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dobugabumaru
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Posts: 474
Registered: 02-12
MAP06: A smaller level that has a few tricks which pretty much kick your ass. Specifically the area near the start where you need to run across a bridge, kill revs, flick a switch, fall down an elevator shaft and deal with four chaingunners immediately across from you. This has been the only battle so far that comes across as flat-out unfair during your first time, especially if you're low on health from the bout with the previous revs. RL fight is extremely tough too, although more thought-out and balanced. The rest of the fights aren't nearly as aggressive or difficult, so it's a smoother ride until the exit.

INTERMISSION: Solar Jetman intermission music? Interesting choice.

MAP07: A short battle-centered level with a pretty interesting layout and neat enemy composition. Pretty fun, not much to add besides that as its far more focused on action that progression. Man though, do I pity anyone trying to 100%. Once all those PEs and Lost Souls popped up, I laughed and just booked it for the exit.

MAP08: My favorite so far. The atmosphere, music, difficulty, and tension from being in the nukage add up to being a great level. It also looks wonderful and perhaps the additional textures in this level add to the experience... I really like the idea of going into the caverns where the techbase is pumping the nukage into... or possibly taking it out of.

Only fight I wish was handled better was the blue key section, since due to the large number of enemies in the cavern, the player is unlikely to dive in (at least I was) and played the open-door-shoot game. But part of that is my bad for being too afraid to fight in the cavern, so it was boring due to my timidity. Damn though, it's a great level.

It's still kind of funny that all three of these levels are shorter than MAP01 so far.

------

Also, in case anyone is confused, the map we're supposed to be on is the same as the current day of the month. It's perfectly fine to be a couple days behind, just letting you guys know where the limit is.

Last edited by dobugabumaru on 10-08-12 at 18:09
Old Post 10-08-12 17:43 #
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Jimmy91
rhymes with Midi91


Posts: 1333
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It's actually a little confusing for me, especially if I'm trying to determine whether I'm ahead or behind, because my timezone puts me 16 or so hours ahead of you guys. So, for me, it's the date of the month minus one. :P

I CAN'T MATH

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Old Post 10-08-12 18:57 #
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mouldy
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Posts: 517
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Map 8 - This is a frantic nukage fest, although with enough suits and dry land to make it fair. Some trademark awkward revenant battles and a cheeky arch vile, but I olny died a few times and mostly from my own recklessness. I seem to remember picking up some rockets but never found a rocket launcher...

No problems with ammo and health on this one, all in all a well balanced and satisfying adventure, with interesting layout and pleasing visuals. Jolly good
Old Post 10-08-12 20:01 #
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purist
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Posts: 1616
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MAP08: Plunge

Sometimes I yell before I get burnt. I started this map expecting it to be a bit of a struggle because of the nukage but I ended it suprised to have finished so soon.

This is another nice looking slime base with layered on details as Jimmy persists with his toxic wasteland overarching theme.

There's an over-abundance of ammo so I kept my chaingun primed to keep hitscanners at bay and dealt comfortably with the bigger monsters that were generally placed at a distinct disadvantage - such as the arachnatrons mentioned by dobugabumaru.

I used up a couple of the radsuits too soon by exploring in the nukage rather than taking a direct route and that could have cost me bad if it weren't for the generous amount of health lying around. In fact I only became unstuck against the PE's and that was because I tried to stand and fight too long rather than escape through the red door. The radsuit issue could have been evaded by only releasing them as they are needed but it's not life or death by any means.

The final area was a bit anticlimatic but it made me smile that Jimmy managed to find space for his now trademark turret revenants in the exit room.
Old Post 10-08-12 22:17 #
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glenzinho
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Posts: 491
Registered: 09-11
MAP08

Man, did this one give me the shits! Seriously though, great map, but it frustrated me so much on UV I had to drop to HMP again. On HMP it's almost a walk in the park, the difference between the difficulties is a LOT. The four chaingunners at the top of each staircase (to lower the blue key) were bastards I tell ya, bastards! The Archie in the caverns (on the Blue door side) was a prick, and those PEs are total douches... but this map is great. What can I say, if I died this much on another mapset I would probably just ragequit. Keep it comin'... DEMO

MAP09
Another toughie... to be honest, I had to run through with nomonsters on to get the layout down. It wasn't very intuitive and with all the nukage it led me to give up for a couple of hours. I didn't care for this one too much, but I can see that it has well set up battles... it just takes a few deaths to figure this one out, I guess. DEMO

Last edited by glenzinho on 10-09-12 at 02:48
Old Post 10-08-12 23:15 #
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fauxmachine
Newbie


Posts: 3
Registered: 08-12
Hope you all don't mind me playing catch-up. I didn't have much time to play this weekend.

MAP03:
Well, this was a pretty standard facility-type area (which I suppose is why they call it "The Oasis Facility"). Difficulty is a bit lower than the previous map, although I still died once to that archvile because I got stuck on a box and couldn't hide from him in time. Embarrassing. The outdoor area looked quite nice, but the indoor portions were less impressive visually.

