IronEagle 13: Back to Basics

[Pegleg]

Hello and welcome back (or welcome if this is your first time) to the Ironman competition that welcomes all competitors, from the hearty veteran who enjoys defeating the Icon of Sin with a pistol to the doe-eyed newcomer who still has to look down at the keys to avoid pressing the wrong one. Yes, this is the Ironman challenge where you, not some dictatorial thread author, choose the difficulty^* you play at!

^* Unless you want to play on ITYTD or NM.

 

So, welcome one and all to this month's IronEagle Competition. I sincerely hope you enjoy your time here, share the word, and come back next month.

 

For the past several months, we have delved into the Boom end of the Doom 2 pool, with entries spanning a wide gamut, from "realistic" to Mayan to Quake to maps meant to be bite-sized. After so many months doing this, it's time to get back to our roots, so to speak, with competitors challenging themselves against Back to Basics, a masterful Episode 2 replacement from the late Esa "Espi" Repo.

 

While many are familiar with his well-known mapset, Suspended in Dusk, he has numerous other contributions to his credit. With Back to Basics, he decided to return to the basics of what makes Doom what it is (Doom 1, specifically), happily digging into the vanilla game with vanilla textures and the vanilla bestiary and using it for all it's worth. With that effort, he created a mapset that serves as a remake of The Shores of Hell. This episode begins in an ordinary base that is gradually being corrupted, twisting its brown, cement, and stone facades into warped Hellish panoramas of flesh, marble, and blood. While the maps may have an iwad feel due to the textures and monsters, they are longer and present more of a challenge than the original maps they replace.

 

The mapset begins with E2M1. The goal for survival is completing E2M8. This mapset does have a secret level and, this being a vanilla mapset, E2M9 is accessed from E2M5.

 

The rules are basically unchanged from last month. Either demos or streams are permissible. If you are creating a demo, post the demo. If you are streaming, post a video of the stream.

 

Rules:

The basic rule is that you submit a demo/stream played at a particular difficulty level (HNTR, HMP, or UV) and you play without saving and reloading, ending your run when you die (or survive). Further rules are below.

Spoiler

 

• Submissions (except for streams, as described below) must include a demo from one of the listed acceptable ports.
  • The first actual attempt must be submitted, there are no do-overs (with very few possible exceptions, which I will address as they arise).
    • You may practice a mapset if you want, but these practice runs should not be submitted as your official entry, and your run would be Category 2, unless there are exceptional circumstances (such as described below).
• A run must be done in a singular sitting with no saves. (With room for breaks. This will be addressed below.)
• If we do a WIP wad, make sure you are using the latest available version to minimize demo desync issues.
• Streams and video runs are accepted provided you post a video of the stream/run.
  • You may post a demo if you want, but it is not mandatory.
• Secret levels are treated as extra credit.
• Freelook is allowed this month. Jumping and crouching must be disabled.

 

 

Accepted Ports (any of these are acceptable; there is no preference):

• Chocolate
• PrBoom+
• ZDoom
• GZDoom

 

Category System:

• Category 1: Blind run.
  • This explains itself. You have no knowledge of the wad and have not played/seen it before.
• Category 2: Non-blind.
  • If you have played the wad before and/or possess any foreknowledge, your run is non-blind. Basically, anything that is not Category 1 is Category 2.

 

I'm happy to be lenient on determining the category of a run, to a degree.

• If, during practice, you die in the first 10 seconds of the first map and you see virtually none of the mapset except some part of the first few rooms, I'm happy to say that the playthrough you submit as your run was Category 1.
• If, during practice, you die 10 seconds into Map 02 and then and go on to survive the mapset, something like that would still be Category 2.
• If, at some point in the past, you watched a random stream of part of a random level and you never reach that level during your playthrough, you may submit your run as Category 1.
• If, at some point in the past, you watched a stream of a level and you reach that level during your playthrough (whether you survive that level or die), such a run would be Category 2.

 

 

Difficulty System:

You may submit a demo/stream for only one of HNTR, HMP, or UV. Choose only one, because subsequent submittals will be rejected (i.e., if you submit a HMP demo, the HNTR demo you then submit will be rejected). We're not using the 1CC rule set here.

