Dark Resolution 2008 - UPDATED VERSION

This wad which seems not extremly popular compared to some other releases stay carved in my memories for various reasons.

 

Concerning the theme , I really loved the night sky.

 

About the maps , most of them were very memorable for me: 

 

How I can forget the awkward switch-hunting in map 01?

Or, the deadly hitscanfests in tight corridors from map 02?

Or, the quite strange item placement and the generous nazi-themed super secret in map 03?

Or, the extremly gimmicky and weird map 04 with its 1994-like design?

Or, the joyful adventure in brown rocky landscapes accompanied with a very upbeat music in map 05?

Or, the very well detailed Map 06 using Quake textures?

Or, above all for my part, the brutal and oniric map 10 using a legendary midi rendition of "Pull me Under" by Dream Theater which give you the feeling to face merciless demonic hordes under a starry sky?

And, of course, the ominous and murderous map 11 which strictly has no armor on UV?

 

Some maps were not mentionned. They were cool but a lot more conventional.

Done with these settings:

- GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 9.
- Ultra-Violence.
- Continuous combined with pistol start mindset. Pistol starts in maps 05, 10, 11.
- Saves every 5-10 minutes or so.

 

A partially cool map collection from various people. It revolves around the same old story about a newer demon invasion, in this case they corrupted an underground base and spread all around the territory, turning every nook into hell. The maps sort of follow that narrative through the visual design, that at least from the second map and beyond, since the first level is simply an introduction. There are plenty of hellish neat-looking techbases to explore either on surface or underground, including one level in a Quake style with dark rusted metal textures. In combination, some maps present an Inferno-ish look with marble/red/rocky structures and lots of flesh to step on. I dig the latest two in particular, with exclusively clean visuals and great usage of fireblu for portals. The deep blue sky fits in about every single map, giving each an extra touch of spookiness. Well, and a subtle TNT vibe, or maybe that was because of some of the music selections. I really liked the midis in map 10 and 11, too bad there is no information in the text file about them. 

 

As far as authors styles, it's a varied compilation ranging from traditional easygoing combat to series of lethal encounters, and some peculiar setups involving environmental hazards. I would say, gameplay-wise, the further I got into, the better it turned, mainly because the first half seemed to show the more experimental side of the wad, where the pace is kind of a rollercoaster, and some choices felt tacked on. I mean, the opening map is already questionable, just a dull switch hunt on a quasi-deserted island, not to mention the copious invisible barriers. Printz's map 04 is perhaps the largest and weirdest one. It has a lot of gimmicky ideas, including an outdoors fight where the player's affected by wind, which I wasn't very sold on, aside from slow and unclear progression. On the other side, Craigs' and Stewboy's are peacefully linear and simple to comprehend, and the two by Death Destiny and Butts are as wild and engaging as hitscan-centric maps go, without ever turning into annoyance, unless that's not your thing. The second half of the wad is the section I found more of my taste, aside from having mixed emotions about the last level. The seventh map was a nice short appetizer, and I enjoyed a lot the entries by Icecreamsoldier and Dutch Devil, with an ultimate hitscan hell touch and secrets research. While the increase in difficulty is gradual throughout the wad, the pinnacle might come as a slap in the face to people not used to that particular style in the last two D-D maps, like myself for example. The final map is about tight setpieces involving at least one archvile after the other, while you run around naked (no armor) carrying your SSG. Sometimes there was an escape, and other times things easily went real bad in less than a second. I would suggest to take it on a lower skill assuming you urge a security pickup. His second to last map was actually more cramped, close to unforgiving with the bumpy architecture, but somehow I sorted it out with calm and joy. Guess that makes me a "Doom god"?. I'll pass. 

