Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
ZeMystic

Oops! All Techbase - Final Release! NOW ON IDGAMES!

Recommended Posts

Time for maps 10 - 19 + 31! (Does anyone know how you're meant to access map 32? I can't find the super secret exit)

 

MAP 10 - Chemical Weapons Research

Spoiler

Good Points:

+ The lighting effects in this map are used quite well. Gives off a nice spooky feel.

 

Bad Points:

DIFFICULTY. It's one thing to make a slaughter map. It's another to add so many god damn enemies that is becomes a ball ache to even get the first key. One of my biggest complaints is the archviles in particular. They can so easily re-resurrect dead revenants who already take ~2 rockets each to die. Please, scale things back.

 

- There's not a whole lot of ammo or health in this map. In fighting is one of my pet peeves as it rarely works out for me (and even when it does I still get hurt in the process).

 

- The intro as an insane amount of gunners. Sure, none of them are alerted till you fire but once you do, there's a good amount of them coming out of the woodworks and blasting you when you least expect it.

 

extra notes:

Unless I missed them, this map is mercifully bug-free.

 

MAP 11 - Familiar Fiends

Spoiler

Good points:

+ This map offers the player the BFG9000. Unless I'm wrong and one of the earlier maps has it for a secret, this map is the first BFG in the wad. And boy, you'll need it!

 

+ Unlike map 11 of plutonia, this map is FAR less confusing to navigate.

 

Bad Points:

- Oh boy! A hunted clone! ¬_¬

 

Extra Notes:

129491529_MAP11-error1.png.2b4bbf062f475f696ebb5eac41f47eae.png

Each one of these switches has a tutti frutti error.

 

418210833_MAP11-error2.png.e4b471e14b81a7def13d100d301f5f34.png

Tutti-Frutti steppy error.

 

MAP 12 - Industrial Haymaker

Spoiler

Good Points:

+ The outside of this map kinda looks like a tech fortress. Pretty neat!

 

Bad Points:

- Revenants up the wazoo. Seriously what was up with that trap? I ended up cheating with god mode just to skip it.

 

Neutral Point:

You can skip the cyberdemon boss fight.

 

Extra Comments:

Not a single creepy-crawly buggy in sight! :D

 

MAP 13 - Spiral Of Decay

Spoiler

Good Points:

+ This map is definitely unique. A twisty turny tower of puzzles and lifts.

 

Bad Points:

- Honest question. Can this map even be completed? I pressed all the switches I could see, used automap to no avail and the doors don't open. I genuinely don't know if you can beat this map properly. If you can, can you please send me a walkthrough?

 

Extra Comments:

1044620565_MAP13-error1.png.660cae5e7b9ca48739fbebb8c978558e.png

Sector leak 01.

 

1600385799_MAP13-error2.png.8b8dabab3eae270dafc03db88d4db224.png

Sector leak 02.

 

MAP 14 - Inhuman Resources

Spoiler

Good points:

+ The whole lift mechanic that stops at every floor is a brilliant idea! It really keeps you on your toes! :3

 

+ Love the cyber theme with this map.

 

Bad points:

- The cyberdemon fight was a little wonky to try and beat him though not terrible.

 

Extra Points:

2127009891_MAP14-error1.png.03c59ca34356c7f5580308d882705cf2.png

Tutti Frutti error 01

 

1078402131_MAP14-error2.png.1a0a214453c4b19024ac7e3caccb3b45.png

Tutti Frutti error 02

 

2005934760_MAP14-error3.png.6d6dc945a434b1857264fb1d3413c67b.png

Tutti Frutti error 03. All the cratiny boxes in this room had this error.

 

48623870_MAP14-error5.png.16122fae1a37c4317bd7ea2e1f038db4.png

Tutti frutti error 04

 

54049529_MAP14-error6.png.1d670abc0c3b5db559561db29698910f.png

It is possible for the player to trap themselves in this map if they enter this room too early.

 

MAP 15 - Sinthetic Icon

Spoiler

Good Points:

+ The vents on this map look kinda cool with an orange-yellow colour scheme to them

 

+ You can grab the red key early

 

Bad Points:

- The secret exit. I'm sorry but that is possibly the DUMBEST way to end a map. Just poke a skull on a spike. It's not very clear how you're meant to exit that way.

 

Extra Comments:

990556418_MAP15-error1.png.eb562a1e6e0612086494a1c37ceadc8b.png

Unless there's a 1-pixel tutti frutti error out there this is the smallest TF error I've ever seen. XD

 

771958281_MAP15-error2.png.7cf510dcd8919a856d35fe90b252f7c2.png

Rather nasty tutti frutti error steps.

 

1935170911_MAP15-error3.png.a7338be6e50675f2035715e1a96cf68e.png

Accidentally opened the door too early but I believe there was a Tutti frutti error near the top.

 

572850716_MAP15-error4.png.5dab9d182fbc90f4eb983147b203b1c1.png

The barrier blocking the exit is missing a texture for the one side the player would see it from. .-.

 

MAP 31 - Choose your own mis-adventure⁽ˢ⁾ ᵒᶠ ᵈʸⁿᵃᵐᶦᵗᵉ

Spoiler

Good Points:

+ Multiple routes allowing access to every weapon in DooM II.

 

+ The details here are wonderfully done! Love the visuals of the final room as well.

 

Bad Points:

- No super secret exit. Now, it may be there but from what I can tell, it doesn't exist.

 

- The rocket room was a torture-fest. The only method I found that works is grab the BFG, go to the chaingun room, speedrun like hell through it with the invulnerability then leg it into the rocket room and pump 2-3 bfg blasts into the cyberdemon. Without that invulnerability it's near impossible to kill it.

 

Extra Comments:

1571296824_MAP31-error1.png.e29f3c8e12c9c5d820dfea4a1c6411e2.png

Sector leak 01

 

1168526182_MAP31-error2.png.7dd06ed3f79c4353bc914e429024c5b9.png

Sector leak 02

 

703666965_MAP31-error3.png.e262ee847eefd246899c178dd6823a9b.png

Sector leak 03

 

MAP16 - Warforged

Spoiler

Good Points:

+ The lava falls with the imps looks amazing! Also, I found the cheeky switch I need to shoot. ;)

 

Bad Points:

- This map would be really hard to pistol start due to the 4 revenants guarding the super shotty.

 

Extra comments:

82351218_MAP16-error1.png.8cbcf5d57fd05482e3499f6b2733dd31.png

t o o t y f r o o t y

 

MAP 17 - Heterodox

Spoiler

Good Points:

I tried so hard to come up with a good point but this map just flopped so hard... sorry... :l

 

Bad Points:

- The start of this map. Revenant immediately alerted and is a metre away. No. Just... no.

 

- Like map 10, I had to use god mode just due to the insane amount of enemies. The blue key alone had an entire maps worths of enemies just in one alcove along with 2 archviles. Overkill much?

