April Agitation: the megathread

Snakes said:

A while ago, I would've picked Map01 over E1M1, but then fraggle had to go and ruin everything for me.

Hah, because of my analysis post? Excellent.

40oz said:

E1m1 has got to beat entryway. The only good thing I've heard about map01 is dew crowning it the best deathmatch map ever made. E1m1 demonstrates all the basic things you'll need to know about dooms engine perfectly in one map. Height variation, non orthogonal angles, textured floors and ceilings, damaging floors, changes in light levels, secret areas, etc. It's a much more colorful level, short and easy to speed run, features more ammunition, strong contrast in difficulty levels, and good music.

Although I really like Doom 2 as a whole, entryway sets your expectations pretty low right from the beginning, with no new weapon or monsters or demonstrates the increased support for more complex level design. I know its the first level but besides new textures, there's nothing really interesting about it. Also coop is a mess considering the BFG, SSG, and rocket launcher destruction kit in the start room and no tough monsters to demonstrate it on at least until about map05.

I dunno. Not to suggest that similar things couldn't be said about E1M1, but I find some of scenes in Entryway to be highly distinctive and memorable - the triangular staircase, the blue room with the large celing blocks, the ashwall room with the weird tongue floor, and the garden area with the brook. There's a lot of near perfect, but slightly broken symmetry, and Sandy cycles through a number of distinctive themes and texture/colour combinations. In gameplay terms it's nothing special (though, the opportunity to rocket sitting-duck zombiemen is much appreciated), but design-wise it makes an impression (it did on me, at any rate).

fraggle said:

Hah, because of my analysis post? Excellent.

Holy shit, that was three years ago?! Wow...

Marcaek said:

do we need any more gimmick projects

why not just make original maps

Round 2 is now closed!

On a meta note, I was surprised that a significant majority of people chose the long option, maybe I underestimated your attention spans!

https://chart.googleapis.com/chart?cht=p&chs=345x150&chl=Full%20experience|Short%20list&chco=0000e0&chd=e%3AuzRL

Now on to the results. Because there were technically 2 separate polls, I had to combine the results in Excel, which is why this looks different:



Unsurprisingly, E1M7: Computer Station handily beat E4M1: Hell Beneath. But American McGee's not out of it yet...

...speaking of which! MAP14: The Inmost Dens edged past E1M8: Phobos Anomaly!

MAP26: The Abandoned Mines sent MAP27: Monster Condo to the retirement home.

In the battle of the Romero maps (but not the last), E1M5: Phobos Lab stood back and let MAP20: Gotcha! infight itself to death.

In the closest matchup thus far in the competition, E3M6: Mt. Erebus just baarely squeaked by MAP16: Suburbs. This one went down to the wire.

E1M1: Hangar annihilated MAP01: Entryway, unsurprisingly.

In another not terribly surprising result, MAP15: Industrial Zone vanquished E3M3: Pandemonium.

In the showdown between Tom Hall remnants, E2M2: Containment Area shut MAP10: Refueling Base up inside a crate and sent it to Hell, COD.

MAP11: Circle of Death slaughtered E2M1: Deimos Anomaly.

What's this? A normal KDitD map getting knocked out? MAP18: Courtyard sent E1M4: Command Control packing.

In a stunning upset, E2M4: Deimos Lab was outwitted by MAP08: Tricks and Traps! People love their gimmick maps, the gimmickier the better! Also, this is the only "upset" remaining in the whole tournament: everything else is ranked 4 or higher. I almost could have just started with the next round!

Unsurprisingly, E4M6: Against Thee Wickedly smashed MAP06: The Crusher into a pulp.

MAP29: The Living End absolutely annihilated MAP24: The Chasm, sorry Chasm fanboys.

E1M2: Nuclear Plant was struggling early on, but in late returns, pulled ahead to nuke MAP02: Underhalls into radioactive dust.

E1M3: Toxin Refinery threw down MAP03: The Gantlet.

