The /newstuff Chronicles #418

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j4rio
Senior Member

Posts: 1802
Registered: 07-10

I have nothing more to add to my previous post. That's all I wanted to say.

10-12-12 15:24 #

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LordK
Junior Member

Posts: 145
Registered: 09-02

You're doing a great job, MajorRawne. I was surprised at the quality of your reviews considering the quantity of them.

10-12-12 17:36 #

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MajorRawne
Forum Regular

Posts: 811
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Thank you LordK, much appreciated. You too, Phobus. I doubt I'll review 17 wads in 5 days again!

For "trashing" of old maps, I realise I have been beating a dead horse. I shan't bring it up again, but I must end this flamewar by stating as I said in the 2002:ADO review, which people apparently didn't see:

MajorRawne said:
Some of the maps in this megawad are really looking their age. The difference between this megawad and old maps I have trashed is that ADO plays really well. It doesn't just capture the look of older maps, it captures the flow, the pace, the excitement of Ultimate Doom - something most of id's levels had in abundance. They're heavily inspired by the original maps, not just in visual terms, but in the way map sections interconnect and open up. I can cope with bare rooms and empty views if the maps play well. After all, most people play Doom to play Doom, and any sightseeing is a welcome extra.

10-12-12 18:41 #

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TimeOfDeath
Forum Regular

Posts: 2006
Registered: 06-06

MajorRawne said:
TimeofDeath: I can see you and I having problems. You criticise me for not liking your wad which YOU sneakily created a new account to promote - this level of behaviour is so far beneath most honest Doomworlders I can't believe you aren't embarrassed. The wad I reviewed was not excellent, it was not impressive to me alongside some of the other wads I reviewed, it was a speciality map with limited appeal and there is no WAY I was going to play dozens of maps that were slight variations of the same theme. I actually did play more than a score of them including the "final exam".

By omitting the "final exam" I was failing to mention another fight against Doom 2 monsters in other bland environments. I didn't like the wad, I'm sorry but that's LIFE - and nobody else was willing to review it apart from you. Perhaps THAT is more telling than my omission. Maybe you can explain to us what's so game-changing about what I left out?

It's not a secret that I'm eternal slumber and my review didn't praise the wad. I was just stating facts about it.

I don't care that you didn't like the wad. There are plenty of people who will never like my wads. But your review was trash, easily the worst newstuff review I've ever got. How many levels of the final exam did you even play (and beat)? Some of them are creative and it requires all-around dooming skills to complete it all. Completing it is something to brag about and it's a good wad for all doomers to practice once in a while.

BTW, THANKS FOR THE REVIEW, NOPOET.

10-12-12 19:37 #

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MajorRawne
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Posts: 811
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Aw ffs, can we talk about the other wads and not just yours? I'm sorry it wasn't my favourite but GET OVER IT, whoever you are this week.

10-12-12 19:46 #

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cannonball
Senior Member

Posts: 1398
Registered: 07-11

The issue is that the review you submitted seems to only cover half the wad and doesn't even talk about the other half. In my opinion if you had also written something about that and then slated that as well, you might have actually got less of a flamewar here, but anyways as you said lets move on.
For what it's worth I thought the cc4 review was pretty decent given the limited space to write a review for this. Of course onemansdoom blog will always be more detailed due to having it's own page and not part of a 15 wad general review.
Anyway, really well done for reviewing so many wads at least decently over a short space of time. :)

10-12-12 20:01 #

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j4rio
Senior Member

Posts: 1802
Registered: 07-10

You just don't get it, do you? Nobody cares right now about what you like or not. You ignored entirely whole content of a wad and made a review based on starting room. Would you like it if a review of your map would contain just that, completely ignoring everything past first room and not even acknowledging existence of anything past it? Because that's precisely what you've done. The impeccably facepalmworthy replies you are spewing are making it even worse, I would at least be quiet if I were you.

10-12-12 20:02 #

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dew
Feral Kid

Posts: 2217
Registered: 05-08

hrmm...

