The DWmegawad Club plays: Avactor & Deadly Standards

53 minutes ago, dobu gabu maru said:

Due to Avactor’s sprawling size, we’ll have twice the amount of time to play through it, playing one map every two days. We’ll start playing Deadly Standards on the 23rd.

 

Anyone doubting Dobu's competence at math, MAP12 is an outro. 

you're gonna love MAP09

Man, I must've died at least 20 times finding the first secret in Map 01 of Avactor haha.

What a shame no april fools this year

Avactor is cool, two days per map is a very reasonable thing to do. Will join later to play Deadly Standards.

Well, I see if I join on the second part, cause I heard the Avactor is pretty long!

P.S. Also MAP12 and E1M9 map names is fine coincidence.

2 hours ago, riderr3 said:

Well, I see if I join on the second part, cause I heard the Avactor is pretty long!

P.S. Also MAP12 and E1M9 map names is fine coincidence.

Well, it's to the surface and back, then.

Also, great thread title pic.

If you interested and want to add this to the "bonus content" section, there's a 5 minute short video that summarize deadly standards episode:

Rather silent in here, a bit too much. Time to step off the boat and into adventure!

Play Info

Source Port : GZDoom 3.7.2

Difficulty : Hurt Me Plenty

Saves : Allowed when not fighting. This is a meaty mapset, after all.

Restrictions : Pistol start.

MAP 01 – La Muerta Island

People said this was an imposing mapset, enough so we have two days for each map excluding the outro. First map might not be that lengthy, but it’s the first map, and it’s still a long adventure filled with grandiose structures, a music that halfway reminds me of exploration in both Hexen and Super Metroid ways, dusty secrets and hostile, demonic natives – the same bestiary we’re used to, but drawn differently.

And crushers, of course. It wouldn’t be an ancient ruins map without some deathtraps.

I admit Avactor’s gameplay style so far isn’t my favourite with its constant ambushes. I know, I voted for this set. But more for aesthetic purposes, which this map delivers, and a good sense of place. This map’s opening is a good example: from start, I was encouraged to take my time and explore the temple’s outskirts before diving in, which uncovered two secrets in a short span. And true to adventure, one of them was a clever bit of map knowledge.

All in all, a first map that made me want to know more.

I'll hopefully catch up with  you  guys by weekend, I still have five more Eviternity maps to play:)

11 hours ago, dac said:

Rather silent in here, a bit too much. Time to step off the boat and into adventure!

Yeah, this had fallen of the front page (3 days dormant!) so I was concerned there wasn't even a Club thread this month!

I've poked around at Avactor's MAP01. Man, just nonstop swarms of baddies everywhere. Not sure it's my bag (baby), but it sure is gorgeous. I may join in for it. More likely I'll join in for Deadly Standards (which I'm not sure I've even heard of, but hey, Ep1 replacements are usually cool in my book.)

I'm the one who made Avactor, I'm gonna follow this thread and read everything you'll have to say so I can keep updating this Wad.

If you have any question feel free to ask, promise to answer on everything. :)

Map 01: La Muerta Island

It's long. 

(Just bumping the thread.) 

15 minutes ago, rdwpa said:

It's long

Sounds good.

Avactor01-AC.lmp

Avactor02-AC.lmp

Avactor03-AC.lmp

PRBoom+ 2.5.1.5, HNTR, pistol starts, saveless

This isn't the first time I've played this wad, but it is the first time I've done it on HNTR, because UV has a lot of meat to grind through.

This wad is undeniably beautiful, that's for sure, and its maps are quite impressive, if progression can be cryptic at times (for reference, the first map is the only one where I actively knew where I was going).

I found some bugs going through on my first playthrough that I showed off here (about 18:30 in Avactor02 and the plasma rifle in 03) that should be patched out, for sure.

While UV is incredibly boring to me just because of how much meat there is, HNTR turned out to be a nicely tuned, chill experience, though some encounters seemed very strangely devoid of any danger (the blue skull in 03).

And yes, these maps are incredibly long. The first map is the fastest of these three, at about 18 minutes, the other two taking roughly 25 or 30 minutes to go through (all still beating out the par times, somehow).

Damn, it's slow this month.

Avactor Map01 - La Muerta Island

The map was good. It was very long for a first map, but not monstrous like I've heard the later maps are. The fights were fun for the most part, but seemed a little same-y at times, just popping up a bunch of enemies when you do anything. This along with the level length and details makes this feel like "Central American Hellbound," which is not a bad thing. The visuals were great, and all the sprite replacements were good. Did anyone else think the imp balls looked a little like lost souls? The room towards the East of the map with all the pillars was memorable. I found the secret area in there, but in the chaos, never saw what was in it before I picked it up. Ammo on HMP was a little too tight for my liking.

