Quality of Life Patches for various WADs [Updates and Reorganisation on hold]

Decided I would try to create my own patch. Would be curious as to what you think of my attempt and if it meets the standard.

 

Anomaly Report

Adds an episode select as described in the original wad's readme, as well as a "Bonus Map" selection. It also includes custom widescreen graphics by me. I tried to stay as true to the template and other patches as I could.

 

Just realized anomaly report was already done... Maybe I should read more carefully :^)

 

I'm a big a fan of the idea of this project and am looking forward to future releases.

Edited August 22, 2023 by Firebert

Anomaly Report was my very first finished/published patch, heh. It was done as a thanks to Valk for so many great vanilla-style wads. I had to revisit it a few times, as there is two versions of it out there.

Okay, here are a couple that I hope were not done already

 

Arrival

xINFO lumps, DEHACKED lump, Map 32 added as selectable map on menu, and DEMO1, DEMO2 and DEMO3 from add-on added

 

Earthless: Prelude

xINFO lumps, DEHACKED lump, and widescreen graphics by me.

Edited August 26, 2023 by Firebert : Map32 in arrival_unity.wad is now Father Figure

Just wanted to stop by and say thank you for all the great work, I know it can get pretty time consuming. 

I made patches for Darkening E1 and E2 the other day, and started one that cleans up Morior Invictus, so that's more for the upcoming batch. I'll see about finalising them after I beat Alien Vendetta. Splitting my patches into integrated progression and bonus slots was a good idea; Alien Vendetta with Valley of Echoes reinserted between Demonic Hordes and Dark Dome creates an exhausting trio of maps, and for some it would indeed be better off as an optional map on the start screen.

On 8/23/2023 at 12:34 AM, Firebert said:

Okay, here are a couple that I hope were not done already

 

Arrival

xINFO lumps, DEHACKED lump, Map 32 added as selectable map on menu, and DEMO1, DEMO2 and DEMO3 from add-on added

 

 

FWIW, the missing demos in the original release were an artistic decision. I wanted AD_79's "Kneel Before the Writhing Altar" to play out in full at the title screen, so I hacked in blank demos to keep the loop from starting. They only exist in the unity addon because they made me ;D

In addition, the 'unity version' wad for Arrival should change the bonus map's name to Father Figure. With add-on modules, you get to overlay all the little changes to simulate other versions, without actually altering your base file.

 

Here is the newest patch from me: Scientist

 

It covers Scientist, Scientist 2 and the newly released Scientist 2023. I'm working on others today (have Mars War open right now), but progress is slow, as conveniently, I am having medical issues on my designated 'get shit done' work day

 

EDIT: Scientist patch updated with improved crediting (thanks TV!), and Widescreen HELP and BOSSBACK graphics by Firebert. I ended up in hospital yesterday, so I have a lot to do today to catch up on.

 

 

Edited August 26, 2023 by Devalaous

13 minutes ago, Devalaous said:

In addition, the 'unity version' wad for Arrival should change the bonus map's name to Father Figure. With add-on modules, you get to overlay all the little changes to simulate other versions, without actually altering your base file.

Just fixed this. I'll be sure to look closer at the unity versions of the wads if I make any more that have add-on versions.

I updated Revolution and Rebirth with all the unused tracks in the midipack

 

 

 

GZDoom can play them via the console by specifying these lumps. Eternity probably can too.

 

Revolution's unused tracks are playable in all ports in my TV 1998 patch however; I filled out the rest of the soundtrack in the patch for IDMUS use, I tentatively call it an unofficial 'plus' version of the official TV1998 midi pack. I actually use it with Cleimos II, in absence of a midipack for it.

 

Speaking of TV 1998...

 

As usual, its got the DEHACKED/GAMEINFO/UMAPINFO minimums, integrates the midipack, and as mentioned above, adds new tracks to fill all 35 music slots. Also comes with a music-only version of the midipack that can be played with *any* Doom 2 pwad without interference from embedded DEHACKED

 

Mars War

 

The anti-Microsoft megawad; the original release of Mars War, the one Xaser saved from oblivion, had three maps missing due to mappers block, and they were filled in by edited versions of Maximum Doom maps Moonbase and 11 Bones and even Heretic's E1M1. The final release replaced them with original maps. Ive added the edited cut versions as bonus maps for historical interest. Also has a patch for said original release for those that still have it.

