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dobu gabu maru

The DWmegawad Club plays: Coffee Break & Fava Beans & Double Impact

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MAP06: Checkpoint

All in all I was rather disappointed by this map. The large thing placement symmetry felt lazy and the mastermind fight was a simple case of SSG peek-a-boo. Even the final fight was symmetrical. It all felt a little bit rushed in the gameplay department.

Looks-wise I liked the curved lights in the pillars and there's some unusually fancy ceiling work that was quite nice.

I really am left without anything to say about this map. It's forgettable.

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Map 06 -- Checkpoint - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets
I don't have so much to say about this one, and I generally agree with most of the other comments thus far. The symmetry is the main thing holding this map back, probably. In truth, I'm really not necessarily so allergic to symmetrical architecture/layout as a hard rule, but symmetrical thing placement, and especially symmetrical monster placement (which this map has in spades) is wont to be much more problematic. Because the two sides of the checkpoint are essentially mirror images of one another (other than differing placement of tiny secret closets and that one armory has shotguns instead of chainguns) in both layout and monster/item placement, playing the second side generally just feels like padding put in to add length, to keep the map from being tinier than it already is. There is one mitigating factor to the symmetry in that the main switch on each side has a different effect--the first one gating in some monsters in the main area, and the second opening up the back wall to reveal the spiderdemon. You can take a lot of damage in just a few seconds at the outset on UV/pistol-start if you're not careful (generally better to kill the chaingunners and then ignore everything else to run for one of the side areas), which can add a little tension early on, but it clears up as soon as you've got control of one side. Actually fighting the spider is a bit of a makework affair, as others have noted--the most fun thing you can do with this is to ignore the first teleporting horde, and let the spider clean it up after you throw the second switch, but inevitably you'll end up playing SSG peekaboo with the big bitch, which is a mite anticlimactic. The last chaingunner trap can hurt if you're not paying attention, but is not really of note. So....it's not a particularly memorable/interesting bossmap, but at least it does look okay, and isn't a total pushover.

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vdgg said:

And colour-blidness, I never thought it would impede or help in something, and has nothing to do with gamma, however in the below picture the normal people probably see a striking colour difference between the texture with decorations and the rest. For me, they are like shades of the same colour, if you place the middle one without decorations, I may not notice it.


Thanks for the explanation and the visual aid. Yes, I do see a striking contrast between the green and the brown textures. That could make it trickier for you to find some secrets, but looking at your times, it doesn't stop you from being a better player than I am. :)

I can sympathize too with your west-facing window. I'm in a top-floor flat with Western exposure and no tall buildings on that side to block the sun. It's hellish in summer, even with the (weak) air conditioner going full blast. Internal temperatures often reach or even exceed 77 degrees Fahrenheit -- 25C for those outside the USA. Closing the blinds doesn't help blunt the sunlight, either, and I don't like pumping up the gamma, so I wait until nighttime to play Doom. Which helps with the mood, anyway. ;D

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Map 4 -- Toxic

Some barrel related fun in this map and some nice moments but a bit of a hit and miss map for me overall. It's the worst looking map so far in my opinion, though especially ugly so I suppose this is more a compliment to the previous maps than an insult against this one.

The barrel conveyor gimmick was disappointingly superfluous and although I'm all for risk/reward providing you with an RL or chaingun and then instantly revealing the monsters you do not want to use them against was poor form and it was in these two optional areas where I suffered my first and most frequent deaths.

Other difficulties were mainly due to scrambling for ammo but resource frugality is another underused virtue that I quite enjoy.

I found more secrets than I am used to but none of them felt very satisfying either in their discovery or what they provided. Perhaps the one I missed was the good one.

MAP05 -- Control

I'll come back to this one as I have not got very far in it yet. My initial impressions are not good. Although the layout makes me want to run through it, the amount of hit scanners means a cautious progression is probably required - and I don't find that very fun.

Will report back should I decide to push on.

EDIT: I did have another go and found that if you are conservative enough at the start it's pretty manageable. Just let the hitscanners come to you while you're in your safe spot than pick off the ones hiding in windows without much pressure. Not the sort of gameplay I like but it thankfully does not last the whole stretch of the level.

The mapflow uses those sniper windows for the player to traverse through the map. Although there remains plenty of hitscan fodder it is applied more fairly providing you do not make too many mistakes and find yourself on low health.