 

Only runs from the same difficulty will be pitted against each other. Each difficulty will be graded separately.

 

When you submit your run, please the include the following information:

• The category (1 or 2)
• The difficulty
• What map you died on (if you survived, just say so)
• The time elapsed when you survived/died (even if it's only approximate)
• How many kills you had on the map you died on

 

You may include the port you used, but that isn't necessary. You may include a commentary about the maps or details about them, if you want to (e.g., how you thought the demon rush would do you in on Map X, but it was really the circle of hitscanners on Map Y). If you do include specific information about the map, please put it in a spoiler, so that people that want a completely blind experience won't be tipped off.

 

Breaks:

Everyone gets tired. Sometimes people do better than they expected to do. Nature calls. Every now and then, there are family emergencies. Needing to take a break shouldn't necessarily end a promising run. While you should try to complete the run in a single setting, this isn't always possible. However, there are some general ground rules:

Spoiler

 

• You are free to take a quick break when needed. Note the emphasis on "quick."
  • Try to keep the breaks as short as possible.
  • Intermission screens, if applicable, are the best time to do this.
    • Multiple demos cannot be accepted, barring exceptional circumstances.
      • An example would be that you can only record/stream for a certain amount of time, so you are forced to split up long demos/streams.
    • You may split up demos at death exits.
      • If you reset the map before going to the tally screen on a death exit, you must either end your run or play the map again.
      • If you die going back around, your survival of that map will count, but your run will end there.

 

 

Attempting to max the maps is not necessary to win.

Ranking for this mapset will be determined by:

• Survival
  • +1 if you complete E2M9
  • Total time for survival
• The map on which you died
  • Specifically, the order will be: E2M1, E2M2, E2M3, E2M4, E2M5, E2M9, E2M6, E2M7, E2M8
    • If you attempt the secret level and die on it, you will be ranked behind someone who did not go to E2M9, and then died on E2M6
• How far into the map you progressed
  • As determined by kill count
• Total time elapsed

 

All mods used during play must be merely cosmetic.

If you die, please wait a few seconds before quitting.

 

If you don't know how to record demos and don't want to stream, I recommend getting a launcher (such as the ZDL launcher), which may make your life easier (at least, when it comes to recording demos).

Once you have the launcher set up to find your IWAD's and ports, you can use the field at the bottom entitled "command line parameters" to record your demo with ease.

 

Template for Chocolate:

Spoiler

-file b2b.wad -skill <x> -warp 21 -record <IEb2b>

 

Template for PRBoom+:

Spoiler

-file b2b.wad -complevel 2 -skill <x> -warp 21 -record <IEb2b>

 

Template for ZDoom:

Spoiler

-file b2b.wad +compatmode 2 -skill <x> +map e2m1 -record <IEb2b>

 

For the command lines, x = 2 for HNTR, x = 3 for HMP, and x = 4 for UV. Also IEb2b would be replaced by whatever the name of your demo is.

Obviously, remove the angled brackets.

 

Using the ZDL launcher will allow you to select your skill directly and skip the wad selection and warp by immediately starting you in MAP01 on launch.

This wad uses complevel 2 or Doom (strict).

 

When recording in ZDoom, double check your compatibility settings. When the compatibility is set from the cmdline, it doesn't always stick, so open the port in an IWAD map and make sure to set it to Doom (strict) to be sure the compatibility settings are correct. ZDoom will remember the settings next time you start it.

 

Happy Dooming!

 

 

 

Previous IronEagle Competitions

 

2018

Scientist 2 (Winners -- UV: leodoom85   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Liberation)

Vanguard (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Liberation)

Crumpets (Winners -- UV: NoisyVelvet   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

 

2019

Dark Covenant (Winners -- UV: kmc   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

Brood of Hatred (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: Crusader No Regret   HNTR: Pegleg)

Riot Control (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: Walter Confetti   HNTR: Pegleg)

Scimitar (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: Crusader No Regret   HNTR: Pegleg)

Bauhaus (Winners -- UV: vdgg   HMP: Crusader No Regret   HNTR: Pegleg)

Bloody Steel (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

The Brotherhood of Ruin (Winners -- UV: leodoom85   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

Flashback to Hell (Winners -- UV:    HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

A Taste for Blood (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

 

[Horus]

Category 1

Difficulty: HMP

Did not find E2M9

Survived all levels in 2:18:59 (whoops, did not plan to be playing Doom for that long)

Spoiler

 

Underestimated my Doom skills there, did not think for one moment I'd manage to survive the whole thing, or even come close. And the final cyberdemon, I was convinced it was going to kill me lol. I played very conservatively, in spite of that the closest I came to dying was in E2M1, the other levels were comparatively easier. 

