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Title : SERENITY v2.01
A full replacement for the third episode of
Doom (which means there are 8 levels - sorry,
no bonus level in this one, but you won't miss
it...).
In this re-release we have refined some of the
alligning a bit, corrected one minor mistake
in level 6, where the elevator that lead you
to the yellow key wouldn't go down again. In
this way, you could get trapped if you took
this elevator when you hadn't found the yellow
key.
Also, a few graphics-patches have been added.
IMPORTANT : Do NOT move this level to another episode,
since you can't finish our last level if it
isn't played as being E3M8!
Filename : SERENITY.WAD (previously: NATHRATH.WAD)
Authors : Bjorn Hermans and Holger Nathrath
Email Address Hermans :
[email protected], or
[email protected]
Misc. Author Info : Two guys with too much spare time...
Description : This set of 8 levels has been made with the
word quality in mind. It's Mind here, not
Muscles! Many days and weeks have gone into
testing, designing and fine-tuning. Although
this isn't a hack&kill kind of level, you will
get your share of bloody action (especially
when playing "Ultraviolent").
Some of the levels may be a breeze, others may
be a real pain in the *ss. But remember one
thing: YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE THE CHEATS!!!
There are a few very though places, but they
can be done. When it seems you can't get
around them without using the cheats, you may
be doing it the wrong way and/or you may have
missed one or more (valuable!) hidden rooms
(which contain power-ups, weapons and/or ammo).
Hidden rooms, by the way, can always be
recognized in some way (different texture,
different light-level, etc.).
To give you a rough estimation of how long it
will take you to finish this level: it took
us more than half an hour to finish SERENITY on
"Hurt Me Plenty". But then again: we know them
inch by inch...
Additional Credits to : DEU (5.2GCC and 5.21), BSP (1.2x) and their
many contributors; Id (no comment); all those
people who have been so kind to send us
remarks and feed-back about our previous
wad-file (NATHRATH); every WADmaker whose WAD
has been a source of inspiration for the rooms
in SERENITY;
And all those many others we have forgotten.
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* Play Information *
Episode and Level # : E3M1 through E3M8, see below for descriptions
Single Player : Yes
Cooperative 2-4 Player : Yes (although untested)
Deathmatch 2-4 Player : Yes (although untested)
Difficulty Settings : Yes, there are three.
The "Ultraviolent" setting may be a bit to
easy for the real die-hards. On the other
hand (and with a lot of practice), someone who
normally plays "Hurt Me Plenty" might be able
to finish SERENITY in "Ultraviolent" too.
New Sounds : No (See "Other Releases"!)
New Graphics : Yes, although most Wad-managers won't spot
them. We are especially very pleased with the
graphic-patches in the last level (you'll see
why).
All patches work just fine in both 1.2 and 1.666.
New Music : Yes (a different song for each level)
Demos Replaced : None
* Descriptions *
Level 1 Description : "A Warm Welcome"
This first level is a warm welcome into the
mysterious world of Serenity. It gives you a
idea of what you might encounter in the
following levels.
Level 2 Description : "Doom - The Movie"
This level includes some nice, spiffy looking
structures like a big archway, a plaza, and a
movie theater ("Aliens" seems to score
big-time at the Doom Box Office).
Level 3 Description : "R You Lonesome?"
Hell isn't supposed to be fun, is it?
Level 4 Description : "All The Marbles"
Here you will go through an underground
section that has more in it than meets the
eye... There is a maze also, but it has been
kept simple (?) enough to keep it from getting
boring.
Level 5 Description : "Dungeons Of The Dark"
A level of considerable size. It's dark. It
scares. It puzzles.
Level 6 Description : "I'm Here. I'm There. Stairs Are Everywhere"
If you hate lots of stairs & switches, this
level sure is Hell for you! You can finish
this one in lots of ways. Be smart: take but
one way, and that is the RIGHT way!
This level, just to reassure you, is the only
one that makes this heavy use of switches,
stairs and lifts. We just wanted one level
that had it, and this is it.
Level 7 Description : "Big Time"
The name says it all!
Level 8 Description : "Church of The Poisened Minds"
Bring enlightment to all those lost souls &
sinners that you encounter here. Stand firm,
and you will ultimately find there is a Heaven
in Hell...
**Spoiler**
The barrel-puzzle you will probably encounter,
may seem like it can only be solved by using a
cheat. This is however not necessary. You will
have to play around to get it (or perhaps
we're just overestimating this one, YOU tell
us!).
* Construction *
Base : 4 new levels from scratch, levels 2, 4, 5, and
7 have been releases previously under the name
of "Nathrath's Fab Four". These last four
levels have been re-edited and re-vamped with
the help of the comments that we received
about it. Level two is the one that has
undergone the most changes.
How long it took us?? Two months is probably
the most rough estimation we can make on that
one... We don't know that for sure, but than
again: we don't care 8-)) (it's fun!!)
Editor(s) used : DEU 5.21 and 5.22GCC, plus BSP 1.2x and IDBSP.
Known Bugs : There is one minor HOM in level 4. It can be
seen as you open the door that needs a red
key. Doom 1.666 may not have this, but we
are not a 100% sure of that.
There is one Moire-effect when you go
'underground'. We can't do much about it. Doom
1.666 shouldn't have it, as it no longer poses
the limitations on ceiling height that cause
the Moire.
* Philosophy *
Appearance/Design : A lot of effort was put into making things look
good. Especially the last level deserves to
be given a second look after having killed all
the monsters (except that FINAL one...).
Not everything has a purpose. Some things are
just there for artistic or architectural interest.
We think that is one of the things that made the
original DOOM levels so good.
Traps : All levels have been designed in a way that
they do not contain places where you can get
trapped (at least not without providing you
with some kind of 'emergency exit').
Yet, should there be a place where you do get
stuck, and cannot get out except by using
'IDSPISPOPD', then let us know!
Secret Areas : You do not have to get into the secret areas
to complete a level. Keys or switches to open
doors or areas are never located in secret areas.
All secret areas/doors are marked in some way
(for instance by giving it another light
level, or a slightly different texture).
Monsters : We prefer quality over quantity, but on the
other hand we also want a WAD that offers lots
of action. We have tried to find a good balance
between quality and quantity.
We did make an exception though for
"Ultraviolence". Here there are an awfully lot
of monsters, and it should give those who like a
lot of fragging & fighting the challenge and
action you want (so we hope...).
* Copyright / Permissions *
Authors may use this level as a source of inspiration to build
new levels. Please don't copy parts of this WAD, and leave us
unmentioned in your description file...
You MAY distribute this WAD, provided you include this file, with
no modifications. You may distribute this file in any electronic
format (BBS, Diskette, CD-ROM, etc) as long as you include this file
intact (free copies of a CD-ROM that contains this WAD are warmly
welcomed by the authors 8-)
* Where to get this WAD *
You can get this, and all our other WADs, at our FTP site:
ftp.hermans.org in the doom/ directory.
More information about this level can be found at
http://www.hermans.org/doom/serenity.htm
Information about our other DOOM releases can be found at
http://www.hermans.org/doom
* Other Releases *
Besides this WAD, we have two other complete new episodes to play. These
are called SERENITY II aka ETERNITY, and SERENITY III aka INFINITY.
If you like SERENITY, you will most definitely like ETERNITY and
INFINITY...!
We have also released a sound-WAD (SERSOUND.WAD) with the complete collection
of our favourite Doom sounds. And we have released two DOOM II WADs.
Once again: check our WWW pages for more information!
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Enjoy!
Bjorn Hermans & Holger Nathrath.