This maps looks a bit better than the last one and once it got going it was about as much fun. Overall the set is still not quite living up to the expectations I set myself based on this first level. It feels incredibly competently made but with not a great deal of flair or personality so far.

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Map07 – Kills – 100, Items 99, Secret – 100. Time 18:32. End Health 200, Armor 200. Death Count – 10

The gloves are finally and truly off in this one. For me, because I'm playing continuously, this is the first genuinely difficult map in the set, and it is definitely not the last, either. Must be a real brute on pistol-start. Matt has suddenly transformed into Erich Von Zipper, hapless leader of The Rats motorcycle gang in the old Beach Party films, at least in attitude. To quote Harvey Lembeck, from the cinema classic How To Stuff A Wild Bikini, “Erich Von Zipper don’t like you, and when Erich Von Zipper don’t like someone, they stay don’t liked!” I definitely felt "don’t liked" here, and in everything that came after (currently on Map10). :D

Starting off, you get to play tag with a couple Chaingunners and assorted brutes in a small courtyard, which has a tempting PG on a wooden column. The opening fight is manageable, thanks to all the columns you have for cover, but it gets much hairier once you leave the courtyard, as a horde of Shotgunners and Imps awaits you, joined by 2 PEs! This is why I mentioned wanting more bullets at the end of Map06, they come in very handy for all the hitscanners you have to kill here.

A few deaths later, I finally killed everything outside the courtyard, and here come the Mancs! After a couple more deaths, I turned on Always Run and have left it on ever since. There’s no other way for me to survive these maps. BTW, I’m pretty sure the PG became available once the Mancs appeared, but I saved it for later. It's also worth mentioning that I began to feel ammo pressure from time to time.

Matt does what might be some tricky things. Examining the map later, I saw what appear to be teleporting Backpacks. Never knew that was possible with Doom. Source port magic, maybe?

Once the last Manc is killed, the 666 sector tag brings us an army of Arachnotrons, and also lowers more columns to reveal several boxes of rockets. I had to use the PG just to survive the initial fury of this onslaught, though I didn’t survive on the first or second try, because as you kill one batch of baby spiders, more are coming through the doors, and you no longer have as much cover in the courtyard thanks to all the lowered columns. I camped behind one column for most of the fighting, but it took a couple tries before I had enough room to unleash the rocket launcher, and even then it was probably the second or third try before I had mastered the situation. Once the tipping point is reached, however, everything goes the player’s way and the last few Arachnotrons are easily disposed of. All that’s left is, once again, an Archie behind the exit door. Matt, stop it! This is getting tiresome. :D This was, IIRC, the fifth – and final – “harmless” Archie. After I verified that nothing more was waiting for me in the exit, I went searching for secrets, and found the Megasphere. Would’ve been useful earlier, but I was hauling ass to save my ass and had no time to wall-hump! :D

The map is completely flat and symmetrical, but very good-looking in a brick, wood and metal theme that’s extremely well-executed. The very high standard for appearance that Matt set in earlier maps continues here, and will not stop. Great detailing without snagging the player on pointless obstructions is much appreciated. Matt is one helluva mapper, that’s for sure.

I thought this map was fantastic. Sheer brutality from beginning to end and great scenery to boot. I suppose I could ask for more, but that would be greedy. Can’t wait to see the demos and video reviews.

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MAP06 - Kills - 100, Items - 100, Secret - 0. Death Count - 2. Total Time ~6:20 Final Time 5:08

A few nice touches (the ceiling, the lights as shown below), but the symmetry spoils everything. Mappers, check d2reload MAP26, for example a big area around sector 414. Just a few monsters NOT placed symmetrically, and it plays OK.

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Map 06 -- Checkpoint

I have to echo the other comments here that this level feels lazily put together because of it's symmetry and brevity, while the Spiderdemon feels included just to make it a boss map.

That said, I will probably remember this one most vividly of the maps so far because the Mastermind's appearance was a surprising if inconsequential encounter.

Aesthetically this level looks OK, particularly the ceiling detail but, like SteveD, I'm not fond of the flat mixing and those consoles look oddly blocky and amateurish compared to the otherwise refined detailing. I quite liked the abrupt change of theme at the exit area. It was nice to see something different after effectively playing the same map twice on each wing.

