Lunar Catastrophe - An Ultimate Doom Megawad (RELEASED!)

[dylux]

I just finished playing this. Found every single secret on every level and that wasn't easy LOL!

It has a LOT of poison ponds, but adequate Radiation Suits to maneuver them, so that was cool.

 

Definitely a Cacoward contender. I love seeing Ultimate Doom WADS that are this good because they are much rarer than WADS for DOOM II.

 

I had a lot of fun, and it has definite replay value.

 

Thanks for making it!

5 out of 5 Stars! :)

[Miss Bubbles]

6 hours ago, dylux said:

I just finished playing this. Found every single secret on every level and that wasn't easy LOL!

It has a LOT of poison ponds, but adequate Radiation Suits to maneuver them, so that was cool.

 

Definitely a Cacoward contender. I love seeing Ultimate Doom WADS that are this good because they are much rarer than WADS for DOOM II.

 

I had a lot of fun, and it has definite replay value.

 

Thanks for making it!

5 out of 5 Stars! :)

Thanks so much for your kind words and praise, I really appreciate it :)!

That's awesome that you found all the secrets haha, good job!!

[HAK3180]

On 4/11/2019 at 12:21 AM, Miss Bubbles said:

Edit: Oh I forgot to ask! What made you love the secrets? Secrets are always interesting to talk about. Lots of people have differing opinions over proper secret usage so hearing you say that you loved them makes me think we did something right :P

 

Only now saw this... I liked the very liberal use of what was marked secret and with it the fact that in many cases finding the secret was its own reward, rather than the goodies inside, which were sometimes rather meager compared to some wads that only have 2 or 3 in every single map and would never dream of "wasting" a secret on just a medikit and some shells.

 

I like the wide range of difficulty in finding them and the variety of accessibility - walk triggers, simple humpings, false walls, shooting switches, etc.

 

And I like the sense of completion in finding many of them. Rather than just being a funky wall that opens a small room with berserk, which is a secret you would never notice you didn't find except from the intermission screen, many of the secrets taunted you the entire map so that even if you didn't find them, you had a sense that there was more to the map than you were seeing. So rather than saying, "My secret counter says I missed 3" or "86% - must have gotten 5 of 7," you say, "I want that soul sphere" or "how do I get up on that ledge?" You often got to enjoy more map because you found the secrets, rather than just more goodies.

 

So all in all, the secrets were very Doom-esque.

[dylux]

I think this was the first PWAD I have ever played that I found every single secret (besides the actual IWADS). And it WASN'T because they were easy to find. It wasn't like they jumped right out at me as I traipsed on by LOL! It was more like a vendetta after going through Episode 1 and finding them all there. I was just having so much fun with the game!

 

I agree with every single word in HAK3180's third paragraph above this post ("And I like the sense of completion..."). I couldn't have said it any better.

 

I think we can all agree that *most* WADS are pretty average in game play - so if you miss a secret, it's like "I'm sure I didn't miss much (as in the 'reward')." Chances are, in a typically average PWAD, the secret's reward is usually a box of rockets or an Invincibility / Invisibility sphere when you are 99% finished with the Map. I think a more useful reward would be the Computer Area Map or the next upgraded weapon. Even the Soulsphere near the end would be a good reward if the Author knows that the next Map is going to be a slaughterfest right off the start.

 

Finding all the secrets without using cheats is a (side) challenge on its own. I think *wanting* to strive for 100% of the secrets on every single Map is directly proportional to the game, thus a huge compliment to the game itself. 

[Miss Bubbles]

12 hours ago, HAK3180 said:

 

Only now saw this... I liked the very liberal use of what was marked secret and with it the fact that in many cases finding the secret was its own reward, rather than the goodies inside, which were sometimes rather meager compared to some wads that only have 2 or 3 in every single map and would never dream of "wasting" a secret on just a medikit and some shells.

 

I like the wide range of difficulty in finding them and the variety of accessibility - walk triggers, simple humpings, false walls, shooting switches, etc.

