The DWmegawad Club plays: Doom the Way id Did (& Ultimate DTWID!)

E3M5 - “Chapel of Scorn” by pcorf

Nice looking map that captures a variety of visual themes. There's an interesting mix of traditional hellish imagery mixed with some nukebase aesthetic. Every liquid texture also makes an appearance. The secret area with the BFG, which is a lake of water surrounded by fire, is something I can imagine Sandy doing back then. Finding the secrets is also enjoyable, though I missed the unique teleport from that row and only got the BFG after clearing the map. Not that it was necessary, the difficulty here is more in line with what I'd expect, compared to the previous two maps.  

E3M5: Chapel of Scorn. DSDA v0.24, UV-PS-NoSaves. 100% kills & 83% secrets. Completion time 21:11 (Nov. 17:08). Two deaths in E3 so far. Total tally (2+1+2)+DE.

 

Came very close to dying on this one, too, these maps are getting if not exactly hard, but we're not in E1 anymore, either. Because of the heated start I was initially mixed on the level. Too little health, too many damaging floors. In hindsight it's not so bad, I just somehow botched up the beginning with wasting ammo and taking too many hits.

 

There are some familiar elements; The outside area was reminiscient of Slough of Despair, and I believe I picked up some Unholy Cathedral homages as well (for instance a monster spawner with skulls as floor). I missed one of the secrets, because in the end, I was 95% certain that one of the crusher niches had a switch, but I didn't have the guts to try in order to avoid potential death. Turns out I would have made a mistake there, when I went back with cheats to look for the final secrets, which would have been easier to reach than I had suspected.

All in all, decent level. I suspect my third playthrough would have been much more enjoyable from start to finish instead of only mid-level to finish.

rhhe82_e3m5_skill4_cl3_dsda-doom_dtwid.zip

As this is one of the rare opportunities for me to participate in the club again, I blitzed through E1 in 1,5 days. I had begun to play it about 4-5 years ago, but I only reached E1M3; in this moment I still wasn't too fond of the id-remake style and in general I'm not so much a die-hard E1 fan (although I love Romero's secret hunts). However that changed when I played D2TWID about two years ago, which I really enjoyed. So I take the opportunity to play this mapset this month, even if I'm starting really late. Hope to make E2 this weekend and then catch up with E3.

 

I played with pistol starts, UV without fast monsters, with a few saves in 2 or 3 longer maps, to get a really "classic" feel.

 

E1M1: Communications Bridge by Sarah Mancuso (esselfortium)

 

Very easy starting map. I agree somewhat with the critics that have affirmed that the starting view is not that great, but I acknowledge the difficulties to remake the most iconic doom level convincingly without being a copy. Some elements were borrowed from the original E1M1, or at least felt so, like the shotgunner tower. I loved the secret with the bridge near the end; I think it's not too complex for E1; thus a bonus point. Yes, and it definitively was easier than the original.

 

6,5/10

 

E1M2: Military Bunker by Nick Laurent (hobomaster22)

 

This is already an expansive map, and I remember fondly when I first played it some years ago, it took me a long while to know what the heck was about this door marked on the automap on the higher ledge near the upper red door. I liked the secret courtyard, which felt however a bit more modern than E1's outdoor areas for some reason, maybe due to the irregular shape. The bridge seems to take some inspiration from E1M3, included the inescapable pit (that was my first save, to prove this). It feels very Romeroesque, more than E1M1.

 

7/10

 

E1M3: Fuel Synthesis by Sarah Mancuso

 

Another large Romeroesque map, with a lot of secrets which were enjoying to hunt. I remember that in my first playthrough I'd already seen the area with the isolated computer terminal, where "you know there must be something", but it won't open up until later. There two areas I found particularly memorable: the bridge area and the "two-layered" windowed corridor in the southeast where the rocket launcher secret was. Gameplay is mostly fun, still not really challenging but a little bit harder than E1M2.

 

8/10

 

E1M4: Treatment Plant by Jason Root (Hellbent)

 

A map with a lot of toxic waste to explore, and only few radsuits - this put a bit more pressure to our beloved secret hunt, which I liked. Some E1M7 vibes here and there, and I really liked the looping layout. The most memorable part, and perhaps the most original setup of the mapset until this map (still in id's style, but not something I remember directly from the original E1) was the junction at the wall of imp turrets in the starting area which eventually disappears. Also this is a step up in difficulty, I had my first death here, but due to my playstyle which was very laid-back, casual and sloppy. Great map.

 

9/10

 

E1M5: Engineering Bay by Jacob Zuchowski (ellmo)

 

Smaller map than its immediate predecessors. It uses some verticality with all the lifts involved, but on a whole I felt a bit underwhelmed. The most memorable part was the secret with the two-sided switch where every side lowered a different lift. Another highlight is the fight with the imps emerging from columns. The difficulty remained relatively high, and I had another death near the start due to underestimating the pinkies and shotgunners.

 

6,5/10

 

E1M6: Reactor Complex by Nick Laurent

 

Another step up in difficulty, I scored two deaths here, both near the red key where you have to be on your toes due to a surprisingly dangerous imp crossfire and several shotgunners. There is not much health in the starting third or so, so you have to be more careful than usually in this mapset. Visually this is the most attractive map so far, with a layout marked by several deep toxic pits, borrowing ideas from the original E1M5 and E1M6. In the yellow key area the progression is a bit puzzley, I had to use the automap here extensively to finally find the key. But overall it's one of the maps I most enjoyed until now (perhaps a little bit less than E1M4).

 

8,5/10

 

E1M7: Logic Core by Trevor Primmett (iori)

 

While this is another visually very Romeroesque level, I found it to be a bit unbalanced and confusing. The start is very easy, although depending on your route it can take some time to find a green armor. You are lulled in a false sense of security and then surprised by the most evil trap up to here at the switch in the computer maze area. While I smiled about that move and enjoyed the half minute it keeps you really on your toes, the rest then felt again very underwhelming and easy - the biggest offender maybe being the red key "trap" with a handful of imps attacking from a distance, completely in front of you. Also the map lacks really memorable places. And that soulsphere and rocket launcher combined secret (!) when the map is always over ... I dunno.

 

Maybe I'm not doing it justice and it surely required a lot of effort, but I think this is the weakest DTWID map until here. Funnily I first started up the original E1M7 by error, and wondered why it looked so familiar. So this allowed me to compare at least the starting areas a bit, and I feel the original is generally harder and also more balanced with respect of monster density and danger in general.