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MAP07 – Deadly
My hypothesis about this map's visual selection turned out to be correct. We see lots of 'medieval' textures and decorations here, in a map which is a pretty straightforward reinterpretation of Dead Simple. We begin with a wave of riff raff: imps, troopers and sergeants, in what turns out to be a building bordered on three sides by a courtyard. They're easily cleared, in a process which also allows the player to grab the basic weapons they'll need for this level.

There's more riff raff - plus a PE - outside, plus a bunch of small structures with unopenable doors: once the exterior is cleared, you may be scratching your head for how to progress. Going inside reveals the answer: a switch in the courtyard lowered a plasma gun, and picking that up will start the level 'proper'.

Now we get Dead Simple Redux. It's a wave of mancubi, and when they're dead, walls lower to reveal a wave of arachnotrons (several also teleport in). Clear those, and the exit becomes available. There's an AV waiting there for you, but he's blocked from advancing which makes him merely a bullet, shell or rocket sink, depending on how you want to dispatch him.

It's a decent enough, albeit very square and symmetrical level, but I'm a little disappointed at how unimaginative it was in terms of using the map07 specials.

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Map06 - Checkpoint | 7:13 | 100% kills, 100% items, 100% secrets | 1 death

The theme has been indeed converted from green tech to gray brick. Again got myself done in by the early hitscanner spam, but I guess that's a weak spot for me. Neat detail with a somewhat less interesting gameplay, probably my least favorite one so far.
The spider mastermind was very easy (I just used my SSG from the window), the chaingunners in the end almost got me, and it saddens me that it was more difficult than the actual spider boss.
Hopefully the game picks up quickly enough in the next map.

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07 - demo. Another weak totally symmetrical map, plus it's a typical Dead Simple remake, bleeeh. The manco and spider invasions are interesting at the very beginning, but after you kill 3 or 4 of them and get yourself a safe zone, the rest is trivial and a bit boring.

By the way, I think I haven't said this yet, the secrets in this wad are really lazy, almost every time it's just a small box with some goodie inside. After someone on this forum noticed how interesting and creative the iwad secrets are and how often they are entirely separate areas, I started to really dislike stuff like this.

06 and 07 are definitely the weakest maps in this set imo, fortunately the next levels will be a lot better.

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It's interesting how SteveD and Suitepee loved map07 (at least based on Suitepee's comments in his youtube video), but both Memfis and I thought it was a very pedestrian affair. Clearly it's a polarising map.

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Demon of the Well said:
Glad to see you back, Kristian.

Thank you! Glad to be back... I lurked around the past month, but didn't have anything worthwhile to contribute.

Anyway,
Map 5 -- Control
This one could've been great but as many players note (dobugabumaru, Magnus, purist) the chaingunner fetish on display here makes the gameplay sluggish and a bit dull. Chaingunners and shotgunners are placed everywhere and are sure to reach you from seemingly impossible angles, and the many crossfire situations make it difficult to even systematically pick them off. Can't imagine what this is like on -fast, kudos to Memfis and anyone else taking it on! Other than the ubiquitous chaingunners, the fighting is easyish. Most of the traps were quite all right, apart from the exit trap which, as vdgg notes, is super cheap. I was close to 200/200 so had no problem surviving it, but had I been at 30/30 or so I wouldv'e been furious. The cool "trickling" teleport traps, which although easy were nicely set up, and the inventive RJ megasphere secret, were great.

The layout, progression, and ammo balance makes up for a lot of the hitscanner hell, but this still doesn't come anywhere near the heights of map 4. I have no idea how you're supposed to find the backpack secret unless you like humping computer panels on sight. --4/5

EDIT:
Map 6 -- Checkpoint
As cannonball says, this map is okay and short enough to not cause any aggravation. The start is very tough though and again I hesistate to think what it must be like with -fast. Turns out that it gets very easy from there on in, so just survive the start and you'll be fine. Thankfully, you can hide in the start room (after having dashed for the RL and then dashed back) and pick off those monsters which infights didn't kill off. The placement of the two demons right behind the nooks at the base of each stairway is ingenious, as that's where you'll go to kill off remaining changunners in the windows, and Matt spoils that plan by attacking you from the floor. I played this one through twice, thinking I'd try to release the MM first and then the teleport mob (which should be more fun than the other way around), but it turns out the mob gets released first regardless of which side you play first. This of course makes sense since you have immediate access to the exit from the MM chamber, but if you're going to have it only one way I would have opened up the MM room first to allow it to help you kill some of the teleporting monsters (and require some other mechanic to reach the exit beyond the MM chamber as well to force the player to do both sides).

