DOOM 2 MINUS DOOM: Updated beta!

[janiform]

 

Doom 2 Minus Doom

 

IWAD: doom2.wad

Format: Limit-removing

 

In honor of Doom 2's 30th anniversary, this community project is Doom 2 without anything from Doom – only Doom 2 textures, only Doom 2 enemies. Let the obsession begin. Again.

 

This is an initial beta release - please give it a shot and tell us what you think!

 

Features:

• 32 maps with gameplay so virtually realistic, it's unbelievable!
• Battle mightier, nastier, deadlier demons - only Doom 2 enemies allowed! (Except for enemies spawned by Pain Elementals and Icon of Sin spawners.)
• Use more powerful weapons! No single-barrel shotgun allowed!
• Only Doom 2 textures and flats that push the envelope out to the max! (With the exception of a few utilities like liquids and key indicators.)

 

It must be tough to keep reading - what with your hands trembling in sheer anticipation. So we'll stop talking now to let you click this download link: d2md_bv4.zip (If you're playing in GZDoom, please use the "Doom (Strict) preset!)

 

 

Map List:

Spoiler

 

Episode 1: The Space Station

MAP01 - Access Point - by @Rorix

MAP02 - Toxic Disposal - by @Walter confetti

MAP03 - Comm Center - by @Somniac

MAP04 - Exit Planet Dust - by @NeedHealth

MAP05 - Undertime - by @Kuro_mahoh

MAP06 - The Compactor - by @Rorix

MAP07 - Triangles of Death - by @riderr3

MAP08 - Traps and Tricks - by @Bri0che

MAP09 - Akuji Blood Pit - by @Lorcav

MAP10 - Cold Storage - by @EPICALLL

MAP11- Dead Battery - by @big smoke

Episode 2: The City

MAP12 - Suburbs Factory - by @Forgotten Soul

MAP13 - Uptown - by @Eon Toad

MAP14 - The Inner Sanctum - by @Rorix

MAP15  - Bibliophobia - by @RED77

MAP16 - Corrupted Archives - by @janiform

MAP17 - Evil Hidden in Plain Sight - by @stridertech

MAP18 - Infested District - by @GamingGargoyle

MAP19 - The Castle - by @Rorix

MAP20 - Neveropolis - by @Quill

Episode 3: Hell

MAP21 - Polly - by @Bagellio

MAP22 - Your Wishes Can't Be Real - by @Forgotten Soul

MAP23 - Abyss - by @janiform

MAP24 - Not Chasm - by @Sneezy McGlassFace

MAP25 - Cavern of Shadows - by @RileyXY1

MAP26 - Rotten Core - by @DankMetal

MAP27 - Fortress of Pain - by @PinkFlamingo

MAP28 - The Spirit Hub - by @Andrea Rovenski

MAP29 - A Dead Start - by @Generic Doomer

MAP30 - Sinecure - by @Demonic Meatball

Secret
MAP31 - Unknown Echo - by @Bochnik Chleba

MAP32 - Pustyrnik - by @SilverMiner

 

 

Music List:

Spoiler

MAP01: "Running from Doom" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP02: "Evil on Parade" by @Alfonzo (.MID the Way ID Did)
MAP03: "Commando Central" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP04: "The Devil's Riff" by @Crunchynut44
MAP05: "A Fly on Jay's Desk" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP06: "Willits Whispers" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP07: "Shawn's Got the Shotgun" by Bobby Prince (Doom II)
MAP08: "Fuss" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP09: "Seasons of Insanity" by @Jimmy² (Plutonia MIDI Pack)
MAP10: "Demons n Dem Guns" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP11: "Always Watching" by @Lippeth (Plutonia Midi Pack)
MAP12: "Two Negative Make an Affirmative" by @Forgotten Soul
MAP13: "Funk You Up" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP14: "Kevin's Not Done Punching" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP15: "Sage Fields" by @dial-up
MAP16: WIP
MAP17: "Hellevator" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP18: "Texas Based Techno-Cryptid" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP19: "Shawn Lost the Shotgun" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP20: "Chicago Typography" by @Cammy (Alien Vendetta MIDI Pack)
MAP21: "I Hope You Hate It" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP22: "Hour of Madness" by @Forgotten Soul
MAP23: "666 Feet Under" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP24: "Exploring Castle Kyrandia" by Frank Klepacki (Legends of Kyrandia)
MAP25: "Dark" by Kevin Schilder (Heretic)
MAP26: "Submit the Flesh" by @DankMetal
MAP27: "Mount Mystery" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP28: "Getting Too Tense" by Bobby Prince (Doom II)
MAP29: "Mancubus Moshpit" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP30: "Watcher of the Damned" by @Demonic Meatball
MAP31: "Gloomy" by @leejacksonaudio (Duke Nukem 3D)
MAP32: "MAP32E1MIDI" by @Winnkar
Title: "Boneless Doom" by @Demonic Meatball
Intermission: "Intermission" by @Demonic Meatball
Text: "The Sacred Texts" by @Demonic Meatball