 

6/10 - bonus point for the computer maze trap

 

E1M8: Transport Facility by Jacob Zuchowski

 

I think this must have been, apart from E1M1, the most difficult map to make of this first DTWID episode - an iconic boss fight which to today's standards would be a minor setpiece but back in the day was one of the main attractions of the shareware version. However, even taking this into account, I didn't enjoy this map very much. It takes more time for the buildup than the original, which is good, but the monsters outside of the main arena felt innecessary because they never signify a threat, while the pinky room in the original was at least weird to look at and you could blow up yourself if you weren't careful. I smiled about the E1M3esque soulsphere secret. But the main mistake of the map was that the switch that unleashes the barons is so hidden that I first fought the fodder enemies in the main arena (thinking it was a "buildup" setpiece), then ran around a while looking what to do, and finally finding the switch and killed the bosses without any danger with the rocket launcher. The original, instead, benefits a lot from the baron-spectre mix and also from the potential danger at the narrow tips of the pentagram, while in the DTWID version it's almost impossible to get cornered.

 

3/10, because I consider the map deeply flawed - should really have been reworked, but I think now a decade after its release it's too late ...

 

E1M9: Excavation Site by Stuart Rynn (Stewboy)

 

(Played this one last of the episode, as I'm pistol starting and forgot to launch it after E1M3). I have mixed feelings about this map. I found this to be the map which best emulated Romero's mid-to-late-E1 gameplay, and it is one who really keeps you on your toes most of the time due to good monster placement and sometimes remarkable density. I also liked the secrets, although the soulsphere one was almost of the "hug any computer terminal" type, but I remembered these also from the original E1. The only problem I have with it is that it doesn't feel like a secret map. It would fit perfectly in E1M5 or later, but doesn't change the general visual style/scenery like the original E1M9 did.

 

7/10

 

E1 overall: I think most maps emulated Romero's style very well. However, I think this is also the main problem with the episode: it feels even more E1'esque than the original. First, the secret level didn't change the scenery at all, which I already complained about. But also the rest of the levels lacked some variety in the scenery. The original E1M4, E1M5 and E1M6 particularly had some sections which felt a bit like a "breath of fresh air", like the mazes and the dark exit room. I did feel this change of scenery only very rudimentary in DTWID's E1M4 and its "wall junction" part, the rest of the mapset felt generally very "samey", although some setpieces were well made. Also I think in general this episode was easier than the original, with some exceptions, particular E1M9 and a couple of traps in E1M6 and E1M7.

E3M5 - Chapel of Scorn by pcorf:
I really didn't enjoy this one. This map takes on the mapslot of my least favourite Doom 1 map, and has continued the tradition, by being my least favourite map in Doom the Way id Did. A lot of areas in the map imitate parts of Inferno but overall it just doesn't work for me. The imp teleporter trap at the start of the map is something that I'm surprised slipped through the cracks, as it feels completely out of place in a map imitating Inferno - it would be a pretty standard trap in a modern mapset, but Doom, outside of Thy Flesh Consumed which has a different feeling to the other 3 episodes, doesn't have anything like this that I can remember, as they tend to heavily favour using monster closets (correct me if I'm wrong here).

 

The weaponry provided does make the map a reasonable challenge, though I think when you have an Inferno-inspired map that takes around 10 minutes to complete, you should give a non-secret weapon that isn't the shotgun before the 7 minute mark as it just makes this first half of the map a slog. Even then, after the chaingun's given out you have so many bullets stockpiled from all the former humans that the rest of the map is a complete breeze. This is the only map that has made me quit in frustration after I died to some turbo-spectres in the chaingun room and lost all my progress up until that point - I had to give myself a day to play other stuff because I was really dreading finishing this map off.

 

I did like the small Slough of Despair section right at the start, it's pretty well paced and the lava surrounding the area is a good hazard that forced me to take risks in how I approached the area. Overall, this is probably some people's kind of map and I probably would have had a better time with it had I been playing continuously, but I just did not have fun here.

E3M6 Depths (HMP, continuous, blind): K 100%, I 100%, S 100%, D 1, T 40:40

 

 

 

Who's Who

 

Edited February 20, 2022 by dei_eldren : re BSK

E3M5: Chapel of Scorn

 

Oh Paul, you scamp, you just can't help yourself, can you? You just had to throw in a couple of large teleport traps, just like in you Doom II maps. No matter though, this is a very solid and aesthetically pleasing map. Red brick's one of my favorite textures in the original Doom, and it gets put to excellent use here to create a map that quite clearly references Slough of Despair (in the main outdoor area) as well as Unholy Cathedral and perhaps a more generic sense of id's Hell is also pervasive. Paul often gets attacked for being a one-trick pony design-wise, but he did a far better job imitating the id style than almost anyone other than Hellroot. Then again, he's autistic so that form of blind imitation may have been quite easy. It's not as nicely interconnected as some other maps here, but I still really like the balance of indoor and outdoor areas.

 

Combat is certainly among the more difficult in this map if you don't find the secrets, at which point things becomes easypeasy. Maybe I want to curse him a little for throwing in a couple of Lost Souls, but after a couple of tries and finding myself too-hemmed in by literally everything, I found the Berserk Pack secret in the hallway just before. Everything else just sort of came together after that. Punching pinkies is always fun and the BFG secret was a nice little bit of puzzling, though oddly enough, I knew the correct teleporter from the last time I played it (third from the right side). And isn't it such a pretty sight from your teleportee location! I wasn't pistol-starting though, which also helped some. I have to agree with the people who said that the last huge ambush felt out of character. Damn you Alfonzo for not fixing that! Be careful with the BFG, btw, because there's a closet with two barons that's opened up in the hallway near the BK door.

 

In the end, I ended up finishing with 7 out of 8 secrets with a time of 12:28. Truthfully, I'd completely spaced on this map(my mind was blank on it before playing it), but it's arguably better than any of the Jacob Zuchowski maps featured so far.

 

Grade: B+

Difficulty: C

Edited February 20, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

E3M5 - Chapel of Scorn - Paul "Pcorf" Corfiatis *Sandy Petersen* (100%K/100%I/87%S):

A really solid map, one that screams Pcorf, a mapper that I know pretty well at this point. Apart from the aesthetics of some of the areas, this map does not look from Sandy Petersen at all, again, traits from the three mappers of the original Doom, are present here, specially from Tom hall, and his squarey, narrow mazes. Just like the past map, some references from Limbo in the original E3. The outside area can be similar to Slough of Despair here and there, but still, getting strict here, this is not as Sandy Petersen as you would feel. It actually looks like a Romero map from Sigil at times, or an E4 attempt from him. Convoluted, but rating this level as it is, a level, it is a really enjoying experience, I don't have any bad feelings on its layout, nor gameplay. It fits the aesthetic of Inferno, even though it does not represents concretely any of the styles of Hall, Romero or Petersen.

