What are you playing now?

Ok, I made it up to map21 of my scoredoom run on the Newdoom Community Project megawad... progress is a little slow today.

Ugh I'm on AV map 20 and now that I have the red key I'm stuck. I found that the switch at the top of the spiral staircase with the arch-vile has sides that are red key strangely enough, but I don't think they did anything.

Duck, I also got lost on that map. Best thing to do is what I did, and watch a run off Youtube to show you where to go. I love that level to pieces though, enjoyed every minute of it. :) Even the time spent lost was time well spent haha. I need to stop kissing AV's ass but I really can't wait to play it again.

The thing about maps like MAP20 of Alien Vendetta (at least for me) is I enjoy getting lost in a creation of brilliance.

I can't remember why I stopped playing AV. I don't think it was the difficulty. I just lost the compulsion to return after a while.

Is Hell Revealed II any good? Or is it just generic slaughter maps with the HR name plastered on them?

Hell Revealed II is a pretty faithful sequel to Hell Revealed, but it gets loads tougher in the later levels... especially in the supersecret level with 1600+ monsters if you make it there.

...Maybe I'll just skip the secret levels. :)

Megamur said:

Up to Map24 of Hell Revealed now. I've honestly been enjoying the previous few maps, but why oh why does it seem like every MegaWAD MUST have some "cave-type area with really tall platforms overhanging a huge sea of damaging sludge" map sort of like Map24/29 of DOOM II? I can't stand these maps. Does anyone actually like them? Is there some kind of joy to running around on thin ledges with no cover while snipers attack from all angles which causes you to fall in sludge and slowly die while searching for a teleport back up that I just don't understand?

It's the Doom equivalent of dangerous pits in 2D platform games (mario, sonic, etc.) It just adds another gameplay element, so it's not inherently bad. The implementation can be bad though.

Doom II MAP24 (The Chasm) was one of my favorites precisely because the environment plays such a big part. MAP29 was cool too, but mostly because of the epic architecture. I used to die a lot in that one though. I didn't care for MAP30 though.

BTW, njdoom2 MAP15 (A Crushing Time), which is basically a trap-themed level, has a spot where you have to jump from one narrow ledge onto another, and it looks like the destination ledge is up against the cavern wall, so it seems safe to just keep running. Except it's not, and at least at 320x200 resolution the wall and floor textures create that illusion. And you might think that the illusion would get dispelled the first time you end up falling in the lava below, but no, it took me several attempts and lots of cursing before figuring it out. ;)

Yeah, I think you're supposed to get lost on AV MAP20 (Misri Halek). It's an ancient pyramid after all. ;)

I watched tatsurdcacocaco's run and found out that I was stupid and didn't notice a hallway I must have looked at five times :P

@Megamur - Yeah... Post Mortem was a real ball-buster on my scoredoom runs, so I can see where you're coming from. Though I played through HR with the add-on pack, I at least didn't bother with the no-infighting and hardcore mode simultaneously. (The farthest I got in that mode was map13)

hex11 said:

It's the Doom equivalent of dangerous pits in 2D platform games (mario, sonic, etc.)

All well and good, except that Mario and Sonic can actually jump, and you can actually see their feet and the platforms underneath them. Platforming is extremely hit-or-miss in first-person in general, but DOOM is especially not very well suited for it, at least in my opinion. Hence why I cannot stand these kinds of levels.

Decided to give HR2 a spin while I debate whether or not I want to try to finish HR1. It doesn't really feel all that much like HR to me yet, lacking in the huge, somewhat surreal outdoor playgrounds like Map13 & 14 of the original HR, but maybe that comes later. I'm still having fun with it, though.

Some of the music is really bad, however. Map02's music starting slow and then erupting into a cacophony of drums and cymbal crashes... Well, it's not up to the standards of the Rise of the Triad soundtrack, that's for sure.

I finally finished up my Scoredoom run on the Newdoom Community Project. I'm not looking forward to doing NDCP 2 because of Map19. (One part of that level, I can't get past a certain metal maze with the one corridor loaded with crushers) Evil Eye (I forget which map it is) sounds like fun, though.

Megamur said:

Is Hell Revealed II any good? Or is it just generic slaughter maps with the HR name plastered on them?

Apart from some notable exceptions (mostly ones that were in the HR2 beta), that pretty much sums it up.

