Irkalla - An 11-map wad for Doom II (complevel-9/Boom)

Irkalla is a pseudo-reimagining of Doom I Episode 3: Inferno, except in the Doom II universe. Expect a lot of surprises and subversions of expectations.  It includes map contributions from the incredible level designers Peerdolius, Phobus, and SuperCupcakeTactics.  The wad is boom-compatible and should work correctly in -complevel 9.  Jumping and crouching are highly discouraged, as they can break the levels, and honestly freelook is also discouraged as well, as this is meant to be an old-school Doom experience.  This wad is now on /idgames! Enjoy!

Map 01: Dark Fortress - Stormwalker
Map 02: Valley of Sorrow - Stormwalker
Map 03: Chaos - Phobus
Map 04: Den of Suffering - SuperCupcakeTactics
Map 05: Temple of Blasphemies - peerdolius
Map 06: Tartarian Depths - Stormwalker
Map 07: Ascension From Acheron - Stormwalker
Map 08: Hypogean Enigma - Stormwalker
Map 09: Fields of Asphodel - peerdolius
Map 10: Agony's Embrace - Stormwalker
Map 11: Sheol - Stormwalker

DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL RELEASE ON IDGAMES!!!

Screenshots:

Spoiler:

Hey, wow this looks dope !
I've always been fond of these red / black hellish themes. Solid line-up, too.
I'll definitely give this one a spin.

[WH]-Wilou84 a écrit:

Hey, wow this looks dope !
I've always been fond of these red / black hellish themes. Solid line-up, too.
I'll definitely give this one a spin.

Awesome! I can't wait to hear what you think!

EDIT: The wad is now officially on /idgames, see the original post for the link!

Here's a couple links to some FDAs I've recorded on beta 2, with DSDA Doom on UV -complevel 9 :
https://www.dropbox.com/s/muz4z949kwg7uo6/irkbeta201-fda-1434-wh.zip?dl=1
https://www.dropbox.com/s/znujdmo3wc3myin/irkbeta202-fda-1952-wh.zip?dl=1


Map 01 : Dark Fortress
Solid opener, good for setting up the mood. Great hellish atmosphere with plenty of attention to detail and light differences, giving a fresh look to otherwise familiar areas. The Imp reskin (that you also used in Flashback to Hell IIRC) is great, and adding Doom II monsters in an Inferno remake sounds fun to me.
The crusher sequence early on was scary, but going at a slow pace helped a great deal.

I expected the Super Shotgun to make an appearance instead of the regular Shotgun on the classic collapsing bridge area, but I guess it's way too early for that

The only downside I could point out is that there's only 1 secret in this map, just like classic E3M1, but the map has so much more real estate to it compared to your source material that I think adding other secrets would be a nice touch.
(I'm thinking of sector 878 for instance)

Map 02 : Valley of Sorrow
A dangerous level, this one. You can easily get cornered and trapped by the various wandering threats (mainly Cacodemons, Demons and Spectres), and you have to do some work before acquiring real weapons.
Appreciated that you kept all of the side areas (the "fingers") as well as all of the original map's more memorable aspects, like the glowing arrow pointing to a secret.
Doom II monsters get more time to shine here, and that warping Arch-Vile surprise at the end was nasty (but fair).

Map 03 : Chaos
FDA : https://www.dropbox.com/s/kz6gzoq4zf1nsnp/irkbeta203-fda-2057-wh.zip?dl=1
The wad gets more intense as we venture into this modern and spicy rendition of "Pandemonium". This one's a lot darker than the original, particularly in the Blue door area. This part almost got the best of me, with its well-placed Revenants.

I liked the fleshy bits around the Super Shotgun area, the eye and teeth are nice little elements of detail that add a lot of depth to the place.

Couldn't find either the BFG9000 secret (I suppose there is ? There better be, it's E3M3 !) or an Invulnerability, although all the other classic E3M3 parts seemed to be there in one form or another.
Cool stuff.