 

And I like the sense of completion in finding many of them. Rather than just being a funky wall that opens a small room with berserk, which is a secret you would never notice you didn't find except from the intermission screen, many of the secrets taunted you the entire map so that even if you didn't find them, you had a sense that there was more to the map than you were seeing. So rather than saying, "My secret counter says I missed 3" or "86% - must have gotten 5 of 7," you say, "I want that soul sphere" or "how do I get up on that ledge?" You often got to enjoy more map because you found the secrets, rather than just more goodies.

 

So all in all, the secrets were very Doom-esque.

That really means a lot to me hearing you say that :) It sounds like we achieved what we were going for 100% then! We wanted our secrets to feel like more than just a cubby hole with a little extra ammo. We wanted them to, in some cases, unlock new routes or new areas entirely, so to hear you say that it was very Doom-Esque is high praise and I appreciate it very much!
 

9 hours ago, dylux said:

I think this was the first PWAD I have ever played that I found every single secret (besides the actual IWADS). And it WASN'T because they were easy to find. It wasn't like they jumped right out at me as I traipsed on by LOL! It was more like a vendetta after going through Episode 1 and finding them all there. I was just having so much fun with the game!

 

I agree with every single word in HAK3180's third paragraph above this post ("And I like the sense of completion..."). I couldn't have said it any better.

 

I think we can all agree that *most* WADS are pretty average in game play - so if you miss a secret, it's like "I'm sure I didn't miss much (as in the 'reward')." Chances are, in a typically average PWAD, the secret's reward is usually a box of rockets or an Invincibility / Invisibility sphere when you are 99% finished with the Map. I think a more useful reward would be the Computer Area Map or the next upgraded weapon. Even the Soulsphere near the end would be a good reward if the Author knows that the next Map is going to be a slaughterfest right off the start.

 

Finding all the secrets without using cheats is a (side) challenge on its own. I think *wanting* to strive for 100% of the secrets on every single Map is directly proportional to the game, thus a huge compliment to the game itself. 

Haha, that's awesome to hear! I'm glad you found them all and had fun finding them! :D

[tmorrow]

Congratulations @Miss Bubbles and @Count651on the release of Lunar Catastrophe. I haven't seen the wad arrive on idgames, is there still polishing to do or has LC gotten held up in channels?
 

I've just completed uvmax'ing all 36 maps of this extraordinary and challenging ultimate doom wad. You nailed your goal of achieving the "classic aesthetic". I had to work hard on the 4th episode "What comes after" where the difficulty is close to the hardest I can handle, especially for e4m5 "Insanity" which is aptly named and took me 25+ attempts! I must say the wad is a blast from start until finish.  I hope Lunar Catastrophe gets selected soon for DWmegawad Club, I know it had a couple of votes recently but missed out for May.

[FrancisT218]

@tmorrowE4M1/4/5 were hardest for me - but I missed secrets on the former two.

[dylux]

I haven't placed my nominations for Cacowards yet (jeez, it's only June, FFS), but no matter what, I will be nominating this WAD (I usually nominate 2 or 3 maximum).

It deserves to win. You can tell much effort went into this.

 

Hurry up and make a sequel, dammit! LOL!! 

[Borax Man]

Just downloaded this, and will give it a try when I've got some spare time.  Looks good, and the fact that its close to the original is a selling point for me.

 

[Reisal]

I will have to add this to my growing bucket list, Ultimate Doom WADs definitely are something other than another Doom 2 WAD.

[grrfield]

This IS a good wad!

 

What can i add dude, everything has been said.

 

Currently hosting this.

 

[Count651]

Thanks for checkin out the wad, everyone. Good to see people are still interested even so long after release.

 

Also, yes, a sequel is currently well under way. We have about 10 maps completed so far. And I currently have an additional 7 maps in various states.

[Miss Bubbles]

On 5/7/2019 at 4:32 PM, tmorrow said:

Congratulations @Miss Bubbles and @Count651on the release of Lunar Catastrophe. I haven't seen the wad arrive on idgames, is there still polishing to do or has LC gotten held up in channels?
 