Welp, I really did not like the first episode (11 maps) (save the ones by anyone not named Jonas Feragen, the guy is a freakin' asshole [no offense to the author himself]) because they are easily the stupidly hardest (read: unfair) maps in the entire megawad. Anything after those seems like a walk in the park for the slaughtermap enthusiast. Getting raped upon start by shotgun guys (MAP03 has an Arachnotron placed behind you) and fighting HKs in extremely cramped quarters with zero maneuverability (ugh!) is NOT fun nor a good way to encourage the player to want to continue playing the damn thing.

In addition to that, a good or even very conservative player like myself who prefers to keep themselves charged up all the time via additional soul spheres/mega spheres lying around and ammo will get extra frustrated due to a lot of these being placed in your walking path (seriously, including armor you already have), forcing you to carefully inch around them, or in other cases placed in front of a switch so you have no choice but to waste them when you already have one in your possession, which really pisses me off when I'm trying to "200/200 start" each map.

But not all is lost thankfully, because when the slaughtermaps started to kick in it began to feel like the good ol' HR again, despite the fact there were more than a few homages to the original maps and although this is appreciated I'd rather not have to play the exact same levels all over again.

This could just be me, but I personally think HR2 was actually easier than the original. There were some truly heart pounding "oh shit" moments in the original that I feel were merely emulated or simply missed in the "sequel". I don't consider HR2 a true sequel either, moreso an HR 1.5 or "expansion pack" to HR. It is good and worth your time IMO, but the original is the superior version. It felt like earlier on Jonas was just trying to deliberately piss off the player. His maps later on aren't bad actually (slaughter ones) but be warned that the first set of levels will most likely make you ragequit.

I also thought MAP32 was a joke up until I finish the entire thing through the most rigorous save/load combination ever just to find out

so I'm betting that would of made the beginning a hell of a lot easier than what I did. If you remember the monster that was MAP24 in the original you'll see what I mean by save, load, save, load etc.

Final verdict HR2: 4.5/5 (good, but not perfect, early maps are an exercise in migraines)
Original HR: 5/5 (no doubt the godfather of slaughtermaps)

You guys must be mistaken, there was no sequel to Hell Revealed.

I figure if I keep telling myself that enough, it'll become true. That worked for Star Wars fans, right? Right?

heh

I just thought HR2 was trying to be overly angst early on, and the whole "if it's too hard go on a lower skill :)" screen when you hit F1 just screamed obnoxious. There's very difficult but doable (there's a strategy behind everything) and then there's just "BULLSHIT." I suppose a second playthrough will make these maps more enjoyable, having known where everything is.

I found HR1's beginning to be rather amusing however, it started off like a normal megawad, which throws you off into thinking "this is suppose to be super hard? wtf?" then it just goes all crazy later on and doesn't stop assaulting your endurance abilities until the entire thing is over (played HR after completion of Eternal Doom because I was in dire need of nonstop action as opposed to nonstop puzzles).

Well, I'm not one for pistol starts (it would give a whole new take on every megawad I've played as well as stock id map originals!) and prefer consecutive play. In fact, on some of the new(er) mapsets that do something to stop the player from continuing onto the next map with their weapons (instadeath exit or whatever other trick they use) I changemap'd on G/ZDoom. Nothing annoys me more than losing my arsenal in a shooter. Before I knew of changemap however I wasn't able to god mode myself out of a trapped instadeath exit on one map set so I started the next with a pistol and believe me the map was a total bitch to do. I think the WAD was Congestion 1024.

Then there's other WADs that encourage pistol starts like 10 Sectors but I ran a mock with a full arsenal anyway.

Cyanosis said:

Welp, I really did not like the first episode (11 maps) (save the ones by anyone not named Jonas Feragen, the guy is a freakin' asshole [no offense to the author himself]) because they are easily the stupidly hardest (read: unfair) maps in the entire megawad.

Funny that, his maps were actually my favorite. I played the megawad on Hurt Me Plenty for maps 1-15 (including MAP31) but I got exhausted from the slaughterfest so I lowered the difficulty in order to motivate myself to keep playing. I actually like both Hell Revealed and Hell Revealed II equally as they are both fun but exhaustive to me.

Just finished replaying Eternity. On the topic of pistol starts, it's clear that Bjorn and Holger barely if ever considered pistol starts for their Episodes. My original run was a consecutive playthrough and I thought the maps were mostly very easy. Playing through with pistol starts I found myself struggling to survive in spots with little ammo and often lacking some key weapons, their ammo otherwise present on the level ("Serenity Forever" one of the most egregious violators). It was an interesting challenge, though.

