Catacomb 3-D

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Catacomb 3-D
Single-player

Catacomb 3-D (also known as Catacomb 3-D: A New Dimension, Catacomb 3-D: The Descent, and Catacombs 3) is a

Gamer's Edge label, released in November 1991. The player takes control of the high wizard Petton Everhail, descending into the catacombs of the Towne Cemetery to defeat the evil lich
Nemesis and rescue his friend Grelminar.

Catacomb 3-D is a landmark title in terms of

player's hand in the three-dimensional viewpoint, and an enhanced version of its technology was later used for the more successful Wolfenstein 3D. The game's more primitive technological predecessor was Hovertank 3D
.

Production

The origin of the games is

creative director), Adrian Carmack (artist), and Robert Prince (musician). The game was programmed using the Borland C++ programming language.[3]

Catacomb 3-D screenshot

id Software's use of

Ultima Underworld (still in development at Catacomb 3-D's release). Conflicting accounts exist regarding the extent of this influence, however. In the book Masters of Doom, author David Kushner asserts that the concept was discussed only briefly during a 1991 telephone conversation between Underworld developer Paul Neurath and John Romero.[4] In contrast, Paul Neurath has stated multiple times that John Carmack and John Romero had seen the game's 1990 CES demo, and recalled a comment from Carmack that he could write a faster texture mapper.[5][6]

Catacomb Adventure Series

Catacomb 3-D was followed by three games, in the so-called Catacomb Adventure Series. They were not developed by id Software but internally by

Flat Rock Software through their own web store and via GOG.com. Flat Rock have also released the source code for the games under GNU GPL-2.0-or-later in June 2014 in a manner similar those done by id and partners.[7] This has led to the creation of the source port Reflection Catacomb, also called Reflection Keen due to shared support for Keen Dreams, and ports all of the 3D Catacomb games to modern systems.[8] Another project, CatacombGL, is an enhanced OpenGL port for Microsoft Windows and Linux.[9][10]

The credits for the series are Mike Maynard, James Row, Nolan Martin (programming), Steven Maines (art direction), Carol Ludden, Jerry Jones,

Wolfenstein 3D engine.[12]

The series also introduced an item called crystal hourglasses, which would temporarily freeze time and allow the player to stage shots to destroy enemies upon the resumption of normal time, pre-dating later bullet time features in games such as Requiem: Avenging Angel and Max Payne.[13]

Catacomb Abyss

Main article: Catacomb Abyss

Catacomb Abyss is the sequel to Catacomb 3-D, and featured the same main character in a new adventure: since his defeat, some of Nemesis' minions have built a mausoleum in his honour. Fearful of the dark mage's return, the townspeople hire Everhail to descend below and end the evil. The environments are more varied than in Catacomb 3D, featuring crypts, gardens, mines, aqueducts, volcanic regions and various other locales. It was the only game in the series that was distributed as shareware, released by Softdisk in 1992.

Catacomb Armageddon

Catacomb Armageddon screenshot

Catacomb Armageddon is the sequel to Catacomb Abyss, only now set in the present day. The levels feature towns, forests, temples, torture chambers, an ant colony, and a crystal maze. It was developed by

Froggman
under the title Curse of the Catacombs.

Catacomb Apocalypse

Catacomb Apocalypse is the final game in the Catacomb Adventure Series. It was set in the distant future, accessible via time portals, and mixed

Froggman
under the title Terror of the Catacombs.

Reception

According to John Romero, the team felt it lacked the coolness and fun of Commander Keen, although the 3D technology was interesting to work with.[14] Computer Gaming World in May 1993 called The Catacomb Abyss "very enjoyable" despite the "minimal" EGA graphics and sound.[15] The magazine stated in February 1994 that Terror of the Catacombs's "playability is good, almost addictive, and offers bang for the buck in spite of its lackluster" EGA graphics.[16] Transend Services Ltd. sold over 1,000 copies of the game in the first month of its release.[17]

References

  1. Gamasutra
    . 24 June 2019.
  2. ^ History - Catacomb Crypt
  3. ^ "The Catacomb Abyss (Source Code)". 1992.
  4. ISBN 0-375-50524-5
    .
  5. ^ Mallinson, Paul (16 April 2002). "Feature: Games that changed the world: Ultima Underworld". Computer and Video Games. Retrieved 10 February 2009.
  6. Salon. Archived from the original
    on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  7. Phoronix
    . Retrieved 6 June 2014.
  8. ^ "Catacomb 3D series and Keen Dreams - DOS based games coming over to the Amiga". Indie Retro News. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  9. ^ "Ancient history: Catacomb 3D goes OpenGL". Realm667. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
  10. ^ Liam Dawe (4 January 2023). "Classic 1990s series Catacomb lives on with the CatacombGL source port". GamingOnLinux. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  11. ^ The Apogee FAQ – What's Apogee's relationship with Softdisk?
  12. ^ The Apogee Legacy 12# – Mike Maynard, 3D Realms News, 27 March 2006
  13. ^ Cobbett, Richard (5 January 2013). "Saturday Crapshoot: The Ultimate Shareware Games Collection, Vol 1". PC Gamer. Retrieved 15 June 2018.
  14. ISBN 978-0472051915
    .
  15. ^ Miller, Chuck (May 1993). "Dungeons Make Me Dizzy" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. p. 46. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  16. ^ "Taking A Peek" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. February 1994. p. 214. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
  17. ISSN 0967-8220
    .

External links
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