The DWmegawad Club plays: Super Mayhem 17

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP26: Bowser in the Black Abyss

 

@rdwpa, thanks for the enlightening co-author commentary on this one; there are definitely subtleties and complexities at work here that I'm not wired to properly appreciate.  :)

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP25 Bastille Bowser

 

Barsoap makes the penultimate map in a style that is quite similar to other authors, then again, I don't mind Barsoap making this kind of map style. Straightforward for the most part, challenging and not challenging fights, a spoiler cyberdemon shows up for a bit but decides to go away for later (good, don't have time to kill him myself). Through the window we also see a Bowser's Inside Story Bowser just peeking through the windows. He unfortunately cannot be reached and DOES count towards the kill total, plus I was planning that he was gonna show up at the end so I can have him infight with the cybie. The first area the cybie appears was definitely fun at least, as was the second area which also paves way to a spiderdemon, close enough I'd say. Fairly challenging, and sets the stage for the endgame.
 

[Catpho]

For some reason im not feeling like writing. I dunno, on other days im just so compelled to write, words came out like rushing water (even when they werent the best, but i had fun!), now i cant even describe a fight :P

Mood thing i guess, when im back im probably gonna write my comments on the @rdwpa insight more than the map itself (i did play it, generally speaking its gud and respectable). The author comment post was done well ;)

[tmorrow]

map27: Congratulations!, by Leodoom85
zdoom2.8.1, uvmax, pistol start, no saves, first time played

An inescapable colorful credits map with 6 inert enemies, 4 items and a lovely ending message. You can collect the two invulnerabilities but not the soulsphere or megasphere. You can't kill the 6 enemies unless you resort to cheats.

Overall WAD Comments

Super MAYhem 17 is a kickass, ripsnorting romp from start to finish. It's a mix of my favourite game of all time Doom with my favourite console franchise Super Mario. There's a lot more to love about this wad than the added Super Mario assets as good as they are. All maps exist within a tidy 5120x3840 boundary meaning each map has a handful of rooms that are quick to play with little chance of getting lost. A diverse team of top notch mappers leads to a large variety in design, layout, aesthetics, game difficulty and styles. Everyone who plays should be able to find maps to enjoy. Whether it's open outdoor battles or claustrophobic, indoor, bitchslapping slogfests, slaughter rooms to challenge the best, psychedelic rainbow roads or even a devious puzzle map, there's hours of fun for all to be had!

Favourite Maps

• map26 - You've got to see and beat up bowser, you just have to.
• map15 - Great puzzles, secrets, tricks and traps, brutal in retaliation when done wrong!
• map31 - Puzzle heaven or pure hell!
• map22 - Biffing demons on ice, oh yeah! That homing missile fiend revenant can roast in hell though.
• map04 - Cute sailing ships and purple whales in a huge battle by the docks. Joy!

Most Difficult Maps

• map11 - Consider me slaughtered on UV! Note there's no excuse for not enjoying this map in full since @Killer5 accommodates for all skill levels. HMP has less revs and cybies and a way out of the damaging pit. HNTR only has one archvile at the blue key, 3 revs rather than cybie at the first exit, no archviles and less cybies in the later fights. If those are too tough then you still have ITYTD.
• map26 - What do you expect in bowser's fortress, rainbows and unicorns?
• map15 - When you start visiting goat houses on the wrong side of town ...
• map23 - Close encounters of the painful kind.
• map22 - Punching demons on ice skates is one thing but ice climbing and monsters floating down the river is just wrong.

[rehelekretep]

write ups from you have been a pleasure to read @tmorrow even though i havent been playing much :)

[dobu gabu maru]

Current vote tallies—it's a bit neck and neck here:

 

99 Ways to Die, The Trooper's Playground, The Talosian Incident - 4

Mayhem '16, Dimension Of The Boomed - 2

Plutonium Winds, Master Levels - 2

A.L.T. - 2?

 

5 hours ago, Catpho said:

For some reason im not feeling like writing. I dunno, on other days im just so compelled to write, words came out like rushing water (even when they werent the best, but i had fun!), now i cant even describe a fight :P

 

Yeah I think the day-by-day reviews have their pros and cons, but one of the biggest cons is that some days you might not have the time/desire to play, nor the time/desire to write. It's really taxing if you're going to try and keep up with it every month, especially when folks like you and Demtor are posting really amazing screenshots in the process. Fatigue's gotta set in eventually

[Cynical]

I'm not going to officially vote since I'm just a spectator, but all of you who are participants should vote for Plutonium Winds, it's one of the most fun episodes ever and never gets the attention it deserves.

