================================================================
Title                   : Hell Castle of DEATH!!!
Filename                : SPECDZCP.WAD
Author                  : Spectere
Email Address           : SPECTERE on AOL
Misc. Author Info       : I love DOOM!

Description             : You told your captain that this mission
                          was a bad idea, but did he listen to you?
                          NO! Then again, maybe if you didn't punch
                          him in his stupid face when you heard your
                          buddies dying over the radio he would have
                          given you more than a pistol when it was
                          your turn to go down.

                          Oh well. At least you get a chance to give
                          those demons a piece of your mind and avenge
                          your buddies.

Additional Credits to   : Brendon Wyber and Raphael Quinet for DEU.
                          Colin Reed for BSP.
                          id Software for the BEST GAME EVER MADE!
                          Leo Martin Lim for UAC_DEAD.
================================================================

* Play Information *

Episode and Level #     : E2M1
Single Player           : Yes
Cooperative 2-4 Player  : Yes, not tested
Deathmatch 2-4 Player   : Yes, not tested
Difficulty Settings     : Yes
New Sounds              : No
New Graphics            : No
New Music               : No
Demos Replaced          : None

* Construction *

Base                    : New level from scratch
Editor(s) used          : Mostly DEU 5.21 and BSP 1.0x
Known Bugs              : Do lost souls count? :^)

* Copyright / Permissions *

Authors MAY use this level as a base to build additional levels.  

You MAY distribute this WAD, provided you include this file, with
no modifications.  You may distribute this file in any electronic
format (BBS, Diskette, CD, etc) as long as you include this file 
intact.


* Where to get this WAD *

Other: AOL (keyword: PC GAMES)

















-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And now that we've got that out of the way, here's some actual notes:

So, in case this somehow gets split up, this was created for the D!ZONE
Community Project. Most of the "1994-esque" stuff above is correct, aside from
how it's going to be distributed and my contact info. Strangely enough, AOL
keywords aren't a concept that survived into 2025.

The way I approached this project is by making a map in a stream of
consciousness fashion, primarily using vintage tools and hardware, under the
limitations of the original 1.1 release of Doom. The goal was to make a map
that I would probably give a 7-8 to if I were to review it for D!Zone'd, and I
feel like I managed to at least do that. :)

As far as the editors used, I *did* use DEU for about half of the map, before
eventually running into some really strange bugs that caused the lines on my
original fountain design to get scrambled. I tried switching to DETH (which is
still DEU-based) but wound up running into the same issue. I did end up
sticking with it simply because it was much cozier to work with in the long
run and performed significantly better.

I used BSP as the node builder throughout most of this map's development, but
the final build was done using ZenNode 1.2.1. I had a number of issues during
enemy placement that I simply couldn't narrow down--namely that very specific
enemies would consistently wake up if I fired in certain areas. I'm not sure
if it's because of the game version I used (DOOM.EXE v1.1) or simply an issue
with older node builders, but upgrading at least one of those resolved the
issue.

Would I recommend using old tools to construct maps? Maybe. This was a nice
reminder of how productive basic mapping tools *can* be, and a nice refresher
on which parts of mapping are best done outside of the 3D view. The obvious
downside is that older mapping tools are kind of buggy and don't save backups
(I've lost at least a few *hours* of work due to the editor unceremoneously
dumping me to the DOS prompt with a loud BEEEEEEP for no apparent reason).

Would I do this again? I highly doubt it. Going back to Ultimate Doom Builder
to finish off thing placement and make a few last-minute tweaks felt just as
impactful as the original release of Doom Builder in 2003.

But anyway, I think I'm going to shut up and wrap this thing up. Thanks for
reading, and I hope you enjoy the map. :)

-spectere