Avactor04-AC.lmp

PRBoom+ 2.5.1.5, complevel 9, HNTR, pistol start, saveless

Recorded this at 3 in the morning because I couldn't sleep, and by the time I was finished, it was coming up on 4.

A chill map on HNTR, remarkably good for slowing down my mind that was trying to run at the speed of light, and helping me get to sleep later.

MAP 02 – Sunlight Source

That was a strangely paced map, key-wise. It went on for a long adventure before nabbing the yellow skull, after which the other two keys were obtained rather quickly. Not without any difficulty though, Avactor loves its set pieces, from an early cyberdemon fight to the red key fight in the lava, to the dozens of ambushes.

One thing I love from these maps though: secrets. Sometimes it’s an alcove with a backpack in it – Avactor loves its backpacks – sometimes it’s an extensive trek with traps and monsters, chaining multiple secrets together. It adds to the general feel of exploration.

MAP01 - La Muerta Island

This map got me right from the start. Really loved the theme behind the map (And I presume the rest of the .wad). You feel at every turn like you're not supposed to be there, and the monsters and traps help reinforce that. The crusher secret in particular (Although I eventually cheesed it with the map) stood out for being a hostile environment.

Also a shout out for the reskin on the monsters. I haven't seen the whole bestiary, but I really like the changes. Everything looks more threatening, the death animations on the zombiemen/shotgunners is pretty neat, and the cacodemons become more of a threat with the faster projectiles.

This is my first time ever playing the .wad, I'm playing on HMP, and managed most of the secrets/kills. Never was quite clever enough to work out how to get that errant soulsphere or mega-armor though.

So I played Avactor up to map05 or map06 when it was released so I am playing through it again here.

I really like the aesthetic of this wad so I aim to complete it over the course of the month.

Sprites:

The sprites are sick in this wad. I like pretty much everything.

Map01:

I love the secret to the player's right on this map. Having to read the automap to make it took me like 20 tries before my pea-brain decided to check to automap. I will note that there should be monster blocking lines around the platforms as there was an imp that fell into the lava this time. That is assuming that there are no flying monsters if you find some other secret here I missed.

After entering the temple there is tons of stuff to shoot. This density is something on the scale on an early map I would expect to find in Slaughterfest 20xx. I was wishing for more rockets in many places but perhaps they are hidden in secrets.

Speaking of secrets I did find the blue armor on that tall pillar in the middle of everything this time. That was a fun secret to find and I liked the really tight quarters revenant ambush in order to hit the switch. The rocket launcher secret? that lowers on a pillar revealing two revs and a vile was hilarious. I was listening intently to channelgorf talk about dick moves, how pizza in America sucks, and how Marco Polo invented pasta when I proceeded to be 'f'd in the A' (trying to summon my inner linguistic charm a' la demon of the well :p) by a vile and a rev rocket.

Speaking of rev rockets.. I cannot get used to their size. So henceforth I will most likely be giving them much more respect than I normally do throughout the playthrough. Cake-o-demons are in the same boat. They destroyed me during my first playthrough so at least I was ready for them this time. Still hard for me to get used to though.

The key fights are kind of whatev here. I really don't like how I have to run over the medikit in order to start the fight for the bsk. maybe put the key on the pillar and have the player start the fight that way. I simply didnt need the medikit and running over it to start the fight didn't occur to me right away. The rsk fight was a bunch of dudes. I really wish I had more rockets for this but again maybe I missed a secret.

Really dig the boat thing at the start and end of the map. Enhances the whole exploratory feel of the wad.

avactor1-Killer5-cl9.zip

Great feedbacks so far!

3 hours ago, Killer5 said:

maybe put the key on the pillar and have the player start the fight that way

That was the way in original, but when player see a key he automaticly preparing him self for a trap, but when a player find a medikit, the trap might catch him out of guard, that was the point of placing the items this way.

Beside that, after the trap activated the player will see the blue key while fighting the dudes, but he dont know picking up the key will activate crushers, another thought to catch the player unprepared.

MAP02 - Sunlight Source

Another really good map in my opinion - Although having said that, I did spend a lot of time trying to work out where to go. That's normal though, I've got a good sense of direction in a map, just never for what particular direction I should go. Also had a good laugh with the "This way" signs on the temple walls.

