After quite a bit of mapping, thinking, and PMing, I have made the decision to start a thread on a project that's been going on for about a month now, Duel Surge II. The original Duel Surge ultimately failed because of various things, such as some maps being lacking in gameplay, a loss in focus on Duels in specific, and a lack of a permanent server host. This could be considered an expansion of the original Duel Surge, however I'm trying to make it as sequel-like as can be. I have removed some of the less fun Duel maps, and I am raising my quality standards twofold. Now, I am going to answer some questions before they are asked.

Q: "Why didn't my map make it from DSurge to DSurge2? I'm not a bad mapper, am I?"
A: Well, it doesn't mean you're a bad mapper, it just means that your map did not meet my ridiculous new standards that I have just put in place. The most common reason for a dropped map was that it was better suited for regular Deathmatch than it was a Duel.

Q: "What else (besides new maps) have will DSurge2 have over it's predecessor?"
- Some of the original maps were improved
- There is a new Loserpic music composed by yours truly
- Semi-fixed weapon preferences. The pistol is now ranked below the Rocket Launcher and the BFG9000 is rated above everything else.

Q: "Can I make a map?"
A: You can try. Just don't be mad if it doesn't get in. To improve your chances, you should read both Deathz0r's multiplayer mapping tutorial and then my Duel mapping tutorial in the Tutorials section. You should also download UDMX and get a general idea what a quality map looks like (especially those in the rotation regularly used for duels). Also, take into account the semi-fixed weapon preferences (it is now sensible to place a Rocket Launcher in front of a start spot), and that you can use the textures HYWATER and HYNUKE for water and nukage.

Here is the maplist so far:




Here is the latest version of DSurge2: http://www.freewebs.com/srwagi/DS2_B3.pk3

I like the last picture good use of stalked sectors and the other maps look fun as well... im looking forward to this...

They're called stock flats.

This looks pretty tight. Keep up the good work. If you want to see multiplayer mapping at its finest, check out UDMX. We encourage you to use our techniques.

Nautilus: D'oh! Yes, you are correct. UDMX is probably the best Deathmatch wad out to date and I would strongly recommend taking inspiration from that. I'm clarifying in the topic post right now.

This is looking awesome so far.

You mentioned that improvements were made to some of the original maps. Does this mean that maps like Quickfire and Surge are less cramped? IMO these maps had good layouts but suffered from a lack of room to move around in some areas.

Also I might make a duel map for this if I can get off my ass and open Doom Builder for more than five minutes at a time.

These look pretty decent.

Those look like some pretty decent DM/Duel maps
Good luck with it, this will be on my "must try" list.

I'll possibly be making a map. Either improving my Containment Area map, or a entirely new one.

Revenant: So far the only improvements that were made were to Hydris and Human Cargo. Hydris now has a staircase leading from the middle room with the blue floor to the Southwest corner of the map. In Human Cargo, all of the Jump-pads are replaced with staircases to improve flow and prevent the crippling of online play. I do, however, agree about both of the maps you listed.
I was actually thinking of removing Surge entirely because, on top of the cramped corridors, it also has minuscule height variation. There is not a single ledge that you can't simply jump up to, so the level might as well have been flat. The level is also kind of ugly, IMO.


You are all welcome to map for this project. If you guys submit a map, the worst thing that could happen is that it might be denied. You are also all welcome to improve maps that are currently in the project and fix common complaints about the maps.

Then I'll improve Containment Area, submit it, then make a new map!

Very Nice.

And just because of this upcoming awesomeness, I am now currently creating a duel map. Will it be enjoyable? Probably not, but just for chuckles, let's see how far it gets.

wait, can i ask. what is this? the same mappack as Duel Surge 1, but just without the bad maps.

It seems to be like a fix to the first one, the bad maps have been removed and they are going to fill the rest of the slots that were removed with bran new maps.

Also I would love to take a slot for this but I need to get some of the other projects out of the way first. Might re-post once I get some other mods I need to finish off my plate.

Cool, a sequel! I don't have enough time to contribute anything :/. Good luck though, I'll be keeping my eye on this!

[EDIT]

Oh, and your more than welcome to change my original submissions any way you see fit if you want to re-include them. I don't have time to work on them myself

Duel Surge II? Oh noes! The foot of the big mappers is coming!
Great wad!

Icytux: Essentially you could say that. It's exactly what I had in mind, but I eventually decided to make more concessions to make Dueling more enjoyable. The one I'm hoping will attract the most popularity (aside from the more favorable maplist) will be the more sensical weapon preferences. More than half of the maps will be brand new before we re-hit the 20-map mark. After that, instead of adding new maps, they will instead kick other maps out of the pack. Probably the first ones in line to go are BlackPobla, Hydris (In retrospect, this is actually a pretty shitty map), Surge, and Quickfire; in no particular order.

All: If you aren't a terribly good mapper yet but still want to help this project out, I would highly encourage you to lobby to get this pack hosted on an official or permanent server (FR, Club, TX-Dallas, etc.) once it comes time to release this. I am absolutely terrible at sucking up to server admins.

Well my map is gonna be called "Frag Yard". Once I replace everything that I lost after DoomBuilder crashed I'll post some screenies.

Edit: Completed my map, here is some screenshots, and I'll PM you the wad Wagi.

Swweeeeeet Good job Whoo

Thanks.