The DWmegawad Club plays: Struggle

[Roofi]

+++ Kama Sutra 2 because I'm optimistic.

[gaspe]

+++ Heroes' Tales

[Catpho]

I'm on the Scotty bandwagon

+++Counterattack, Disjunction and Scythe X

Ay, I wish @Roofi, I wish it would be done for next month

[Dragonfly]

+++ Counterattack, Disjunction, Scythe X

Oh hell yeah, let the Mexican wave of votes begin. :D

[NuMetalManiak]

Once Struggle is over I'm actually gonna retire from DWMC for good.

 

If I were to vote I would've said +++Slaughterfest 3 but I've already played it anyways.

Edited July 25, 2018 by NuMetalManiak : maybe a ghost vote

[FrancisT218]

+++Disjunction, Scythe X, Counterattack (I go in this order because I'm out of town the 15th-17th so want short Scythe X maps to be on those days). Same vote though - and any order will do.

 

I was thinking I might take the month off given I have some commitments already, but there's a break from college & that sounds like you've thought of one tasty combo.

[Catpho]

22 minutes ago, NuMetalManiak said:

Once Struggle is over I'm actually gonna retire from DWMC for good.

 

If I were to vote I would've said +++Slaughterfest 3 but I've already played it anyways.

End of an era. It was good to have you mate. 

[rehelekretep]

+++ Counterattack, Disjunction, Scythe X

[rehelekretep]

4 hours ago, NuMetalManiak said:

Once Struggle is over I'm actually gonna retire from DWMC for good.

 

If I were to vote I would've said +++Slaughterfest 3 but I've already played it anyways.

why? :(

[FrancisT218]

Yeah it's kind of sad to lose a 'staple'...it's always possible he'll get bored at some later point & change mind though. We can only hope. I'm afraid (most of) Struggle probably had something to do with it, too.

[rehelekretep]

ooh thats a bit harsh - i dont think we can blame Struggle for this :p

[NuMetalManiak]

You're all getting the wrong idea. I'm not really feeling like bothering with this day-to-day review stuff anymore like I used to be enthusiastic back in the days. The current wad being played has nothing to do with it. And it's not like I'm leaving the community anyways. I just am more inclined to do other stuff like blogging instead of Dooming these days.

 

edit: this was a bit of a rushed reply, I apologize for that.

[Capellan]

Well I definitely think you should only DWMC in the months you feel like DWMCing.  The moment it becomes a chore, it's time for a break.

 

But I also rarely actually play a map a day - I tend to do a chunk of maps and write them all up at the same time, then copy/paste the review in on the appropriate day.

 

[FrancisT218]

I completely agree there. If you're not having much fun anymore and you want to move to other things - you should. It's only a hobby after all. :) It just doesn't mean it can't still be sad news for some.

 

About Struggle, I only mentioned it because he did seem to be getting a bit worn out of the wad until Level 23 (hence the 'most of' qualifier). But I never meant that as any more than a 'straw that broke the camel's back' kind of thing at the very most.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP20: Chorok Veonok

100% kills, 1/3 secrets

 

Layout-wise this one reminds me a lot of MAP18 - a big central chamber to initially clear out, then teleports to the sides leading to unlocking the yellow and red keys, each filling the center chamber with more monsters to clear out on return, then one final battle. (Incidentally, why always red and yellow? Would think blue/yellow would make sense for a green map...) The map is also GREEN GREEN GREEN, and I can't say I care for the monochromatic design... but that's something Antares and I clearly disagree on. :) There is some damn impressive architecture though, I really dig those far-off cubes creating a diamond design in the red key zone.

 

Gameplay is fine for the most part, none of the fights were really too frustrating... I am getting tired of killing so much mid-tier meat, as the maps start to use cacodemons and revenants as the standard monster like imps usually are. The final battle certainly caught me by surprise, I was definitely not ready for six spectre leviathans, though thankfully they seem to be much less durable than their regularly visible counterparts.

 

I see the monster counts dip a lot starting with the next episode so hopefully finishing this out will be much quicker.

[tmorrow]

map26: Leviathan's Hideout, by antares031
zdoom2.8.1, uv, pistol start, first time played, [using saves due to time constraints and difficulty ramp up]

You start in a cave. You get to pick up several weapons, ammo and armor before firing your first shot. The cave makes way to Leviathan's elaborate abode. I wonder where Leviathan's Lair is?

The fights are excellent in the corridors and rooms. Even the blue key pickup is manageable as long as you get out of the room first. The fight in the room before the red key was rather nasty though, with 2 archviles and several of the antaresia elites. The cave area in the northwest is particularly brutal. The yellow key room is quite nasty as well, unleashing 4 spectroleviathans. It's a good thing you picked up the leichenfaust beforehand, right?

The final arena fight is excruciating. You have chaingun elites perched around the outside, several archviles on stands and 2 leviathans to fight. This fight is way out of my league. Good luck.

