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Once Upon A Time - Doom 3

Single Player First Person Shooter Maps and Mods for Half Life 1, 2 and 3

About

A different time, a different world… There you are. In the middle of nowhere. Your jeep just broke down next to the old complex which was invaded by enemy forces a long time before the eighth war. You need a new vehicle to escape… and they know you’re here…

Author’s Note:

“There are quite a few marines running around the level with a riot shield to protect themselves against gunfire. Use your wits to deal with them, hitting their shields won’t hurt them! The level also supports different difficulty settings which affect ammo, health and armour lying around. There is always enough, just look around a little bit. And don’t forget to sprint when it’s necessary! If you look around carefully you may find secrets in both in Singleplayer and Multiplayer.

This level is not ROE compatible, but I’m planning to do a RoE conversion there, especially because of multiplayer. The multiplayer version came first. It was always planned as a multiplayer level. The singleplayer mission was meant to be a bonus, a training mission so you could get used to the layout. It turned out quite well.”

Basic Details

Title: Once Upon A Time

File Name: once_upon_a_time.zip

Size : 35.52Mb

Author: Thomas Creutzenberg

Date Released: 19 May 2005

Download: PlanetPhillip Filecloud Server

Screenshots

Click on the thumbnails below to open a medium size image. Images courtesy of 3D Gamers Edge and Filefront.

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About this entry

Published:: 25th October 2006 at 10:20 am

Category:: Doom 3, Single Player Mods and Maps

Responses:: 6 Comments (add)

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3D Gamers Edge Syndicated Review

Rating: 99

Award: 3D Gamers Edge Gold Award Winner!

Good:
- Superior architecture.
- Exceptional layout.
- Award excellent atmosphere.
- Exceptional challenge.
- Superior non-stop action.
- Excellent texture use.
- Awesome ambient sound.
- Fantastic pacing.

Bad:
- Read the review

Review:
Download this now. This is by far the best single player add-on for doom 3 to emerge from the scene to date. From the uniquely crafted opening load screen to the closing text at the end, every last detail of this map oozes with professionalism. The story is simple enough: your vehicle has broken down, and you need to acquire another, which lies at the other side of the complex. What happens between these two events is some of the best gameplay you could ask for set in an amazingly well crafted level.

The action is the highlight of the gameplay - and it is challenging, fun, and relentless. as in Samuel Villarreal�s map: the refuelling station, the concept of luring the player into a false sense of security before throwing a surprise attack at them is thrown out the window in favour of a near non-stop onslaught of demonic forces. There is no time to relax and enjoy your surroundings as you journey onward; you will be under heavy fire at all times. Developing this style of gameplay requires a high level of skill in terms of providing the player with appropriate items such as health, ammo, and weaponry. Not enough, and the player is frustrated. Too much and it becomes boring, thoughtless attack. The distribution of items in this level is near perfect. Health packs are scarce enough to make sure you pay attention to your health score, but not so scarce that you need to keep reloading. Weapons and ammo are provided with enough thought to keep you well-armed, while not overloading you with tons of high-powered artillery. What this creates is perhaps the most enjoyable pacing i have experienced in a doom 3 level outside of the expansion pack.

The action and challenge are perfect, and could lead the player to want to run through this map without a care for the game world it is taking place in. lets face it: gameplay of this calibre could take place in boring square rooms, and still be fun. However, just the opposite is presented. The architecture, texture choices, and layout of this level are so incredibly professional, and so amazingly detailed, that I could not find a flaw. a minor drawback of this futuristic base-style of map is that the colour tends to be drab and grey, but I didn’t really notice this until after I had finished the map and went back and looked at the screenshots I took. the new textures (of incredibly high quality) combined with the lighting and fantastic ambient ‘music’ make this level so immersive and moody that I was drawn right in and never became bored or detached enough to find complaint. this level is so ‘alive’ with motion, lighting, sound, and action that it never ever feels bland despite the lack of colour. And, once you reach the outdoor area, you are treated to a spectacular courtyard that makes up for the cold dreariness of the base itself.

My complaints are few, and not worth detracting from the score of this map. the only downside is the lack of a real plot. There is no use of the PDA, and no humanity in the gameplay. I enjoy a good story when I play a game such as doom 3. it fleshes out the overall experience and makes me care about what i am doing and why i am doing it. the only story here is - your jeep breaks down so you have to kill demons until you find a new method of transportation. It is better than no story at all - but not by much.

That aside, this level is virtually flawless. I tip my hat to you, Thomas. For a first release from a designer I had never heard of - this level is breathtakingly good. No fan of spd3 should miss out on this incredible free add-on level.

Copyright:
This review was written by Tron and first appeared on 3D Gamers Edge and is republished by express permission.