ToD: yeah, i can see rawne messed up the Expired License review, however... don't you feel you're partially at fault here? your map starts with an extremely repetitive and copypastish sequence. someone not aware of your style may just consider it a silly noob map and quit. someone aware of your style might as well consider it you trolling and quit too. :P some harsher reviewers of the past would just go into a flurry of invectives.

i also don't agree with phml who simply rages like a snobby prick and wants reviewers to commit seppuku whenever they don't do justice to the one wad he is interested in. i bet he has no idea how the other reviews describe their respective wads and i bet he doesn't care. i think the comment under the reviews applies to him tenfold, actually.

on the other hand rawne should've been more attentive and at least iddt/idclip/idclev around, this could've been avoided. i blame his stupid mission to review everything in as short time as possible. attention to details and honest reviewer work has to suffer with such an approach. i mean look at the Oda Nitro DM review. seriously, what the fuck? why is like 90% of the review about MUSIC? no one cares! the vast majority of DM players just mute ingame music anyways! that is truly rawne's worst review here. :P

10-12-12 20:17 #

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MajorRawne
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Okay, there's no way I am playing it again after all this, so let's chalk it off as a bad review if people like. I will not apologise for not liking a wad - in fact I already have, but never again - the idea of apologising because you don't like something is ridiculous! The real issue is that I didn't like the wad, I think my presumed failure in that review was just the icing on the cake. I believe I stated in the review that I felt the wad was a waste of time, so any supposed subtleties hidden among the scores of maps was totally wasted on me. Being a reviewer does not automatically give people prescience, x-ray vision and infinite patience. If a film started off poorly but got better, some critics would have walked out and missed the good stuff.

I had to skim over a ton of details in CChest4 and Odamex (which didn't even get a level-by-level) because of the insane amount of time, work involved and required space in the /Newstuff, and because people complain about fully detailed accounts. Yet not one person has complained about those reviews - strange FUBAR text issue aside. I was highly critical of Entombed, and the wad author showed dignity, gave advice and asked for more details.

There's been no feedback on 2002:ADO, a review which contradicts several of the points people make about the MajorRawne/NoPoet reviews, which suggests either the complainers haven't read it, or didn't find anything to moan about.

EDIT: Ok I've re-read my review and I did miss the final exam. The review appears to be my first draft but there was only like one sentence that was different. To be honest, I couldn't find much to say about the wad, hence its length (in direct opposition to the wad's size).

Last edited by MajorRawne on 10-12-12 at 20:24

10-12-12 20:18 #

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cannonball
Senior Member

Posts: 1398
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MajorRawne said:

There's been no feedback on 2002:ADO, a review which contradicts several of the points people make about the MajorRawne/NoPoet reviews, which suggests either the complainers haven't read it, or didn't find anything to moan about.

I read it and thought it was fair and well balanced. Actually whilst being shocked about the fact you never played the original, it made you a perfect candidate to review it.
Maybe yet again in hindsight maybe people should effectively rage about the slow process of reviewing wads and do several in one sitting. But it's us as a collective who should sort that. But not me, I suck at reviewing things :P

10-12-12 20:24 #

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MajorRawne
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Posts: 811
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Cannonball, this experience has taught us all a valuable lesson. Don't review 17 wads, including several megawads, in one week! I edited my previous post about the Licence Expired map.

EDIT: It's taught us two things - people only ever talk about the perceived "bad" reviews!

Thanks for your input Cannonball.

10-12-12 20:25 #

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Phml
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i also don't agree with phml who simply rages like a snobby prick and wants reviewers to commit seppuku whenever they don't do justice to the one wad he is interested in. i bet he has no idea how the other reviews describe their respective wads and i bet he doesn't care. i think the comment under the reviews applies to him tenfold, actually.

dew, dew, dew. If we're playing "let's rehash old arguments again", I'll once again point out not capitalizing on purpose does not make you look like a cool guy posting in a hurry because his life is so full of interesting things to do. It just makes you look like someone who's desperately trying to act like he's cool on the Internet. We're on a forum, not on an IM service, there's all the time in the world to type in a way that is as easy as possible on the eyes.

Likewise, just because people happen to disagree with you or to be wordy when explicitely asked to explain their position doesn't mean they're shouting expletives at the screen.