[Marcaek]

Suggest combining Plutonium Winds with jimi's Mercuria Experiment as a future option.

[NuMetalManiak]

+++Plutonium Winds. Unfortunately since I don't own Master Levels I'll sit that out, but whatever.

[Pirx]

1 hour ago, dobu gabu maru said:

Current vote tallies—it's a bit neck and neck here:

 

99 Ways to Die, The Trooper's Playground, The Talosian Incident - 4

Mayhem '16, Dimension Of The Boomed - 2

Plutonium Winds, Master Levels - 2

A.L.T. - 2?

 

 

Yeah I think the day-by-day reviews have their pros and cons, but one of the biggest cons is that some days you might not have the time/desire to play, nor the time/desire to write. It's really taxing if you're going to try and keep up with it every month, especially when folks like you and Demtor are posting really amazing screenshots in the process. Fatigue's gotta set in eventually

 

 

heh, i'm still following the thread, but i'd be so much better off if i could sleep faster.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 19 -- Your Princess is in Another Fort, Asshole - 104% Kills / 66% Secrets - FDA

Another of the "obviously a speedmap" entries, I haven't been able to think of a good way to summarize my impressions without sounding as though I'm damning it with faint praise....which almost says enough in its own right, I suppose. While playing I was suitably entertained, for sure, the action is more or less constant and the thing balance is enjoyably skewed towards the RL (my favorite weapon), and the structure of the level itself has a number of interesting qualities. But, at the end of the day, there's also a marked sense that the layout and the thing/placement were conceived largely independently of one another, i.e. the shapes and scale and such were mapped out impromptu, and then action/thing placement which more or less "makes sense" was added to it afterwards, rather than any particular fight or other event being conceived in tandem with any particular physical feature of the map or its progression. It's not a boring map, by any means, but definitely one where I got the impression of much missed/unexplored potential.

 

rdwpa has a more in-depth look at the level's general feel/timbre earlier in the thread, and the upshot of it (and something it would've doubtlessly taken me even longer to say) is that proceedings are generally directionless. While the influx of different monsters at different points fills out the runtime fairly well without getting sloggy or anything, the map itself undergoes changes that seem like they should point towards some kind of encounter structure that never develops in any real way, and so in some sense the space ends up feeling underutilized, especially considering that so much of the action naturally takes place in the big central chamber.

 

For example, at some point lava fills the inner space, and barriers rise up to block what were initially its two northerly groundbound exits--well after there is any real reason for the player to ever go down there (I noticed because I insisted on futzing around with the fairly superfluous cyberdemon who eventually appears where the red key once sat). In placement terms, a few flyers are scattered about in the initial fracas, but never appear again, despite the environment seemingly being very suited to them. Similarly, a fresh crop of monsters appears at the south of the map when the player first butts up against the yellow door, to fire from afar, but because there's nothing else going on on your side of the map this is not relevant, whereas when you go back to the south to deal with them there is no complimentary complication from the north, which would seem to make more sense. The side areas of the southern upper level with the lava floor, apparently conceptually tied to a single radsuit (which I didn't recognize as a radsuit, not being highly attuned to Mario as I am--I thought it was a statue or something until I walked into it), never really pan out into anything either. Is it assumed the player will want to camp in there at some point, lending the suit value? Nothing ever really develops to make this seem like a logical course of action. Is it to prevent a couple of hits of damage from flicking the yellow switch? If so, why the damage floor at all? etc. etc. etc.

 

Visually the map also has a certain air of unfinishedness to it, I thought. Again, the structure itself is generally pretty cool, but the absence of lighting effects in the main space makes its slate grey/cherry-red texture scheme look very flat and washed out indeed. Stock Doom II assets also appear here (for the first time since m10's marbface on the temple awning, IIRC?), used variously as trim/detail textures ('carpet', etc.) and as baldfacedly as traditional Doom switchplates. I thought that this read badly--sort of uncanny valley, in an unappealing way--and contributed to the impression of something finished in haste.

