Back to Saturn X E1

Screenshots:

Information:

• Project Name: Back to Saturn X E1: Get Out Of My Stations
• Game: Doom II
• Engine Needed: Vanilla
• Game Type: Singleplayer/COOP
• # of Maps: 25
• # Contributed: 1
• Status: Released
• Release Date: 03/09/17

Description:

Back to Saturn X is a Vanilla-compatible multi-part ultra-wad™. The map set will consist of three separate episodes, each varying in theme and difficulty. The project is being spearheaded by esselfortium and has numerous, hand-picked contributors from all across the Doom community. The project uses an entirely brand-new texture set created almost entirely by esselfortium; it is not using any stock vanilla texture resources of any kind. There are Doom 64, Quake, Alien Vendetta, and Plutonia influences both in the new texture set and in the style of maps being created. In addition to new maps and new textures, there are also numerous new graphics and new music coming from many skilled members of the community.

Episode 1: Get Out Of My Stations is the first episode in the BtsX project. After a ton of testing (and procrastination, from what I hear, hahaha!) Back to Saturn X E1 officially released on March of 2017.  On June 25th, 2020, it was released as an official add-on for the 2019 Doom re-release under the name “Better Texturing with Startan X”.

I contributed a whopping single map for BtsX E1 – MAP15: Tricyclic Looper. Tricyclic Looper started out as a speedmap in an effort for me to create something short and easy for the beginning of the episode. However the map turned into a much larger beast, with nonlinear progression and lots of claustrophobic encounters. Since it takes up the MAP15 slot, there is also a secret exit in the map. Finding this secret exit requires the player to find a secret area along with a secret key. One thing I wanted to focus on with this map was explosive barrel usage. While working on the map, I had a realization that I hardly ever used barrels in my maps before. So I plopped a bunch around in key areas (particularly around low-level enemies) to add an extra layer of fun and strategy to the map.

I really wanted to contribute at least 2 maps per episode, but unfortunately the E1 map list filled up before I could make another. If I had got the chance, I would have tried to make something much smaller and more action packed, perhaps something suitable for later on in the mapset. I had taken a few design cues from Doom 64, so its likely that I would have made something arena-like, similar to some maps you encounter in Doom 64.

Check out the Episode 2 and Episode 3 pages as well!