The DWmegawad Club plays: MAYhem 2020

[Capellan]

MAP04

Fun map with some obvious IWAD nods.

 

The scrambling battle after you drop down the lift is definitely the highlight of the level; everything afterwards is a smidgen straightforward.  The blockline on the exit revs is definitely something that drastically blunts their threat level here.

[golbeeze]

MAYhem time! Maps 01-04, here we go! I started out on an easier difficulty and nearly immediately regretted it. Starting map 05 I have increased the difficulty. I started over completely, so I may have a noticeably different inventory next video. I'm using Colorful Hell and Doom Incarnate again. I just love that combo. I didn't like the first map all that much. The massive battle at the end was fun, though. I really liked maps 02 and 03. They were short but lots of fun with good battles. Map 04 was ok, but it didn't stand out in my mind. I think it was the worst of the 4.

 

[TheNoob_Gamer]

MAP04: Deep Focus (X)

(UV, X meant I played/gave feedback to the map during development)

 

One of my favorites in this megawad; and I disagree with golbeeze for being the worst out of the first 4. Maybe it's because I have different taste.

 

I like how the map first started as a tribute to iwad map04, with the moving windows, lighting and all; and then you drop down the lift and it becomes a thing of its own. Actually, not really, the ceiling in the second room still reminds you that you are in some sort of hidden base system like original map04; and the overall visuals; lighting and detailing still looks as familiar. It really gives a touch to everything.

 

The gameplay feels, uh, good. First you have your usual zombieman and imp ordeal, then drop down and a baby spider is waiting to fry your butt with its troopers formulated on the ledges. Step to the right of the room and you get the chance to play chain reaction with the sergeants and the barrels. (During the first version, these barrels were pretty useless - they served as tedious roadblocks and added nothing to advance the overall fast-paced flow of the map.) The remaining barrels can be used to kill the chaingunners (and getting the chainguns faster) or chip down some health of the HK ambush later on. I like when you have a choice to use barrels like that. Also gotta mention the clever usage of teleporter linedef to lock the SSG out and you have to obtain the yellow key...

 

...triggering the ambush that I consider to be the weakest in the map. You have only one HK, 1 caco (and a PE assuming you decided to leave it alive earlier, plus mancubi), and everything can be triggered to be infight each other (especially the battle between HK and caco got intervened by the mancubi and they decided to do nothing). I guess it is fun, but still, upon replaying, some imps should have teleported on the ledge (which might be possible considering the later ambush).  At least it gives you a false sense of security, which I'll come back to later.

 

The key grabbing sequences have nothing stand out in particular. I like how there aren't ambushes, that likely is one positive thing about this megawad. You have to use the sector count wisely.

 

The weakest ambush got a little bit interesting when the archvile decided to jump in - this is the part where there should be more reinforcement imps. I usually let it resurrect the Arachnotron then Mancubi and finally everything else; then I could just stand there and watch the duo eradicate everything in the room. Otherwise, it is a bit weak; but still might catch some players off-guard. 

 

Finally when you get to exit; bony duo gives you a farewell. Giving my farewell to them back isn't hard, I like it.

Also, gotta mention how this map reuse some of the enemies for later ambush, like the revenant guarding the red key visible at spawn. I thought that is really clever of the author.

 

Verdict: Nice nod to map04 with relatively fast-paced combat with some rather weak surprises. 8/10, like I said this is one of my favorites so I definitely was biased.

[RottingZombie]

Wow, where are all the secrets in this wad :D. I'm 3/3 so far.

 

Didn't enjoy this map too much. It was cute but kinda flat like wolfenstein, as someone said previously. The rev room was overkill compared to the rest of the monster density. I liked the microwave sprite. Finally noticed the shotgun sprite this time.

 

 

[TheNoob_Gamer]

1 minute ago, RottingZombie said:

I liked the microwave sprite

Wait, there was a microwave?

[RottingZombie]

@TheNoob_Gamer Oops, I should have said texture rather than sprite.

 

 

[Endless]

 

MAP02: Nukaged-Powered Claustrocomputer by Redead-ITA

LZDoom

HMP

This time, I'm using Led's Generic Weapons mod, pretty wad friendly and enhances the vanilla weapons.

A fairly short map that we can finish without major problems in less than 3 minutes. Quite a few combat areas can be avoided so I think it's perfect for a UV Fast. Visually, it's okay, without the big stuff, but I think after the first map, it suffers a little from that. It does have some neat visual tricks, with some are been more eye catching, but overall, the whole map doesn't feel as great, but it still is pretty fun to play with some fast combat and well-done progression.

 

MAP03: Bubble Home Bunker by DynamiteKaitorn

LZDoom

HMP

 

Now this is cute. A very small, almost spooky mansion that seems to not go that far. This really feels a lot like a Wolf3D level. The last area is a big no-no tho. Don't put dozens of revenants in one single, tigh room and expect me to stay there. I flee from that shit. After that, well, theres really nothing special about this map, its just flat, like, really flat. Theres no depth or complexity, just one small maze-like map with some Doom cute stuff here and there. This is really damn vanilla, ultra vanilla.

Edited September 5, 2020 by Endless

[Biodegradable]

MAP04 - Deep Focus

UV | Continuous with Saves | GZDoom + Zagemod

 

This map hits you hot and heavy and doesn't really let you go until you've killed every last blighter standing: Hitscanners, imps, an Arachnotron and a Manc, oh my! This one was good fun after the last couple of maps had fallen a little bit flat for me in terms of leaving a lasting impression. I liked the nod to MAP04: The Focus from Doom 2 at the beginning and found the combat pretty fun overall. The map's layout, design and progression however didn't really light my fire, but I reckon it won't be long before another map shows up that presses all the right buttons for me. This map is probably not going to make my favourites/honourable mentions list, but it was indeed fun to blast through and a much more engaging experience. 

