[Now on /idgames!] 3x3: Take Two - 3 flats, 3 textures, 3 monster types speedmaps again!

I updated my map. The changes are as follows:

- added a "block monsters" line so that hell knight can't enter the teleporter

- added a lift back up from the exit area

- fixed one texture misalignment

- added music: "Dear Onion" by Lippeth, taken from ".MID the way id did" (midtwid2)

Thanks everyone for feedback!

Btw. I didn't specify source of the sky texture in the template when submitting the map. The sky is made by me :)

3-metal-pipe-skin-v2.zip

I played some of the other levels. I went through the thread in reverse order to make sure I'd play the latest version of each map. I'll probably get around to the other levels before the end of the week. All them were played on UV.

Metal Pipe Skin by @jacnowak

Garden of Despair v4 by @myolden

Iron and Stone by @Captain Toenail

The Devil's Gut by @MFG38

3x3-bx-fin by @BoxY

@PeceMan Thanks for video! Small circle thing is indeed supposed to be roomba. Yeah, I may have taken some creative freedoms depicting the house :)

16 hours ago, PeceMan said:

Short, but tightly designed. Not too much ammunition, not too litle. Not too hard, not too easy, either.

One of, if not, the shortest, which is interesting, considering you are the lead on the CP. You were probably expecting entries similar to this length.

I find mapper who are also the project leads often have a hard time mapping freely on their own project. Partly, because they have less time overall, since they have to manage the community and the entries.

Also, there is extra pressure. After all, whereas most participant have the certainty that at least one person is going to play their level, project leads know their entries will be played by almost everyone.

I would very much like to hear your opinion on the subject, and your experience making The Devil's Gut.

Thanks for the video and the feedback! I'm not sure if I can offer any deep insight as to your thoughts on time contraints and whatnot, but I'll answer to the best of my ability.

Truth be told, the map mostly ended up being so small and short as a result of me running out of ideas. I'd had the theme in mind for a couple of months prior to announcing this project, but I wasn't sure how I wanted the general layout to flow. I more or less just started slapping down lines and went where I felt the map was taking me. At the point where the layout was almost finished (minus the room where you grab the red key), I wasn't really getting any decent ideas as to how I could expand the map, so I made the room with the red key in it and declared it a finished layout. That's ultimately the reason why the map is relatively short as opposed to other submissions thus far.

As for whether I expected submissions of generally similar length or not, all I can say is "yes and no". Given that one of the rules of the project regards play time, I was ready to see at least a few submissions that would stretch it to the full extent of the play time limit. That said, I am slightly surprised that almost all of the entries so far employ the play time limit up to the general "sweet spot" and beyond it - in fact, I believe @Worriedidiot's submission is the only one so far that falls significantly under the limit. But for what it's worth, I do understand wanting to make the most of one's own map as long as its play time stays within the 10-minute mark. Ultimately, I put that rule in place to ensure that no map outstays its welcome, so to speak.

Updated version of The Devil's Gut. Changelog:

• Removed hanging corpse decorations because they were apparently blocking player/monster movement in PrBoom+.
• Added more candles.
• Made the Imp/Revenant teleport conveyor looping so the kill isn't permanently missable.
• Minor ammo balance tweak on UV.
• Raised sector light levels across the whole map.

mfg_3x3ttwo_1-v2.zip

And now for something completely different (to my other map)

https://www.mediafire.com/file/fswiyxbd17oaeyz/maudlin_of_the_Wall.zip/file

So, the concept here is, I generally don't enjoy most adventure maps and I definitely don't enjoy switch hunts when I play doom. I like it high-octane. But, this community project is a great place to challenge some of these hangups because the aesthetic work is quite minimal due to the texture limitations. So I decided to do a dreamlike adventure map. It ended up being my favourite thing I've done so far for doom, I think!

Map Name: maudlin of the Wall
Author: Helm
Build Time: 20 hours?
Play Time: 5-6 minutes if you don't get stuck too much, it's an adventure after all!
Music: Hitoshi Sakimoto's Intro for the Sega Genesis pinball game Devilish / Bad Omen
Textures: Stock, sky from Mechadon's sky pack
Difficulty Settings: Nope. A dream is a dream is a dream. 
Ports Tested: GZDoom, PrBoom+

Description: 

You wake up in your prison cell -- one of many, carved out on the side of the titan prison walls of Neptune.

From your window you can see a single star dotting the freezing, obsidian horizon. It feels almost like, if you could only reach out you could grasp it in your hands.

If you were to somehow escape your cell, scale the seemingly endless expanse of the prison wall, you could follow that shining, silver vector until the end.