Map 04 : Den of Suffering
FDA : https://www.dropbox.com/s/42da3ij755pdiex/irkbeta204-fda-Ouch-wh.zip?dl=1

Suffering it is !

Okay, this one is mean. Aside from all the pain, I didn't get the connection between it and the original E3M4, but then again, since this set has 2 more maps than Inferno does, obviously not all of them are going to be homages to the classic episode.
On Pistol start, "Den of Suffering" is particularly rough, quite the departure from the 3 previous maps. Considering the tight spaces and scarcity of health / ammo provisions, slow gameplay is encouraged.
At first glance, I'm afraid most players won't find this map very fun to play through despite the many barrels available (a SuperCupcakeTactics trope by now).
I'll have to give this one a second look, familiarity will surely help.

Ok, after taking a closer look at map 04 (with saves), it clearly is an interesting take on the "House of Pain" theme. Instead of tributing the classic level itself, SuperCupcakeTactics chose to create "E3M4 in name only", with very few areas emulating the classic map (the only part reminiscent of E3M4 would be the multi-switch room by the end). In a sense, this map goes completely against the formula established by the other maps so far, but does it in a remarkable and very interesting fashion.

"Den of Suffering" is a good map on its own, on Pistol start it's very hard, intimidating, frustrating, yet manageable. I'd compare it to a Death-Destiny map, somehow. It has plenty of dickish traps everywhere and you have to go slowly and carefully if you wanna make it to the end. Even the Shotgun Guys that constantly teleport at the start can be frightening.
It is a lot more enjoyable with foreknowledge. Just like in skepticist's "SkePLand", every item counts, even the small clips here and there, particluarly when facing Pain Elementals.

The order in which you activate the switches in the multi-switch room has a lot of impact on the gameplay.
For instance, these 4 Pain Elementals can be neutered (killed from behind bars) if you press one switch before the other :



I'll also point out that the only secret, with its couple armor bonuses, adds insult to injury in such a map !

Now I wonder if the following maps keep this level of insanity
I'm not against hard maps (on the contrary) nor difficulty spikes in otherwise "casual" wads, but I have to say this level is gonna be controversial for many non-veterans. I hope players stick to it though, it's an interesting experience and a reminder that you can still do "painful" levels with the standard Doom feature set.

Whoa, thanks for all the wonderful and very helpful feedback, Wilou84!  I have been carefully reading through and adjusting the maps, and your input has proven to be very useful!  Much appreciated!

My pleasure.

Map 05 : Temple of Blasphemies
FDA : https://www.dropbox.com/s/lq1v34gdjviteon/irkbeta205-fda-5234-wh.zip?dl=1

A sprawling adventure set in a black / red hellish cathedral and through a network of fiery caves. Plenty of cool new areas to discover when compared to E3M5. A lot of secrets, too, which is always nice.
Great atmosphere. I paticularly like the red runes and symbols embedded into the walls and floors, it was one of the more memorable thematic aspects of E3M5 to me and I'm glad to see it being used in its full potential here.

As I expected yesterday after reaching the end of map 04, we're now back to the classic Irkalla formula, i.e. closely emulating the source material and adding a few new areas. Map 05 is very easy in comparison to map 04, even if there definitely are some tricky parts.

Each key is given after a specific battle, all of them posing a fair challenge. The Blue key area was the easiest, even though it featured a Cyberdemon, since he easily gets destroyed by infighting and you just have to evade the pack for a while defore finishing off the remaining Hell Knights. In this area, the snipers (Chaingunners and Shotgun Guys) can be very annoying to deal with before the fight.
There are also a few encounters featuring Cacodemon clouds, I love these

Loved the touch-ups to the BFG9000 secret, too.

If you watch the demo, you'll notice that some Imps remain inactive while their brethren are being slaughtered, near the teleporters in the main "hub" area.