What really impresses me is the attention to detail. There is a crucified man on an island you cannot reach which you can barely see, but that's the level of detailing that went into the map.

This wad is also pretty well balanced - I'm playing on HMP, and every time I start getting a bit low on health or armor, along comes up a top up. A more concentrated player who doesn't make the mistakes I do would be just fine on UV, while still also being challenging.

I ended up firing up Doombuilder to find the last secret this time, seeing as I was literally one secret short and tearing my hair out. Turns out there was a switch laughing at me the whole time.

Also, noticed one of the chains in the map didn't quite go the whole way - But that's me being really nitpicky.

Edit: I was hoping more people would get on board, but a combination of having a week off work and this obviously not being as popular as Evilternity (Which is strange, because this is a REALLY good WAD) means I've smashed through 4 more levels and no one has posted.

So here we go (Up to Map 05 per the rules, it's the 10th here in Australia).

MAP03 - Gythop’s Pyramids

Another very unfriendly map. I mentioned before that you get the feeling you are not supposed to be there, and that feeling continues in this map. I love the traps within pyramids - It just runs with our sense of what those pyramids were like. Fairly straightforward map though, with only one nasty set piece (Two cyberdemons at once - But I not that long ago finished Sunlust, so you'll need to do more than that to scare me).

MAP04 - Rest of the Sages

What I loved about this map was that there wasn't really any "Set piece" combat. There were just constant waves of monsters that crashed through - No idea where they all came from, but just when you thought it was safe there was another horde creeping towards you. Consequently, just "Clearing" an area didn't make it safe.

I managed to find the BFG after just about all the monsters were dead in a secret, so would highly recommend anyone playing does a bit of exploring towards the exit before doing the rest of the map.

MAP05 - Calculating Under Pressure

While the last map had almost no set pieces, this feels like an arena map in some regards. Most of your combat takes place in one set area, and every time you have to return to it, the fun starts again.

The nice part about this map was hearing the roar of the Spider Mastermind - Was wondering when it would show up. What wasn't nice was the floating variety that FIRED A BFG AT ME. A very interesting design choice - But it seems a little too capable at destroying other demons rather than the player. Still scared the shit out of me though. Plus the real Spider Mastermind was in play too - Is it just me, or is it a slightly more amped up version of the original? Graphics are definitely different, but the thing is really tearing through me.

So I guess Avactor has just overwhelmed everyone! (sorry, but "massive levels with cryptic progression" is an automatic turn off for me)

I will chime in when we get to Deadly Standards, though I don't think I will actually have time to replay it.

...It has. Didn't expect it to be so meaty, still liking the atmosphere so far, plus the set seems to be getting better with each passing map.

With one possible exception:

MAP 03 – Gythop’s Pyramids

In retrospect, this wasn’t a map I liked.

Most of my irks are with the area unlocked by the red skull. The confusing progression, biggest among them: I recall running in circles a few times going WHERE DO I GO before finding out a small alcove to go in, or simply retracing my steps into a new unmarked route. The lava room wasn’t a favourite either, but then again precarious parkour is not an activity I like very much. At least the plasma rifle fight was a fun one.

The rest of the map is fine. The following maps are much better too.

MAP02 - Sunlight Source

This level was great. I always like wide open areas, and this map had lots. The only place where I couldn't figure out the progression was the indoor section on the northeast side of the map, where one of the six or so little alcoves happens to have the switch that opens the teleporter. That stationary chaingun turret was a surprise to me at the beginning, but I like it. Turret enemies are always fun. There was some really good use of faux-3d bridges and midtextures. 

I can't believe this thread hasn't reached page 2 yet. Christ

MAP 04 – Rest of the Sages

I had a good chuckle at the initial plasma rifle secret. It seems so obvious, but in the opening’s mayhem, I just didn’t think about going there.

Anyway, you can’t imagine how thankful I was about the slight change of environment. It’s still temples, but this time there’s a small village to trawl into, complete with a Guardian Cyberdemon. After three maps of pure temple action, that was what I needed to keep my interest going in those maps that were WAY meatier than I ever thought they’d be after Eviternity.

One low point: the music. It’s a groovy track, but it feels too much like something mouldy would write for a combination Avactor and Going Down, as in it sounds a bit too ridiculous. Oh, and as is tradition: the end of level secret with a BFG. It would have been insanely useful for the hordes of the fifth map... if I wasn’t doing pistol starts. No matter, at least I got it for the stats!

MAP01: La Muerta Island

Went in completely blind, only aware of the maps being big. Had to noclip my way out of the water in the start as I couldn't find a way out. Played on UV and surprisingly only died to the crusher secret to the right of the start, and I never completed it as I didn't think of checking the automap like some others here have mentioned.