IDness ratio: 2/5

(UV Playthrough - Crispy Doom)

Order of Preference:

 

E3M6: Depths

Have to wonder how the Doom Guy happens to find himself in the strange predicaments he does at the beginning of levels like this one. Free berserk pack right around the corner, but there was enough ammo in the level I never found it useful. Secret exit is a bit complex on this one, requiring both a secret blue key and a secret switch that's already hidden within another secret. There's just one mystery left however, what did that Baron do to the Cacodemon in the exit room?

 

E3M9: Lake of Fire

Health and Ammo is tight in this one, not helped by the hordes of lost souls to constantly barrage you throughout and all the hurt floor that does 10 damage. I get the purpose of it all, but does it really have to do 10% damage each hit? Even the intestines in the berserk pack room hurt you if you stand on them. I get it may be unsanitary but actually damaging you seems a bit much. If you bother to watch the demo, I truly had no idea what I was thinking when I fired the rocket launcher at the demon directly in front of my face. Maybe I was too focused on the enemies on the ledge I was initially aiming at to notice, but either way it's probably one of the most inept plays you're going to see in Doom.

e3m6.zip

e3m9.zip

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Saves

E3M4: Torture Chambers - Captain Toenail + Hellbent

100% kills and secrets

Time: 16:50

Card: Imp may haunt player after death

 

This map does feel pretty id-like in a couple of ways. Idk if it's cause Sign Of Evil is playing, but I do sense the DNA of the original E3 in here, along with a bit of E1M3 and E2M5 in the same area behind the blue door. It feels like a combo of the slime room with the circular pit in the former, and the double baron outside area of the latter. I also get a little whiff of E3M7 to the area to the right of the start. There's a decent amount of secrets that open up optional areas here. Some areas idk how I opened. Maybe the switch by the plasma, or the one that opened up the automap. I think the map could use some more rockets and cells, as there's not a lot, and there were even some times I felt like I was relatively low on shells. There's a large amount of cacos and barons here, and they're pretty spongy ammo drains. Could also have used more rad suits. It seemed like some areas had some, and some didn't. Kinda weird, but whatever. Design was good, and it did feel like a late E3 map to me. Pretty solid.

 

E3M5: Chapel Of Scorn - Paul Corfiatis

100% kills and secrets

Time: 20:02

Deaths: 1

Card: Pinky may pretend to die

 

The card didn't do much. It happened like twice.

 

Pcorf's map is easily one of the closest to id. The outside area is pretty much a smaller version of E3M2 and doesn't have a ton of nooks and crannies. On the way, Pcorf throws in a imp teleport trap because of course he can. I'm not sure if the plasma rifle secret is very id, but I tried going for it without a rad suit and paid for it. Guess I should have looked for the other secret nearby for one. The BFG secret is pretty interesting. It's a multiple part one that teleports you around a bit, and even makes you be observant to pick the right teleporter to go through in the first place. Combat is a little tougher here too, as the final key grab opens up some cubbies with cacos and lost souls, and a bunch of baddies come strolling in from the other room. When I came back from grabbing the secret soul sphere, I was surprised to see all the enemies in the room now. It's a nice shot of energy there. Speaking of cubbies, there's a couple of times where some have opened up upon returning to an area, which is something I don't notice too often in this WAD. Yeah, very solid map! One of the most enjoyable so far, and one of the more faithful ones. 

 

E3M6: Depths - Phobus

100% kills and secrets

Time: 14:32

Deaths: 4 (all environmental)

Card: Zombie Man fires a baron projectile on death

 

This is the trolliest opening so far. I died 3 times trying to escape before getting blown up by the barrels at the beginning. Granted I didn't know that was going to happen the first time. The second I tried taking them out from the berserk pack spot and that didn't work. Third time I got caught on one. Ugh. After that, we get a map that feels the most like the lit halls of E2M6 more than anything. Honestly, this is one of the least id-feeling levels so far. I'm not sure exactly what it is it's missing, but there's something not there. It's more cramped, with mid tiers being used liberally. I had to bust out the BFG a few times due to the sheer amount of demons in small areas I had to deal with. Fights were more annoying than fun. I can't imagine trying to do the shotgun ambush without more guns than that. One thing I did like was the multiple steps needed to find the secret exit. You need the blue key, and that's at the end of a toxic tunnel with slow crushers (cue 4th death). There's a hidden rad suit nearby that makes crossing it viable, letting you nab it. Then you need to lower the wall to the blue door. 2 step process for that, requiring you to shoot a gargoyle face behind a blue torch, opening up a secret room back in the shotgun ambush. Grabbing the goodies here opens another room, and this time you have to hit use on the lit gargoyle face. Now you can access the secret exit. Pretty cool process. The rest of the map wasn't as cool as figuring that out tho. One of my least favs in the set, but not horrible.

 

E3M9: Lake Of Fire - Chris Lutz

100% kills and secrets

Time: 18:57

Deaths: 1

Card: Baron slides around while moving

 

Just what I need; slippery, partially invisible barons getting in my face and not seeing them until it's too late.

 

If this isn't a E3M6 homage, I don't know what is. It could use some more fireblu tho. There's more indoor areas in this as compared to the level it's referencing, as most of my time playing was in the building behind the blue key door. Outside has some goodies like the rocket launcher, and every so often, alcoves will open up with more and more baddies, especially the floating varieties. One alcove is deep in the lava, but you can see a rad suit there. Run and grab it if your health is good, and you can use it to find a secret or two in the lava. The bridge by the plasma secret is where I died, and it's probably the first time I died in the WAD because of monsters. Tho the card the causes cacos to yeet things on death did cause me to fly into the lava and get blocked by a lost soul. Even without it, the caco and pinky sandwich will chew you up if you don't have said plasma rifle. Other than that, this is a pretty good id impression of a map, and an even stronger reference to one of my personal favorite IWAD maps. 

E3M6: Depths. DSDA v0.24, UV-PS-NoSaves. 100% kills and secrets. Completion time 14:53 (Nov. 23:16). Nine deaths in E3 so far. Total tally (2+1+9)+DE.

