An overview of Annie: Episode 2 news

In the beginning of the new year, I started working on episode 2 of my Doom II project called Annie. There will be some major differences compared to the first episode in terms of, well… about almost everything. Let’s have a quick overview of what the second episode is all about and go over some of the new features that will be implemented.

After defeating Annie for the first time in episode 1, you’re transported to the second planet where you must once again hunt her down. The main theme in episode 2 is an unholy combination of “Marble Hell” and UAC tech. Green is the main color throughout the whole episode but I’m planning to add some variation as well to keep everything visually interesting. I will be making use of a great texture pack as well as some new monsters from Realm 667’s beastiary to realize this vision. This will also be the first time that I will be making custom models in the form of props to complement the levels.

I will be using the Universal Doom Map Format this time, because it is, as I only recently discovered, so much easier to work with and will tremendously speed up the development process. The oppressive fog that was present throughout the whole of episode 1 will be toned down. This time I opted for a more subtle and natural glow that will set the tone for the map just as good.

Reflectiveness is a feature I always wanted to implement in my Doom maps but for some reason, never did. Things will be different for this episode, as I believe it can give some excellent results in combination with the new texture pack. They will be used sparingly however because too much of anything is never good.

While I definitely understand the importance of dynamic lights, I must admit they were not implemented very well in the first episode. They simply are not suited for every situation because of the way they work in GZDoom. I will make use of the glowing flats feature and the ability to easily change the brightness of individual lines, floors and ceilings, to make the lighting appear more subtle and natural as well.

I’m hoping to release the second episode by the end of this year. I already did a level design stream on my Twitch channel a couple of days ago and I’m planning to do many more in the future so if you’re interested to see how episode 2 will slowly come to life, you are always welcome to stop by and have a chat with me.