[ReaperAA]

Ninety-Six, on 21 May 2023 - 05:49 PM, said:

After about 20 minutes (15 of which was spent fighting with GZDoom's display settings), my computer hard-locked with a nasty crash noise.

Dang. Can't say why your computer hard-locked. That's quite unfortunate.

But I will say this. If you have an older build of GZDoom lying around, you can just simply copy the config from it, instead of having to readjust all the settings manually whenever you update GZDoom.

Also, try using OpenGLES if GZDoom struggles on other renderers. MyHouse has certain areas that can get demanding (well at least for my potato laptop).

[Ninety-Six]

ReaperAA, on 23 May 2023 - 01:02 AM, said:

If you have an older build of GZDoom lying around, you can just simply copy the config from it, instead of having to readjust all the settings manually whenever you update GZDoom.

I actually copied over from LZDoom, just renaming it to gzdoom. It converted it for me on startup. The issues were 1.) Saturation was at 0 so everything was in greyscale and I have no idea how or why that happened (or that that's even an option now), and 2.) Trying to get a playable resolution, which was really difficult because of Graf completely excising normal resolution options.


I tried to use LZDoom first but the Zscript is out of date and of course it's been discontinued, because every playable alternative to GZDoom keeps dying.

[Fantinaikos]

Luckily, even for some of the newer mods or their latest updates, mostly of the time all you have to do to make work a mod on LZDOOM is editing the mods scripts by deleting all the lines that get in conflict, the fatal error red stuff that appear in starting log. Forget to play stuff like Blade On Agony on it, but you can still play Golden Souls saga, Brutal Wolfenstein, Xim's Star Wars etc... flawlessy this way. And with the Poly render option on, you should be able to see the custom models like any other port.

Real shame that LZDOOM stopped at 3.88b, someone should take the project and make an unofficial continuation.

[Ninety-Six]

Fantinaikos, on 26 May 2023 - 07:36 AM, said:

Luckily, even for some of the newer mods or their latest updates, mostly of the time all you have to do to make work a mod on LZDOOM is editing the mods scripts by deleting all the lines that get in conflict, the fatal error red stuff that appear in starting log.

While true, that doesn't help in this particular case since the error that gets thrown up is that myhouse uses a newer version of zscript that LZDoom is out of date on.

Fantinaikos, on 26 May 2023 - 07:36 AM, said:

And with the Poly render option on, you should be able to see the custom models like any other port.

That was the main reason I got it. I tried playing GS2 a while back, but it was absolutely unplayable. So I tried out LZDoom, and it was much better. It became my source port of choice, including for more vanilla-ish stuff, because it had features ZDoom didn't. The ability to scale the fuzz effect on spectres so that they're not almost completely invisible on higher resolutions, the ability to lower the intensity of the red screen so that getting hurt doesn't render you completely blind, as well as being able to use Doom's original RNG as opposed to the more fancy zdoom function, so that imps will actually reliably die in a single shotgun blast. Nothing took out the fun of shooting imps like having ten in a row that need two shots to go down, which happened way too much with me.

Fantinaikos, on 26 May 2023 - 07:36 AM, said:

Real shame that LZDOOM stopped at 3.88b, someone should take the project and make an unofficial continuation.

That would be nice. LZDoom's last version was before MBF21 implementation, meaning I'd have to use GZDoom for that (because I refuse to play ports with broken hitscan). And while I wouldn't need the hardware renderer for those projects, after what happened, I don't want to take the risk.

[jkas789]

Played MyHouse.wad. Honestly? I did not think it was that great. It's impressive technically I suppose but I have seen much more scary user maps in other games than this. I suppose this is a first one in the Doom community and that is why it is getting all the hype?

[Ninety-Six]

jkas789, on 29 May 2023 - 11:10 PM, said:

It's impressive technically I suppose but I have seen much more scary user maps in other games than this.

Having watched a friend play through it on his machine (and putting both our heads together to try and solve the map and get the best ending), I can definitely say that the hype around the fear factor was definitely not...applicable.

But to be fair to the map, I don't think it was really trying to be all that scary. That was more a label the community applied. While the map certainly had an eerie atmosphere, especially with all the supplemental material to go alongside it, it also wasn't taking itself completely seriously (the Shrek fight, for instance). It was really more of a giant puzzle box with some flavoring mixed in.

From that perspective, I think it's a pretty solid map. Trying to decipher the clues in the journal and figure out how to apply them in the map to unlock the next version of the house and get the items was pretty fun. My friend and I managed to get all the way to the "white void" ending on our own, before having to look up how to reach the true ending. We got pretty far on our own.

[Mark]

I watched part of one video and I wouldn't catagorize it as a horror map. One thing that I think ruins any chance of a scary atmosphere is the crazy fast player speed. Makes it feel like a typical run and shoot map.

[NNC]

I think it's a mixed horror and puzzle. Beating Underhalls (via the burnt/sold way) and replay it with SSG is part of the level IMHO. I didn't know this was this popular, basically the most exposed thing since Brutal Doom. Not totally rightfully, but still worth the attention.

