played AS IS.  It's
cool to start from the beginning with just a pistol (remember?  No more shells)
but it's just fine even with some extra stuff.  Who knows, I may make it 
almost necessary to have some equipment beforehand by the Time I release this
wad.

This level is actually a pretty cool one.  I sure like it.  It has a 
main cargo hangar area facing west, a civilian and visitor hangar to the east, 
and a station personnel dock facing north.  Clustered around the "commons"
area, a large square room in the northeast, are several rooms and such.  
Military barracks are also located to the northeast area within the corridors.
The top secret research facility, the heart of the UAC's woes, is located, 
well, you'll find out rather quickly.  Besides, with everyone dead except for
the dead, and no starships around for at best 35 million miles, the lab may be 
your only chance to go home....

Other works by me (Time Traveler)

HUNTER.ZIP (Prelude to PENTGRAM.WAD)
	PENTGRAM.ZIP (Prelude to CRATER2.WAD)

PREDATOR.ZIP (Predator sound fx, co-authored with some buds)

------------author notes, 8/13/94

In its current condition, the level is a compromise.  I have done the best I
could but the limitations imposed by node builders can't be fully corrected.
Even DEU has jacked up on more than one occasion and wasted hours worth of 
combined work (you know, "Just this one last line and I'll save it.").  
idbspwat is the only one that gives me a serviceable wad (if you don't believe
me, try re-compiling this level using bsp1.2x, as of this writing the most
recent release by Colin Reed) and it needs (NEEDS) a 486 to compile at all and
on two occasions a 486dx/33 has crapped out.  I don't know if it's the level
or some other fundamental reason, but it's been a major pain in the ass to 
complete this level.  VNB, idbsp1.0, and 1.01d all gave me the same problems
that bsp ran into.  The textures literaly bled all over the level.   
I would have seriously preferred to fill up the southern warehouse a lot more 
and to add some more details to the research room, but the constraints placed 
on the level may be too much for any more.  I'm not done yet so we'll see.

Also, in many areas there are pairs of switches.  The "Down" switch works like
normal, but the "up" switch causes an instant raise to the nearest sector, 
which may disorient some people.  I'm sorry, but it was the only way to ensure
that the up/down switches could be used over and over again.

-8/21/94- Looks like I've hit a wall of some kind.  I cannot add to the level
without DEU wigging out.  I'm not too sure why.  But regardless, this level
is large so I better just lay off now.  I'm still not satisfied with the 
southern warehouse, but it was the best I could do for the Time being.  Maybe
I'll go back and redo parts of the level when more advanced versions of node
builders and editors come out.  In the mean Time, it's possible to complete
the level WITHOUT going into the warehouse, but what the hell.  A real Doomer
cleans out the level regardless.  Anyway, too sick of dealing with this level
now so I'm releasing it.

Next wad project:  Unless only crappy wads are produced (and those are a dime
a dozen) I'm giving up this Time consuming pursuit.  Maybe I'll spend some
Time screwing around with Cal State Fullerton University, ECS buildings.  
Maybe.

One final thing:  There is a super health potion around somewhere, good for...
well, let's just say it's worth more than a medical kit (25%).  It's not hard  
to find, so good luck.  Oh, and the effects of the super boost will wear off
in about, oh, 7 seconds.  :)

mong