I've just completed uvmax'ing all 36 maps of this extraordinary and challenging ultimate doom wad. You nailed your goal of achieving the "classic aesthetic". I had to work hard on the 4th episode "What comes after" where the difficulty is close to the hardest I can handle, especially for e4m5 "Insanity" which is aptly named and took me 25+ attempts! I must say the wad is a blast from start until finish.  I hope Lunar Catastrophe gets selected soon for DWmegawad Club, I know it had a couple of votes recently but missed out for May.

Thanks so much! When I initially released the wad I attempted to upload it to the archive. I'm not sure if it's held up or if it never went through successfully. Either way, I will try again soon here after I get another update out. As far as I know there isn't too much left to fix, a couple of things I've had written down and been meaning to get around to.

I'm really happy to hear that you think we achieved the classic aesthetic :) - E4M5 is indeed Insanity haha. Hopefully the megawad club does pick it up soon! I'm always eager to hear what people think of our work.
 

On 6/7/2019 at 6:48 AM, dylux said:

I haven't placed my nominations for Cacowards yet (jeez, it's only June, FFS), but no matter what, I will be nominating this WAD (I usually nominate 2 or 3 maximum).

It deserves to win. You can tell much effort went into this.

 

Hurry up and make a sequel, dammit! LOL!! 

Thank you so much for considering nominating us and for your high praise. Hearing people say that our wad feels Cacoward worthy blows my mind haha!

We're working on a sequel!! Can't say when it will be done but we're working on it ;)
 

On 6/14/2019 at 6:34 PM, Borax Man said:

Just downloaded this, and will give it a try when I've got some spare time.  Looks good, and the fact that its close to the original is a selling point for me.

 

 

20 hours ago, Armaetus said:

I will have to add this to my growing bucket list, Ultimate Doom WADs definitely are something other than another Doom 2 WAD.

Cool, I hope you both enjoy it! Let me know what you think!
 

13 hours ago, grrfield said:

This IS a good wad!

 

What can i add dude, everything has been said.

 

Currently hosting this.

 

Thanks! Where are you hosting it at? Maybe I could hop on and co-op it with some people if anyone wants to!!

[dylux]

8 hours ago, Miss Bubbles said:

We're working on a sequel!! Can't say when it will be done but we're working on it ;)

 

Yay!!! :)))))

[Magicana]

I'm most of the way through my playthrough on UV (E4M4) and loving it.

 

E4M1 might have more health than the original, but it's compensated by being 100x harder. While I'm talking about that map, I still can't figure out how you were meant to get to that little room with the chaingun - I didn't have the health to take on the monsters in there anyway, but it drove me crazy trying to work it out!

[Miss Bubbles]

13 minutes ago, Magicana said:

I'm most of the way through my playthrough on UV (E4M4) and loving it.

 

E4M1 might have more health than the original, but it's compensated by being 100x harder. While I'm talking about that map, I still can't figure out how you were meant to get to that little room with the chaingun - I didn't have the health to take on the monsters in there anyway, but it drove me crazy trying to work it out!

Thank you! The chaingun secret on E4M1 is super obscure haha. I can't remember if I found it either by watching Count play it or when editing parts of it in DoomBuilder. It's definitely very sneaky, you gotta keep an eye out for it :O

[Magicana]

11 minutes ago, Miss Bubbles said:

Thank you! The chaingun secret on E4M1 is super obscure haha. I can't remember if I found it either by watching Count play it or when editing parts of it in DoomBuilder. It's definitely very sneaky, you gotta keep an eye out for it :O

 

Went back and replayed it (Map isn't balanced to be difficult with IDDQD and the BFG, you should fix that :P) and that's one of the sneakiest secrets ever!

 

 

My only consolation is that I didn't have the equipment to deal with that room anyway.

 

 

[Miss Bubbles]

I finally got around to getting the new version uploaded. It will still be on Google Drive, however it has been sent to the idgames archive and should hopefully appear there soon!

Here are the changes in 1.3. Nothing much, just a couple little bugs left to fix.

