Another ugly and boring map

- Some of the 8x16 switch textures for the locked blue and yellow doors are not present.


- One door on the eastern side of the map, has a doortrak not marked lower unpegged.


These next three points are extremely nitpicky, but I know you want detailed feedback and it's stuff you'd want to hear:
- While the lifts with the inset doortraks looked really cool, they seemed a bit overdone when compared to lifts that were the exact same otherwise, but without the inset doortrak textures. Personally I like the insets, but either route, it might be good to keep them consistent.
- The two rooms to the east and west of the red door felt a bit underdone in comparison to the rest of the level, which was absolutely gorgeous.
- These supports look like they are missing a side when next to that cement, but that's just my taste.

- Sans the lack of bullets in the very beginning, I really liked over-all the monster placement moving towards the BK. On the other hand, moving the opposite direction was a bit of a mixed bag. By that point the amount of hitscanners began to set in, and I began to crave projectiles. I will say, I understand the rationale for hitscans here, what with the tight windows and angles the mobs shoot the player from, as well as the ones hidden around a corner for that quick jump, but one tip I could give for not overdoing it is focusing on using the widest cast of monsters at your disposal. Some of those couples could have been replaced with a rev or two, as an example, or a smaller number could have been used for a group, but with a support PE to give the player something to think about while he's filled with holes from hitscans. PE's can be tough to not overuse, as they are so very versatile and the Doom cast doesn't really have many monsters that can fill the "support" role in almost any given scenario. In that same area, in/near the pool of nukage, there was a group of bulls that really didn't do much for the gameplay but block the lift for the other monsters. One last thing, being a semi-nonlinear map, this whole area can of course be done without the SSG, so any higher-tiered mobs would have to be reasonably low health. Cacos, revs, or a well-placed manc could compliment this area well. An HK might be okay in the top area in the far south, since it is somewhat less spacious. A random trap/ambush or two might be a good addition to that southern, upstairs area specifically, but also throughout the map in various points. A lot of rooms felt a bit like shooting galleries and a bit of door-camping due to mobs being right there as the door opens and the amount of hitscans, but this was nicely offset with several ambushes; just perhaps could be a few more for my tastes ;D and a better projectile/hitscan ratio.
- I liked the placement of the 4 monsters at the BK trap, but it was a bit on the easy side, unless the player fails to take the hint and head back to the lift upon grabbing the BK. But even then, the player is safe from the arachs right there at the BK. More-so, it would be a good addition to that fight to add in a few more cacos in the places the player is likely to retreat to if they go up the lift. Might not be a bad idea to throw in one or two PE's just for extra fun. Maybe put the first right in the doorway behind the lift as the player exits the brown liquid area. So upon riding the lift up, he has an immediate, high priority target in close proximity. Good chance he'll stay near there and kill it, giving the others time to close in and apply pressure.
- I really liked the high probability of roaming monsters in this map. You did very well to allow them to access so many portions of the map. It would have been really cool if you would have taken more advantage of that, releasing alerted monsters in various places, but it was already well-done. Speaking of which, before entering any key doors, there is an upstairs area in the south with a little, random lift that looks similar to one in one of your freedoom submissions; it allows monsters to easily follow the player to that upstairs area, rather than be stuck in a corner, useless. I laughed when I saw it because I liked it so much. It's always a good thing to be considerate of the monsters as you design a level, (they're your "pieces") so it's cool to see a lift just for them in here.
- The south-eastern area felt particularly mean on the hitscans, mostly due to the chaingunner in the tower in the far south-east. That rev there behind the crates could have benefitted from sound-blocking lines over the deaf/ambush flag.
- The YK encounter: I liked the lost souls (you should have put some rocket ammo there), but the 2 HK's and 2 mancs were ineffective at their jobs with just a handful of lost souls to distract the player. The mobs there at the YK also wake up after opening the gate leading to the long, big hallway in the south and firing. I notice both gates open with the same switch; this perhaps would be better otherwise. Then again, I think you should warp the 2 mancs and 2 HKs in when the player grabs/approaches the YK, or enters that small area, which would render the point about the 2 gates moot. So leave the area either clear to start, or place some trash mobs, then bring in the pain. But as I said, those mobs need a few more friends. Of course some PE's would out-prioritise everything there, but that would be the easy way out. Might make for an interesting encounter to switch the mancs below for arachs and add one or two more to the mix, then change the HK's to a manc, possible make that platform a bit bigger and make it two mancs or look for another angle to add one in, shooting down/slightly down on the player, but not in a way to easily infight the arachs. Revs would also work well in place of the HK's. Of course a random PE never really hurt anything, but the biggest thing, I think, is to release everything, skulls included, at the same time when the player is wherever you want him to be in that small area. The trap becomes ineffective when the skulls float out south after the gate opens and the player doesn't realize it, heading the opposite direction.