[Morpheus Kitami]

Having not played the wad myself, I'd assume it's a combination of the creepypasta factor, where it is supposed to be scary, so it is, being a new concept in the Doom community and some of the wad's strongest proponents being on the younger side. Two of those things are obvious, but I note that I've seen more than one person talk about how using concepts not seen before in horror is very effective. Both the movie Hausu and the old survival horror game Ecstatica have had that applied to them. I'd also note that previous horror wad The Ghoul's Forest relies entirely on screwing with the player's expectations of what a Doom wad should do, which I'm sure appealed to a lot of the early hype for MyHouse.wad.

[NNC]

Actually this is not made up of typical horror tropes, more like it tries to bring your depressions and childhood traumas into the surface and tries to unsettle you with various surreal abstract elements. And it has really clever puzzles in addition.

[FistMarine]

ACE Engine Demo

[jkas789]

John Romero played MyHouse.



¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Ninety-Six]

jkas789, on 13 June 2023 - 07:06 PM, said:

John Romero played MyHouse.

I really wonder what's been going through Veddge's head since this all started. He made a House of Leaves-inspired puzzle map primarily aimed at the hardcore oldschool FPS crowd (with the name deliberately meant to catch us all completely unaware, as only those of us in the scene would see that name and look away), and then it just goes completely viral out of nowhere, leading to a massive influx of newbies, one of the creators of Doom playing the level, and even attempts to get Veddge doxxed.

[Ninety-Six]

Something's been on my mind for a few days. I was looking at the back cover of Doom 2's big box which is something I do on occasion since I've never owned a big box release of any Doom game. In fact, outside of a jewel case for Doom 2 (which I never played anyway and it was forever lost long ago), I've never owned any classic Doom game in a physical medium. It's always been digital copies only, so I like to look at the cover art and backside advertisements every once in a while.

I was doing that again, and this time I noticed something. Yes, we all know how many of those back-of-the-box screenshots are doctored, often with prerelease content. But that's actually what got me thinking. I noticed the skies that got used, and I think those would be a helluva lot harder to doctor. Industrial Zone is shown using both the Phobos sky from Doom 1, and then another shot with the correct city sky.

But at the bottom, we see two shots from Circle of Death, showcasing the archvile (in its proper place) and an Arachnotron (also in its proper place). But the sky? The sky is the E2 city background.

Could it just be placeholder? Absolutely, and that was my first thought, too. But then, I started to think about it more. Circle of Death is...kind of a weird level, innit? It's the end of the first episode, but it's very easygoing, especially compared to its direct predecessor, Refueling Base. A level with the highest monster count in the game, and even ends with a psuedo-boss fight against a Cyberdemon. Very climactic.

I'm not saying Circle of Death should have been harder, as a breather is necessary, but what strikes me is, why is this how Episode 1 ends? Which then leads me to another thought: There are 30 main levels in the game (excluding the secret levels), divided across three episodes. But episode 1 has 11 levels, taking one from Episode 2 and reducing it to 9. Only episode 3 has the even 10 levels.

Furthermore, Episode 2 begins with The Factory, which is a bit challenging, and more importantly, somewhat long. But even episode 3 began with a shorter map that, while difficult, was still something of a breather.



All this together leads me to wonder: Was Circle of Death originally meant to be the start of Episode 2? I am fully aware that the evidence is all circumstantial, but nonetheless. It has the city sky in the beta-content back of the box screenshots, it is a weirdly easy level to end episode 1 on, especially since Level 10 felt like a finale, it disrupts the level/episode division in an odd way, and The Factory is a level in direct contrast to the levels that kick off the other two episodes.

Again, all circumstantial, but the question's been gnawing at me ever since. If it was originally an E2 level, maybe that ending "demon face" with the master switch was supposed to have been attached to the end of Refueling Base but couldn't fit for whatever reason? Or maybe id thought the start of the city levels should start with a level that pretends to be part of a city, as opposed to the typical abstract nonsense that makes up the rest of the game (including E2 after Downtown)? I mean it was still typical abstract nonsense anyway but you could sort of see a factory if you squinted hard enough. Can't say the same for Circle of Death.

I don't really know, but if there's any kind of official statement on this I would really love to know. It's starting to keep me up at night.

[Ninety-Six]

Y'know what there's another question that's been eating away at me, I'm on a roll here. Difference being, this one's been bothering me for years.


Can someone point out to me exactly where it says TNT takes place on Io? Because it sure as hell ain't the Final Doom manual, nor the back of its box. At no point is the name "Io" ever mentioned. All that's stated is "one of the moons of Jupiter." Which, if you don't know, has a lot of moons.

Can I get a citation for this?

[Ninety-Six]

help

[OpenMaw]

Happy 4th of July, guys.

Decided just a short few days ago to wrap up some old maps collecting dust on my HDD and release them as a birthday gift to myself. So, Hell or high water I was going to get them out. I polished them up, and tried to balance them. Originally these were part of a six level pack called "Six Pack" because I'm very creative. Only three of them were really near done.

Anyway, for your consideration and entertainment: Triumvirate. Happy Dooming, guys.