Syndicated Review 25th October 2006 at 10:22 1

3D Gamers Edge Syndicated Review

Rating: 99

Award: 3D Gamers Edge Gold Award Winner!

Good:
- Superior architecture.
- Exceptional layout.
- Award excellent atmosphere.
- Exceptional challenge.
- Superior non-stop action.
- Excellent texture use.
- Awesome ambient sound.
- Fantastic pacing.

Bad:
- Read the review

Review:
Download this now. This is by far the best single player add-on for doom 3 to emerge from the scene to date. From the uniquely crafted opening load screen to the closing text at the end, every last detail of this map oozes with professionalism. The story is simple enough: your vehicle has broken down, and you need to acquire another, which lies at the other side of the complex. What happens between these two events is some of the best gameplay you could ask for set in an amazingly well crafted level.

The action is the highlight of the gameplay - and it is challenging, fun, and relentless. as in Samuel Villarreal�s map: the refuelling station, the concept of luring the player into a false sense of security before throwing a surprise attack at them is thrown out the window in favour of a near non-stop onslaught of demonic forces. There is no time to relax and enjoy your surroundings as you journey onward; you will be under heavy fire at all times. Developing this style of gameplay requires a high level of skill in terms of providing the player with appropriate items such as health, ammo, and weaponry. Not enough, and the player is frustrated. Too much and it becomes boring, thoughtless attack. The distribution of items in this level is near perfect. Health packs are scarce enough to make sure you pay attention to your health score, but not so scarce that you need to keep reloading. Weapons and ammo are provided with enough thought to keep you well-armed, while not overloading you with tons of high-powered artillery. What this creates is perhaps the most enjoyable pacing i have experienced in a doom 3 level outside of the expansion pack.

The action and challenge are perfect, and could lead the player to want to run through this map without a care for the game world it is taking place in. lets face it: gameplay of this calibre could take place in boring square rooms, and still be fun. However, just the opposite is presented. The architecture, texture choices, and layout of this level are so incredibly professional, and so amazingly detailed, that I could not find a flaw. a minor drawback of this futuristic base-style of map is that the colour tends to be drab and grey, but I didn’t really notice this until after I had finished the map and went back and looked at the screenshots I took. the new textures (of incredibly high quality) combined with the lighting and fantastic ambient ‘music’ make this level so immersive and moody that I was drawn right in and never became bored or detached enough to find complaint. this level is so ‘alive’ with motion, lighting, sound, and action that it never ever feels bland despite the lack of colour. And, once you reach the outdoor area, you are treated to a spectacular courtyard that makes up for the cold dreariness of the base itself.

My complaints are few, and not worth detracting from the score of this map. the only downside is the lack of a real plot. There is no use of the PDA, and no humanity in the gameplay. I enjoy a good story when I play a game such as doom 3. it fleshes out the overall experience and makes me care about what i am doing and why i am doing it. the only story here is - your jeep breaks down so you have to kill demons until you find a new method of transportation. It is better than no story at all - but not by much.

That aside, this level is virtually flawless. I tip my hat to you, Thomas. For a first release from a designer I had never heard of - this level is breathtakingly good. No fan of spd3 should miss out on this incredible free add-on level.

Copyright:
This review was written by Tron and first appeared on 3D Gamers Edge and is republished by express permission.
Jazz man 26th October 2006 at 04:03 2

This Doom 3 mod looks More then Epicly Orgasmic, It’s off the Orgamics Scale (Is there such a device?) Anyway, Downloading, playing, and enjoying it.. Over and over..
Jazz man 26th October 2006 at 10:14 3

Ok. I tryed this. I just couldn’t stop staring at the detail of the level. (Including the little gadgets you can operate [I love doom3 computer systems =D] ) Monster placement makes it seem more of a biological accident then a total allout demon summoning by a handy teleporter. you run into mostly Z-men then a demon. There is use of a custom music,sound, and computer voice system that completes the effect that your not on mars.. Finally, A tip. The use of the complex’s Barrel distrubution system is advised, as sometimes an exploding barrel is more handy then a shotgun shell.
fragmaster 26th October 2006 at 19:12 4

by far the best doom3 sp map ive ever played in both level design & combat the end fight is truly memorable.
It maybe 1 map level but its so massive.
Stef 6th November 2006 at 10:18 5

The perfect level to play everything is present atmosphere, eyes candies all put together in a non nightmare experience…recommended
Booman 22nd March 2007 at 01:01 6

Once Upon A Time Review

Once Upon A Time is an outstanding Doom 3 Mod filled with suspense, clever architecture, and tricky action sequences…
I absolutely loved this mod!
If Thomas could make a series of maps with a great story I would buy it as an expansion pack.

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