More Tricks and Traps Than You Require (Map08 replacement for Doom II).
Thanks to everyone for their feedback and playthroughs, it has helped improve the level tremendously. I do not believe any more major changes are required. After taking a break, I thought about this map a bit more and I decided that there were some things I wasn't satisfied with. I may eventually change this from the MAP08 slot to the MAP13 slot.
The three major changes I made (among others):
Revamped the Rocket Launcher secret in Section 7 so that it no longer offers a safe cubbyhole to hide from, thus making the combat less boring.
Removed the entire Tekgreen room from the northern axis of the map. That room was insufficiently tricky for my taste, it was far too straightforward. Additionally, that encounter was another long section of an already lengthy part of the map. Cutting it and replacing it with something simpler slightly improves the pacing.
When I came up with the idea of the western area of the map, I had a secret area in mind, but I decided against putting it in place when I build the map. I changed my mind and put it back in.
Update (02/09/2024):
- I've made a couple small tweaks to the platforming room.
The full changelog for v2.13a is below.
I'm looking for feedback specifically on what traps you thought worked the best, were there any moments you found funny, any moments you found frustrating or irritating, any balance problems, and any pacing problems.
Latest Version
https://www.doomworld.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=285540
Change Log
Version 2.13a
- Increased the size of an additional platform in Section 2 to make the platforming easier.
- Increased the brightness in the platforming room from 140 to 160.
Version 2.13
- Slightly increased the height of a blocking wall.
- Added barricades to temporarily restrict access to a certain weapon
- Made a certain powerup easier to find.
- Made a lift slightly more obvious.
Version 2.12
- Added a new secret vault
- Corrected an oversight where the map did not have a sufficient quantity of blue skull keys.
- Removed Tekgreen section for being insufficiently tricksy/trappy, and for map pacing purposes. More than 50 enemies were cut from the map from that change.
- Replaced the Tekgreen section with a new, much smaller part which is shorter, but still tricky.
- Changed the Rocket Launcher secret in section 7 to make the combat more challenging.
- Changed location and activation method of Keen Secret 2.
- Improved deployment of Imp moat teleporter pen.
- Switches in red key room now properly re-adjust to maximum brightness if the lights get restored.
- Moved Rocket Launcher in Arachno/PE/Rev/Manc Arena to perpetual lift, moved shell box elsewhere, added additional rocket ammo.
- Cleaned up some unused triggers and incorrect tags in sectors.
- Fixed an incorrect texture on the raising stairs.
- Adjusted Par Time to 15 minutes.
Version 2.11
- Added some additional decoy blue keys.
- Added custom music track "Always Watching" by Lippeth (revised version).
- Removed hexagonal skylights (they looked odd), and changed look of ceilings instead.
- Removed a lot of excess cells.
- Reduced amount of rockets in Blue Key Palace arena to improve tension of boss battle.
- Added a light to highlight the Berserk pack at the start of the maze.
- Slightly improved visuals in Blue Key Palace arena. (Added decorative windows to brown building.)
- Tweaked a certain linedef to make sure the player's center will pass through it.
- Added a teleporter line to an area which should be inaccessible in case of an extremely unlikely fluke.
- Changed a certain ceiling's height in a location where the ceiling texture changes.
- Tweaked visuals in caged imp room.
- Bugfix: Changed a wall texture accidentally applied to a floor in an inaccessible sector.
Version 2.10
- Jumping and Crouching is now prohibited.
- Map now has full proper title.
- Added additional room to Sector 3 (had an additional idea).
- Changed geography of Sector 3 secret.
- Moved location where Sector 3 secret is unlocked. New location is no longer flagged as secret.
- Removed monster blocking line from sector 3, replaced with lowered floor
- Removed monster blocking line from entrance to sector 3, monsters now teleport away upon entering.
- Bridge over water now has proper flat texture in raised position.
Version 2.09
- Bugfix: Removed redundant autosave line.
- Bugfix: Shifted some enemies in monster closets to unstick Pinkies from v2.08.Oops.