Here's the download link on ModDB. Still waiting for them to "verify" it. I don't know if that means it isn't accessible yet, or not, but here you go.
https://www.moddb.co...e#downloadsform

[Ninety-Six]

Scientist/Scientist 2 is now an official add-on.

I swear, id sometimes makes the weirdest picks. I'm not complaining, it's just another out-of-left-field choice.

[Phredreeke]

Well, given that addons can't use Boom extensions or use assets from other games, I have a hard time thinking of any they could use.

[NightFright]

Gotta be honest, I've never heard of that one. This hasn't ever been featured in the Cacowards, which doesn't mean it can't be good, but it certainly didn't help to draw attention to it. Maybe this is the time now.

[Ninety-Six]

NightFright, on 14 August 2023 - 02:16 PM, said:

Gotta be honest, I've never heard of that one.

This is why I say id makes weird picks sometimes. I've heard of Scientist 2 off and on over the years, but very sparingly. It was a similar story to Revolution actually (which incidentally was made by the creator of Scientist's brother), at least not until it got its midi pack.

So it's always odd when it's a more obscure pick.

[jkas789]

 Ninety-Six, on 12 August 2023 - 06:10 PM, said:

Scientist/Scientist 2 is now an official add-on.

I swear, id sometimes makes the weirdest picks. I'm not complaining, it's just another out-of-left-field choice.

I played it today. I'm gonna be honest, almost everything preceding it was a better pick than Scientist. The double shotgun sprite and the crossbow as a whole are so jank. The grenade ball thing was also pretty useless IME. Levels are meh.

I'm not sure why this wad is what you would choose as a "official" addon. At the very least with Harmony you could argue that there is some very interesting history and background behind it.

Or maybe I'm just a retard with bad taste.

[Ninety-Six]

They did do some significant touch-ups with the official release. The version you're playing is the "original" Scientist 2.

[jkas789]

Ninety-Six, on 29 August 2023 - 05:51 AM, said:

They did do some significant touch-ups with the official release. The version you're playing is the "original" Scientist 2.

So I should play the Beth Doom release then? All right, I'll give it a shot.

[jkas789]

Btw, does anyone remember the name of that one map that had a secret where they used the Lara Croft beta sprite from Shadow Warrior and basically crucified her? It caused a big controversy in Doomworld when it was released. Does anyone know where I can get it?

I'm trying to prove that it exists to peep on the net.

Edit 20:23 pm: Nvm Phredreeke came in with the clutch in the discord. Also I noticed that I have the memory of a God's damned goldfish.

[Phredreeke]

No problem

[Ninety-Six]

It turns out you can't play even Doom 1 levels without getting reamed by spiteful level design the community keeps mistaking for "good game".

Double Impact is trash and I can't believe this garbage heap was chosen to be the first fan-made addon for the official unity port.

[NNC]

Ninety-Six, on 20 November 2023 - 08:14 AM, said:

It turns out you can't play even Doom 1 levels without getting reamed by spiteful level design the community keeps mistaking for "good game".

Double Impact is trash and I can't believe this garbage heap was chosen to be the first fan-made addon for the official unity port.

That's why I'm waiting Romero's Sigil 2. At least he understand what is a good level design, knows the game's limitations and strengths, know how the assets should be placed on a map. Community stuff can look good by panoramic view, but most wads completely overstay their welcome by the 2nd map as everything plays the same utterly pedestrian way.

[MrFlibble]

Ninety-Six, on 20 November 2023 - 08:14 AM, said:

Double Impact is trash and I can't believe this garbage heap was chosen to be the first fan-made addon for the official unity port.

I remember playing it a bit some time ago. Not the whole thing, about three or four levels, on UV, IIRC. I did not get the impression that the author was trying to mimic the original vanilla gameplay style. What exactly do you think makes it bad?

[Ninety-Six]

MrFlibble, on 21 November 2023 - 12:56 PM, said:

I did not get the impression that the author was trying to mimic the original vanilla gameplay style. What exactly do you think makes it bad?

It's not that it doesn't mimic the vanilla gameplay design that's the problem. It's that it replaced that design with pure spite instead.

DI uses shotgunners like your standard D2 wad uses archviles, revenants, and chaingunners. That is, as many of them as possible to be stuffed into the worst possible places. the amount of times I was killed because of shotgunners in the dark, or from a wall that opened behind me, or just from around a corner (all done while I'm naturally fighting other monsters purely so they can get the drop)

You take a lot of outright unfair damage. Add on top of that that you also get teleports and sudden elevators into a mosh pit that you will not survive on your first attempt because that requires having the plasma gun out ahead of time (and only the plasma gun because there is no BFG anywhere in the entire wad.


Then there's M8. Which is the doom community's level design philosophy distilled: a barely playable middle finger that's not even possible to get 100% kills in. I won't break down how and why every last aspect of the final level is an affront to gaming as a medium, but I will give the first instance. You get a mosh pit at the start that is complete and total luck if you survive or not (unless you find the invulnerability behind a quadruple stacked secret. Hiding keys essential to progression is rightfully seen as bad level design but mandatory powerups, no that's totally fine i guess)