 

I feel I've spent a lot of words here probably being nastier to the map than it deserves, but that's the thing with a map like this--all things considered it plays just fine, but there's that marked sense of underachievement that's tough for me to overlook, wondering what might've been if its author had had more time for it (ala his other map in the set, which seems more developed and is ultimately better, IMO).

 

 

******

 

Oh, yes, largely meaningless at this point, I suspect, but every eventual landslide has to start somewhere, I suppose:

 

+++ The Alfonzone

[Demon of the Well]

Map 20 -- Transformation Palace - 118% Kills / 33% Secrets - FDA, horrible beyond words.

This is an interesting one. While its action is more or less straightforward and it doesn't possess any particular conceptual gimmick to its gameplay (the ever-ascending path through the level and its occasional bits of building terrain are more what I would call themes than 'gimmicks'), it has a peculiar feel to it quite different from anything else in the WAD, perhaps a function of being as unapologetically big/tall as it is. Gloomy, too, I must say, which surely also has something to do with how different it feels--there are only a couple of other maps in the set that take a similar sort of stonefaced approach to the Mario theme (even Xaser's nominally dark/spooky "Ziegenhaus" had a definite aura of mordant cheer about it)--this being something I personally find refreshing/appealing, perhaps endearing it to me on some irrational level.

On that note, I want to say that I did definitely enjoy playing this, for the most part, even if that doesn't come through very well in the god-awful FDA. The order of the day is big fights--apart from the opening half-dozen monsters or so, everything here is a big fight involving more or less exclusively heavier monsters--but these are made to seem smaller, somehow, being dwarfed in scale by the environment itself as they tend to be. Not only are the playspaces large, but there's never any attempt made to keep you from retreating to or seeking cover in a previously cleared area, or indeed from using the space in pretty much any other way you might please, and so the overall impression is of something more slack and catch-as-catch can than the challenge-oriented affair that a description of its content on paper might suggest.

 

This lack of any real leash on the player means that those unable to feel alive outside of the context of optimally tuned pressure-generation engines will probably find it chronically dysfunctional in its openness, and at the same time there are parts of it laborious enough to try the patience of most players regardless of their personal style (including me); several have commented on the somewhat obnoxious super shroom at the end of one of the long rows of pipes (I suspect the stylish/practiced way to get it is to land on a pipe with forward momentum from a running drop, but in practice I found it less hassle to just shoot for an SR50 with no runup), and the monster placement in the context of the transforming southern room is......well, let's just say it's "something else." Okay, let's also say that it should've been cut. Yet, where the action works, I think it works well, and found that to be the case more often than not. The FDA is horribly ugly/messy, and while part of that is just direct fallout from crappy play on my part, that it got so messy/complicated as often as it did speaks to the thought of the monster use in the context of such a relatively unwieldy space (i.e. very, very tall, theoretically very open visually, etc.).

 

The big final fight's a good example. That you are allowed to simply run away from this back to the opening of the area flies brazenly in the face of most currently in-vogue conventional wisdom concerning such encounters, but I think this openness adds interesting layers to the fight. So yeah, you can run away and thus avoid death pretty easily, but....what then? In the average (blind) playthrough you then face a situation where your cowardice (or intelligence, as some may prefer...!) sees you having to get creative and take a huge risk to get back into the area so you can leave the level, thus your initial retreat has interesting emergent consequences rather than just being a crutch tactic that breaks the fight. Finding out about the backpack secret only after that first playthrough, I find I starkly disagree with those who mocked its somewhat odd placement/timing in the level--this is really quite clever, I thought, because finding that secret allows you to scoop up double the ammo before the last big fight starts, and thus makes the retreat/camping strategy significantly more powerful (yet not so powerful to render the whole thing null, again). And of course, the fight still works fine if you don't run away at all, wherein tactical infighting and awareness in an initially chaotic situation and all of the usual watchwords/virtues of modern action apply. It's not anywhere near highly tuned or conceptually vicious enough to be legendary, granted, but it is flexible in a robust way, and that's rare/valuable, something which both sides of the oft-posed challenge/casual dichotomy often miss.

 

I wouldn't argue that the level's pretty loose in how frames its action, but I reckon it's also a lot smarter than it's been given credit for, and is probably one of the more replayable maps in the set as a result. It has a sort of simplified Resurgence flavor to it--big action in big places that's more often than not content to let you make your own way (and occasionally outsmart yourself and dig your own grave)--generally a welcome thing, in my book. But then, there's also that southern room....so maybe I'm blowing hot air and it's all an accident? A happy one, if so, and I suppose that's the main thing. :)

[tmorrow]

7 hours ago, dobu gabu maru said:

Current vote tallies—it's a bit neck and neck here:

 

Don't overlook my vote posted on the 25th (Aussie time). I jump on the Heroes' Tales bandwagon, unfortunately everyone else has jumped off!

