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LexiMax

The /newstuff Chronicles #291

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Welcome friends, to another installment of /newstuff. The pickings are decent this week, but unfortunately a vast majority of the maps are average at best and shithouse quality at worst. At least the authors this week were explicit about what their maps ran in.

  • Dark Barren Forest - Paul Corfiatis
    ZDoom - Solo Play - 1898 KB - (img)
    This is essentially a boss battle against this really quick and hard to see boss. To make matters worse, it's really dark outside, and he can screw you up really quick if you're not careful. That's...about it, but the author certainly has the mood down pat. Fun for about 10 minutes, and by then you have either beaten the boss or you've deleted this WAD from your hard drive because OH GO HERE HE COMES AGAIN @#&$*()&)!!!1111

  • The death in brown and gray - Eye del Cul
    Limit Removing - Solo Play - 168 KB - (img) (img) (img)
    In my humble opinion, this is the one map this week that everyone should play. This reminds me of an E1 styled map, where you are more concerned about exploration and hitting switches than getting all three keys. The action is very fast paced, but never too difficult, at least not on HNTR, though your mileage may vary. Heck, the designers even dared to put in a BFG, though it had a decent enough reason for existing. Ammo at the beginning of the map was rather sparse, but it's clear the designers play tested the map to ensure the odds were never really unfair. My only gripes are are twofold, one with the switches in that they are sometimes a little bit TOO obscure to find (the one that opened the path to the red door was a puzzler for me) and that the architecture, though very nice, I think was a little bit TOO repetitive. They could have gotten rid of a number of the 'patterns' in the wall and I wouldn't have noticed the difference, and it also probably would have made the level a little bit easier to maneuver around in. Recommended, and with an AlexMax Pick of the Week seal of approval as well.

  • Gloomy Sewers 1024 - Mephisto
    doom2.exe - Solo Play - 34 KB - (img) (img) (img)
    This is a 1024 map that takes place in the sewers. While the main texturing is uninspired at best, the trim works out well and overall it doesn't look too too bad. I did think that there were a tad too many switches in general, but that might just be because of the restrictions, so it's forgivable. It's not that difficult, all told, probably the most difficult thing in the entire map is dealing with the final two enemies, and even that is pretty trivial for most seasoned Doom vets. For what it is, it's a decent map. Give it a go.

  • GO TO HELL - Paul Corfiatis
    doom2.exe - Solo Play - 55 KB - (img) (img) (img)
    This is a simple hell-styled map. Nothing much to say about it, because to be honest it's awfully shoot, especially for needing all three keys. Challenging? Not in the least. Texturing? Spot on, and at others times it looked completely out of place. The architecture is awfully simplistic as well, no matter how you slice it. In general, the whole map feels amateurish and unfinished. The author tries to pass this off in the text file as a map that gives off a mid-90s feel, but honestly, if I wanted a map from the mid-90s, I'd play a map from the mid-90's. The best I can say about the map is that there isn't anything really terrible about the map, no glaring errors and such, and it looks like the author gave it an honest shot. Still, not enough to save it from a recommendation to pass it by.

  • NEoDM - Th0r
    Skulltag - Deathmatch - 1166 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img)
    The readme describes this as an interesting style of DM maps. Well, they're about halfway right, the visual style is certainly interesting, and at times, beautiful. The point of the map set is that each level, from map01 to map06, uses a different color, and black, sort of like 8BITDM. However, where 8BITDM was fun as hell to look at and play, the problem with NEoDM is that the two colors made the maps near-unnavigable, since the colors made judging simple things, like the space you were in, harder than they should have been. What's worse, the layouts themselves are either symmetrical or ludicrously bad. Seriously, when did the author think it was a great idea to deathmatch on thin white walkways overhanging damaging red slime? And hey, let's steal map07 and retexture it and call it map06. The atmosphere is there, but maybe someone should have actually tried playing it first. This gets an emphatic pass from me. Seriously Th0r, you can do better than this.