 

10 Sectors Duo

 

This is mostly a patch to bring Part 2 up to the level of the main megawad; like a lot of reject compilations, Part 2 was haphazardly thrown together and tossed out the door, no DEHACKED, no CWILV graphics, not even a way to access Map 31 and 32. So I added some unofficial names to them based off the wad filenames, made CWILVs for them, and used UMAPINFO to set Map 31 and 32 as mandatory secret maps that come after Map 15, like Eternal Doom and Hell to Pay. Since this patch now unbalanced the duo, I backported the DEHACKED/GAMEINFO/UMAPINFO to the original 10 Sectors, now they more closely match as a two-part Megawad.

 

Equinox

 

This old classic has received widescreen graphics, a castcall after Map 13 and unofficial level names partly taken from MtPain27's video. If anyone can fix Map 4's midi, please do so so we don't have to hear star wars-like music for a few minutes then near endless silence :p

 

Doom Junior and Project X

 

These are two really old Doom 2 megawads from a well-known mapper, a certain Mike 'Cyb' Watson, and I hear hes ashamed off these existing like so many are when remembering old early work from teenage years. Map 14 of Project X is one of the 'archvile ghost bug' levels, so be careful with gameplay mods or it might not work. Not sure if its on GZDoom's automatic compatibility either. As these are not covered on the Doom Wiki, I do not know if the classic 'deleted secret sector' bug is present in these levels, I'll do a thorough check later.

 

'The Best Wad Ever'

 

Like the above, this is a patch for a megawad by a well-known mapper; Matt Tropiano's debut Doom megawad, made when he was only 12 years old. Matt's levels are generally much better than the other guy's maps, and its quite stunning how decent these maps were for someone so young. Its no wonder hes still making great stuff to this day. You can only acquire this wad at https://mtrop.net/level-design-old.php, there is a similarly named wad on the idgames archive that is completely different.

 

The Trooper's Playground

 

One of the many older wads crippled by NWT and requiring a repackage for modern times. This patch fuses the main wad, the deathmatch portions, and the bonus level into one package. I was originally going to port this to the Unity port, but anything made with NWT bombs on it, sadly. This patch was sitting incompleted for over a year, I honestly forgot about it.

 

Suitcase of Gor

 

An incomplete remake of Doom 2, this is Tarnsman's earliest work I think. Ive cleaned up the level progression with UMAPINFO, as it was released incomplete and with empty mapslots. Now you can play to the end without console commands or playing through stock maps.

 

Thanks to my hospital time yesterday, I spent the rest of the weekend playing catchup, theres still more to finish up. I guess thats something for next weekend?

 

Significantly happier with how these came out compared to my last two.

 

TNT: Revilution

Widescreen TITLEPIC and CREDIT by me & xINFO lumps

 

Vanguard

Widescreen TITLEPIC and INTERPIC, whole bunch of widescreen statusbars (I decided to edit all of the ones that were compiled by Devalous in one of their posts because of how the Vanguard statusbar is just an edit of the vanilla statusbar), & xINFO lumps

Edited September 4, 2023 by Firebert : Updated using Devalaous's tntr_fix.wad fixes

@Firebert Dropbox says the Vanguard files have been deleted

3 minutes ago, s4f3s3x said:

@Firebert Dropbox says the Vanguard files have been deleted

Should work now

I had the Vanguard widescreen stuff from the widescreen thread downloaded but entirely forgot about it honestly. I wonder if its possible to fuse Sawdust with Valiant as an extra episode? Same with Summer of 69 and Sunlust. Sometimes these dont work out as you'd hope, like my early attempt at adding the old ending maps from Jenesis, Jimmy changed some textures at some point and not everything lined up.

