IronEagle Competition 18: Absolute Dishonor

[Pegleg]

The calendar has turned to April, and what does that mean? No, it doesn't mean an April Fool's edition of IronEagle. I hadn't even considered it. What it does mean is that time time has arrived for the latest edition of the IronEagle Competition, the ironman challenge that welcomes everyone, whether they be fresh and inexperienced or a grizzled veteran that chews glass made of ground skulls for breakfast. Just to be clear, streams/Twitch VODs/etc. are allowed in lieu of demos, if you want to do that. If you want to stream, you're welcome to join the party. If you don't want to stream, that's fine, too.

 

This month we're going to return to vanilla mapsets of the recent past; participants will have the opportunity to challenge themselves against Absolute Dishonor.

 

This mapset from 2016 was created by the team of veteran mappers @valkiriforce and 40oz, both of whom returned to mapping in 2016 after hiatuses. Inspired by an interview where Dario Casali talked about making an 8-map set with his brother, as well as a combination of legendary vanilla megawads Momento Mori, Requiem, Icarus, Alien Vendetta, Plutonia, and TNT (and a smattering of others), this duo created a Doom 2 mapset that feels like the older-school, but still provides a challenge. There is no over-arching narrative here, just a good, vanilla challenge.

 

Absolute Dishonor begins at Map 01. Survival is completion of Map 08.

 

 

Here are the final results for this month. Further details are given below.

UV: Veinen

HMP: Crusader No Regret

HNTR: kalaeth

 

The rules are basically the same as they have been. 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. Even if streaming, you can still submit a demo, if you want to.

  

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.)
• 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. Jumping and crouching must be disabled.

 

 

Accepted Ports (any of these are acceptable provided they will actually run the mapset; there is no preference):

• Chocolate
• Crispy
• PrBoom+
• GLBoom+
• Eternity
• 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
• The port you used (if you included a demo)
• A link to the stream/video (if you did a stream)

 

You may include a commentary about the maps or details about them, if you want to. 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. In other words, put the text in a spoiler if you say something like:

 

• "I thought the demon rush would do me in on Map X, but it ended up being the circle of hitscanners on Map Y that got me."
• "I thought I would be able to avoid the rockets from the turreted revenants on Map A, but then the archviles teleported in, and that was the end of my run."
• "Had I pressed the right switch instead of the left switch, I would've gotten the secret BFG, and probably survived Map Z."

 

Don't worry about putting it in a spoiler if you say something like one of the following:

 

• "This was a good mapset. The texturing was spot on and the encounters were well designed."
• "Protip: You survive longer if you don't get shot."
• "This is a great example of being good at Doom."

 

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 there 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

Total time for survival

The map on which you died

Total time elapsed upon death

Kill count on the map you died

 

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

-iwad doom2.wad -file absoldis.wad -skill <x> -warp 01 -record <IEabsoldis>

 

Template for PRBoom+:

Spoiler

-iwad doom2.wad -file absoldis.wad -complevel 2 -skill <x> -warp 01 -record <IEabsoldis>

 

Template for ZDoom:

Spoiler

-iwad doom2.wad -file absoldis.wad +compatmode 2 -skill <x> +map map01 -record <IEabsoldis>

 

For the command lines, x = 2 for HNTR, x = 3 for HMP, and x = 4 for UV. Also IEabsoldis 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: kmc/Bdubzzz   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

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

Back to Basics (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: Horus   HNTR: Pegleg)

Whitemare (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz & NaZa   HMP: Crusader No Regret   HNTR: Pegleg)

 

2020

Thy Flesh Turned into a Draft-Excluder (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

Fava Beans (Winners -- UV: NaZa   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

Beyond Revival (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

Edited May 3, 2020 by Pegleg : Added winners.

[Dieting Hippo]

Here's my UV Category 1 entry! I made it to MAP02 and got a good chunk of it done with 10 health until I got too greedy with the rocket launcher and exploded myself.

