===========================================================================
Archive Maintainer      :
Update to               :
Advanced engine needed  : ZDoom (GZDoom/Skulltag recommended)
Primary purpose         : Solo play
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Title                   : DOOM: Threshold Of Pain - Special Edition
Filename                : scl_tops.wad
Release date            : 18th May 2014
Author                  : John Gourley AKA scalliano
Email Address           : scalliano@hotmail.com
Other Files By Author   : The 667 Shuffle, Jaguar Doom TC, 32x Doom TC
Misc. Author Info       : Also makes music under the alias "JG"

Description             : Threshold of Pain is a ZDoom episode which
			  attempts to recreate the look and feel of
			  Midway's famous PSX conversion of Doom whilst
			  maintaining the core elements of the PC
			  versions and a level of difficulty PC players
			  would expect.

			  PSX Doom fans will know that ToP gets its name
			  from the final level of PSX Ultimate Doom. Like
			  many others, my first proper Doom experience
			  was on the Playstation, so when fenderc01
			  released the PSX TC last year I was excited to
			  get to play these levels again, only this time
			  with PC controls! Whilst he did an amazing job,
			  I found it to be way too easy, even on UV
			  setting. This was not fender's fault, merely a
			  testament to the compromises Midway had to
			  make in bringing such a game to a console.

			  ToP attempts to redress the balance whilst
			  maintaining the brooding atmosphere that Midway
			  brought to the game. It is NOT a PSX TC - many
			  features which were missing from the Playstation
			  remain, so expect to encounter the Archvile!

			  In light of the soon-to-be-released Threshold II,
			  this "Special Edition" features graphical
			  enhancements only made possible by recent
			  advances in the GZDoom engine that Threshold II
			  uses, all with the goal of giving the game a more
			  accurate PSX look and feel, and also to aid
			  consistency between the two mods. Also features
			  a swathe of bugfixes that never made the cut the
			  first time around!

			  New features include:

			  Tons of coloured lighting, but nothing too
			  garish.

			  The infamous PSX burning sky, given a ZDoom
			  makeover.

			  PSX/N64 audio.

			  New Weapons - the Minigun and the Unmaker.

			  The PSX Final Doom SSG.

			  A new powerup - the Doomsphere. 

			  New monsters - the nightmare class monsters
			  from PSX Doom and Doom64, a handful from the
			  Realm667 Bestiary and ZDCMP, plus a new final
			  boss...

			  A few other PSX/N64-style gameplay tweaks.

The Story		: After saving humanity from the threat of 
			  extinction more times than you could remember and
			  establishing yourself as the only one to call
			  upon when the UAC screwed things up again, it was
			  only a matter of time before things got personal.

			  The UAC's newest and best-equipped facility,
			  stationed in a secluded mountain range on Triton,
			  Neptune's primary satellite, had only gone 
			  operational six months ago. The new UAC bigwigs
			  had declared that all security issues had been
			  addressed so that the dimensional portal 
			  research could be recommenced, and that nothing
			  would go wrong this time. The facility was only 
			  accessible from the air and was heavily guarded
			  by marines with the heaviest artillery the UAC
			  could provide, so they could at least give the
			  impression that they had it all under control.

			  Last night all transmissions from Triton ceased.

			  The breifing was all too familiar to you now.
			  The final few broadcasts were of the sounds you'd
			  become accustomed to; screams, growls, tearing of
			  flesh, gunfire, more screams, and so on.

			  Only this time, there was something else. Just 
			  before the end of the last broadcast, there was a
			  voice. It did not sound human, but you could
			  hear it clearly.

			  It was calling your name.

			  Seems like they want you dead. As if you didn't
			  know that already. And you're not the type to
			  back down from a challenge ...

			  Marine Command has sent you up there to clear out
			  the facility. You're being dropped into the
			  surrounding mountains to secure the perimeter and
			  get inside. Once inside ... you know the rest ...

