Dooming The Bar: City 17
Dooming the Bar is a Doom mod project centered on bringing the journey through 2000-2001 era City 17 in the Half-Life 2 leak to life in GZDoom. It was conceived as a means of learning the engine and level design tools better - primarily in service of the ill-fated Deluge project (you can read about it on my page).
The first release of DTB occurred on New Years Eve 2020 and consisted of four levels. They were designed to be as accurate to the source material as possible, at the expense of any real gameplay or progression. By the time I revisited the project in August 2021 I had changed my tune as by that point I was more familiar with the Half-Life 2 leak and was wiser about how unusable a lot of the leak content is in its default form. Thus a great deal of artistic licence was required if I was to recreate the whole City 17 journey.
Dooming the Bar: City 17 released as a full set of all ten levels (eleven if you count the title map) in November that year. The original four levels were heavily iterated upon and the rest were built new from scratch. My experience with Deluge over the course of 2021 gave me the skills I needed to realize my ambitions far better than I did in 2020.
However there were still some missing elements. Decorative props that weren't level geometry-based, NPCs and moving vehicles were still absent from the V1.0 release. These were to be rectified in the V1.1 update that eventually released on 16th May 2022.
By May the Deluge project had collapsed and I was out of contact with anyone who could have helped me with the vehicles, but I knew enough of GZDoom to add the decorative props and NPCs. The NPCs ultimately had to remain static - as they are in the HL2 leak - due to complications with getting their movement paths to work.
After V1.1 released I decided to retire from Doom modding and left the project there. I do not intend to come back and produce a V1.2.
The opening alleyway. The usage of sloped floors, models, 3D skybox and dynamic lights instantly inform the player that this is not the standard Doom mapping fare. (Map: C17_01)
The Industrial District of City 17. (Map: C17_01)
An abandoned office now used for ramshackle living space. (Map: C17_01)
Under the raised railway with a garage to the left. (Map: C17_01)
Inside the garage. A Combine APC is currently being serviced. (Map: C17_01)
In the HL2 leak there would ordinarily be child workers here. They were swapped out for Stalkers to give them more screen time. (Map: C17_01)
The Stenographer's Chasm. (Map: C17_01)
Citizens awaiting entry into the Terminal Hotel while the Consul spews propaganda at them. (Map: C17_02)
The Terminal train station. (Map: C17_02)
The Terminal Plaza skyline. (Map: C17_02)
The infamous "clock" or "pendulum script". What was in the leak a complex series of entities is represented here by an animated texture, flashing light and looping sound effect. (Map: C17_02)
The lower road under the Terminal Plaza. The older prototype levels of City 17 are known for their verticality. (Map: C17_02)
Stalkers sorting through garbage while Cremators watch over them. (Map: C17_02)
In some cases it was necessary to create entirely new areas to suit the new level progression route. (Map: C17_02)
In the leak this location was the basis for a piece of concept art drawn by the game's art director Viktor Antonov. (Map: C17_03)
A Metrocop checks in with his superiors. (Map: C17_03)
In the leak this area contained extremely basic level geometry and required a thorough makeover. (Map: C17_03)
A construction site. (Map: C17_04)
Citizens taking shelter from the acid rain. (Map: C17_04)
The view from a partially-constructed high rise office block. (Map: C17_04)
Inside an unfinished building awaiting a better plastering job. (Map: C17_05)
In the streets of the Consul Plaza. (Map: C17_05)
The Consulcast. (Map: C17_05)
A shop in the Consul Plaza. (Map: C17_05)
The C17MP police station. (Map: C17_05)
Buildings overlooking a canal connecting the Consul Plaza to the Manhack Arcade. (Map: C17_05)
A back-alley staircase leading to the Consul Plaza's walkway network. In the leak this location was lit very uninterestingly and thus required a lighting revamp. (Map: C17_05)
They're here for you. (Map: C17_05)
An alleyway in the Consul Plaza. (Map: C17_05)
The Manhack Arcade entrance. (Map: C17_05)
Inside the Manhack Arcade's atrium. A working escalator transfers patrons to the arcade machines below. (Map: C17_06)
Citizens eagerly lining up to play Hackman in the arcade itself. (Map: C17_06)
A maintenance back room in the arcade. (Map: C17_06)
Out the back of the Manhack Arcade, with an abandoned radio station. (Map: C17_06)
Inside the radio station. (Map: C17_06)
The City 17 underground network, starring a man and his trash. (Map: C17_07)
An oily water spill underground. (Map: C17_07)
A drainage canal with many steam pipes. (Map: C17_07)
Dark underground passages proved to be an excellent place for adding more Stalkers around. (Map: C17_07)
Steam tunnels. (Map: C17_07)
The basement of Dr. Kleiner's lab. (Map: C17_08)
Interior of Dr. Kleiner's lab. (Map: C17_08)
Exterior of Dr. Kleiner's lab. No such location exists in the leak and was entirely made from scratch for DTB. (Map: C17_08)
Teleporter chamber of Dr. Kleiner's lab. (Map: C17_08)
An iconic location to those familiar with the leak. (Map: C17_B1)
With all the Metropolice present, there will be no getting your Free TVs here. (Map: C17_B1)
An alternative Manhack Arcade, based on the earliest iteration in the leak. (Map: C17_B2)
The towering wall to the Combine's "inner city" was subject to a concept art by Valve artist Dhabih Eng. (Map: C17_B2)
Inside the older Manhack Arcade. (Map: C17_B2)
Upper floor of the older Manhack Arcade. (Map: C17_B2)
Back-alley loading area of the older Manhack Arcade. (Map: C17_B2)
The main menu background level of the mod. (Map: C17_B3)
Release trailer of V1.1.