DP Tool Club 24/CD_ASCQ_24_0995.iso/vrac/cotdfaq2.zip/COTDFAQ2.TXT

Text File | 1995-07-06 | 16KB | 275 lines

                               The Second writing of...
        █▀      █       █   ██████  █           █▀
       █       █ █     █      █     █          █
      █       █▄  █   ████    █     █         █▄▄▄      -of the-
       █     █  ▀▀▀█    █      █     █         █
        █▄  █       █  █       █     ██████     █▄

      █       █         █   █      █     █    █▀  ██
      ██     █ █       █ █ █ █     ██    █   █    █ █
     █  █   █▄  █     █   █   █    █ █  █   █▄▄▄  █  █    FAQ!
     █ █   █  ▀▄▄█   █         █  █   █ █    █    █ █
     ██   █       █ █           █ █    █      █▄ ███

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Written by King REoL himself! (George Fiffy)
==============================================================================
(1) Q: Why a FAQ on an add-on for DooM?

    A: This FAQ is being made because so many people out there are already
      wanting to get a copy of this episode! Even the creator of Cringe, Mark
      Klem, is giddy about this project, and he's a very patient person! Re-
      member Wolfen-Steined for DooM II? That alone is a world-wide megahit
      almost as big as DooM II itself, and everyone patiently awaited it's
      release in February. This time, COTD is starting to cause an uproar in
      the DooM world, and many want to see "the world's best grand finale for
      DooM" now, and before QUAKE puts it out to pasture.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(2) Q: What is Castle of the Damned?

    A: Castle of the Damned is going to be the world's best ever add-on for
      the MEGAHIT PC game DooM. This will be an ENTIRE EPISODE for the first
      mission: KNEE-DEEP IN THE DEAD.
       COTD (as it's called) takes place in the Rocky Mountains in an old
      citadel which goes by the name CASTLE SOLARGE (Caslte-so-large. Get
      it?), a mega huge city surrounded by walls. Demons from Hell thought it
      would be real nice to hold their experiments here, but the forces await-
      ing them are ready. Unfortunately, the demons got in, and killed every-
      one in the citadel, except for headbangers which have the reputation of
      being devil worshipers. The demons separated out the devil worshiping
      metal freaks from just the music lovers, and killed the music lovers,
      leaving the devil worshiping ones for their experiments. Once the exper-
      iment was over, the remaining headbangers were turned into flesh-eating
      zombies that will sacrifice anyone, or anything, to worship Satan. They
      were to go to the outside world and wreak havoc! Your mission is to
      save the reputations of all headbangers before this evil batch has any
      contact with the outside world! Save the reputation of heavy metal fans
      everywhere, before Hell's zombies destroy it!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(3) Q: When in COTD officially going to be released?

    A: Just to be on the safe side, COTD is expected to be out at least a week
      before the release of QUAKE, so Doomheads can have something to drool
      over before it's released. At the current time (as of this writing, July
      2, 1995), it is 91% complete, and may be out SOON!!!! QUAKE is ex-
      pected to be released around Christmas '95.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(4) Q: Why can't I find the COTD preview?

    A: The COTD preview is not everywhere. It is however, spread across the
      world, from whoever downloaded it, and liked it enough to post it else-
      where, or simply is not available on your service, or local BBS.

      ### The 3 places I have control of posting the demo on: ##

      SOFTWARE CREATIONS BBS: It's been avaialable a week after it was posted
      late in May. Do a "L"ocate for 1FIFFY_D.ZIP

      REAL-TIME BBS: As of this writing, it's still there. Levels come and go
      on this BBS, when you try and find it here, it could possibly have been
      deleted, so do a "L"ocate for the filename above.

      AMERICA ON-LINE: I had a friend with high-speed access post this one. As
      of the last time I logged on (July 4'th), it's still not avaialable!
      However, at the time you're reading this, it may be! Go to PC GAMES and
      do a SOFTWARE SEARCH for either CASTLE OF THE DAMNED, CASTLE, or the
      filename, mentioned above. Also, you could look under the DOOM 1 library
      under FILES A-L.

      Wherever else it may be is up to the REoL TOUGH fans.

      BY THE WAY: E-mail me at [e-mail] to tell me where you found
      YOUR copy of COTD! I'm interested as to where they pop up.
      NOTE: If you got COTD from the above places, don't reply, UNLESS you
           have comments, questions, or want to chat. :)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(5) Q: Is there a COTD demo out?