Anyway, I liked the gameplay better here than the last map, although a bit chaingunnery again it was fast and open enough to get the job done. The ending section was also good, with an inventive PE/chaingunner trap. However, as Melon says, it's much too simple and short to be particularly memorable. I had fun playing it though. Secrets were okay but unimaginative and very reminiscent of two of the secrets of the last map (and several secrets in earlier maps). This time I humped every computer panel and was rewarded.. who says you can't teach old dogs new tricks? ;-) --4/5

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MAP07 - Deadly
I have to agree with memfis here. Maybe by playing consecutively it made the start easier. But it took 90 seconds before I got hit once, by a lost soul from a dying pain elemental. Then the other one almost killed me through lost soul trolling.
There is very little threat in the outside area from the first groups of monsters placed symmetrically and the mancubi that follow. They are too slow to really force the player into mistakes and you only have 3 at most to fight at once. The spider fight is a lot more fun as it does put pressure on, this is where I realised I had over 90 rockets which got put to good use here :)
Archvile fight was worthless, I can see how monsters in the exit room can be a buffer, but exit viles are worthless for this job and especially in situations where the exit cannot be accessed until every other monster is dead.
I also agree on the recent easiness of the secrets which are simply 64x64 boxes.
In the end the combat need mixing up to put more pressure on the player, shockingly some revenants would have done the job. and adding some monsters to spawn in with particularly the mancubi but also release some archies after killing the spiders might have added some extra danger.
I will admit the spider fight was fun :)

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Has anyone ever done a map07 where the mancs and 'trons come out at the same time, and:

1. whichever monster type you finish killing first, the sector specials are set up to allow an AV (or a couple of them) to teleport in
2. you must kill both types of monster to access the exit

Seems like that might be a fun reinterpretation of the model, since it would give you an impetus to try and keep one of each enemy type alive and then kill them both together?

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map07: a very rectangular level similar to "Hell Revealed 2"mapping, but on it's bright side...

Anyway layout is nice and gameplay is a variant of the same old map07 standard (kill mancubi, then barons, then reach the exit), also the reason why this map is so rectangular-ish is of the map07 tribute nature present in it...

Nothing more to say, nice map. Saved at MAP08 start as usual, tommorow i'll give you the usual report...

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By the way, I think I haven't said this yet, the secrets in this wad are really lazy, almost every time it's just a small box with some goodie inside.

What the hell man, there is more than one type of secrets, not all secrets suppose to be big and hidden behind 10 riddles. Come on brah, get your shit together.

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Capellan said:

It's interesting how SteveD and Suitepee loved map07 (at least based on Suitepee's comments in his youtube video), but both Memfis and I thought it was a very pedestrian affair. Clearly it's a polarising map.


No mystery there, Capellan. C'mon, you know me by now. If I get killed 10 times in a map, I'm gonna love it! :D Why? Because I'm a total fucking moron, that's why. ;D OK, maybe it's my fault because I played kamikaze style. I watched Suitepee's video, and my compliments to him on another fine job of play and commentary. BTW, I fought the Arachnotrons from inside the courtyard. Tons of fun! Anyway, Suitepee showed the more correct way to take out the enemies, exercising a certain amount of caution and using some corner abuse. OK, so I played this map like an idiot, but I had a fuck-ton of fun doing so, so it's all good! ;D

Other reasons I liked this map:

1. I don't mind symmetrical maps. My recently released Elfkill map was symmetrical, and people definitely commented on that! ;D No prob, it was an experiment, and my first Doombuilder map. So I've been there.

2. There were a lot of monsters in a small space. Wheeeeee!

3. This map forced me into Always Run, and now it's much easier to deal with Revvies.

I agree with everyone who's tired of exit-room Archies, though. And also the negative comments about the dull secrets. IWAD map E1M3 still stands as my favorite example of brilliant secrets -- the Soulsphere/Rocket Launcher chained secrets. Not many mappers even try to do anything that cool.

