Return to Hadron Episode 3 - Idgames release

[cannonball]

Return To Hadron Episode 3 - The Slayer's Swansong

This is a limit-removing episode replacement for the Ultimate Doom, covering the third episode. Similar mapping rules apply as with the previous iterations. Hopefully this up to scratch, welcome to any criticism and feedback at this point. Enjoy......

 

 

Idgames download

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/Ports/g-i/hadrone3

 

Maplist

 

E3M1 - Nemesis

E3M2 - Infernal Keep

E3M3 -Blood Debt 

E3M4 - Colonic Desecration

E3M5 - Trauma Complex

E3M6 - Crimson Crevice

E3M7 - Void Bastion

E3M8 - Hive Mind

E3M9 - Trojan

 

hadrone3.zip

Hadrone3rc2.zip

Hadrone3rc3.zip

Edited September 2, 2020 by cannonball

[Firedust]

Yes, please! Hopefully, the episode title isn't a reference to your mapping career in any shape or form.

 

Will play tonight and report any bugs I run into.

[Catpho]

Congrats on the release Cannonball!

Guess it's finally time for me to finish the first 2 episodes :)

[Steve D]

I'll echo @Firedust and say I sure hope this is not the cannonball swansong. Don't make me swim over to the UK and force you to start mapping again!!!!!! ;)

 

Looking forward to this. I'll check it out as soon as I can. Expect many more Steve D pelts for your already burgeoning collection. :D

[tourniquet]

Flipping finally, i was looking forward to this. Gonna record some demo's and check for bugs et cetera....

[cannonball]

28 minutes ago, Steve D said:

I'll echo @Firedust and say I sure hope this is not the cannonball swansong. Don't make me swim over to the UK and force you to start mapping again!!!!!! ;)

 

Looking forward to this. I'll check it out as soon as I can. Expect many more Steve D pelts for your already burgeoning collection. :D

I don’t think I would be allowed to leave. I Still have UDINO to steer to completion. I think it is more an endpoint to this set of episodes/maps.

I look forward to the pelts, hopefully I haven’t created too many cheesing points or ran out of creative steam when finishing this off.

[FrancisT218]

Hadron E4: Draft Excluder remaster? Though it's more recent...

[Firedust]

22 minutes ago, FrancisT18 said:

Hadron E4: Draft Excluder remaster? Though it's more recent...

E4 needs no remaster, it's perfect as it is imo.

[Revved]

Good job on completing E3, Cannonball!

Out of curiosity, do you plan to compile all the current Hadron episodes into a full Doom 1 megawad for easy access? Just so I make sure demos don't desync because of a later release or anything.

[Jaws In Space]

It seems that there is a softlock on E3M7 if you don't pick up the yellow key.

 

Also there's a softlock on E3M8 if you don't stay on the 2 elevators at the start of the map.

[JDR]

Had enjoyed two previous episodes, been exited for this. Currently up to e3m5, maps as pushy as ever. The style is more and more defined with the hellish stuff. 
 

Found a bug (?):

Spoiler

E3M5:
Sector 219 shouldn't be damaging.

Not a bug, but the soulsphere secret in E3M3 is just way too obscure.

 

[cannonball]

15 hours ago, Revved said:

Good job on completing E3, Cannonball!

Out of curiosity, do you plan to compile all the current Hadron episodes into a full Doom 1 megawad for easy access? Just so I make sure demos don't desync because of a later release or anything.

The thought of combining the episodes had crossed my mind. However as demos have been made for some maps in E1 and E2 I thought it would be best to keep the wads separate unless there is a real drive for this to happen. Plus combining the episodes gives the temptation to tinker with the earlier maps.

[FrancisT218]

If I just load all three wads together will there be any conflicts (that you're aware of)? Like if I loaded Draft Excluder together with either ConCERNed or Hadron...it messes with the music, for instance. I don't think E1-E3 musics interfere, but I'm not sure about custom textures or skies, for instance.