 

- This maps visuals are basic and not in a minimalistic good way... It's fairly bland and flat with texture variety really being the only standing out point. (for a tech base map it's more of an underground themed map).

 

Extra Notes:

No errors!

 

MAP 18 - Astray

Spoiler

Good Points:

+ Ammo here is plentiful. This is definitely a nice piece of fresh air and a welcome after being strained so much.

 

Bad Points:

- Not a major fan of the new song for this map. It isn't bad, more out of place personally.

 

Extra Points:

All clean on the vanilla bug front!

 

MAP 19 - The Forgotten Forge

Spoiler

Good Points:

+ Do you have a link to the non-midi version of this song? I LOVE IT! It may be the best from the new songs so far! (yet to hear the last few map's themes as of me typing this).

 

+ The mapper here knows their art skill very well and used the texture provided to make one of, if not the best designed maps in terms of visuals so far. I'm impressed. truely. 11/10 on this front. <3

 

Bad Points:

- Apart from maybe a little more armour I really can't think of a complaint I had with this map.

 

Extra Comments:

2038464171_MAP19-error1.png.dc259992f55dcbd934ffba2434c569ab.png

tewty frewty error

 

1311822761_MAP19-error2.png.78c39d4619be108672d9009ffeeea134.png

tutti fwutti ewwow UwU.

 

And thus, this completes my brief overview of each map! And now for the final segment! Also guys, I have a major question I need answering (please :3).

 

Should I review MAP27 or should I skip it?

Share this post


Link to post
56 minutes ago, DynamiteKaitorn said:

Personally after playing through the final third... nearly every map I had to use god mode to finish.

 

Do you attribute this to your lack of skill or something else?

Share this post


Link to post

Nearly half of the maps are unstable due to crashes and the other half is just slaughtermaps. Map 27 I'm still unsure if I should bother reviewing mostly because it's my map and I can't think of anything to say. :l

Share this post


Link to post
9 minutes ago, DynamiteKaitorn said:

Nearly half of the maps are unstable due to crashes and the other half is just slaughtermaps. Map 27 I'm still unsure if I should bother reviewing mostly because it's my map and I can't think of anything to say. :l

 

I've only tested my own on Chocolate so I can't speak to crashes or other compatibility issues, but I'm very curious how you define slaughter maps. I'd say maybe Maps 28 and 30 and certainly nothing else. You also seem to reveal a bias against whatever you consider slaughter maps by calling them "just slaughtermaps." 

Share this post


Link to post

Slaughter maps = maps with an insane amount of enemies.

 

Slaughter traps (the off-shoot, mini version) = A rather unfair amount of enemies appearing and giving you little to no chance to escape. For example: Spawning in 20-30 revenants to swarm the player.

 

Maybe slaughter map isn't always the best term for these types of maps but than again, what is?

 

it is true I'm biased against slaughter maps. I just like maps where I can run back without having to sail the 7 seas of hell. :l

Share this post


Link to post

all work and no play, you know. so only did two maps today. suddenly, i liked map08. at first i was really upset, because i love to enter the room and take some time to look around, and trying to do that there ends up with me reduced to a pasta. but then i got what xdarkmasterx wanted me to do, and it was unexpectedly enjoyable.

Share this post


Link to post
4 hours ago, HAK3180 said:

 

I've only tested my own on Chocolate so I can't speak to crashes or other compatibility issues, but I'm very curious how you define slaughter maps. I'd say maybe Maps 28 and 30 and certainly nothing else. You also seem to reveal a bias against whatever you consider slaughter maps by calling them "just slaughtermaps." 

I'd say 28 and 30 are Slaughter-lite. Y'know, for the kids! Honestly though, it is not demanding at all, especially compared to other modern sets that aren't even considered slaughter megawads. Even then, lower difficulties are accommodated, pretty well, methinks. Either way, everyone deserves to have their own opinions, I just wish the feedback was a bit more in depth, but beggars can't be choosers I suppose ;)

Share this post


Link to post

i played the 1/3 of the set yet, on UV, but with my BDW weapon mod and headshots, and the diffuculty seems to be ok. note that "ketmar+bdw+headshots" is almost equal to slightly-below-average normal player. so if the difficulty will progress as it goes now, then i think it is fair.

Share this post


Link to post

Hi, I've played through the first episode (maps 1-11) so far and I've enjoyed it. I've written a fairly short review of each map, with a couple of suggestions which I feel may slightly improve some maps and I'll paste them in here. I don't remember seeing many bugs though I have mentioned them when I've spotted them. All maps were done from a pistol start on Ultra-Violence with fairly gratuitous saving using prboom+ with -complevel 2.

 

MAP01 - Toxic Asteroid by JustCallMeKaito:

 
 
 
 
 
 
4
 
 
 
 
 
 
4
Spoiler

I think it's a fairly standard opening map, it looks very nice (I like the little asteroid out of the window). I liked the layout of it and I think it played fairly well for a pistol-centric opening map. I do think the map could be slightly more generous on shotgun shells (maybe have 8 in the hellknight room so you don't have to pistol it if you waste most of them on imps like I did). I could only find the chainsaw secret, which I think makes the map quite a lot easier. I would also make the left path from the starting room a more incentivised path as I only bothered exploring it after I'd found the final room and was slightly disappointed to find the armour which I was hoping to find for the rest of the map! I thought the ending was slightly abrupt as I expected that the exit switch would lower a lift with the final few enemies on (the chaingunner trap did successfully scare the hell out of me though). Overall, I enjoyed it and it's a fun start to the megawad.

 

MAP02 - Sludge Refinery by JBerg & Sludge:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5
Spoiler

Quite a weird map with the texturing in parts but I think it looks quite nice overall. I thought the layout was good. The secret with just a medikit in was moderately disappointing, and I would have liked a few more bullets at the start but it was fine overall. At the ending where the three barons and archvile spawn in, I think that while the first baron is fine and serves its purpose to block you in and force you to fight the revenants, the other two seemed a bit of a waste to me, I'd consider changing them to hellknights instead. The archvile is also seems fairly ineffective in this fight to me, as it stayed on the lift and didn't resurrect anything (you could maybe move it down to the floor of this room so it's much more of a threat). Overall, I still had a lot of fun with it though and apart from the yellow key bit, I thought the fights were good.

 

MAP03 - Despondent Nukage Base by Magicana, Philnemba & mistersector:

 
 
 
 
Spoiler

I really enjoyed this map, the fights were fun and I thought it looked really nice (the shadows looked especially good). The standout fight to me was the rocket launcher ambush in the nukage, it had just the right amount of "Oh shit!" with the hail of fireballs and the zombies rushing you. I also liked the ambush around the red key as well as the absurd amount of barrels in the opening sections, which also managed to kill me a few times when I hadn't cleared them all out and stray revenant missiles blew them up! The ending fight was good too though I think it might be a bit of a slog if I hadn't have found the plasma gun (maybe one more box of rockets would help here) and I didn't notice any non-secret armour which I think might make the level quite a bit more punishing than is probably necessary for the third map. Overall, it's a very fun map with very nice visuals and a lot of barrels.