Oh, also, this is a map about sector toilets and sector toilet paper. That's how dreams go, what can I say.


P.S. this is a more mechanics-ambitious map than what I usually do, so if I've fucked up anything, if there's any bugs, I'd appreciate the testing. MFG38 has already been a huge help with this one, testing it twice, fixing the sky transfer for me, this map is dedicated to you then, MFG :)
 

Played more maps. Just wanted to mention that I had fun playing all of them so far. There weren't any maps that annoyed me or that I was sick of by the end (the short durations help in this case).

High Class Bypass v2 by @PeceMan

Nebula Swamp by @Salmon

Toxic Rumble by @PinkFlamingo

Moss Cushion v2 by @Alper002

Vile Book Club by @Worriedidiot

Updated myhouse.wad
- cacos in pool area appear later so they dont all flock to doorway
- fixed wrong textures in almost every doortrack :P

myhousewad.zip

45 minutes ago, muumi said:

Updated myhouse.wad
- cacos in pool area appear later so they dont all flock to doorway
- fixed wrong textures in almost every doortrack :P

 

myhousewad.zip

Here's a demo of my playthough: myhousewad.zip

I thought this map was great! Really fun fights and a cool layout. I think there were one or two spots where arachnotrons weren't in a position to pose much of a threat, but otherwise the fights were all super fun. Good secrets, too.
 

Iron and Stone, by @Captain Toenail:

Garden of Despair, by @myolden:

This one is mine:

In case anyone wants a walkthrough / some of my thoughts while making it

I think I'm only missing "maudlin of the wall", which was released earlier today, and "Sludge Terminal", which I only managed to download today. If I'm forgetting any levels, let me know.

@PeceMan Thanks for the video commentary! I'm glad you liked the map.

You raise a really interesting point about making the automap more readable by hiding cosmetic lines (like those ceiling lines you pointed out). I hadn't really considered that before and will definitely think about that kind of thing in future maps.

Thanks for playing @SCF and @PeceMan, glad you enjoyed it :-) 

Here's V2

-added some more health

-added secret berserk

-reinforced exit teleport mechanics

-aligned some textures

CT_Iron_and_Stone_v2.zip

Thanks for the video PeceMan

Updated my map: A_Librarians_Nightmare_3x3_7Soul_v2.rar

- Fixed an unobtainable secret

- Added more detail to some rooms

- The last fight now closes all exits for a while

Map Name: [the military base]

Author: [battlescrol (i just want to be mentioned in the final postl]

Build Time: [about 35 min]

Play Time: [3 mins]

Music: [e3m9]

Textures: [i used metal 1, door blu, compspan, exit sign, flat14, tlite6_5, tlite6_6]

Difficulty Settings: [yes]

Ports Tested: [all the zdoom family of ports]

Description: [its a future military base]

my submision.zip

@battlescroll I'll be completely honest with you - your map is pretty mediocre. The visuals aren't appealing at all, and the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. A green armor and two medikits in relation to how many hitscanners there are on UV is ridiculously little to deal with the ordeal, and their placements are extremely questionable as well. By the time you reach the first medikit, you've already either killed half of the Shotgunners or, almost more likely, died to their gunfire. That said, I'm not rejecting your entry yet - I do request, however, that you slap down more medikits on UV at the very least.

Also, please specify the exact source of the music track you used, because it certainly didn't sound like E3M9 of Doom.

1 hour ago, MFG38 said:

@battlescroll I'll be completely honest with you - your map is pretty mediocre. The visuals aren't appealing at all, and the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired. A green armor and two medikits in relation to how many hitscanners there are on UV is ridiculously little to deal with the ordeal, and their placements are extremely questionable as well. By the time you reach the first medikit, you've already either killed half of the Shotgunners or, almost more likely, died to their gunfire. That said, I'm not rejecting your entry yet - I do request, however, that you slap down more medikits on UV at the very least.

 

Also, please specify the exact source of the music track you used, because it certainly didn't sound like E3M9 of Doom.

alright i will

alright i added more medkits ( 1 big medkit and 7 potions but it the level is not that hard) and the music was taken from a midi track comp and i thought it was just e3m9 im sorry

my submision.zip

3 hours ago, battlescroll said:

Author: [battlescrol (

yo you wanna be credited with one L or two?

I don't think battlescroll's map should be included as it is now, since it would be too out of place due to it's low quality, and would drag down the rest of the wad. It needs to be improved before it is accepted.

