Please read ALL of this file before beginning play, especially the section entitled CONDITIONS OF USE as this details what you may and may not do with these files (legal stuff). INTRODUCTION Welcome to ASDOOM, nine new levels for registered DOOM (effectively a whole new episode). The files that are in this archive are all that you need to extend your enjoyment of DOOM for many, many more hours! To make life as easy as possible for beginners a batch file is included to run all of the levels for you. Simply make sure that all of the files from this archive are in your DOOM directory then type ASDOOM to play (but read the rest of this file first). :) As I put together the levels in ASDOOM I was particularly keen to put the tension and fear back into playing DOOM - there are some places where even I get uneasy, and I know where everything is! If you have access to a modem let me know how you think I got on (see CONTACTING THE AUTHOR below). The quality of the levels improves steadily as you play. The first level was literally my first effort and, although extremely playable, doesn't look so hot when you compare it to the later ones. Levels two and three become increasingly respectable and from level four onwards you'll think that you've died and gone to heaven. Persevere with levels one to three though; it's worth it just to keep the play-balance right. Finding ASDOOM's secret level will take a bit of work, and only experienced DOOMers should take a trip there. Visiting the secret level on UV is like sipping cyanide - dangerously detrimental to your health. It is repectfully suggested that you save your game before doing anything hasty (like moving). DEDICATIONS These levels are dedicated to the people who made them possible: Thanks firstly to all at ID for giving us DOOM in the first place and for showing what a PC can do, given a bit of encouragement. Thanks also to Geoff Allan, the person responsible for writing the DOOM editor used in the production of these levels. For reference, I am now using version 2.6 beta 1 of Geoff's DoomEd for Windows, available from good BBS's everywhere. Credit also goes to Colin Reed, author of the BSP DOOM nodebuilder (this useful program "repairs" dodgy .WAD files and is REALLY handy if you are designing levels yourself). Thanks also to all of those people who mailed me feedback on the earlier levels. I have listened very carefully to everything that you said and asked for, and I hope you find it here. Mail me again and let me know. Finally thanks to my wife, Christina. She hasn't been pleased but she has always been patient as she watched me squander three months of our married life producing these levels. I keep telling her that it was worth it. I DON'T WANT YOUR MONEY HONEY... I have good news, and I have bad news. The good news is that I don't want any of your hard earned cash. The other news (which isn't really bad at all) is that I would like you to register DOOM, if you haven't done so already. The fact that you have downloaded this file means that you already know that it is worth every penny. Anyone who has money left after that can send some to Geoff Allan at 7232 Kananaskis Drive SW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2V 2N2. Please don't pester the guy unless you want to send him some money. INSTRUCTIONS Decompress this file if you haven't already. Copy all files to your DOOM directory. None of your existing files will be altered by playing these levels, but if you feel nervous make sure you back up your DOOM files first. Once all of the files are in your DOOM directory simply change to that directory and type ASDOOM.BAT to play the new levels. This batch file is designed to get you straight in to the new levels without the need to set anything up first. A message will appear telling you that you are playing modified levels - this is no cause for alarm. Press Enter to continue. Once DOOM has loaded select the first episode, choose a dificulty level and play as normal. THE GLOVES ARE OFF... These new levels replacing DOOM's Episode One will test your DOOM skills to the limit. ASDOOM does support different skill levels (especially in the later levels) and life will be harder or easier based on your choice. If you select Ultra Violence, EXPECT Ultra Violence. Note that ASDOOM is not playable on Nightmare skill level - it will rip out your lungs and spit them back at you if you're daft enough to try! Whatever level you choose, make sure that you save fairly frequently. Also, don't cheat. Pretty much everyone knows the cheat codes for DOOM, but surely you're just spoiling your own fun? If you cheat at these levels you miss the challenge, the tension, the excitement, the fear. You might just as well not bother playing! It's your choice, I just want you to get as much fun out of my work as possible. CONDITIONS OF USE Copyright for these levels remains with the author. You are welcome (even encouraged!) to have fun with