MAP04:
This is a nice-looking level! I especially like the path to the gate at the beginning of the level. Two things I didn't like about the gameplay: 1) the annoying chaingunners that hide behind parapets until you think you've killed them all, then when your back is turned they unload on you, and 2) that yellow key trap! Just on the edge of being TOO devious for me. Ah well, it's still a fine map.
Old Post 10-09-12 07:01 #
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Crusader No Regret
Green Marine


Posts: 45
Registered: 12-10
Map 9 retrospective
continuous playthrough on HMP, savegames used

Attaining 100% kills on this one stumped me for weeks. Already had located all the other secrets before discovering a key action to access the last one so had 100% secrets too. The most efficient route still requires crossing slime 3-4 times so pressure is on to progress swiftly. There's plasma ammo but no plasma weapons to be found on this difficulty so I had things a bit easier than someone playing from scratch.

Hint: have 100% health or close to it before stepping in the teleport guarded by yellow key bars. The arena on the other side will end up being utter chaos.

The design intentions appear to be successful. Several areas have the player uncomfortably exposed to chaingunners, revenants, or both. Hotfooting around trying to clear safe ground before (0r after) a radsuit runs out adds an edge of panic. I would not pick this map for a casual dooming session; I find the map to be quite demanding to complete without savegames.
Old Post 10-09-12 09:54 #
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mouldy
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Posts: 517
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Map 9 - this one was quite a bastard, and yet I couldn't help but enjoy it for some reason. I usually hate maps that make you run through a maze of nukage as they punish you for confusion, while being confusing. This one had a bevy of rad suits that I squandered early so I left quite a trail of burnt feet as time went on. Its not so bad as long as you dont mind charging around suicidally a few times to get the hang of the layout, and at least health and ammo were fairly abundant.

I had to laugh at the last room, being slowly lowered with painful inevitability into a crossfire of bullets and fireballs, like a teabag into hot water.

As usual some really clever and intricately connective design.
Old Post 10-09-12 19:43 #
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ComicMischief
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Posts: 406
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MAP09

I'm going to start, and not conclude, by saying that this has been the most fun map so far. Perfectly 'landmarked' despite a somewhat labyrinthine nature, with ample radsuits for all that nukage-hiking, this map is tight without being too cramped; or even cramped in a good way. I had a real sense of being locked-in to a few fights, but with more than enough breathing room and no cheap tricks -- managed this map without dying once.

I sneered a little bit at the switch chase, BF_THUD.WAD still being on my mind, but at least I was rewarded with an Archvile, my favourite monster.

Final area was nice and tense, as the cage lowered and I dodged incoming fire (making a couple of Revenant missiles orbit me in the process) then; radsuit beginning to fade; made a crazy dash to what happened to be the exit. I didn't pick off the enemies in that enclosure, but the escape felt good.

Fuck, the map felt good. Kudos too, for a little troll-baiting with the 'turret' Revenant at the beginning -- I expected that to set the tone of the map (with a slight air of exasperated unease, I may add) but it didn't. I loved it.
Old Post 10-09-12 20:08 #
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ComicMischief
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MAP10

Oh man, this one was atmospheric. But is it me, or are these getting easier...?

Anywho, it was something of a trek, and quite confusing at times -- took me a while to find the 'city' section of the map, and in it I ended up killing the Mastermind out of a desire to explore the place, because it wasn't really clear what switches did what, and... ugh. I'd have minded more were it not for the atmospherics, I admit.

Not too bad though. HellKnight in the 64-wide corridor was a little nasty at the end. I can deal with them, but I didn't initially see him and took some snot to the face before I fought 'properly'.

Very glad to see the "get key, see ambush" default not too present in these maps. It's nice in the original IWADs but can get tiresome when it's every damn map, and so it's lovely here.
Old Post 10-10-12 17:15 #
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mouldy
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Posts: 517
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Map 10 was almost relaxing after the previous ones, i guess this was the intention judging by the mellow music. The difficulty has been turned down and it seems to be more about exploring and admiring the scenery, not that I am complaining. Made a nice change of pace, although I kept waiting for a battle that never happened. I hardly even needed to use the rocket launcher other than taking out the spider boss, and come to think of it that guy wasnt even in the way.

I'm guessing this map will prove to be the eye of the storm and it will be back to the arse kicking tomorrow... I did get hammered a bit by the hitscanner ambush I'll admit.
Old Post 10-10-12 20:49 #
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purist
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Posts: 1616
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MAP09: Slime Vaults.

Mixed feelings over this one. Although the layout is quite non-linear it's clearly advantagous to take the intended path and it's hard to discern what that is. I managed to cover the main body of the map with just one death despite finding the SSG late and wasting a couple of radsuits.

The monster placement is the best of the set for the most part in this map and despite my worry that a lack of orientation at any point could see me fizzle into the slime. Up until the lowering lift it was my favourite in the set so far. I wish it just ended there.