- Added monster blocking lines to certain lifts to prevent enemies from getting on or off.
- Tweaked appearance of window ledge in starting room.
- Added additional Cacodemon closets when acquiring Yellow Skull.
- Added a semi-hidden teleport back to a certain arena for convenience.
- Added rooms on opposite side of Hedge maze overlook for decorative purposes.
- Improved some texture work.
Version 2.08
- Bugfix: Re-added missing teleporter destination accidentally deleted from previous patch.
- Added an additional connecting section in the maze for better flow
- Added texture variations in maze for signposting... although it's so dark that it really doesn't show much difference.
- General improvements to texture alignment in maze.
- Replaced blue armor in Blue Key Palace arena with green armor on Ultra-violence difficulty.
- Added one (1) rocket to Blue Key Palace arena.
- Made Red Key Room inset door switch not appear on automap.
- Added rockets on top of certain hedges to guide players.
- The dirt walls in the Megasphere area are no longer perfectly straight lines.
- Better signposting/hints for Keen 1 secret.
- Switched contents of two monster closets.
- Added two additional "Pinky" demons to a monster closet.
- Increased width of Megasphere platform so it's not a forced pickup.
- A certain monster closet which releases its contents gradually now, under certain circumstances, releases its monsters to a different location.
- A certain arena fight now releases the monsters faster, for a better pace.
- Changed ammo balance in a certain arena. (More rockets, fewer bullets and shells.)
- More tweaks to windows in eyes hallway.
Version 2.07
- Made the maze more interesting upon first trip through.
- Made the maze really, really interesting on the return trip.
- Maze has been made slightly darker.
- Changed textures of certain elements in the maze
- Added Berserk Pack to start of maze.
- Added a new connection to the maze for better flow.
- Added a pile of shells, and some additional stimpacks and medkits.
- Added an additional secret Super Shotgun.
- Added additional teleport lines to move Mancubi around better.
- Changed geography to allow for better Mancubi movement.
- Tweaked skylight triggers
- Added an additional visual cue to a tricky bit of mandatory progression.
- Added arrow to Red Key room to help players not get stuck after finishing.
- Added additional button to red key room to release players
- Slightly reduced amount of health and armor in certain spots.
- Moved autosave line from Tekgreen room to outside it. Added two additional autosave lines.
- Made the existence of backpack secret clear.
- Added rubble blocking an unusable door.
- Reduced amount of health inside Blue Key Palace to slightly increase fight difficulty.
- Adjusted window textures in the "watching eyes" hallway.
Version 2.06
- Reworked the trick in the Red Key room.
- Removed empty sections in megasphere area and rotated room 180 degrees to simplify area
- Removed three "W1 autosave" lines.
- Reworked the NOPE.
- Trimmed one small part off the maze.
- Assorted texturing improvements
- Keen indicators no longer show a bit of red after being turned "on".
- Added big blinking arrow to point players to window in start room.
- Added monster-only teleport lines to a certain place.
- Altered some sector heights where floor textures change.
Version 2.05
- Bugfix: Removed unmarked switch line used for debug purposes and accidentally left in place.
- Removed Super Shotgun, Plasma Rifle and cells from Blue Key Palace arena and replaced with rockets
- Lowered monster count in Blue Key Palace arena and reduced delay of access to stair switch by 30 seconds.
- Moved Berserk Pack to lower arena
- Added Medikits to arena top on far side
- Moved 40 armor bonuses on far side of blue arena
- Changed some rockets to rocket boxes in Blue Key Palace
- Removed Blur sphere in Blue Key Palace.
- Added two stimpaks to Blue Key Palace.
- Put cell charge packs near BFG onto raising columns which lower once BFG acquired
- Bug Fix: Added missing impassible lines to near some blue keys.
- Changed Rocket Launcher lift in surprise arena to lower the entire platform from any side.
- Moved certain blue keys back farther from impassible line.
- Added impassible line to discourage attempting to explore a tiny ledge which is useless
- Removed Yellow key indicators from a certain door.
