The DWmegawad Club plays: ConC.E.R.Ned & Draft Excluder

Plutonia 2.

Memfis said:

Definitely don't want to see another Ultimate Doom wad so soon.

Ima send a bunch of Imps to rough you up for saying shit like that.
You have 24 hours to change it to "BG is an over-rated POS and I don't want to see it again".
:D

Memfis said:

Definitely don't want to see another Ultimate Doom wad so soon.

Same here.

Cool, no skin off my ass, just a few more Imps to send out.

N_A, I think you're correct in that I'm more turned off by the thought of playing Base Ganymede than playing another Ultimate Doom wad period. After all, I suggested some Doom 1 episodes myself just a day ago. So yes, I worded it wrong.

E4M9: Thy Mappeth Faileth

I find myself agreeing with other posters, that it's too soon to re-use the whole "cyberdemon as environmental hazard" schtick hot on the heels of a map that does much the same - though at least he's more mobile here, and has to be (eventually) fought conventionally rather than telefragged. I like the generous provision of health, the fact that the map expects you to take a spanking and rebound from it rather than mistakes trapping the player in an ever-tighter death spiral. The level functions mostly as a single large, multi-tier arena that gets progressively larger as you make your way through the map, with additional waves of enemies accompanying each expansion, and new routes opening up to make the process of criss-crossing the arena from one objective to the next less laborious.

Candle-marked walls and tiny green switches are also back in force, I see.

- - - - -

If we're taking votes for what to play next month, I'll throw mine in for Doom 2 Reloaded.

Yeah, I've seen your BG E1 FDAs so I reckoned you could not be crazy about it. Good to see my guess confirmed. :)
The Imps will be disappointed, though.

Not knowing anything about it except that it's a Doom 2 WAD, I'll toss my vote in for Doom 2 Reloaded.

Just belatedly finishing E3 :)

E3M9 - "Cyberslayer"
Many people have praised the reinterpretation of the Warrens concept on this map, and I have to agree - the teleport that you expect leads to the first cyb really wrong foots you once you travel through it. Good work there cannonball. So I've never gotten round to playing Cyberdreams, although I'm aware of the concept. Here it makes for a fun concept level. I didn't find the shotgunners quite so harsh, but then I am a very conservative player and swiftly dive into cover whenever a hitscanner shows their face (or attack frame). The telefrag chain of cybs gimmick is cool and clever. Really the setup is very simple, but it seems a lot more complicated than it is. I think the rain of death missles from above most likely has something to do with this, but once you spot the teleport, you know how things are going to work.

That final cyb arena caused me to be splattered several times, despite my operating all the switches and activating the pillar crushers, because I insisted on staying to kill the rest. Unfortunately, I see that I'm very rusty at BFG'ing cybs. At least I got some good practice here. One final thought: I've always felt that the original E3M1 is made a poorer level by consequence of it being designed with Warrens in mind - I think that the Concerned equivalent inherits this same issue. Interesting how practicing the same level design concept caused both Sandy Petersen and Cannonball to experience the same difficulty.

E3M7 - "Back to System Control"
Big linear techbase in Hell. I generally appreciated the gameplay, although as I don't play many slaughter wads, I suffered a lot at the final battle, in part because I was using green armour and had forgotten I had left some blue armour at the start. This map has been compared to E2M5, but it doesn't have the teleporter element to tie the E1/2/3 themes together, so it just seems like the sections have been randomly bolted together.

Like others I enjoyed the earlier parts more. Of the maps I think that this (and E3M5) have the most 'conventional' gameplay, although less so towards the end. A pretty decent map, but I got fatigued of it due to my ineptness at the final fight. I found 7/8 secrets (the soul and blur sphere on pillars stumped me).

E3M8 - "Fortress of Tyrants"
Wow. What a way to finish the megawad. Others have described this map as epic, and this is completely justified. I love the large scale architecture of the fortress, I like the way the wings loop back onto the big central chamber to give the level that sense of progression, I like the looks of the level with it's well-executed marble theme, the foreshadowing of the areas, such as the big central chamber is cool, and finally the big battles in acres of space (especially the yellow key fight) were great.

