Any OG Doom players who would like to test maps?
I'm wondering if there's anybody here who plays the original Doom/Doom II that might be interested to try some of the maps I've been working on. I primarily make maps for the first because I prefer the episodic format and theme progression. Having someone else to try your maps can help to identify issues that you may have overlooked during testing or refine clunky design. I've been trying a new approach where instead of working room by room, I sketch out a rough outline of the entire map flow in the editor and gradually fill in the details as I see opportunities to do something interesting with what I've got laid down.
I make maps in Doom Builder using GZDoom, so you'd need some form of Boom-compatible source port since I used a few generic linedefs for more complex map features (most common non-ZDoom ports I can think of like Zandorum have this). Generally I stick to old-school map styles without scripting and excessively-detailed architecture; think '94 WADs but better detail. Primarily I make singleplayer maps that are open to being modified to work in co-op.
Trying to get the mapping mojo back, so any help is appreciated!
EDIT: Here's the link for the map. It's E3M1 of Ultimate Doom.
I would love to! But I only have a PS4… Doom may be one of the only games I still consistently revisit. I’m even trying my best to get through Doom64. Which is fun because it’s still Doom! Either way, I wanted to comment to just give you some hope that we are out here, even if we can’t help through a PC port. Let me know if there’s anything else I can do to help.
Doom 64 is pretty good. I enjoyed the new levels they made for the remaster. As for console, I'm not sure if it's possible to download custom maps in that version because I've never played any of the newer console versions. I think you may be restricted to whatever maps they release officially, but don't quote me.
What style maps? I would be into multiplayer deathmatches again if I could get it running :)
I mostly just do singleplayer/coop maps, but I've done DM maps before in the past because they're simpler to make sometimes than SP maps. Less thought required since you don't need monsters and traps.
Main post updated with WIP map file!
Been playing GZDoom and been thinking about getting into Doom mapping for a while myself, I'd be happy to help! Singleplayer, co-op, or deathmatch (though I'm probably pretty terrible at deathmatch, lol). ^^
Any help is appreciated! I really only make singleplayer/coop maps, but I have dabbled with deathmatch maps before. DM maps can be a better way to get into mapmaking because they don't involve intricate monster spawns and map flow like SP maps. Just make a symmetrical map with weapon and player spawns. I've been trying to think of a way I can make a local server and populate it with bots and then spectate to see what it looks like.
I was doing some more polishing on the E3M1 level I wanted to share, I will update the main post with a link for people to download it when it's ready for public consumption.
Main post updated with WIP map file!
Once I get my PC up and running (hopefully soon,) I am definitely interested! I'll bookmark this ost and get back to you then!
I'll check it out. I've made some stuff for Doom/Doom 2 as well, will be neat to jump back in again. It'll be a bit before I can do it, once I have I'll edit this with some feedback.
Edit: Ok, I have returned.
Overall I think your design fits right in with what Doom normally does, and the layout of it was straightforward to me. The advice I have is to clutter it up; add little setpieces and gnarly hell shit to give the spots in the level some character. You can also use them to signal things, like if you wanted to add some secret spots and bonus gear. Doom's assets tend to fit together well enough almost regardless of what you do, provided you're just being consistent, and technical limitations are mostly a non-factor, so I say go ham on it.
With the level itself, there is a lot of red-on-grey which does get a bit disorienting after a little bit, so having some scenery in there will help folks keep track. There's also value in reworking the areas to which a player might backtrack - I don't think of backtracking as a bad thing in and of itself, but wherever it happens I do feel something new should be there if you're having to go back. Since the player is almost certain to come back to the central area, I say set up some traps for them and put them through some shit to get to the end.