Additional Credits to   : Id Software for the Doom 1 textures 

			  Midway for the PSX Doom textures

			  Universal Studios for the title screen and menu

			  Aubrey Hodges for the PSX/N64 audio

			  Kaiser for sussing out how to get at the PSX 
			  resources in the first place

			  fenderc01 for the original fire sky and making
			  the PSX TC a reality

			  Raz for the PSX Final Doom-style SSG

			  lafoxxx for his remastered PSX audio

                          SkullTag for the Minigun and the Doomsphere

			  Eriance for the Doomsphere sprites

			  AgentSpork, Carnevil and Ghastly Dragon for the
			  Hectebus

			  Vader and Bouncy for the Lord of Heresy

			  Ixnatifual for his modified DECORATE code for
			  the Lord of Heresy

                          Nanami, Keksdose, Espi (RIP) and Ebola for the
			  Afrit

                          Vader, Ghastly_dragon and Keksdose for the
                          Bruiser Demon

			  Chris Neilson, DoomKn1ght and lafoxxx for the
			  Nightmare Spectre

			  Captain Toenail for the purple fireball sprites

			  Tormentor667, CaptainToenail, Ghastly_dragon,
			  Bouncy and Dreadopp for the Plasma Zombie

			  Tormentor667 for the UTnT cloud textures

			  Bouncy and Graf Zahl for the Chainsaw Zombie and
			  Nightmare Cacodemon

			  Eriance and Ghastly_dragon for the Guardian Cube

			  Xim, TheDarkArchon and Scuba Steve for the
			  Unmaker

			  Xim for the Unmaker Zombie

			  ItsNatureToDie for the centred Unmaker sprites

			  NiGHTMARE for the other (non-PSX) textures

			  JoeyTD and HellCatX for the Doomguy death sprites

			  Kaiser and Agent Spork for the Doom64-style
			  monster-fade code

			  Dutch Devil for the sprite set used by the 
			  Protodemon (DECORATE code and projectile sprites
			  by myself)

			  JG/CyberJG based on the Unmaker Marine by Xim,
			  the Source Guardian by Tormentor667 and Moloch
			  by ProjectAngel (DECORATE code and sprite edits
			  by myself)

			  Ed The Bat for his assistance in abandoning the
			  old KEYCONF format for the new weapons

			  CaptainToenail, Gez, Super Jamie, Vermil and ALMN
			  for their bug spotting. 

===========================================================================
* What is included *

New levels              : 12
New Sounds              : Yes
New Music               : Yes (see below)
New Graphics            : Yes
Dehacked/BEX Patch      : No
Demos                   : No
Other                   : No
Other files required    : No


* Play Information *

Game                    : DOOM2
Map #                   : Map01 through MAP12
Single Player           : Designed for
Cooperative 2-4 Player  : No
Deathmatch 2-4 Player   : No
Other game styles       : No
Difficulty Settings     : Yes


* Construction *

Base                    : New from scratch
Build Time              : Just over a year, on and off
Editor(s) used          : Doom Builder, Deutex, XWE, PSP5
Known Bugs              : None (yet)
May Not Run With        : Anything that isn't ZDoom or GZDoom.
Tested With             : ZDoom 2.3.1.1480, GZDoom 1.2.1.309


* Copyright / Permissions *

Authors MAY use the contents of this file as a base for
modification or reuse.  Permissions have been obtained from original 
authors for any of their resources modified or included in this file.

You MAY distribute this file, provided you include this text file, with
no modifications.  You may distribute this file in any electronic
format (BBS, Diskette, CD, etc) as long as you include this file 
intact.  I have received permission from the original authors of any
modified or included content in this file to allow further distribution.


* Where to get the file that this text file describes *

The Usual: ftp://archives.3dgamers.com/pub/idgames/ and mirrors
Web sites:
FTP sites:

KNOWN ISSUES

Coloured lighting is crap in software mode, but hey, what can you do?

There are a few texture alignment errors in software mode. I'm at a
loss as to what's causing them as they show up fine in GZDoom...

Wad file structure is a bit haphazard (I've kind of been adding stuff
as I go), but it works :)