 

Also, I actually got an angry complaint for patching bad megawads like Doom Jr, heh. I did that one for fun and because its a historic interest thing, we all know how good Cyb's later work would be. Noone is meant to play it seriously and enjoy it, ha.

why would someone complain about that lol?  "grr, you spent your own time patching a wad that I have no reason to download or care about, this makes me mad for some reason, it affects me somehow"

I think the general idea was that old and low quality things should be buried in the past or something, something I disagree with. Sure, some of the stuff ive patched isn't all that amazing, but I personally find it fun to see the progression of authours as they get to the place they are at today. Doom Jr for example, the overwhelming majority of Maximum Doom that ive played is better in every way, and the three megawads ive already patched on that disc, are also better in every single way. Even the first episode of Illusions of Home. But I still had some fun blowing through the maps in a day and knowing that this is the guy who did Void and Massmouth. His next project, Project X, is better in every conceivable way and you can see his skill grow. Its the same reason I played pcorf's Twilight Zone, Kristian Aro's 20 Days in Hell and Skillsaw's Sector 666.

 

Anyway, I'll be working on posting a few more from my backlog tomorrow if nothing goes wrong. Expect Darkening E1 and E2 at the very least.

On 8/27/2023 at 4:13 PM, Devalaous said:

If anyone can fix Map 4's midi, please do so so we don't have to hear star wars-like music for a few minutes then near endless silence :p

 

The Compendium WAD has a fixed version of it

Very good stuff @Devalaous! Thank you so much for making these. Just finished CleimosII in Crispy with your patch. Looking foward for more. <3

On 8/27/2023 at 4:13 AM, Devalaous said:

Mars War

 

The anti-Microsoft megawad; the original release of Mars War, the one Xaser saved from oblivion, had three maps missing due to mappers block, and they were filled in by edited versions of Maximum Doom maps Moonbase and 11 Bones and even Heretic's E1M1. The final release replaced them with original maps. Ive added the edited cut versions as bonus maps for historical interest. Also has a patch for said original release for those that still have it.

 

 

 

I realize this can easily be done with SLADE (and I might just do this myself), but for the people who don't feel like opening it up just to do this, could you add a patch that restores MAP02's module music to the original version? The one in Mars War uses an edited version that changes some of the instruments to supposedly make it "less annoying" but in my ears at least, it sounds considerably more obnoxious than the source .MOD.

I added that alternate track for you, redownload to get it. Hadephobia is also updated with a widescreen statusbar. I had a look at @Firebert's Revilution patch and it so closely mimics the way I do things, im kind of surprised, most people put their own spin on these :p I guess that means I do a nice clean readable format? I'm not surprised that a cleaned up Dehacked is missing from it; Revilution's Dehacked explodes WhackEd4 for some reason. Can probably clean it by hand, but eh, I generally don't want to touch that wad for SOME reason :D Hopefully the remaining graphics get widescreened in later updates (HELP, INTERPIC, BOSSBACK. I'm aware the HELP screen is a weird meme) Thanks again for doing this!

 

I'm feeling pretty sick today so ive been struggling to stay focused on completing the back log in my folder, but heres some more:

 

Whitemare Duo

Whitemare's MAPINFO was broken and was formatted like a ZMAPINFO, while entirely omitting an entry for Map 32; this is why in my Whitemare playthrough, I had to open the console and type 'changemap map32' to play the second secret level, as Map 31 only exits to Map 32, but without a definition, GZDoom just kicked me out to Map 16. This is now fixed, and I replaced the entire MAPINFO with one that more closely reembles the old MAPINFO syntax. THe old MAPINFO lump I fixed and converted to a ZMAPINFO, and I updated the EMAPINFO too. As always, the DEHACKED is cleaned up, theres a GAMEINFO and UMAPINFO (which disables all the intermission texts in Woof/DSDA), and the secret enemy has an obituary in GZDoom now. Whitemare 2 was simply given the light touchup some of the other wads have, with cleanup to the DEH file and GAMEINFO/UMAPINFO

 

Darkening E1 and E2

This pair of wads has been given the UMAPINFO treatment, and now they have the Deathmatch levels as a second episode, and the game ends at the end of the singleplayer portion. Widescreen statusbars are also included