 

MAP04 - Devils in the Details by Walter confetti:

 
 
 
1
Spoiler

A nice shorter map, it felt very DOOM E1 like to me in how (the majority) of it played which I liked. I did enjoy sending a few rockets into the unsuspecting herd of zombies on the platform especially and I enjoyed the opening fight with the chaingun in the nukage before being able to get the rocket launcher. I didn't particularly like the outside fight as much as the rest of it because I managed to get the pain-elementals to infight by mistake and that made way too many lost souls (though I'm also quite bad at this game). I think the soulsphere secret might be a bit too obvious with the flashing especially with how it trivialises the rest of the level with how much health you get (I think the indent in the wall is a good enough indicator for the secret or you could possibly change the contents). Overall, its a short, fun E1-y map.

 

MAP05 - Z-Sector by ZeMystic:

 
 
 
1
 
 
 
1
Spoiler

I'd say in the map's current state it's fine but feels a bit unfinished in a few places. The opening fight feels too claustrophobic (though the rest of the map doesn't really have this issue) and I don't think the two barons at the end are very necessary as they feel like a waste of time. I liked the horde of imps and the archvile fight (even though it wasn't particularly difficult) as it caught me completely off guard after getting back there. I think with a couple of ambushes after picking up the keys (especially the red key) would significantly improve this map for me. I would also take out a lot of shells as I had 100 at the end after killing everything. Overall, it's okay but I think a few tweaks could turn it into a very good map.

 

MAP06 - Sulfiric Domains by nicolas monti:

 
 
 
 
 
 
4
Spoiler

The map felt like a large step up in difficulty compared to the previous couple. I did enjoy it for the most part and I thought the layout was very interesting. I thought there were a few too little shells though I only found 2 of the secrets so maybe there was abundant ammo in there. I liked the room with all the zombiemen a lot, I came into it with almost no ammo and around 20% health so they felt very threatening for once, and I thought the archviles were very well placed and came in at the perfect time and the fight in the starting room with all the teleporting monsters was definitely the highlight of the level for me. I wasn't a fan of the spiderdemon at the end as I had no hope of killing it as I had completely ran out of ammo apart from 20 rockets at that point, though I did like the staircase to the exit door being a bit mean on purpose so you couldn't rush past it for free and there was a bit of a risk with that. I noticed a few slime trails in the start room. Overall, I thought it was a fun map with a cool layout, which may need just a touch more ammo for those who are bad at secret hunting.

 

MAP07 - Hazardous by Mike_C:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6
Spoiler

This map reminded me quite a lot of TNT while playing it for some reason. I thought it looked quite nice and clean but I wasn't as much of a fan of how it played, unfortunately. There were sections which I felt were a bit too claustrophobic (namely the red key fight and the SSG room) and some which felt too open for the opposition (the room with the cacodemons in felt like that to me), I also wasn't a fan of the fight where three barons teleported in as I hadn't got the rocket launcher yet and SSGing them isn't that interesting. I did quite like the cyberdemon fight at the end with it teleporting around though killing cybers with the SSG is always a bit of a slog, I think a plasma gun in this section might be a good idea as the fight will still be fairly intense but it won't take as long (it also might be nice to put a teleporter back up to the top of the elevator as I had missed a few kills which I was planning on going back to get). I also liked the blue key (I think) fight with the archvile as I had to take a few imp slashes to avoid being fried! I thought the secrets were well placed (well the ones I found at least), though the soulsphere might be slightly too easy to find. I don't mean to be so negative as I didn't hate the map and it's not bad by any means but this probably was my least favourite so far. (Also I think "Hazardous" is misspelt on the automap as "Hazordous")

 

MAP08 - Waste Processing by xdarkmasterx:

 
 
 
1
 
 
 
1
Spoiler

This map is definitely my favourite of the set so far. It's a punchy quick map with very enjoyable fights, surprising ambushes and a nice layout. I thought the start was very fun with just being stuck with a shotgun and having to rush past a few revenants to try to find the SSG, and while I was slightly confused when I first picked up the blue key and nothing seemed to happen, that was quickly resolved as I found that a load of monster closets had silently opened in the first section of the map with a load of revenants to refill that section! The yellow key fight in the dark followed by the horde of imps was enjoyable though I think it may benefit from a secret rocket launcher as I expected to find one with all the free rockets being given out. I'm also not sure if it's necessary to give a free soulsphere after this section as I don't think it's that challenging. The red key fight was a bit tense as I face-rocketed at the start of it but it didn't prove to be too much trouble in the end. Overall, I think it's an excellent map with fast-paced combat which serves as a nice short interlude between the previous two and the next maps.

 

MAP09 - Technoid by nicolas monti:

 
 
 
 
 
 
4
 
 
 
 
 
3
Spoiler

Blimey, I struggled a lot with this map. It reminds me a lot of E2 with its theme-ing and fairly complicated layout, and while I don't tend to like E2 themed maps as much, I enjoyed this one. The teleporter ambushes around the red key and after the room with all the doomguy corpses killed me a fair few times each and I was on very low health for quite a lot of the map, an extra medikit around the red key would have been welcome! I think the 20% damaging floor on the nukage in the circular rooms with the blue armour secret might be a bit too harsh as I died twice to random rad suit leaks. The BFG was a very welcome sight and I'm happy it wasn't secret as while I found 5 of them, I couldn't figure out how to get any of the others which is good! On the west side of the red key room, there is a ground sector which spills over into the nukage. Overall, this map is definitely a step up in difficulty compared to the previous maps but that's fine when the map is as fun to work you way through as this.

 

MAP10 - Chemical Weapons Research by xdarkmasterx:

 
 
 
 
 
3
 
 
 
 
 
3
 
 
 
1
Spoiler

Another really good map! Easily the hottest start I've played in a while, with just a shotgun and at least 50 enemies in the first few rooms to push through before you can take a breath, this map forced me to play much faster than I would normally do or I just got cornered and clawed to death. The red key fights are probably the highlight as while the first archvile can be dealt with fairly simply as there are plenty of rockets, when another three come out of a closet somewhere it got a lot less forgiving (I definitely remember thinking "What there's three of them? How in the fuck am I meant to kill all of these bastards!") and it was a really fun fight overall. The blue key section was a bit less memorable and I'm not sure if I missed a radsuit for the yellow key nukage section but I left it to last and it wasn't very difficult with the plentyful supply of rockets I had at that point! Overall, this is a very fun non-linear romp through a challenging layout which required me to stay on my toes to survive!