Something that would need improvement in the eyes of a modern mapper is the brick texture alignment, and the way brick textures are cut off by the windows, stained glasses and other elements of detail. I've laid down a couple guidelines here (in French) : https://doomfrance.forumactif.com/t4645-astuces-conseils-pour-aligner-et-decouper-proprement-les-textures
It's a lot of work though.

EDIT: The wad is now officially on /idgames, see the original post for the link!

Map 06 : Tartarian Depths
FDA (recorded on RC1) : https://www.dropbox.com/s/gdinnkxytray7y2/irka-rc106-fda-3313-wh.zip?dl=1

"Mt. Erebus" is a cornerstone of Doom's third act (and one of my favorites) due to its openness and non-linear progression, paving the way for future Doom II maps such as "Downtown", "The Factory" or "The Courtyard".
With "Tartarian Depths", you successfully managed to keep the strengths of E3M6 and build upon them. Doom II monsters bring another layer of danger to the table, particularly when you release the Pain Elemental duo near the Armor (if you don't have much firepower by then) or when the Revenants gets loose in the main area.
Nothing too difficult though on UV.

The double Arch-Vile encounter near the Red Skullkey is scary, until you realize the monsters can't reach you when you're up the structure (it's better if it stays this way IMHO).

Visually, the level theme is pretty nice, following previous maps' style with lots of brimstone and massive gray bricks. Actually it reminded me of SIGIL rather than E3M6 since the locale is set in some wretched pitch-black hellish caves rather than on Hell's mountainous surface.

I didn't notice any gameplay bug, all the monsters were killable and I found all of the 5 secrets.

There's a mismatched brick texture on linedef 10370 that you may want to fix

Map 07 : Ascension From Acheron
FDA : https://www.dropbox.com/s/1whbgrjt7zy9mvr/irka-rc107-fda-1115-wh.zip?dl=1

This one features less than 50 enemies, but this is far from a breather
Nice visuals, the height differencies enhance the looks of the massive hellish fortress in the very first area. Usually I'm not too fond of Tyson gameplay, but here the Tyson section is actually pretty short.

The Cyberdemon area is really cool, timing is key here when you decide to run for the switch. Couldn't figure out how to get the Supercharge secret, but in the end it didn't matter.

Short but sweet map.

Thanks so much Wilou! This is all excellent feedback, and I always learn a lot when you comment on my maps. I very much appreciate you taking the time to do FDA's and give feedback, so cheers!

You're welcome !
Watching FDAs on my levels has always been educational and eye-opening to me as a mapper, so hopefully these demos will help you guys as well.

Congrats on the /idgames release, I'll make sure to get the latest version before recording on the last few maps

Map 08 : Hypogean Enigma
FDA (recorded with the latest version on /idgames) : https://www.dropbox.com/s/3p1sxotejmpw5na/irkalla08-fda-2723-wh.zip?dl=1

Hehe, took me a few seconds to recognize MAP01's entrance, but it all felt familiar as soon as I noticed the majestic facade of the hellish fortress. It's E3M9 time
It feels a bit weird to have the "Warrens" tribute map in the middle of the episode instead of in a secret slot, but you can't do whatever you want within the limits of the regular Doom II map progression (without resorting to UMAPINFO, for instance).

This is a cool map, as expected the new areas are much harder than the rest of the level but you also get some slight gameplay changes from the get-go (such as the Arch-Vile overlooking the Super Shotgun and its collapsing bridge).

I enjoyed the Cyberdemon fight after the expected fake exit. Instead of a large outdoor arena, this time you have to face him in a dark room, which is much more dangerous. The Plasma Gun makes quick work of him though, and I'm sure good players will have no trouble dealing with him.
The Red key area was a bit scary with its Revenants, but you'll come well-equipped for it if you remember the source map well enough.

On the other hand, I'm not sure about the hitscanners up above in the Demon corridor. They can chip away at you from afar and are pretty irritating to deal with.