    A: There IS a crippled version of COTD's first level out as a demonstra-
      tion of what the whole uproar is all about. It is "crippled" because not
      all of the replacements (sprites. graphics, etc.) are complete, and are
      not far from that goal now. This file is under 1FIFFY_D.ZIP, and can be
      found on SOFTWARE CREATIONS BBS: [phone]. Other places it MAY get
      onto (or stay posted) is REAL-TIME BBS: [phone], and AOL.
       Also crippled are the secrets. Only ONE of THREE are present in the
      demo. One of the other two secrets are quite huge.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(6) Q: What IS new in COTD?

    A: There are new graphics, of course. The "main" set of graphics, the wall
      textures for the levels, are complete. New lamps and chandeliers light
      up the place, as well as yellow torches. There are new weapons currently
      available in the demo, and those in the works. They are:

      Chainsaw          Changed into    Gas-Powered Drill
      Handgun              "     "      Laser pistol
      Chaingun             "     "      Rapid-Fire Laser Gun
      Rocket Launcher      "     "      Flame Thrower
      Plasma Rifle         "     "      Napalm Launcher*
      BFG-9000             "     "      Napalm Megagun*

      Zombieman            "     "      Brown Headbanger*
      Sargent              "     "      Blonde Headbanger
      Cacodemon            "     "      Rush Limbaugh*#
      Spider Boss          "     "      Snoop Dogg-E-Dogg*

      Soul Sphere          "     "      Ed Stevens Sphere*
      Blur Sphere          "     "      Takvorian Sphere*
      Invulneribility      "     "      Ron Burba Sphere*
      Beserk Sphere(?)     "     "      Steroids*

      * Not in the demo version.
      # In the works

       Depending on time, other sprites may be replaced, or other graphics.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(7) Q: What version of DooM do I need?

    A: To view the demos for both the present and future release, you will
      need version 1.666. As for the official release, a demo converter will
      be included to change them to 1.7 to "2.0". This program is NOT back-
      ward compatable (like the DeHackEd patch) to 1.2 or lower.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(8) Q: Is there a DEHACKED patch?

    A: Although I can never figure out more than replacing text, there WILL
      be a DeHackEd patch for the finished version. At least ONE change will
      be made (and that's all there is planned), where your Napalm Megagun
      will cause TWICE the damage your BFG-9000 can do. I can probably figure
      that one out. Also, the most common crashing errors are simplified. For
      example, if there's too much detail for the game to draw, which would
      explain the problem better?

      id's: V_VISPLANE: no more visplanes
      KR's: Too many linedefs to draw!

      Of course, some I will NOT BACK AS 100% ACCURATE!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(9) Q: Any new sounds in COTD?

    A: YES, there will be new sounds. Jason Morris has provided several
      Beavis and Butthead sound FX, including the player's death (DSPLDETH)
      which spans a little more that 30 seconds in length (@ 301KB)!
      Mark Klem's CRINGE sounds and those from Heretic will also be here.
       Jason has supplied (with great pain on our parts) some SNOOP DOGG-E-
      DOGG FX for intro and death. Both of us are still seeing psychiatrists
      after being exposed to that....stuff.  :)

       In terms of music, someone MAY be working on this. This is suposed
      to be an all Metallica music selection, based on many replies for such
      music. 70% want Metallica, 30% for White Zombie, and 10% for Nirvana, so
      Metallica wins. :)
       Unfortunately, no one (at the moment) has done a sound track, so I have
      Taken parts of ROCK.WAD and other music and put them in (If you're read-
      ing this Mr. Kirkpatrick, you've been given credit where it is due. Same
      for Mr. Slusher).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(10) Q: Any specal tricks planned in any levels?

     A: YES, in fact, the first trick in in the demo. Ever wondered if it were
       possible to have doors you could actually see though in DooM? Well, it's
       here, and Mark Klem taught me how to do this. Once taught, I have
       DRASTICALLY improved on his formula to make the doorway realistic, and
       it uses only 3 sectors, compared to his 5.

        Also, taught by Mark Klem, you'll experience "instant enemies". You
       walk into (or onto) ceartain areas in the game and PRESTO! Out of no-
       where, there are enemies! They don't teleport in, they just literally
       pop in from "nowhere"!