 

G-sus. I died seven times in the level. Seven times. I really hated the start of this level, but I also got killed a couple of times because of my poor reflexes and stupidity. But after I got over the start, things got considerably better, and if you can spot the secrets, you won't be starved for ammo. It's just the beginning that's difficult (and even that's not difficult as such, just risky, I guess). This time the way to secret level is tricky to find, but not dickish as in E2. I remember from my first playthrough that I'd have to look out for [redacted]. Good stuff, and after all is said and done, I can't even fault the level for the barrels of Funk you, it should have sufficed for me to die once there, not all the times I did end up dying.

 

Sadly there is no demo -- I realized that there's something wrong with the way I record demos; if I die and restart the level, demo doesn't get saved. I suspect this has to do with DoomLauncher and DSDA-Doom somehow clashing there, but I don't know. Probably some of my earlier demos in this thread, in levels where I have died, may be broken :( [Note: I have written this capsule review at least a week in advance, so I already refrained from attaching broken demos, but this is the point where I realized what had happened. Guess I should have watched demos myself first].

 

E3M9: Lake of Fire. DSDA v0.24, UV-PS-NoSaves. 100% kills and 5/6 secrets. Comp. time 26:47 (Nov. 29:20). 9 deaths in E3 so far. Total tally (2+1+9)+DE.

 

As soon as I saw the map, the Mt. Erebus -like long map, I thought of letting go of the NoSaves-restriction. I mean, some of my earlier demos would only contain failed attempts anyway, so who cares? I played a little of the beginning, almost getting myself killed. I remembered having immense trouble with this one in November, even with saves; that ammo would be scarce, that the cacodemons would just miraculously hit me, no matter what.

 

What indeed was miraculous, I made it in one go. I recovered from the bad start, and made it till the end in one piece, missing only one secret (probably the same one I apparently missed in November, too).

 

So, what's there to say? Hot start aside, I mostly liked this level. At times it does look 1994s wad with some of the areas, a bit simplistic perhaps, and of course the small "House of Pain"-room just has to have damaging intestines (just like in HoP as I recall) in it, when I'm already feeling bit annoyed with what seems like regrettably small amount of health items (despite just having picked up the much desired berserk pack).

 

I didn't get the point of the small shack in the lava lake, with a couple of imps and a pinky. I wonder if the last secret would have been there, although I can't see how it would fit there. Perhaps a switch I missed? (Went on to check: nope. But the pillars containing some items didn't lower in my actual playthrough, I wonder why...).
 

rhhe82_e3m9_skill4_dsda-doom_dtwid.zip

E3M6 – Depths by @Phobus

Doomsday Engine, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

This map looked like a lost chapter from Episode 2, with only a few spots that seemed too hellish to be part of the corrupted Deimos base. Depths was a collage of varied locations, mostly using the tech-base aesthetics and getting more hellish as the player descends deep into the earth. Walking down the stairs or going down the elevators showed that the base was turned into a mess of piping and living flesh, or into a marble dungeon with mysterious shrines. This was a nice effect, though I felt this could have done a better job as a Shores of Hell map, maybe in the E2M6 slot.

 

The beginning was a mix of rude awakenings and comical effects. The players started close to some barrels; trying to assess the surroundings activated a crusher, which caused a chain explosion for an early player frag. Approaching the shotgun released a large ambush, featuring many low tier monsters. Pistol starters will have a pretty hard time, as usual. This room was the main hub from which the various locations could be accessed at leisure, in a perfect display of non-linear design.

The RSK lay in the south-western part of the map, which was bathed in blood and covered by organic growth. This was the only non-damaging blood floor of the episode, a convention that is more typical of PWADs than Doom the way id did. The locked door was in the eastern marble area, opening into a small lava cavern and ending the short trip with a double Baron of Hell attack. The acquired YSK was enough to reach the normal exit near the start.

Depths contained a notable number of secrets, some of them part of the chain leading to the secret exit. I am sorry that I humped at the ugly face behind the blue torch, instead of shooting at it. At first, I thought it was a poor design decision, as the switch was close enough to be pressed, but then I realised that it was arranged that way to prevent random discovery. If the player noticed the colour-coded torch, he would try all methods to trigger the switch; otherwise, he should check the Wiki/editor or miss E3M9. The Computer Area Map did not help unlocking this mystery and finding the Soul Sphere secret, where another concealed switch must be pressed; it revealed a closet with a Radiation Suit instead, an item that facilitated the hard road to the BSK. It is possible to survive the winding hallway with crushers and non-stop damaging floor, though only by leaving behind a good portion of health.

Surprisingly complex and interesting despite its small size, the only entry from Phobus was a well-rounded adventure, featuring weird and visually stunning rooms while mostly keeping the details at the same level of id works. Secrets were nicely designed, though a bit modern in their conception, as well as some oddities and curious environments. Depths was interesting to play and an excellent creation, though I am not sure it really fits with the Inferno episode.

Edited February 21, 2022 by Book Lord : Corrected "Combat Armour" into "Soul Sphere"

Only time for the one map tonight.

 

E3M4: "Torture Chambers" by Captain Toenail, Hellbent

UV with Corruption Cards, no saves

100% kills, 2/8 secrets

 

Card: Lost soul will pick up and throw dead monsters

 

This one feels like it sticks closest to the E3 visuals so far for me, although again maybe a bit nicer looking. It's a quite well pulled off kitchen-sink hell aesthetic, going through marble, red brick, wood, caves, blood, hellslime, flesh, you name it. It's also a map thick on stage hazards, there's a mean little crusher right at the start and more crushers on the very skinny path to the blue key. Additionally, the level contains a lot of damaging liquid, but is also quite generous with radsuits. The ammo balance felt a little tight too, even feeling a little starved despite playing continuous. 

 

This map chucks a fair few monsters at you at the start, leaving you in a somewhat uncomfortable fight near the slow crusher where all paths have monsters coming out of them. Because of some running through damaging blood looking for secrets in the last level, I had some pretty low health coming into this one so the start was actually a bit threatening. The rest wasn't as bad, playing continuous saved me from having to suffer at the hands of the ammo starvation too much, and radsuits are plentiful enough that the damaging liquid wasn't too major. The card this time is funny, although the lost souls have a bit of an awkward time making use of it, I think the corpses they throw get blocked by other corpses or something.

 

Decent map overall.

E3M9 – Lake of Fire by @Lutz

Doomsday Engine, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

Welcome back to Mt. Erebus! The relevance of the first sandbox map ever was too high to avoid including a blatant spin-off in Doom the way id did. I am glad it had been done, but I am equally grateful it had been destined to the secret slot. This map was strewn with goodies and resources, allowing to play it in a light-hearted fashion, even though some early hitscanner attrition and ambushes in the BSK building could be quite taxing for health. Pistol start on UV looked rather problematic, as in previous maps, due to the absence of weaponry.