If I had to criticise it, maybe I'd say the platforming element in the yellow key area was annoying, but truthfully that's my fault for being repeatedly clumsy and failing to notice the helpful little lifts cannonball placed. D'oh! Like some, I elected to take the invulnerability shortcut jump through to the red door key switch quest in the mid-left of the map - to me it seemed like a reasonably well advertised and nice secret. It would get kind of pointless if you don't take the blue door first though.

With regards to the icon of selfie, I had no issue with that - I would even go as far as to say it's appropriate at the conclusion of a megawad to break the 4th wall - it's a good signal to the player that they've reached the end of their journey, "that's all folks" and it's now time to reflect on the experience. For me this final level made it a very positive one.

Why oh why couldn't more of the levels have been like this one, as opposed to the desultory first couple of E3 levels, or the formulaic and uninspired E3M6.

Episode 3 overall thoughts
As you can probably tell from my E3M8 comments, I loved the final map, but I was really surprised and a bit disappointed with the earlier E3 maps. They do gradually improve, and for me the first reasonable one was E3M3, which I liked due to it's excellent reflection of a Hellish cavern. Really I think the first two levels ought to have been merged and something better made for E3M2. M4 was ok, but I didn't care for the F Zero music, it doesn't set the right sort of mood for Hell in my opinion. Similarly, I found M7 felt a bit misplaced thematically, but it was a decent level so I guess it's cool. All in all, the star maps in the third episode have to be M5, M7 and of course the wonderful M8. The other two maps are good, but really M8 wipes the floor with them. Great effort Cannonball - please make more :)

I'll look to catch up on E4 tomorrow.

Memfis said:

Return to Phobos + Hell Run + Back to Hell + Crusades (4 old Doom 1 episodes)

That would've sounded good to me, however as the options have been narrowed and Base Ganymede looks to be divisive I cast my vote (such as it may be worth) for Doom 2 Reloaded.

I guess of those three I'm most inclined towards Plutonia 2.

Doom 2 Reloaded !

Ok right catching up!

E4M1: The Lost Bastion
This was a crazy start! When I got in I expected some peace for the first couple of seconds but no not at all. There were quite a few barons for the first level and I had no idea how to get the rocket launcher. However once I learnt the map it was all OK.Only 50% secrets but meh.

E4M2: Putrefied Docks

The cyberdemon makes an early entrance which threw me off-guard and so resulting in death at first. But once I knew that you could telefrag him my worries wafted away. Very cramped fighting indoors but fun nonetheless. Then spent ages searching for secret exit :p

E4M9: Thy Mappeth Faileth

cannonball said:

E4M9 - "Thy Mappeth Faileth"
If you are a cautious player, you are going to get your ass kicked here.

Couldn't agree more! I thankfully like to storm in to things so this level was not to bad. The cyberdemon's rockets are always hot on your heels. The secrets were not too hard to find. Really like the little hidden switch to get the mega armor. Fast pace run and gun just as I like it :).

E4M3: The Ravine Of The Damned
A interesting map with two sides of a ravine (hence the title). Some nasty spring traps which always get me though I can see them coming. The cacos always get in my way and then proceed to chew my face off while I get my arse toasted by the imps on the other side of the ravine. There is one secret that I just don't know how to get! The first part opened then the second half didn't,what a massive troll. Anyone know how to get it?

On the whole so far it has not been a easy episode by no means but as I am sure everyone is well aware nor was Thy flesh consumed.

Hihi,

Just wanna pop in and say that Concerned is great (e3 in particular) and Draft Excluder is easily one of the best UD episodes I've ever played. Really hoping for more stuff from you in the future, dude!