The map was quite tough, but never really felt unfair. More enemies than I prefer, but you often have large open areas to retreat to when needed. I managed to handle the early revenant secret without taking any damage at all in the cramped room, but the very closest I was to dying was the dance with the revenant after the red key stair teleporter. I got out with exactly 1 hp and 1 armor, and managed to survive the last swarm of enemies, ending the map with 16 or 18 hp.

The frequent teleporting "traps" as the main way enemies show up isn't my favorite kind of gameplay, but the map (with its gorgeous art and enemy redesign) made me constantly feel tense, and I quicksaved frequently (even though I never ended up loading past the starting area). The ammo management required also built on the feeling of unease, and I'd definitely say the map is a success when it comes to tension. At least for players of my skill. For the future, I'm considering either lowering the difficulty or reloading my last quicksave from MAP01 to have a bit more HP at the start of MAP02.

Double post, yay!

MAP02: Sunlight Source

Man, this one took me a while. I wonder if I will even have time to play the rest now that I'll have stuff to do the coming days. This map opens with a redesigned enemy, a stationary machinegun turret. I'm really happy I'm not doing pistol starts. Even with the 18 hp and 1 armor I spawned with, two rockets take them down with ease and if you keep your distance, they don't really do much. I died far more in this map than MAP01, but over half of those deaths were in the first ~10 minutes of the map where I was constantly starved on hp, never going above 40. As I mentioned in my previous post, I'm not the biggest fan of maps with this huge amount of enemies, but the open areas are well designed with good cover and room to fall back. It is also balanced out by tighter encounters with fewer, but strong, enemies where you need to do some good dodge dancing to succeed.

Continuing on UV, the open ability to fall back from ambushes was key for me to survive with the low health I started with. The ambush compositions often allow for monster infighting, so the only way I could survive (and also not run out of ammo) was to trigger an ambush, run back behind cover and let the demons thin each other out before I came back in to clean up. It was time consuming, but a fun challenge. I also quite like the sniper arachnotron that overlooks the main area. It never felt like BS, but it stayed as something to be aware of and acted as an extra challenge.

In the end, it took me over 50 minutes to beat the map (and probably several hours playing on and off with reloads), with a lot of time spent on taking it slow due to almost no hp, and I also took some time trying to find secrets I had missed after I picked up the automap - got 6/7 in total.

MAP 05 – Calculating Under Pressure

After four adventurous islands, here we arrive at the fifth. A small one, containing a large atrium in the middle. This is our grand arena.

After the initial confusion of finding the rocket launcher and going “oh, it’s right there!”, this was an awesome map with plenty of great set pieces and a bit of trolling. Those spiderdemon screeches you hear? Actual spiderdemons, not that brain thing in the second wave. Ships rise from the depths, demons in tow. The arena itself is the theatre of great hordes descending as you get each key. It’s a simple concept, but it’s a great one.

Really, if there is a gripe to this map, it’s how the new monster were introduced. No real fanfare; a demon with nastier attacks, and a BFG firing brain at the same time, resulting in the brain getting torn apart by the demons angered at the BFG splash damage. It was hilariously anticlimactic, and undersells just how nasty these new monsters are.

It's been a little while since I played through these maps, so I had to do a very quick run through with no-clip to try and remember the maps. So this might be less detailed than my previous comments.

MAP06 - Mount of Steel

This felt like a big map - Lots of interesting things going on story wise with it as well. My two distinct memories of this map are as follows:

1. There are four raised platforms with walkways surrounding it. The monsters on each platform are a big brain, spider mastermind, cyberdemon and arch viles. I flipped all the switches, while trying to avoid doing anything with the monsters. Flick the last one, and it activated a crusher ceiling on all the platforms. I start laughing. The crusher raises up (Quick crusher) and then the floor rises up, turns everything into lava, and releases everyone (Including spawning new monsters). My laughter cuts off.

2. There is a platform right at the end that is absolutely diabolical. I ended up rocket jumping (Freelook) to get out of the platform and wait for it to hit the bottom before going down. 

MAP07 - Europhan’s Hall

I honestly don't remember too much of this one. I really like the intro to the map - The slow ascent while there is stuff coming from above.

MAP08 - Violent Geometry

The geometry sure got violent in this map. This map did have a standout for me - There is this large, cavernous area which has a walkway around the sides and a key in the centre. Flip switches along the side, spawn more monsters in. It was incredibly frustrating and incredibly fun.