All in all, a solid play, with fairly direct action. Still a lot less hard than SuperCupcakeTactics' map, but I'm sure the difficulty will naturally ramp up as we're reaching the wad's closure.

Noticed a texture misalignment on linedef 6597, in case you're planning a wad update in the future.

Map 09 : Fields of Asphodel
FDA : https://www.dropbox.com/s/60ibm7ejcmxl4cv/irkalla09-fda-GoodLord-wh.zip?dl=1
You guys will surely enjoy this demo. :>

I was curious to see how you'd handle "Limbo".
E3M7 certainly is a memorable map and a painful challenge worthy of the penultimate slot in classic Doom, thanks mostly to its obscure teleport maze that some people like, but many hate with a fiery passion.
In "Fields of Asphodel", the teleport maze has been entirely left out... Disappointing, yet understandable. Much like map 05, this one doesn't closely follow the recipe of the classic map and instead went its own way, with many new areas and (more noteworthy) battlegrounds offering challenges to face before the player could make any significant progress.

The Rocket Launcher room early on took me by surprise with its nasty Arch-Vile behind a pack of Demons. I managed to kill the roaming Vile but I guess he can be a major nuisance since you don't have that many rockets, and no SSG at that point. Heh, I asked for an increase in difficulty and that's precisely what I got there.

Still, all of these fights were pretty thrilling and gave players enough time to adjust their strategy to the situation at hand.

Cyberdemons were used pretty liberally in the map, and all of them were fair game (even the one in the final brawl). The one in the Red key maze is an interesting case, as he can be gunned down from the start of the maze but you'll probably need the extra Cells found in said maze to kill him, so he can still pose a threat.

I couldn't find any secret, not that I spent too much time looking for them. I noticed an oddly-colored rune in some monster closet in the 4-Arch-Vile L-shaped trap, and a wall leading to (probably) a secret passageway, but I could never reach it. Still, the map seems perfectly doable without secrets.

Great work
Even if it departs a fair bit from the original level, "Fields of Asphodel" is a worthy addition to the episode and a magnificent hellish segment on its own.

[WH]-Wilou84 a écrit:

Map 08 : Hypogean Enigma
FDA (recorded with the latest version on /idgames) : https://www.dropbox.com/s/3p1sxotejmpw5na/irkalla08-fda-2723-wh.zip?dl=1

On the other hand, I'm not sure about the hitscanners up above in the Demon corridor. They can chip away at you from afar and are pretty irritating to deal with.

Noticed a texture misalignment on linedef 6597, in case you're planning a wad update in the future.

Once again, I really appreciate your thoughtful feedback and observations! As for the demon corridor area, how would you feel if instead of some hitscanners, I placed a few Revenants along with the imps currently there. Would that be less irritating, since their rockets are able to be avoided, or would you still feel as though it's irritating given the cramped area?

Stormwalker a écrit:

As for the demon corridor area, how would you feel if instead of some hitscanners, I placed a few Revenants along with the imps currently there.  Would that be less irritating, since their rockets are able to be avoided, or would you still feel as though it's irritating given the cramped area?

That might do it !

Another suggestion would be :
- When the player reaches this area for the first time, just have some Imps and Shotgunners in the cages. Basically, Chaingunners are the real problem here IMHO.
- When the player comes back after getting the key / fighting the Cyberdemon, add a lone Revenant teleporting in each cage (and a bit more ammo beforehand, obviously). That would liven things up without being too irritating.

[WH]-Wilou84 a écrit:

That might do it !

Another suggestion would be :
- When the player reaches this area for the first time, just have some Imps and Shotgunners in the cages. Basically, Chaingunners are the real problem here IMHO.
- When the player comes back after getting the key / fighting the Cyberdemon, add a lone Revenant teleporting in each cage (and a bit more ammo beforehand, obviously). That would liven things up without being too irritating.

Ah, those are some very good suggestions! Thanks Wilou!