[dobu gabu maru]

44 minutes ago, tmorrow said:

Don't overlook my vote posted on the 25th (Aussie time). I jump on the Heroes' Tales bandwagon, unfortunately everyone else has jumped off!

 

I don't list nominations that only get one vote, because then every month I'd have to type out a bunch of wads that have no chance of winning.

 

Dunno if I'll have time to catch up with Mayhem this weekend but I'll definitely finish the set and post my reviews in bulk when I do.

[Catpho]

Whats your vote btw @dobu gabu maru? Yeah, i also tend think of really amazing stuff to talk about a map AFTER i did a review of it days ago :P

Quotes for fun:

17 hours ago, NuMetalManiak said:

MAP25 Bastille Bowser

 

Barsoap 

...Barsoap is a bizarre pun on Breezeep tbh. Wheres that coming from?

9 hours ago, tmorrow said:

 You can't kill the 6 enemies unless you resort to cheats.

You can! Use plasma weapons and rocket launcher iirc (if you play with carryovers that is). Paints a nice bloody throne for the new king, talk about intimidation!

[tmorrow]

21 minutes ago, dobu gabu maru said:

I don't list nominations that only get one vote, because then every month I'd have to type out a bunch of wads that have no chance of winning.

 

I understand. I thought you were listing a tally of all votes not just the top ones.

[tmorrow]

With only 29 maps in Super MAYhem 17, those of us that aren't all that busy right now have some spare time for some more frivolity, fittingly ending the month the way it began. After all "idle hands are the devil's workshop".

It is unfortunate, but there limits to how far Doom's intermission text can advance the merged super mario / doom marine story. Sadly, the unabashed REAL story of the bowser-peach-marine triangle remains largely unknown by many, even to this day. The truth must be told and so here is the tale in filthy limericks to pass down through the ages although I'm sure some would rather let it fade down the sewers into obscurity.

Obviously this all in fun, just for a laugh. I've put a spoiler tag on it to protect those easily offended by rude limericks. Expand at your own risk!
 

The REAL Super Mario / Doom Marine Story Told in Limericks
By T. J. Morrow
With sincere apologies to both franchises.

 

Spoiler

The princess while bored in the castle,
Fit each of her teats with a tassel.
With a bounce and a twirl,
This young coquettish girl,
Could spin them both synced without hassle.

Observed by the lecherous Bowser,
He postures to Peach 'til he wows her.
And then rips off the dress
Of this Peach in distress,
Pulls panties aside and then ploughs her.

This inflamed an intrepid marine,
To duel Bowser and make Peach his queen.
She'd been bound, gagged and tied,
And what Peach couldn't hide,
Was suggestive! Licentious! Obscene!

You might think she would be in distress,
With torn undies, mauled boobs and ripped dress,
Yet kept her composure,
When Bowser exposed her,
"He seduced me!", she tried to confess.

She waited for help from her sire,
But gasped as he bent to untie her,
That torch in his trousers,
Was bigger than Bowsers',
Igniting her flames of desire.

Untied, she became more vivacious,
Oh she knew her marine was salacious.
It did not take her long
To shed dress, bra and thong,
She was fully stacked, hot and curvaceous.

With a lust brimming to the extreme,
They combined to fulfill their wet dream.
As he cupped both her cheeks,
'Mid her moans and her shrieks,
He enveloped his Peaches in cream.

His love she could not beg or borrow.
Those dreams were so Doom'ed to sweet sorrow.
But the truth is well known,
Although one wad is blown,
There's always a new wad tomorrow.

 

[Catpho]

MAP26 - “Bowser in the Black Abyss” by Marcaek & rdwpa

Its time to make that kidnapping monarch feel sorry he ever took your gal! The darkly menacing castle and walls of goons are the only things that stand between you and gutting that bastard. Whoever was the architect must have took the "strike fear into the hearts of men" class, cuz cubic stones, deathly lava, the redness and torches whose only purpose is to tell you how dark the abyss is are perfect for a threatening feel. If you can get past the physiological warfare, you are in for some tough physical challenges. Rdwpa set them up so it allow for different strategies: infight, trust in your movement and shooting skills,... Main theme for almost all the battles really. Favorites in the lead ups i have to agree with the penultimate one, lots of tactical depth here (it kinda gets boring after archvile death, but i dont mind much). The others fights were of the "ok" quality, secret fight is a bit taxing for a bfg.