Ironically, the only time I've been remotely close to "raging" here was playing ToD's wad a few weeks back. I ran around for 5 minutes, couldn't get anywhere and gave up. No offense ToD - sometimes your stuff just isn't my thing, and that's cool. It was fun watching your "let's play" on youtube, anyway (you can actually die!!!!!).

As to the idea I'm somehow incapable of playing anything but very specific wads, heh. Your own ability to understand people as human beings rather than black and white stereotypes leaves a lot to be desired, dew. I bet you'll tell yourself I'm being a liar, actually liked ToD's wad and am only pretending not to, as why would this scum Phml who can do no good bitch about anything if he didn't have a highly personal and subjective angle, omg (although if you absolutely have to find one to justify your twisted vision of my little self, I'd think you wouldn't need to look any further than me strongly disliking MajorRawne).

Yet, even if you happened to be right in that quote, what relevance could this possibly have on my point? Terrible reviews are terrible reviews, regardless of which wad they're talking about, and just because hypothetical me isn't naming and shaming all of them doesn't mean hypothetical me approves these reviews. Try to apply this argument to anything else and see how far it gets you - "dew speaks up against Phml but doesn't speak up against child molesters, therefore dew condones pedophilia". Yeeep.

10-12-12 22:00 #

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Bloodshedder
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Phml said:
You answered the question yourself by including his old alias, really. His decade-old crusade against gameplay-oriented wads is hard to miss, unless you're purposefully looking the other way.

Sorry then, I must have missed it. The only thing I remember from those days is something ridiculous about E3M9.

Also, what the hell does "gameplay-oriented wads" mean? What else do wads have besides gameplay? I guess you could say graphics, sound, detail, whatever, but all of those things combine together with the levels to make "gameplay".

Beyond that, he has been repeatedly picking wads he knows he'll hate just so he can make antagonizing reviews with factually wrong claims. Genuine incompetence can explain one or two mishaps, but not an entire history of doing such things over the years.

Not buying it. What I see is someone who stepped up to review a rather large backlog and might have missed a couple of things in the process, such as the "final exam" portion of whatever that wad is called. I might even capitulate and make it available for review again. (No, not by the author.)

10-12-12 22:11 #

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Phml
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I use the term gameplay-oriented wads to talk about wads designed primarily around gameplay itself rather than aesthetics, atmosphere or what have you; generally speaking in the context of Doom (although not exclusively), designing interesting fights and good map flow. I'd also lump in that category stuff like jumpmaze and rjump wads.

Having just looked up Wikipedia's article for gameplay, it seems a pretty accurate and comprehensive description of what it is (at least to me), so I'd recommend checking it out.

Last edited by Phml on 10-12-12 at 22:22

10-12-12 22:16 #

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Ixnatifual
Junior Member

Posts: 104
Registered: 09-04

I was most satisfied with the first half of Titan 1024. I did feel like I had run out of ideas a bit myself after that. In terms of interesting gameplay I felt I struggled the most with the 8th level (Pit of Peril).

I contemplated for a while whether to use the sky textures or not. They bloat the WAD size quite a bit and don't actually improve gameplay, but they looked so nice I decided to include them.

I love letting monsters wander around as I think it makes levels a bit more chaotic and replayable.

I enjoyed reading your review of Titan 1024 (and other WADs), MajorRawne.

10-12-12 22:23 #

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Snakes
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I don't agree with a large portion of what MajorRawne says, nor do I particularly enjoy his stylistic approach, but it's good that someone helped push /newstuff to a near-current status. Not liking the reviews is what I get for claiming wad a couple of times over and neglecting to give it a proper write-up.

It's possible for a "gameplay-oriented" wad to have a proper sense of aesthetics, as well. I consider my maps to be gameplay-oriented, but also try to ensure that they look sound enough to not be an eyesore. It's a subjective issue. Some think a lot of really flat, pretty maps play well... I can't imagine why, but they do.

Trying to review one's own wad is a bit... well, it's a ridiculous notion. Now, I'll go ahead and point out that I reviewed 32in24-11, for which I contributed a map, but that was months old and it was one map out of over forty (plus I intentionally never brought it up in my review). I could have tried to review my wads in the past, but that isn't the point of /newstuff. It's unethical, in a way.