I smelt a rat when I realised I was trapped in a cage surrounded by revenants and chaingunners and saved before I got shredded. I did this with some guilt as I prefer to play without saves but now I'm glad I did as it's a terrible way to end the map. I tried holding my ground a few times but I couldn't survive it without dashing straight for the exit. Shame.
Old Post 10-10-12 22:41 #
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Crusader No Regret
Green Marine


Posts: 45
Registered: 12-10
Map 10
pistol start HMP

(insert gushing about map here)

I do want to express how fitting the music is to the atmosphere given off by the map. Planned on skipping past the Spider Mastermind this time except that I revealed it early and spent most of my resources killing it. Also forgot I had a rocket launcher until things were almost over so I opted to use it in some situations where I usually don't bother. The last four imps cooperated and cluster close enough that one rocket got them all. Only after the fact do I realize a few rockets would clear out one hitscanner ambush in seconds.

Trivia
- 1000% health is the maximum possible.
- There are no teleporting monsters anywhere on the map. There are also no teleports anywhere in the map as well. (really fits the atmosphere)
- No plasma weapons to be found despite cells being available (though I could be missing something since that one secret with the energy cells eludes me) In my continuous playthrough, I had the rifle from map 8 and used that to eliminate the spider.
- It's possible to snag the blue key without lowering the pillar it's on. It's also possible to become stuck around there. The mapfix (which I didn't use) probably addresses the problem with becoming stuck.
Old Post 10-11-12 07:26 #
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ComicMischief
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Posts: 406
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MAP11

That is one hectic beginning, I must say. Imp/HellKnight crossfire mixed with Lost Souls and Demons with the occasional Chaingunner to snipe away, although not from a distance. Map calmed down a bit though, and although it was good-looking (I especially like the way Jimmy91's been doing the 'broken parts of techbase' thing, it looks great and is a good way to signify that a door is just for decoration and not openable as such) it was fairly straightforward. Not a bad thing, by any means -- it was always clear where to head after a key was collected.

Speaking of keys, the ambush after the red key was totally expected; I got ready for it, snatched the key, took about 50% damage from some Chaingunners, then just-about escaped Archvile flames in a teleporter. Nice, though easy to escape as I found. Behind that red key door though, the Mancubus ambush bested me twice. Nice and tight, I found I had to get the upper hand with the rocket launcher and keep the pressure up to survive; which I did, with 90% health remaining and the two medikits still present. Awesome.

Exited the level feeling good about the next set. This comes about middle-ish compared to the other levels, but they've mostly been really good. :)
Old Post 10-11-12 15:12 #
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mouldy
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Posts: 517
Registered: 02-12
Map 11 - yeah this was a good one, nice well designed and varied layout with enough detail to never feel lost, and a fast soundtrack to put a spring in your step - I always feel like the music effects the way I play a map, whether its slow and methodical or suicidal rambo, this one had me charging around killing stuff like i was invincible. Luckily there was plenty of health as well.

The fights weren't too tough after a hectic start, one or two moments i was close to running out of ammo, mostly cos I spray it around like a madman though. The traps were fairly obvious, although the chaingunner archvile combo caught me out a bit (but was easy enough to leg it out of there) and the mancubus ambush was a little hairy.

good stuff
Old Post 10-11-12 19:32 #
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Crusader No Regret
Green Marine


Posts: 45
Registered: 12-10
Map 11
pistol start HMP

Like the jamming tune used here.

How does it play? This one is fun even when I know where to look for stuff. The start is chaotic with attacks coming from multiple sides. There's a high chance of death when not taking the mega armor like I did. Actually got lucky and survived on my first try. Dying at the start doesn't frustrate much when it does happen.

I did drop to 5% while clearing out the initial areas. Made my way to the hidden berserk and was good to go. Once inside the base, health availability becomes much more generous and the most dangerous encounters do have some warning if looking out for them. Plenty of easy opportunities for teasing infights present. Hoarded plasma for the end room. Low danger factor overall, still a pleaser.

Random stuff:
- The mancubi in the last ambush are deaf on HMP which trivialized the encounter for me. Funnily, my brain was wandering about using the deaf flags: how having a monster deaf on one difficulty but not another could alter the gameplay and this encounter provides an example.
- The walls that open when hitting the red key switch were closed when I came by after killing all the monsters and returning for final item collection. Didn't know that before.
- The RNG decided to let me exit with 200% armor instead of 198%.
Old Post 10-12-12 09:42 #
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Jimmy91
rhymes with Midi91


Posts: 1333
Registered: 04-06
Time to play some catch-up. D:

MAP08: Plunge

Completion stats:
Kills: 99%
Items: 100%
Secrets: 80%
Time: 6:41
Best Time: 1:40

History:
This one was mapped specifically for Jenesis in the space of a day on December 28th, 2010. No history behind it all, really.

Gameplay/Layout:
I like this map's layout. There are three separate areas, each bigger than the last, all separated by a deep slimefall. The majority of the first area came a lot later than the rest of the map, though, on account of me changing MAP07's exit in order for the two maps to connect better. (And I really like how it turned out in the end.)

Design-wise, I think it looks nice - simplistic, in that it's basically an underground sewage farm all the way through, but with just the right amount of texture variation to keep it from looking boring.

I'd definitely make some changes to it, though. As a few have pointed out, that awful cramped room with the archvile fight really needs some alteration.

I like the final area in particular - the massive firefight at the end serves as a good closure to an already frantic map. Maybe I should've pruned a couple of those final revenants, though...