[DavitW]

MAP31: Scorching Flames

We finally change up the scenery again here with what is basically a hell style map. Besides the new theme the gameplay is pretty similar to most of the wad so far, We have to find 2 keys before we can open up the final part of the map which is a big temple. Hope you like arena fights because there's no less than 4 of them in this level, As well as a Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind. But the change of scenery was a sight for sore eyes and the small bit of platforming wasn't too annoying either.

 

MAP32: The Leviathan

That's a name that smells like a boss fight, but first even more arena fights. The boss is that big wizard from the end of the third hub of Hexen and it works similar to that fight, He shoots a bunch of fireballs at you and can spawn monsters in. A fair challenge for a boss fight and it was nice to finally get a level dedicated to that blue world we've seen in the past maps.

 

[riderr3]

+++Doom the Way Id Did 

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP26 Leviathan's Hideout

 

Well now, back to a small-scale dungeon crawling group, with mostly high-tier monsters and custom enemies plaguing the depths. Obviously, those leviathan dicks are gonna be around, but with the layout, it's easy to do everything except encounter them at this point. Fine, at least the other sections got to be fun. The lechenfaust is practically required for both leviathan bouts, the first one involves two spectre-type ones, which aren't hard, but the last arena is pretty snappy. The invulnerability I found here really does help turn things in my favor, but these leviathans are much stronger. They don't spawn enemies I noticed, which probably is because of the level's lack of monster targets.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP21: The Overture

100% kills, 0/1 secret

 

From green land to blue land. Still a little monochromatic for my tastes but the dark grey does help break things up somewhat. While it's a "start the progression over" map it's not easy, as there's still plenty of high-tier monsters. The afriests in particular feel a lot more dangerous in the cramped settings since they fire so fast they're dangerous to try and cover camp; and the battle for the yellow key is pretty fraught with danger. I wish more of the levels had been like this one to be honest, still good fights even at the ~100 monster count.

[FrancisT218]

A few more levels like 21 or just a little longer would have been nice. Still I don't think you'd want to get rid of several 'highlight' maps, which for pre-21 I felt the highlights were 4, 7, 10/11, 15/31/32, and 19/20.

[tmorrow]

map27: Legions against One, by antares031
zdoom2.8.1, uv, pistol start, first time played, [using saves due to time constraints and difficulty ramp up]

Wow! Look at all the weapons. Even the leichenfaust is included in the haul Uh, oh! Look at all the enemies. No time to marvel at the breathtaking view, run for your life! As you run round and round, thinning out the enemy, you can pick up armor, ammo and health to stay alive. Standing still does not seem to be an option. You can find plenty of obstacles to temporarily hide behind. When the dust settles, 1/2 of the enemies will gone.

Pick up the blue key and use it to get to the yellow key area in the south for another enormous and difficult locked in fight. You can use the small pillars to hide behind but the low corner areas are to be avoided since they are pain sectors. Good luck!

Opening the yellow door to the north is another ugly trap, but this time you can run for cover. The door to the far north that releases the final enemies on the map is really difficult. You will want to collect the nearby invulnerability immediately after opening it. Again, fortunately you can get out of the room when the heat gets too much and conduct business from outside. I actually ran low on ammo trying to finish off all the enemies. I think the map could use a little more ammo for that fight since the archviles end up resurrecting a lot of fallen foes.

Edited July 27, 2018 by tmorrow : a plethora of grammar problems fixed

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP27 Legions Against One

 

Well now, we've got ourselves quite the slaughtermap thanks to the title that this level clearly implies. Nasty as always with an onset, watchful eyes against the arch-viles and spider mastermind in the back, but just about every other projectile monster being either a nuisance or an outright annoyance (fuck you antaresian scum). The southernmost room is interesting on its own, using monster spawners into actual teleporters (to avoid accidental telefragging, thank you), and then there's the grand finale. Let's just say a lechenfaust and an invulnerability are the best of friends. Yes, you can launch yourself really high into the air with that gun, but it kills things really fast.

[Urthar]

+++DTWID

[tmorrow]

map28: The Antaropolis, by antares031
zdoom2.8.1, uv, pistol start, first time played, [using saves due to time constraints and difficulty ramp up]

 

OMG! An epic, huge map. You'll need a good rig to get a decent framerate on this beautiful map. Use the lesser detail wad if your system isn't up to it. The map made up of a series of rings you need to clear out, working your way into the middle.

Heading clockwise around ring1 from the start leads to the red key guarded by 3 archviles and company. After that you head through an afriest statue zone with archviles, mobs and cybie. This followed by a bunch of chaingun elites and revenants followed by a large slime area, blue gates and a high wall blocking your path. You get find a teleporter that takes you to the east side in the middle of another afriest statue zone with enemies all over. A switch to the north and killing the spider mastermind to the south will thankfully disable the relentless statues.

A set of stairs takes you up to ring2 taking you clockwise again around the area with more of the blasted statues along the way. By the time you start wondering why so much ammo and health is being provided along the way, all hell breaks loose again with enemies spawning everywhere. The path continues all the way around to the east again. At this point you hit a switch and end up having to reverse your steps as the biggest bunch of chaingunners and chaingun elites you've ever seen tries to prevent you from picking up the yellow key, with cybie bringing up the rear.