 

Given that Ultimate Doom has no SSG, this map pack could really have done with more chaingun, rocket and plasma ammo. The amount of times I was shotgunning a Baron. In spite of that it was an enjoyable romp. Next month I'll be playing on UV

 

0_ironeagle_horus.zip

Edited November 9, 2019 by Horus

[Pegleg]

Category 1

Difficulty: HNTR

Dead on E2M1

Kills: 69/140

Time: 12:27

 

pegleg_ie_b2b.zip

 

The advantage to my level of skill at Doom is that I rarely have to worry about my Ironman runs lasting too long, so it tends to be easier to fit into my day.

 

By the way, this statement doesn't really spoil anything: not getting hit is an underrated strategy. I should remember that next time.

 

Spoiler

I particularly enjoy being shot in the back and winged by cacodemon plasma balls. At least that wasn't all happening during the forced platforming. I feel like had that stretch gone better, I probably would've been able to make it further in the level, because I would've had a repository of health to go back to.

 

Or had I not gotten hit as much, I would've probably made it much further.

 

[Paul977]

Very cool pick here :)

[Horus]

On 11/10/2019 at 3:11 AM, Pegleg said:

Category 1

Difficulty: HNTR

Dead on E2M1

Kills: 69/140

Time: 12:27

 

pegleg_ie_b2b.zip

 

The advantage to my level of skill at Doom is that I rarely have to worry about my Ironman runs lasting too long, so it tends to be easier to fit into my day.

 

By the way, this statement doesn't really spoil anything: not getting hit is an underrated strategy. I should remember that next time.

 

  Hide contents

I particularly enjoy being shot in the back and winged by cacodemon plasma balls. At least that wasn't all happening during the forced platforming. I feel like had that stretch gone better, I probably would've been able to make it further in the level, because I would've had a repository of health to go back to.

 

Or had I not gotten hit as much, I would've probably made it much further.

 

 

Spoiler

E2M1 was definitely the hardest, mainly because it was so tight on ammo. I think if you had made it through that level you would have had a good chance of making it through the rest. The only other tight spots I had on my run were on E2M5 where I ran out of ammo entirely and had to backtrack in desperate search of ammo (eventually finding a rocket launcher), and E2M7 where I wasn't looking where I was going.

 

P.S. Did no-one play UV on Flashback to Hell, I thought that was the difficulty of choice for most? I notice a blank by UV for that month in your original post.

[Bdubzzz]

Category 1

UV

Survived in 2:02:05 - couple close calls...also quite annoyed as I thought i was at the secret exit in E2M5 and it went to E2M6 instead... but whatever :p 

 

IEb2b-dubz.zip

[Pegleg]

18 hours ago, Horus said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

E2M1 was definitely the hardest, mainly because it was so tight on ammo. I think if you had made it through that level you would have had a good chance of making it through the rest. The only other tight spots I had on my run were on E2M5 where I ran out of ammo entirely and had to backtrack in desperate search of ammo (eventually finding a rocket launcher), and E2M7 where I wasn't looking where I was going.

 

P.S. Did no-one play UV on Flashback to Hell, I thought that was the difficulty of choice for most? I notice a blank by UV for that month in your original post. 

 

No, that wasn't the case. There were 7 participants that played Flashback to Hell on UV. If no one participated at that difficulty, I designate that with "n/a" in the list.

 

Bdubzzz and kmc both made it to Map 14, but I haven't found the time to watch their demos to see who made it through faster, since, at the time, ranking was determined by 1. Survival - 2. Last Map - 3. Time - 4. Kills at the time of death. So, either Bdubzzz or kmc will end up in the list as the winner.

