The Interview Part 2

Sematary: I understand that you have a new project coming out in the not too distant future called Ultimate TNT. Can you tell us something about it?
Tormentor667: Yeah, indeed. The Ultimate Torment & Torture will be a complete compilation of all my original Torment & Torture Episodes as well as a totally new episode,  the all new fourth episode "Havoc" and believe me if I say: This is the best Torment & Torture episode ever.... nothing more to say, just believe me ;)

Sematary: Are we going to see anything new in the Ultimate TNT as far as effects and such?
Tormentor667: In a certain way Torment & Torture was always a showcase of my skills for me and probably others. Every new TNT episodes had new effects and new tricks that haven’t been used in any other additional wad for Doom. Sure, UTNT isn't finished yet but anyway, I can already say that you will discover things that enlarge your pupils and make you think: "Damn, how did he do this!?"
All the original Torment & Torture Episodes, "Opening Abyss","Armory of Pain", "Damnation's Keep" and "Lost Episode : Fury of Fire"are included. But don't think that this is just a junction of all thewads with nothing new to expect! All the original episodes have beencompletely revamped. You will see more details, new architecture, newtraps and surprises and many other things that will jolly you along. So nobody has to worry if he already knows the originals inside out, I guarantee! ;)
 
Sematary: What was your inspiration for the tnt series?
Tormentor667: I had no source of inspiration when I started the first episode of Torment & Torture although I think that the Quake Texture Pack had a great influence on the look and architecture of my map. But this was different for all the following episodes. I mostly got inspired by newer first person shooter games like the Unreal series (TNT2 and 3) and Serious Sam (TNT4) but I think some areas and locations were even based on movie settings, unfortunately I can't remember the titles of these films anymore.

Sematary: When designing TNT did you ever consider leaving out the snow effect to make the wad more playable on slower machines or possibly releasing two versions of the map for those who would see a dramatic drop in fps?
Tormentor667: Oh yes, one of the big letdowns of Torment & Torture 3 was theweather effect. The effect added a great atmosphere to the outside areasin the first map but as well was a real fps killer, so I actually thought about completely removing the snow. But for the UTNT everything had to be perfect so I developed a different solution, a toggle switch, that activates/deactivates the weather effects just in case of slowdowns, so it is up to the player himself.

Sematary: Which authors in the Doom Community do you look to for inspirationwhen designing maps?
Tormentor667: Right now there is only one single person that really inspires me inthe way he designs and builds his maps and locations and that is Björn "Vader" Ostmann, currently working with me on "KDiZD" and as soon as this project is released, everyone will understand why. He is not only a talented sprite artist (as the Monster Resource Wad "Lord of Heresy" and "CacoLich" obviously proof) but as well a very talented and skilled mapper.
 
Jive wanted to ask some questions so here goes:
 
Jive: why do you think Doom is still alive, and so well alive?
Tormentor667: It's the community that keeps Doom alive. There are still hundreds of persons mapping for this game and even more reading the news portals, posting in the forums and supporting others that need help and that's the great thing about this game. Another reason I think is the simplicity (no, not AgentSpork's :)) of the engine and the way everything works. It's so damn easy to get used to the formats and build your first map with an editor but for all that you can create amazing
stuff with it in a very short time. Just take a look at DutchDevil, one of the newcomers and though one of the most skilled mappers these days.

Jive: The best pwad ever played?
Tormentor667: Definitely "Batman Doom"

Jive: The worst?
Tormentor667: Many, but I won't tell you ;) Every single wad implicates effort andI just don't want to handle other's work without any respect.

Jive: Do you plan a special work?
Tormentor667: None yet, UTNT and KDiZD are still special enough as well as
Stronghold ;)

Jive: Why do you like playing AND making maps?
Tormentor667: Because it still makes fun, both :)

Jive: What do you think about those so numerous abandonned projects in the Doom community? Are you aware of some unfinished ones which were (very) promising?
Tormentor667: For some it's very sad that they never got or never will get released like Doom Millenium or Enjay's Aspects (I still can't believe that this will never leave his harddrive damnit!!!!) but that's how it goes. The reason for this is something I have already encountered with my own projects: You start with a certain idea and everything coming to your mind concerning this idea motivates you and makes you think of "Damn, that's a good idea, let's create a new project, that will be great!" and the longer you work on this idea, the more problems pop out and therefore the ideas you had in the very beginning start to fade because they are technically impossible or too hard to implement. The next step is the motivation that gets reduced and in the very end, the project abandons.... sad but true for some projects!