Absolutely Killed - an Ultimate Doom episode (Final version up on /idgames!)

Hi all! I've been working for the last couple months on a full episode for UDoom, and here's the result: Absolutely Killed! Nine short maps for limit-removing ports, each lightly based around a different concept. All the maps are in a mostly-finished state at this point, but I could definitely use some feedback from you guys. Comments/criticism/FDAs are all hugely appreciated. Thanks, and I hope you enjoy the WAD!

Current version:
https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/j-l/killed

Most recent version prior to the overhaul of M6:
http://www.mediafire.com/download/1fh2aitpnzfqhx5/killedb5.wad

Screenshots:

Screenshots look pretty mean, bro. Can't wait to check it out later.

Ryathaen said:

Known bugs:

Spoiler

Many of the moving floors in M2 don't make any sound -- not sure why.

Possibly because sector sounds are emited from the center of the sector, and if the sector was joined with a very distant dummy sector, the center would be too far from the player to be heard. This doesn't apply in ZDoom based ports, where sectors emit sounds from the closest point to the player, rather than the center.

Wow, what a ride. These are all very interesting concepts with great presentation. It's something very unusual, this wad stands out from the typical "go, kill, exit" wads, offering puzzles and gimmicks that are both innovative and fun.

This is a cacoward material right here.

scifista42 said:

Possibly because sector sounds are emited from the center of the sector, and if the sector was joined with a very distant dummy sector, the center would be too far from the player to be heard. This doesn't apply in ZDoom based ports, where sectors emit sounds from the closest point to the player, rather than the center.

That'll be it, yeah. Thanks! Should be fixed in the next version.

Also, I updated the original post with engine requirements (limit removing), because I'm a huge doofus and forgot.

Just playing through this now, really enjoying it! When I first saw the barons on the first map I went 'here we go...', but you managed to design the layout and traps spot on to make it work. Perfect secrets and really interesting gameplay. I've just started the second map now which is why I'm posting, did you intentionally allow the player to

vadrig4r said:

Just playing through this now, really enjoying it! When I first saw the barons on the first map I went 'here we go...', but you managed to design the layout and traps spot on to make it work. Perfect secrets and really interesting gameplay. I've just started the second map now which is why I'm posting, did you intentionally allow the player to

Spoiler

SR50 to grab the Plasma Gun from the get go and skip all of the map unfolding? Because you can just make it.

That wasn't intentional, no. Though it also doesn't seem to overtly break the map in any way, so I may leave it in as a "secret" for players who know about SR50.

Alright, this was an awesome ride almost from start to end. Other than the secret map, all of the maps get 5 stars from me.

I have a few small things to note:

In E1M4, I came from the secret level with 12 health. Cue 3 damaging sectors straight away. Maybe add a medkit right at the start?

In E1M6, the first spider mastermind room has 2 stray BIGDOOR1 textures.


Oh, and good work on making level 1 impossible to beat with Brutal Doom. I can already see lots of little kids angry and cussing your ancestors to the 343rd generation :P
(Well, it might be possible if you can push the barrels around to break the explosions... Not gonna test that anyway.)

Albertoni said:

Alright, this was an awesome ride almost from start to end. Other than the secret map, all of the maps get 5 stars from me.

Thanks a lot! I've fixed both of those problems and updated the download link to the current version, which includes a handful of other minor fixes.

I take it you didn't like the secret map? Is there something in particular that could be tweaked?

Oh, and good work on making level 1 impossible to beat with Brutal Doom. I can already see lots of little kids angry and cussing your ancestors to the 343rd generation :P
(Well, it might be possible if you can push the barrels around to break the explosions... Not gonna test that anyway.)

Sorry, I don't know much about Brutal Doom. Why is M1 impossible to beat with it?

Ryathaen said:

I take it you didn't like the secret map? Is there something in particular that could be tweaked?

Sorry, I don't know much about Brutal Doom. Why is M1 impossible to beat with it?

The secret map is kinda slow paced thanks to the floors and is as hard as the last level thanks to the sniper abuse. Both things are just my particular opinion, I'm sure some of the pro players here would love it. You could add some more health on HMP and lower, though.

As for Brutal Doom, the barrels explode MUCH faster. You can't get halfway through the first corridor before they catch up. There's no easy way to fix it, but in BD you can push against barrels to move them, so maybe with some empty recesses around where you fall into that area, you could break the puzzle to make it completable.
Not worth a fix if you ask me, really.

cool, will check it out.

Awesome work from a mapper who clearly knows what he's doing, both in terms of detailing and lighting even large spaces... AS WELL AS making gameplay gimmicks and puzzles work and be fun. :D

New version is up. Aside from minor tweaks and texture fixes, I've also...

-added a teleporter inside all rooms in M2 that close before the final battle, to allow co-op players to escape if caught inside
-corrected use of secret sectors in M3
-climactic fight of M4 should no longer be harder on HMP (and lower) than on UV
-corrected an error where the teleports out of lava pits in M5 were there but not visible
-hopefully made the exit of M6 easier to open as a result of overlapping door-opening linedefs
-adjusted the difficulty in M7 and M9 by adding more health and armor

http://www.mediafire.com/download/bs0bs292nts6gd2/killedb4.wad (also updated the OP)

Pretty cool stuff. I like the puzzles and gimmick-based gameplay. The later maps got tough in a hurry, so didn't complete them on my first run-through, but looking forward to playing them.