 

Spoiler

Version 1.3

E3M5
- Fixed a Spectre stuck behind a pillar

E4M4
- Changed central Baron platform's walls to impassable

E4M8
- Fixed a lift that was not usable from one side allowing the player to get trapped.

 

[CorianderCastor]

Cool, new version. E2M6 still won't work in strict engines, oh well.

[Magicana]

Just finished E4M5 - The other posters weren't kidding, that map was a nightmare on UV - I found it harder than a lot of Sunlust maps. Till I ran the first half pacifist. Then it was pretty reasonable.

 

Any tips on where the secret was? Couldn't find anything, even did the old IDCLIP to scout around the map and nothing.

[FrancisT218]

@Miss Bubbles - File was rejected. Need e-mail in text file (it is redacted by default before file is published).

Edited June 18, 2019 by FrancisT18 : Correction about redacting of e-mail

[Not Jabba]

5 minutes ago, FrancisT18 said:

@Miss Bubbles - File was rejected. Need e-mail in text file (you can request next to the address that they redact it before making it public).

They always redact it -- you don't have to ask.

[FrancisT218]

Oh nevermind then, just need to put an e-mail in. Wasn't sure.

[Miss Bubbles]

Gotcha, I'll have it fixed. Thanks for the heads up.

[Jayextee]

Just played through. This was an amazing four-course meal that started 'good' and improved from there -- by episode 4, I was getting pretty damn frustrated here and there, but the want to see what was next was strong enough that I pushed through. Which is, if I'm honest, the best quality for a WAD.

So. You two guys tackling Doom II next? ;)

[Miss Bubbles]

On 6/17/2019 at 5:25 PM, Magicana said:

Just finished E4M5 - The other posters weren't kidding, that map was a nightmare on UV - I found it harder than a lot of Sunlust maps. Till I ran the first half pacifist. Then it was pretty reasonable.

 

Any tips on where the secret was? Couldn't find anything, even did the old IDCLIP to scout around the map and nothing.

 

Spoiler

I believe in E4M5 there's a windowed section of shotgunners near the beginning pertaining to the secret area. Not too far from there is a switch to open it!

 

2 hours ago, Jayextee said:

Just played through. This was an amazing four-course meal that started 'good' and improved from there -- by episode 4, I was getting pretty damn frustrated here and there, but the want to see what was next was strong enough that I pushed through. Which is, if I'm honest, the best quality for a WAD.

So. You two guys tackling Doom II next? ;)

Thanks so much! Four-course meal haha :P I'm glad to hear that despite your frustrations with Episode 4 you remained driven enough to continue!

Edit: Oops I forgot to answer your question. We are working on a sequel that will be for Doom II!

Edited June 19, 2019 by Miss Bubbles

[Borax Man]

On 6/16/2019 at 1:00 PM, Miss Bubbles said:

Cool, I hope you both enjoy it! Let me know what you think!

 

 

I'm at episode 2, and liking it so far.  The level design is well executed, and the gameplay fun.  I do like the secrets too.  It's also interesting to see references to the original levels.

 

If you are working on a sequel, may I suggest just a little more novelty and distinctness between levels.

 

[Miss Bubbles]

3 hours ago, Borax Man said:

I'm at episode 2, and liking it so far.  The level design is well executed, and the gameplay fun.  I do like the secrets too.  It's also interesting to see references to the original levels.

 

If you are working on a sequel, may I suggest just a little more novelty and distinctness between levels.

 

Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it :)

The maps we're working on for Doom 2 are certainly more varied and, I think (at the risk of sounding like I'm putting down our Doom 1 levels lol) more fun. The themes will of course remain true to the original Doom 2's " episode " progression, but so far I feel that each level feels unique, compared to the levels in Lunar Catastrophe that, while varied, still sort of blended from one to the next.

[Miss Bubbles]

Hey it's finally available to download from the archive! I've updated the OP as well.

[LowGcifer]

Those screenshots look like something right up my alley. I'm definitely adding this to the backlog of WADs I have to play!