        Also, instant scenery changes! One I did ALL ON MY OWN, is a booby-
       trap, where STERIODS sit on a platform with DO NOT CROSS symbols surr-
       ounding it. You grab the steroids there, lights out (almost) EVERYWHERE!
        And, (Klem's teachings again) you walk down a tiny hallway, then BAM!,
       You're instantly in a large room. Once again, no teleporter involved.
       It's tricky to get back out of here though, becasue as the floor lowers,
       you need to get towards the exit, or you repeat the process. :D

        Also changed, courtesy of Mark Klem, is the Invincibility pallete. In-
       stead of the screen turning that bright white, you'll see RED, as in
       BLOOD, and does not have a "negitive" effect. Gives this episode the
       PERFECT phychological edge to go kill! :)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(11) Q: Can I get a copy now?

     A: No, not quite yet. The demo version is all that's avaialable now, but
       like I said, the wait is not that long now. It's 91% complete!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(12) Q: How can I become part of the beta test team for COTD?

     A: First, you need to be a subscriber to AOL, and second, you must have
       put in for a position in mid April. :(  HOWEVER, for any future works,
       you can reply when postings all over the 4 REoL TOUGH folders in the
       DOOM topic (AOL, PC GAMES) tell you when testers are being taken.
       You can NOT be a beta tester if you don't have an AOL account. I can
       NOT send this stuff over the Internet (AOL interface limmited).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(13) Q: Have you stopped making levels for DooM(II)?

     A: Someone asked me this, and I hope they're reading this now. No, I have
       not stopped making DooM(II) levels. I'm working on COTD now, and after
       the final DooM 1 work is made, I'll concentrate on some DooM II stuff,
       since I don't have much DooM II stuff out.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(14) Q: Is COTD going to be avaialable for DooM II?

     A: Possibly. I know someone who has converted the demo version of COTD
       sucessfully to DooM II, and states he'll do it again for the full epi-
       sode. If he accepts, he'll let me know what graphics didn't make it,
       and I'll rework them to show. Plus, you'll have to WARP to get to the
       start. This is unofficial.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(15) Q: I hear about this claim about "realistic lighting" that'll be in COTD,
       what is it, and is it true?

     A: First off, REALISTIC LIGHTING is where rooms are going to be lit in a
       ceartain manner so that it makes perfect sense. If lamps, chandeliers,
       lava and toxic waste pits are around, depending on how many of these
       things are in a specific area depends on how bright the rooms will be
       lit. All of the man-made lighting fixtures were modernized to work
       with incandescant light bulbs to light up the dark castle a lot better.
       Some even installed recessed lighting into the ceilings! You might no-
       tice that some rooms are brighter than others, even if they are the
       same size, and have the same type of lighting, and the same number of
       fixtures, because after all, bulbs have different wattages. The more
       fixtures, the brighter. The fewer, the darker. Another thing you'll
       notice as you go through the episode, is that the outdoor surroundings
       get darker, making it harder to see. It's fairly bright outside when
       you start, but hard to see at the end. After all, when it's noon, it's
       bright outside, and then the sun sets, and gets darker, right? So why
       not have the outdoor brightness level go down in COTD?
        Second, it is all true that COTD will have all this realism. I have
       been improving the formula since SATAN'S CASTLE I (1FIFFY2.ZIP), and
       got it down. What you see on ANY OTHER PWAD (with the exception of MOST
       of mine), including id's, is that areas are lit, but there is no light
       source. Also, the outdoor light intensity bounces around, light one
       level, dark the next. Or it stays bright or dark throughout. Is this
       realistic? I think not. I tried to avoid it here.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(16) Q: All your levels have rectangular, or square-shaped rooms. WHY don't
       you do some fancy shapes, like others do?

     A: Some undeground caverns DO have these fancy shapes, but once again, I
       am going for realism. Don't most buildings have right-angles, with a
       few 45 degree ones as well? As one person said on SWCBBS: "How many
       times have you seen a trianglar building?" My case exactly.

       It's been known, through fan mail, that this realism, from archetecture
      to lighting, is what makes REoL TOUGH as popular as it is!
      (Note to new level makers: Did you read questions 15 and 16 carefully?
       if so, you'll have an advantage over other beginners.)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    This is all there is for now. And just for the record, these are ACTUAL
    QUESTIONS I have recieved on the project, the MOST I ever got beofre a
    release (In fact, it's getting close)!

    ANY queastions to want to add into this FAQ? Any comments? E-mail me at:

    [e-mail]          TRY TO BE AS SPECIFIC AS POSSIBLE.

    THANKS!

    King REoL, Resident Expert of Leominster