Everyone has a different approach and playstyle, different tastes, and different things that excite or bore or aggravate them. Suitepee hates Chaingunners, I love Chaingunners. Several players hated the combo Chaingunner/HK trap at the end of Map05. I just jumped off the bridge and killed 'em easily from the water. You know, like, shrug. But I can see how pistol-starters can get to hate the openings of these maps with all their Chaingunner crossfires. Matt is front-loading these maps for pistol-starters, it seems to me.

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@SteveD: I don't mind chaingunners if they're used sparingly, but not when they're used in large numbers or as cheap traps that guarantee to inflict damage on a player. Heck this map uses a couple but in the correct way in my opinion.

Map 07: Deadly (100% Kills/Items/Secrets, played on UV, Death Count = 4)

http://youtu.be/KSYU3HeOr4s = my playthrough of Deadly.

This is probably going to prove my simplest write up of the wad. That's because in a nutshell, this level is Dead Simple from Doom 2 reimagined to be even more deadly than the original in my opinion.

I start out with a clear view of all the current weapons I've been using in Coffee Break; chaingun, shotgun, super shotgun and even the rocket launcher right in front of me, with a wooden door at my back and several Imps/chaingunners in sight ahead with their backs turned.
Opening fire begins a Hellspawn bumrush that largely consists of Imps, which means you may well end up using the medkit (like I did) to survive at the start of the level. Nice how there weren't too many hitscanners to deal with here, and that the Imps consisted of most of the attack allowing for close-range dodging in the tight area that was this courtyard.
Atop a wooden pillar in the centre here lies the plasma gun; finally the energy weapons are coming into play in Coffee Break!

You have a choice of three doors next, all of which lead outside to the same area that expands around three-quarters of the opening area.
This outer area largely consists of imps, mixed in with shotgunners, Pinkies and two Pain Elementals. As well as lots of small buildings that look like they're going to open their doors at some point.
At one point I hear the sound of an Arachnotron as I'm clearing the area, which then fades away a few seconds later. Whether this was an intentional sound reveal for some foreshadowing purposes, or a sound bug in GZDoom I don't know.
Some armor lies in the north next to a switch and another structure across some water that's currently inaccessible. Flicking the switch lowers the plasma gun and teleports in some backpacks into the opening courtyard. I'm noticing that the textures/motif from the building at the end of Checkpoint is in play here, with flames all around the map and with the wooden doors and whatnot.

Grabbing the plasma gun begins phase one of the more obvious Dead Simple comparison; various Mancubi appear around the area, and also all the outer area doors open to reveal health/armor pickups (alongside Mancubi to guard them of course). The lone secret of the map is also located behind a somewhat obvious secret wall in one of the small buildings outside, revealing a very handy Megasphere (which I didn't use that much!).
After dealing with the final Mancubi spawn, phase two of Deadly Simple begins as various Arachnotrons appear both inside and outside (some teleport in the small buildings, others from lowered walls), which proves to be a deadly gauntlet for me as I die 4 times attempting to clear them out! Eventually I figure out a good tactic and hole up for the first few, then move out to dispose of the rest. This is probably simpler than I make it look in the video, but this was tricky for me to figure out how best to deal with them!
There are also some more goodies located inside where the spiders are revealed from lowered walls, if you so choose to fight them inside there. (cough like SteveD cough)
A bridge across the water raises upon killing all the Arachnotrons, and a final door Archvile (once again predicted!) is rocketed to death to close out the level.

Overall, this was a nice change considering the chaingunner crap I had to deal with in the previous map that was Checkpoint. It felt like the Arachnotron part was trickier than in Dead Simple, and the nice mix of monsters before that part was good to see. Hopefully this kind of GOOD level variety (from start to finish) remains for the rest of Coffee Break, with no more 'Checkpoint' style openings. Four left to go....

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MAP07 - DEADLY

Welp, it's a Dead Simple clone alright. Not that great of one. The first part really does just feel like "dealing with riff-raff" to paraphrase Capellan. It's not relaly that fun, as the monsters are densely packed but also spread out just enough that you can't really mow them down, instead care needs to be taken to snipe them from decently far away. The mancubus battle was pretty easy too - start with the 3 in the middle then cleanup the outside. The arachnatron wave was much more difficult; I ended up sitting in the water and pounding away with the rocket launcher trying to dodge plasma, though there's probably a better way to do it. And of course, there's the obligatory exit room Arch-Vile. Meh.