[Philnemba]

Neat I was wondering if you were ever going to make an episode 3 :)

[Lingyan203]

26 minutes ago, Philnemba said:

Neat I was wondering if you were ever going to make an episode 3 :)

I think he means episode 4 haha

 

Nice job on the release! Can't wait for it to be on idgames soon! :)

[Poncho1]

5 hours ago, cannonball said:

The thought of combining the episodes had crossed my mind. However as demos have been made for some maps in E1 and E2 I thought it would be best to keep the wads separate unless there is a real drive for this to happen. Plus combining the episodes gives the temptation to tinker with the earlier maps.

Absolutely, compile them into one WAD! I think I was the one who created the demo thread for Eps 1 and 2, which was, in hindsight, frankly a silly thing to do. Those demos are more practice runs for the real thing (at least, mine are). 

 

So yeah, one WAD file, in my opinion, would be a great idea. Also, having all 3 episodes would give more people a reason to make demos. So, uh... yeah. 

[P41R47]

I second the idea of a consolidate pwad... but just because i take a peek to the wads with slade, and you, @cannonball i mean, added a few things in this release to the past episodes, like new skies and even a new one for episode 4. With a consolidated pwad we will know for sure what would be your final vision for this work.

And i don't recommend you to revisit episode 1,2, and 4, to make changes, but its your work and i don't want to tell you what to do with it, just my opinion as a player and fan of your work.
Those pwads were already cacoawarded so you can certainly think that they are perfect the way they are. 

[Firedust]

Finally got around to playing. I have one question. Why is the start of e3m1 much rougher than in e4m1? Very violent.

 

EDIT: Okay, so far I can't say I'm a huge fan of all these crazy starts where you rush for berserk and then continuously run around until you find some proper weapons and briefly after - the exit switch. Feels like you are recycling the same shtick there. Don't let my opinion discourage you though - it's merely an opinion after all. I'm just going to hope that the maps after m4 will pick up the slack.

 

EDIT2: From the execution perspective, map 4 is definitely the best so far.

Edited June 8, 2020 by Firedust

[cannonball]

11 hours ago, Firedust said:

Finally got around to playing. I have one question. Why is the start of e3m1 much rougher than in e4m1? Very violent.

 

EDIT: Okay, so far I can't say I'm a huge fan of all these crazy starts where you rush for berserk and then continuously run around until you find some proper weapons and briefly after - the exit switch. Feels like you are recycling the same shtick there. Don't let my opinion discourage you though - it's merely an opinion after all. I'm just going to hope that the maps after m4 will pick up the slack.

 

EDIT2: From the execution perspective, map 4 is definitely the best so far.

 

E3M1 was just me being very mean, however there probably isn't any point comparing to Thy Flesh at this point as that episode was always a random episode on its own and is in no way cannon to whatever 'story' is going on in regards to the events around the Hadron collider. I guess the question is whether this episode is more difficult compared to RTH E1/2, the objective was the push the difficulty a little further compared to the previous episodes but obviously not too far. 

I'm afraid that most maps here will put the player in trouble from an early point, however in many levels a powerful weapons shouldn't be that far away, in fact like in E3M3, the weapon could be grabbed straight from the start. However I will look at the possibility of softening up the initial rush if many find the opposition a little too oppressive.

Cheers for the feedback, hopefully you will enjoy the later levels.  

[Alfonzo]

Cannonball! I'm your biggest fan and I love your work.

 

I wish I had something for you to autograph. Cannonballs are hard to come by. Maybe a black bowling ball?

[Firedust]

8 hours ago, cannonball said:

 

E3M1 was just me being very mean, however there probably isn't any point comparing to Thy Flesh at this point as that episode was always a random episode on its own and is in no way cannon to whatever 'story' is going on in regards to the events around the Hadron collider. I guess the question is whether this episode is more difficult compared to RTH E1/2, the objective was the push the difficulty a little further compared to the previous episodes but obviously not too far. 

I'm afraid that most maps here will put the player in trouble from an early point, however in many levels a powerful weapons shouldn't be that far away, in fact like in E3M3, the weapon could be grabbed straight from the start. However I will look at the possibility of softening up the initial rush if many find the opposition a little too oppressive.

Cheers for the feedback, hopefully you will enjoy the later levels.  