Music:
I was able to choose this map's track without even thinking. In fact, I think that in many ways I made the map specifically for the track. stewboy's "Sewer Chase" was a mind-blowingly excellent track when I first heard it (I remember being in the Australian hotel two years ago!) and it's still a great track today.

Pointless trivia:
D'you know, I could swear there was something interesting about the making of this map but I can't for the life of me think of anything.

---

MAP09: Slime Vaults

Completion stats:
Kills: 94%
Items: 100%
Secrets: 75%
Time: 9:30
Best Time: 3:15

History:
This map actually dates back to about 2008, when the "10 Textures" community project was first being worked on. This was originally going to be an entry into that project but I lost the inspiration to keep going. (This was of course before I had any great amount of mapping experience.)

I thought that it would be a shame to leave such an old map unfinished so I brainstormed some layout ideas and added them onto the original.

Gameplay/Layout:
Regardless of how well anyone will think this level plays, I honestly think it's shit. The worst level in the WAD by quite a long way. The layout is all over the place - non-linear in the first half and then stupidly linear once you get the blue card.

I must have been high when I made some of my design choices. The archvile trap room with the seven switches seemed like a good idea at the time, but is really just a cheap way of padding out the length of the map's play time. The whole area just before that (the Entryway "tribute" corridor, and also the TEK-filled rooms preceding it) is the most god-awful thing I've ever released.

Even the good-looking areas (like the cross-shaped room east of the starting area, which I think turned out quite well) are unsatisfying because they look so out of place next to the worse ones. Like, the whole thing looks like two maps - from two different mapping eras - stitched onto each other at best. Yeah, I really don't like it.

The only redeeming aspect of this map is the final area with the four descending cages. It's ludicrously difficult on UV, unless you know what you're doing (and there's a fairly simple way of taking no damage whatsoever on the way down - don't know if anyone's found it yet :P), with three revenants and like eight chaingunners all firing at you at the same time, but I really like how it turned out, design-wise and gameplay-wise, not to mention that it segues perfectly into the next map. Too bad it's completely separate from the rest of the map.

Music:
At first, it was hard to come up with a track for this map that fit its dingy atmosphere, and I sort of wanted something original. I juggled a few ideas in my head but eventually settled on my recent sequence of Muse's "Undisclosed Desires". Great song, very low-key and melancholy.

Pointless trivia:
I've seen three different people play through this map. Kate played through it in a demonstration of one of her crazily adorable ZDoom mods, Pavera played through it during a livestream which I managed to check out, and Mechadon recorded a demo for me soon after I released the first beta of Pt. 3.

__________________
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♪ Jimmy's MIDI Powerhouse ♫ - More than 150 original MIDIs!
♪ Doom Musicians Guild ♫ - Request original music here!
▲ Jimmy's Blog of Death ▲ - I make terrible posts here.

Last edited by Jimmy91 on 10-12-12 at 19:10
Old Post 10-12-12 13:19 #
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dobugabumaru
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Posts: 474
Registered: 02-12
MAP09: A great, more open-ended map with plenty of demons to slay. The acidic floor theme has crept back over from MAP08, and if one thing hurts this map, it’s that continuation. I really enjoy thematic maps/megawads, but the acidic floor usage seemed very similar to the last map, blending the two in my mind. Paddock still manages to use it in crafty ways though, forcing the player into tough spots if they nab a radsuit too early on. Only one room really gave me some serious problems, otherwise the rest of the level was fair game. Final area felt weird though, since you can just run to the exit, as standing your ground, like purist says, gets you turned into a doomguy-souffle. Still a fun level.

-----

MAP10: Damn, three awesome levels all in a row. Paddock takes us to the outskirts of the UAC testing sites and gives us a larger non-linear level, with plenty of demons to boot. There’s actually plenty of health around so no part of the map feels unbearable, although if you’re not prepared for the skirmish at the red key side of town, then it can be quite an eye-opener.

This might be my favorite level because it’s just dripping with atmosphere and environmental details, along with plenty of non-stop action and a complicated layout. No major gripes with it, although there are a few enemies that can be handled effortlessly (like revs behind yellow key bars) and it’s definitely a level I wouldn’t mind playing again. I actually feel like these later levels are complete “maps” as opposed to things he threw together from previous compilations. Hope this is a sign for what’s to come. HK at the end is a just mean.

-----

MAP11: What the last level lacked in teeth, this one makes up for. And damn, does it do a good job at kicking your ass. No health in the starting area and low ammo throughout the map makes this a pretty challenging map, along with plenty of hitscanners in the facility to make sure you’re worn down. I got all excited going into the dark caves and seeing my first bit of the iconic green hell temple stuff, although Paddock is playing it conservatively and just teasing what hell will be like. Great level though. Only big gripe was the red key trap. Four chaingunners flanking you and an archvile in a cover-less room? It’s stupefyingly easy when you know what to expect, but downright mean when you first go in there. Mancubus fight was an stellar cap-off to the level.

I really appreciate the level of detail Paddock puts in, like ComicMischief pointed out, specifically the broken door whose padlock was removed, showing the sapphire wiring inside. Little details like that make me smile.