 

MAP11 - Familiar Fiends by ZeMystic & mistersector:

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5
Spoiler

Hunted? OK then. I think this is a fitting end-of-episode map and it's definitely more fun than its inspiration. I was a bit confused because the BFG didn't really seem to serve much of a purpose (though it didn't in the original hunted either I guess) and I couldn't figure out how to make the final archvile to spawn in though I had a decent time overall. The yellow key trap felt a bit excessively mean to me as I had the rocket launcher prepared after the two previous fights but I was then just mowed down by the chaingunners! I'm also not sure why you get a megasphere in the small nukage pit and then the switch in that room opens a room with a megasphere secret in, but I may have done it out of order by mistake. I would consider bunging a few more archviles in the exit room to force you to run away and grab the BFG to get them maybe as the ending seemed very abrupt to me (I exited by mistake on my first attempt!). Overall, I think this is a good end of episode 1 boss like level though it seems a bit abrupt in places to me.

 

Overall thoughts so far:

It's a fun set so far and I have enjoyed every map I've played. I would consider swapping Maps 2 & 3 with Maps 4 & 5 as 2 & 3 felt a fair bit more difficult than 4 & 5 to me, though it was nice to have a couple of shorter maps after map 3 which took me a while to finish. There are a good mix of shorter, quick maps and longer, more complicated ones. I think the difficulty has been good so far, as it's not too challenging but I didn't manage to first try every map. Visually, all the maps have been at worst decent and some maps look really lovely. A MIDI list in the textfile would be nice as well as author credits on the intermission screen, and as well as that I think that the jokey intermission picture might serve as a better titlescreen than the fairly generic current titlescreen picture (swapping them around might look better in my opinion).

 

I hope these help!

Share this post


Link to post

I played this on UV in GZdoom 4.2.4 and I encoutered some problems. Some of them were probably already reported by other people, but here you go:

 

MAP01: missing EXIT sign.

 

MAP13: monsters in hidden sectors 133 etc. never became active and I could attain only 52% kills.

 

MAP14: linedef 1023 should have door action, not WR. I triggered door to close, but backed down and was unable to reopen it. Probably the easiest way to "foolproof" this would be to switch the door to fast close. Also, 100% kills are impossible due to unused area/monsters around sector 230. And GZdoom reports these errors:

Removing 0-length line 1986
Map has 6 unused sidedefs

 

MAP15: missing EXIT sign for regular exit.

 

MAP18: demons in sector 86 never became active, because I didn't shoot around red key. IMO their trigger should be moved to sector 51.

 

MAP21: missing EXIT sign. Hellknight 233 didn't teleport into playable areas because there is no sector tagged 32.

 

MAP22: missing EXIT sign.

 

MAP24: zombies 291 and 292 were stuck inside the wall. This is the only map from the pack I'd call annoying, because there is no indication which switch opens what. So most of the time, I was running around like headless chicken and checking previously inacessible areas.

 

MAP25: not a bug per se, but I had look in Doom Builder how to solve the puzzle with linedefs 1095 and 1100. It would help if the button didn't disappear into the ground. Also, isn't sector 646 supposed to be secret?

 

MAP26: missing EXIT sign. Linedef 1380 should be SR, not S1. And isn't this radsuit closet supposed to be secret? And what about the blue armor (sector 3)?

 

MAP27: missing EXIT sign. I was able to grab the blue key through the bars.

 

MAP29: there seems to be no way to get onto secret crate sector 298, well maybe except rocket jump or running over mastermind's head from sector 1. But the real problem is that there is no indication player should do that in the first place in order to unlock the goodies. This is true for sector 164, too.

 

MAP30: revenants 150 and 151 are stuck.

 

MAP31: cacodemons in sector 4 never became active and thus 100% kills was impossible. Also I couldn't find exit to MAP32.

Share this post


Link to post
1 hour ago, Caleb13 said:

MAP27: missing EXIT sign.

 

Wait, Plasma labs DOES have an exit sign.

 

Also I fixed the blue key position.

 

EDIT:

I decided to re-work part of the exit room to remove the hidden hell knight in the core. It was part of the original design for PL but since we're in vanilla engine... it was just left unused. (Originally all plasma ammo was based off of hell knight blood).

Edited by DynamiteKaitorn

Share this post


Link to post

Hello there, I've played through the second episode over the past couple of days and typed up my thoughts on each map as well as on the episode as a whole.

Again, all maps were played from a pistol start on ultraviolence using prboom+ on -complevel 2. I saved a fair amount though never during fights. 


MAP12 - Industrial Haymaker by Egg Boy
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
4
Spoiler

A nice opener to the second episode of the wad, it doesn't outstay it's welcome and bloody hell does it have a lot of revenants in it! I expected a tyson style map after finding the beserk early on with no other weapons - how wrong I was! I did enjoy the fight in the room with the crates when I just had a shotgun the most, and the cyberdemon battle at the end was quite exciting though if you did find the plasma gun secret then it does leave you with a lot of rockets which may mess with the balance for continuous players. It's nice visually and I thought the secrets were good in this as well, even if I never enjoy seeing a blursphere in one! The main problem I have with this map is that it doesn't really evoke the metalworks them for me that much, but that's not a map-breaking issue, also I'm not sure if the MIDI fits, I think a faster-paced one might work better. Overall, an enjoyable opener for E2.

 

 

MAP13 - Spiral of Decay by mistersector
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4
Spoiler

I have to admit, I'm slightly confused about this map. The first time I attempted it, I think I broke a trigger and gave up after 15 minutes and then after looking through the map in Doombuilder, I thought I knew what broke (a sector's floor trying to move at the same time as it's ceiling I think?) but when specifically trying to not trigger this, I exited the map with half the monsters still alive. It's a real shame as the map looks fantastic and I think the fights which I played were fun but seemingly softlocking myself followed by exiting seemingly early has left me feeling like I played the map wrong. I do think that this map should be possibly be one of the secret maps in it's current state because it seems to me that it's either way too cryptic for a non-secret slot or outright broken. Overall, this map is something I think I just didn't get and I'm worried I wasn't able to give it a proper chance because I was unable to figure it out.

 

MAP14 - Inhuman Resources by dybbuk & mistersector
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6
Spoiler

What a bizarre map, I enjoyed it though there are some odd moments in it. The main elevator gimmick was neat, I liked how it made the map revolve around
it as a sort of central hub. Getting the cyberdemon and the spiderdemon to fight on it was also quite fun (and the spiderdemon managed to win in my playthrough) and it's overall a fun level. I have to say, I'm not sure why the room with 9 spiderdemons exists - it's not that fun after the intial "There's how many
spiderdemons in here?!" and the BFG secret is a bit crap (a hidden switch would have been much cooler than just shooting it open). The main issue I have with it
is that there is too much cell ammo on the second half of the map, I used the BFG very liberally and still exited with almost 500 cells left. As well as this, every single pain-elemental in the map does absolutely nothing as there are so many lost souls in the little outdoor fortress bit, I'd suggest taking out a few lost souls or changing the pain-elementals to cacodemons or something else. Overall, it's a fun and strange little map.