  • Purged - Parapsyche
    ZDoom - Solo Play - 348 KB - (img) (img) (img)
    This single player WAD makes use of a story in the text file, and also sprinkled across the various terminals in-game. Problem is, the result doesn't feel very authentic. The entire experience is pretty much on a rail, there is the keyed door, and then one or two other possible place the key could be. Plus, the one 'diversion' room didn't have anything neat in it for my trouble. Visual-wise, the map looks VERY detailed, but not in a good way. Instead of jiving with the stylized look that Doom's default texture set and engine allows, he decided to do what everyone who has done at least 'realistic' wad has learned NOT to do, try and cram as much detailed line and sector work so you can replicate the look of a bed or a piece of paper or a computer keyboard to perfection. Don't do this, people, it looks terrible in Doom. Challenge-wise, I didn't like the fact that he skimped out on health early in the level, especially considering how many hitscan enemies you go up against, and if you go into the storage room, you're not compensated at all for your effort wasted in terms of health. Judging from the story, I also expected a great deal more darkness and suspense in the level, but everything was surprisingly bright and cheery. On the nitpick side of things, I didn't like the excessive use of DOORTRAK on certain walls, and none of the doors' tracks were pegged correctly, so you get to see them rise and fall with the rest of the door. I suppose this maps a fun diversion, but I have the feeling that it could have been much more...

  • Twisted Metal 1024 - Mephisto
    doom2.exe - Solo Play - 62 KB - (img) (img) (img)
    Here's another one of those 1024 maps. The mapper made good use of that 1024, the map requires two keys and he seems to use a great deal of creative catwalks in various places. However, I do have a few nitpicks with the map. One, he uses those face-switch textures both as decoration and as switches. It only took a few more seconds to figure out what he had done, but that's bad practice in my opinion. Two, the jump-across catwalk that leads to the blue door is a pain in the neck because it's pretty easy to get hung up on a wall decoration; he should have used an impassible line there. Also, if you're not good at dealing with a reverent at melee range with ZERO maneuvering room (I'm not) you're not going to like the end of the map. Worth a try for what it is, however.

In other news this week, there was also a demo of SL-9: Resurrection uploaded to the archive, but honestly, I don't see the point in reviewing demos unless the map is REALLY ambitious. You can give it a looksee if you want, though. But wait...an AlexMax /newstuff would never be complete without...

THE GODDAMN SHITHOUSE

They call it the Goddamn Shithouse. It knows the score. It gets the women. It kills the bad guys. And it's where the worst of the worst end up.
  • I'm not able to do deathmatch maps but i still made it - Walter "Daimon" Confalonieri
    I never thought I would ever send a set of more than one deathmatch maps to the shithouse. I was wrong. I've seen better layouts in a random DWANGO release, hell one of the maps even has a broken linedef. The maps themselves look just barely passable. This whole thing reeks of no effort, which the barely-articulate author basically admits to in the included text file. If you see a server admin running this mapset, punch him in the face.

  • The Marble Demon Boss - Pure Hellspawn
    Apparently, this map is a showcase for a ZDoom scripted boss character. Too bad the showcased boss sucks ass. Just jump in the air to avoid his 'attacks' and shoot the face (not the eye, the face) fourteen times to win. Yawn.

  • Gamarra's story: Part I "Gamarra sucks" - Giulio Galassi
    Despite the name, this is the fifth map in the Gamarra saga. That should be the end of the story, but apparently this map was made by a different author, and the original author is throwing a hissy fit over it. Funny, but the map still fails it like you would expect.

And that's it. See ya' next time, folks.

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barren (adj): 2. not productive: as a) producing little or no vegetation - DESOLATE <barren deserts>

I'll agree that it makes little sense when used to describe a forest...

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Could be a forest where all the trees are dead.

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oxymoron alert


Anyways, people did play test for me, and they had no problems getting around, and they thought it was a blast. But meh, I was just trying something different. About the layouts, not much you can really do with two textures and keep it interesting, if i tried to do some of the things that i would normally do, you wouldn't have been able to see them, and it would just look stupider. Although i didnt expect to get wad of the week or whatever, i did expect to get a little more postive comments. Anyways, thanks for the review, and i hope that my next map fairs better in the NSC.

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The death in brown and gray is not very special. A nice bit of nonlinearity, and an interesting (and well working) theme, but the gameplay is, IMO, just not very fun. Its k and thats about all you can say about it.

GO TO HELL feels like we're back in about 1997 or 1998. Not in the good way either.

Both of Mephs 1024 maps are really very good. Both maps, especially twisted metal, use the 1024 area in a really creative way. My only complaint is that theres not really any difficulty. Definetly worth checking out. IMO the true wads of the week.

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Barren Forest and Go to Hell were not serious attempts, but I certinally know how to upset some of you (yeah, it only makes me laugh at all the wimps). Go to Hell was inspired by MAP28 and Episode 3 and it was never intended to be that good, or that hard. But wait, hmm there are two episodes in progress by me. Into Sandy's City will be a more crappy (by your standards) 11 or 12 map episode, inspired by Sandy Petersen's levels, so the levels will have that original Doom2 feel to them, that episode should be all done by November. Whisper's of Satan is going to be the Best 32 map Doom2 Megawad so far (30 levels and 2 secret Wolfenstein levels), will be released next year or in 2008. I am putting my best efforts into WOS, not only with design but with gameplay too and the levels won't be too big, just small to medium.

