The Lost Episodes

OK, I realize this isn't exactly made by id or had any actual input or whatever, but it's still one of the ground stones for our community, in some way.

Lately I've actually become quite into the Lost Episodes. Some of their graphics are actually great, it's just that as a unit the mission packs seem fragmented, mainly because of poor mapping and the odd very unorthodox graphic not really good for anything. But I'd gladly throw myself into the challenge of making a map set for the mod.

Would anyone in this community be interested, or just write their humble opinion about this controversial, often-overlooked much-hated game?

I like the art as well.

My experience with The Lost Episodes is through videos, I have never actually played it myself and I seemingly haven't missed that much.

There are some aspects of the "Archer" maps (that is, those from The Ultimate Challenge, mission pack 2) that are really great, and the graphical flow is more even in the second mission pack than in the first. No, I've never really played it myself, mostly just zoomed around maps and things like that - my experiences with the positive sides come mainly from The Golden Episodes, which use a lot of LE graphics as well as WSJ's mods, which take the groundwork from LE and make them a thousand times better.

The sounds - I don't know. Normally I'd say they're horrible, but after playing several mods where they seemingly fit in, I haven't got a problem with them. In Eisenfaust: Origins, they actually don't seem out of place, which they easily could've, had it not been 'the right environment'.

The second mission pack (Ultimate Challenge) is probably good enough to play once if you already have it. There are actually quite a few solid maps in it, IMO, just not enough to be worth money. However, avoid Return to Danger at all costs. It wouldn't even be a worthwhile game if it were free.

RtD us such a horrible mess of design that I wonder how they managed to sell UC for money at all. Unless UC was really done first, because then I might at least consider giving them more money to see their second mission. And, in the case of RtD, would feel incredibly ripped off and not buy from them again.

I find it so strange that people would actually pay for that shit, sorry to be so harsh. But... I mean, come on! It's maps and VSWAP and that is it! Totally outrageous. AReyeP and WSJ, each or together, could drink FormGen's graphic department under the table and still stop for a pint on the way home. I mean, really. Gosh.

I was never trying to compare either of them to SR, SR10YR, or EOD. They are clearly in a COMPLETELY different field as far as mods are concerned. (Though EOD has REALLY got to get a good SDL port.) Were any of these sold as official expansions, especially if they came out prior to Doom, I have little doubts they'd have blown people away compared to just about anything ID did.

All I'm trying to say is that if UC was a FREE download or maybe very marginally a CHEAPLY sold mission pack that came out in 1993, it would probably be looked upon as OKAY in either case. While RtD, well that just sucks regardless. Archer actually knows how to make a proper map, at least.

Let's remember that these came out in 1994, a year before id released the source code, 4 years before Chris Chokan was the first to hex-edit the EXE file, and 5 years before Nate Smith successfully compiled the source code. Heck, there wasn't even a proper world wide web back then, and it was all dial-up, 56k at best. It's not that amazing that a) people would pay for such a mission pack (which was how it was advertised) and b) that it wasn't of such great quality. We have 20 years of hindsight and thousands of amateur mods to choose from and compare these mission packs to. Perspective, people!

And maybe FormGen was not licensed / allowed to alter the Spear of Destiny engine for this project. So they were limited in what could be done.

You're right, Andy. It's just so hard to imagine in this day and age. Hmm... I remember the first time I played real Wolfenstein though. It took so long to download, my dad found this page... I can't recall. But it took 5 or 10 minutes - and it was only 1,44 MB or less! Insane to think of.

As I said, there are some aspects I like and respect about the Lost Episodes. The guards, while not very favorable mainly because of color, but also (for some) appearance, are an excellent 'conversion' - this must have been made from scratch. Maybe we should give those guys more credit than we do.

The stark levels, the odd sprites and the new sounds gives this a unique shape, it's almost the Bauhaus model of original Wolf, if you know what I mean.

The "Ultimate Challenge" packs probably are not very challenging. If the mapping isn't that great, at least make it difficult, I say. And yes, the sprites were a serious .