 

MAP15 - Sinthetic Icon by Mk7-Centipede
 

 
 
 
 
2
Spoiler

I have a lot of respect for maps which can pull off an engaging, fun, exploratory experience with so few enemies. There's only 64 in a map so complex and large
you'd expect at least three times as many. It honestly feels a bit empty, though with the MIDI (which is absolutely fantastic by the way) and the realistic looking
environment it just works very well (and a melancholic, empty feel might be what you were going for anyway). The main thing which worries me about this map is that almost all of the combat is very low key but continuous players will come in with an arsenal which will overpower it easily. As well as that, the ending is a bit out of nowhere as you're sent from this techbase I was getting lost in and feeling quite immersed to be honest (which is an impressive feat for a vanilla map) to an arena fight with an SS Trooper and a Cyberdemon in front of you. It confused the hell out of me when I first went in there. The barrier blocking the yellow key door has a HOM and when I either opened the door or used the barrier, the ceiling in the room surrounding it went very low which softlocked me in there. None of the fights really stand out to me but I can sense that wasn't the intention and I applaud this map for being completely different to every map surrounding it. Overall, this is a fantastic, immersive, detailed, beautiful map which wouldn't surprise me if it ends up being "The Map everyone remembers" of this wad.

 

MAP31 - Choose your own misadventure by Obake
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
4
Spoiler

I took the route: SSG -> BFG -> Chainsaw -> Plasma Gun -> Chaingun -> Rocket Launcher in my playthrough to give some perspective on my thoughts. To start with, it's a neat concept of a choose-your-own adventure level and much like choose-your-own adventure books, most paths lead to death! I think the nature of this level makes it quite hard to balance due to the many different ways someone might go through it, I went for the trusty SSG first and the BFG second for some firepower and I do think this choice made the choices part of the level fairly easy. I expected the BFG room to have a lot more opposition after picking it up especially. I think that it is a cool concept that a few of the rooms if you chose first or second (the chaingun + rocket launcher rooms spring to mind) you'd struggle to kill everything and would have to come back with better firepower. I also thought the ending section was quite feindish with the two cyberdemons on the high ground slowly working you down with splash damage. I couldn't find a secret exit and was unable to get the 5 enemies in the teleporter south of the plasma area to spawn in (might have skipped a trigger by mistake though). Overall, I enjoyed it and I think it works as a secret map because of the interesting concept.


MAP32 - Ten Speed by ZeMystic
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6
Spoiler

I was expecting a slaughtermap after the first couple of rooms with the extremely hot start where you're surrounded with only a chaingun to the outdoor area where you got the BFG and rocket launcher very early (as well as that it's the traditional slaughtermap slot) but instead this is a fairly straightforward, standard map. I think it looks absolutely fantastic, especially as it seems to use mostly doom2 textures. I really enjoyed the opening fight with the imps as well as the finale with the cyberdemon on the bridge. I thought the archvile trap in the nukage barrels room (nice AV map 14 tribute by the way!) was very fun though I didn't actually notice the invulnerability which lowered once you picked up the key, I honestly think that if a couple more pillars on the walkway were added then the invulnerability is not needed and the fight becomes better for it, though I can't deny the appeal of blasting through 6 archviles with the rocket launcher. I'm not sure why you gave out 200% health and armour as well as full ammo right at the exit but that's not a problem for pistol-starters. I found a HOM on the lift in the second to last outdoor area when you lower it. Overall, it's a fun, very detailed level.

 

MAP16 - Warforged by xxWeNxx

 
 
 
 
2
Spoiler

This was a really fun map! I've always enjoyed rocket launcher centric levels and this is a very good example of one. I enjoyed the slight challenge of grabbing the SSG as it was guarded by a few revenants and I thought the plasma gun secret, while not mind-blowing was fun to figure out and get. I really enjoyed gibbing the horde of imps released when picking up the yellow key and the blue key trap caught me off guard and two face-rockets later, I was back to the start! The final fight with the cyberdemon was fun and getting the hellknights to infight it down was fun though I did have to finish it off with the plasma gun. Overall, I really enjoyed this and it was a nice short map after a few fairly long ones.

 

MAP17 - Heterodox by UndeadRyker

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
7
Spoiler

I enjoyed this map, though I feel it may be slightly polarising due to the abundance of archviles, lack of a non-secret SSG and the outside fight. I really enjoyed
figuring out a strategy for the outside fight, which ended up being wear all the monsters down with all my shotgun ammo then pray that I have enough cells to finish off the Strongholds worth of hitscanners backed up by three very nasty archviles! This outside fight was definitely the highlight for me though I would have liked a few more rockets as that would have helped with the rest of the level and I expect the last section once you've finished with the blue key to be fairly sloggy if you weren't able to find the SSG so it might be worth adding a few rockets to the hitscanner hell closet. Overall, I thought this was a fun map and I liked the theme of it being set sort of around a techbase in the canyon it was built in.


MAP18 - Astray by ZeMystic

 
 
 
 
 
 
4
Spoiler

This level is decent, it's got some good fights and I think it again looks lovely. I enjoyed the opening room with the risk-reward of being able to kill the hitscanners with only the SSG while also getting peppered by them as you go for the first key and then again when the mancubus room opens up. I didn't think the part after the room with the large crusher was that good as it was just SSGing some monsters in similar shaped rooms followed by rocketing some mancubi from a doorway but it wasn't awful. Overall, this map is completely fine though I think it may fit a bit earlier on in the episode.

 

MAP19 - The Forgotten Forge by RonnieJamesDiner 
 

 
 
 
 
 
3
Spoiler

Wow, what a beautiful level! I love the theme of a metalworks base forgotten by time and taken over by baddies and I think you absolutely nailed that aesthetic. I enjoyed the valley in the middle of the level and I really liked the large open room with the lavafalls. I thought the crusher fight was the standout fight for me as it almost seems that you can just get the crusher to do all the work for you and the the pain-elementals wake up and you realise that you need to blow them up before it all gets out of hand! I thought the BFG secret was really inventive (and I felt really smart when I figured it out even though it wasn't that difficult!) and I liked the room with the hitscanners behind the crushing windows, reminded me a lot of The Focus which may have been intended. Overall, this is really strong level and it easily stands out as one of the best in the wad.

 

MAP20 - XYZ by Walter confetti
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4
 
 
 
 
Spoiler

This was a very fun level even though I accidentally missed the rocket launcher and had to survive the majority of the level without it! I thought the large lava filled room with the barons was great and I was able to squeeze my way through the revenants with very little ammo and the plasma gun was a very welcome sight as I had almost no ammo at that point! I thought the ambush around the yellow key room was the most enjoyable fight and I liked how the start of the map met up with the ending of the previous map too. The voodoo dolls at the exit were a bit unexpected though I the boat looked really great! I thought the cyberdemon fight could have been a bit more of a threat though I'm not too sure how. Overall, I think this was a very fun level and serves as a pretty good conclusion to episode 2.