Speaking of 1024, after reading the .txt that was more or less the moment I decided to play through on UV with pistol starts, come hell or high water. I eventually made it (almost), and it was pretty exhausting, but many of those levels were such a rush to clear, and I know that in the long run I've become a better player as a result. I won't begrudge anyone for doing carryovers, though.

IDKFA is my answer to megawads that don't account for pistol start. ;)

I don't use save slots much anymore, because my filesystems tend to be mounted read-only, except for a /tmp mfs (with some /var symlinks that point to it), and possibly a fat32 USB device, for more permanent storage.

Cyanosis said:

Welp, I really did not like the first episode (11 maps) (save the ones by anyone not named Jonas Feragen, the guy is a freakin' asshole [no offense to the author himself]) because they are easily the stupidly hardest (read: unfair) maps in the entire megawad. Anything after those seems like a walk in the park for the slaughtermap enthusiast.

Funny enough, I'm actually on Map11 now. I might've beaten it except for that spot where the Baron/Knight/Arch-Vile trap opens up in that little courtyard, and going inside the cubbyhole they appeared out of teleports you to the next part of the map. I had no idea there was a teleporter there, and I was firing a volley of rockets, and, lucky me, the teleporter plants you right in front of a wall. Instant rocket suicide.

These maps really haven't bothered me all that much, but I fully admit that I'm playing on skill 2. What can I say? I adore DOOM, but I haven't spent my life playing slaughtermaps like everybody else.

Getting raped upon start by shotgun guys (MAP03 has an Arachnotron placed behind you) and fighting HKs in extremely cramped quarters with zero maneuverability (ugh!) is NOT fun nor a good way to encourage the player to want to continue playing the damn thing.

I remember that Arachnotron startup, and even at the time I was thinking to myself, "What? Who does something like that? That's just stupid."

I remember being nonplussed by those close encounters with Hell Knights, as well, though those didn't feel so much cheap as just a bit stressful.

I found HR1's beginning to be rather amusing however, it started off like a normal megawad, which throws you off into thinking "this is suppose to be super hard? wtf?" then it just goes all crazy later on and doesn't stop assaulting your endurance abilities until the entire thing is over

I always liked how HR1 "tricked" the player like that, too, and I legitimately enjoyed the earlier, calmer maps. Then again, I'm not the type that needs 100 monsters thrown at me every 30 seconds in order to be satisfied.

By the way, the music for HR2 Map05 is a fairly blatant rip-off of the Icarus main theme. The Map03 music also shares some striking similarities to the Map03 music of Icarus. I wonder if that was intentional or just a remarkable coincidence.

Ah, so it might not be a coincidence at all. Interesting! Disappointing, but interesting!

I just beat the last three levels of Memento Mori tonight. :)

Going through the Megawad was pretty easy; most of the maps I beat in one or two tries (Without saving). A few of the levels took longer, but MAP18 and MAP28 were the only ones that took me a while.

I spent about a week on MAP28, which was by far the hardest level. I hated it at first, but as I got to know the layout better and where all the Arch-Viles were hiding, it become a lot funner.

MAP29 was really easy compared to it. It seems like it was designed only for coop; I was able to reach the exit without going through most of the level.

MAP30 was well designed, but killing the Cyberdemon was tedious. I just let the Cacodemons do most of the work for me :)

Next I'm going to attempt Icarus; another easy one.

Icarus is totally awesome. I'm always impressed by how dedicated TeamTNT was with that project. Lots of the new textures were quite good, and the soundtrack was great and there was a unique track for every single level. For some reason, having a custom soundtrack is a big improvement to me.

I'll be honest and say I wasn't a big fan of Jens Nielsen's style of levels in Memento Mori at first, but after awhile playing his levels a second time I've come to really love his style. I now consider MAP28 of Memento Mori a masterpiece alongside MAP23 and MAP30 (I'll also admit part of it is due to having read the level reviews on the Visions of Doom website and appreciating those levels better with that particular mindset).

[EDIT] And yes, Icarus is totally awesome.

valkiriforce said:

I'll be honest and say I wasn't a big fan of Jens Nielsen's style of levels in Memento Mori at first, but after awhile playing his levels a second time I've come to really love his style. I now consider MAP28 of Memento Mori a masterpiece alongside MAP23 and MAP30 (I'll also admit part of it is due to having read the level reviews on the Visions of Doom website and appreciating those levels better with that particular mindset).

Jens Nielsen's style is so fun. It's almost switch porn, but not quite.