The yellow key, if you survive the archvile trap will take you up another set of stairs to ring3. Ring3 takes an anticlockwise path around the middle facing more chaingun elites, revenant and antaresia packs as you go, finishing with another spider mastermind guarding a teleporter into the octagonal area in the middle.

The octagonal area starts with finding the antaresia elites to the north. Then going into the middle unleashes 3 leviathans, 5 archviles and a relentless barrage of afriest statues around the outside. This fight is extremely difficult so good luck!

[Magnusblitz]

MAP22: Afriests' Seminary

100% kills, 0/1 secret

 

As expected from the title this one is loaded with Afriests, again dangerous in the tight surroundings, but there's plenty of other enemies too (including a lot of the chaingun elites). Another short but pretty punchy level so it's over quickly, took me about 20 minutes on the whole (with several saves/reloads). Some tricky encounters, especially the ones with the AVs. And I had to use the SSG on the Afriests almost all the time, making them doubly tough (it's not the best weapon since it requires being pretty close). Still not a fan of the monochrome but the blue worked pretty well here, I think the darker light settings helped.

[Forli]

MAP23 : Rhabdophis Tigrinus

 

One of those fast paced maps where you run around an open area with monsters everywhere, after clearing the outside area there are several key doors that will release more enemies when opened.

 

The beginning on pistol start is a bit rough, I felt like there was only one route I could take that would not cause me to be surrounded by strong monsters with just weak weapons.

 

 

MAP24 : The Lost Temple

 

An indoors level, seems to have a lot of optional areas. There's a new enemy near the end, while they seem to have the same attack as the chaingun elite their insane movement speed makes them really dangerous, even when they gather at the center of the room is easy for one of them to break out if you are slow on the circlestrafing.

 

 

MAP25 : Druidia Borealis Sanctum

 

Similar to map 23, seems more intense, but I had an easier time because... I forgot I was doing pistol starts and continued from map 24 :S.

 

This time there are some actual setpieces behind some doors. And near the end a lot of chaingun elites show up outside on the same place, and I do mean A LOT of them, that was actually funny.

 

 

MAP26 : Leviathan's Hideout

 

And this resembles map 24. As the name suggest there's leviathans here, a fight with several invisible ones and a final fight with that includes 2 of them, but they can't summon monsters here. Also, I think this is the first time I fight them with the lechenfaust.

 

 

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP28 The Antaropolis

 

Big map, somewhat lag-inducing, but good, good big map. All setpiece-y, Sunder-esque, quite memorable overall. Two rings to it, apparently. Outer ring comes first, got three secrets to find, but managed to get them all, although the Lechenfaust one will involve some blackwater walking. Also those turrets! Fuck them. At least they go away after clearing their respective areas. Might want to Lechenfaust the archies when they show up too.

 

Inner circle has neat gimmick, the curves have plenty of revenants, plus rising/lowering turrets. I'll take it, pretty fun right now. Backtracking proved fruitful when the masses of plasmagunners and antaresians proves itself. The Lechenfaust could get a lot of use, but be careful, since the extra blasts from it that hit other enemies are actually volatile. I somehow just figured it out right now too. No wonder I fly in the air when I'm next to an enemy that gets hit with this gun. There's yet another inner circle which is basically a marathon run entirely, fighting against hordes with the turrets always being the more annoying thing than the others. Endgame is an arena, first with the super antaresians, then the duo of leviathans, plus a duo of arch-viles for some reason and those turrets AGAIN. An invulnerability destroyed everything here and I finally finish this marathon of a level.

[antares031]

Just a reminder that there's an optional file for MAP28, called STG_MAP28.wad, if you're having a framerate issue with MAP28. Sorry for the late notification.

[FrancisT218]

I guess it's time I do my somewhat brief weekend level roundup:

 

Levels 22-25 remain of relatively refreshing length compared to most previous levels, with Levels 23 and 25 being clearly my favorites over 22 and 24. Both give you a memorably tough start and some very nice outdoor aesthetics. It's nice though to alternate between mostly outdoor and indoor levels.

 

Level 26 is pretty epic, very big and very difficult. There are two fights you have with different varieties of Leviathans (perhaps they dragged a bit though) but all the other fights felt well done with lots of Archviles. Level 27 is smaller (nice alternation there) and is your only pure slaughter map. It isn't too harsh, but potentially you'd need a lot of attempts without saves still.

 

And that brings us to Level 28, perhaps the most impressive of the wad, with stunning visuals and design for a limit-removing map. It gave me nasty slowdown in ZDooM but both GZDooM and PRB+ worked fine without the nerfed version. The monster count is the highest for any level in Struggle at over 800, and several fights are with huge hordes, but most fights move reasonably quickly and the level ended when it needed to. You also face Leviathans at the end again but it seemed to not drag as much as Level 26.