[Ultimate Doom Community Project] Solar Struggle - Making maps where names are pre-selected (Development thread) [Looking for artists] [WE HAVE ALL THE MAPS]

[ViolentBeetle]

23 minutes ago, cannonball said:

Still baron usage should be reconsidered here in my opinion.

Maybe. They are there to discourage rushing through, I'll have to see if cacodemons could fill the same role, for example.

[ViolentBeetle]

As a little status update, E3M1 has went to @LordEntr0py after the previous claimant dropped out. It will be his second map, but I figure it's time to allow that.

[cannonball]

Episode 3;

 

E3M2 - Well it is a hubspoke, though a the very least some spokes do blend into each other.

This was again on the easy side and I left the map with 25 rockets. I have to admit resources are probably too plentiful here. The soulsphere at the switch that allows access to the blue key is probably the most excessive use of a free soulsphere I have ever seen. You could remove it on UV at least and you still wouldn't break a sweat for most of this level.

I wasn't overly enthralled by this, for the most part even the mid tiers tend to offer minimal resistance and some even get stuck in the various bits that open up in the central hub. I mean it wasn't a bad map but It could do with a little work to connect some areas together and probably use some tweaking in terms of monster distribution. The barons at the exit can be skipped completely so I am not sure why they are even there?

 

E3M5 - This one looks and feels very Ultimate doom despite the moon setting and extra textures..... That's a good thing.

I really liked this one, a neat layout that you open up extra inter-connectivity and the monster placement actually has teeth here. I really cannot offer much criticism here. Visually it is a little more rough than others, but in a way I like its mix of rustic OG Doom and the modern tech of the moon setting.

 

E3M7 - The start of this is very aggravating as you have insufficient ammo to tackle everything and your path is awkward to say the least. The following part of the map is a little clunky with all of the freight containers, i guess this would be okay with a little polish. The final stretch is the opposite of the start where you a literally given enough ammo and the BFG to take out the entirety of hell itself. Even in a seemingly power fantasy type position, I didn't feel much enjoyment, not to mention the progression here is also awkward with one switch in the outdoor area being rather fiddly to actually use.

Not sure what to say, the layout here isn't exactly ideal but I guess the map fits the name fairly well. 

 

E3M8 - A solid episode closer where the Mastermind is positioned as such that the player only has one place to fight it, whilst it can cause you hassle once the blue key is grabbed. The preceding challenges are fairly straightforward, though I died in the more enclosed slalom like room as monsters from outside can zero in on you.

Overall I was surprised by this, a good looking and rather fun boss map.

[RHhe82]

5 hours ago, cannonball said:

Episode 3;

 

E3M2 - Well it is a hubspoke, though a the very least some spokes do blend into each other.

This was again on the easy side and I left the map with 25 rockets. I have to admit resources are probably too plentiful here. The soulsphere at the switch that allows access to the blue key is probably the most excessive use of a free soulsphere I have ever seen. You could remove it on UV at least and you still wouldn't break a sweat for most of this level.

I wasn't overly enthralled by this, for the most part even the mid tiers tend to offer minimal resistance and some even get stuck in the various bits that open up in the central hub. I mean it wasn't a bad map but It could do with a little work to connect some areas together and probably use some tweaking in terms of monster distribution. The barons at the exit can be skipped completely so I am not sure why they are even there?

Thanks for the feedback. The map was originally even easier, but I guess it could easily be tweaked furthermore without resorting to BS ambushes.

 

As for the excess ammo,, that’s a deliberate choice that the player has ammo at the end, if they want to UV-max and take care of cacodemons that roam the big lava lake in the first half of the map. I don’t like to force player to berserk-punch midtiers, even though that’s a valid option for advanced players. As for other resources: the BK soulsphere could indeed be replaced by something else; I can’t remember why I felt it was necessary. Medikit or two would be better suited.

[ViolentBeetle]

Outside of E4, I want this wad to be on easier side for a change. I think the current crop of maps fits it well. Maybe some adjustment for difficulty curve could be done after we have full set.

[RHhe82]

2 hours ago, ViolentBeetle said:

Outside of E4, I want this wad to be on easier side for a change. I think the current crop of maps fits it well. Maybe some adjustment for difficulty curve could be done after we have full set.