Lutz designed a new lava crater, bringing back several OG E3M6 landmarks: a building with oblique orientation, a small BROVINE shrine, a terrace overlooking the lava where you jump down to pick up a rocket launcher, ROCKRED pillars releasing Cacodemons and Lost Souls to repopulate the map, even though they did not work very well if compared to Petersen’s larger map. They unleashed flying hellspawn out of my sight and they lost my tracks very soon; I found them later, roaring in the map’s coves. The quotes ended there, as the rest of the layout looked and played different from Mt. Erebus, with the absolute veto on FIREBLU as a wall texture.

The Lake of Fire encircled roughly 270° of the playable area and the Radiation Suit shortage did not allow the free exploration of lava. The largest part of the level was a hellish temple, nested in the rocky mountain side, made of marble and stone blocks of various tones, though the terrace overlooking the starting area used a less common SLADWALL. That building felt like a theme park pavilion, with a variety of attractions such as crushers, burning red niches with see-through vines in contrast, a terrace with a trapped chainsaw, a bridge under rectangular arches, columns with scrolling snake textures, and a big red chamber with a moat that was reminiscent of a similar room in Limbo, complete with Cacodemons in niches. The YSK was there, protected by two monster closets full of rabble.

I was a bit lazy with secrets because I needed nothing when I reached the exit. I had already found the Soul Sphere, two Megaarmours, and the backpack. The Computer Area Map was behind a fake wall in an inconvenient place, and the plasma rifle did not tickle my interest as a continuous player. Lake of Fire worked perfectly as a secret level and as a tribute to Mt. Erebus, looking much better than the original sandbox. The indoor section completed the experience with more E3 references, for a weird graphic outcome that was fully compatible with id games’ representation of hell.

E3M9 Lake of Fire (HMP, continuous, blind): K 100%, I 78%, S 66%, D 0, T 34:38

 

 

 

Who's Who

 

E3M6 - Depths by Phobus:
A fantastic rebound for the episode, this map is fantastic - it's one of two maps I remember from my first playthrough of this wad nearly 4 years ago (the other is E3M7). I'm not sure what I like so much about it, from the absurd start which can only be described as a mean-spirited death trap to the claustrophobic, weirdly shaped corridors, there's lots about this map that I would normally complain about and say is poor design, and yet here it just works for some reason. Resembling Pandemonium most in that it sort of looks like a techbase, this map captures the bizarre, abstract hell that Petersen does is his maps and it does it very well.

 

The combat is pretty good here, the opening ambush is tense and has you open to fire from all sides and the rocket launcher and plasma gun fights are pretty tough due to the lack of space. Most importantly, this map is very generous with weapons and I think after the previous two, a map that hands me a rocket launcher within the first minute automatically gets an A from me! The secrets are fun to find, and not that difficult. I thought the blur sphere secret was pretty unsettling with all the gargoyle faces around in the darkness, which reminded me of a similarly unsettling scene in House of Pain.

 

The red key section is probably my least favourite bit, being a fairly dull series of very unthreatening ambushes compared to the rest of the map. Other than that, I can't really think of anything I don't like here, it's a perfect example of a map being worth more than the sum of it's parts and I'm not surprised that upon seeing the barrels at the start with the baron crusher next to them, I almost immediately remembered this map with a "Oh shit, it's this map!". Really good stuff here.

 

E3M9 - Lake of Fire by Lutz:
I can see why this is the secret map, being the most direct homage to an IWAD level (that being Mt. Erebus) and also being by far the hardest map in the set for my money. Maybe it's because fast monsters makes this map unsually challenging for this megawad, but I was really struggling the whole way through here - attempting to get any sort of foothold at the start was difficult enough, as the only weapon that's possible to get is the rocket launcher, and the shotgun and chaingun are protected by a massive group of hitscanners. It's not the bad kind of challenge, where I'm bored and save-scumming my way through the level though, I was very engaged throughout.

 

Unusually for me, I didn't mind the tight ammo constraints that this map puts you on - though I am very thankful you don't have to actually pick up the chainsaw to trigger a trap as I don't think I'd have been able to beat the level without easy access to berserk. I think the map looks great, and very much like an Inferno map, though it does feel rather derivative - the outside area being very similar to Mt. Erebus and the inside area looks like a mix between Pandemonium and Limbo. I did get a bit frustrated by the amount of lost souls in the level, as closets with them inside seem to open up with every move you make in the level and these went from "oh no, lost souls!" to "ugh more of those" quite quickly. That being said, I am a sucker for a challenge and I thoroughly enjoyed this map, it captures a hostile vision of hell that feels very appropriate. 

E3M6: Depths
DOOM Retro, UV, Continuous w/saves, return of the 8bitdo Pro 2 (Sasaki) and the 8bitdo SN30 Pro (Miyano)
 

I'm just really happy to be able to use these controllers with gyro enabled. A very special thanks to Brad Harding of the DOOM Retro source port for putting up with my requests to get DOOM Retro working properly through Steam.

I distinctly remember this level being in E2 for some reason. Maybe it's because of the use of certain textures (I don't know the names of certain textures off the top of my head, but it's probably the greenish tech base textures mixed with the textures in the only outdoor area of this map). The start of this level was pretty dickish. I don't recall there being any traps like this in any of the classic DOOM episodes. Besides that, I can't say I'm a big fan of this map. I was never fond of the more cramped maps like this one. The encounters with the lost souls reminded me a lot of a similar encounter in Pandemonium. The two barons popping out of the large stone coffins was another neat set-piece. 

I'm also not sure how I feel about access to the secret level. I don't like it when I can get locked out of it because I had no clue that I did something wrong. There are two switches to activate, and you have to shoot one and press the other. There's no hint as to which one you're supposed to shoot and which one you're supposed to press. If you shoot the one you're supposed to press, you can't open the access to the secret level. I remember this happening to me the last time I played this map,
and it sucked.

E3M9: Ring Lake of Fire (or the place where bad folks go when they die)

Where have I seen this map before? I probably have a much better opinion of this map now seeing as I came in with full health compared to the last time I played this in another map set, where it felt like there was no end in sight during a return visit to a certain anomaly. It's a bit of an ugly map in my opinion, but of course, most of Peterson's maps were never about looks. It's about how fun it is searching for keycards. I'll admit, I got lost trying to find the yellow key. I guess it just felt a little out of the way for me. I think this is another map that's perfectly serviceable, but it ultimately didn't stand out to me. I guess it reminded me a bit too much of Mt. Erebus.

