Esselmap I: Testing Facility

I like this wad! It reminds me of a Southern Cross Gold edition.

It’s a great map. One thing however that chaffed me was the complicatedness of the design. Complicated maps can work well but in this case I thought some scenarios bordered on annoyance – mainly the to and fro exploring that the player is required to do, but also that sense of ‘I’m lost’ which is imposed on a number of occasions. A solid mix of gameplay and architecture. 4/5

Doesn't capture the essence of Doom 1, but I don't give a fuck because it's still a good map. Nice balance of detail, good gameplay if a little heavy on the ammo...I'd give it 4/5 but I'm bumping my vote to 5/5 to spite the idiot failtroll above me.

The 4 star description fits this map perfectly. :D 4 stars. - Obsidian

Wow. Classic-style techbase with an amazingly high level of detail and lighting. Flows pretty well, and getting around is easy. Great use of Doom 2 resources in an Episode 1 style. The Archvile with no hiding places is a pretty cheap stunt, and the few misaligned textures stand out only cos the rest of the level is to such a high standard. 4.5/5

Meh map is meh.

Good Job, 5 pts for this pretty E1-Styled map -impClaw

Quite possibly the most beautiful map ever designed on a Mac using the brilliant but crashy Hellmaker editor. Outstanding room design, masterful use of textures and lighting, and clever secrets are the best parts. Very E1 in style, which I like. Gameplay is much too easy on UV, needs about 40 more monsters. Traps are way too kind to the player, except for the Archie trap. Lots of wandering, too. Overall I'd rate this 3.5. -- Steve Duff

6 year old esselmap. Very nice on the eyes and fun to play through. I'm a sucker for the tried and true mapping styles, and this fits the bill. Well earned 4/5

cool map

Nice map. Looks nice and nice and fairly easy to play through

Nice map. Got to the end and then spent ages trying to get the last secret until I remembered and realised I'd missed it.

This is excellent fun, and looks gorgeous. It's one of those E1 tributes, although it has some Doom 2 monsters and the double shotgun. The design work is fantastic, tasteful, and state-of-the-art, and eschews Zdoom tricks. It really looks as if it has been five years in the making. Against it, it's not at all hard. There's plenty of ammo and health and only a couple of big fights. You don't need the secret weapons, which is fine because the secrets are fiendishly tricky.

nice, very good gameplay and progression, a bit too easy 4/5

Oh hell yeah. Im a sucker for an oldie and this captures the essence of Ep1 of Doom1 almost perfectly, the layout, the gameplay....just everything that Ep1 that intangible quality. 5/5

Not a bad map. But the gameplay was far to easy. And I didn't even bother finding any of the secrets until after killing all monsters.

good but short... 3/5

As I said in the forum, this is a good level to go through, amazing work with the detail and architecture, but it was kinda easy (finished on first try on uvmax). I enjoyed finding all the secrets, the plasma gun comes right to fight the archvile towards the end. 4/5. ~Naan

good map is very good

An ordinary story of a doomguy in a techbase with extraordinary lighting and architecture :P

Meh. Way too many ammo, inappropriate music. Level detail is high, but it just doesn't look pleasing.

Not bad for a first map. Good height variation and gameplay. My favourite part was the yellow key trap. All areas are detailed, although they always look a bit odd as a result of texture choices and placement. Gameplay is most important, though, and overall it was a fun experience, although there's a major overabundance of ammo and health, even on UV. This could have been revealed through some testing. As this was your first I'll be nice and give 4/5 as encouragement to continue.

Nice! Very detailed, fun and logical. Well rounded map.

I really really adore the detail and esp. atmosphere and lightning/shadows of this level. The secrets are clever too. One of the greatest single player maps I've played lately! 5/5 - Optimus

Ugh. This doesn't capture the essence of DooM 1 at all... And the gameplay is below average to top it off. 1/5