=========================================================================== Update to : longtrek.zip Primary purpose : Single play =========================================================================== Title : The Long Trek Back Home v. 1.1 Filename : longtrek.zip Release date : Sep 30th 2021 Author : hervoheebo Email Address : [redacted] Other Files By Author : Deimos Deja Vu, The Journey, Serpent's Wake Description : Presented as an immediate sequel to Doom ][, The Long Trek Back Home sees you through the old levels in reverse order; Icon of Sin is the first and Entryway the last. Though the respective areas are familiar, great upheavals have taken place: destruction and Hellish subversion ensure that there is as much new as there is old. From the caved-in ruins of Hell to the corrupted cityscape to the former spaceport suffused in demonic magic, the road home is long... This is the updated version 1.1, for details please read the included text file LONGTUPD.txt. LongTrek is a new 32 level megawad for DOOM ][. It is designed to be 100% vanilla compatible and balanced for pistol start. As described, the new levels are themed after their predecessors from D2, with a major exception being that you begin from the end and finish where it all started. This applies to the individual levels as well: the former starting room is now the goal and the exit is where you now begin. The style can be compared to that of "Deimos Deja Vu", but the individual areas are now a bit more accurate in terms of their relative positions with each other. Overall, hard and fast rules are shunned and the goal is to provide new experiences that pay tribute to the original levels in different ways. Almost all music tracks from D2 are updated to fit each individual level's mood, so even what were duplicate tracks in the original game now sound different. While there are some new graphics like the title screen and intermission screen, there are NO new walls or flats aside from the 3 new skies in order to retain the look & feel of DOOM ][. There is a Dehacked patch file included, which changes the automap names, story text and changes the flags of a few gib things so they don't float in the air (thanks to Keyboard_Doomer for the tip). The skill levels are overhauled. UV is still the same and considered the default skill level. HMP is otherwise the exact same, but has more ammo items, while HNTR has extra health items. Because of the hard-coded increase in Spawn Cube fire rate that HNTR and ITYTD have, relevant areas are slightly more difficult in those skill levels. If the amount of health or ammo is unpleasantly low, please give the new skill levels a try. The level of difficulty expects that you are reasonably proficient in Doom, having at least finished the original D2 first. Also, like mentioned, the levels are balanced for pistol start. Multiplayer support is included, with co-op and DM starts and multiplayer- only items plus countermeasures against getting stuck because of level gimmicks. However, multiplayer has not been tested extensively. I recommend the wad be played with software rendering as the visuals are built around the default palette and lighting levels. The wad has been tested with the usual rules: no vertical mouselook, auto aim on, infinitely tall monsters, limit on Pain Elemental souls. As for music, "Arachno Soundfont" works very nicely, and for a more lo-fi sound "hisymak_genmidi_2017-11-29.wad" works fine. Bug Info & limitations: -Some secrets may be given away if a source port's "textured automap" feature is used. -The "deep water" effect used in several places causes a Hall of Mirrors if the viewpoint is lowered enough (by dying). -In vanilla, some areas will experience Hall of Mirrors in the distance because of a seg overflow, and the sprite limit can be hit in some areas causing sprites to flicker in and out of view. -Some areas that are inaccessible in normal play have confirmed visplane overflows in vanilla: including at least the top of the blood falls in MAP05: The Abandoned Mines and the lava sea in MAP19: The Factory. -Several areas are subject to the "Ghost Monsters" engine bug. There are often rockets placed at areas where these ethereal enemies may be born; try using the splash damage to kill them if you encounter them. -MAP07: The Chasm: The stair triggered by tag 667 is built to allow passage even if the last 2 Arachnotrons die simultaneously, but three or more will raise the stair too high and make it impossible to leave. -MAP31: The special visual effect behind the windows is ruined if the player gets the invulnerability and runs back to the starting area. -MAP16: The Inmost Dens: Not a bug, but for your information the red