That was my impression as well, and besides, I can’t make any map so hard that I can’t play it myself, and thus no ribbiksque map is possible in any case.

 

Perhaps I’ll wait for further feedback in any case. Personally I wanted to make some of the areas in my map more interconnected, but my mapping skills and experience wasn’t sufficient. (This was my third or fourth map ”ever”, depending on if I count my other works in progress).

[The Kingslayer]

@LoreCaco37 I played your map and really liked it, but I think the exit is a little plain. I'm having my map start with a monorail station, would you like to see it and maybe find a way to incorporate it into your map? It's totally up to you.

[LoreCaco37]

2 hours ago, The Kingslayer said:

@LoreCaco37 I played your map and really liked it, but I think the exit is a little plain. I'm having my map start with a monorail station, would you like to see it and maybe find a way to incorporate it into your map? It's totally up to you.

I'd love to do that, I'm a sucker for smooth level transitions and most critiques of my map have said that the end is the weakest part.

[The Kingslayer]

5 minutes ago, LoreCaco37 said:

I'd love to do that, I'm a sucker for smooth level transitions and most critiques of my map have said that the end is the weakest part.

Alright, I'll send over the WAD. (it's only the station for now) It's pretty big, so you might need to change your level layout a bit.

E1M8_SS.zip

[LoreCaco37]

Thanks! I have an idea of how to keep my original layout while incorporating the new elements.

[PinkFlamingo]

Still working on my map E4M8. Layout is about 90% finished now. I will post a first version for play testing soon.

 

Here's a view of the crater:

[xdude_gamer]

1 hour ago, PinkFlamingo said:

Still working on my map E4M8. Layout is about 90% finished now. I will post a first version for play testing soon.

 

Here's a view of the crater:

Wow.

[ViolentBeetle]

21 hours ago, PinkFlamingo said:

Still working on my map E4M8. Layout is about 90% finished now. I will post a first version for play testing soon.

 

Here's a view of the crater:

Looks amazing.

[ChopBlock223]

Had no idea you were doing this project, it feels nicely ambitious and I'm looking forward to playing it.

 

22 hours ago, PinkFlamingo said:

Here's a view of the crater:

Woah!

[Nefelibeta]

On 11/3/2021 at 5:49 AM, cannonball said:

E2M8 - I liked what this is trying to do, but the execution is a little lacking. The majority of this map could be described as having a lot of bark, but no real bite. You get a lot of monsters to fight but in most cases you can effectively guarantee victory by making one or two moves, a lot of the fights can be skipped with good reflexes and the monsters will be forced to come through a door where you can take them out without a care in the world thanks to the plentiful supply of rockets. I think there are a lot of fights that will need revising, a lot of doors probably need removing and replaced with something that can allow the author to force the player to play the map how they desire (Seal the player in some areas, the plasma gun fight really needs to cacodemons to arrive more quickly than they currently do for example).

Also do not put items in front of switches, especially items such as medkits and armour. I didn't need them and trying to avoid picking them up is irritating.

However....

The final fight looks really cool and plays pretty well (Though it depends somewhat on the intended difficulty), I beat this on my first attempt. for increased difficulty the use of extra demons/spectres/lost souls would be your best bet as these have a habit of obstructing the player and putting you in the firing line of the cyberdemon.

I added bars to the RL fight and the blue key fight to prevent players from leaving before the fight is over. Also made cacos arrive faster and added spectres and lost souls to the finale.

solare2m8abc.zip

[PinkFlamingo]

Here is my first version of E4M8: E4M8-PF19.rar

 

This is not yet entirely finished but fully playable start to end. I still need to add difficulty settings (assume this is UV for now) and I would like to clean up the background landscape a bit more. It may look very big at first but you only need 5-6 minutes to complete it.

 

At this point, I would like to get some feedback. Is it ok for the final map of this megawad? Which parts do you like and which parts do you not like?

 

I added custom music with a UMAPINFO lump (because Ultimate Doom apparently doesn't have unique midis for the fourth episode?)

The midi is "Moaning Souls" by Jimmy

Edited November 7, 2021 by PinkFlamingo

[The Kingslayer]

14 hours ago, PinkFlamingo said:

Here is my first version of E4M8: E4M8-PF19.rar

 

This is not yet entirely finished but fully playable start to end. I still need to add difficulty settings (assume this is UV for now) and I would like to clean up the background landscape a bit more. It may look very big at first but you only need 5-6 minutes to complete it.