Finally the bowser battle, the moment we all been waiting for. Being a mario fan, the tradition for mario games is to have bowser be a complete wuss in the showdown :P (Especially the fight in Super mario galaxy 2, absolutely depressing) Commendable effort here, bowser is given the ability of a buffed manc, simple but good pattern for a boss made out of the rather limited dehacked. Bowser alone tho will certainly not be enough, so his friends from hell come to help him give you a beating. Both right and wrong call, as the monsters sure give you a work out (hitscanner phase was dangerous!), but then bowser becomes a magnet for infighting, and ended up crawling back into his shell before i was done killing a pack of pinkys (never make a deal with the devil folks!). Aw welp, nice artwork for bowser. Im getting my princess and im getting outta here!

A good finale here, does have the sense of a epic climax. Interesting to see that Marcaek made a layout and some structures first, then rdwpa doing the gameplay details. All around solid for its type. Nitpick: why is there a change to a red sky in the bowser chamber? Its the BLACK ABYSS!

Possibly my longest review in the entire thread, hmm......

Some screenies:

Edited April 27, 2018 by Catpho

[Catpho]

MAP27 - “Congratulations!” by Leodoom85

Cute closing map :) I would like to have a bit less.... claustrophobia here, everything else is fine. Let the new reign begin!

One screenie:

[Catpho]

Super Mayhem 17 was a fun ride from start to finish. Its a varied mapset, plenty of different and interesting gameplay styles, very doom like while doing a excellent tribute to super mario series. A team of talented authors, a space limitation actually worked to its benefit, unique and distinguishable aesthetic is what makes it a endearing project. If you enjoy community project, doom in general (or maybe a mario fan who also loves doom), you are gonna love every second of this.

Favorites will be edited in later cuz im gonna do some other stuff for now :P (EDIT: they are in)

5 favs (hard pick this one was, so many strong maps!):

-MAP15 - “Ziegenhaus” by Xaser (instant classic imo, great use of texture, has a charming look and feel only Xaser can produce)

-MAP31 - “Sinkysand Switchland” by dobu gabu maru (Dobu's puzzle map is delightful!)

-MAP22 - “Chocolate Starfish Islands” by Benjogami/MAP12 - “Cool Cool Shotgun” by A.Gamma (Just cant choose between the two! Both have cool concepts that are well executed)

-MAP25 - “Bastille Bowser” by Breezeep (Fit for a king! Wonderful castle, great visuals and solid gameplay)

-I cant choose the final one really, so many cool maps, its not easy at all!

Edited April 27, 2018 by Catpho

[Poncho]

Actually, I would like to add:

 

+++ Master Levels for Doom II

[NuMetalManiak]

6 hours ago, Catpho said:

...Barsoap is a bizarre pun on Breezeep tbh. Wheres that coming from?

It came from myself. I wanted to give a nickname to Breezeep before anyone else did.

 

MAP26 Bowser in the Black Abyss

 

Well, boss level time. Suspenseful as it always is, wait a minute, I just walked through a fence. Well we have a bonus area with some nasty arch-viles plus a cyber, the reward does pay off since it's the mighty BFG that we get here, plus lots of supplies. Two side areas, go for the right side for a Figure-8 area with the rocket launcher and plenty of annoying teleport monsters, plus a chaingun with the proper chaingunners being thrown in. The left side has the key and also a few more teleporting enemies, before and after the switch press, plus the soul sphere secret. So Bowser's Inside Story Bowser is sitting nicely on his throne past the big red door in this large arena.

 

Well, Bowser's Inside Story Bowser has one more challenge to do, a simple arena with some of Doom's nastier cretins, plus red block rampages to go about, choreographed very well and nicely. When Bowser's Inside Story Bowser decides to attack, it's best NOT to attack him yet, since the pipes will provide various monster waves and there are also pickups that spawn in. It's quite the classic arena level, where you can have Bowser's Inside Story Bowser fight with the monsters or among themselves. Look out for the hilarity of zombiemen coming out from the pipes at high speeds, to where they stack on each other, and also for the rest of the hitscanners who will likely be of even bigger concern. Proper consolidation will mop up these guys. As for Bowser's Inside Story Bowser, all he has going for him are his 8000 HP deal and the fire he spews, but circlestrafing isn't gonna be an issue unless he decides to go on the walkways.