-----

MAP12: Great change of pace! I always appreciate when an author tries to do something completely different with a level, and not your traditional room-key-door-repeat. This winding level has you battling in on a never-changing road, giving Paddock a range of options on how to torment you from afar in this vast landscape. Projectiles are abound on this Highway to Hell, where thankfully revenants aren’t overused due to the fact that their projectiles won’t collide with any walls.

Still plenty of nasty tricks though. Ended my life twice due firing rockets haphazardly, nailing the specter right in front of me. Also, lowering the mastermind walls while providing no cover is pretty mean, since any player looking to skip that demon will bite the dust shortly thereafter. Mancubuses were great enemies in this level however, always pleasant to fight.
Old Post 10-12-12 17:33 #
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ComicMischief
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Posts: 406
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MAP12

A change of pace this may have been, but I didn't like it as much as the other maps. I saved mid-way and took a break because it was a bit monotonous. This may be a polarising map, or it might just be me. Looking forward to getting back to the 'proper' maps.
Old Post 10-12-12 19:07 #
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mouldy
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Posts: 517
Registered: 02-12
Map 12 - this was a great little interlude, its always funny to be reminded that a doom map is set in a real world rather than some kind of abstract doom-universe of endless bases and caverns. It reminded me a bit of half life 2 for some reason, think there was a bit in that where you are driving along a coastal road...

Anyway, yeah this was an interesting one, I can see how it would be tempting to just run the gauntlet and see how far you can get. I played it safe and killed everything as I went, and it looks like that was a wise choice this time. Some areas were a bit troublesome with homing missiles and no cover - oh and that arch vile was a bit evil with nowhere to hide. The last bit I did end up running past everything as there was too much attacking from every angle to hang about. But I went back and killed everything anyway - i was having too much fun with this map to let it end i guess.

Thats the good thing about playing pistol starts, you can spunk your rockets into imps faces without worrying about saving any ammo for the next map.
Old Post 10-12-12 22:05 #
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glenzinho
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Posts: 491
Registered: 09-11
MAP10
Beautifully understated outdoors & cave type map, with some nice minimally detailed ruins architecture. Difficulty is lower than the last few levels, but there are still some hairy situations that you can find yourself in. The two different pathways to the blue key added some good non-linearity. Those damned UAC crates find their way everywhere... best delivery service in the galaxy ;) Love it, the gameplay & design. DEMO

MAP11
Another great compact that level that's larger than it seems. Jimmy's got good thematic cohesion throughout these last handful of maps. All the levels feel like they belong here... Another tricky one, but once you figure out the layout it all comes together, although I had to complete this on HMP again. Not quite enough ammo from pistol start, there was no way I was taking out the double archviles and all the arachnatrons on the ledges! Doing pistol start has given me a better feel for these levels, as when I played this previously I was playing continuously with saves and it felt a touch easier and less challenging. DEMO

Jimmy91 said:
I must have been high when I made some of my design choices. The archvile trap room with the seven switches seemed like a good idea at the time, but is really just a cheap way of padding out the length of the map's play time.

Yeah, it was a bit BF-Thud!-esque ;)

MAP12
This is awesome... highway on a cliffside motif, great battles up and down the road. Nothing more to say, just f'n play! DEMO

Last edited by glenzinho on 10-13-12 at 12:32
Old Post 10-13-12 05:47 #
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Jimmy91
rhymes with Midi91


Posts: 1333
Registered: 04-06
MAP10: Ruins

Completion stats:
Kills: 99%
Items: 0%
Secrets: 80%
Time: 10:47
Best Time: 2:25
(Bleh. Really?)

History:
Initially planned for GForce, but I never mapped anything beyond the first two areas. I still wanted to do a map in a similar vein, though, but I was at a loss with what to do with the original, so I just scrapped it and started afresh.

I think this map probably took the longest time to finish. There were, like with quite a few of my maps, times when I felt like I was getting nowhere - but I think that overall, those times were outweighed by the time I spent mapping this map at full steam. The textures did a great deal to inspire me, and I was also using visions I had of what the previous incarnation of this level would have been, for further guidance. Sadly, I seem to have completely lost the bit of paper on which I drew the initial design for this map when I was still planning on including it in GForce. But maybe I did okay without it. :P

For anyone wondering, the majority of this map's unique textures come from Scientist 2, which is a brilliant WAD in its own right. Definitely check it out.

Gameplay/Layout:
I love love love this map. This and The Canal are definitely in my top five, or maybe three. I think it can be considered the first truly non-linear map for Jenesis so far. It's a joy to explore, it looks and feels organic and natural, and the new textures do wonders for the immersion factor.

Caves and other non-orthogonal constructs are also really fun to do - when I do them right, of course, and nothing felt wrong when I was making this map.

The layout does at times get a bit cryptic (Pavera got horribly stuck on it during his livestream!) but I really like how well the whole layout seems to flow. There are a couple of TARDIS syndrome moments which I'm sure could be easily addressed, but that's possibly for the 1.1 fix. :P

In all honesty, I might enjoy this map a little too much. I think part of the reason that I took upwards of ten minutes to complete it my runthrough for this post was that I just got "lost" in it... like, in the same way that you'd get lost in a lover's eyes. Okay, this simile is getting a tad creepy, so let's move on.

