Hello all! Everyone knows about the DBPs, right? Well, with this project i want to do something similar, but for this forum! Except i want these to use mbf21 instead of limit-removing, more lenient with submissions, not as prioritized with mod compatibility, way more experimental and most importantly: Bi-montly! That is, two months of deadline with no breaks in-between. Now, what's this first installment's theme? Well...

Recluse Tech's theme is startan techbases in a dense jungle! With a vibrant tropical palette, gameplay changes and textures that will come to be reoccurring in next installments, and two new... "enemies". I won't list gameplay changes just to not overwhelm anybody, but only a few were made to keep a fast pace to gameplay while not modifying it much. Though, the mastermind and arachnotron have been made smaller to be more usable.

Sour Blossom

Stationary environmental hazard (so that is, non-killable) that shoots an expanding cloud of gas, which deals deadly damage when you're close enough. Comes in a regular variety which is triggered by proximity, and an angry variety which is always angry.

Sour Bulb

Stationary obstacle which releases a poisonous cloud (similar to the Blossom's, but weaker) that lingers for a few seconds. They chain-react into one another very slowly, and a hacky use of them can be to overlap its hitboxes with an Angry Sour Blossom to keep it docile until the Bulb it's stuck in gets popped.

Resources download: FE1_V3.4.wad

In the wad i've also included a (very much unfinished, but mostly traversable) sample map in the MAP02 slot (meaning also that the midi in that slot is taken), the same one showcased in the screenshots above, for reference/inspiration purposes. The deadline for the project is November 1st!! Good luck, and be sure to: test your maps on DSDA-Doom under -complevel 21, always put 1-4 player starts to make sure it's at least startable in co-op, and only implement difficulty settings after some feedback has been given.

Also, you might've noticed that the resources includes a lot of black textures. Those are just IWAD textures i blacked out since i thought they didn't fit the theme too well (you can still use them as black pitch panels of course). There's also some glitchiness with the statusbar in Woof and DSDA (on software renderer), but those are getting fixed in the ports themselves soon i think.

If you have any other questions, be sure to leave them below, and i'll reply and/or update the OP accordingly. Good luck!

I've also made a Trello to keep better track of who's working on what w/ details, that will be frequently updated: https://trello.com/b/GCRHKhdr/recluse-tech

Hey all!! I'm always sharing screenies of whatever i'm working on in other forums and discord servers but couldn't help but notice there wasn't a place to do that here, so i created this thread to change that (and so other people can share their cool stuff)

Here's some screenshots of a sample map i'm making for a bimonthly community project i want to start hosting in this forum, starting next month:

Brazil, probably one of the most difficult countries out there to get up on your two feet financially all by yourself

I plan on moving to Estonia since it's the polar opposite of everything i dislike here, but it won't be anytime soon.

Attention, all! We're a little less than a month away from the deadline! I hope everyone's still working on finishing up their maps

Also started working a 2nd map!! I feel like the amount of vegetation just makes me too slow at it as much as i even wanted to have 3 whole maps finished for the project... Oh well, at least these two i have now are turning out exceptionally well.

Also, i just updated the resources to V3.3. Nothing special, just some fixes, an update to my sample map with some gameplay changes and fixes, and probably minor things i'm forgetting about.
Here's a download link.

Sorry for the lack of updates, everyone.

I've kinda been in a really rough spot IRL: widespread censorship in my country, declining physical health, difficulties getting a job, mental health issues among other things. This all came in pretty awful timing right before the deadline and i'm sorry for that, but i think i'll have to get everything sorted for release at a later date.

By the way, yes you can @joe-ilya ! Whenever i'm back in active i'll include that for the release if you get around to making it.

This might be reaching out a bit outside of the topic but i feel like the final maps i like the most are the ones that feel like everything's been building up to it (so, a final map supported by overall progression). This is very hard to do in megawads, which is probably why Ancient Aliens' felt a bit sudden (which i guess was intentional but oh well) and therefore a bit of a bummer for me, though Valiant and Eviternity did it pretty well with a final boss battle that actually felt like it was being built up to.