32 minutes ago, Agent Slacker said:

E3M6: Depths

I'm also not sure how I feel about access to the secret level. I don't like it when I can get locked out of it because I had no clue that I did something wrong. There are two switches to activate, and you have to shoot one and press the other. There's no hint as to which one you're supposed to shoot and which one you're supposed to press. If you shoot the one you're supposed to press, you can't open the access to the secret level. I remember this happening to me the last time I played this map, and it sucked.

Actually shooting the switch you have to press does not prevent you from accessing the secret level - I suppose the wiki is worded weirdly in that regard.

2 minutes ago, Andromeda said:

Actually shooting the switch you have to press does not prevent you from accessing the secret level - I suppose the wiki is worded weirdly in that regard.

Really? I remember the last time I played this on GZDoom that the entrance would not open whatsoever. I knew I did something wrong, I'm just not sure what.

E3M6: Depths
By Phobus

 

Kills: 83%
Items: 59%
Secrets: 44%
Time: 13:35

 

Huh! Talk about the spiciest start in any map in Doom I OR DTWID! Depths is the most "E2" styled level in the episode being a smidge more resemblant of Doom II than the rest of the ensemble so far with texturing, but it still sticks to its Infernal roots on gameplay, this map reminds me of a similarly styled level in the original iwad, E3M3: Pandemonium, however this map is more exciting than what that comparison does imply, the layout is pretty good, connecting all the areas quite snugly and I enjoy the ambush from all sides at the start but the map does fizzle a little after that, not as much as some of the other maps in this episode however, you do get a plasma rifle later on in this level, which saves what could have been a very boring experience, in other news, the path to the blue key needed for the secret exit is... (How do I put this nicely? Uh...) ******* **** ****** **** ********** *******? I didn't even find the secret exit! That's why it took 13 minutes! Something about needing to shoot one switch and press another one and if you don't do it just right you'll be locked out out? Grah... Can't believe E2M5 was only the second most obscure secret exit...

 

Grade: B-
Difficulty: C-

 

 

E3M9: Lake Of Fire
By Lutz

 

Kills: 52%
Items: 38%
Secrets: 16%
Time: 5:10

 

I really like Mt. Erebus but something about this map doesn't really do it for me, I will say something about the original E3M6 simply works very naturally for secret levels, I guess it just isn't as exciting as the original for me, I don't care a whole awful lot for the gameplay inside and the stuff outdoors is just okay, I find it funny you can virtually leave half the 200 monsters alive with minimal trouble as I did thanks to the blue and yellow keys being in relatively obvious locations I don't even know where most of them were, secret areas perhaps? I think most of the fights are relatively unremarkable and pretty easy, I guess the Caco stuck in the pillar is Cute: I Guess (tm), and the enemy closets opening up as you get the yellow key all throughout the citadel at the edge of the lake are pretty Neat: I Suppose (c)

 

Grade: C+
Difficulty: D+

 

 

 

E3M6: Depths

 

James "Phobus" Creswell hasn't made a crappy map in years and indeed released a Caocoward winning megawad in 2020 "25 Years on Earth," and probably had the best map out of the Dubbag-helmed "Full Moon" megawad project, generally considered a nice experiment but basically ignored otherwise. With this, it's expected that no map he makes will be significantly less than stellar and so's the case with his entry into Doom: The Way Id Did. Though this really feels absolutely nothing like an id map, it nevertheless forms a distinct blend of vined walls from Deimos with more traditional Hellish environs to create a stimulating and compelling brew. Phobus doesn't really make the most visually-striking maps and tends towards tan more often than I'd like but you have to admit he's consistent with the stylistics at least.

 

This map is easier than the last few entries though. Outside of a little "Run for It" segment at the beginning, this isn't a terrifically challenging map, though it must be said your room to maneuver is nevertheless constricted and monsters are basically placed in such a way to create maximum harm. Just take the red key area. Upon entering, you'll be attacked by a Baron from one side containing a backpack and Sergeant and former human on the other. Then at the top of some stairs which eventually lead to the RK door, heading to the chaingun will lower a barred window containing two sergeants and some Imps, along with some Cacos that come in from a nearby window. Let's hope you picked up the rocket launcher earlier..... I died far too many times in this one section. Worst, a Sergeant might teleport in from somewhere.

 

After this, there were really no deaths however. Still, that cool little dark grey volcanic tunnel was a good excuse to take out my rage and blast apart the Lost Souls here whilst running from the Cacodemons because I was just over this map by that point. Killing the two Barons was a little easier since I actually had a carryover BFG from the last map. After doing some puzzl-y things, I just ended up heading for the exit because despite having done all the things to open the secret exit, I'd played far too long at that point.

 

Grade: B+

Difficulty: C

 

 

E3M7 – Inner Sanctum by @ellmo

Doomsday Engine, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

It is hard to guess that a place in hell would be called Inner Sanctum, no matter how secluded and isolated it might be. After all, sanctum means “holy” in Latin. Besides this minor grumble with the name, the last contribution from ellmo let me down a bit, for purely subjective reasons. I am sorry to say that, as I fondly appreciated other entries from this author. He was prolific and his work distinguished itself for closely following the project guidelines: he avoided to include evident homages to OG Doom maps and focused on creating new levels, that could pass for id’s work because they shared the same design principles. Xaser wrote he basically saved Doom the way id did with his strong commitment.

 

Inner Sanctum was a hellish water shrine built inside a huge SP_ROCK1 pillar in the middle of a dark cavern, surrounded by a lake of blood. While this layout might recall Mt. Erebus, the visuals and the gameplay were completely different. This was a gloomy, dark cavern with no sky in sight, just as some sections of Limbo, though crossing hazardous floors was not necessary to complete the map. A couple Radiation Suits were available in case the player wanted to explore the shadowy recesses of the lake: there lay a Soul Sphere and other useful stuff, including two cell packs indicated by an arrow-shaped peninsula.

The player began at the heart of the shrine, seeing the required keys and the secret BFG behind gratings. The only way to proceed was leaving the water area and exit to the cavern, where I spent several minutes clearing the whole perimeter. The -fast parameter made this section a real chore. All monsters were instantly alerted and came in my direction; while I could camp the narrow passage to slay the Pinkies, blocked by their own frenzied movement, killing all the Imps, Cacodemons, and hitscanners was a tragedy. Many monsters were kept on distant islets by blocking lines or on elevated terraces, making them troublesome to approach. It was long and boring, and this could be entirely blamed on -fast monsters shooting so frequently. This section could be enjoyed better with regular monster behaviour.