- The room directly west and adjacent to the YK area: this is a tough room; it can be approached from a few different angles. I think as a start, replacing some enemies with flying enemies could be a good move. After that, perhaps get rid of some of the chaingunners and turret hitscans to not infight the fliers. I was thrilled to see revs by that point, so I would have to say some more revs would have worked nicely in that room. Mancs might not have been a bad idea to throw up top, assuming they'd have sufficient room to move; I forget now. Imps and one or two HKs are never a bad thing, as well as the occasional shotgunner to keep the player active while dealing with the other threats. The mancs below were decent choices when entering the room from the YK, but from up top they only served as a deterrent to drop below, which isn't necessarily a bad thing, but that same purpose could also have been achieved with bulls or a couple chaingunners. There are many possibilities for that area, depending on how you want the player to approach it. The baron should be removed and replaced with a couple revs.
- The backpack trap nearby with 2 bulls that teleport in was a let-down. More bulls would have made that an interesting trap, as would more teleport destinations, or a small-scale wave-based ambush, forcing the player back and forth as priorities change, while managing the trash mobs. Of course revs, a chaingunner, some HK's and one baron (baron first!), etc are other possibilities.
- I liked the 2 arachs and caco swarm in the big, long hallway in the south.
- The large outside area by the megasphere: I liked the placement here for the most part. The baron was badly placed, however, and was mostly a rocket sponge. 2 HK's would have used about the same amount of my ammo, been more threatening and more fun to fight. Could have used more revs and a few more fliers. I liked the AV; but there should have been one for either side of that area; for extra fun ^^
- North of that area: lotta chaingunners here; perhaps too many. Starting with the first encounter, the two up top, two below and the HK: that was a great start to the area. One more HK or two bulls on the left hand side would have really complimented the HK on the right.
- Going outside to the left (west): Chaingunners galore. Both outside, and continuing north up the stairs and proceeding east. There was also that really cheap chaingunner behind the window. I had a feeling that was what was happening, having not read the thread before typing this, but I can totally understand how he killed SteveD. It worked in TNT, yeah, but it wasn't quite the same as this, I think. That outside area to the west of the HK could have used some more monster variety. One thing that could help you is to use sound-blocking lines over the ambush/deaf flag. So you could hide some enemies behind corners that will come out when the player fires at something else. Just make sure and place them effectively so the player cannot take advantage of them. Either that or do the ole teleport in and bring in some mobs when the player is in the middle of that area; something to keep him on his toes in the area, rather than at its door. The overuse of hitscans here, especially chaingun snipers, makes entering the area tough. Well, it would if health and armor weren't in abundance, hehe. Perhaps that was part of the point here; in a way it works that I can just run into an area and take damage with less-than-normal care just to clear it faster, but perhaps it's so against what we all believe and do as players that it's to unintuitive for us cavemen, hehehe.
The trap after the RK: I liked this one for the most part. It could have used some more monsters of the same types as were used, though, like an additional arach sniper, manc or three on the ground, and more cacos/skulls/PE's flying around. Also tons of rockets. Perhaps also an additional angle or two of attack/deployment, to apply more pressure on the player. In retrospect, I could have fled to the place the HK was upon entering this area and safely killed the manc, waiting for the fliers to come on over. Lotta places like that where it's good to think of ways the player can cheese, like the door-camping spots. A couple lock-in traps would have also suited this map well.
- The final encounter was another of these times where a lock-in would have been a good thing. In addition, pressure from behind the player could serve as a good "soft" lock-in instead of physically barring the way. I have to agree with previous comments that after the BFG secret, a bigger final fight would have been in order, though that was a clever secret. For the fight: I think 2 or 3 HK's behind the player would be good, replacing the current set of enemies with something different than the norm; say 2 bulls directly in front to distract the player for a second while the HK's behind begin to make their presence known, also allowing the other monsters to be woken up. Just around the corners where the player can barely not see before killing the bulls, a shotgunner on both sides, which will come out when the player shoots, giving him an immediate high-priority target, while also distracting from the pressure behind created by the HK's. After that, a decent group of revs on one side and a few HK's with one baron in front on the other side, pushed back so they take a bit to get into the fray. Top it off with a PE on one or both sides in the far back corner to really give the player something to consider while they manage a rock and a hard place. Finally, in the exit room, 3-or-4 AV's coupled with 3-or-4 shotgunners would be a good way to end the map; shotgunners closest to the door.