Music:
As with Plunge, there was very little delay in my decision-making for the music track to go with this map. It would be "Garden" by stewboy, a track he wrote during one of my speedmapping sessions. The wonderful serenity of the track really makes this map into something else. It almost seems to slow down time. A true masterpiece from Stew, there. Well done, mate. :D

Pointless trivia:
I managed to get through several series of The Unbelievable Truth while making this map.

---

MAP11: Devil's Industry

Completion stats:
Kills: 99%
Items: 100%
Secrets: 100%
Time: 9:30
Best Time: 2:45
(That's more like it.)

History:
Largely inspired by Requiem MAP06, by Iikka Keränen, this map was made over four days (instead of the ideal one) during Pt. 2's development. The two days in the middle of that period were almost wholly uncontributive towards the map's completion. I had almost no inclination to finish this map once I'd started, basically because I think I was spoilt for choice in what I could do with it. I mapped the starting area first of all, which alone has so many facets, that I wasn't too sure which to use elsewhere and which to keep unique to that area. This is a problem I suffered quite a few times while I was making Jenesis - not thinking ahead. I think I came up with some pretty damn good starting areas but I lacked the foresight/common sense to think of anything past that point.

In the end, my initial visions of the completed map were hindered by my inability to realise them, and the map turned out a lot smaller and less satisfying overall than I'd wanted, but still, I guess, a releasable product, that fit thematically with the rest of Jenesis.

Gameplay/Layout:
I'm not too fond of this map's layout, overall. The layout looks really bad on the automap/DB2 2D view - unbalanced and all over the place. Some areas are really cramped while others are overly spacious.

I don't think my opinion of the visuals climbs anywhere above "yeah that's nice". In places it's just bland as a rock. My obsession with the overuse of TLITE is abundant here. At least the new textures in the caves provide some level of "uniqueness" to the map.

I will never try and make a K2 bridge with those Requiem textures again. The one in Waystation was a pain, but at least I didn't have to resort to some overlapping-linedef witchcraft. :( I asked Mechadon to help me out with it, and he did, but apparently it was an issue with the nodebuilder because as soon I made some more changes to the map (elsewhere - not even anywhere near the bridge!) and saved, the bridge reverted to being screwed-up again. This shit was way frustray.

Music:
Initially I really wanted to use a track from Vile Flesh - MAP12's track (sequenced by the megawad's creator Gwyn Williams), but this felt out of place in a megawad that should have as much original music as possible. I tossed around a few ideas (none of which I can recall) but eventually went with my sequence of Pendulum's "Crush". Seemed to fit - at least, sorta - the industrial and frantic feel of the map.

Pointless trivia:
The music's tempo goes crazy fast in ZDaemon, and probably a few other ports, during the acoustic section at the end. This is due to the pitch wheels giving the guitar a sort of cheap flanging effect.

__________________
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♪ Doom Musicians Guild ♫ - Request original music here!
▲ Jimmy's Blog of Death ▲ - I make terrible posts here.

Last edited by Jimmy91 on 10-13-12 at 16:23
Old Post 10-13-12 15:21 #
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mouldy
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Map 13 - a hectic start to this one, all kinds of shit going on in that first room, took me a few goes to get through it. Then some base exploration - I found ammo a bit tight if I explored too far off track though. This was a good solid map, not many really tricky moments after the start, but still challenge enough to make me keep saving.

I liked the cheeky music and the incongruous parking spaces. There was one secret that stumped me - the blue armour in an elevated alcove, I couldn't find a way up there...
Old Post 10-13-12 16:21 #
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Crusader No Regret
Green Marine


Posts: 45
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Map 12
pistol start HMP

The image that comes to mind is Doomguy tearing down the highway at high speeds on a motorcycle. Unfortunately, there isn't a spare set of wheels in the lot so he's hoofing it on foot.

Like map 10, the progression tells the story well. Could have been boring but projectiles from far off monsters work to punish the overly complacent. Infighting is really useful here for taking out distant hitscanners.

Random thought dump:
- That first chaingunner waiting in ambush... this is thematic monster placement at work.
- Health is rather scarce early in the map, like it intentionally asks for some skills from the player for the privilege of seeing the rest of the map.
- Archvile behind roadblock will almost surely connect with at least one attack. I'm crying dick move here.
- Hellknight and mancubus lured into infighting kill each other offscreen while I'm busy elsewhere.
- While I'm confident in my ability to face dozens of demons/specters using only chainsaw and berserk, had more fun throwing out some rockets to thin the herd.
- That last secret is cleverly placed and I felt quite satisfied when I figured out how to honestly access it.

Map 13 retrospective
continuous HMP playthrough, savegames used

- The blue armor secret is missable.
- Hey, this area looks like something from Alien Vendetta. I bet a bunch of imps will come out of those pads...

Last edited by Crusader No Regret on 10-14-12 at 08:12
Old Post 10-14-12 02:57 #
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mouldy
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Posts: 517
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Map 14 - another hairy start, and thereafter some close quarters dodging of projectiles both green and homing. I had fun finding all the secrets in this one, I like it when they are signposted - its always nicer to find secrets as you are playing a map rather than humping around all the walls after all the monsters are dead.