 

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I think this episode was a bit more hit or miss than episode 1 though the hits were excellent, my favourites of the episode being maps 12, 15, 16, 19 & 20. I think the metalworks theme didn't particularly come across except in a few of the later maps but that didn't matter to me too much. Map 13 worries me a bit because it seems so cryptic to me that I assumed it was broken and I moved on after a couple of attempts and I expect some people to stop playing the wad at that level if they also are unable to figure it out (I know I would have if I was playing continuously) and that's a shame as there are some excellent maps here. I forgot to mention the intermission texts last time, they give me a bit of a chuckle every time they appeared - I like the image of doomguy trying to stop a hell invasion but he keeps messing up and is stuck in this gigantic UAC base. Looking forward to playing the last 10 maps!

 

Share this post


Link to post
5 hours ago, finnks13 said:

MAP12 - Industrial Haymaker by Egg Boy
 

Spoiler
 
 
 
 
 
 
4
  Hide contents

A nice opener to the second episode of the wad, it doesn't outstay it's welcome and bloody hell does it have a lot of revenants in it! I expected a tyson style map after finding the beserk early on with no other weapons - how wrong I was! I did enjoy the fight in the room with the crates when I just had a shotgun the most, and the cyberdemon battle at the end was quite exciting though if you did find the plasma gun secret then it does leave you with a lot of rockets which may mess with the balance for continuous players. It's nice visually and I thought the secrets were good in this as well, even if I never enjoy seeing a blursphere in one! The main problem I have with this map is that it doesn't really evoke the metalworks them for me that much, but that's not a map-breaking issue, also I'm not sure if the MIDI fits, I think a faster-paced one might work better. Overall, an enjoyable opener for E2.

 

 

Hey, thanks for playing! The midi is actually the default midi for map12, I did include a midi with the map, but we forgot to put it in this version, it will be included in the final version.

Share this post


Link to post

Thanks to everyone that has played so far!

 

Known problems:

 

Map 13 got broken somehow when it was merged into the main wad file

Map 24 has blockmap problems that are being rejigged

 

So don't be disheartened if something doesn't work quite right on them.

 



This was a really fun map! I've always enjoyed rocket launcher centric levels and this is a very good example of one. I enjoyed the slight challenge of grabbing the SSG as it was guarded by a few revenants and I thought the plasma gun secret, while not mind-blowing was fun to figure out and get. I really enjoyed gibbing the horde of imps released when picking up the yellow key and the blue key trap caught me off guard and two face-rockets later, I was back to the start! The final fight with the cyberdemon was fun and getting the hellknights to infight it down was fun though I did have to finish it off with the plasma gun. Overall, I really enjoyed this and it was a nice short map after a few fairly long ones.

 

I'm pleased you enjoyed the challenge - The only thing that worried me when doing the Things placement was that cyber battle - Sometimes the infight kicked in straight away, sometimes they chased you right up the stairs and push you into that AV. 

 

Share this post


Link to post

Thank you DynamiteKaitorn and finnks13 for the very kind words, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed my map!

 

So! I finally finished playing through this. I went with UV, and decided to do a continuous run to see how it played (I always get more of a fun, campaign-eqsue feeling that way, as well).

 

This is a genuinely fantastic 32-map megawad. As a result of so many different contributors, there’s a huge variety of gameplay styles throughout the set, which helped keep it feeling fresh and exciting the whole way. The level of polish seemed consistent, with so many examples of great texture work, super creative/interesting setups, and well-crafted environments. The resource pack really helped unify everything, and thematically, the end result works well I think.

 

As a continuous run, it’s a fun and memorable experience. There’s a decent ebb and flow between fast paced, fun & casual moments, and frenetic & grinding challenges. Maps that had been carefully set up with meticulous resource management and placement did lose some of their edge due to the nature of a continuous run (such as the opening of MAP21 “Inventive Prowess”), but in the end it felt like a good trade-off. The WAD as a whole still managed to generate interesting highs and lows in resources, as well as difficult scenarios regardless of how much health/ammo you went into them with. The best part of the trade-off I think was just the fact that, being able to blast through some maps with an abundance of firepower provided a huge relief and actually re-energized me to keep going. Constant challenges just get exhausting. That said, I think a pistol-start run of this entire set would be equally enjoyable, in other ways.

 

The gimmicky, Hunted-inspired MAP11 “Familiar Friends” was thrown in at a perfect time I thought, as a bit of a break to the “classic” gameplay vibe of the opening episode. Maps 24 and 25, “Arms Trafficking” and “Storage Operations”, definitely seemed to be the largest offerings here, with the two of them combined feeling like a small episode unto themselves. Big, beautiful maps, and I was really glad that they weren’t earlier in the set.

 

There are some serious challenges here as well, including several rather vicious traps/ambushes. I think the farthest the WAD moves in that direction is MAP28 “Corporate Mandated Singularity”, which approaches Scythe 2 levels of challenge-oriented setups. Personally, I loved it. It felt like the crescendo I was looking for as I got so close to the finish line (though, I can see how it might turn some players off).

 

The only map in the set that felt out of place was MAP29 “Recess in the Fold” (I don’t mean to be a dink, throwing the spotlight on this single map). It just felt unpolished... especially compared to the authors’ other map in the set “Sinthetic Icon”, which had some wonderful detail and texture work. The level feels incredibly abstract (and not always in a fun way), with Soulspheres dotting the environment like standard pickups without the payoff of any seriously challenging gameplay. The map just felt disjointed thematically from the rest of the WAD. There’s a great map here, don’t get me wrong, but I think it needs some work, especially given its penultimate position in the set.

 

All in all, this felt like a massive success. Everyone brought some really creative and fun energy to it in their own way, and I’m just glad to have been a part of it. I hope to one day see this going in a DWmegawad Club thread, it's a great experience. 

 

As a quick side note... I think MAP09 "Technoid" had my favorite MIDI of the whole thing, with the MAP18 "Astray" MIDI being a close second. Amazing song choices.

 

 

There were a few notes along the way:

 

MAP01 “Toxic Asteroid” needs some kind of “exit” indication.

 

MAP10 “Chemical Weapons Research”: The Yellow Key area really needs something to help the player, whether it’s a radsuit or a Berserk pack, or whatever. I happened to do this area last, not knowing what I was in for, and I had extremely low health going into it. The map already has some tough encounters, and I had used up all the health I could find across the level, leaving me soft-locked because I simply didn’t have the HP to make it to the YK (well, not really soft-locked, but I certainly didn't feel like restarting the whole level just because of this). There may have been a secret that I missed that would’ve solved this issue, but I couldn’t find it.

 

MAP13 “Spiral of Decay”: For some reason, the monster closets don’t seem to work for me at all on this one. I thought at first that maybe it was a GZDoom thing, so I switched over to Chocolate Doom but that didn’t seem to help. I’m not sure what I’m missing or not understanding.

 

MAP21 “Inventive Prowess”: This poor HK seems to be trapped (picture in spoiler tag).

Spoiler

oops_map21closet.png.c826cf2ea6dd1e0b0fb86c4d489e6972.png

 

MAP31 “Choose your own Misadventure”: These Cacodemons didn’t seem to wake up (picture in spoiler tag). Also, is there an exit to MAP32 here?