these levels yourself, and to pass them on to as many other people as possible so that they can have fun with them too, subject to the following conditions: * This compressed file must be passed on in its entirety with all files present and unaltered in any way. * You may not use these levels as a basis for alterations to produce levels. * You may not sell any of the ASDOOM levels or include them (or a derivative of them) on any compilation which will passed on for profit, or given away, without the express prior permission of the author in writing. Use, decompression or duplication of this software indicates total and unquestionable acceptance of these conditions. I don't want to seem in any way draconian, but I've worked long and hard on these levels (about forty hours EACH) and the above doesn't seem much to ask. Respect my labour, please. I have extensively playtested these levels and plenty of other people have tested them too, but please note that I cannot be held responsible for the use of, or inability to use, these files. BACKGROUND You strap yourself into the copilot's seat of the Marine drop ship, reflecting that this is the first time in the last eighteen hours that you will have been able to sit still for more than two minutes. Since you stepped through the teleport back to Earth you have been running on almost pure adrenalin. Within minutes of your arrival next to the bizarre, hellish structure which seemed to have come through the doorway from Hell with you the entire area was swarming with members of the military. You were picked up and transported to a hastily established forward command post, then subjected to a detailed debriefing, covering everything that had happened on Phobos, Deimos and beyond. There was no mistaking the concern on the faces of the top brass as you described the demon hordes storming the bases via the experimental gateways. Pretty soon you found out why. It seems that Deimos and Phobos were not the only bases involved in these experiments. A base on Io, Jupiter's moon, had been carrying out similar research for some time. Contact with Io has also been lost, and it doesn't take a genius or a general to figure out why. It was quickly decided to despatch a Marine Rapid Response Team to Io as quickly as possible. The situation on Earth appeared to be stable (noone had gone in, but then nothing had come out yet either) and the military strategists decided that recapturing the Io base would be a good idea as the gateways might offer some clue as to how to infiltrate the devlish structure on Earth. Additionally the Io base had a massive computer database which might possibly contain information on the experiments with the gateways and what had gone wrong. Your mission (whether you chose to accept it or not) was to accompany the team to Io as an observer and adviser. As the only surviving human to have been in contact with the demons your presence was considered vital. You mind snaps back to the present. Behind you the drop ship's massive engines are beginning to turn as final preparations are made for the drop to the moon's surface. Hastily you grab the handheld computer from the panel to your left and scan the mission briefing. The Io base was built over twenty years ago and has housed several military projects, all of which are classified. Work commenced on the gateways three years ago. The base is built within a reinforced dome on the surface, accessible from a landing pad on top of the dome. Within the dome the base is subdivided into levels, each having a particular purpose or function. The briefing mentions each level in turn, starting with those nearer the top of the dome. Beneath the landing pad itself lies the hangar, a level dedicated to the storage of materials entering or leaving the base plus all necessary equipment for dealing with any ships or crews. Below that lies the living ares for the officers and scientists stationed at the base and any visiting dignitaries. Next is the main barracks, where the bulk of the base's security forces used to reside. An armoury is also located on this level. The original location for the experiments on the teleportation gateways is found on the level below the barracks, although a new level was under construction to cope with recent expansion in the research. Beneath this lies the base's computer archive and all information relating to the experiments. Below the computers are the old base sewers and waste disposal areas. Finally, lying under the sewers is a massive new level, so large that it actually extends out from underneath the main dome, on which construction has recently started. This level was to have been the new location for the gateway experiments, but the most recent reports show it to be only partly built. Currently it appears to be a poorly lit mass of rough caverns, twisting air ventilation ducts and unmade rooms. Neither of the last two levels is deemed to be strategically