 

Hellbound

All Hellbound needed was its widescreen graphic wad, and a light touchup to its Dehacked

 

Herian 1&2 is almost ready to go, it needs its INTERPIC widescreened (Wadmodder Shalton missed this lump in both Herian 1 and 2) and it needs my custom midipack for it to be finished. Herian 2 has a GAMEINFO in the _ws wad, as its a ZDoom-only wad, no point doing Dehacked/UMAPINFO there

Making up for lost time yesterday, and because im going to be drugged like crazy tomorrow for a hospital appointment that im NOT looking forward to, thus nowhere near in a state to muck about in SLADE

 

Heroes 1 and 2

Two megawads assembled out of assorted wads, kind of like a 'best of 94/95' compilation. Its got Dario Casali, Mark Klem, Dr Sleep and all sorts of 1994 legends that appeared all over. I took a long time on this one to give it ZMAPINFO and EMAPINFO in addition to UMAPINFO, just for the 'author/creator' fields so I could credit each and every wad source in GZDoom/Eternity.

 

Obituary

Freed from NWT and bad porting, I hope! Ive integrated the deathmatch maps as an extra episode, and enabled the old remnants of Map 1 and 11 that were always in the wad but unplayable due to missing some entries, as well as giving the custom enemies some obituaries for GZDoom. It also comes with a second version of the fix that has the weapons patch integrated fully; choose one or the other! As a bonus, it also contains widescreen graphics by Quill.

 

WadPak Series

The last singleplayer megawad found in the Doom 1 section of Maximum Doom, I made this at the same time as the New Doom patch. I held off on it though, because I know theres other collections on the disc on the Doom 2 side. Like Heroes and New Doom, it properly credits all map sources and adds generic names for the wads that never had level names in the text files. I'll just update the zip later with other 'wadpaks'

EDIT: Now has WadPak1A, WadPak2 and WadPak4 patches, as well as patches for the Doom 2 conversions of 1A, 2 and 4 found on Maximum Doom's disc

 

The Artifact & Welcome to Hell

Before he did Eternal Doom levels, Paul Schmitz was known for these two connected 3-map minisodes. Artifact has been released in three versions so far Doom, Doom 2 and a Boom remake. This patch has support for the Doom and Doom 2 versions of Artifact, an its sequel, Welcome to Hell. E1M3/MAP03's broken secrets are also fixed, allowing 100%

 

The Final Gathering

A five level collection of levels, this is a rather famous old levelset that appears on the Top 100. The level names are taken from One Man Doom's review

 

UCA Series

I kept seeing pieces of this pop up in the Maximum Doom stuff, but never every level. This a collection of them that lets you play through all the levels in sequence as a minisode. It runs off the first wad (UCA.wad), and has the other levels included

 

Wasteland Series

Like the above, I would regularly see some of these maps show up seperately. The fourth map is kind of a lost treasure now that iirc isnt on the archives, so to avoid people being unable to finish the assembled series, ive included levels 2 3 and 4. Run it off DEADBASE.wad

Edited November 27, 2023 by Devalaous

Ancient Aliens

xINFO lumps, widescreen assets by Quill and statusbar by NightFright

 

Valiant

xINFO lumps, more widescreen assets by Quill and NightFright, Sawdust added as a selectable episode

 

Sunlust

xINFO lumps, widescreen assets by Terraformer9x and stautsbar by Dwars, Summer of '69 added as a selectable episode

 

let me know if I totally screwed anything up

Edited November 25, 2023 by Firebert : Added E4 Pic to Valiant.

Ive just finished doing the Claustrophobia series, and theres an odd issue with Claustrophobia 2 that im not sure how to fix; Map 34 seems to ignore the ending commands in the UMAPINFO and goes to Map 1 without an intermission screen in both DSDA and Woof, while the exact same script works in Map 34 in the first Claustrophobia. If I use the integrated version, it goes to Map 16 properly, but skips the intermission screen. Is this due to Map 34 having an IoS ending?