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MAP07: Deadly

There seems to be something about the special tags that only work in the MAP07 slot that makes Doom mappers go gaga and feel like they have to use them. This map was totally predictable, a wave of mancubi followed by a wave of arachnatrons. On HNTR there was huge amounts of ammo of all the different types which lets you take on the waves almost entirely with the weapon of your choice, I can't really complain about that.

The level wasn't terribly exciting though. On the easy difficulty the enemies are spread out a lot and in small numbers which lets you deal with them on your own terms, so that's nice.

This is the second map in a row in which I'm really struggling for things to say. It's just a map that exists and there's nothing special about it. Nothing to rage over but nothing to praise from the rooftops. Ho hum.

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Map 07 -- Deadly - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets
Yes, the general theme for the rest of the current version of Coffee Break is, as this map implies, Plutonic ruins. For the layout and its architecture being as simple and symmetrical as it is, I think this map still manages to look pretty decent--guess I like the way the lionhead reliefs are used, and the torches high up along the exit bridge. As far as gameplay goes, well, if you've read some of the most recent DWMC threads, you've probably seen me say I appreciate IoS setups in mapslot 30; predictable though they might be, I think this type of map has many (potential) virtues that make it well-suited to the slot, even if it is what players expect. However, I do not feel this way at all about arach/manc arena brawls in mapslot 07, and in fact, they are one of very few Doom tropes that I have lost some patience for over the years, unless they are quite well-executed (that they so often feel like like a grind is precisely why I've lost patience for them). So, is this one quite well-executed? Well, it's not the worst I've seen, but far from the best. The pregame show with all of the imps and zombies and the PEs is short and inoffensive, and as such, neither here nor there. The mancubus wave I sort of like, since you will be in a predefined location when it is triggered, and defending the central area while the mancs try to shamble in from all three doors at once can be fun, unless the pathing AI is unkind to the mancs on a given occasion. The arach wave, well, it's more in line with the things that tend to bore me about the Dead Simple genre, since the environment here all but mandates that you just put your back to a wall and spam plasma until the initial numbers have been thinned, at which point the rest of the spiders will tend to be helpless against your superior mobility. Another arch-vile in the exit closet, sort of a running gag in this mapset, is again, neither here nor there. "Deadly" doesn't strike out, but it's no home run, either.

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Map 7 -- Deadly
Just as Doom2 has a concept map in slot 7, "Coffee Break" does. And quite frankly I like this type of map, where the progression is pedestrian and the objective obvious, but fighting is intense due to the tons of monsters hurled at you in close quarters (other nice examples of this: HR2 map 9, Talosian map 17). This one looks pretty enough and does its job of Dead Simple clone well enough. It's predictable, yes, but it doesn't commit the worst sin for a Doom map -- that of being boring. The secret was helpful but again unimaginative. I was expecting some secret in one of those pillars and spent what seemed like an eternity pushing every last linedef on them. The final AV feels out of place, by then you're armed to the teeth and it poses literally no threat at all. --4/5

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Kristian Ronge said:

Map 7 -- Deadly
I was expecting some secret in one of those pillars and spent what seemed like an eternity pushing every last linedef on them. --4/5


Yeah, I did the same thing. ;D It didn't pay off here, but it does in one of the later maps. And allow me to say, it's great to see you back!

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Map 7 -- Deadly

Another symmetrical and phoned-in level. At least you can be a bit forgiving for the MAP07 slot and instead just blame tradition. However, it does make the lazy MAP06 layout seem even worse now that you're straight onto a similarly shaped level.

I suppose I should judge this in the context of it being a good Dead Simple clone rather than a good level in it's own right. I suppose it's not terrible but then it does nothing any better than has already been done before

Before the manc/arachnatron assaults there is a some low-level goons to take care of. As I played continuously this was a case of saying in the start spot and peppering the oncoming imps and zombies with bullets. Not difficult or entertaining but not a great chore either. The outer areas include PE's that can spot you from range which requires a shade of tactical nous but it's still not particularly troublesome and there's ample opportunity to admire the copy/pasted but nice looking architecture and tasteful details.

