Release information

• Category: Individual map
• Release date: 11 January 2024
• URL: Slipseer page

This map is quite steeped in history. Back in 2009 or so, I'd already completed a remake of E2M5 when I was approached by Ijed and asked if I wanted to build more maps like it for an upcoming project called 'RemakeQuake', which sooner or later led to me being put in charge of episode 2 and signing up for four additional maps.

The RemakeQuake project had some issues. It introduced many features that divided the community, including new physics, replacement sounds and rebalanced weapons. A three-map demo was released in 2011 that was subject to a great deal of vitriol, and led to various internal disagreements before one of the team leads exited the project some time after. The remaining members sought to repurpose the rest of the content into a reduced project titled 'Schism', but interest and activity eventually fizzled out. I felt partly responsible for the eventual failure, and it didn't sit well with me given I'd signed up to help with multiple big projects in the past only for my contribution levels to slowly fizzle out. This time it felt worse given the hundreds of hours I'd put into my unfinished maps, and they sat gathering dust on my harddrive for over a decade, like skeletons in the closet reminding me of past failures.

In 2023 I thought "enough is enough" and starting putting together plans to finish everything up, and this E2M6 remake was first of the list given it was nearest to completion. Or so I thought... it actually took five months' work fixing it up to modern standards and converting it to work with the Arcane Dimensions mod. It received mostly warm reviews on release, but on hindsight (and following a long discussion over it with the creator of Arcane Dimensions) there are many things I'd change; it's too reliant on symmetrical designs and layout, the start cavern is badly designed (too large, bad gameflow, too much dead space), and the boss battle is rather generic and repetitive.

I'm currently working on a full episode of the unfinished RMQ maps, which will hopefully feature a revamped version of this.