The issue of the unfinished review has been acknowledged and apologized for. Let it lie.

10-12-12 22:29 #

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Cacatou
Junior Member

Posts: 182
Registered: 10-11

Well my only peeve with the reviews that I've read is that you said that Titan 1024 has a cursor replacement with Daisy's severed head but that replacement is actually just part of GZDoom not specifically Titan 1024.

10-12-12 22:29 #

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Memfis
Forum Spammer

Posts: 3141
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I think for TOD it's okay to review his own wads because there is really not much people who can do them justice (and even less of them write reviews for T/nC). I remember dew said something like "TOD's wads are niche within a niche" and that is very true.
Much better to read author's opinion than someone else going "OMG CONSTANT BFG SPAM 1000 CYBERDEMONS NO DETAIL STUPID IMPOSSIBLE". :)

Also I agree that some wads are gameplay-oriented and some aren't. For example, my wads definitely aren't. I design layouts pretty much without thinking about the fights that will take place in them. Actually, usually I do all thing placement only after the layout/design is 100% done. And I do it very quickly and lazily because this process is very boring and tedious for me.

10-12-12 22:44 #

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MajorRawne
Forum Regular

Posts: 811
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Cacatou said:
Well my only peeve with the reviews that I've read is that you said that Titan 1024 has a cursor replacement with Daisy's severed head but that replacement is actually just part of GZDoom not specifically Titan 1024.

Whoops, that WAS a mistake, it was the first time I'd ever used GZDoom or at least the first time in months or years, so I thought the cursor replacement was in the wad, not the source port. Sorry.

Bloodshedder said:
Sorry then, I must have missed it. The only thing I remember from those days is something ridiculous about E3M9.

I actually can't remember that, nor do I wish to, the whole thing (which I started) was ridiculous and having it dragged up by the crusading zealot Phml is doing my head in.

Ixnatifual: Thanks, I enjoyed playing your maps, I'm glad you did not take my comments out of context and feel insulted by them. Designing that many 1024 maps must be tough but it brings out a side of Doom that I haven't seen in years.

Phml: I'm not getting into calling anybody names. However I will say that your behaviour is hostile, arrogant, rude, childish, brattish, insulting, unwarranted, laughable, annoying and weird. Now you're starting on other people, people who giveth not a fart about your wacky circus-posting. Nobody is taking you seriously and as for myself, I am most certainly not swayed, cowed, upset or threatened by you at all, mainly because it's difficult to experience those feelings towards a human being (I won't call you a man) who has lowered himself further down than Sewer Horse. Get your head out of your arse, wash your mouth with soap and read "How To Be a People Person" until you understand how to interact with others. And write some bloody reviews, stop mincing about the idea and DO it, otherwise you have NO right to criticise the people who DID. EDIT: I don't see eye to eye with Snakes but you don't see us going at it on the forums, because we know how to behave like adults.

I don't know, all this because I omitted something from a review of a wad I didn't care for and didn't think anyone would give a toss about. You'd think I did this to deliberately provoke people... which I genuinely didn't.

Last edited by MajorRawne on 10-12-12 at 23:08

10-12-12 22:55 #

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BlackFish
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MajorRawne if you want inspiration for reviews find the old ones with deathz0r reviewing them.

jk, your reviews are fine.

10-13-12 00:02 #

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TimeOfDeath
Forum Regular

Posts: 2006
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Bloodshedder said:
I might even capitulate and make it available for review again.

Please don't. Authors shouldn't get another review just because they complained. :)

10-13-12 00:16 #

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glenzinho
Member

Posts: 488
Registered: 09-11

These chronicles (like many others) have become not about the wads, rather reviewing the reviewer... and then reviewing the reviewer who was reviewing the reviewer, and so on...

MajorRawne said:
people only ever talk about the perceived "bad" reviews!

It's much easier to spot faults then to offer praise, but unfortunately this is human nature. Assume that if nobody is complaining about a particular review, then it was all good. I enjoyed your reviews this time, although I didn't care for some of the tangents that you went off on, but I can appreciate your stylistic style(?) and found them entertaining.