 

Other credits:
@janiform - Project lead, mapper badgering

@Demonic Meatball - Project co-lead, original music, copious playtesting

 

Changelog:

V2: Added final versions of maps 01 and 03

V3: Added final versions of maps 21,22, and 24; added UMAPINFO

V4: Updated map 13, added map 16

 

Development thread:

 

Edited September 29 by janiform

[Sneezy McGlassFace]

This was such a fun set of creative limitations to work within! Hope people will have as much fun playing it as was making it

[Bri0che]

Damn I feel like I did my map for this project years ago, but finally it isn't that old !

Glad to see a release candidate for now :)

 

[TMMMS]

makes you wish id had introduced a ssg zombieman alongside the ssg eh?

 

anyway seven maps in and im loving it already!

Edited September 2 by TMMMS

[janiform]

@TMMMS Thanks for playing! Honestly, I've always wished id had added an SSG zombieman.

[janiform]

I've updated the first post with the music list. Many thanks to @Demonic Meatball for writing 19 awesome original tracks in the Bobby Prince style for this project!

 

I'm sure I speak for everyone who contributed to this project when I encourage people to try it out! There are some great maps and MIDIs here with a uniquely pure Doom 2 vibe.

[Christopher Brown]

Did a quick run through of Maps 1-5, on god mode after I realized that I had no desire to spend time mowing down Revenants with the chaingun. :P Didn't spend time looking for secrets unless I stumbled on them, so I mostly focused on getting through the levels without a problem and keeping an eye out for any glitches. GZDoom (checks version) 4.12.2, freelook/jump off, software mode, Doom (strict) compatibility.
 

Spoiler

 

Map 1: Big HOM on the upper cliffs in the view from the window in the Entryway-type room

Map 2 and 3, and I suspect more: Textures for blue water and brown chocolate look weird...is that intentional? The flats are fine

Map 3: The Mancubus on the red key platform is stuck and doesn't attack in GZDoom, I'm guessing because of the way the port handles space (see also Cyberdreams and its stuck Cyberdemons)

Not a bug report, but I laughed out loud when the SS greeted me in Map 1. Hey, they are a Doom II monster, no one says you can't use them to fill out the roster. Fun stuff.

 

 

I know it's not very thorough, but I hope it helps. If/when I get to do more this week, I'll post any notes here.

Even though I didn't properly engage with the gameplay, I will say there seemed to be some quite clever implementation of the newly limited bestiary here. :)

[Demonic Meatball]

2 hours ago, Christopher Brown said:

Big HOM on the upper cliffs in the view from the window in the Entryway-type room

 

3 hours ago, Christopher Brown said:

Map 3: The Mancubus on the red key platform is stuck and doesn't attack in GZDoom, I'm guessing because of the way the port handles space (see also Cyberdreams and its stuck Cyberdemons)

 

@janiform did you put an old version of the map in ? I'm pretty sure those have been patched already

[janiform]

@Demonic Meatball I did - I've updated the OP with a link to a new version of the beta.

 

@Christopher Brown Thanks for testing! It definitely helps. The issues in maps 1 and 3 are my mistake - I put old versions of the maps in the beta. There's an updated download link now. As for the water/brown slime fall textures, this project only uses vanilla textures and those fall textures don't exist in vanilla Doom 2, so mappers have found creative solutions.

[Demonic Meatball]

On 9/1/2024 at 9:39 PM, janiform said:

 

 

 

Wait, the image for map29 is from map30 !