Doom is a very straightforward game, so I tend to see it as an opportunity for showmanship more than anything else when making a level. There are very few folks playing 90's doom who are totally new too, so you can pretty safely crank up the difficulty of your encounters and folks will still go for it. As an example, for a final encounter in one level I did, when the player opens the door to the room, six invisible enemies spawn at the other end along with six rockets. The rockets hit those enemies the moment the door opens, so what the player sees upon entering is an explosion of guts and the Big Bad spawns right in the middle of it about a half-second later.
Another example, in another room I had a gigantic set of pillars all moving at different speeds vertically, across from a row of Mancubi firing at them. The player assumes when they enter they're meant to run along at the right time, and that strategy does work, but if they happen to fall down they'll notice a little island with a switch, which causes all the pillars to go level with each other and lift you back up to them, obviating the entire encounter really. Stuff like that, imo is fun - you think you're up for some tough shit and find a weird solution for it.
I went looking through my old stuff and found an old copy of a level I did several years ago. Here it is if you would like to check it out, it replaces the first level of Doom 2. There are a few issues with it, a couple of missing objects and a room with some texture errors, which I think are probably a consequence of me not updating it in a very long time. It's set up to be played on Ultra Violence, and is very much tuned for folks who've played a lot of doom. Each room was built around either a specific combat tactic, or a little puzzle of monster-slaying. For example, the archvile room is full of pillars, so that you can avoid getting hit despite being stuck in a room with two archviles. A room prior to that gives you a plasma rifle and then immediately spawns a horde of enemies just large enough for the ammo you have for it. You can choose, use different weapons and conserve, endangering yourself, or go ham with the plasma rifle and get out. The final encounter does have a bug too unfortunately - if you play, and get to the last room (you'll know it when you see it), there are some barons of hell stuck behind green walls - idclip and kill them, and you'll get to see the shapeshifting arena. You would probably do best to iddqd and idkfa to explore it, because the encounters are pretty tightly organized/it is meant to make you practice and I don't want you getting frustrated lol.
I'll give it a once-over when I get home. It's still a work in progress. I like making old-school levels because they remind me of what made the game fun when I first discovered it around '95. I don't like overly detailed levels because I find they put too much stock into looking nice but ultimately have poor map flow and get confusing with excessive backtracking. A lot of "push button, find out what it did" gameplay which I loathe.
I'll give your level a shot when I'm home before I put some more polish on mine.
That's fair, and yeah if the goal is an old school layout then you've got it already.
I get my inspiration from the original levels as well as some very good mapsets based around the aesthetic of them like Lunar Catastrophe and Doom The Way iD Did.
I played those, and very much enjoyed them. The level definitely fits within, and in order to stick to their style for sure id scale back much of what I said. Some clutter to mark spots then is probably as far as I'd go.
I was kinda the opposite, I liked finding features and seeing what all was possible, because I felt those folks did about all I could want.
To be honest, I never bothered with the newer scripting features and such because I could never wrap my mind around them. Coding of any form makes my eyes glaze over with boredom. 3D bridges and fake rooms-over-rooms was about as complex as I ever really got, but they require either Hexen format or UDMF which make map-making a chore with how much time you need to spend coding every single variable of every single linedef. I prefer to do it the old way and just slap linedef 1 down for a door.
The workflow for some stuff, like doing platforms or room-over-room, wasn't so bad to me. With some practice I had it down to where I didn't have to think much to do it aside from tracking the numbers I used to assign/label them.
Scripting though definitely falls into the realm of "holy shit this is way more than I expected" lol. It is kind of ridiculous how much testing the rocket thing ended up needing, turns out you can create all sorts of bizarre problems if the timing isn't right.
Yes, part of why I bounced off it was the "oh shit" feeling I had when I realized the enormity of it. Mind you, it's a bit easier to script in ZDoom these days now that they've added the ability to inherit properties from other actors without having to redo those properties from scratch. I've discussed scripting with my brother on and off. He's messed around with making wacky monsters by cobbling together different parts to see what happens, like an Arch-vile type character that can revive itself and Arachnotrons who can shoot rockets.