E4M3: Ravine of the Damned

I really like the use of space and monster population here; the titular ravine is large and open enough that, while you can thin out the opposition on the far side with a few well-placed rockets, defeating them in detail before your route (eventually) takes you around there is more trouble than it's worth, so instead it becomes a space that you traverse under constant threat and pressure without feeling like you're being unfairly overwhelmed. I liked the twisty labyrinth at the eastern end of the map, with its stairs, ledges, constant changes in height, irregular-but-not-random layout, and an assortment of smaller rooms and traps tucked away for the curious and thorough. This is also the first map of the episode where I've felt free to explore things at my own pace, rather than constantly avoiding one threat or another; the imps on the far side of the ravine keep you moving as long as you're in that area but it's nowhere near as intense as the cyberdemons of M2 and M9. I fumbled the ending ambush and was left with very little health and armour; fortunately, I'd left the blue armour near the start for later collection, and there was plenty of health still scattered around the ravine, so I could top myself up to 100/200% before hitting the exit - it's very much a map where major powerups are used as rewards and resources rather than as a pacing mechanic. All in all, I really like this map.

E4M3 - "Ravine of the Damned”

Great Heretic-esque adventure with beautiful pseudo-natural visuals and good "sense of location" (natural mixture of abstract + concrete elements). Interesting sparse usage of Radsuits, compared to the extensive damaging floor areas. Enjoyable. I was only slightly displeased by organization of the other side of the blood river, because some places there didn't allow easy backtracking and so I had to take a long way around multiple times when I wanted to check every place and when I've been returning for secrets. By the way, I've got no secrets when I've reached the exit, but I've revisited the whole map and found all of them (not hard, specially since I've played the map before).

E4M3 - "Ravine of the Damned”

Quite a different adventure in this map from the last few, much more organic in theme and structure. So we have a vast open air landscape and close-knit network of caves, its a nice mixture. I like how you can approach the caves from either the top or the bottom, although on my first attempt I brazenly jumped down and took the lower route, without having found the rocket launcher, and ended up saving myself into a corner. Restarting I took a more methodical approach which seemed to work better for me. Nasty crusher surprise. I was expecting the red key to put up more of a struggle after the blue key ambush, but no matter. Starting to feel like this episode has a story to tell now.

E4M3 - "Ravine of the Damned”
The plasma gun side area is inspired from a secret in E4M5 of Quake, just a random thing shoehorned into this map.
SO after the coastal endeavours, this map moves up into the hillier parts of the island. You come across a river of blood running through a deep ravine, the two keys are situated downriver and underground. Your objective is to reach the other side and explored the mountainous area of the island beyond.
This is certainly a lot more expansive than anything seem in Concerned, a good thing I still think. The map is non-linear and requires both keys to exit the map.
Difficulty wise this is the easiest map of the episode so far, but that was a little intentional with the map feeling more like an adventure than a hard slog. I thought the initial opposition in the red key area would be sufficient, especially as there are no radsuits in that part of the map. Plus it's nice to not have a trapped key for once :)

So there are signs of the UAC at the end of the map, what is going on here?

@Driftyloon - Which secret was this as all secrets are possible in pr-boom/and vanilla compatible engines.

cannonball said:
Which secret was this as all secrets are possible in pr-boom/and vanilla compatible engines. [/B]

Turns out that it was not a secret but it looked like one :(
But I did find the real final secret which was the rad suit in the plasma gun side area.

e4m4
This is nice-looking mostly marble base (gstone isn't called marble, but it may as well be). I liked the interconnected nature of it, with the fact that you were often looking through windows or over ledges into other areas.

Gameplay was mostly pretty good fun, though it felt lower key than those that came before. I imagine the experience is different in pistol start, or if you are a more 'rambo' style continuous player, but for a methodically-paced player like me there's not a lot that will really get you off balance or panicking.

I do think exit spider mastermind is a complete waste of time. If all you want to do is block the exit so the player simply can't run for it, then slowly-lowering bars would have been better. The spider plays no part in the caco & demon fight in the not-nukage, and is then trivially easy to corner camp, making it a pointless encounter.