About ToD's wad, it's not exactly my cup of tea either, but I appreciated it for what it was, and that was your biggest mistake here: if you're reviewing something you don't particularly like, than you have to strive harder to provide a more balanced opinion. The main problem is that it seemed that you didn't even understand what you were reviewing, that's all. Nothing to do with taste or personal preference, but you should at least understand what something is trying to achieve or else give up the review slot for that wad. If you gave a bad review and you knew what it was about, then all good and nothing to complain about, but the review you gave was a bit of a slap in the face to ToD and his work.

Enough of that anyway and kudos for taking a huge load off of the newstuff list.

10-13-12 01:23 #

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gggmork
If you can make any sense of this post, congratulations

Posts: 2375
Registered: 06-07

Guys, I just chased a rogue cyberdemon in here. He assigned everyone in this thread a TID number, casted Thing_Hate on everyone, then hid behind BlackFish's avatar.

10-13-12 01:26 #

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hex11
Senior Member

Posts: 1986
Registered: 09-09

In 2002ADO review, it was written:
> See, I don't hate old wads.

That may or not be true, but there is one problem with this conclusion. Old wads don't need Boom and aren't constantly changing in recent years. It may have some stylistic and gameplay similarities, but it's not "old" in the same sense as the PWADs on this page:
http://www.gamers.org/~williams/
(which incidentally are of the same era as the recent uploads by Perseus & Co.)

Now that I got that off my chest... Props to Cory Scott for making a classic Chex Quest episode. They are so few, I can count them on one hand and still have fingers left over. It's nice to see the original get some attention for a change.

10-13-12 01:54 #

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BlackFish
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gggmork said:
Guys, I just chased a rogue cyberdemon in here. He assigned everyone in this thread a TID number, casted Thing_Hate on everyone, then hid behind BlackFish's avatar.

Get it away from mine!

http://www.doomworld.com/php/topstory.php?id=2848

Ha

10-13-12 03:58 #

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Xaser
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Posts: 2120
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Random thought o' the moment -- not directed at Rawne in particular, but all reviewers, past n' present:

MajorRawne said:
I had to skim over a ton of details in CChest4 and Odamex (which didn't even get a level-by-level) because of the insane amount of time, work involved and required space in the /Newstuff, and because people complain about fully detailed accounts.

This, IMO, is why level-by-level accounts have no place in t/nc.* There's not enough space to give adequate detail to each map, making it read like "this map is a castle; this next map is a techbase; etc.", and I usually find that the overall-wad review portion is lacking or nonexistent as a result (since the level breakdown tends to absorb all of the time & effort).

I realize this makes wads like CC4 a bit difficult to review given their nature, but it's best to summarize it as a whole (is it a mixed bag? a super-great set? both, paradoxically?), pick out some highlights, and give an overall opinion and leave the level-by-levels for dedicated review spots like onemandoom that are able to focus more on the little details.

I wonder what Bloodshedder's opinion would be on allowing a hypothetical reviewer to include an external link to a site/blog containing detailed level reviews in such a case (e.g. "For a more lengthy description of the maps, click [url=]here[/url..."). Might need additional screening to stop such a policy from opening up a "spam my blog link!" festival, of course. :P

(*Yes, I realize the quoted post is actually phrased "I skimmed over the details because of so many reviews to write", not "I skimmed over the details because I was doing a level-by-level", but my point is that the latter still occurs. A nice springboard, if nothing more.)

10-13-12 04:58 #

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glenzinho
Member

Posts: 488
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BlackFish said:
http://www.doomworld.com/php/topstory.php?id=2848

Heh, that Wills wad Nucking Futs!! is one of those rarest of beasts, an actually funny joke wad.

10-13-12 06:22 #

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Bloodshedder
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Xaser said:
This, IMO, is why level-by-level accounts have no place in t/nc.* There's not enough space to give adequate detail to each map, making it read like "this map is a castle; this next map is a techbase; etc.", and I usually find that the overall-wad review portion is lacking or nonexistent as a result (since the level breakdown tends to absorb all of the time & effort).

I tend to agree with this. But I generally can't afford to be picky about it, because submitted reviews have historically been in short supply.