The next two waves of monsters won't surprise anyone and are a bit of a mixed bag in effectiveness. I played the fight a few times and the mancs never got an advantage on me no matter whether I fought them inside the courtyard or out. Mobility seems to be the issue for the fatsos here. The sheer volume of Arachnatrons mean it's likely they will put pressure on you at some point they seem to just keep coming! I died a few times on this attack but this was usually my own stupidity of close range RL fighting or getting myself stuck in a corner. I still think the best bet is to work the outer area as it's hit and miss whether they will flank you via the central courtyard. Having those doors stay open might have made these fights more dynamic.

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08 - demo. Hehe, now we're talking! An atmospheric vine temple\library and several threatening traps with no easy way out. This map is close to Vanguard and Scythe 2 in terms of enjoyment, the flow is great with very few slow moments.

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Map07 - Deadly | 6:44 | 100% kills, 100% items, 100% secrets | 0 deaths

A nice map that could easily wreck me if it weren't for some safe spots.
The theme is again nothing I haven't seen before - Plutonia bricks and vines with a gray sky. A nice music track to keep you on your toes to go along with the map.
Not much to say about ye olde Dead Simple syndrome map, especially when you can just camp your way out. I had the Megasphere and plenty of plasma and SSG ammo so the Arachnotrons were absolutely no trouble.
Again, closest I've gotten to death was at the hitscanner spam in the beginning.

The next map is at least looking much more promising...

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MAP07 - Kills - 100, Items - 72, Secret - 0. Death Count - 1. Total Time ~11:40 Final Time 5:51
Mancubi? Arachnotrons? Next, please.

MAP08 - Kills - 105, Items - 86, Secret - 66. Death Count - 1. Total Time ~11:20 Final Time 11:12
Requiem music + Scythe II-like theme (oh, I wasn't the first to notice that? damn!). I liked it.

MAP08 FDA

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MAP06: This one was pretty brutal from pistol start—lost a lot of lives just running in and eventually getting turned into swiss cheese, trying to learn who my assailants are. The symmetrical layout is kind of a bummer, but I really liked the design and texture choices here. Probably my favorite level visually.

MAP07: A quaint map this time, pretty easy due to the lack of perched chaingunners. Unfortunately the central room really wasn’t a good fit for the mancubuses as they are unable to flank the player. This leads to a really easy fight with them all since you can hide out there, or get them stuck opening doors and trying to hogpile you. The arachnatrons are much better executed since the pillars lower and their large size makes it harder for the player to move around (I liked the idea of using the manc trigger to instantly warp them in too). Overall a nice, if not too memorable map.

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SteveD said:
And allow me to say, it's great to see you back!

Thanks, Steve!

Map 8 -- Archives
A delightful experience: a smallish mansion map with excellent texturing and lighting throughout. The start is very deadly and few players will survive their first pistol start. After that the action settles down a bit and apart from some small traps for each of the keys (of which the very first, strangely, is the most challenging) it moves along at a decent but not insane pace. I am really fond of the visuals and straightforward, fluent gameplay/progression here, there is certainly something Scythe 2-esque about it now that you mention it.

The finish, which takes place in the back garden of the mansion, is superb: a super fun and by the end very violent fight which keeps on going, with deaf monsters joining in as you come into their field of vision, as well as Cacos silently ambushing you. The difficulty throughout is mostly easy with some tense moments thrown in, especially the rock hard start, and the blue key trap.

I was half expecting more traps than there were, and was not disappointed but rather delighted that Matt chose to not mix up the pleasant gameflow with some cheap chaingunner ambushes and whatnot.

The three secrets make things much easier, and are all a breeze to locate. This time they weren't lazily done but rather added to the experience by being actual rooms and alcoves. Ammo balance, up until the very end, is just right: you have enough to get by (make sure to use the berserk to good effect on the demons) but not enough to spend it like a sailor on shore leave. Outstanding!

All in all, a solid little map, lots of fun. One I'll be playing again several times. --5/5

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map08: very cool and hard-ish map, fluid but kinda puzzle-ish layout, great huse of detail and texturing, from now starts to ride on it's own binaries over the IWADs hoomage zone of the first levels (well, i must quote memfis that from map07 we jumped much more on the user mods train so far..), gameplay is kind of hard but i liked it...

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