Product Title: Perdition’s Gate for Doom2

Platform: PC
Developer: Wraith Inc.
Publisher: GT Interactive / WizardWorks
Primary Role: Everything

Links:

• Download Perdition’s Gate FULL version here!

My Contributions:

• Project startup, organization, and support.
• Project Management, build creation, writing, pretty much everything.
• Map01 – Single player level (layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine)
• Map02 – Single player level (layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine)
• Map03 – Single player level
• Map04 – Single player level (layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine)
• Map05 – Single player level (layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine)
• Map06 – Single player level (layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine)
• Map07 – Single player level
• Map08 – Single player level (This level was re-created in the Quake2 Vengeance add-on pack)
• Map09 – Single player level (layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine)
• Map12 – Single player level (1/2 of layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine, other half by Jimmy Sieben)
• Map11 – Single player level
• Map13 – Single player level (1/2 of layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine, other half by Mackey McCandlish)
• Map15 – Single player level (1/2 of layout by Mackey McCandlish)
• Map16 – Single player level (layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine)
• Map17 – Single player level (layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine)
• Map19 – Single player level
• Map20 – Single player level (layout by Bob and Tom Mustaine)
• Map29 – Single player level
• Map30 – Single player level
• Original music for Map01, Map02, Map03, Map07, Map10, Map11, Map13, Map17, Map18, Map19, Map23, Map24, Map25, Map28, Map32, Intermission music, and the title screen.
• Original textures for levels, various menu art, and 2 of the skyboxes.

How Perditions Gate came to be:

Perdition’s Gate started out as a full 32 level wad project started by Bob Mustiane (my Dad) and Tom Mustaine (me) in an effort to create another 32 level mission for Final Doom to go along with Plutonia and TNT. Since Final Doom was in testing and packaging stages over at id for a long time, I contacted Shawn Green (in charge of Master Levels and Final Doom at id) and he responded positively about another 32 level pack for Final Doom, so Dad and I were off!

A short time later, we were informed that the Final Doom window of opportunity had closed, so we quickly contacted Jim Elson at Wraith Corp. who was in the completion phase on Hell 2 Pay for Doom2, to be published by WizardWorks. It was decided that Perdition’s Gate would become a standalone project to be published by WizardWorks, and that some of the Wraith team would assist in getting the project to shelves quickly. The Wraith team consisted some of the best Doom level designers ever, Jimmy Sieben (aka EvilGenius) and Mackey McCandlish (aka Avatar). Jimmy and Mackey jumped on the project along with Jim and Perdition’s Gate quickly was wrapped up as one of the most fun Doom2 add-ons ever created. Thankfully, this wouldn’t be the last time that Jimmy, Mackey and I got a chance to work together, those guys also had a large hand in building levels for Scourge of Armagon, and of course, Hell 2 Pay by Wraith Corp.

Since WizardWorks was bought by GT Interactive a while ago, and then GT was bought by Infogrames, then Infogrames changed their name to Atari, it’s become impossible to buy a retail copy of Perdition’s Gate anymore. I’ve attempted to contact folks at those publishers with no avail in an attempt to be able to release Perditions Gate for free since the retail earning potential for that project is long gone by now. Hopefully sometime soon people can enjoy Perdition’s Gate for free, until then, check out the demo! (UPDATE: Somebody appears to have gotten permission to post the full version! See the link above)

View the Perdition’s Gate plot synopsis here.

Perdition’s Gate Full Gallery:

123456►

UAC HQ

Perditions Gate Map01 – UAC HQ:

The first level of Perdition’s Gate wasn’t designed until later in the game, since we wanted to have a somewhat “realistic” looking level, where you enter from a parking lot, into the UAC office complex, and finally off to the UAC research areas. Of course, “realistic” stuff in the Doom engine took quite a bit of imagination, so the theatre room, and the office area are a bit understated.

Bob laid this level out on paper first. During the layout phase I was able to leverage a few Doom wad tricks, had a goofy optical illusion at the entrance that simulates the sky dipping off into the horizon, also moving railing textures on lifts (fancy trick back in the Doom days), and finally a tower that is surrounded by stairs on all sides but still provides a panoramic view at the top. Also, the first episode of Perditions Gate used a multipart skybox to give a 360 sky view unlike the early Doom games.

This map was also a blast in multiplayer, lots of long range shotgun and rocket battles mixed with a bunch of fun areas to hide.

Screenshots from UAC HQ (click to enlarge)

UAC Complex B

Perditions Gate Map02 – UAC Complex B:

This map is one of my personal favorites for a number of reasons. I really like how the texture theme turned out in this map, actually – the marble textures on this level were created in Dpaint using a scanned marble bookend with a hand scanner. The deathmatch flow on this level is a blast – has a very Doom1 Episode1 feel to it for some reason even though the layout is very linear.

Not a lot of wad tricks in this level, just good old geometry and lighting. I really like the storage room in the middle south section of the map, and the blinking hallway leading to the outside area on the south east section of the map.

Screenshots from UAC Complex B (click to enlarge)

Recreational Yard

Perditions Gate Map03 – Recreational Yard:

This is a map that I just ran with one day, very little planning. During most of the development of my various Doom wads, I was at home sitting at my computer with a TV always on to my right, so just about every one of these levels, I can remember some specific episode of a TV show I was watching while working on the map. While working on this level, I was watching an episode of Airwolf, so you can see the room in the easternmost part of the level is ripped off directly from the Airwolf cave where they would launch the helicopter from.

No wad tricks at all in this level, although early on I did try to put a window texture in every window, unfortunately that was ridiculously slow and the number of windows got cut down significantly.

This map made for some fun deathmatch since the non-linear symmetrical flow with the large courtyard in the middle and lots of overlooking windows provided quite a few opportunities for players to get the drop on an opponent, then escape before any repercussions could be taken.

Screenshots from Recreational Yard (click to enlarge)

Storage Area

Perditions Gate Map04 – Storage Area:

During development, I really didn’t like this map for the longest time, it always seemed too cramped to me, and the flow was just off. Thankfully, after making a few small scale changes to the northern sections of the level, the cramped feel of the southern parts of the map became better balanced by the open feel of the northern sections.

I really liked the geometry at the start of this level, and locating the secrets in this map always seemed very rewarding.

No wad tricks in this level at all, I struggled to build a synchronized lighting effect in the northernmost hallway but eventually just gave up due to time.

The synchronized lighting effect is one of those Doom tricks I was never able to master, grrr…

Screenshots from Storage Area (click to enlarge)

Sub-Basement

Perditions Gate Map05 -Sub-Basement:

This level was a blast to work on. Bob laid out the initial flow on paper with the X shape in the starting area, flanked by a large ornate outside area and a maze of hallway to room heavy combat zones. A number of places on this map were built to emulate elements seen in Doom1 Episode 1 levels, also areas of Doom2 Map01.

I think my favorite trick on this level is the massive U-shaped fast-door just south of the player start that contains 22 baddies behind it, every person I ever watched play this level jumped away from their desk when this huge door would shoot open and a load of former human grunts and sergeants would start hammering down on them. Lots of door opening, lift lowering or raising baddie reveal tricks on this map.

Screenshots from Sub-Basement (click to enlarge)

Pages: 1 2 3 4