key is absent on purpose despite the presence of a red-key locked door. In multiplayer there is a BFG behind the door. -MAP16: The Inmost Dens has a "Closes after 30 seconds" door (type 10), which is subject to an engine bug: if the door is blocked from closing, it will rise indefinitely in vanilla and cause a crash after enough time if the area is re-entered. -MAP22: The Pit: the exit teleporter is opened by lowering layers of walls around it by pressing eye switches. Since the mechanic uses the "Lower to Lowest Floor" trigger, it is possible to 'waste' switches, especially in multiplayer, by pressing them too early which causes the next layer not to lower enough. There are more switches than minimally necessary; if you get stuck, get all the keys and check the northern corridor of the BFG secret. -MAP29: Underhalls: Multiplayer: if two players press the two floor-lowering secret switches (linedef 3551 and linedef 3562) close to simultaneously, the associated secret can become inaccessible. -MAP30: Entryway: Not considered a bug: there are purposely immobile Specters in a certain area. -No Monsters mode: note that several maps depend on switches that kill Commander Keens to create combination locks for doors. Since Keens do not spawn on -nomonsters, this will usually render the affected levels impossible to finish. However, when playing in Deathmatch mode, players may spawn at DM-exclusive locations that cause the Keen doors to open upon leaving. Note also that MAP07: The Chasm utilizes tags 666 and 667 with the Mancubus/Arachnotron death mechanism. The following maps are affected: MAP07 MAP09 MAP11 MAP18 MAP19 (MAP21) (has an alternate route) (MAP22) (has an alternate route) -Vanilla: savegame limits confirmed to crash the game upon saving in the following maps: MAP08 MAP18 MAP20 MAP21 MAP30 Because the amount of things changes during play, other maps may also be affected! Be cautious if you decide to save the game in vanilla. -The default OPL emulator in Chocolate Doom may distort the music and play it at a higher tempo, even locking up the game with certain tracks like EVIL (MAP31 and ending.) Recommended to use another OPL or MIDI playback solution if you encounter this problem. -MAP20: Circle of Death may be affected by the bug where projectiles trigger linedefs; the single-use teleports on the spiral steps are used up early, therefore making the level shorter. This "trick" might be used in other levels as well. -Because of string space limitations in Dehacked, automap names don't include level numbers. Refer here if you get lost: MAP01: Icon of Sin MAP02: The Living End MAP03: The Spirit World MAP04: Monster Condo MAP05: The Abandoned Mines MAP06: Bloodfalls MAP07: The Chasm MAP08: Barrels o' Fun MAP09: The Catacombs MAP10: Nirvana MAP11: Gotcha! MAP12: The Citadel MAP13: The Courtyard MAP14: Tenements MAP15: Suburbs MAP16: Industrial Zone MAP17: The Inmost Dens MAP18: Downtown MAP19: The Factory MAP20: Circle of Death MAP21: Refueling Base MAP22: The Pit MAP23: Tricks & Traps MAP24: Dead Simple MAP25: The Crusher MAP26: The Waste Tunnels MAP27: The Focus MAP28: The Gantlet MAP29: Underhalls MAP30: Entryway Additional Credits to : Testing Participation: Keyboard_Doomer, Hisymak, Not Jabba. Replacement midi for D_EVIL is "Victors" from Wolfenstein 3D. Thanks to skepticist for informing me of the stuck bugs in MAP02 and MAP13 in addition to the point of no return in MAP19, which were fixed in this version. =========================================================================== * What is included * New levels : 32 Sounds : No Music : Yes Graphics : Yes Dehacked/BEX Patch : Yes Demos : Yes Other : No Other files required : None * Play Information * Game : Doom 2 Map # : 1-32 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 : Long Editor(s) used : Doom Builder 2, Anvil Studio, GIMP, SLADE, Endoomer, WhackEd4 Known Bugs : Refer to above list under "Description" May Not Run With : Doom II for Tapwave Zodiac Tested With : Chocorenderlimits, ZDoom 2.8.1, GZDoom 4.2.4a, dsda-doom 0.21.3, PrBoom-Plus 2.5.1.3, Chocolate Doom 2.0.0 * Copyright / Permissions * This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/ You are free to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format; and remix, transform, and build upon the material. If you do so, you must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses you or your use. You may not use the material for commercial purposes. If you remix, transform, or build upon the material, you must distribute your contributions under the same license as the original. * Where to get the file that this text file describes * The Usual: ftp://archives.gamers.org/pub/idgames/ and mirrors