Knee Deep in ZDoom released

Isle said:

dude i could tack on a mouse pointer and buttons on that thing in about 10 seconds

Sounds like somebody wants a cookie.

Why didn't the uac drop an bunch of nukes on it there done nobody has to go in and investigate

Being from the stable of "all corporations are evil" late 80's and early 90's sci-fi, i think thier attitude is that a high-tech scientific base can't be replaced, soldiers can.

Anyway, it's bloody late, i'll try it tomorrow... and see if it can beat "Genesis Of Descent", which seems to be like KDiZD's basic idea, but instead of being madly hyped and "leaked", came out of absolutely nowhere

Risen said:

Really? It's hidden in a standard E1 secret.

That may be so,. but the secrets aren't standard any longer. But it's not a big deal on M2. Only reason I was frustrated on M3 was because I wanted to get to M9. I personally really hate secrets and unless I find it important to find them I just ignore them.

caco_killer said:

I actually had to run from enemies to find more ammo and health. I've never had to run from enemies in Doom before.

You can't have played many Doom wads. O_o

Way. Too. Hard.
Even on ITYTD.

You're worse than me. And that is in no way a good thing.

Hmm... I just read the text file for the first time, and I was surprised when it said NOT FOR DOOM 2. I still haven't had enough time to play past E1M1, but for me, it works with Freedoom!

kristus said:

You can't have played many Doom wads. O_o

I've been playing many Doom wads for several years. I can recall in some wads having scarce amounts ammo, but never to the point that I had to run away from enemies.

spank said:

not counting the cheesy intro

IMO it would have been much better if it had been done as a slideshow featuring drawn pictures. Could be very dramatic and not as "zomg they are coming, u-oh my target died, I will stand here until another attacks me..."

TheDarkArchon said:

You're worse than me. And that is in no way a good thing.

Might be, i dont care :)
If i have to savescumm my way trough a map its too hard.

Alright people, I'm about to lay down the facts from Ralph Daddy Mac.

I liked it and everyone else does too because I said so.

However, it was pretty easy. Maybe that's because I'm so good at everything though. Also, while I liked most of the new monsters there were just too many stupid imps. Please, no more stone imps with stupid necks.

Also, could've used a soundtrack worth listening to.

RALPHIS

once again, very well done. shame gzdoom doesn't like it.

now what really gets me: ( i must know !!! )
where's the secret exit in m3?

I've made my way through to the last level on UV. Generally the difficulty is ok, but the item placement has been uneven. There's odd shortages followed by too much. Maybe I missed something, but there doesn't seem to be anywhere near enough ammo on the last level, and particularly in the last battles. I've found myself chainsawing loads of enemies, and I still only have 35 shells for the second to last battle, which is no where near enough.

Admittadly I never seemed to pick up that most powerful new weapon, and maybe I could have got to the end bosses with more reserves. But considering there's no turning back at one point, there doesn't seem to be anywhere near enough ammo laying about in the final battles to complete them without having huge reserves to begin with.

It was way to complex to play for a doom map.

is jumping allowed? you can jump, right?

Yes. I'm not sure if it is required for progression (I haven't finished the episode yet), but you certainly need it to get to some secret areas.

It's a ghost! ...Or not...

Anyways... I've finished the first few maps so far of this long-awaited project... and I'll just post my simple little opinions...

Pros:
-Very fancy looking. The effort put into detailing is... shall I say... painfully obvious.
-Super shotgun! ...With all the new powered up monsters it's really a blessing.
-Some rather fun sections (All of M2 was great.)
-LOVE that intermission screen. Definitely the fanciest feature I've seen in a Doom wad to date, good job guys!

Cons:
-Generally too slow gameplay thus far, M3 was the biggest offender by far due to its impossibly difficult puzzles towards finding the secret level. I looked and I looked and I looked and I looked some more... but I could not find whatever switch uses the green and silver keycards. I could not even find it in Doom Builder. Due to how many people are reporting being unable to find it... I'd think this means the puzzle was a bit TOO difficult no? But that's enough ranting about M3... it's obviously one of the weakest maps.
-Rifle? I don't really see the point to it personally... I'd rather of gotten my trusty BFG9000 in its place, especially since I find the Super Shotgun more useful overall (mainly due to more regularly receiving ammo for it). I know you all wanted to try something new, I just personally don't like it, although I'm sure that's not the case for all.
-Where are my tanks? Where did they go?! Noooooooo!! My lovely tanks!! I told you not to mess with them!! ...All over-acting aside, I was heavily disappointed with what replaced that particular section that I had made. It clashes even worse than what I had originally put down there. On the subject of my small section of M9... were the theme changes in what-was a secret room really necessary? I tried to make the area look like a futuristic base... and some of it got converted to look more like M3's toxin refinery section. My original detailing also got converted from a tech influence... to a hellish influence... that's just an eye-sore considering it was in a tech-based room. Ouch. But anyways... this reaction from me is to really be expected since I'm sure anyone finds it frustrating when you try your best to make something to contribute and then it gets butchered.
-Just for kicks... the "Super-Secret Button" in M9... I'm sure some people will find that button very amusing... me... my ears wanted to bleed, but eh, I have a dry sense of humour.
-New enemies are fine but... they should at least do something new as well. Too many melee monsters, imps, etc, but you've already heard this all before so I may as well have said yatta yatta yatta. Decent attempt with them though, I'll give credit there where it's due.
-What happened to the ambushes? I'm noticing a glaring lack of traps... so many times I prepared myself before pushing a button or grabbing a key in an ominous location... only to discover there was nothing to prepare for. It also seems a few of the old traps have been removed. I miss the traps.