E4M3: Ravine of the Damned
100% kills, 3/3 secrets

After the similar design of the last two levels and the sameyness that pervaded Concerned, it's nice to see Cannonball stretch his muscles here a bit with this map. Could just be the mapslot, but it seems to have a bit in common with Sever The Wicked, with the large ravine in the center of the map, and some spelunking into the underground for the red and blue keys to reach the exit.

I agree with the other comments, its a fun layout - lots of space to explore and room to run away from enemies (though you'll have to deal with them eventually), and a good blue key fight. I do agree with scifista though that the north side of the ravine is poorly designed, not sure why parts of it had to be one-way. Still, though, good map.

haven't got to play much the last days, just for the poll:
my first choice would be doom2 reloaded
second one plutonia 2.

Doom 2 Reloaded it is!

E4M2: Another stellar map! A bit shorter and bloodier, with that damn cyber really messing things up unless you keep an eye on him (which is hard to do when you’re pushing back against the horde past the YK door). Not much to add other than I really enjoyed it.

E4M9: This didn’t really strike me as a secret map so I can only assume (given the title) that it was a map that Powell thought was too weak for the main Draft Excluder set. I had a lot of fun here but it’s not nearly as unforgiving or tricky as M1 & M2 were, as once you get passed the RK door most enemies can be bypassed. This map did remind me to mention that the visuals are excellent so far—I’m more of an E3 kinda guy but I can appreciate some emerald temples now and then. Perhaps its the asymmetrical architecture that’s speaking the most to me so far.

E4M3: Powell is on a roll here. While the opening fight did nothing for me, the titular ravine was pretty cool, with a swarm of fireballs flying your way from the other side of the canyon. Where it really gets fun is managing rad suits down in the caverns, as the map grants you a lot of choices on where to go and what to do. I had an especially tricky time as I went down there and nabbed both the blue key and red key without ever getting the RL first, so I was running around with 50 rockets and a horde of cacos crawling up my ass wherever I went; if anyone hasn’t played the map this way I highly recommend it.

ok, time to wrap this up with e3.

so i said i liked e3m5. did more than single maps come out of the pandemonium project? the original thread went nowhere.


e3m6 -

a much shorter map than the prededing one, a set of speedmap-like, episodic arenas which require mostly infighting. especially fun with the cyb in the four pillar room. the baron gang killed the spider that survived infighting with his brother, i just got the stuff and left them behind, weary of baron spam at this point, and headed to the exit.


e3m9 -

nice start similar to e3m1. i played it fast, running past the imps at the blue key, until i got to the the part with the many cybs on pillars, where demons and spectres getting in the way can be frustrating, taking 3 shells to die more often than not. the final cyber stomping ground, suprisingly, was less laborious than i thought because i could quickly lure them away from the bfg


e3m7 -

a pretty large base taken over by hellspawn, a more e2-like mix of tech and hell textures. there's a kind of central hub with the 3 color-coded doors next to each other, and from here on it's a pretty linear affair. it ends in a courtyard where 5 cybers and a lot of lesser enemies warp in, as well as a hidden invulnerability. i simply retreated to the room i came from, watched the cybs kill the rest, then gave them the bfg treatment.


e3m8 -

a mix of memorable scenes, like the imp ambush in the green marble corridor, and less inspired things like a horde of barons and pinkies. the cybers in cages reminded me of plutonia's map 31. the double mastermind ambush pissed me off, they turned me into swiss cheese sandwiched between imps and pinkies.


overall a solid episode, although e2 is still the best of them. the pandemonium remix was the most faithful to the original e3, e3m9 evokes warrens, but is much more slaugherish in comparison.

Alright, let's scrape together some time for Draft Excluder....