Map 10 : Agony's Embrace
FDA : https://www.dropbox.com/s/mz6ealfw5xolcbw/irkalla10-fda-F-wh.zip?dl=1

A mini-adventure before the final boss. Short, but not forgettable thanks to its Cyberdemon at the very end.
My main concern, as highlighted by my hilarious demise (see FDA), is that players will tend to backtrack to the narrow stairway when they see the Cyberdemon. If they do so, they'll have a lot of trouble getting back in there unharmed and killing the Cyber from that spot is ill-advised.
Perhaps you could wait a bit before revealing that Cyber, just to make sure the player actually stays in the final room ... ?

Map 11 : Sheol
FDA : https://www.dropbox.com/s/bj61igrj6pr9r4e/irkalla11-fda-GG-wh.zip?dl=1

Now that's a scary spider !
Big ol' Spider mama has always been impeded by her high pain chance, massive hitbox, weakness to point-blank BFG9000 shots, and slow speed. Now, this version brings an interesting twist to the table with a fast Mastermind, which is quite capable of destroying you. Even if you can hide behind one of the four pillars, you'll always be on the edge, wondering where the monster is going to appear. A climatic fight, and a memorable conclusion to the wad.
I also liked the build-up fights before getting to the actual boss, particularly the underground catacombs filled with Lost Souls and a nasty Vile quatuor.

I may suggest tagging the starting sector as a secret.
Seeing 0 secrets in a map always makes me sad.

[WH]-Wilou84 a écrit:

Map 10 : Agony's Embrace
FDA : https://www.dropbox.com/s/mz6ealfw5xolcbw/irkalla10-fda-F-wh.zip?dl=1

A mini-adventure before the final boss. Short, but not forgettable thanks to its Cyberdemon at the very end.
My main concern, as highlighted by my hilarious demise (see FDA), is that players will tend to backtrack to the narrow stairway when they see the Cyberdemon. If they do so, they'll have a lot of trouble getting back in there unharmed and killing the Cyber from that spot is ill-advised.
Perhaps you could wait a bit before revealing that Cyber, just to make sure the player actually stays in the final room ... ?

Map 11 : Sheol
FDA : https://www.dropbox.com/s/bj61igrj6pr9r4e/irkalla11-fda-GG-wh.zip?dl=1

Now that's a scary spider !
Big ol' Spider mama has always been impeded by her high pain chance, massive hitbox, weakness to point-blank BFG9000 shots, and slow speed. Now, this version brings an interesting twist to the table with a fast Mastermind, which is quite capable of destroying you. Even if you can hide behind one of the four pillars, you'll always be on the edge, wondering where the monster is going to appear. A climatic fight, and a memorable conclusion to the wad.
I also liked the build-up fights before getting to the actual boss, particularly the underground catacombs filled with Lost Souls and a nasty Vile quatuor.

I may suggest tagging the starting sector as a secret.
Seeing 0 secrets in a map always makes me sad.

Once again, thank you so much for the feedback Wilou! Great point about the Cyberdemon in the final room of MAP10. I'm thinking that perhaps I should have a line prevent him from coming down those stairs. That way, I don't need to trap the player inside that room, which would make them feel cheated in case they needed items from other parts of the map, but at the same time they would also be less afraid to go back into the room after waking the Cyberdemon up, since he would remain at a reasonable distance from the door. What are your thoughts?

Stormwalker a écrit:

Great point about the Cyberdemon in the final room of MAP10.  I'm thinking that perhaps I should have a line prevent him from coming down those stairs.

Sounds good to me !

Just dropping a quick note to say that Irkalla has been updated on /idgames to reflect the extensive post-release playtesting that was done by Wilou, Vigilante, and others.  The /idgames link to the latest version is linked below.

DOWNLOAD

Also, here are some more screenshots!!!

Spoiler:

Stormwalker a écrit:

Spoiler:

This screenshot is a killer.
Loving the architecture here.