IEabsoldis_UV_PRBoomPlus_dhippo.zip

[NaZa]

UV Category 1. Died on MAP03. Silly death, really. The only time I let my guard down. In other news, I had been running around the map with 2 HP prior, so you can say I had it coming. I also shot a rocket while accidentally activating a lift after that but I managed to reflex-shoot said rocket in the opposite direction instead of the wall in my face, so I didn't lose all the HP I had.

ironeagle18_naza.zip

[Bdubzzz]

Category 1 Survived in 2:55:57 - yeah this wad had the "Classic megawad" feel to it, grindy at times but overall it was fun. I'm tired and played this one rather slow and once again got lost... seems to be a theme for today, that is enough Doom for me for a few days though :p 

 

IEabsdis-dubz.zip

[Austinado]

Im a first timer here...played in HMP Category 1, died Map02. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nd31_UGlpTk

 

[Veinen]

I'm a fan of valkiri's maps so I gave this a go. UV, survived in 2:06:xx. I get the feeling that I've played some of these before, so I guess it's category 2. Didn't really help me much since I had no recollections of progression and got extremely lost in a few maps. Probably should have died several times but luck and cowardice pulled me through.

 

DWIronEagle_Absoldis_Veinen.zip

[GhostPlayer]

UV Category 1 death on the map 03 - Trying to escape quickly a baron blocked me and killed me for trying to kill Archville. So the baron raped me from behind D:

Sorry for my english >.<

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dxANqwO0Ms

Edited April 2, 2020 by GhostPlayer : UV

[Horus]

UV Cat 1, dead map 02 with 74/121 monsters killed in 12 minutes. Until my death, I had anticipated the traps fairly well, but never saw the one that killed me coming

0horusironeagle.zip

[Suitepee]

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/583390355

 

Starts at 2:30:10 into this livestream.

 

Category 1 run (UV), died on map 2 to what-do-you-know, a fucking Revenant for the billionth time. (at least I killed his partner, also OBS was derping on me again)

Edited April 5, 2020 by Suitepee

[Pegleg]

Dead on: Map 02
Kills: 90/92 (so close)
Time: 20:53
Difficulty: HNTR
Category: 2

 

ie_pegleg_absoldis.zip

[SleepyVelvet]

Dead: Map 03

Difficulty: UV

Category 1 (blind)

Port: prboom+ complevel 2

noisy_ABSOLDIS.zip

 

I'm kinda sour about this one.  My headphones died halfway through Map03, and had to play without sound.  You kinda need sound to have a fair shot at this mapset (good mapet btw).  My prboom setup has always had audio issues that i've never been able to fix. Lagging on song-loop; muting game sounds when toggling music to 0 volume despite monster volume turned up to max; failing to resync with output devices mid-session if they change or hiccup - and then just strait-up crashing the engine either mid-game, or on exitting the program (eating the tail end of demos).

 

I might have to chuck my version of prboom+ (2.5.1.3) in the trash unless I find a way to fix the audio quirks.

 

kicks wall.  I'M NOT MAD I SWEaR

 

Better luck next time.

[Crusader No Regret]

Someone thought it was worth their time to chastise me for using 2.5.1.3.  But that was imperfect memory on my end and I'd been using the next version the whole time.

 

HMP. blind  Died on map 3 through attrition.  Slow and cautious just like anytime I try a map blind.

 

Had decided I was going to submit something this month but got sidetracked.  IWAD music, ew.  I had loaded up the set beforehand and IDMUS through each map's tune but didn't move from the starting position.  Played with -nomusic

 

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4 - complevel 9

ironeagle_absoldis_cnr.zip

[kalaeth]

My first attempt at one of these...

difficulty 2, blind, died at map 03 with less than a third of monsters dead, just at the right time 'cause I have to go eat dinner.

GZDoom, complevel 2

 

kal_absoldis.zip

[Pegleg]

Thank you to everyone who came in to participate this month! I hope to see the old faces and the new faces -- with some friends in tow -- back for the May edition of the competition. It was nice to have competition in all 3 difficulty categories this month!

 

Without further ado, here is the order for this month:

 

UV

1. Veinen (Survived)

2. Bdubzzz (Survived)

3. NoisyVelvet (Map 03)

4. NaZa (Map 03)

5. Horus (Map 02)

6. Suitepee (Map 02)

7. Dieting Hippo (Map 02)

 

HMP

1. Crusader No Regret (Map 03)

2. Austinado (Map 02)

 

HNTR

1. kalaeth (Map 03)

2. Pegleg (Map 02)