[Christopher Brown]

Went through maps 6-15 and the secret maps, again focusing on progression rather than secret-hunting. Everything seems to be in good shape, the only mild thing I found was that Map 13's red key building has its door-frame textures pegged, though that might just be a stylistic choice by @Eon Toad. Also strange that Map 16 looks and sounds just like the original- [is dragged offstage with a cane]

 

As someone prone to finding a lot of Doom II's most used textures to be eyesores, I have to say that there's some great-looking levels in here. :)

I forgot to mention earlier that I play on HMP as a default - given how horde-y some of these maps get (though not excessively so), I was wondering if all the maps have been difficulty-balanced?

EDIT: Just went through 17-18 and found a softlock on 17, there's an impassable line on the ledge in front of the lowering platform at the center of the big hub room past the start. I tried to drop down to the ammo on the counter in front of the ledge as the platform raised up behind me, and got stuck there. Also @stridertech may I suggest

Spoiler

moving the Hell Knight around the corner from the red key door rather than in plain view? Even being on God Mode, I was able to cheese the fight by SSGing it through the red bars before I raised them.

(An addendum to my first post in here, the second time I played through Map 01 I cracked the simple way to get the SSG...sometimes, you just gotta change your perspective.)

 

Edited September 10 by Christopher Brown : Added notes rather than double-post

[janiform]

@Demonic Meatball Fixed!

@Christopher Brown Thanks so much for the playtesting and feedback. All the maps have multiple difficulties implemented, but the difficulty of the megawad probably fluctuates a bit from map to map based on individual author's styles and how they use the limited enemy roster. I like that, personally, as long as "easy" difficulty is actually easy, but please let us know if you run into anything egregious! I definitely agree that these maps show Doom 2's textures to their best advantage. I'll just ping @Eon Toad and @stridertech about your notes on their maps.

 

I'm working on CWILV graphics, a UMAPINFO, and also on finishing this map to use for MAP16 in case @Anarkzie isn't able to complete their map.

[Eon Toad]

I'll get on fixing those door textures in the next couple days.

[Demonic Meatball]

Played it throug Crispy Doom up to map08

 

@Bri0che There's a linedef inside the yellow door that prevents it from opening on most limit-removing engines. Plz fix

[Christopher Brown]

Played maps 19-23. No bugs on Map 19 but I got really turned around trying to find the red key and/or a switch to make the bars on the yellow doors lower, I ended up going into Slade to make sure there wasn't a glitch. This could just be my distracted brain, but perhaps flagging the location of the red key somehow would signal the intended progression to players more @Rorix? Unless you're trying to homage The Citadel in gameplay as well as setting... :P

Map 21, the Arachnotrons on the pillars in the exit room are unable to move in GZDoom.

 

[Demonic Meatball]

@janiform I think maps 21, 24 and maybe 22 use older versions.

 

Also, is DOORSTOP allowed ? I found some in @Andrea Rovenski's map 28.

[Christopher Brown]

Finished the set! In Map 26, I managed to go around the corner off the Crusher-type elevator down to the giant lava pool in the northeast by the start. As a result, I skipped the linedef that reveals the Archvile and Arachnotrons in the middle of the area and was left baffled how to progress. @DankMetal maybe tag the linedefs by the elevator switch so that they also lower those sectors?

 

Didn't find any problems with Map 24 as far as I could tell, so no idea if it is an older version or not. Great atmosphere.

 

Map 27 is deliciously evil, I love it. Maps 28 and 29 are wild, the former for the sheer excessiveness and the latter for the total speedrunner-bait.

 

@Demonic Meatball, may I suggest that for Map 30 you add

Spoiler

some SS troops somewhere, to bring the "story" of the wad - which obviously involves neo-Nazis making an incomplete pact with hell that sees them aided by only half of the demon army - full circle? Unless there's some in the three secret areas that I missed.

 

[Demonic Meatball]

@Christopher Brown Does GZDoom "fix" ghost monsters ? 'cuz if yes, you missed the most diabolical section of the whole megawad.

 

Also, I know map 24 is an old version because there is an unobtainable secret in it (a random elevated sector that doesn't even contain anything).

 

Concerning my map,

Spoiler

I don't know if that's what @janiform was preparing for the story, so I'm not doing those changes until he confirms that's the intention.

 

Unrelated, but I did this : D2MD CAST

It makes the cast sequence consistant with the enemies met throughout the wad.