 

Secret-wise, I had issues to find any in map 04, one of them wasn't even hinted at all. In map 10 I wasn't able to trigger one of them, probably due to the sector being too small. Other than those, well, depending on your gameplay styles, you might be able to ease up the majority of the mapset if you commit yourself to explore every nook, not that I'm really in favor of the whole idea to be fairly honest, but the design of the status bar misled me. I would suggest to take a good look to map 05 via iddt, just to check some hidden stuff that are out of reach for reasons unknown... Anyway, favourite maps are 06, 08, 09 and 10. The others varied from fun to dull and everything in between.

 

Overall, Dark Resolution 2008 was, weird, but nonetheless very interesting, save for a few cases. If you're looking for mapsets with varied content, or a die-hard fan of the double barreled, this could be a good place to stop by. My rate is 6/10.

Better than the previous one but M_DOOM still needs to be 125x60 and there is a large HOM in map 2 sector 339 after sector 346 has risen and lowered. Also line 2091 needed a front side lower texture - METSTEP.

Really, a wonderful map project, like a short version of the CC3. BTW, in origin this wad wasn't a 16 map project? Whatever this one roxxxx lol 4/5

From what I've played so far this wad has very, very impressive level sets. Absolutey recommended.

DV II, CIF 3 and now this? 2008 really is a year of Doom.

The levels in this WAD all appear to be of high quality and are exceptionally well designed. Unlike in the specifications, the Wad appears to only work properly in Zdoom, so I'd subtract half a star for that, but since there are no half ratings, this piece deserves a 5/5. Highly recommended.

Map 04 - Blue key is not blue skull key, doesn't open blue lift. Is it my port? Otherwise, I'd give it a 5.

The first guy does deserve a slap in the face. After all, we're meant to give a review, not be retards... I liked the first 2 levels a lot, then I thought some levels became a bit tedious (and I got stuck in the first space station level). The last levels require more patience than I have. A recommendation I have is to give less skilled players more legroom for some of the fights. I also liked the open levels, though I thought they could have had more visual cues to engage the player.

A mixed bag of levels. Pretty OK quallity overall, with some extra moments. The architecture is good, sometimes great, but the gameplay varied a lot throughout with difficulty and quality. Nevertheless the overall quality was good enough for modern standards of mapping so I recommend it. 4/5 -Nexus

A well designed mapset, and very difficult! For experienced only. 5/5 because it was great test of my skills.

Nothing special, a random collection of maps, we have seen that thousands times.

i really don't think i would go as far as saying its like CC3, but its still a very nice set of zdoom maps 4/5

In all earnest the only above par maps were by Death-Destiny not solely due to their unique creativity and murderous difficulty but the architecture was simple and intuitive, the maps flowed well despite being linear as the traps implemented always kept the pace fresh and exhilirating. Otherwise a mixed bag ranging from adequete to medicore in some cases. MAP10 has one of the best hollow atmospheric MIDI's I've come across in a long time, excellent choice, last 2 maps fantastic. - 4/5 Bloodite Krypto

Yes, this wad was definately made and tested with zdoom. In most (all?) other boom ports the C1 text in the bex file goes off screen, preventing the reading of all the message. Also TITLEPIC, CREDIT and INTERPIC should have been scaled to 320x200 and M_DOOM to 125x60. Many ports do not scale down, hence the problem with these GFX in some other boom ports. 4/5

Pretty good. I really loved MAP09. Some of the music selection isn't that crash hot but all the levels are real good. A must download. 4.5/5 -PC

very good but too tough 4/5

this is great!

The first level is a friggin switch hunt.

I give this a 5 due to it's awesome detail

a mixed bag, but there's some really great stuff in here.

Maps 09 - 08 were great, really nice mapset.

It's had as balls but the main problem is the lack of ammo with a pistol start.

=o shiat, Map10, Midi version of Dream Theater's "Hold Me Under".... Hehehe, awesome. Overall, pretty decent, and pretty hard. Map1 is confusing though. 3.5 stars, but rated 4 because of the song ;)

pretty hard. i liked it. close counter fights were very intense. i would like to see more wads from this author in the future. keep up the good work. -JOKER-