[Limit Removing] 180 Minutes Pour Vivre (final version released on /idgames !)

Looks gnarly, I'll check it out tomorrow!

Quarantine has helped me become a fan of the 3HA series. Glad to see another installment!

Sacre blu! Look at this! Glad to hear the community still pumping quality maps. Downloading right now.

How dare there be 5 Cyberdemons in one area! This is an outrage! Unless they do a fancy dance and sing war-tunes, then there is no possible way you could win this! 1 star! (LoL)

7 hours ago, Catpho said:

Quarantine has helped me become a fan of the 3HA series. Glad to see another installment!

Well that's the difference: it's not 3HA4.

180MPV was built with a very different ressource set (new Dehacked monsters in our case), and for Limit Removing instead of the usual Vanilla format).

@Oxyde Ah, understood!

Played the first two maps. Some thoughts:

"De Bronze et de Brique": Oxyde's techbase is pleasantly clean and functional, which compliments the textures' polished, high-tech look. This opener is a definite looker, but the spacious play area combined with scattered low-tier opposition gives the map an empty feeling (the amount of space near the green amour is almost comical). Still, it's fairly in keeping with the FDC tradition of easy-going intros. Next!

"Yttrium": Ah, vintage Wilou shotgun-massacre. It's one of the more forgiving examples, when compared to the death sewer in "Upsilon-Synth" or the sheer chaos of "Renewed Faith". Even so, it's no less addictive! Wilou's invisible hand guides the player via teleporters to battle after battle of pure bloody bliss. There is never a shortage of zombies, imps and demons (with Cacos and Lost Souls serving as slightly bigger kills) thrown to in the player's destructive path, as they are constantly deployed through a multitude of methods such as warping in and jumping out of monster closets. The generous amount of supplies and slick, stylish architecture ensured a constant forward momentum. Wilou's maps are a drug, man.

Here's a FDA for Map02 (Over 4 mins long. Recorded in the latest version of Crispy but runs fine in PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4). I suspect i won't be keeping this up for the harder maps, considering the FDC's taste in difficulty lol.

Thanks for the demo @Catpho, glad to see you didn't get confused by the teleporter network. :)
It's only map 02, we don't want to have something too intricate at this point in the game.

Looks really good, but I was disappointed by the obnoxious custom monsters. Is there a chance you'd release a version without them? Anyway, I played on UV in Gzdoom 4.4.2 and here are some thoughts and bug reports:

MAP11: for some arcane reason, rockets are exploding mid-air on one spot. I'm attaching screenshots, I marked the spot in red.

MAP14: there are two yellow keycards. Also, compared to previous maps, this map felt somewhat unfair - there is tough fight with Heresiarch at the start and then the 3 archvile arena, but there are no rockets and the player obtains the plasmagun only after them. And AFAICT there is no plasmagun in MAP11 to 13, not even in the secrets.

MAP17: probably the most confusing map of the pack, mainly because it's not apparent which switch opens what, so the player has to run around like headless chicken and check everything. It took me quite a while to figure out you need to press the switch in the starting room several times, too.

MAP20: I kinda expected MAP20 would have death exit like MAP10, since it's end of an "episode."

MAP21: lost soul 97 is stuck and thus 100% kills is impossible.

MAP31: GZdoom reports many missing textures:

More text:

Retour sur Terre: Datacore arrives with a vicious showing. "Terre" contrasts the preceding two levels with more strict supply management and an emphasis in bringing players into tough spots. The level is at its most dangerous in the beginning: demons and Cacos invading safe zones, but the only escape is a deadly crossfire of shotgun snipers and Manc fireballs. After the brutal greeting the author is much more accommodating, but many ambushes should still keep the player on their toes. A departure from the futuristic technology, the map's visuals can be described as "blighted earth". The indoors is built out of muddy bricks that are twisted in uninviting ways, simultaneously suffocating yet leaves one feel exposed due to the many small openings. Streams and ponds are corrosive liquids, surrounded by the parasitic presence of metal. A satisfying offering.

"Ignominie": The map is essentially a string of encounters that felt under-developed and had no real underlying concept to tie it all together. Feels more like a practice piece than a fully fleshed-out level, really.

"Grand Bleu": A lighthearted, breezy offering. Well, as lighthearted as blowing up demons into mountains of gibs can get! Roofi's own version of paradise serves up sector palm trees, bright colors, a peaceful beach view and upbeat music. However, no Doom vacation is complete without ludicrous violence, and Roofi offers this in spades. The term "rocket punch" is interpreted quite literally here, with the player alternating between launching rockets and utilizing their explosive fists (thanks to a little help from a berserk pack in the picnic basket. Good foresight!) to tear down wave after wave of conveniently clumped up enemies. A great map to relax to.