 

MAP27 Congratulations!

 

The BOSSBACK thing just so happens to be an actual level, but it isn't really anything to write home about.

[Roofi]

+++ ESP2

[Walter confetti]

Can I make suggestions even if i'm a outsider?

 

I'd like to give Demonfear a chance to shine, so...

+++ Demonfear +++ mini-level megawad

[Catpho]

I know what mario will be using from now on ;)

[Cynical]

2 hours ago, Catpho said:

I know what mario will be using from now on ;)

http://www.videogamedc.com/Fan_Flicks/Super_Mario_Rampage/super_mario_rampage.html

[baja blast rd.]

On 4/26/2018 at 3:17 AM, tmorrow said:

 

That added soulsphere does not compensate for the damage dished out by those enemies from the cubes! Ouch! I ended up learning the contents and timing of every one of these "cubes from hell". An excellent and challenging fight.

 

 

I noticed added carcasses, clips and zombieman after returning from the east wing and a dead marine, 3 cells and an imp after returning from the west wing. Is that the stuff your were referring to or is there more?

 

 

Your maps are a bit hard to find, most buried in the forums and not many on idgames. The maps I've found are amazing and indeed I find them quite difficult.

 

Many thanks for all of the insights into your contribution to map26, especially the thoughts behind your choices for enemy encounters and the factors going into good enemy placement.

 

Yes those are the little 'easter eggs', and you're welcome. 

 

8 hours ago, Catpho said:

but then bowser becomes a magnet for infighting, and ended up crawling back into his shell

 

I think I playtested the fight upwards of 50 times, a variety of ways, and Bowser basically always survives to the end (unless actively trying to kill it earlier), so that is a fluky outcome, bound to happen occasionally but not a likely result of the setup imo.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP23: Down the Wrong Pipe

99% kills, 1/2 secrets

 

Two parts to this one, the first being phone-booth fights against mid-tier enemies and the second being a tricky platforming section with plenty of dangerous enemies. I admit I fell off the platforms more times than I should've trying to dodge fireballs. I liked the first part, but the second part left me a bit wanting... just felt a bit too chaotic, in a messy way, as if the map needed a bit more refining. Stuff like the weird moving 'screen' by the imps or the non-staircase the AV teleports onto just didn't quite make sense to me, nor the flow - telefragging the SMM wasn't the climax, instead you then have to worry about all the other stuff that teleports in like those damn 'tron snipers that can or can't hit you based on the RNG of their platforms. Also quite easy to run out of ammo on the last Vile if he resurrects anything nearby.

 

Also, I really thought the weird-shaped pipes (squares? clover?) were going to come in to play as a puzzle somehow, sadly they did not.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP24: Bowser's Daddy Dungeon

99% kills, 1/2 secrets

 

This one was a fun romp, good mix of combat and some small puzzles. Monster placement and item placement are done very well IMO, with the exception of the blue armor room (didn't even figure out how to get it...) perhaps being a bit too painful if you open it before getting the chaingun and/or rocket launcher. Even the final fight with the teleporting AV worked well, I died a ton but it always felt like it was my mistake and I could do better. The one-way exit with no way to return was a downer.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 21 -- Rainbow Road - 103% Kills / No secrets - FDA, not horrible beyond words but still pretty bad IIRC.

A very straightforward level fixated on pure combat, which I was not able to appreciate as much as it probably deserves, again simply because looking at it hurt my eyes--the static, lo-fi rainbow shingling (sort of looks like the main structural material is a bunch of giant Rubik's cubes, I thought) with lots of overlay from layers of platform borders and glowing star props and other trim/trappings densely packed into every vista gave me a mild headache in short order, and I recall needing to take a break afterwards, even though the map is very short and to-the-point. Doubly a shame in this case, since setting up these many neon-rimmed crystal sectors and getting everything in this style of presentation to work right sans unsightly visual anomalies is surely no small amount of work.