- Changed Certain doors to red-key required
- Added a sound sector to indicate the direction of a secret door opening.
- Changed Keen numbers to appear on automap if located.
- Simplified exit of false wall area.
- Removed "Monster can't cross line" from blue key palace hub door.
Version 2.04
- Made a certain Arch-Vile trap more threatening
- Adjusted lighting of Blue Key.
Version 2.03
- Added teleport lines to move half the Mancubi from the Sladwall trap to a monster closet for later.
- Removed one switch from the fake wall area and made the lift switch easier to see.
- Moved the quiet area sectors closer to the rest of the map to make the automap maximum size smaller.
- Added corpses to the quiet area.
- Removed "Does not appear on Automap" tag from all the lines in the maze.
- Added "Does not appear on Automap" tag to room at the end of the maze.
- Added W1 Autosave line to room at the end of the maze.
- Adjusted and simplified the Keen 3 secret to make it not require entering a separate section.
- Items on north stairs are now all in a nice neat line.
- Changed a texture to make a hidden switch playtesters keep missing more obvious.
Version 2.02
- Joined some sectors for better sound propagation
- Moved the second trigger for the Section 1 secret sector
- Adjusted some vertexes to prevent a keygrab through a wall.
Version 2.01
- Altered the Pain Elemental/Mancubus/Revenant Arena.
-- Added a Rocket Launcher and rockets
-- Switched which sector was the secret sector
-- Moved the switch for the secret sector and added a second trigger for it.
- Added another autosave line before the arena for less frustration
Version 2.00
- Excised most of the northern section from the map into a separate map.
- Reworked northern section to simplify gameplay and reduce steps needed to complete.
- Changed nature of surprise Arch-vile corpse
- Altered nature of another Arch-Vile surprise to make it more interesting and challenging.
Version 1.02 (Beta03)
- Fixed another instance of using a flat as a wall texture.
- Fixed some misaligned textures.
Version 1.01 (Beta02)
- Fixed an accidental instance of using a flat as a wall texture.
- Changed a texture on a lowering floor to better match the wall.
- Requires GZDoom or other limit-removing ports. Tested with GZDoom, partially tested with PRBoom+, but seems to have some issues which need working out with that port. EDIT: The version currently linked has fixed two places which have problems with PRBoom+, but I haven't entirely ruled out there being more places at this time.
- Not tested with any mods.
- Version 1.03 and earlier are not compatible with the Hellrider mod. Version 2.00 MIGHT be compatible, as the thing causing problems has been changed... but I haven't tested it with mods yet.
- Freelook is allowed and encouraged, but it shouldn't be needed.
- Jumping and Crouching is not required and not allowed (although I have tried to make sure it's not possible to sequence-break even using jumping).
- I have not tested it with co-op, but I have added in parts to let co-op get players into any areas which get temporarily locked off.
- For use with the Doom II IWAD, replaces MAP 08
- It's a fairly long map, probably about 30 to 40 minutes for full completion.
- Minimum completion, as fast as possible, is probably on the order of 10-15 minutes, but that's if you know the map. After one attempt my time was 13:07.
- Don't feel the need to run the entire map at once, there are many natural stopping points to take a break.
- The gameplay theme is, well, "Tricks and Traps", although one section is somewhat like a slaughtermap. The design theme is "malevolent techbase".
- The difficulty, at its peak, should be about as hard as Plutonia 1 on Ultra-Violence.
- Map difficulties are implemented, but I can't be a good judge of them since I play on UV and of course, know the map.
Screenshots:
NEW Version:
https://www.doomworld.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=285540
Version 2.13a
- Increased the size of an additional platform in Section 2 to make the platforming easier.
- Increased the brightness in the platforming room from 140 to 160.
Version 2.13
- Slightly increased the height of a blocking wall.
- Added barricades to temporarily restrict access to a certain weapon
- Made a certain powerup easier to find.
- Made a lift slightly more obvious.
MoreTricks-v213.zip