I wonder what Bloodshedder's opinion would be on allowing a hypothetical reviewer to include an external link to a site/blog containing detailed level reviews in such a case (e.g. "For a more lengthy description of the maps, click [url=]here[/url..."). Might need additional screening to stop such a policy from opening up a "spam my blog link!" festival, of course. :P

I don't think so. However, it wouldn't stop the reviewer (or anyone) from including more detailed comments in the discussion thread, or linking to them.

10-13-12 07:05 #

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Gez
Why don't I have a custom title by now?!

Posts: 9140
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Rawn, it's great that you take upon yourself the mantle of the reviewer; but you make certain mistakes that end up being quite grating when one reads a TNC full of them.

The main issues are digressing about yourself and how you don't like old uploads (do we need five reminders of this fact in a single TNC?), and not properly looking into what the mod offers. In particular, I think you should avoid reviewing ZDoom mods, since they often deviate from baseline Doom gameplay in ways which seem to baffle you.

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
but comes across more as an homage to those 1994 that the Phantom Wad Uploaders love so much. (Seriously, are any of these uploaders active on the Doomworld forums?)

First digression about old mod uploads.

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
Greetings, fellow Doomers! If I might say, what smashing blouses you're all wearing. Here we have a 10-map level set which is variously described as "crap", "mediocre", "great" and "fantastic" by self-appointed experts in the archive. Seriously, if a map is "great" does that mean its ceiling height is 10,000 and it's made up of a million sectors, or was it designed by Jesus? Does anyone else hate the fatuous use of the word "great"? It's supposed to refer to something or someone so epic they are practically majestic, and now it's used to describe Doom maps and the taste of American breakfast cereals.

Given the review then goes on to have a paragraph for each of the ten maps, was there really a need for padding it further with rambling nonsense?

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
Anyway, onto the opinion of another self-appointed "expert". And if you read any of my old reviews and are waiting for immature fart jokes or Tanith curse-words, I've grown up. So I won't say "fethpoop".

First digression about your past as a reviewer.

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
Your menu cursor is replaced with the severed bunny-head that super-obsessed Doomers talk about with weird, over-enthusiastic glowing in their eyes and bulging in their boxers.

Completely missing what's mod and what's port.

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
Map 05, Belly of the Beast - the ominously-titled map gives you an even more ominous rocket launcher at the start. The music is one of my favourite Ultimate Doom tracks. The music changes when this map plays a nasty trick on you. If you win, which to be frank not everyone will, you finish the episode: hooray! Someone actually bothered to replace the episode text!

Just FYI: the episode text is actually at the end of level 6 in Doom II. What does it mean for Titan 1024? That there's a MAPINFO lump. There's no real reason for praising a ZDoom mod for having a MAPINFOed level progression.

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
Map 10, Hidden Complex - A base map which resembles map 02 in appearance. This is based around teleporters whose every sidedef takes you to a different location. I was tired by the time I got here, but I hate teleporter puzzles at the best of times so meh.

I guess you missed it when pistol-starting each level in sequence, probably with idclev or the like, but it's the secret level.

By the way, the way to find it without level warping is very neat. It involves finding a switch that opens a door outside the playable area (but you can see it through a window), so a baron will come out, trigger a linedef that lowers a the secret exit teleport pad, and land on it.

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
The music is well-chosen to fit each map. It's clear the author drew at least some inspiration from the classic Doom maps - and that's the proper classic Doom maps, not the hit-and-miss hodgepodge from 1994 that the Phantom Wad Uploader [TM] sends to the Archives each week.

Second digression

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
See, I don't hate old wads.

Third digression.

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
On the one hand we have nutters uploading ancient wads that should, in some cases, be left forgotten. On the other hand we have mad, modern-day geniuses who brings us maps whose thoughtfulness and atmosphere blow you away.

Fourth digression.

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
Expired License

No further comment needed about this one.

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
you're trapped in the blue key area because a) you couldn't find a practically invisible switch which is on a walkway far above the blue key area and b) you can't get out of the blue key area to get back to the switch because one of the ledges is slightly too high.

Missing that jumping isn't optional here. Though to be fair, I guess the author could have said so in the text file.