Finally, E4M2: Perfect Hatred made it look easy against E1M6: Central Processing.

It's a shame to see Underhalls, Refuelling Base and Suburbs all go.

purist said:

It's a shame to see Underhalls, Refuelling Base and Suburbs all go.

I thought it was inevitable that none of these particular maps would become the winner, nor come close.

Next round: E1M7 vs MAP14

D:

There weren't to many surprise here, if fact the only surprise for me was the Tricks & Traps beat out E2M4, I don't really know what to say about that, but it made me happy. Another think that did make me happy was how close the race between E3M6 & Map 16 was, I guess both of my favorite maps a liked nearly equally.

MAP26 vs. E1M5
MAP11 vs. MAP18
E1M3 vs. E4M2, ah crap.

Hands up if yer favourite map is already dead =P so long, Gotcha!

yakfak said:

Hands up if yer favourite map is already dead =P so long, Gotcha!

having multiple favorite maps helps lol :-)

some of them are dead, others made it.

Suburbs and Chasm are dead, so i guess i'll put my faith in Industrial Zone.

E1M1 trounced MAP01 pretty decisively. Wow.

Sad about E1M4 but MAP18 is a pretty awesome level.

It's time for another round of April Agitation! Today, we've finally narrowed the field down to a mere 16 competitors. But with fewer choices comes harder choices! VOTE NOW!

=== FAQ ==

Q: When will this run?

Tentative Schedule:

March 17-19: Pernicious Play-Ins

March 20-22: Round 1 (first 32 entrants)

March 23-25: Round 1.5 (next 32 entrants)

March 26-28: Round 2

March 29-31: Sinful Sixteen

April 1-3: Evil Eight

April 4-6: Fiendish Four

April 7-9: Final Showdown

Q: Why do I need a Google account to vote?
A: It's the simplest way to have some sort of protection against ballot box stuffing. If you don't have a Google account, who are you and how have you traveled to 2015?

Q: Why is it called "April Agitation" when it starts in March?
A: Because the ultimate winner is crowned in April, of course. Why would you name a tournament based on when it starts, not when it ends? That would be silly.

Q: I think a map is seeded too high / too low.
A: You're probably right! Oh well!

Previous round's results:

Sad to see Monster Condo beaten by Abandoned Mines. :P

Also I honestly felt Halls of the Damned was much better than Command Control.

aight, so

We all love E1M1, but...


this motherfucker right here:

is the best goddamn doom map


seriously though, Hangar's the big iconic intro to the game, but Mt. Erebus gets so many damned things right with the Doom formula -- and even invents a few things. i mean, check this shit out:

• it's the first (and one o' the best) of the "sandyboxes", a big sprawling outdoor thing that you can explore however the fuck you want. formula's so tight it defined like half of doom 2 (map12, map13, map16... shit, even romero got on board that shit with map15 and map20 sorta); this guy's just as influential as E1M1 if not more, son, so respect it.
  
• i mean seriously, jesus christ, look at that layout. you can go goddamn anywhere on this map and it plays like a fucking dream; you can't get that shit in modern games today so this is the doomiest of the doom right here
  
• sandy petersen didn't give a FUCK about making this map look good, and you know what? it doesn't need to, and he knew it -- the fact he literally slapped FIREBLU on the first damned building you see and it's still a goddamn iconic masterpiece is telling as fuck.
  
• the exterior monster closets on this map out in the slime are true genius. you play the map like normal and you just get swarmed form all sides by enemies that take their sweet-ass time getting to you. no cheap-ass bullshit traps here, just more free-roaming badassery.
  
• check out that fucking fake building facade on the west that dumps you into a pile of monsters; that's some sneaky-ass shit right there, better than any damn blue armor secret.
  
• this map ain't no bitch -- on harder diffs, you gotta explore to find the way outta this map. you get rewarded for using your brain, and it's a hella fun time doing so.
  
• it invented goddamn rocket jumping, yo!
  