E4M1 -- The Lost Bastion - 100% Kills / 50% Secrets - FDA
Ironic (or maybe it isn't) that "Thy Flesh Turned Into a Draft Excluder", which all things being equal is an immeasurably more varied mapset than ConCERNed is, starts out with yet another iteration of the "ConCERNed Compass" layout--a unifying central space with a main hall surrounding it on all sides, with discrete side areas at the four cardinal points. Even the progression model is similar to many of the ConCERNed maps in that, practically speaking, these side-areas must be visited in a dictated order (I guess you can ignore the southern cupola if you really want to, but doing so would be pretty foolish, of course)--hell, the exit is even to the north!

For all of the similarity in pattern/template, though, it's evident from the get-go that there's a world of difference in depth and sophistication between Draft Excluder and ConCERNed. Where before the central space would generally be a room closed off from everything else and the surrounding hallway would be just that, in the Bastion's case it's a sunken central juncture which connects freely with the fortress ramparts on all four sides, the view from one side to its opposite broken only by periodic crenelations, with traversal between any two points on the square being far more fluid/flexible by dint of the essentially open plan--if you're on one side the fortress and want to get to the opposite, you can take the long way around and dash along the ramparts (thus risking running into a bestial traffic-jam if lots of monsters are still alive), you can try to take the quick/risky path straight through the center (with the option to cut corners at additional risk by leaping over the bloodwells onto the walkways through the gaps between crenelations), or some combination of the above. The navigability and unbroken line of sight are boons to the monsters, as well, of course, making for a fast-paced romp that is likely to play out differently every time you load up the map. While the concentration of opposition relative to the amount of usable space in the central area is fairly light and thus makes for a relatively benign bit of first blood despite bodycount (at least as long as you zero in on the shotgun guys early enough), it is this variability and flexibility in approach that the layout subsidizes allows the player to direct an action sequence to his/her liking.

Excepting the southern cupola (which simply bleeds directly into the main square, another departure from most of ConCERNed), most of the combat in the side areas is more straightforward, including some ledge-clearing and a strangely toothless initial trap in the western area (one caco from a distant closet, really?) and another of those little collapsing floor + damaging terrain sandwich traps ala E3M3 or E3M8 that CB seems to like so much to the east, so generally speaking I feel like the initial round of combat in the central space is the best part of the map, and I kind of wish it had been repopulated more vigorously between trips to the west/east wings. I suppose the monsters from the simple pincers trap en route to the dock could easily be led back into/fought from this space, but I instead opted for boxing the monsters inside the last tower while trolling them by banging on that lift switch repeatedly, which proved to be a suitably entertaining way to close out the map.

The visuals are much more pleasing than what was generally seen in ConCERNed as well. Again, reiterating that the actual layout of this map is quite similar on a skeletal level to a lot of what was in its older brother, the biggest change in approach is the visibility from one side of the central space to the other, which exponentially increases the amount of visual interest in moment-to-moment play. I think it's the small stuff that really drives it home, though--the lighting, while simple (a dusky neutrality with simple shadows under overhanging bits of architecture) is a far cry from the lazy/patchy stuff I bitched about so much in ConCERNed, and the open view out onto an endless sanguine sea from all over the fortress engenders a strong sense of place far beyond most of what the straightforward battle-boxes of previous maps could offer. Texture selection is in this case tastefully classic E4 in theme, a good way to start off the episode with some sense of the familiar.

Very nice warmup map, neither too trivial or too elaborate. I did struggle with progression at a couple of points, ironically....but for the most part that was just me being a dumbass in this case, I think. On to the next!

E4M2 -- Putrefied Docklands - 100% Kills / 75% Secrets - FDA
Run run run! There is in all likelihood a rocket sailing straight towards your forehead within micromips of docking the little rowboat on these foetid shores. This is a concise and simple map with an equally simple concept: another of Cannonball's beloved watchtower cyberdemons dominates the docks from his elevated vantage, hurling explosive death at anyone and everyone tromping on the boardwalks or wading in the crimson skoals without his permission, and Excluderguy apparently does not have his permission. Given the initial crowds of the damned loafing about on the boardwalks and the pernicious effects of the sea of cursed blood, the opening moments of this map are a scramble to avoid being blown into a cloud of meaty chunklets long enough for Cybie to unwittingly inflict said fate on enough of the other assholes in the area for you to gain a foothold. Once that's done, you've all but won--apart from one potentially problematic ninja-Baron near the rocket launcher, the combat in the caves and hills around the docks ranges from 'sedate' to 'practically nonexistent', and the only reason the former segment seems to exist at all is to make you do something before you get to telefrag the power-tripping lifeguard.