I don't think it always has to be super special though, i also really like credits maps in the DBPs and i also felt like Paradise's ending with a snowy version of the last map with a "to be continued" and a whole different atmosphere was also pretty nice, though partially also since that was a short mapset.

As for final map all by themselves though, i feel like TNT: Revilution is by far my favorite. Amazing build up, phenomenal midi, really good boss and gimmick, and overall probably the only IoS level i'd consider great.

Feeling like making doom stuff again, so i'm finishing the map i started a whiiiile ago and planning to maybe make a few more!

@ChrisJEPlace Just recorded a demo for your map: mfchrissmeggindemo1.lmp

First half was adorable! Second half was TERRIFYING. You can can see me playing very slowly partially to appreciate all the details, but also partially due to fear of ghosts and archviles. By the way, the first encounter telegraphing that the level would have more ghosts was absolutely genius! Overall i really enjoyed the map and loved everything about the visuals and even the magic you did with the lasers and the armor pod and everything else.

This map has filled me with inspiration, if it wasn't for the deadline being so close + the map i'm working on being a bit of a nightmare, i'd probably make a second map for the project. Who knows, maybe i can still finish what i've got :x

That's a lotta greens.

I really hate living right in front of a high traffic highway, but i love the pics i can sometimes take from my bedroom's window

@segfault From what i've seen so far Antiquity seems like a plain better Epic 2 that i'd actually enjoy to play, great looking stuff so far

Sorry for the lack of updates, everyone.

I've kinda been in a really rough spot IRL: widespread censorship in my country, declining physical health, difficulties getting a job, mental health issues among other things. This all came in pretty awful timing right before the deadline and i'm sorry for that, but i think i'll have to get everything sorted for release at a later date.

By the way, yes you can @joe-ilya ! Whenever i'm back in active i'll include that for the release if you get around to making it.

@hotdogkirby Just played through the update of your submission, here's a demo for it:
mfscorchreservoirdemo2.lmp

In visuals there definitely were visual improvements that i really appreciate! Though, i feel like the update in difficulty really made the map overtuned. There was an extreme excess in enemy quantities (especially annoying being the revenant acting as a door with health combined with the horde of imps that don't really pose much of a treat if any, but instead just add +15-20 seconds of holding left click to get on to the next fight, and i didn't survive long enough in the last fight to tell much but it did feel the most overtuned. I feel like the enemy placements in the shooting range are fine, but definitely reduce the raw amount of enemies there, there's just a tad too much now. I do need to place extra emphasis on the lack of health in this version though, i can barely remember where there were any health pickups because i was always low on health with no way to heal, even through backtracking (one time i even tried skipping as many enemies as possible to save on health and get to health pickups sooner, but only got greeted by an unexpected archvile in an open space).

I'd really advise to keeping balancing a loot more similar to the previous version, that one felt a lot more fun, short and sweet, and allowed to take in the detailing in the map a lot more without the extreme anxiety of being annihilated by a tsunami of projectiles from all directions.

Though to finish in a more positive note, i did really like the secret behind the red panel that i had complained about before, and the green armor at the start. Though, that armor could be a little easier to see. It's in the corner of the room, camouflaged in a dense pack of grass.

@Deathbear Great submission!! here's two demos i recorded for it:
mfdeathbearvilegrowthdemo1.lmp
mfdeathbearvilegrowthdemo2.lmp

"Why two?" you may ask, well... The first one i got softlocked in after climbing a little ramp of crates. Demo's pretty short so you should definitely watch it just to see how it happened exactly.

For the second one, everything went well!! Your map was very pretty (especially the techbase interiors), and i thought the sky also went really well with it. The combat was also pretty tight, no fights that felt like they dragged on, didn't belong or felt off. Though two pieces of criticism i have about visibility:

One, the opening that led to the rocket launcher being obstructed by a big pile of vegetation probably isn't the best idea, as it led me to think there were only fences and that it was just a way to look at an area i'd get to later, leading me to backtrack and looking for anything i've missed or any newly opened areas.