Completing the level was as simple as it could get. The only accessible door quickly led me to a loosely guarded RSK and picking it up caused the Inner Sanctum to open a bit. No monsters were released there, but a flock of Lost Souls appeared outside and got stuck in a place where I discovered them later. The red door segment was slightly more entertaining with a teleporting Baron of Hell, but just as short as the previous one. The BSK was enough to exit the level, after more low-threat combat preceded by a second, even more annoying flock of Lost Souls that swarmed the northern part of the blood lake.

 

The combat in the large cavern bothered me so much, that I gave up the BFG secret and, sadly, also the cute Dopefish cameo that was in store for the most dedicated secret hunters. My Computer Area Map did not show that area, so I learned of its existence only when I opened the map in Doom Builder. It is not ellmo’s fault if I did not like his last effort; it was largely due to -fast monsters changing the gameplay so much. The author tried to wrap up the third episode with an atmospheric map like Limbo, though he removed its puzzle elements and damaging floors, replacing them with more monsters to kill and secrets to unlock. I think he could have relied a bit more on set pieces, instead of chaotically releasing Lost Souls in a large area and confining many monsters in sniper roles. The level was visually faithful to id design and a worth addition to Doom the way id did. Through this lens, ellmo’s work was always spot-on.

Edited February 20, 2022 by Book Lord

E3M8 – Core by @ProcessingControl

Doomsday Engine, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

We have reached the cursed heart of Inferno, the Core. Every Doomer knows since 1993 that the battle with the Spider Mastermind is coming. ProcessingControl took over his shoulders the cumbersome task to come up with an alternative version of Dis, a lightning quick map that could be over before its OST midi “Facing the Spider”. He obviously racked his brains to overcome the inherent problems of the episode boss: avoid breezy BFG kills by continuous players; prevent the Spiderdemon from infighting with her minions; leave Doomguy without cover, so he cannot play peek-a-boo with a supposedly fearsome monster.

He averted these underwhelming events with the use of mammoth-sized crushers and timed lifts. The arena was a red-hot, star-shaped ledge patrolled by eight Barons of Hell, with the boss roaming at the elevated centre and shooting whenever she got a clear view of the player. The area outside the star was full of resources, but players adventuring there were at constant risk of being riddled with bullets, struck by slime balls, or crushed by the moving ceiling. I had enough carry-over ammo and stayed away from it, firstly killing the Barons with rockets, then switching to plasma rifle to stun-lock the Spider Mastermind. It took a while because of the walls rising and making her big hit box disappear behind them. The BFG was not the right weapon for this boss fight.

This was a remarkable improvement over the disarming simplicity of Petersen’s E3M8, and a clever design, necessarily independent from what id did, because that basic setup would have been unacceptable in a 2011 megaWAD. As opposed to Vault, this climactic battle was less fun to play; the design strongly limited the player’s options, with the only scope to delay the inevitable victory of Doomguy. Not a memorable ending, though not bad by any means.

Edited February 20, 2022 by Book Lord

E3M7: Inner Sanctum

A big, open, arena style level is how I would describe it. My strategy for these kinds of maps is pretty much always the same, run around and grab as many weapons and powerups as I can before I get to work cleaning house. Really it comes from the same design school as the previous map Lake of Fire or Mt. Erebus. Most of the secrets are revolved around the teleporter in the center of the map with the main prize being a BFG. Just be wary of entering the teleporter north from where the BFG is. For a forgotten entity retains it's reclusive existence within...

 

E3M8: Core

To me this was more a test of patience than it was a boss fight. Two things really grind my goat about this map. The fact that you take damage standing on the lifts leading back up onto the main platform, and the fact you can't escape the lava on the inside if you happen to fall down. It certainly wasn't a horrible experience, but I am interested in seeing what other players have to say about it.

e3m7.zip

e3m8.zip

E3M7: Inner Sanctum. DSDA v0.24, UV-PS-NoSaves. 100% kills and 125% secrets. Completion time 15:30 (Nov. 17:19). 9 deaths in E3 so far. Total tally (2+1+9)+DE.

 

We're nearing the end. It's funny how with each level I get a discomforting deja-vu, and yet when I play the level it isn't so bad. Same happened here, I suddenly remember *it's this level, oh no!*. I was sure that I'd die a couple of times figuring out how to traverse the damaging sector in the cavern. Once you get into the cavern it kinda feels heated, but with some crowd management (crowd avoidance) you'll get yourself eventually geared, and then it's not that bad, I can dig this level too, despite it having an arrow to point you the way. So, 0/10 crap.

 

But then, after clearing the level out, there is an unmarked secret (hence 5/4 secrets :P) I believe I didn't find in my November playthrough, but I should have, being a kind of guy who loves detecting patterns in things, even Doom maps. And you never know what sort of fishy business you might discover. That forgives the arrow in the ground, 10 out of... okay, not perhaps a 10/10 map, but the episode seems to be ending in a positive note nevertheless.

 

rhhe82_e3m7_skill4_dsda-doom_dtwid.zip

 

*

 

E3M8: Core. DSDA v0.24, UV-PS-NoSaves. 100% kills and all zero secrets. Completion time 4:19 (November time lost, but Feb 1st run was 4:28). 9 deaths in E3, total tally for Doom the Way iD Did is 12 plus the death exit at the end of E1.

 

So, that's it, then. We're done with the original trilogy reimagining. Inevitably the boss map is going to be more or less a disappointment, but that's because I have already gotten accustomed to modern episode/megawad enders that are not simple arena maps or simple Icon of Sin  gimmick gauntlets, but actual levels. I believe it was Deathless where there were cool boss levels that I think still adhered to iD philosophy of ExM8s. Core, on the other hand, is a simple arena map, that looks very much like it was made in mid 90s. Nothing wrong with that, but I find it hard to get excited about. Experience would have been easily improved at least a little bit by not having damaging floor on the lifts that take you away from the crusher area where you need to fetch ammo and health/armor pickups and the blur sphere.

 

I also almost got killed here, I guess I got a bit careless at the start. Luckily I survived.

 

rhhe82_e3m8_skill4_dsda-doom_dtwid.zip

 

*

As for the DtWiD in general, I already regret being harsh on some of the maps. At the end of the day, I've been enjoying the ride after all, and clearly some of the maps really taste better on replays, when you know your way to most of the secrets and you have hunch on how to not softlock yourself out of secrets. I'm happy I beat the whole wad on UV pistol start, which isn't necessarily that impressive a feat because these levels aren't hard as such, but I'm glad I did it saveless. That, combined with the familiriarity with the maps, might have been the necessary breath of fresh air needed to enjoy the stuff so soon after the initial playthrough.