It is thus an extremely front-loaded map, with the prime cut of the action literally consisting of the first 60-90 seconds or so--even once additional monsters pour out of the collapsing facade of the eastern boardwalk, handling the situation is as simple as dodging for a few seconds until the cyb starts obliterating them just like their recently-departed brethren moments before. Looking at my own demo, it's a surprisingly dry affair since the last couple of Barons/cacos became preoccupied with each other rather than cybie, so I was standing there like a swinging dick waiting for the inevitable to happen for a surprisingly large amount of time. I guess that's partially on me (e.g. I didn't have to stand there and watch, I could've left and come back later), but it does underscore how frontloaded the map's action is. That being said, I actually don't really have a problem with the light encounter near the exit--it's cool with me that the area's there more for the sake of narrative than for the sake of raw action, although I reckon the encounter might've worked a little better if the specters had been deaf and positioned to converge on the player from the sides when s/he steps into the area rather than allowing them to all clot up at the doorway like they tend to do.

Again, I have no notable complaints about the aesthetics here. I rather like the texture selection--it expands out a bit from the standard marble/iron/wood/blood scheme of the traditional E4 theme, introducing bits of red masonry for color contrast, a touch of vinery to communicate a sense of unwholesome marshland growth, and interesting hints of skintech on the island's outer edges, suggesting that the island itself is perhaps a noisome bio-organic mass of flesh and infernal machinery floating in (or maybe even propelling itself through?) the bloodsea, with literal mountains of calcified bone-ash and a more stately array of marble temples and shrines built on top of it.

E4M9 -- Thy Mappeth Faileth - 100% Kills / 50% Secrets - FDA
Run run run! (Take two.)

Interesting concept for a secret map, sort of a smash-cut to a remix or alternative version of the map you just left, probably only works very well for short, concept-oriented maps like these. Pretty rare approach, come to think of it, although off the top of my head I remember that Demonfear did something not unlike this with its White Magic/Black Magic pair.

Anyway, same basic idea as E4M2--a cyberdemon with a powerful vantage point hounds you while you scramble around and try to scrounge up the means to eventually take him down. Unlike in that map in this one you can gather your wits before starting the action, but other than that 'Thy Mappeth Faileth' is generally more severe than its twin, largely a function of much heavier hitscan attrition in the opening seconds coupled with an initial blood-swim that can be a little more difficult to break out of. On the whole, I like the way the main concept itself is executed a bit more than in E4M2--what sells it for me, I think, is that the horde of cacodemons and other monsters that eventually pour into the shrine from the surrounding hills are more consistently pressuring than the reinforcements from the Docklands (largely because the cacos can fly, naturally) , and you also likely have to tango with the cyberdemon more intimately in order to coax him into doing most of your dirty work for you (which is absolutely the right course of action given a rather tight balance of premium ammo). That being said, I'm not sure I'd say I actually like the map much more than E4M2...the action's a bit better here, but I feel like the sense of setting/location is a lot better in the previous map.