I could probably think up more pros and cons if I tried hard enough, but it'll likely just be stuff that's been said before. My cons are only more detailed simply because that's where my opinion resides... the pros are just things you've already heard before... and because I felt like ranting about my poor tanks *tear*. :P

Either way... overall I find the wad fairly average. It succeeds wonderfully in terms of visuals... but then it falls on its face in terms of gameplay. The effort put into this wad is obvious and I say it's worth a try at least. DON'T quit during or just after E1M1. The map isn't great, but E1M2 makes up for it! Then comes the worst map I've played of the batch, E1M3... perhaps a clue to get people to look at their automap for the hint arrows?... but I digress... check it out at least. It was over-hyped for sure, but try not to think of this while playing it as it isn't a waste of time. If anything the new features should keep people entertained.

...Okay... must... click... Submit Reply... rambling too much... *clicks*

cyber-menace said:

-Just for kicks... the "Super-Secret Button" in M9... I'm sure some people will find that button very amusing... me... my ears wanted to bleed, but eh, I have a dry sense of humour.

Haha I loved that, especially since it's my favourite song. :D

cyber-menace said:

E1M3... perhaps a clue to get people to look at their automap for the hint arrows?

Wait. Those coloured arrows on the map are hints? I thought those had to do with the cameras or something. Whoops. :D

Craigs said:

I'm still wondering where they're getting those fly by images from.

Umm... Satellites? I don't know, just go with it. :)

Isle said:

dude i could tack on a mouse pointer and buttons on that thing in about 10 seconds

The system was originally developed long before the features that made this possible were added.

Jumping/crouching is allowed. We would have disabled it otherwise. I believe jumping is occasionally (but certainly not often) required.

okay, after the absolute horridness of M1 this wad really starts to improve with M3.

except for the shadow imp, i'm really enjoying the new enemies. the red devil is a heart stopper sometimes. and the chainsaw zombie's introduction is genius.

To be honest, I like the changes made to the pistol, shotgun and chaingun spread. I noticed a bug though with the rifle, it doesn't leave decals like other weapons do.

HA HA HA I JUST FOUND THE CAMEO SECRET IN M3 *wheeze*

Well I've played up to Z1M4 and I have to say that this is a very ambitious project. The intro leads me to believe that this was supposed to be spooky, something it failed miserably at, though. Oh well, I like the new enemies. Goat monster thing is awesome, as are the new demons and the grey skeleton imp thing. The maps are HUGE, and very hard to navigate sometimes. Also, the music didn't have to be the exact same music from the originals; in fact, remixes would have set the mood much better.

Overall though this looks like it was worth a little bit of the time it took to make it. Maybe not all the trouble and leaks, but certainly the time.

try this.

okay. HOW THE HELL DO I GET TO M9? i know the switch that opens the door to it, i know the switch that reveals the door switch, but how do i reveal THAT switch? it's next to a monitor set into the wall but it's blocked by techy stuff and i can't get to it.

[edit] nevermind. found it. whoever came up with that secret needs to die in a washing machine accident.

dethtoll said:

[edit] nevermind. found it. whoever came up with that secret needs to die in a washing machine accident.

Yeah, it is hard to find - but don't say there is no clue. ;)

Well, I will admit that it does get better as it goes, and I might have actually really liked the last few maps had they not been so damn dark. There's a grotesque amount of switch- and key-hunting in M3 and 4, which is mostly why I didn't like those.

There's a lot of really cool visual stuff -- the demonic flesh burrowing up through the floors, loads of neat lighting effects, some of the hilly areas done with slopes were astounding. But it just doesn't make up for the lack of fun that I had.

Where are all the bullets? I have shells maxed most of the time, but I run low on bullets.

Dropped the plasma gun for a grenade launcher? I mean, I know the plasma gun isn't an E1 weapon, but neither is the grenade launcher, and with all the new, tough baddies, I think it would have fit in.

Vader's new monster sprites are really amazing, but it's a shame because a lot of the time, you can hardly see them. The levels are far too dark for the most part. Darkness =/= atmosphere. Oh, and Satyrs are way too tough for something the size of an imp. They have at least 400 HP.

The caco attack at the end of M7 is probably one of the lamest traps ever. And what was with that forcefield that gibs you instantly? Charming.

M8 was my favorite. It was the most consistently good. The only parts I would complain about are when the lights dim and I feel like I'm playing Doom3 again. The way the tributes to sections of the original maps appear in M8 are more the way I would have liked the whole of KDiZD to be.

Someone PM me a hint on how to get to M9, as it's driving me crazy. I have both the Green and Grey keys, I just don't know what you do with them.

I tried KDiZD a bit quickly with ZDoom 2.1.6 (r345).
I liked the big levels and the general atmosphere.
I didn’t like the number of new monsters and the lack of monster infighting.
I only found one secret in Z1M1. I guessed the one behind the green armor but didn’t find the switch.
Ha, are jumping and crouching allowed?
The opening “video” is almost always black. Is it normal?
Anyway, like with Simplicity, my general overview is O_o.

ducon said:

I tried KDiZD a bit quickly with ZDoom 2.1.6 (r345).

Some things won't work with that.

I only found one secret in Z1M1. I guessed the one behind the green armor but didn’t find the switch.

There is no switch. Take a closer look at the surrounding walls.

Ha, are jumping and crouching allowed?

Jumping, yes, crouching officially not but shouldn't break anything.

The opening “video” is almost always black. Is it normal?

It has some parts where it is black but generally not.

Zark, joe and I are playing through it in co-op and we will post a co-op review write-up on the site hopefully with screenshots etc.

We're only at m5 currently, initial impressions are a mix of some very good things and some not so great things, but even the not so great things, I can see why they were attempted, so its all forgiveable. Generally so far it's nicely suited to co-op as far as big ambitious wads go.

More later.