The Vision is a short three to four level total conversion for Doom 2 by WildWeasel, using ZDoom 2.0.96x features to provide realistic weaponry and frightening otherworldly beings. It takes place mostly in the fictional rural desert town of Plain's End, Arizona.
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From The Desk of Reed Warner
3rd August, 1992 - I've nearly run out of ideas for my latest book deal, "Scorch." I'm barely three pages in to the climax, and suddenly I've run dry. I'm supposed to have the manuscript in to the editors by October - how can I when I can't write a bloody word?
5th August, 1992 - The light fixture in my attic where I do my writing came loose today. I don't think it's anything to be scared of - I recall the wiring being rather tight up there, so if anything, the wires will catch it if it actually falls. Regarding my inspirations, I took the day off of writing today and watched "Her Alibi" - while it did take my mind off of writing and the stress of work, it didn't help my writer's block very much.
6th August, 1992 - How long am I going to stare at this accursed piece of paper?! What good is killing a tree if one cannot come up with a constructive reason to put a pen to the results? What I've written today looks like nothing more than a children's book. It is cliche'd. It sounds like a nursery rhyme. I could attempt to publish it on its own as part of a coffee table book - but who would buy that, if they're expecting a mystery about an arsonist?
7th August, 1992 - I may be on to something. Jack Ferris has a run-in with the mafia and has to...no, no, NO! This is a police thriller, not a film noir! You've got to--*pen strokes trail off as if Reed has been hit in the head*
Later
I don't know what happened just now. I may have been out for hours, or perhaps only a few seconds. Nothing seems to be missing, but it is somewhat darker than usual. It looks like the light fixture above has come out finally, and it seems the wire did not catch itself as I suspected. The force of the wire snagging itself managed to jostle the lightbulb loose, causing it to careen down on my head. I may have sustained a serious head injury...but that is not as important as what I saw while I was out on my desk.
I saw an old town. Like a ghost town from the old Westerns, except perhaps a bit more sophisticated. There was a bank...a few old houses...a town hall, perhaps. I remember this town from when I was a child, but there was something forbidding about the way this town had shown itself. It seemed about one thousand years older, the way the dust had collected.
I'm struggling to remember the name of that old town. Maybe going through my late father's photo albums would tell me. Writing? Forget about writing - my own sanity is at stake.
10th August, 1992 - I've found it! An old family photo of me, my father, and my aunt Pristine...on the back is an old scrawl of my father's, reading "The old farm at Plain's End - August the seventh, 1974." I can't have been more than five years old at the time this picture was taken.
But why did I have that dream...? Maybe my subconscious is trying to tell me something - perhaps I could gain inspiration by taking a return trip to the old farm.
14th August, 1992 - I've arrived at Plain's End after a long drive and several stops to ask directions. My car no longer bears the sleek black appearance it used to; now bearing a dull tan from all the dust. I shall have to stop at a car wash on the way home.
It's strange, though - why is there nobody here? It seems as if the town was built only yesterday, despite the one crumbling building in the middle. Wait...it's Sunday, isn't it? Drat, I should have brought my calendar. perhaps they're all at morning worship services at...hold on a moment now, was that church there before?The Progress
So far, I've decided on a texture set for the most part (CWB's texture set #1 with some pieces of other sets, like the Exit sign from NMN Corporation and a few that I made myself) and a new palette (I'm using a modified Powerslave palette, which suits CWB's sets quite well). I've got a majority of the first map (the introduction, which starts you off on the 14th of August when Reed first enters the town). I intend to make at least three more maps for this project, of small-to-moderate size. The emphasis is placed on atmosphere - even though the town is devoid of any human population, I want the player to feel as if something is watching him/her. I've picked a few music pieces as well to use (mostly from the Medal of Honor and Half-Life soundtracks; suspense music that is only played once and stopped afterwards). The weapons are also pretty much completed - the player gets a heavy-duty iron crowbar (Redneck Rampage - and this is about the best sprite-based melee weapon I've ever seen in motion), a Glock 17 handgun, a .44 Magnum revolver, a pump-action shotgun (Doom 64's with actual hands), and a Springfield '03 rifle. I purposefully didn't put any automatic weapons in there, because part of the thrill of fighting my monsters is that while they are very agile, you have to aim carefully - or else your time between shots could be your last moments.
I hope to actually complete this project - I purposefully made this a short one, so that I'll actually be able to do it.
Once I feel comfortable with the first map, I'll start posting screenshots and asking for help.