I definitely enjoyed map 5 a lot more than the levels before it - as I was massacring my way through, I was having minor flashbacks of the first two episodes. The layouts seemed kind of familiar, not sure why. Maybe it was the spidey in the center of the big room or some of the areas surrounded by damaging floors. Also, I couldn't figure out any of the secrets apart from the megaarmor, which I found by total accident. Man, you really don't want people to find them, do you? ;)

The lava encounter with barons, cacos and cyb was really cool and killed me a couple times before I figured out the right way to crowd control the mobs.

 

Hopefully, will finish the episode today. Also, I don't think the difficulty spike is all that huge in comparison to e2 - as soon as you negotiate some footing at the start of any level, you should be good to go. I guess what slightly disappointed me was that by the time I was done clearing out the initial wave of demons in the first three maps, that was pretty much me done with the level. But then I guess "sandbox-y" maps are your specialty, so not sure why I was getting surprised in the first place, to be fair.

[Firedust]

Map 6: Easily best of the set so far. So many cool encounters centered around a cyb wrecking the rest of the demons. Also, surprisingly enough, I managed to find the secret exit, which is weird, because until that point I really sucked at finding your secrets. Awesome map!

 

EDIT: Finished the mapset :)

 

The second half of the episode is much stronger than the first. Had an absolute blast with it. It's amazing how many different cyb-caco-baron scenarios you've managed to come up with and keep the whole experience fresh.

 

Thanks a lot for releasing this episode!

Edited June 9, 2020 by Firedust

[Salt-Man Z]

On 6/7/2020 at 6:27 AM, FrancisT18 said:

If I just load all three wads together will there be any conflicts (that you're aware of)? Like if I loaded Draft Excluder together with either ConCERNed or Hadron...it messes with the music, for instance. I don't think E1-E3 musics interfere, but I'm not sure about custom textures or skies, for instance.

^ Was wondering this myself.

 

I've been meaning to play the first two for a long time, now I can do all 3 together at once, hooray!

[Steve D]

E3M1 - HNTR Maxed ;)

 

As you know, I've never been a fan of Tyson maps, so after dying a bunch on UV, I dropped to HNTR and found a shotgun. :)

 

Probably the biggest problem I had was seeing where I needed to go. This map is dark on default gamma in GZDoom. For example, I spent some time grumbling after I found the YK, because there was a red door and a blue one, but no yellow in sight. Imagine my surprise when I found it in a stygian alcove near the start. From that point, the map ended quite soon.

 

I might have preferred having to kill the Cyb instead of telefragging him, but that would mean giving us more resources. Perhaps you want to avoid loading up continuers? Still, we've seen this mechanic in ConC.E.R.Ned and Ancient Aliens. I guess I'm not sure if I'm glad to see it again. Edit: Oops! Never mind. For some reason I forgot that this is a revision of E3 of ConC.E.R.Ned. My daily derp moment. :D

 

For the record, loads of Steve D pelts are now yours. Almost all my deaths occurred in the starting area or in the RL trap -- just me, a Rocket Launcher, 2 Pinkies and 2 Barons in a small dark room. Feel the love!!!! ;D I died plenty of times on HNTR by stupidly getting myself stuck and/or cornered. Herr Cyb did the rest, usually.

 

Nice, vicious opener. Now that I know the route, I'll have to make a UV run soon.

Edited June 9, 2020 by Steve D

[Steve D]

E3M2 UV this time. 96% Kills and 33% secrets (the outdoor PG)

 

Much easier at the start than M1, but it got nastier the deeper I went in. Close combat with mixed monsters including Barons. Well, in-close is where they shine, so they're well used. Solidly annoying use of Spectres as well, as they kept appearing exactly where I didn't want them, especially the one that closed off the downward stairs as a Baron descended on my other side. 

 

The overall look is dark, grim and foreboding. Love the midi in this one, nice and creepy. Btw, I thought M1's midi was a bit repetitive. I know it's a short map, but still . . .

 

Ammo is a little too tight for my taste, though I could have used the crushers to greater effect against those Cacos. All the fights were good and the exit fight was utterly evil. Trolling us with rockets in a room where you have to fight Pinkies and mid-tiers on lava, yay. Now that's what I call mean-spirited. ;D

 

Another sharp, vicious map.