"Complexe Cendré": JC dedicates the spotlight to the blue key encounter, where the ash-colored quad-eyed relative of the Caco makes its non-secret debut (apparently there was a secret fight featuring these baddies in "Yttrium"). The custom monster attacks by throwing an impressive barrage of imp fireballs followed by a stream of Mancubus projectiles. The multi-eyed monstrosity seems to otherwise behaves like a regular Caco, however, and as a result can reliably be circle-strafed given enough space. This is why they are supported by a storm of regular Cacos, Hell Knights and Revenants. In theory, at least. In practice, it's fairly easy to bait the entourage to betray their comrades. This is not a complaint, mind you, as the level is memorable not for its precise combat but for its grand spectacle and cinematic reveal.

"Chaologie Quantique":This 07 slot-occupier is an enjoyable romp. The combat is solid throughout, with fast-paced run n gun that rewards an aggressive mindset. This is punctuated by the excellent archvile-centered encounters, with a fight near the exit that can escalate from bad to worse if the necromancers are given free reign with the corpses. Very fun.

"Ruée vers Laure": A refreshing change of pace from Roofi. Its a intriguing, visually memorable map for starters, with many textures creatively reappropriated as rich mineral strips and gleaming gold bars. The shining riches paired with and the caved-in, claustrophobic mine setting creates for an enchanting yet subtly menacing atmosphere. What is really impressive though is how the author weaves the setting with the gameplay. Much of 180mpv so far have had a take-no-prisoners attitude towards combat, but to tackle this mystical yet deadly place requires a more methodical approach. Many battles here reward slowing down and paying attention to one's options, as it is easy to get murdered by either the strict but fair balancing (the SSG is the most powerful weapon available openly) or the well-placed monsters. The experience as a whole reads like a much gentler, slaughter-free Death-Destiny map. It all shows that Roofi is one of today's most exciting mappers.

My Crispy Doom version mysteriously crashed while recording, so there probably won't be more FDAs for the time being (they are just footage of me dying anyway!). Sorry Roofi for no M8 demo!

180mpvM3-M7.zip

1 hour ago, Catpho said:

"Ignominie": The map is essentially a string of encounters that felt under-developed and had no real underlying concept to tie it all together. Feels more like a practice piece than a fully fleshed-out level, really.

Couldn't help it, it was my second map and I only had 3 hours, I'm one of those who say it's better to do things slowly but surely. 😥

@Thenuke It's ok. Regardless how I feel about a map, I always appreciate people who dedicate their time on Doom mapping. Keep it up!

19 hours ago, Caleb13 said:

Looks really good, but I was disappointed by the obnoxious custom monsters. Is there a chance you'd release a version without them?

I'll have to think about that one.

Yeah, the two custom monsters won't be up to everyone's taste, sorry about that :)
They spit out a lot of projectiles and will probably seem overpowered at first glance. As with regular Doom II monsters, though, their attack pattern is easy to identify and circumvent.
After some time, you'll get used to them.

Anyway, thanks for your input and bug reports !

Map 11 is a real piece of work, we've fixed a couple invisible walls of that kind already.
I'll take a look at it.

 

@WH-Wilou84 Just out of curiosity, what causes those "invisible walls" and how do you fix them?

26 minutes ago, Caleb13 said:

@WH-Wilou84 Just out of curiosity, what causes those "invisible walls" and how do you fix them?

It's most probably a node builder error, since there's no geometry in this area.
Usually, they disappear when you draw some new lines in or nearby the invisible zone. Moving nearby walls by 1 map unit sometimes fixes the problem as well. :)

@WH-Wilou84 Odd, I thought GZdoom has its own internal nodebuilder and automatically rebuilds every map upon start, precisely to avoid such problems.

Thank you for your constructive reviews @Caleb13 and @Catpho ! :)

Quote

MAP14: there are two yellow keycards. Also, compared to previous maps, this map felt somewhat unfair - there is tough fight with Heresiarch at the start and then the 3 archvile arena, but there are no rockets and the player obtains the plasmagun only after them. And AFAICT there is no plasmagun in MAP11 to 13, not even in the secrets.

- I sometimes like to put several keys of the same color in a map. The first yellow key serves more than a lure than anything else. However, there is a fairly minimal but existing risk of lowering the ground without picking up the yellow key, so I a put an other yellow key for that case.

- The player should not be able to kill the heresiarch until he get a more powerful weaponry than the little pistol. This level is a lot easier on continuous play.

- I don't think this map is "unfair" but "gimmicky" instead. First of all , there are not 3 viles but 2 , even on UV. Also, I placed 2 soulspheres in the "arena" so killing all the monsters should not be a big deal. If you find this too difficult , play on lower difficulties or perseverate because the later maps will be harder !

- You're right , you can only grab the plasmagun near the end of the map. I put it like that for continuous and speedrun purposes , PG will be useful in later levels and you can get it a lot earlier by doing a 32px glide. :)

I'm playing this with RUDE and it's a very good mapset. There are tutti-frutti and slime trails here and there.

It's hard and i'm cheating a bit playing in classic mode (no Doom 2 monsters). The new monsters are way overpowered tough.

MAP11 is nearly impossible with single player respawn, there are thousands of monsters (barons in this case) in HMP and they teleport to the start position.

It's doable with the trick to recover the backpack (dying over a dropoff).

Yeah it's fun.

Edit: there are several HOMS in MAP24 in the red key area.