A Librarian's Nightmare v2 by @7Soul

Maudlin of the Wall by @Helm

The Military Base (updated version) by @battlescroll

My House (16-04 version) by @muumi

ok fine i will work on the map more

alright here just tell me what needs improvement and ill do it

my submision (2).zip

55 minutes ago, SCF said:

 

The Military Base (updated version) by @battlescroll

  Hide contents

but I noticed you say you spent 35 minutes building the map. Even if it's short, most other people have spent at least 5 hours on their map (and generally more). It wouldn't hurt putting a bit more time into it to try to make it more interesting.

 

 

i assumed 35 mins

35 minutes ago, battlescroll said:

alright here just tell me what needs improvement and ill do it

my submision (2).zip

The problem here is that you simply lack the experience and skill necessary for making fun maps. What I encourage you to do is to try and play many more wads and try to imitate their style of mapping and gameplay. I would personally recommend Scythe 1. You should also experiment with gameplay more and try to add detail.

9 minutes ago, battlescroll said:

alright here just tell me what needs improvement and ill do it

Well, you asked, so I shall provide.

First off, the visuals need work. The COMPSPAN doesn't mix well with the METAL1 aesthetically, and there's almost no variation in the floor/ceiling textures. Try some different texture combinations, play around with the lighting some more - even just the latter will do wonders towards making the map look less bland.

Second, less Shotgunners, please. There's simply too many of them, to the point where their sheer amount drains virtually all fun from the map. Replace a good part of the Shotgunners with HKs and Cacodemons.

Third, more weapons. A SSG at the very least, because shooting at Cacodemons and HKs with only the Shotgun gets pretty tedious after enough time. It's not a problem yet given the map's current size, but if you're going to expand it, it's not going to be fun gunning down mid-tier enemies with basically no armaments to match.

Fourth, expand the layout. Make it non-linear. Experiment with gameplay - not every room needs to be filled with enemies from the get-go. Maybe there's an area that was empty before but now has monsters waiting in it after you flicked a switch somewhere. There's potential for creating some truly interesting gameplay here - make the most of it.

Sludge Terminal, by @SCF:

Maudlin the Wall, by @Helm:

The Military Base, by @battlescroll:

13 hours ago, SCF said:

 

Maudlin of the Wall by @Helm

  Reveal hidden contents

Neat atmospheric map. I liked the part with the pinkies on pillars -I thought the map was broken at first, until the floor raised and they all swarmed me. Small thing I noticed, the door before the chainsaw has a small triangular sector with a different floor texture than the rest. The left side of the doorway also has a lower texture that moves along with the door.

bro how much pot did you smoke?

Made this stone cold sober lol 

I'm glad you had more fun with this map, rough edges and all. I know metal 2 metal gave you a bit more of a hard time in comparison. Thanks for sticking it out and getting an exit on that one, and for exploring this one. It means a lot for mappers to see their maps played. 

Keep in mind that especially this map can be sequence broken slightly with free aim, but not in a terrible way, mostly it'll make you feel like some bits and areas are redundant or you'll get turned around and be a bit confused because you shot a switch you weren't supposed to have access to from your vertical position just yet. But you made it through!

I'll go through all the maps in this set towards the end of the month as well with video commentary so I'll hit your map as well :)

I made another one for this!

Assets aren't randomly selected this time round, I just wanted to make a castle :)

Map Name: Nukage Castle
Author: Jacek Nowak
Build Time: a few late nights
Play Time: 6 minutes
Music: Braachsel by decino from .MID the way id did (midtwid2)
Textures: custom sky by me
Difficulty Settings: yes
Ports Tested: prBoom+ 2.5.1.4, GZDoom 4.4.2
Description: Compact castle level with some verticality.

It should be more difficult than my previous entry (nothing too crazy though), there is enough ammo but on UV you need to push forward to get it. Looking forward for feedback on how it plays :)

3-nukage-castle.zip

@jacnowak Solid map overall. Visuals are nice, if somewhat simplistic, and the gameplay is a fun and fair challenge. I really enjoyed the verticality of the layout - the fall from the high ledge over to the platform with the blue door was a highlight moment. About the only change I'd make is move the Generalized Lift action from linedef #936 to linedef #949, as well as make linedef #949 monster-blocking, just to prevent the monsters from being able to lower the elevator.

Thanks @MFG38 for your feedback, I'm glad you enjoyed the layout :)

That Generalized Lift can't be triggered by monsters as one of its bits is "monsters: no". It can only be triggered by the player. I wanted to have the activating linedef a bit further away from the lift, so that the player triggers it unconsciously during the fight with cacodemons.