Switches for distant doors can be a bit annoying, I can see their value in forcing you into fights but when everything is dead and you just want to get around the map they can be a chore. No big deal though.

Ammo is tight on this map, although there is a steady trickle of it throughout so I only noticed when i found myself having to berserk punch the last baron of hell to death. I like the gold goo in the exit room, a hint of what's to come..?
Old Post 10-14-12 15:26 #
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glenzinho
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MAP13

Good base map... some touches of E1 in a couple of the rooms, nice. Gameplay is challenging as usual here, without going overboard on monsters. I found there was too little ammo for my liking on UV, so HMP it was, and even then I was running a little scarce. The monster & item placement Jimmy has throughout his maps I find impeccable. Great balance! DEMO

MAP14
As per usual here, great balance & design blah blah... Jimmy seems to have settled into a set style that just works well. Nothin' but fun goin' on here... DEMO

MAP15
A base map with some small outdoor sections to explore and a section that is reminiscent of the metal works area in TUTNT. Cool teleporter ambush at the plasma gun section, although all of a sudden I teleported out of there without realising and never bothered to go back and finish off the monsters. I have no idea where the secret exit is (even though I found the map, but I didn't want to use it as I was recording a demo.)

I'm gonna take a couple of days off and skip the secret levels. I had a quick look at Map 31 and can see that Jimmy's done an ode to Human BBQ from TNT... mmmmm, tastes like chicken!

Last edited by glenzinho on 10-16-12 at 03:57
Old Post 10-15-12 10:27 #
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Crusader No Regret
Green Marine


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so many interesting features in the middle episode maps...

Map 14
pistol start HMP, played in Zdoom, resurrect cheat used.

For kicks, loaded up WildWeasel's Diaz weapon mod on this playthrough.

Music is catchy and I liked the setting. Died twice early and used cheats rather than start over. No more deaths after progressing to the SSG (even though I take more damage when I'm playing with this weapon mod). Archvile near red key is somewhat dickish but enjoyed rest of map. Even distant heavyweight monsters with limited resources didn't irritate much. Had a tense moment at the blue key but monsters got to fighting each other so grabbed key and ran for it. Thought I would die at red key but made it alive. Got a good laugh using explosives on monsters not yet alerted waiting to ambush me.

- If you want to exit with max health/armor and 100% secrets, do not pick up the megasphere right away, no matter how tempting. It's important that the megaarmor secret is obtained first.

Map 15 retrospective
continuous playthrough on HMP

More great music, interesting setting, and opening that has the player moving right away, that's what comes immediately to mind. Looks like another winner here with lots of action, no unfair situations, and a secret exit that's simple to uncover.

- Had another chance to play with the infinite vertical range of splash damage. I'm not certain if it was intentional to allow thinning out of a future ambush. I heard an alerted imp and determined that I couldn't reach its location with anything else so shot off a few rockets in its general direction and got two other monsters in the process.
- Somehow didn't see switch at end of a hidden passage this time. Yes, I have played the map before.
- Kind of mystified how I only triggered 6 out of 7 secrets and even using IDDT didn't help me track down the one I missed.
Old Post 10-16-12 19:52 #
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mouldy
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Map 15 - i'm a day behind but I think everyone else is as well..

I had vivid memories of this map from the first time I played this wad, i'm not sure if that's down to the location or the fact that it kicked my arse quite hard, bit of both I think. This time I felt prepared though. The hardest part of this map I found was the lack of ammo at the beginning. I never actually ran out but it was close enough to force me into some dangerous situations by leaving monsters alive and hunting for shells. Once you get beyond a certain point there's bullets aplenty, it feels like a kind of reward for the hardships of the first half being allowed to blast away at everything thereafter. I liked the mini slaughter of the plasma gun trap, in fact I hardly needed to fire a shot they were so eager to kill each other. Come to think of it I never even used the plasma gun...

I loved the look of this map, with the rivers of gold - great music too. I only found a few secrets but luckily one was the hidden exit which i pretty much stumbled into.
Old Post 10-16-12 22:08 #
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dobugabumaru
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mouldy said:
i'm a day behind but I think everyone else is as well..


Yeah, people slow down right around the mid point, and then again at the 20-something levels. Doing one a day is cool for the first week, but it's easy to get burnt out after a while since you'll be doing it the whole month. Personally around this time I find myself falling behind, then blazing through the maps in one sitting, and then repeating the process.

Although I didn't fall behind on the BF_THUD! maps, but that's because they were noticeably shorter.

Anyhoo

MAP13: Didn’t like this one; it’s probably my least favorite so far. I’m not a fan of techbases in general (they tend to have wild color schemes) and this one was very reminiscent of an E2 techbase to me. The visuals weren’t anything special, the music wasn’t blood-pumping or atmospheric, and the gameplay was somewhat timid, making the player in many of the fights wait outside the door since the bulky group of monsters flock to your position quickly. And there were three different times I was standing on a ledge and shooting monsters below my feet, which felt awkward. Only part I enjoyed was the outside trip to the outer techbase, which had a super nasty mishmash of baddies that had me sweating (chaingunners on ledges, imps in a field, revs on a balcony). The level was really tight on ammo too, which is always a thrill.

