DoomRL Special Levels: A Recursive Adaptation, Version 1.1

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Update to               : DRLSpec.wad
Advanced engine needed  : ZDoom 2.7.1+ or GZDoom g1.8.2+  (possibly others)
Primary purpose         : Single + coop play
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Title                   : DoomRL Special Levels: A Recursive Adaptation, Version 1.1
Filename                : DRLSpec
Release date            : Saturday, November 1, 2014
Author                  : Chaosvolt
Email Address           : [email protected]
Other Files By Author   : TFMod.pk3, MDoomFix.wad, Cheeki.pk3, other
                          unreleased works.
Misc. Author Info       : Psycho bored dragon

Description             : So there was Doom. And there were roguelikes.
                          Then there was Doom: the Roguelike. And now, the
                          iconic special levels unique to DoomRL have their
                          own adaptations in ye olde Doom 2 (or Final
                          Doom). Each map also has co-op and deathmatch
                          starts, and deathmatch-only items. See below for
                          a summary of each map, and what's been tweaked 
                          in the process of adapting them. If a level's
                          gimmick has you stumped, check there.

Additional Credits to   : Kornel Kisielewicz for making that wonderful
                          roguelike, the maintainers of the always-useful
                          DoomRL and ZDoom wikis, and of course id
                          Software.
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* What is included *

New levels              : 12
Sounds                  : No
Music                   : No
Graphics                : No
Dehacked/BEX Patch      : Yes
Demos                   : No
Other                   : No
Other files required    : None


* Play Information *

Game                    : Doom 2
Map #                   : 01-12
Single Player           : Designed for
Cooperative 2-4 Player  : Designed for
Deathmatch 2-4 Player   : Designed for
Other game styles       : None
Difficulty Settings     : Yes


* Construction *

Base                    : New from scratch
Build Time              : About 2 weeks of on-and-off work.
Editor(s) used          : Doom Builder 2, Slade 3.
Known Bugs              : Prior bugs involving missing textures should be fixed.
May Not Run With...     : Older versions of (G)ZDoom, other source ports

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And now, a rundown on the levels. If some elemnt of a level might stump players who aren't familiar with the DoomRL originals, I'll go ahead and spoil it for you. And for that matter, I'll preface the description with that exact phrase.

Map 1, Phobos Base Entry:

I was originally going to drop the player right into Hell's Arena from the beginning, before deciding to ease the player into things. In the roguelike itself, there are 4 different variations of this level, chosen at random. I decided to mix-and-match elements of all 4, though I also added a few embellishments.

Map 2, Hell's Arena:

This one stumped me for a bit, because my usual aversion to ACS meant I couldn't script out the classic "spawn waves of enemies while a demonic announcer yells at you" gimmick. Instead we have a map that progressively opens up as the player kills each wave of enemies. In the roguelike itself, you have the option of immediately running for the exit. In this version players have to at least get past the first wave before the exit is available.

If you decide to test this map out in deathmatch, some of the spawns will be outside the initial single-player/co-op starting point. To avoid getting stuck, the relevant walls can also be opened by approaching them from the other side.

Map 3, The Chained Court:

Now this was fairly simple and fun to put together. The biggest issue was getting the chainsaw to work as desired. Sadly I couldn't get it to hand you a berserk effect when picked up, nor could I make berserk packs temporary like in the roguelike. The chainsaw DOES benefit from berserk though, but the damage boost isn't as high.

Sadly no, I didn't end up coding in an alternate version where you face the Arena Master if you fully complete the Arena. This map can get hectic emnough as it is, due to the otherwise modest number of enemies on both sides of the courtyard being alerted once things heat up.

Map 4, Hell's Armory:

Here's one that I tweaked to prevent the player from immediately turning around and leaving , like they can in the roguelike. Here we have the classic locked exit, to nudge players into actually exploring the place.

No Shambler here, by the way. I could probably code up such a thing, but spriting it would be the problem, as I didn't feel like hunting down a Quake-themed mod to loot for content.

Map 5, The Wall:

I'LL GO AHEAD AND SPOIL IT FOR YOU: You need a rocket launcher to fully complete this level. If you play this from a pistol start, doing so will only be possible on easy difficulty.

The eponymous Wall was a bitch to replicate, before I figured out a viable solution. Then it simply became tedious to make. The area leading up to the wall itself has also been tweaked to be less of a bland, empty box.

Map 6, City of Skulls:

This one is fairly simple, though I added some variation in overall appearance to make it less of a bland tile-by-tile adaptation of the original level.

The "second wave" gimmick the level uses has been crudely recreacted via additional buildings that open when you finish off the first wave. Additionally, the reward opens up after taking out the second wave.

Map 7, Halls of Carnage:

This one is based on the version from older versions of the roguelike, mostly lacking the gradual lava flood gimmick the modern version has. While the old version let you turn right around and leave if desired, and the new version places the exit right next to the BFG, this adaptation splits the difference and leaves the exit in the middle.

Map 8, Spider's Lair:

Now here's a simple yet hectic map. It was also the first time I had to mess about with teleporters, so it was good to finally mess around with that. I added a few embellishments compared to the roguelike version, mainly extra cover that also holds the level's reward.

The lighting effects and pool in the center combined to be a bit more complicated than expected, but it caused me to have a bit of a revelation. With the exception of map 11 (see below), this is the point where I started putting more effort into smoothing things out and making corners look more natural. While I did revisit the other maps to apply some of what I learned to them, you can still see some roughness in the older maps (and map 11).

Map 9, Unholy Cathedral:

I'LL GO AHEAD AND SPOIL IT FOR YOU: Your ranged weapons won't even faze the enemies here. Just like in the roguelike's version, melee is the way to go. I just couldn't script up a way to force a melee-only approach.

Not to be confused with Doom 1's E3M5, this one has players ripping and tearing their way through an assortment of melee-focused monsters. Sadly I wasn't up to code the Angel of Death or the special reward, so you'll instead encounter melee-only versions of a more mundane enemy, and your reward is a rather disappointing megasphere.

Map 10, The Vaults:

I'LL GO AHEAD AND SPOIL IT FOR YOU: You need a rocket launcher to fully complete this level. If you play this from a pistol start, doing so will only be possible on easy difficulty.

Since we don't have any randomly-teleporting phase devices, nor do we have the Arena Master's staff, I had to tweak the adaptation of this level to allow players into the Vaults via more conventional methods.

Map 11, The Mortuary:

This was actually the first map I worked on, due to the gimmick being the most interesting. Things kinda snowballed out of control from there.

In addition to littering the map with corpses to raise, there's also some randomness in WHAT corpses populate the map. However, unlike the roguelike's version, the actual number of bodies isn't random.

Map 12, The Lava Pits:

And here we have the finale, which I fear might be a bit underwhelming. A bit of island-hopping, some frantic scrambling for scattered radiation suits, and a return of the hellish nobility in place of a Lava Elemental.

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Version History

Version 1.0: Initial release. Naturally, I discovered too late that certain things break in ZDoom, but not in GZdoom.

Version 1.1: Current release. Removed bulletproof windows and fake "low roof" effects, as they caused HOM bugs unless view in GZDoom, due to deliberate abuse of missing textures.

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