Strange Aeons



Strange Aeons is a 3-episode partial conversion for Ultimate Doom developed and released by Impie in the summer of 2015. It features 27 new maps and a large number of new weapons, powerups, and monsters. Many elements of the wad are based on the works of horror author H. P. Lovecraft, in particular "The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath," and as a result the megawad is very atmosphere-heavy.

Releases
Strange Aeons was planned as a four-episode megawad for ZDoom, with the main story concluding in Episode 3. On July 22, 2015 it was released as a 3-episode beta. Episode 4 has been changed to a bonus episode, the development status of which is on hiatus.

Story
The player controls the nameless Traveler, a Miskatonic University researcher who has recently lost his son David in a tragic accident. To cope with his loss, the Traveler has begun an obsessive translation of the Kadath Tablets, which appear to have a strong connection to the treacherous Dreamlands. After seeing visions of his son alive and well in a utopian world, the Traveler embarks on a dream quest, traveling across the cosmos through his dreams in the hope of reuniting with his son.

Episodes
Each of the three episodes takes place in a unique world that is drastically different from the others. The Shattered City has a "broken world" motif, with buildings and rock formations drifting through empty space. The Stagnant Fortress features rusted, dilapidated buildings of the future filled with toxic sludge, crushers, and conveyor belts. The Land That Time Forgot is a prehistoric world with a vaguely Egyptian/Aztec theme. Occasionally these worlds bleed into one-another, such as during the boss battle at the end of World 1, where the Traveler is suddenly transported to World 3.

Weapons and Powerups
Strange Aeons modifies a couple of the original Doom weapons, and replaces most of the weapon sounds.
 * The pistol has new graphics and sounds, but behaves the same.
 * The most notable change is the AK47, which replaces the chaingun and fires slightly faster.
 * The plasma gun is replaced by the Yithian Lightning Gun.
 * The 'Scepter of Souls is added to the arsenal, behaving like a mid-range chainsaw that requires no ammo.

In addition, three new powerup artifacts are present.
 * Ammo Sphere gives the Traveler unlimited ammo for a short time.
 * Rage Sphere doubles the firing rate of all weapons.
 * Mutant Sphere turns the Traveler into a towering hulk that smashes monsters with his fists, but cannot pick up items.

Monsters
The entire bestiary has been replaced with modified creatures from Realm667. The most common are the Devils, highly aggressive Imp variants; fast and highly aggressive shotgunners; giant Leng Spiders which can outrun the player and kill him rapidly; and the Grell, which is difficult to hit and can poison and slow the Traveler at inopportune moments. Several Cthulhu Mythos gods make appearances as boss monsters.

Other notes

 * Impie based the project on the first "Doom clone" he came up with following his first exposure to Doom in 1994.
 * The partial conversion comes with a pdf "instruction manual" which describes the story, new additions, and asset authors.