Two, the rocket launcher being a dark weapon already can make it pretty hard to spot, but in general in that area it wasn't so well presented, leading me to panic over the swarm of enemies and jump off without grabbing it. Thankfully you were very generous with the level design and ammo balancing that i was still well able to take out the archies and revenants

As a whole package i think this is already pretty perfect! Maybe you could very slightly spruce up things for co-op placements and also very slightly tweak things for lower difficulties (maybe only one archie for the final fight for hntr/itytd?), otherwise this might really be all good to go!

@Large-Cat Sorry it took me so long! I've been dealing with some personal issues on top of packing things up to move to a new house, so i haven't had the time to check it out until now. Here's a demo: mflargecatcloverdemo2.lmp

I hope this doesn't sound mean since you clearly tried but i feel like the issues i had with the map only got magnified, but let me start with the good:
-The SSG does definitely make me want to use the shells, even if still a bit rarely. I think you could get away with giving a few more shells and it wouldn't overshadow the chaingun much, though.
-The visual touch-ups are nice
-A proper weapon and armor to deal with all the stuff atop of the lift is greatly appreciated
-The chaingun encounter having an easy to get chaingun with plenty of ammo does probably make it better. I say probably because this run was way harder than my first, though most likely because i didn't get to kill the cyberdemon this time.

Though there's where it ends, because i feel like a lot of the changes you made actually made a lot of the issues i had with the map a lot less pleasant.

-The addition of a BFG is nice but i feel like the addition of keys makes this map a lot more chaotic and probably way harder for a blind player to tell what's going on, with all the things they need to keep track of.
-The plasma encounter does indeed feel more clever with how the archviles are an actual threat, though this makes the issue of tanky enemies 10x worse, since not only are you spending a very long time just cleaning it all up, you're also having to deal with them constantly being revived and ending up with way less ammo.
-The rocket launcher should in theory be clearer how to get now, but the switch blends in too much with the grass and is very hard to notice when you're being bombarded by enemies that can kill you in one second if you stop moving, made even worse by the fact that that area is still too hard despite the addition of the SSG. That area specifically has way too much going on and could be made way more digestible.
-The chaingun area does also suffer from being too overwhelming, though only a little less so. It feels like it has almost every demon in the game and they're released one after the other, so on top of hitscan it feels like a bullet hell where you're also having to watch out for stray rockets and the sour blossoms at the edges. This could greatly benefit from having only one, two or three types of demons at most.
-Despite the shotgun and armor at the start, dealing with those zombiemen at the start still feels like a chore and a health tax. I don't really like them there at all.

If it helps, i think this has the potential to be the best pure action map in the set, but you need to run with it. A lot of the criticisms i had and still do have just to do with the map having all the elements of a rapid action map but with a lot of things that slow the pace of gameplay in a very awkward way, or other times are too overwhelming to process in such a compact and aggressive map.

I know it doesn't feel the greatest to want really badly to keep certain things about your map but i'm just suggesting things to play to its strengths, according to what you said you want it to be (a short-ish and explosive map), if that helps to reconsider them

I didn't say it right away because i didn't want the thread spammed all in the same day, but i'll announce that the deadline has been pushed back to November 1st! This is because many people have been struggling with their maps and i was worrying there would be a few too little maps. I might also take this opportunity to do a 3rd one.

I have also updated the resources with sour blossoms that don't projectiles and with an update of my map with all bugs hopefully fixed and some rebalancing thanks to all the testing i've got recently

@hotdogkirby Played through the map, here's a demo.