important, so the heavily armed and armoured team is simply to sweep down as far as the computer level and secure the area. You raise your eyes from the briefing. The engine noise is now a deafening howl and you feel a steady vibration through your feet. The pilot gives you a signal to put on your headset, then her voice crackles in your ear, "Tighten those buckles, friend. We're going in now." A brief squealing of metal, then the drop ship is plumeting towards the moon. Your stomach seems to rest uncomfortably at the top of your throat. After a moment the descent slows and the pilot applies power to the engines punching the ship towards the distant dome. Suddenly her voice is back in the headset. "What the hell are those things?". Through the forward screen you see dozens of flaming skulls rising quickly from the surface towards the ship. Within seconds the first one smashes into the hull. More impacts follow, and the space around the ship seems to be filled with them. "They're blocking the engine intakes and smashing the control surfaces! I can't hold this course! Crash positions! Crash positions!". The ship slews wildly to the right, rolling over slightly, then plunges towards the surface at a crazy angle. You can see the pilot fighting the controls, but you both know that she isn't going to make it. Ahead the surface of the moon seems to be rushing up at an incredible speed. The drop ship hits the surface a scant kilometer from the dome. A loud crash as the screen shatters, screaming of twisted metal and people as the ship burrows deep into the ground, something soft in your face, then a massive jolt and blackness. Conciousness returns. It takes a moment to get your orientation. You are hanging upside down, pressed into your seat by a huge, reinforced airbag which restricts your entire body apart from your left arm and head. You try to get out of your seat, but the airbag will not budge. Great, survive fatal crash, killed by starvation due to overefficient airbag. You consider trying to reach your pistol, still in its holster, to try shooting the thing. Suddenly a synthesised voice appears in the headset, still hanging precariously from one of your ears. "Severe damage sustained. Initiating cockpit eject sequence". You try to get a look around the airbag to see what lies below. You seem to have smashed through into some sort of dark cavern below the surface. For the first time it occurs to you that the air here is breathable. Wonderful, now things are really looking up. The ejection mechanism fires shooting you, the bag and the chair downwards. When you open your eyes you are lying on a cold stone floor, a distant hissing heralding the end of the airbag problem. You get up. The pilot's body lies next to you. Looks like her airbag malfunctioned, or burst on impact. Somewhere off in the distance something moans. Something vaguely familiar. Something which is definitely not human. With a grim smile you draw your pistol and look around. It's SHOWTIME! CONTACTING THE AUTHOR I've tried to make these levels as realistic and playable as possible, but if I decide to do some more I'd like to make them even better. How should I do that? I've got a few ideas of my own, but I'd really like to hear yours! If you can give me frank, open, honest, constructive feedback (without leaving any noticable bruises) I'd love to hear from you. If you have access to comms post a message to Andy Sheppard in the DOOM echo of Fidonet (it should find me) or e-mail me at the address below. If I don't reply it means that I haven't received your marvellous missive! Send it again. As an absolute last resort you can contact me via snail-mail at: Andy Sheppard 89 Gordon Road Corringham Stanford-le-hope Essex SS17 7QZ England. I don't actually live there (so keep it clean please) but I'll get your mail (eventually)! KNOWN PROBLEMS WITH ASDOOM Hardly any, actually. These levels need a fairly powerful machine to get the very best from them - 486DX and 8Mb RAM recommended, 100Mhz Pentium with 128 Mb RAM preferred (just kidding). If your PC is struggling a bit please either reduce the size of the playing window (by pressing "-") or decrease the detail level (by pressing "F5"). You may very occasionally experience slight graphical breakups in large rooms, despite all my efforts to get rid of them. They do no harm, so just kill everything in sight and go somewhere else where it doesn't happen. :) Also, I'm aware of the fact that if you go to the secret level and complete it you end up back at the start of the level that you just left (confusing enough for you?). Look upon this as a chance to restock your ammo before you move on to the next level (play-balance has been adjusted accordingly) or simply don't go to the secret level in the first place - your choice! I hope you enjoy these levels. I enjoyed creating them. Roll on DOOM ][. And mind what you do with that chainsaw.... :) andyshep@sound.demon.co.uk