Spoiler

oops_map31closet.png.d04ca1a88b533789fce6b6bbf4a99ef4.png

 

Edited by RonnieJamesDiner

Share this post


Link to post

Yeah map13 seems to be completely broken for me. The floor that's supposed to raise up to the exit doesn't work at all and monsters don't teleport in. Other than that, these maps are fun! Favorite so far is map12.

 

Just played map14. You can get trapped in the beginning if you walk back into the hallway after triggering the big circular lift.

 

Another edit: In map15 the red key card can be grabbed from below at the start of the map.

 

Yet another edit: the yellow door in the south has its tag set to 0, opening it pretty much breaks the map in some parts.

Edited by Arbys550 : more bugs

Share this post


Link to post

Testing the maps on doom2.exe (dosbox) with -nomonsters parameter, just for seeing if everything works good on true vanilla exe.

Absolutely no game-breaking bugs found so far (i'm at MAP21) even in places that i though there's at least some VPO or HOM section (my MAP20, to be more precise).

Just found quite some tutti-frutti effect on some textures and some slime trails in MAP09...

 

Overall, even is it not he full experience with monsters and such, i have to say that so far this is pretty solid mapset, something quite unexpected from a thing that almost follows Doomworld Megawad Project in principle... it reminds me of stuff like Umbral Platinum...

Share this post


Link to post

Alrighty, here's the last few short reviews of the maps. Sorry this took a while, I wanted to get it out before the New Year but I was busier than expected.

 

This is all of Episode 3, along with a few general thoughts about the wad as well as a couple of suggestions which will be at the bottom. Same as last time, I played every map from a pistol start on ultra violence with a fair amount of saving using prboom+ with -complevel 2. (I apologise if the spoilers mess up and look weird again, I've not figured out how to make that not happen!)

 

MAP21 - Inventive Prowess by HAK3180

Spoiler

Already I can tell the theme of this episode might be stronger than the previous one, with the intricately detailed and fairly convincing weapons manufactory. I liked all the little details of the weapons on the conveyor belts and the crushers making them. I thought the BFG secret was really creative in how you had to get it, and I liked the secret from the outside area as well, I didn't expect to be able to reach that ledge by jumping over the box and I definitely didn't expect what seemed to be a decoration to instead be a hidden passage. My favourite fight was the opening one, a bit of a panic-inducing start as you try to lower the rocket launchers to aid you in taking out the horde of monsters making a single sound causes. I wasn't as big of a fan of the maze section but small maze sections are a techbase staple so I don't think it's really much of an issue. Overall, I really enjoyed playing this map and I think it serves as a perfect opener for the final episode.

 

MAP22 - The UAC by Angry Saint

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4
Spoiler

What's this? Doom 4 in MY classic doom?! This is a valiant attempt at recreating the first area from DOOM 4, very faithfully as far as I can remember (it's been a
while since I played through it) and I think the inside areas do an especially great job at converting the feel from the modern game into a vanilla map and I can say at the least that this is an impressive map. I think gameplay wise, it relies way too heavily on insta-pop monsters which I don't mind in moderation but when every single room starts off with monsters popping out from the ground, it gets a bit tiresome. The fights aren't bad but the one on the crane parts just before the final area can be dealt with very easily by just waking all of the shotgunners up and chilling on the ground for a bit. I did enjoy it, even just for the novelty of "Oh yeah this is that bit" whenever I entered a new area. I would also consider at adding a bit more decoration to the northernmost part of the final outdoor area because it is quite painfully obvious that it just ends there, maybe extend the rock platform back a bit and make it visible next to the base wall, would make it look a bit more convincing. Overall, I think this is a brillant attempt at converting a very modern map into a classic engine though it does falter a bit gameplay wise.

 

MAP23 - Processing Station by ShadesMaster

Spoiler

This map feels like a lost episode 1 layout, which someone found, finished and populated it with doom 2's additional content. With the very small weapon selection (unless there's a secret rocket launcher I missed) and the abundance of imps, hitscanners and pinkies it nailes the E1 vibe for me gameplay wise being mostly chaingun-centric while also establishing it's own identity because I kept having to bust out the super shotgun for more powerful enemies. It manages to establish its own identity by having the doom 2 monsters in and they break up the hitscanner mowing very nicely. I'm not sure that Bye Bye American Pie fits very well as the music, I reckon maybe The Imps Song would fit the level much better. Overall, this is a fun level which really feels like it could fit in with the IWADs.

 

MAP24 - Arms Trafficking by mistersector

Spoiler

I unfortunately wasn't a big fan of this one. I first ran straight past the mastermind indoors after getting my arse kicked on the outside section a few times, but after a while (and 120 of the 300 monsters later) I was still stuck using the shotgun and chaingun and was hoping after every successive corner and room that a better weapon would appear to speed up what was becoming very monotonous. I did eventually find both these weapons and did realise that I chose the one way of the three accessible that would mean that I would have an awful time, and I will concede that I did play the map wrong, I didn't mind it very fun even after getting some better weapons. I'm thankful I managed to find the BFG as there are a few close-range cyberdemon fights which I think would be a complete pain if I hadn't and overall I was happy to see the exit. I did enjoy the first outdoor section with just the shotty and chaingun and I liked the beserk fight around the crusher with the hellknights and revenants but overall I just didn't have a very good time. Overall, I think this is a really cool layout but I wish the path to better weapons was more obvious or some backup SSGs were present.

 

MAP25 - Storage Operations by Super Mighty G

Spoiler

Bloody hell, this is an adventure and a half. Through a gigantic labyrinthine techbase with nearly 750 monsters, lies your prize. I will admit when I saw the monster count I very nearly cried but this proved to be a very fun level as I'd say that at least half of those monsters are imps, zombies or pinkies. It's a slightly exhausting map though I still enjoyed making my way through it. There's variety in the environments with a mix between an E1 and an E2 styled base and it's very evocative of both of these styles of map, moreso in visual design than in gameplay! I'd consider putting a non-secret BFG in because even though it's not too hard to find I feel some of the later fights might be slightly too painful without it. I think the last section with the suprise teleport trap at the start was my favourite though I can't say I disliked any parts of the map. Overall, this is an epic adventure through a gargantuan base.

 

MAP26 - Small Arms Depot by Beast

Spoiler

A shorter level which serves as a nice rest after the previous epic. I enjoyed most of the fights in this map especially the yellow key ambush and the ambush with the exit door, I thought these were both very fun to complete, the yellow key one for it's difficulty and the finale for being able to blow up a load of imps with rockets. To be honest, I would say that you could even buff the final fight with a couple of higher tier monsters (or possibly an archvile) to make it slightly more difficult. I thought the start was a bit weak, but after the beserk fight, the map improved significantly. I think the secrets could possibly do with a bit more variety as they all seem to be open a wall up but that's just a bit nitpicky. Some custom music might be quite nice and I would have liked a couple more rockets and a few less shells. Overall, this is a short, punchy map with some enjoyable surprises inside.