-It was very pretty, i especially loved how you did all the vegetation, it looked great.
-You could add some optional off-track armor in that pit near the bridge at the start, would help give that place some purpose and help with some of the issues i'll bring up below.
-The decorating around the sour blossom on the 2nd room was adorable.
-I thought the visual presentation of the rest of the room really odd, though. The door textures with all the monster sounds (which were overly loud btw, if they're just closets i recommend moving them much further away) made me think one of them somehow opened to another room or that there was going to be a deadly ambush, which gave the map a pretty conflicting feeling throughout.
-It happened so quick that i don't remember it exactly but i think you were using the same textures for doors that opened by pressing on them and for ones that you opened via external means. I strongly advise that you make those more visually distinct.
-In the next room there was a similar issue with a random wall using a lift texture. Very distracting and confusing.
-I feel like that little area with the imps and mancubus would benefit a lot from something making you actually stay there and fight, since it's extremely easy to just leave and pretend there weren't ever any monsters there. An easy fix would probably be to swap the mancubus for a pain elemental but of course you can try something else.
-In the next area, that brown tunnel, there's another issue of a red key door being used for its light decorations on a wall. This is probably the one that sounds most nitpicky but, for my next point:
-All these texture norms broken near the start made my brain interpret the layout as being way more linear than it was and by the end made me very confused, since seeing so many door textures at the start made me subconsciously think there was a whole lot more to the map and left my expectations a bit out of place.
-The shooting gallery was cool, though i feel like that weird wall in the middle didn't serve for much and just kinda made it look less nice than it could have, and the techbase part of that area at least could do with a little more detailing.
-I really like the idea of the bulbs being used there, though maybe having more of them could've made it more fun.
-Maybe having something else come behind you or cacos spawning and flying in to make for a bit more of a threat? as is, that area doesn't pose much of a challenge, and i don't know if that's intentional or not. Maybe could also make the imps hitscanners instead?? That would make you way more inclined to rush and shoot them down i bet.
-I really liked the whole setup of the last fight, but i think the pacing could've been better. I think the pacing would've been more pleasant if the arachno and mancubus teleported in after you grabbed the key
-I think the way it's set up there's nothing really stopping you from just rushing to the exit and ignoring the final fight. Could try to work out some timer or place a baron stuck in front of the exit switch.
-The exit sign was all the way back nowhere near close to the exit, i think it'd make a lot more sense to actually place it in front of the exit.
-That exit room could really use with some more detailing. It looks very barebones comparing to the whole rest of the map.

That's a lot but i really liked your map!

@Large-Cat Just finished playing your map, here's a (very long) demo.

On my first run you could see i was doing super well and actually was having a ton of fun, though after the first death is where i started seeing a few issues. I'll try to make a concise list:

-The zombiemen at the start feel like nothing but a health tax and, after your first run, they start feeling like a waste of time (especially combined with the lift which isn't quite fast enough).
-There's a bit too much going on when you get off the lift at the top of the pit. I feel like it'd feel a lot better to give you a Super Shotgun (not even a regular shotgun, more on that later) when getting on the lift, or just not have so many tanky high DPS enemies at the start (shotgunners are definitely a huge unnecessary health tax on top of the one with the zombiemen in the pit). I don't think this would even break the plasma fight setup because you wouldn't have the time or space to think you can stay and fight at the start.
-The cyberdemon is a brilliant part of this map, and while i felt like the map was way too hard it was due to inconveniences and grind that i'll point out below. If you watch my demo you'll see i eventually figured it'd be more beneficial to just get rid of the cyberdemon, but i think with tweaks to make the rest of the map less frustrating i wouldn't feel such an urge to get rid of him early.
-The map is beautiful (especially the outside area) and i do really like the general layout, though i feel like a lot of the things you should be paying attention to look a bit too dull and so you end up focusing on cosmetic details and missing core gameplay aspects of arenas. Like how you can see in my demo that i took forever to realize the chaingun arena even existed since the doorway to it is so desaturated and relatively dark comparing to the rest of the hub. Maybe add some light sequences or armor/health bonuses to help with this?
-I actually couldn't tell what the switch at the end of the corridors of the chaingun timed fight did, apart from spawning pretty undodgeable revenants. I did not like fighting them in such a cramped hallway, felt very clunky and claustrophobic.
-As for the arena of that area itself, you really should just have a chaingun on a pedestal and a LOT of bullets around. The shotgun is pretty useless for that fight (even the SSG would be a bit too sluggish for the fight if you added it).
-The sour blossoms in that arena didn't really do much of anything, i think putting them closer to the center (maybe even using the angry ones??) could make the fight a lot more fun and make it flow faster as well as helping a lot with the issue of running out of ammo so easily, since you'd be able to use them to harm the demons.
-The rocket launcher area feels really wrong. I don't think there's anything wrong with the layout itself, but there's way too many enemies, way too many tanky enemies, the revenants are definitely a bit too much and it's very unclear how to get the RL (would be a lot better to just make it lower by switch or already place it close to the ground). As for the enemies, maybe just leave very few in there and make a few (hopefully not too tanky) enemies spawn in? You could play around with it, but do try to avoid putting too many enemies spread around everywhere, since that made it feel way too claustrophobic and unfun to run through.
-The plasma fight is honestly great and i feel like the only issues i have with it are the archvile at the end (feels extremely unfair as it is usually just a guaranteed zap and your soulsphere gone) and waaaay too many tanky enemies. I think you could easily do with no hellknights and just pinkies and the archvile at the start.
-The switches on the plasma fight are also a little too low on the ground, so it's extremely easy to not see them or not be able to see what state they're in, and also really easy to just climb them by accident making it extremely difficult to press them in a haste. You could put them on 16 or 24 tall small little platforms and make those block players, that would fix all these issues i think.
-The lift to the switch for the final fight is a little unnecessarily deadly. I think you could do with pushing it in a little further to make it harder to catch a stray rocket and remove the pinkies (or just place them as ambush near the switch).
-I do also support the idea of adding a BFG for the final fight, as i honestly can't really see how you're supposed to fight that many enemies with just a rocket launcher and plasma rifle, especially if i didn't kill the cyberdemon.
-Maybe could add an invulnerability secret somewhere? I think it could be really good for a blind player to use to practice different parts of the level or to just use it on whatever of all 4 major fights they find to be the hardest. I think it could be a really fun addition! Up to you though.

I actually can't comment on anything beyond this because i stopped playing, seeing that there were too many little problems stacked up making it very frustrating to get very far. Though i imagine that really was the final fight and opened up an exit...somewhere.

I hope i wasn't too harsh though, your map is really good and i'm sure with some tweak it can be extremely fun!! You just need to rebalance it around a bit so strategies are a lot more consistent and so that progression/combat can be a lot faster an snappier.

BiZ on my Discord server also recorded a demo and a txt file with thoughts on the map for you, he asked me to pass it along since he doesn't have an account on this forum:
clover_bizFDA-00002.lmp
clover_bizFDA-00003.lmp
message.txt

@ChrisJEPlace Absolutely solid texture selection, this looks so unique i love it!!

@Large-Cat said in Frightening Experiments 1: Recluse Tech (complevel 21):

Quick note about the status bar: I recall you saying that this project was focusing on/tested with OpenGL

Not at all! I actually don't know where you got that from (maybe a recommendation about this bug specifically?), i do also prefer and almost always play on Software. The statusbar issue is an issue specific to DSDA's and Woof's Software renderers specifically, other ports render them correctly regardless of renderer. The only reason i didn't account for it is that it's getting fixed on both ports in their next update.

Attention, all! We're a little less than a month away from the deadline! I hope everyone's still working on finishing up their maps

Also started working a 2nd map!! I feel like the amount of vegetation just makes me too slow at it as much as i even wanted to have 3 whole maps finished for the project... Oh well, at least these two i have now are turning out exceptionally well.

Also, i just updated the resources to V3.3. Nothing special, just some fixes, an update to my sample map with some gameplay changes and fixes, and probably minor things i'm forgetting about.
Here's a download link.