• the goddamn blue key changes position depending on what skill level you play on and if you don't think that's the tightest shit ever get outta my face

^well I can't contend with that!

vote inmost. vote inmost.

All maps that faced 'pernicious play-ins winner', are still going.

Oh, fufuckssake!

We all know how underrated E3M6 is, but...


this bitch over here:

is the best goddamn doom map


for real though, Mt. Erebus may get so many damned things right with the Doom formula -- and even invent a few -- but Hangar is the iconic level of the game. i mean, dig this:

• it's the best (if not the first) of Romero bases, a small compact indoor thing that you could not get lost in even if you tried exploring it however the fuck you wanted. formula's so enduring it defined like half a bazillion doom 1 addons (fava beans, return to phobos, ch-retro, classic episode... shit, even sandy got on board that shit with E1M4 and map08 sorta); this guy's just as influential as E3M6 if not more, kids, so show some respect.
  
• come on, holy shit, look at that layout. you can go goddamn anywhere on this map and it plays like nobody's bidniss; you can't get that shit in modern games today so this is the doomiest of the doom right there
  
• john romero busted his goddamn ASS to make this map look good, and guess what? that's exactly what it needed, and he knew it -- the fact he literally wallpapered the first damn room of the game with STARTAN3 and it's still a goddamn iconic masterpiece is like two plus two equals what?
  
• the courtyard separating you from the exit and half the monsters is true genius. you play the map as usual and the monsters never swarm you from any side as you take your sweet-ass time getting to them. and how 'bout that one-way shoot-through wall ambush over the zigzag path? pure ownage in DM.
  
• don't forget those fucking fake bunker sides on the south side of the courtyard that just taper off into thin air; that's some freaky-ass shit right there, better than any damn FIREBLU slapped on the first damned building you see.
  
• ain't this map a peach? -- even on harder diffs, you can blow the shit up and finish with 100% secrets in less than a minute! you get rewarded for using your speed and agility, and it's a hella fun time doing so - 15000 pregnant speedrunners can't be wrong!
  
• it re-invented the barrel as a goddamn weapon, yo!
  
• there's no goddamn blue key that changes position depending on what skill level you play on; better yet, there are no stinkin' keys at all to prevent you from sprinting straight to the exit, and if you don't think that's the dopest shit since sliced bread you gotta be fucking kidding me

map14 > e1m7, folks. Search your feelings, you know it to be true. Don't give in to "perfected formula", "well-rounded design" or other phrases that could land you a job in a car-reviewing magazine. Remember one of the most unique and influential maps of all time, the one that finally used an archvile in a threatening scenario, the Venice of Doom.

dew said:

map14 > e1m7, folks. Search your feelings, you know it to be true. Don't give in to "perfected formula", "well-rounded design" or other phrases that could land you a job in a car-reviewing magazine. Remember one of the most unique and influential maps of all time, the one that finally used an archvile in a threatening scenario, the Venice of Doom.

I'm remembering the map that less people have ripped off for their own mapsets. :P I like the both of 'em, but E1M7 has so much more atmosphere in it as well as good gameplay, which isn't as easy to duplicate.

Obsidian said:

E1M7, MAP14

I'm remembering the map that less people have ripped off for their own mapsets. :P

Sorry, but which one is it, in your opinion? I'd say that both have been ripped off excessively.

scifista42 said:

Sorry, but which one is it, in your opinion? I'd say that both have been ripped off excessively.

Really? Where has E1M7 been ripped off?

And Torm's contest doesn't count. :P

Obsidian said:

E1M7 has so much more atmosphere

That's only because it had far more fitting music assigned to it. If something similar had been put on MAP14, it would have run circles around E1M7 atmospherically. It certainly did in the PSX.

Vote Inmost. Vote Inmost.

Obsidian said:

Really? Where has E1M7 been ripped off?

Marcaek said:

E1M7 as a base for an episode is overdone as hell because most E1 replacements borrow tropes heavily from this one map.

IMO, Marcaek is right. It's a really influential map on E1 ripoffs.