6 hours ago, Firebert said:

Ancient Aliens

xINFO lumps, widescreen assets by Quill and statusbar by NightFright

 

Valiant

xINFO lumps, more widescreen assets by Quill and NightFright, Sawdust added as a selectable episode

 

Sunlust

xINFO lumps, widescreen assets by Terraformer9x and stautsbar by Dwars, Summer of '69 added as a selectable episode

 

let me know if I totally screwed anything up

I tested the AA patches and didn't see any problems. Not really an objection, but I'm not too sure about labelling the levels with the format ExMy like in Ultimate Doom.

I do know that skillsaw created AA as an episodic experience and I already had a patch to restore this feature in ports like DSDA (from the UMAPINFO appreciation thread I think), but I decided to keep your xINFO lumps as a separate file because I look at AA as a unit where the MAPxx format is more suitable. It's a matter of taste I guess, maybe one day I'll be in the mood for loading up with alternative labels. Thank you for the patches!

BTSX does the ExMx labelling out of the box, so its not that strange for me to see it in Ancient Aliens, which is coded to be episodic from the get-go. The only reason it isn't episodic in Boom ports is because it came out before UMAPINFO took off. Fun fact with AA though; I had already made my own patch for that too, I just hadn't packaged it together yet, totally slipped my mind. I even forgot about it 90% of the way through when I finished Episode 2 and got 'Text Here' for the intermission, as I'd put the unfinished UMAPINFO lump into the wad zip for testing, then 100% forgot about it (This is also how I found out that GZDoom dev builds seem to have UMAPINFO as higher priority than MAPINFO if detecting both, and is a big reason why I now have UMAPINFO as the only standard xINFO moving forward)

Now if only there was a separate GZDoom patch for Invasion Contamination and The Upper Decks that integrates the animated prologue and epilogue to GZDoom's FMV format feature.

 

Wish to see the same with the Hell 2 Pay intro movie for GZDoom's FMV format feature as well.

On 9/6/2023 at 12:07 AM, Devalaous said:

BTSX does the ExMx labelling out of the box, so its not that strange for me to see it in Ancient Aliens, which is coded to be episodic from the get-go. The only reason it isn't episodic in Boom ports is because it came out before UMAPINFO took off.

 

I don't think our views are necessarily at odds with each other, and I do know that stuff like AA and Scythe 2 were released before UMAPINFO became the standard. One important difference between AA and BTSX, however, is that BTSX 1 for instance was specifically labelled as a "Shareware Episode" of a series of planned megawads, so it's much easier for me to think of, say, 'Tough Skin River' as E1M24 instead of just MAP24 of a standalone megawad.

 

The whole discussion comes down to preference, it's a really minor thing and the stakes are very low. Not a criticism in any way. There are valid ways to argue for both views. I might feel differently about it tomorrow and say "you know what, maybe Valiant and AA are somehow in the same universe, so Valiant is Episode 1 and AA is Episode 2 of a series of megawads". Perhaps the example is extreme but you know what I mean.

You also wont actually see the ExMx in anything in GZDoom unless its what the map marker itself in the wad is named, as GZDoom does not respect the Label field in UMAPINFO. It kind of ruins the experimental patch I have lying around that turns Ultimate Doom into a Doom 2/PSX Doom style campaign, and Doom 2 into an episodic one.

14 minutes ago, Devalaous said:

You also wont actually see the ExMx in anything in GZDoom unless its what the map marker itself in the wad is named, as GZDoom does not respect the Label field in UMAPINFO. It kind of ruins the experimental patch I have lying around that turns Ultimate Doom into a Doom 2/PSX Doom style campaign, and Doom 2 into an episodic one.

 

My port of choice has been DSDA for about 9 months now, so I'm not terribly concerned about this specific part unless of course we're talking about a project which requires GZ like the Doom CE conversions. Though it's inconvenient, I guess you have to compile the ZMAPINFO for GZ users.

Hello there! I got this script error in tntr_fix :

 

 

7 hours ago, Auron said:

Hello there! I got this script error in tntr_fix

Are you using the updated version? Devalaous provided a polished and functional version of the fix wad not too long ago. I tested it and it seemed to work on my end.