E4M4: Nuclear Jellocide
99% kills, 5/7 secrets

It might be the undue influence of the E1M2 music, but this very much feels like a Romero-style techbase (with maybe some Tom Hall E1M4 thrown in, albeit curvier) with plenty of GSTONE decoration instead of the usual E1 techbase stuff. Lots of inter-connected hallways, and windows, which actually proved quite dangerous as sergeants I couldn't see through the bars/vines ripped me apart from afar. The blue key fight is pretty fun, with lots of room to run and get surrounded in the inter-locking corridors. Lots of monsters, but most of them are small fry, so didn't feel like a slog. The SMM battle at the end was a bit disappointing - far too easy to just cheese her and shoot her feet from relative safety, and I did that without the plasma gun (missed it in all the baron corpses). Speaking of which, all the teleport cut-outs in that room are copy-pasted... lazy cannonball! ;)

E4M4: Nuclear Jellocide

Another lovely, twisty map here, with a strong late-E2 vibe. There are plenty of spots where you can get flanked, especially by cacodemons or lost souls navigating via paths not available to the player. Supplies on Hurt Me Plenty are once again generous enough that you've got the opportunity to make a few mistakes and bounce back from them. The spider mastermind at the end seems, for the most part, minimally threatening; you've got the option of sniping at her from relative safety before heading down into the slime reservoir where she waits, though I imagine she'd present one-half of a nasty pincer (the other being a swarm of demons and cacodemons) if the player for some reason waited until face-to-face with her to deal with her.

This map gets a thumbs-up, it's very much my style of map and we've been seeing a lot more variety in level design, aesthetics, and gameplay within this episode than in any of the three that made up ConC.E.R.N.ed.

E4M4 - "Nuclear Jellocide"

Great map. Good looking (for example the vines in windows), varied-enough while unified in color scheme and style, full of curves, windows and interconnections, with enjoyable semi-linear progression and entertaining combat - except the finale, which was kinda dull. Lots of Barons like in ConC.E.R.Ned, but their usage here was far better than in ConC.E.R.Ned. I've found all secrets except the southern Invisibility one - somehow, I forgot how did I get there last time when playing the map (maybe I've actually cheated back then). Anyway, the secrets were good in this map, like everything. I liked it a lot.

E4M4 - "Nuclear Jellocide"
Hell in its infinite wisdom tried to create nukage, it failed and instead ended up why lime flavoured jelly. So that is why the liquid sectors are not damaging. Not need for further debate :P

I thought that changing the theme up would be a good idea, whilst the dominant texturing is similar, the addition of tech elements in a sort of reverse E2 style would be a good idea. The visuals are very much inspired by Jodwin's Jade Earth map. So this is a E1 styled base crawler with plenty of interconnectivity and masses of weaklings mixed with a few higher tier monsters. Barons are used more liberally here, though I feel I executed their use better here than anything in Concerned at least. The plasma gun fight killed me a few times, demons are probably the worst thing to mix with barons in that space :P
Cautious play failed yet again here at the start, the better option being to press onwards leaving monsters behind and nabbing the armour and soulsphere secrets, died a couple of times near the start, but apart from the plasma gun trap the rest was okay.
The final fight probably houses too much cover and the flanking line to too easy to breach with plasma or rockets, oh well a fine line there I think, less cover could have had the opposite effect with the mastermind easily killing you over and over again.

I didn't join in this month as I only recently played Concerned, but it's a great wad. Cannonball's name on a map makes me want to play it, so he's definitely one of my favourite level designers these days.

Never_Again said:

You have 24 hours to change it to "BG is an over-rated POS and I don't want to see it again".
:D

Sorry to hear the wad isn't to your taste.

E4M4 - "Nuclear Jellocide"

A green marble techbase, kind of unusual theme. Its a relatively easy map I guess, compared to the previous ones, being mostly small enemies scattered through a system of rooms and corridors, which you can inch your way through mowing them down as you go. There are moments of panic as the maze of pathways allows them to see you from miles away and pop up behind you, but a lot of them are safely positioned on shelves. The most danger I faced, other than the one death I suffered from the red key baron sandwich, was from running out of ammo in the first half. Ignore the berserk pack at your peril I guess. Anyway, its a fun map to explore, and there are some decent surprises along the way. That plasma gun fight would have killed me if I hadn't switched to berserk fist in a hurry. And I'm glad the nukage wasnt damaging too.