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oh so GO TO HELL was supposed to feel like 1994 or 1995? Well you failed that too, the generic 1994/5 crap was oh so much worse.

Whisper's of Satan is going to be the Best 32 map Doom2 Megawad so far

I lol'd hard

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pcorf said:

Whisper's of Satan is going to be the Best 32 map Doom2 Megawad so far...


Whew your modesty is overwhelming. All these maps made by just you? What if someone doesn't care for your style? They're not going to think it's the best anything.

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pcorf said:

Whisper's of Satan is going to be the Best 32 map Doom2 Megawad so far

Keep reaching for that rainbow!

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pcorf said:

Whisper's of Satan is going to be the Best 32 map Doom2 Megawad so far


I'm going to assume you mean best 32 map megawad you made. I mean, to say the best one ever is just way to egotistical for anyone's taste.

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zap610 said:

I'm going to assume you mean best 32 map megawad you made. I mean, to say the best one ever is just way to egotistical for anyone's taste.



Then again, we are talking about Paul Corfiatis. He can be almost as bad as Fredrik used to be back when he was 15.

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Alas, PureHellspawn's final contribution to the Doomworld community just before he was banned, ended up in the "God Damned Shithouse."

This is truely a tragedy. :(

oh so GO TO HELL was supposed to feel like 1994 or 1995? Well you failed that too, the generic 1994/5 crap was oh so much worse.


Hey man, not all 1994 wads were bad. Just take a look at Crossing Acheron and the Trinity College.


Well, not the best week for the Doomworld community but maybe things will be better next time.

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Like, hey man, I said generic and crap man.

Also, I've been meaning to ask, who died and made you a longtime regular?

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HobbsTiger1 said:

Also, I've been meaning to ask, who died and made you a longtime regular?


I honestly wasn't aware that somebody had to die for one to become a forum regular. Who died for you to become a regular?

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HobbsTiger1 said:

Also, I've been meaning to ask, who died and made you a longtime regular?

Now THAT is lol worthy.

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In reality there are better things in life than getting upset over some words on a computer screen, better to get upset in an argument with ya girlfriends (something I don't have to worry about!). And if you don't think WOS is going to be good, you are going to be shooting yourselves when it comes out sometime next year. This is my next serious longterm project which I have been working on for about 3 or 4 months, with 32 maps, all new music, and much more. I'm carefully focussing on the gameplay, really really carefully. And I'm not a White Van man who sells speakers.

AlexMax should stop reviewing, he can be a negative reviewer at times. He seems to dislike plenty of other not too bad levels and he always wants PERFECTION. Come on boy!, sit down and be in a positive mood when you play Doom because Doom is not Quake or Doom3. Maybe if the White Van scam didn't get you in the first place, you'd be much better.

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I edited my post above because it waz a little full on. Take it easy Boys!

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Craigs said:
Alas, PureHellspawn's final contribution to the Doomworld community just before he was banned,

Maybe, but nothing stops people banned here for posting pornographic images or whatever from uploading wads to idgames.

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pcorf said:

...And if you don't think WOS is going to be good, you are going to be shooting yourselves when it comes out sometime next year.


I don't know, I just found this kind of funny.

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Barren Forest and Go to Hell were not serious attempts, but I certinally know how to upset some of you


If you attempted that with Barren Forest you failed miserably. Do try again though.

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Okay guys, lets move on from this and Hopefully Deathz0r will review the next newstuff chronicles.

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pcorf said:

and Hopefully Deathz0r will review the next newstuff chronicles.

Man, things HAVE changed.

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pcorf losered for trolling, flaming and generally being a jerk, in this thread and others.

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Heh, I knew it would happen soon. He gets a map on the top 100 wads of all time and suddenly he's the most successful mapper ever. I honestly don't see why so many people have a problem with Alex Max. His reviews are strict, but not unfair. If he said things like "OFMG dIS MAP SUXSEZ KUZ IT DON'T HAV CARS LIEK HALO" or "OMFG DIS MAP SUX KUZ IT AREN'T MADE BY ME" then I'd have a problem. It's amazing how so many people can get upset over one person's opinion.

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yeah, his reviews also gave some helpful hints on how to improve it so other future /newstuff mappers know what to expect from the reviewers.

having said that i'll probably submit somthing once CC3 is done. but i'm not going to put much thought into it ATM.

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