Doom 64 TC

Doom 64: Absolution, also known as the Doom 64 TC, is a total conversion created in 2003 by a team lead by Samuel Villarreal (Kaiser). It is based on material extracted from the Doom 64 ROM file, and uses a customized version of the Doomsday engine.

Doom 64 TC has since been superseded by Doom64 EX, which was also developed by Kaiser and features a more faithful representation of Doom 64, but does require a ROM of the game to run.

Levels
Doom 64 TC provides the 33 original levels of Doom 64 for the Nintendo 64, with small differences, although in a slightly different order. There are 38 levels total, including six which are entirely new. New levels are marked with an asterisk. Though not listed, it is also possible to play the cinematic title map by typing "setmap 1 39" in the console..


 * MAP01: Staging Area
 * MAP02: The Terraformer
 * MAP03: Main Engineering
 * MAP04: Holding Area
 * MAP05: Tech Center
 * MAP06: Alpha Quadrant
 * MAP07: Nukage Facility *
 * MAP08: Research Lab
 * MAP09: Outpost Omega
 * MAP10: Final Outpost
 * MAP11: Even Simpler
 * MAP12: The Bleeding
 * MAP13: Terror Core
 * MAP14: Dark Citadel
 * MAP15: Altar of Pain
 * MAP16: Eye of the Storm
 * MAP17: Dark Entires
 * MAP18: Blood Keep
 * MAP19: Watch Your Step


 * MAP20: Spawned Fear
 * MAP21: The Spiral
 * MAP22: Breakdown
 * MAP23: Pitfalls
 * MAP24: Burnt Offerings
 * MAP25: Unholy Temple
 * MAP26: No Escape
 * MAP27: Forbidden Deeper *
 * MAP28: Shadows Watching *
 * MAP29: The Lair
 * MAP30: The Absolution
 * MAP31: In The Void
 * MAP32: Cat And Mouse
 * MAP33: Playground
 * MAP34: Crisis *
 * MAP35: Hardcore
 * MAP36: Doom64 Museum *
 * MAP37: Death Labs *
 * MAP38: Hectic

Due to the special nature of MAP38: Hectic (releasing the jump cheat), this level cannot be accessed via change-level cheat ("IDCLEV38" during gameplay or "warp 38" at the Doomsday console).

MAP36: Doom64 Museum and MAP37: Death Labs function like a small self-contained episode, accessible via the "PLAY DEMO MAP" menu entry.

MAP39: Intro was used for the intro in earlier versions of the TC, but in the last version is ununsed.

The Outcast Levels
In addition to the original levels, Kaiser released the Outcast mapset in 2005. The set includes six maps, one of which is secret, and two new Demon Keys, which enhance the Unmaker in different ways. The green demon key, found only in the secret level, produces small sparks which float up, levitating whatever is underneath it. The red demon key allows the player to use Hell Time, which is similar to the effect of the same name in Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil. There is also "radar", the same as a computer map, but with object indicators.


 * MAP40: Destroy
 * MAP41: Stepwalk
 * MAP42: Portal
 * MAP43: Darkened
 * MAP44: Traps
 * MAP45: Nebula
 * MAP46: Radiant

Team members

 * Samuel Villarreal (Kaiser): levels; graphics; implementation
 * Elbryan42: music; graphics; sounds; organization
 * Melfice: levels
 * Tony Lindberg (Ghostpilot): graphics
 * Footman: graphics
 * Fredrik Johansson: palette
 * Lutarez: levels
 * The_Doomer: levels

New monsters
Doom 64 TC adds four new monsters to the existing Doom 64 cast.

Heavy Weapon Dude
Doesn't appear on the original levels, but they're added to some levels. This is the only cut monster which used in the TC.

Nightmare spectre
The nightmare spectre is a green ghoulish spectre with 500 health, similar to those which appear in the Sony PlayStation version of Doom.

Nightmare cacodemon
The nightmare cacodemon is a more powerful form of cacodemon found only in the Doom 64 TC. They are bright red rather than brown, three times as fast as the normal cacodemon, and nearly twice as tough. Nightmare cacodemons fire three times every time they attack. Unlike the other nightmare demons, they are also more resilient to pain than their regular counterparts. This makes the chainsaw less effective against them. They have 700 health.

Their speed and rapid attacks in succession make them deadly adversaries, and their transparent bodies can make them hard to spot in some areas.

The chaingun, plasma gun and BFG9000 are effective counters against them, although the latter should only be used if they come in swarms. They are far too fast to hit with rockets.

Marine bot
MAP39: Intro includes an appearance of the green marine bot, unlike the original Doom 64 introductory map. These marines have a lot of hit points.

Outcast adds 3 new monsters to the existing monster cast.

Acid Demon
Green demon with 200 health.

Nightcrawler
Grenade throwing Arachnotron with 750 health. The grenades explode after a short time, not upon contact. They can infight with normal Arachnotrons.

Stalker
Green Lost Soul, which fires Mancubus fireballs and have the ability to teleport. They have a chance for firing homing fireballs, like the revenant. They have 200 health.

Technical issues, bugs and flaws
The F10 hotkey to quit the game is not caught correctly, activating an invisible Windows main menu which pauses the 3D rendering.

Not all rendering effects and engine behaviors could be copied exactly. Hint monitors (computer screens showing a different camera's view for a few seconds) are not supported, sector movements differ (changing the playing strategy e.g., in the secret level "Hectic"), and the appearance of lighting effects differs (most noticeable for the rotating light column at the end of MAP01: "Staging Area").

Trivia

 * The engine used by Doom 64: Absolution is a customized version of the Doomsday Engine, version 1.7.13, running the JDoom plugin. It is presented as a separate executable, called Absolution.exe, and is required to run the total conversion. The latest release version of Absolution.exe carries version number 1.1.05.