 

At this point, I would like to get some feedback. Is it ok for the final map of this megawad? Which parts do you like and which parts do you not like?

 

I added custom music with a UMAPINFO lump (because Ultimate Doom apparently doesn't have unique midis for the fourth episode?)

The midi is "Moaning Souls" by Jimmy

I couldn’t complete it cuz I’m bad at Doom, but what I played was sooo good! I think the strongest part of the map is the aesthetics, it really has this amazing sense of like, “oh shit, this is the end.” Speaking of aesthetics, I really like how the eye switches only rise out of the ground when you pass certain linedefs, it makes it seem like they’ve just spotted you and awakened from their hibernation or something, I’m a sucker for small details like that.

[ViolentBeetle]

16 hours ago, PinkFlamingo said:

Here is my first version of E4M8: E4M8-PF19.rar

 

This is not yet entirely finished but fully playable start to end. I still need to add difficulty settings (assume this is UV for now) and I would like to clean up the background landscape a bit more. It may look very big at first but you only need 5-6 minutes to complete it.

 

At this point, I would like to get some feedback. Is it ok for the final map of this megawad? Which parts do you like and which parts do you not like?

 

I added custom music with a UMAPINFO lump (because Ultimate Doom apparently doesn't have unique midis for the fourth episode?)

The midi is "Moaning Souls" by Jimmy

I'll be back to play to play it in a few days. Was really pre-occupied with my personal project and burnt all hobby time, sorry.

[The Kingslayer]

On 11/7/2021 at 6:21 AM, PinkFlamingo said:

Here is my first version of E4M8: E4M8-PF19.rar

 

This is not yet entirely finished but fully playable start to end. I still need to add difficulty settings (assume this is UV for now) and I would like to clean up the background landscape a bit more. It may look very big at first but you only need 5-6 minutes to complete it.

 

At this point, I would like to get some feedback. Is it ok for the final map of this megawad? Which parts do you like and which parts do you not like?

 

I added custom music with a UMAPINFO lump (because Ultimate Doom apparently doesn't have unique midis for the fourth episode?)

The midi is "Moaning Souls" by Jimmy

Hey, if you don't mind taking suggestions I think a marble castle hovering above the Spiderdemon would look awesome. The crater arena is stunning but there isn't much going on ceiling-wise. You don't have to do it, just an idea I thought I'd throw out there.

[The Kingslayer]

Hey, I know this sucks but I'm dropping E1M8. @LoreCaco37 can use the monorail design I sent and share it with whoever ends up doing E1M8.

[PinkFlamingo]

13 hours ago, The Kingslayer said:

Hey, if you don't mind taking suggestions I think a marble castle hovering above the Spiderdemon would look awesome. The crater arena is stunning but there isn't much going on ceiling-wise. You don't have to do it, just an idea I thought I'd throw out there.

 

Sure! That sounds like a cool idea. The area is a bit barren and monotone at the moment. I see what I can do without making it look overdetailed. Maybe some simple marble stones hovering in the air.

[ViolentBeetle]

On 11/9/2021 at 6:34 AM, The Kingslayer said:

Hey, I know this sucks but I'm dropping E1M8. @LoreCaco37 can use the monorail design I sent and share it with whoever ends up doing E1M8.

I think I pick this map up myself. Let's see what I can do with it.

I would like to see your monorail too. Continuity is fun.

[cannonball]

Here is my entry for E2M7

Music - 'Gutter Penny' by Alfonzo

Only UV difficulty for the time being as I would want to get this right before implementing the lower difficulties. This shouldn't be too hard for those who can use their heavy weaponry well and can move freely around the map. The yellow key will probably be the biggest sticking point for players. The map exceeds the recommended playspace by a little bit, but given a lot of the map is free to explore this shouldn't take too long to finish. The theme is generally grey and red, a sort of spin of the E2 techbases of a eerie sterile grey/blue variety. The ending is quite simple but done to quite a large scale, I quite like how this turned out.