Glad to finally have the Plasma Gun for my consecutive playthrough, although another nitpick I had was that there is NO health given after the PG ambush and mastermind battle, which makes the start of the next level exceptionally difficult. Overall, not a bad level, but not up to the great standards Paddock has displayed so far… although it’s damn near impossible to create 32 flawless levels from just one author. I WANT ANOTHER “RUINS”!!

MAP14: A more enjoyable level than the last. DAT START THOUGH. Imps, sergeants, and chaingunners all work together to pummel you as you’re trying to get a handle on your bearings, forcing you to bite the dust a few times. After that the level is manageable, with some pretty jarring AVs thrown in to scare the player (the one in the library led to the most tense and enjoyable fight, dodging the blast by a hair's width). The poisoned ocean part was neat, I like the little detail of the island with a dead bunch of trees off in the distance. There was a surprisingly sparse amount of nukage running in this level for something called the “Poisoned Ocean”, which is actually okay since MAP08 and MAP09 back to back gave me as my fill of green for the whole megawad. Overall, not bad, although the E2 vibes are going strong.

EDIT: Also, we'll be playing MAP31 and MAP32 on the 16th & 17th, so if anyone skipped those levels, please hold off just a few days.
Old Post 10-17-12 03:24 #
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Jimmy91
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'Cos I've been tired and unable to do anything lately, here's a slightly abridged report for the previous 4 maps so I can catch up. I think I'll be posting all my reports on my blog when this is over, and that should include an expanded version of these. :)

MAP12: Highway of Destruction
Definitely a far cry from many of the previous maps. I think I just wanted a linear slaughtermap just to break the my usual mapping mold.

I very rarely kill all the monsters in this map. There are definitely some that you have to kill in order to progress, like the chaingunners, arachnotrons and the archvile that appear throughout - the ones that hurt the hell out of you even from a distance.

I think the final demon horde at the end came out of the decision I made that a cyberdemon or another spider would be boring. I just wanted a crazy mob rush kind of firefight towards the end.

I think it's pretty obvious how I made the majority of this map - yes, it was a shit-ton of copy-paste. I think my favorite part of the map is the tech tunnel.

Uses TGH's "Shoot the Guns Out of Their Hands" as its track. For longest time, it used a MIDI of Yngwie Malmsteen's "Liar" - it was only until late into Pt. 3's development that I thought about changing it, because I love the song, and the MIDI was really well done.

---

MAP13: Transporter Station
A fairly standard map. I like how the layout turned out - lots of oddly angled corridors and non-orthogonal areas. I think there's just about the right amount of backtracking, and it's a little bit hard to get lost - after all, there's a bunch of navigatory clues that appear in the map as you progress through it.

I don't really have a lot to say about this map, other than I mostly like how it turned out, and I nearly lost it completely after either Doom Builder 2 or SLumpEd mysteriously erased it from existence. Disappearing maps is something that's only happened to me a couple of times before but both times it's completely flummoxed me as to how it happened.

This uses a track called "Zerpentine" by Bobby Prince, which was featured in Realms of Chaos. I liked it a lot, and I was already planning on using in another techbase map for the in-progress Omega TC I was working on at the time. I never got around to finishing my old track Abandonment which I would have featured in this map instead, had I managed to get it to completion.

---

MAP14: Poisoned Ocean
Here we have the first map I ever made specifically for this project. The creation of this map marked the beginning of what would be a year-long journey for me into the art of mapping. A lot of the bad mapping signs are there - a mishmash of themes (even though I tried to emulate some AV's mapping facets with this one), the lion doors in the first two rooms are far too tall for the sky ceiling. I wonder if I should've given this one a makeover like I did with MAP05. Come to think of it, I definitely should have done, because the exit of MAP13 doesn't match with the entrance of this map. D'oh.

The music is my track "Pathogen", a Kraftwerk-inspired MIDI that seemed decidedly un-Doomy at first, but eventually just grew on me. Originally I was using a track from the Duke Nukem 3D total conversion The Gate - "Martian Red Light District" by Jenna Ramsey, and obviously I chose to go with a track of my own creation instead.

---

MAP15: Alchemy
Another one of my favorites, this one. Definitely in my top 10.

I'll be honest, all I had initially were a vague idea of how the textures should be applied, and a slightly clearer vision of the starting area - the rest was improvised on the spot. I guess this map is a prime example of my "stream of consciousness" mapping method - MAP02, MAP03, MAP08, MAP10 being examples of this method at work and producing something nice and satisfying, and MAP09 and MAP11 being examples where it doesn't quite go as planned.

The music is "Voyage" by me. I think I juggled a few ideas for the theme for this map before I settled on that one, but I can't recall them. The track is a bit techno-y for Doom, sure... but I think it somehow oddly fits this map. Can't for the life of me put my finger on why.

Trivia: Shortly after coming up with the name "Alchemy", I thought about calling this map "Goldfalls". The former won out in the end, of course.

__________________
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♪ Jimmy's MIDI Powerhouse ♫ - More than 150 original MIDIs!
♪ Doom Musicians Guild ♫ - Request original music here!
▲ Jimmy's Blog of Death ▲ - I make terrible posts here.
Old Post 10-17-12 17:48 #
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