[Steve D]

E3M3:UV again. 92% kills, Zero secrets.

 

I loved this one. Absolutely rude in the way it throws enemies at you. I was shocked at how much damage I was taking from Imps. It was like getting hit with Revvie rockets. But of course, I had no armor. ;D  Cacos and Shotgunners and Barons, oh my! I was getting slimed, fireballed and perforated from every direction known to man. The pelts piled up 3 stories high, but I was having fun the whole time. Good trick making me enjoy getting killed. ;)

 

I always knew there was a way to beat this Marble and Gstone slaughterhouse. Luckily I was playing on GZDoom so I could skip across the pillars without being infinitely talled. I started carving out safe spaces, finally found more ammo, especially those precious rockets, a necessity with all the gasbags and nobles present. I also learned that, for reasons known only to cannonball, the upper Exit area was a zone of relative calm, so from there I began to earn victory by chopping my way down through the hordes. I was also able to cheese the Blue Key leg by standing in the switch alcove where the water lowers, so I could choose when the Barons to be revealed below would see me. Natch, I had died the first time through, thus was able to learn the hard way and formulate this strategy. Once I grabbed the key it was smooth sailing to the exit.

 

I was irked by my failure to find any secrets, so after playing I opened the map in UDB and when I saw how the Soulsphere secret worked, I said, "No, you didn't!" Not only was it another of cb's beloved 'hit switch and run like hell before the lift raises' secrets, but to even hit the switch required little short of Doom Clairvoyance because of the way he shows you the switch and then takes it away. This was an act of such cruel, devious dickery that I literally stand in awe of how marvelous it is. This is an absolutely fantastic secret, one of my new all-time favorites. So, having flubbed my initial chance, and knowing where to position myself to hit the switch, I opened a save and proceeded to acquire the secret, though it took, as usual for my bumbling self, several tries. The Blue Armor secret was only slightly more straightforward and will bedevil players for years to come.

 

All in all I thoroughly enjoyed this map. Sheer, concentrated mayhem that keeps coming at you with dripping fangs.  And just look at how that mountain of Steve D pelts is growing. It may soon eclipse the sun! ;)

 

 

[cannonball]

@Steve D Cheers for the feedback, and obviously I am glad that the pelts are mounting up. 

Regarding E3M1, I have now added some lighting around the doors, which should improve progression somewhat. I will probably address this throughout the episode.

[Darch]

Downloading right now!

[tourniquet]

Still need to play 3-7 & 3-8 but here are some inept demo's, with tons of deaths for the rest of the set.

HadronE3_TNq.zip

 

I've always been a huge fan of your works, especially Draft Excluder and Hadron E1&E2 are some of my favorite sets for Ultimate Doom. I think this is by far one of  your best efforts to this date. The maps whilst mostly rather short and crisp offer some fantastic challenge and highly chaotic gameplay. Creating some interesting encounters with the limited variety of enemies isn't an easy task and you, once again really hit the nail in that regard. 3-5 and 3-9 were my absolute favorite maps so far.

 

I've no bugs/issues to report at this point however some misc thoughts.

 

3-5 - Didn't like the Combination of a shoot switch and a Cybie right behind, upon entering the BFG fight. The chance of catching a rocket before you even have a chance to leave the teleporter is pretty high

 

Same goes for the teleporter that leads to the exit, i got killed multiple times due to being teleported right in front of the cybie up there.

 

3-9 - I think it's easy to miss the RL at the start, i did and accordingly had a hard time gaining some foothold. Considering there are multiple spots where you can find all other weapons a second RL somewhere might be a good idea

 

The secret blue armor can be accessed without shooting the hidden switch via SR50

 

[D.Vile]

I beat all of the monsters in the final arena of E3M8, but then nothing happened. No traces of an exit switch or portal nearby. Tried opening the map on GZDoom Builder to figure out if I was missing something, and it turns out there is indeed no level exit (no signs of linedef actions 11 or 52). Oh, bummer.