[Pegleg]

The previous post reminded me that I should highlight a change in thinking that I've codified lately.

 

The ranking for each selection is generally based on how far you progress into the mapset, followed by speed of play. That is why survival is the first criterion. If you survive and someone else dies on the last map, it doesn't matter if you took 12 hours and they took 1 hour, you will be ranked higher. Similarly, if both of you survive, they will be ranked higher because they completed it 11 hours faster.

 

This logic somewhat broke down in the process of determining the ranking by using 1. Survival - 2. Map at death - 3. Time of death - 4. Kills in the map upon death. Why was this problematic? Look at this hypothetical example:

 

1. Suppose the selection has 10 maps. Suppose also that Map 10 has 500 monsters and is very long.

2. Player A comes into Map 10 and is killed by one of the early monsters (kill count: 10/500). The time at death was 30 minutes.

3. Player B comes into Map 10 and is killed after having progressed halfway through the map (kill count: 220/500). The time at death was 40 minutes.

 

By the aforementioned ranking system, Player A would be ranked above Player B, despite Player B having progressed further into the mapset.

 

I don't think this is right. Player B should be ranked above Player A based on the logic of ranking being determined by depth of progression before pace of play. Therefore, I have decided to change the ranking determination to:

 

1. Survival - 2. Map where you died - 3. Kills in that map upon death - 4. Time of death

 

This method uses kill count as a proxy for how far you progressed in the map. Obviously, it's not necessarily perfect. Someone trying a pacifist (or nearly pacifist) playthrough will have a lower kill count than someone playing in a more traditional style. Similarly, if there is a lot of optional combat in a map, a person who avoided as much combat as possible will have a lower kill count than someone who did not do this. Nevertheless, I think that kill count is a good, general marker for how far you progressed through a map. Obviously, pace of play will be the deciding factor between different survival runs, as before. But I think this change makes the ranking more fair and logical.

 

That is why I changed the ranking policy for this map.

On 11/6/2019 at 11:17 PM, Pegleg said:

Ranking for this mapset will be determined by:

• Survival
  • +1 if you complete E2M9
  • Total time for survival
• The map on which you died
  • Specifically, the order will be: E2M1, E2M2, E2M3, E2M4, E2M5, E2M9, E2M6, E2M7, E2M8
    • If you attempt the secret level and die on it, you will be ranked behind someone who did not go to E2M9, and then died on E2M6
• How far into the map you progressed
  • As determined by kill count
• Total time elapsed

 

Unless there is an obvious reason not to, I think this is the policy I will adopt for mapsets going forward.

 

[Bdubzzz]

Im not sure I agree on this change as if Player A reached the final Map in 1 hour and got 37/500 kills and player B reached the final Map in 2 hours and got 40/500 kills, who really performed better in the ironman? The guy who played at an aggressive/brisk pace the entire mapset or the guy who played as slow/careful as possible the entire mapset but managed to kill a few more monsters? 

 

I believe it makes more sense to go by what time you reach the map in. If you die on Map 10 then any progress in Map 10 is lost as you didn't survive the map either way. Of course if the mapset is 1 big map then this rule would change to monster count placing ranks followed by time survived...

 

I would be interested in what other people think though ;p

 

[Pegleg]

We could just dismiss your performance on whatever map where you died (I think that's what DWIL does), but I've never liked the idea of discounting progress in whatever is your last map at death. I will concede, however, that there's not necessarily a good way to gauge that in an absolute way that would be reliable. Ultimately, I wanted something more concrete than, "If you survive, then how long it took you is the only determining factor in the final ranking, but if you don't survive, then it's a subjective call as to who performed better between participants that reached the same map."

 

I suppose one easy solution would be to make all the selections large single maps. There are enough of them that are good, so that would be possible. Personally, I would rather play multi-map sets in addition to large single maps.

 

Another solution would be to simply remove the ranking component, but I think people like that (as do I, even with the inherent difficulties in ranking). I always intended for IronEagle to be more casual, but I still think people enjoy the ranking at the end of the day.