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
Maybe I'm playing this all wrong, maybe I missed something stupidly obvious to someone with more patience, maybe I should stick to maps where "You are enjoying your retirement - never mind the fact that you died, went to hell, saw some shit that would turn people white and gibbed ten thousand demons in an orgy of violence - when suddenly the Army wants to send you back". Any review where the reviewer is talking random crap rather than actually doing a review is not a brilliant sign, I'm afraid.

Indeed. It is a sign that the reviewer completely missed what the wad was about.

If a mod is genuinely crap, it doesn't need long flowery digression about some fanfiction you write on the Doom marine that one time at band camp or whatever; it just needs something like "this belongs to the goddamn shithouse", end of story. If you're not saying that, then it means you're just padding. You're not actually reviewing. It's more like it's one step on the reviewing marathon you've decided to run, and now you've still got to play through 36 maps of 2002ad10 and 32 of cchest4 before breakfast, so you don't have time to figure shit out. "It's dark. I got stuck. Here's my review, now let's pad it with some flowery shit."

The MajorRawn Chronicles said:
I've done a lot of bashing of ancient maps (note to avoid a flamewar: I don't mean ALL old maps are bad, I just think SOME of those being submitted are). The fact that they're old makes me ask whether there is any value in uploading ones that don't offer a good SP, Co-Op or DM experience when there are plenty of modern maps flying about. So if you're incensed by my other reviews, please understand I'm not trying to start a flame war over this, and I respect the opinions of people who appreciate those maps which I find unlovable.

Final digression, but quite a big one.

10-13-12 09:46 #

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MajorRawne
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Posts: 811
Registered: 04-10

Hi everyone, thanks for the feedback. My apologies for this epic post, I'm talking to half the forum in it.

Gez, you have clarified a few things I've been thinking.

My first mistake was to inject too much of myself into the maps; a good review tells you about the wad, not the reviewer. Making a review about yourself inevitably opens you up to criticism, rather than your review or the actual wads.

My second mistake is a character flaw: when I get an idea in my head it becomes a kind of obsession. It is not fair on you lot to make you read this stuff, and that is clearly something for me to work on.

As for my stylistic approach, this won't be for everyone. Any experienced and halfway competent writer (and despite the comments from certain members, I feel that I am competent) knows they CANNOT please everyone.

My reviews are loaded with personality, emotions and (for the better wads) excitement and enthusiasm. The intention is to evoke emotions in the reader, not to bore them or kiss the wad author's arse. I could write short, bland reviews, which for me would mean I'm lying or holding back, then we'd get mundane /Newstuffs that had 20 posts by 5 different people, instead of ones that get 60 posts in 24 hours by half the community (for better or for worse).

As for the technical aspects, I am not particularly up to date with the technical side of Doom mapping. My reviews are there to tell you whether or not I felt the map looked good and more importantly played well. This aspect of the reviews may have been overlooked by some people. This is not an implied criticism about anyone.

Some readers might like to know about MAPINFO lumps. Most, or many, won't care. A review of a non-specialist upload should be aimed at the widest audience, not those of a certain technical competence, otherwise the review has essentially failed, no matter how well-written or technically competent. This simply is not a requirement for most reviews, so I'll leave the maps that require sophisticated knowledge for other reviewers.

There are some reviews that were held back for the next /Newstuff so I may have repeated some mistakes. I can assure you all that I am constantly learning from everything that's been said and my future reviews will reflect this improved knowledge.

If I wrote seventeen short stories and only one was regarded as crap, I'd pat myself on the back. However I've put up with a lot of bullshit from certain members, so it's lucky I'm not NoPoet - I held back about 90% of my venom in this thread. I'm not fucking around when I said I've moved on from the NoPoet days.

Finally, despite the alleged failure of one review out of the dozen or so I had published, I would feel slighted if Bloodshedder re-opened it for review and I am extremely grateful to him that he let my review stand: I have not heard anybody apart from the mapper put forward a case to do this, even Phml did not like the wad, and I have clarified my review in this thread, so the need to re-review this wad which NO-ONE apart from the mapper actually seems to have enjoyed, is zero.

Thanks for reading, hopefully it doesn't come across as a rant.

10-13-12 11:46 #

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