For those who'd like to try 180mpv in multiplayer, @Datacore85 has set up a Survival server on [TSPG] !
 

Server name : [TSPG] Doom II - 180 Minutes Pour Vivre
Address : 104.128.49.2:10667
Source port : Zandronum

We've playtested every map, they can be completed with 3 lives if you know what you're doing.
The only major bug we've encountered is on map 11, the map is unplayable in multiplayer due to player starts not being placed correctly.
I've already fixed this one for the upcoming RC2.
 

7 hours ago, drfrag said:

There are tutti-frutti and slime trails here and there.

 

Could you please point out some of these, so that we could check and fix them ?
Thanks in advance !
 

I can't remember where they are but those are not important, you only get them in RUDE and Chocolate Doom. They don't bother me at all actually.

Let's conclude E1

"Pour une Vengeance": Wilou cites Hunsager's iconic "Nemesis" as inspiration, and it's not hard to see the similarities: familiar Autumnal color scheme, and a journey that takes the player to the heart of a sinister sanctum casting it's foreboding aura to surrounding quiet streams. However, whereas "Nemesis" was intricate and sprawling, Wilou's tribute is the opposite being compact and streamlined. "Vegeance" feels like a distilled and idealized version of the Alien Vendetta experience, offering varied visceral monster-dense encounters complemented by a sight-seeing adventure. The highlight fights are the custom monsters who punctuate the map's most climatic moments. The new Heresiarch sports an intimidating shotgun blast of fireballs and arachnotron projectiles, but it can be worked to the player's favor as an unparalleled monster infighting machine which Wilou gleefully demonstrates. The Nightwatch Cacodemon is much more involved here than it was in previous maps, but still a relatively simple matter to disposed off as long as one is strong with the ancient art of circled strafing. Another enjoyable piece from Wilou.

"Triléthal":  JC and Oxyde blend the aesthetic of Greenwar II, BTSX and Espi to create another gorgeous techbase. The gameplay, however, was not really my favorite. It begins with some relatively inconsequential gunfights, up to the point where the SSG is obtained where it rudely greets the marine with a cyberdemon. The surprise really doesn't last as the demon is easily out-maneuvered and the monster blocking line will take care of the rest. The map's best encounter is the mancubi (mancubuses?) and archviles team up, creating a tense scramble to remove enough enemies for space or die. A bit uneven for my tastes. By the way, what's with blue and yellow key doors? I appreciate inaccessible areas for world-building purposes, but the plasma rifle and unused switch suggests a different story? It leaves the map with an abrupt feeling, i feel.

"Où Est le Berger": FranckFRAG busts in and takes 180mpv into lunatic overdrive. The main playground is stunning to look at, dominated by a nightmarish megastructure that channels the otherworldly vertical dimension found in some of Tourniquet's best works. It is simultaneously juxtaposed and complemented by nightfall gloom, as if the lighting acts as a tenuous anchor to reality. The highlight of the map's build-up is the exploration. Navigation through the structure feels haphazard and dangerous, yet feels positively liberating as one can make deft-defying jumps from walkway to building (i loved that you can jump into the window to access the shotgunners + barrel room instead of using the door). The combat in this part is rather casual if only slightly harsh. However, Franck's an author to make their boot felt. The main course is armies of hellspawn filling up the ground floor, marking the mapset's first true slaughter scenario with style. The trick here, i feel, is to not panic and run around triggering everything on the map, but instead hold your ground. Staying around the initial area and thinning the horde gives you space to catch your breath. Immediately after that, i went for the cove on the right. The cluster of demons there had no archvile support and was painlessly slaughtered. Doing this provided enough space to alleviated a lot of stress from the fight. With memorable visuals and a great cathartic fight, this is certainly one of the mapset's strongest levels so far.

Just play map 10 on all difficulties and you will understand the gimmick @Catpho. ;) I found the idea really creative and clever.

We're currently bugfixing the wad and adding even more extra stuff for Co-op mode.

Version RC2 should be released before the end of the week :)

RC2 has been released !
This new version fixes bugs here and there and contains a lot of improvements for Co-op play.

Download link : https://www.dropbox.com/s/b393rkmao3mlqtn/180mpv_RC2.zip?dl=1
 

Played a few maps so far and I'm impressed! Was the gameplay and detailing/texturing apart of the 180 minute time limit, or did you allow the authors extra time for that?

Actually the 3-hour time limit wasn't to be taken sensu stricto.
We've indeed allowed ourselves some more time :)

The goal was basically to create something short, playable and somewhat fun, but you'll also see larger maps here and there. These obviously took a lot more than 3 hours to make.
There are also a few collaborative efforts.

 

Could anyone tell me how to get the plasma gun in map02? I spend about 10 minutes trying to find the way to the area, but I failed. I did hear something descent when I ran across the platform outside the red key area, but when I looked around, I found nothing changed. No new switches, no new doors, so I'm a bit confused.

This one's a little tricky :)

 

Im on map 31 and have no idea where the 3rd secret is. Could you please give some kind of clue ?

@papunio which secrets have you found so far ?