 

sse2m7.zip

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2021 by cannonball

[PinkFlamingo]

18 hours ago, cannonball said:

Here is my entry for E2M7

 

Nice, I just played your map.

 

Visually it is superb! Great atmosphere. Excellent architectural design. The grey and red give it a unique look. Also really feels like you are in some kind of deep underground facility. The layout is a bit confusing to navigate at first, but after a while you start recognizing some of the "landmarks".

 

Gameplay is very good as well although I found it to be really difficult at first (but that by itself is not a bad thing). I imagine it would be easier in a continuous playthrough (when you already have some weapons and armor from the previous maps). Nevertheless, I managed to get 100 % kills after about 30 minutes of playing with some saves here and there. What frustrated me the most were the shotgunners sniping me from dark areas (see also 'issue' with the darkness below). The yellow key trap was difficult but not too bad. I managed to escape that room after three attempts. I did like how the layout allows enemies to roam around so you never know where they are.

 

I found one issue: I played this in GZDoom with 'vanilla' light settings and the map looked very dark. Much darker than in your screenshots. Because of that, I could not see the shootable switch for the mega-armor secret. I only saw it when I changed my light settings. Perhaps you could increase the brightness of that switch a tiny bit?

 

Another suggestion: Given the overall darkness of the map and how roaming enemies often 'surprise' you, some lightvision goggles would perhaps make a useful secret here.

Edited November 11, 2021 by PinkFlamingo

[ViolentBeetle]

On 11/7/2021 at 4:21 PM, PinkFlamingo said:

Here is my first version of E4M8: E4M8-PF19.rar

 

This is not yet entirely finished but fully playable start to end. I still need to add difficulty settings (assume this is UV for now) and I would like to clean up the background landscape a bit more. It may look very big at first but you only need 5-6 minutes to complete it.

 

At this point, I would like to get some feedback. Is it ok for the final map of this megawad? Which parts do you like and which parts do you not like?

 

I added custom music with a UMAPINFO lump (because Ultimate Doom apparently doesn't have unique midis for the fourth episode?)

The midi is "Moaning Souls" by Jimmy

Played your map. Pretty good one.

Is fall into the central pit fatal?

Seems like mastermind can sometimes get stuck, I guess it might step onto the wall while it's lowered and then get lifted into the position where its AI breaks.

I am not entirely sure if Mastermind can shoot switches for you, something to keep in mind.

What happens after mastermind dies feels a little anti-climatic and lacking in cool visuals. A more hellish exit could be used.

Graphical glitch at the very start. I think it's a slime trail that will go away from moving vertices around, but not sure since the room is so round.

[Hitboi]

On 11/3/2021 at 12:49 AM, cannonball said:

I'm guessing the decorations on the various tables are the 'Artifacts' here?

Yes, although pillars are not artifacts, and Evil Eye things don't look man-made to me, I didn't think that much on my map, and it was made quickly.
 

On 11/3/2021 at 12:49 AM, cannonball said:

this one is another that tends to throw most of the threat in front of the player. There plenty of ammo to clear everything with ease.

Hats off to you, these two reasons could be why I feel like some of my maps are boring.

Edited November 13, 2021 by Hitboi

[SMG_Man]

bit of an update: all right, so work has been kicking my ass lately and I've scarce had time to work on this project or another community one I signed up for on top of my own level set. I'm coming to a good break point in my own map set fortunately, so here in a day or two I'll let my project rest on the backburner and get down to brass tacks with my level here. Apologies for being a weak link so far, but I do plan on changing that real soon.

[RataUnderground]

 

The first version of my map is available for testing!

Author: Rataunderground

Map: E4m3

Midi: not selected yet

Download: //

Edit: I have seen some demos and the map is so broken, I better take it out and keep working until the next version.
 

Screenshot

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Edited November 14, 2021 by RataUnderground

[LoreCaco37]

I've put off getting v. 1.3 due to me loosing motivation to do anything but as of Monday (11/15) I got my motivation do do things back. so here is v. 1.3 which I should have made 2 weeks ago.

Traffic Control v1_3.zip

[RataUnderground]

Okay, here is the second version.

 

Author: Rataunderground

Map: E4m3 "Commercial District"

Midi: Requiem, by Mägo de Oz

Download: 

SolarStrugle_E4M3_CommercialDistrict_V2.zip