 

MAP27 - Plasma Lab by DynamiteKaitorn

Spoiler

I enjoyed this map, plasma-gun oriented maps are always quite fun and. I do think that the map was far too easy for one of the final maps - it might fit in earlier in the episode. I think that the invulnerability is unnecessary in the YRUHERE? secret as it trivialises the revenant ambush outside and that's one of the more interesting fights. I liked the cyberdemon fight and I thought the ending fight was fairly interesting though the BFG makes the rest of the level easy. I feel like a couple of extra higher-health monsters (maybe some cacodemons) in the ending fight might improve it a bit and make it less of a hold left click and win and also possibly some more monsters to the revenant ambush as I think one of the best things about plasma levels is that you can be a bit freer with those kinds of enemies. Overall, this is a short, very nicely detailed plasma-gun based level which suffers a bit for me because of it's placement in the wad compared to it's difficulty.

 

MAP28 - Corporate Mandated Singularity by Egg Boy

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
6
Spoiler

A slaughter-y map with three separate arenas to fight your way through, each with a different theme and style of fights. The first relied on poor weapon availability (I mean you do have a rocket launcher but there are about 30 pinkies running for you so good luck), the red key with a more traditional, techbase looking area with orchestrated teleporting ambushes and the yellow key area with the circular arena with the BFG perched on top of the arachnotron platform. Of these, I enjoyed the red key area the most and it is definitely the meat of the level with the nukage ambush when the cyberdemon and revenants come to rain missiles down on you. I thought the map looked absolutely fantastic, like an installation which was plucked out of it's location and thrust into the void somewhere. I like the tech-hills going off into the background a lot. Overall, this is a excellent map with slaughtery gameplay (though not too impossible that I think people will give up on it) and serves as a final challenge of sorts for the player before they can fight the icon.

 

MAP29 - Recess in the Fold by Mk7-Centipede

Spoiler

It's definitely important that a Map 29 is a difficult challenge before the final encounter though it is arguably more important that it's an epic build up to the conclusion. This map definitely nails it atmospherically wise though I'm not sure as much about the gameplay. Like map 15, this is a map with a misleadingly small monster count - this isn't a two minute map. It's a cliffside assault followed by a techbase which seems to be being taken over by some dark terrifying void. I think the first section of the map is the best, the three archvile ambush is particularly nasty and I only beat it by the skin of my teeth. After, this becomes a lot of SSGing single monsters in rooms and BFGing large fights and spiderdemons (I also managed to miss the SSG on my first attempt). As well as this, there is frankly too much health in the map - I counted 5 soulspheres alone, with 4 of them appearing after the hardest section of the map for me and this made me switch off for most of the map and not pay as much attention to the area I was in, which I think is bad for a map of this kind. The nukage not being damaging also feels very much out of place to me. Overall, this map succeeds atmospherically but falters a bit gameplay wise for me.

 

MAP30 - Fusion Core by ZeMystic

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5
Spoiler

It's an icon of sin map though I think this is better than most icon maps. It starts off with two slaughtery arenas, and they get the blood pumping for the final encounter! Of the two first rooms, I thought the red key room with the cyberdemon was slightly better as it was much more challenging whereas the spiderdemon arena was made very easy with the invulnerability. I think the icon fight itself was done quite well, with the race to activate the four switches at the top of the core before the monsters overwhelm you though the four cyberdemons in this arena certainly don't make this easy. Once that's done it's as simple as shooting some rockets at the core inside (or bunging some BFG balls in my case) and the victory is yours. I think this map is a very good finale for the wad and it doesn't overstay it's welcome. I liked the use of the sky2 as a sort of portal, void texture which has become sort of a theme in these last 3 maps. Overall, a fitting end to the wad and honestly one of the best icon fights I've played.

 

THOUGHTS ON EPISODE 3:

Honestly, I think this may be my favourite episode of the three though E1 and it are very close. I'm very happy that E3 didn't turn into lots of very long maps in a row with no downtime and there were just two extremely long maps - 24 & 25. I was hoping for another slaughtery map after map28 was over though map29 is also a good fit for the last regular map. I really liked almost every map in the episode though, and I don't think any maps in this episode are bad (even though I didn't enjoy a couple of them). It's definitely a strong ending to the wad.

 

OVERALL THOUGHTS:

I really enjoyed playing through this! I think all the maps are fine at worst and some are really good. I have to say, the themes were less present than I was hoping for but honestly it's not too bad of an issue for me. I think that this was a great success and everyone who contributed should be proud of what they've done with this.

 

My favourite maps were 03, 08, 10, 12, 15, 19, 21, 23, 25 & 28 with Map15 definitely standing out as a fantastic little map for me.


SUGGESTIONS:
- I think Map02 and Map03 should be swapped with Map04 and Map05 to make E1's difficulty curve a bit more consistent.
- I think Map27 should be moved to earlier in the episode, maybe to slot 23 or 24 as it seems a bit out of place where it currently is.

- A few more custom MIDIs would be nice, though at least a few less default tracks for slots (I like The David D. Taylor Blues as much as the next guy but did it have to be played 3 times?). Maps 07, 14, 31, 23, 24, 25 & 26 were the main example of this for me and I think even DOOM1 or TNT music (or possibly something from ROTT or something like that) might help some of these maps stand out a bit more.

- I do think the INTERPIC would work better as the TITLEPIC (but if you think the more atmospheric one fits better than the silly INTERPIC, that's fine too)

 

I hope this helps and I wish you all the best for the release!

Share this post


Link to post
On 12/29/2019 at 3:22 PM, Caleb13 said:

MAP26: missing EXIT sign. Linedef 1380 should be SR, not S1. And isn't this radsuit closet supposed to be secret? And what about the blue armor (sector 3)?

 

I'll fix these up, thanks for the detailed feedback @Caleb13!

Share this post


Link to post

@ZeMystic Here is an update for MAP26 (Download Link)

 

* Added EXIT sign
* Changed Linedef 1380 to stay open

 

On 12/29/2019 at 3:22 PM, Caleb13 said:

And isn't this radsuit closet supposed to be secret?

 

I opted not marking it as a secret because the radsuit closet is already within a secret area and the line is lit and textured as a door.

Share this post


Link to post
14 hours ago, ZeMystic said:

Everythings been updated RC2 is out baybeeee!

Grats on the release! Pleasure to work with you on this, I'll always remember this as my first cp.

Share this post


Link to post
9 hours ago, Egg Boy said:

Grats on the release! Pleasure to work with you on this, I'll always remember this as my first cp.

 

Ditto, my community project cherry is now popped!

Share this post


Link to post
10 hours ago, Egg Boy said:

Grats on the release! Pleasure to work with you on this, I'll always remember this as my first cp.

 

1 hour ago, beast said:

 

Ditto, my community project cherry is now popped!

 

I love this project not so much for the maps (Which are great - Especially 03 and 16 :P) but for the friends we made along the way.

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×