 

Anyway, I too am interested in what the rest of you think (and Bdubzzz, feel free to chime in again, too). You can add it as a separate post or even in the post of your performance, if you have some thoughts you'd like to share.

[leodoom85]

It has been what time you took to die or finish the wad with a survival for the priority, as far as I'm concerned. In that case, what counts first is the following:

• First, time (complemented with the amount of maps done)
• Second, monsters (if time is a tie).

In any case, it's up to the player to die faster or survive slowly or the opposite.

[Bdubzzz]

Right so the other option I thought about the other day is if you really want "monsters killed" to mean more in an ironman then you could have a "uv max" ironman every other month or whatever and the name is self explanatory.. Score would be based on how many monsters killed/secrets found in each map (of course remember this might be different depending on source port ( gzdoom counts lost souls)) and well time taken wont be a factor at all UNLESS you tie with some1/manage to uv max every map.. You can also still continue if you dont find monsters/secrets but ya for the sake of helping you people should keep track of their own kill count every map(or just say Maxed if you get 100% kills/secrets) so anyway that was my idea otherwise fastest time makes more sense in your standard ironman :p

 

[Suitepee]

https://mega.nz/#!PEg3GS4R!_h-9dj8fStvzHvKT5gEyubc2fjSjk-SgueDcWikDaZc

 

Category 1 run on UV, died on E2M7. (no secret map)

[SleepyVelvet]

Dead: E2M3

Category: Blind

noisy_b2b.zipnoisy_b2b.zip

[leodoom85]

Before disappearing again for a week and a half from forums and stuff, I need to post my run.

SO....first of all, is it normal to die after pressing the exit switch in E2M7 and start fresh at the next map as intended, a.k.a annoying death exit?

 

Second of all. If it's intended to die in the exit, I survived the wad and I didn't found the secret level (I gave up finding the last switch in order to lower the bars and wasted too much time -_-).

Category 1, 2:45:36. UV difficulty as always. I enjoyed this wad a lot and took a more meticulous approach and finding secrets are ideal. Last trap in M7 and stupid cybie in M8 almost killed me...

 

DEMO TIME!!! ---> dwie_bck2bckLD85.zip

 

See ya in a week and a half..........time to disappear into oblivion again...

[Pegleg]

33 minutes ago, leodoom85 said:

Before disappearing again for a week and a half from forums and stuff, I need to post my run.

SO....first of all, is it normal to die after pressing the exit switch in E2M7 and start fresh at the next map as intended, a.k.a annoying death exit?

 

Second of all. If it's intended to die in the exit, I survived the wad and I didn't found the secret level (I gave up finding the last switch in order to lower the bars and wasted too much time -_-).

Category 1, 2:45:36. UV difficulty as always. I enjoyed this wad a lot and took a more meticulous approach and finding secrets are ideal. Last trap in M7 and stupid cybie in M8 almost killed me...

 

Yes, it was a death exit on E2M7. That surprised me the first time I played through, too. So, yes, you did survive.

 

33 minutes ago, leodoom85 said:

See ya in a week and a half..........time to disappear into oblivion again...

 

See you again when you get back.

[Pegleg]

On 11/10/2019 at 7:21 AM, Paul977 said:

Very cool pick here :)

 

I probably should've asked earlier in the month, but will you be submitting a run of this "cool pick?"

[Pegleg]

Thank you to everyone who participated and took the opportunity to revisit the basic type of things that made Doom Doom and played "Back to Basics" this month! I hope to see you all back next month, and bring some friends.

 

Without further ado, here are the standings for this month.

 

UV

1. Bdubzzz (Survived)

2. leodoom85 (Survived)

3. Suitepee (E2M7)

4. Noisy Velvet (E2M3)

 

HMP

1. Horus (Survived)

 

HNTR

1. Pegleg (E2M1)

[NaZa]

You'll know I've finished the run on the beginning of last month (demo's date of modifying, after all - and I've also informed you on Discord), but even if it isn't accepted, for posterity... ran out of time on E2M5 after doing fairly well so I rocket-suicided myself. Hilarious death at least, second GAD in two months. Category 1.

ironeagle13_naza.zip