 

That aside, as aforesaid the level is very straightforward; likely the most conceptually simple map in the set--you drop in, immediately are shuttled off to a handful of brief, focused fights (each of which can be handily won in a matter of moments, for a good/practiced player), and then it's over. The fights themselves are fine, all requiring a fast response and posing some measure of immediate, serious danger, but all quickly resolved with the piles of powerful armament supplied in a handful of large doses over the course of progression. I did not play well (again) but didn't have a lot of trouble clearing the map, so I reckon it's balanced on the generous/empowering side and not really a tall ask provided one doesn't panic (and isn't defeated by arrays of bright, happy colors, like moi) at the first sign of trouble.

 

Biggest criticism is probably again a matter of degree/missed potential rather than a case of this or that specific element not working right or not playing well. You can get the three keys in any order, for example, but since they're all functionally self-contained setpieces of similar general style and similar difficulty which have no initial or emergent interaction with one another (monsters only enter the playing field of each zone just as you enter, and are entirely absent otherwise), this setup adds next to nothing to progression beyond a faint illusion of CYOA (which is not without value, granted), and underlines that the way the whole level is laid out and presented is primarily in service of the visual concept/homage rather than the gameplay/progression, not unlike m06 in that regard, I suppose. For those for whom this referential angle hits home, this is surely not an issue (and in this case I imagine many will enjoy the striking visuals wholly independent of the homage, as well); for dayblind Mario philistines like myself, my overriding impression is, once again, that the level's solid enough in play but seems underdeveloped in some senses.

 

Map 22 -- Chocolate Starfish Islands - 97% Kills / No secrets - FDA

An intuitive pairing for m21, Benjogami's map is also comprised of a short sequence of focused setpiece challenges, though as has generally been his wont these have a marked flavor of the experimental to them. As was the case with m12 and much of the rest of the ice-themed minisode from earlier on, it's no surprise that "CSI" has been controversial as it too makes pointed use of a number of non-typical mapping functionalities--ice, slowing terrain, active conveyors in the playspace, the like--but for my part I felt that it generally handled these more deftly than any of them (partly a consequence of its pronounced brevity, granted).

 

The two ice-based challenges, which open the map and will probably immediately make it or break it for most players, are illustrative in this regard. Obviously, the ice here works just the same as in the wintry block of maps prior, and is no easier to move around on or fight on. The key difference, IMO, is that here the gameplay is purpose-built to highlight the ice and its impacts on movement, and tuned accordingly, rather than treating the ice as a sort of thematic environmental modifier atop otherwise conventional action. The miniature platforming challenge to reach the first pipe has the twofold purpose of really honing in on how to most efficiently maneuver Doomguy on the ice (don't fight it too much, drift into turns ahead of time, etc.) and also wryly ensuring with a sort of cheerful gallows wit that pistol-starters at least will play fair (you deserve what you get if you feel clever/cheeky and try to pistol That Revenant, precisely what Obsidian didn't do for those two viles in his map :) ). This segues nicely into the underground ice-island setpiece, which tests those movement skills in a sort of impromptu "bumper cars" scenario, where again the solution is to embrace the slipperiness and to read the situation in a more outside-the-box way (i.e. leave as many pinkies alive as you can, as they make superb mobile/incidental shields), which IMO is often the best sort of use for largely impractical niche effects ala the Boom-ice.

 

I do think it's fair criticism that the map is perhaps slightly too insistently heavy-handed in some regards, i.e. the slowing water on the vile/knights/imps island, which is more of an incidental annoyance ala map 12, or indeed the extra punishment of the damaging water at the base of the level also being slowing, just to rub it in presumably, but the encounter concepts are interesting and fleshed-out enough to excuse this in this case, I think. As aforesaid, the map's quite short, and Benjo has had the good sense to end it with a weird but satisfyingly violent little climax on the river-island, going out on a high/cathartic/empowering note as a contrast to the marked little to-do which is the map's earlier stages. Also key to the map's success, I think, is that while it's certainly a handful it also has a sort of affable sense of humor about it which meshes naturally with the somewhat 'piquant' gameplay rather than seeming forced, probably best personified by That Revenant, who will inevitably vex you to the end and thus reads like a much more credible Mario-style Doom antagonist than almost anything seen prior, matched perhaps only by Xaser's ghostly Twins.

 

Good stuff here, Benjo, though I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't at least a little relieved you don't plan on making ice a Big Thing in your future mapping. :)

Edited April 28, 2018 by Demon of the Well