 

By that we move onto UDtWiD. I think I'll stop the saveless streak here, which also means I'm not gonna spam my demos anymore either. I have a vague suspicion that the fourth episode is going to be harder to align with the good old tradition of Thy Flesh Consumed smashing any presumption of mastery to smithereens.

I was anxiously awaiting E3M6 getting it’s day in the sun, and I’d like to thank everybody for their reviews! I quite like the Dean of Doom style grading that a few of you are employing.

 

Definitely some mixed feedback, although trending towards positive, which feels about par for the course for me! I’ve seen Pandemonium mentioned a few times, which is probably my favourite map for the original game, so does play quite an inspiration when I’m aiming for an old-school vibe. As has been noted, the map was built with E2 and E3 in mind, as maps with secret exits were in short supply and I liked my odds of getting in if it could fill a slot in either episode. That’ll do for developer notes for now, I think! Thanks again, everybody, and anybody who is yet to comment as well.

 

I feel like “James "Phobus" Creswell hasn't made a crappy map in years…” should go on my CV or something! Thanks @LadyMistDragon

18 minutes ago, Phobus said:

I was anxiously awaiting E3M6 getting it’s day in the sun, and I’d like to thank everybody for their reviews! I quite like the Dean of Doom style grading that a few of you are employing.

 

Definitely some mixed feedback, although trending towards positive, which feels about par for the course for me! I’ve seen Pandemonium mentioned a few times, which is probably my favourite map for the original game, so does play quite an inspiration when I’m aiming for an old-school vibe. As has been noted, the map was built with E2 and E3 in mind, as maps with secret exits were in short supply and I liked my odds of getting in if it could fill a slot in either episode. That’ll do for developer notes for now, I think! Thanks again, everybody, and anybody who is yet to comment as well.

 

I feel like “James "Phobus" Creswell hasn't made a crappy map in years…” should go on my CV or something! Thanks @LadyMistDragon

 

Thank you for showing up! Depths was a great map; its tech-base and hell mix clearly recalled Pandemonium, but your entry had so much verticality, as compared to the Hall-Petersen design, that I barely noticed any inspiration. The increase of corruption and hellish influence as you go down, was noteworthy and a wonderful effect. My only observation was that it felt a bit too insightful and deliberate to really give me id games vibes. The goals of this megaWAD were very hard to achieve, and they were even harder to explain and communicate properly. I will expand my ideas when we are done with UDtwid as well.

 

Can you perhaps explain why the people are saying that it is possible to be locked out of the secret exit? The Doom Wiki page insists in saying "do not shoot it, press it". As far as I know, a shootable (G) switch works only if shot, and a pushable (S) switch can only be pressed. Is it related to modern source ports that carry in-built fixes for certain effects?

E3M7 Inner Sanctum (HMP, continuous, blind): K 100%, I 93%, S 75%, D 0, T 26:20

Grade: B- / Difficulty: C

 

 

 

Who's Who

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by dei_eldren

E3M5: "Chapel of Scorn" by pcorf

UV with Corruption Cards, no saves

100% kills, 3/8 secrets

 

Card: Looking at imps for too long burns the player

 

This one takes place in a demonic building made mostly of marble, with an outdoor area that slightly calls E3M2 to mind, sans the hand shape and with red cliff textures. It's another pretty map, marble textures are a favourite of mine and they are given some nice detail here. There's a secret BFG that I didn't find that lies in an outdoor area flooded in water, a sight that almost becomes curious when juxtaposed with all the hellish liquids seen in this map and elsewhere in the episode. 

 

The ammo depletion that I left the previous map didn't do any favours here, I found myself in some uncomfortable situations again, having to shotgun down the last two barons of the map for example. I probably could have mitigated this by finding more of the map's secrets, but with the 3 I found heavy ammo was pretty hard to come by. Wasn't too tricky though apart from the big baron meat shields. The gameplay was pretty good in any case, it did feel very id to me apart from the odd moment like the imp teleport trap that some others pointed out. The card this time is an interesting one, although a tad janky in execution. The imp's have to be quite close to you in height for it to take effect, so even imps that are up a few stairs will not burn you. The burn itself isn't very much damage, so it's not too threatening.

 

This one was alright, I dug the visuals.

 

E3M6: "Depths" by Phobus

UV with Corruption Cards, no saves

100% kills, 6/9 secrets

 

Card: Looking at cacodemons for too long burns the player

 

This map greets you with a vine-covered room full of barrels, all of which promptly explode once you make your first move for the exit of this room, serving as a nice introduction for probably the quirkiest map in the set so far. The texturing in this one is probably the most Sandy of the episode yet in terms of mixing and matching of different aesthetics, and the first room after the barrels even contains a curious nukage-ceiling. Secret hunting wasn't too bad, I was luckily able to find myself to the torch unlocking the secret exit relatively easily. Getting the blue key that gets you through the exit is quite a dash of cruelty though, having you navigate a dark crusher and nukage area.

 

Combat in this one starts pretty fiery after your brush with the explosive barrels, as going for the shotgun opens up several monsters closets for you to deal with, one of the more populated encounters we've seen in quite a while. There's lots of pretty cramped and dark spaces in this map to deal with, notably includin a shotgunner in one area off to a dark side area that you can't see at all, but I had quite a bit of fun with it. The card this time is some deja vu, the height proving even more of a problem for the cacos as the burn effect won't occur if they are floating too far overhead.

 

I quite liked this one, the combat was fun and the more trollish elements were a nice shakeup. Not sure how id it is with its tricks (and I mean that literally as my memory isn't great for the first Doom as I said before), but I enjoyed them.

37 minutes ago, Book Lord said:

Can you perhaps explain why the people are saying that it is possible to be locked out of the secret exit? The Doom Wiki page insists in saying "do not shoot it, press it". As far as I know, a shootable (G) switch works only if shot, and a pushable (S) switch can only be pressed. Is it related to modern source ports that carry in-built fixes for certain effects?

I think the phrasing is probably throwing people there, as you had to shoot the previous switch, and then you press the one in question rather than shooting it. I don’t think there’s any way to break that and I’m not sure why people think you can get locked out of the secret exit. It never came up in testing!

E3M8 Core (HMP, continuous, blind): K 100%, D0

Grade: B / Difficulty: C+ (adjusted for boss-level)

 

 

 

Who's Who