I mapped all 30 of the levels in Fears!

[whowasphone]

I have also written an entire guide for the game, with level passwords and secrets;

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/cd32/9...ars/faqs/80194

Did you know that the German version removes 4 enemies from the game that have a humanoid appearance? This is presumably to comply with the law against Gewaltdarstellung or "Representations of Violence" against human or humanoid beings. A weapon, the circular saw, was also removed. The German version was also the one ported to the CD32, which means that the only enemies in the CD32 version are giant floating heads.

Even compared to GLOOM, Fears is a very sluggish and harsh experience. Even a single enemy can do a lot of damage because their shots are hard to dodge, and the levels are full of inescapable pits. Despite this I really like this game. There is something about the brooding dark ambient soundtrack, the short draw distance, and the dull dark grey levels that really creates this feeling that you are trespassing in a forbidden place. The fact that the only inhabitants of this strange structure are giant floating angry faces, really gives the game this surreal, nightmarish atmosphere.

The levels do not have names, so to keep things interesting I have named them based on their location on the tower map or a specific feature in the level itself.

Some of the levels are completely surrounded by lava, in those cases the lava fields are huge and take up the entire map. For the sake of simplicity I only mapped the area around the level.

The game automaps but only in one colour. I fully explored all the levels, screen grabbed the maps, ran them through AI background remover software, and then coloured the maps by hand as bitmaps in MS paint. It probably took about 10 hours in total.

There are still a few secret areas that I did not find, according to the game. On some levels you can increase your "secret" score just by jumping in specific pits, so the secrets I have missed are probably very small.

I am more than happy to upload the maps to Hall of Light, if that is possible!

I hope it's interesting!

[abu_the_monkey]

good stuff!

I enjoyed playing this game 'back in the day' and creating new levels with the editor

[whowasphone]

Originally Posted by abu_the_monkey

good stuff!

I enjoyed playing this game 'back in the day' and creating new levels with the editor

Thanks! While I was making these, I wondered if it would be possible to recreate all of DOOM in FEARS! I know someone has made a FEARS inspired DOOM WAD. It's not quite the same as the original game though.

https://forum.zdoom.org/viewtopic.php?t=64539

I'm working on mapping GLOOM now, levels 1-7 are done! I'll post them as well when they are finished!

[Weasel Fierce]

Oh man, great work!

[Predseda]

I am very surprised someone has so much love for this game. I always disliked it. I mean nice graphics (especially the map screen with the castle), but thats all. Heads, heads, heads everywhere. I didnt even know about the german version limitations, but I have bought a german version rather than English because of the nice box artwork. English one has even the box ugly

[Reynolds]

Originally Posted by whowasphone

I'm working on mapping GLOOM now, levels 1-7 are done! I'll post them as well when they are finished!

I think if you load Gloom maps into the map editor of that game, then you can save up a lot of time. I believe that should have to work.

Well done on Fears maps!

[jotd]

Great work! shouldn't those be on HOL ?

[TCD]

Originally Posted by jotd

Great work! shouldn't those be on HOL ?

That's what I wondered I had to inquire which format to use. Stay tuned

[TCD]

Originally Posted by whowasphone

I am more than happy to upload the maps to Hall of Light, if that is possible!

Your maps have been added: https://hol.abime.net/512/gamemap Thank you very much
If it is possible it would be even better to have one image per level.

[Octopus66]

Awesome work

[Havie]

That's some serious dedication. Fears was so close to almost being a good game. Speed wasn't too bad and graphics looked good but the flaws ruined it for me. Turning was very slow and the way the baddies moved and attacked seemed all wrong.

[Weasel Fierce]

I have a soft spot for this game because as a few people note, it does have an odd sort of atmosphere to it even if it is really rather jank.
I suspect better sprites for the enemies would have gone a long way.

[Torti-the-Smurf]

Did the Game not include the "Official Strategy Book" ?

My (sealed) copy of Fears came with that Book.

Just curious ...

[Sneezeface81]

awesome work!

[whowasphone]

Thank you for the nice comments everyone, this really was a labour of love which I didn't think anyone else would enjoy!

I don't really know why I felt compelled to map the whole game, as people have said it is not a fun experience! My obsession is especially strange because it was not one of the CD32 games I had as a child, so I have no nostalgia for it! I think the desire to explore the hidden depths of the darkness of these abandoned levels appealed to me.

Originally Posted by Torti-the-Smurf

Did the Game not include the "Official Strategy Book" ?

My (sealed) copy of Fears came with that Book.

Just curious ...

Wow! Is there any chance you could scan that manual for us? I heard there was such a guide, but I could not find it online. It would be great to compare my maps with the ones in the book!

I also wonder if they named the levels and enemies in that guide! It would be great to know their "official names" because there is nothing in the game text.

I see they listed all of the power up and health locations. I didn't do that because I didn't want to clutter up the maps, but it would be nice to list where the 1ups and weapons are I suppose.

Originally Posted by TCD

Your maps have been added: https://hol.abime.net/512/gamemap Thank you very much
If it is possible it would be even better to have one image per level.

Thank you very much for adding my maps to HOL! It is an honor! I can provide the images per level if necessary. Should I post them here or email them to someone? By the way I noticed that the maps were listed on the AGA page, but you should know that I used the CD32 version, I doubt there are any differences but it is possible... Please let me know via PM. Thank you!

[TCD]

Originally Posted by whowasphone

Thank you very much for adding my maps to HOL! It is an honor! I can provide the images per level if necessary. Should I post them here or email them to someone? By the way I noticed that the maps were listed on the AGA page, but you should know that I used the CD32 version, I doubt there are any differences but it is possible... Please let me know via PM. Thank you!

My PM storage is pretty full (sorting the file server atm), so I hope you don't mind me answering here instead: It would be great if you could create per level images Either upload them to the zone, the HOL FTP (details here https://hol.abime.net/hol_faq.php?section=contributions) or in an email using the contact form: https://hol.abime.net/hol_contact.php
Thank you very much in advance

[Torti-the-Smurf]

Originally Posted by whowasphone

Wow! Is there any chance you could scan that manual for us? I heard there was such a guide, but I could not find it online. It would be great to compare my maps with the ones in the book!

I also wonder if they named the levels and enemies in that guide! It would be great to know their "official names" because there is nothing in the game text.

I am on Sick Leave now but i could Scan it next Week; if People want that; The Guide is in German tho.

[TCD]

Originally Posted by Torti-the-Smurf

if People want that

People do Would be great if you could scan the strategy guide

[amigang]

I always remember buying Fears over Gloom because it had the level editor, it was a foolish mistake, gloom was a lot better.

But I still remember the unique level editor that did with colour blocks the dark, the lower down it went. It was a bit of fun and likely the easiest 3D level maker I’ve ever used.

[malko]

Originally Posted by TCD

People do Would be great if you could scan the strategy guide

Und Deutsch ist <hum> kein <hum> Problem