[ax34]

7 hours ago, Demonic Meatball said:

@Christopher Brown Does GZDoom "fix" ghost monsters ?

At least I experienced all ghosts bug in GZDoom not long ago in other wad.

[Demonic Meatball]

That's all ghosts, but what about regular ghost monsters ?

[PinkFlamingo]

In GZDoom, if you put compatibility mode to "Doom (strict)", crushed corpses can be resurrected but they won't be ghosts, just regular monsters.

[Gez]

The Oops! All Ghosts! bug should not happen in GZDoom at all. It's an overflow, and those have all been addressed.

 

2 hours ago, PinkFlamingo said:

In GZDoom, if you put compatibility mode to "Doom (strict)", crushed corpses can be resurrected but they won't be ghosts, just regular monsters.

In "Doom (strict)" mode, yes they can. You can check in the "Actor behavior" compatibility options, ghost resurrection is the first item on that list, and it's on if you have set the "Doom (strict)" preset.

[Christopher Brown]

13 hours ago, Demonic Meatball said:

@Christopher Brown Does GZDoom "fix" ghost monsters ? 'cuz if yes, you missed the most diabolical section of the whole megawad.

 

Thankfully, I was playing on Doom (strict), so yes - that was my favorite part of the map hahaha :D I'd suggest @janiform put a note into the readme clarifying that ghost monsters needs to be turned on.

 

I made that cheeky narrative up off the top of my head, I think it would be a cool way to bring the megawad full circle to include them but I'd imagine it's entirely up to you. :)

 

 

[Demonic Meatball]

@Anarkzie The final deadline is in 2 weeks, how's your map going ?

[Anarkzie]

Very close, as in I should be presenting something in a day or two

[janiform]

@Christopher Brown Thanks so much for playtesting these maps! Good point about advising users to enable ghost monsters - I've added that to the OP.

 

@Demonic Meatball Thanks - I've added a new beta to the OP with final versions of maps 21, 22, and 24, and added a UMAPINFO. I'll add your Dehacked cast to the next beta update, hopefully along with level name graphics. Regarding the "story", I didn't have any intentions for it when I proposed this project, but I like how the resource limitations created a loose implied narrative suggesting a dystopic Nazi-occupied Earth overrun by demons. If you want to add SS enemies to your map It's certainly cool with me, but it's up to you.

 

Regarding DOORSTOP in @Andrea Rovenski's map, at this late date I view it as a utility texture like the exit signs - permissable, but you get "bonus points" if you avoid using it.

 

@Anarkzie Thanks for the update!

[Christopher Brown]

59 minutes ago, janiform said:

@Christopher Brown Thanks so much for playtesting these maps! Good point about advising users to enable ghost monsters - I've added that to the OP.

It was a pleasure! :) Since Anarkzie's map is on the way, I'm curious if you're planning on making your back-up Map 16 a Map 33? The screenshots looked really cool so it would be great to be able to play it!

[Eon Toad]

So I checked and the red key doorframe textures were lower unpegged, but I switched it to a different texture to make it more obvious. I updated the level in the existing link, but here's that link again for convenience.
https://www.mediafire.com/file/y67a08q4cwg1p26/Uptown.wad/file

[janiform]

Sorry for the long absence, everyone! I haven't heard from @Anarkzie, so I've added my map 16 to the project, which now has a full 32 maps! I'm not totally satisfied with my map, but it was made quickly and only resembles an urban environment in the most abstract way, so I think it fits the project's spirit. @Christopher Brown Thanks for the kind words! If @Anarkzie stops in with a map, I'll shift my map to map 33.

 

@Eon Toad Thanks! The new beta has your updated map in it.

 

Tomorrow is Doom 2's 30th birthday, and this project is basically complete! Thanks to everyone who contributed to this project! I'll work on the level name graphics and credits screen now, and will of course update the beta to incorporate any fixes that are contributed.

[Anarkzie]

I missed the deadline and I want to apologise to everyone, life is a bit mad at the moment.

 

Could people try my map and offer feed back. You might spot things that I missed.

 

Updated:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jzuHT00hTFvCYG37C2NjhuACy54DPcsQ/view?usp=drivesdk

 

Edited October 11 by Anarkzie : Fixed texture issues