One question on E1M3:

Hah, on E1M1 I got "stuck" in the outdoor area because there were switches with key marks but I only had yellow key, so naturally I didn't try to press the other buttons. Only figured it out after I quit and opened the map in Doom Builder.

Magnusblitz said:

One question on E1M3:

Spoiler

How are you supposed to hit linedef 1080 (the switch that opens up above the soulsphere)? It's easy with mouselook, but I assume that's not intended...

I take it you're looking at the map in an editor, so I'll just say you need to get onto sector 139. If you look closely ingame, you'll notice the alcove up there.

kuchitsu said:

Hah, on E1M1 I got "stuck" in the outdoor area because there were switches with key marks but I only had yellow key, so naturally I didn't try to press the other buttons.

Ah, I can see how that might be confusing. Not sure how to fix it, though...

herers some demos for the later maps.

fun stuff. i like gimmicky maps like this.

I've found a potential solution for kuchitsu's issue in M1:



Still color coded, but at least not using the key textures (except yellow, which you have already). Any improvement?

NoisyVelvet said:

herers some demos for the later maps.

Awesome! These have been really helpful, and I've already made a few changes based on what I saw during your playthrough.

One thing I notice in the demo of M6 is that while you seem to understand the gimmick in the red key area -- don't step into the red light -- you mostly charge through and trigger the traps on every run anyway. I'm curious if this is just because of your pretty frantic play style, or if everyone played that section the same... Can anyone else chime in on how you played M6?

Lastly, a huge thank you to everyone who's played the WAD and commented so far. I really appreciate your input.

I tried to avoid the red light, cleared the room and then proceeded to open it and kill the spider for the first 2.
The third one just begged for some infighting, so I triggered it halfway through.

I was wondering when someone would attempt the fake colored lighting look I've imagined in my head for years. That's cool!

I'll add this to my upcoming playtesting stream.

gonna give this play through with brutal doom and operation inhuman, see if it breaks anything. (oh god. someone said brutal doom on doomworld. lets freak out.)

first time i'll playthrough with PFEnh.

E1M1 barrel trap doesnt work, the barrels explode too quickly with brutal20b.

of course that is probably not your target audience, but i became aware of that immediately. currently playing through with vanilla and brutal.
ill just add to this comment as i find things.

Suitepee said:

I'll add this to my upcoming playtesting stream.

Looking forward to it! When will that stream be?

cortlong50 said:

E1M1 barrel trap doesnt work, the barrels explode too quickly with brutal20b.

Yeah, Albertoni pointed that out earlier in the thread. I've taken his advice and added three alcoves which you can push the barrels into in order to break the chain of explosions. It's a bit of a hacky fix, and requires prior knowledge, but at least you can complete the level now without cheating. (This will be included in the next version.)

Just a warning: I downloaded Brutal Doom to test the above fix out, and found tons of other minor issues throughout the episode, especially related to enemies teleporting in late -- or way too early. Feel free to continue reporting Brutal Doom bugs, but aside game-breakers, I doubt BD compatibility is going to get a whole lot of attention. As you said, it's just not my priority.

Ryathaen said:

Looking forward to it! When will that stream be?

I'm going to try and do it this coming Sunday (27th March) at around 5-6pm GMT.

Hey folks! Two new versions of the WAD are up!

killedc1.wad [EDIT: Now killedc2.wad] is the most up-to-date version and includes a huge reworking of M6 along with a major change to the final battle of M4. I've also included killedb5.wad just for comparative purposes, as it was the latest version prior to throwing out the majority of M6.

Changelog and download links in the OP. I'm very happy with the WAD in its current state, and assuming there aren't any more bugs discovered, this may be the version that goes up on /idgames. Let me know what you think of the changes!

Cool! Going to be replaying this, interested to see new M6.

Played through both versions of M6.

The new version is definitely easier, but I also think it's more interesting. I'm assuming the red key wing is the same, didn't notice any differences besides maybe a few less monsters. The old blue wing felt like the Icon of Sin battle in Doom 1 format, lots of monsters teleporting in and needing to get on a platform moving up and down. The old yellow key wing was just walking along some catwalks. Both are more frustrating than actually hard - fall off and into the sludge. The new blue wing is a monsterless teleport line puzzle, which feels a little anticlimatic after killing all the monsters in the red wing but I liked a lot. The yellow wing is just a 1-on-1 with the spider that requires some basic situtional awareness but not much else. Does it beat a catwalking section, though? Eh, probably. So I'd say the new M6 is an improvement, on the whole.

Magnusblitz said:

Played through both versions of M6...

Glad the blue area was to your liking. The yellow one is really simple and may be replaced if I come up with a better idea, but I can't promise anything.

Thanks for giving it another playthrough!

review is up. thank you for this!