 

 

[Redead-ITA]

Well seeing that everyone has already played my map i can drop some tidbits about it:

1. This meant to be a 10 sectors map that i would later use the other 10 to expand upon it (I was playing some that Obsidian recommended in the thread main topic prior to the begin of may) , but when i was done i reached 11 sectors minimum + 1 because of multiplayer concerns (The red key and blue key shared the same sector, and i didn't want people to break the map)
2. Similarly didn't want to make secrets or same sectors with different light fearing that it would lower my already low count of sectors, so most of the sectors that had light in them had light sources on top.
3. Originally the last part of the map instead of an SSG i gave a plasma rifle, but it was recommended the SSG mostly to not escalate the armament at the player disposal too soon, similarly enough i planned for a baron to be guarding the exit ala, staying there and not move to much, but i though against it later on.

[klaymeb]

I'm gonna start this one by revising my opinion of MAP03 somewhat.

 

MAP03 - “Bubble Home Bunker” by DynamiteKaitorn

UV / Pistol start / GZDoom

 

My first impression wasn't very positive, so I went back and played the map a few times to see if I couldn't get a more nuanced opinion.

 

There are a not a lot of wandering monsters, and most of the challenge is in the key traps. I really like the composition of monsters at the yellow key - they're not tough, but you're not exactly swimming in resources here. In fact, the health and ammo balance is delicate, so you have to be careful. Especially since there's quite a few gotcha-shotgunners around corners. The blue key fight is the actual pain in this fight, and I still think the hallways around there are too tight. You constantly bonk and get stuck on walls, which is not a good experience when dodging that many Revenants.

 

First impressions last, as they say, and I (now) know that the layout and texturing of the map brought down the whole for me. I still don't really like the looks, and I think a very simple solution to it would be to raise the ceiling; that'd make the map feel a lot less claustrophobic. The bigger monsters clip through the ceiling, which makes the map look janky. That'd also be solved with this solution.

 

Still wont be a favourite, but I like the map a little more after subsequent playthroughs than I did after the first one. 

 

MAP04 - “Deep Focus” by The_SloVinator

UV / Pistol start / GZDoom

 

Wow, we're going in hot! I tried getting rid of the monsters on the first floor first, but I found that the best strategy was to rush to the elevator, and get rid of the monsters on the lower level first. That does take some foreknowledge, but I got that in spades dying over and over trying to get the situation under control. I really liked it. After that the map is kinda done... There's an Arch-vile, but it's an easy encounter, really. The monster composition going to the exit is good, but then again, didn't kill the zombiemens and the Imps before going down to the elevator. The monster-blocking line stopping the two Revenants at the exit completely neuters the final fight, even more so if you cleared the first room earlier in progression.

 

Resources are on the tight side. Lot's of health around, but there's also a lot of damage being dealt. The one secret on the map would certainly have helped. I didn't find it until after going back after killing everything, and I ended up resorting to wall-humping to find it. I don't know if I think that's good or bad, but it certainly is annoying.

 

I really like the layout of the map. There's enough cover, but also not enough cover, for the encounter to be tense. Texturing is fine and tech-basey. It has a bit of an IWAD feel; closer to Plutonia or TNT than the original two. 

 

Great map. I had fun getting gibbed!

 

Edited September 4, 2020 by klaymeb

[loveless]

prboom+, no saves, uv pistol starts  
map 3
deaths 0

yooo, what the fuck was that wall of revs.

 

 

map 4

deaths 0   

grabbing the ssg threw me for a bit, good to see a friendly vile pop up early on.

 

mayhem 2020 demos 3-4.7z

[Roofi]

Sorry if I'm going too far , I do the normal and bonus maps at the same time.

 

Map 33 by Walter Confalonieri

 

 

This level reminds me of the very old D!zone maps with a simple architecture and a varied progression. I liked this map for its desert theme and its standard but straightforward gameplay.

 

Map 34 by Impie

 

 

A cute vacation center located in the middle of the space. The level is surprisingly difficult because of the lack of ammunition. A nice  challenginglevel.

 

Map 35 by Hawns Braks

 

 

A map truly focused on exploration. The beginning is quite dreadful because of the darkness and the lack of armor but becomes progressively easier. I really like the transparent doors!

[kalaeth]

HNTR, no mods, continuous play, trying not to save during levels :

 

MAP04 - well, focus is one of my most hated maps from early doom2 but luckly the homage seems to be somewhat restricted to the first room. ironic-yey for "up on your face revenants", the one after the lift I was able to kill without much problem, but the second one hit me right in the face as soon as I saw it. Second go. This time I went for the SSG, and then got teleported right into his face, unloading a couple of slugs into that bony body. And then I forgot the chaingunner. dammit. Still alive but barely. Cue extremely cautious playing, and that's 2 bone boys dead from a corner. All that is left is some wall thumping to find the one secret.. Done, this will be usefull on the next level.

death count : 1

total deaths : 5

 

(ups, just noticed I was saying HMP but it's HNTR instead -_- I am playing them again in HMP now, and will follow from there, maybe?)

Edited September 4, 2020 by kalaeth

[Mr Masker]

Map04: D E E P Focus

 

This map is fun with some nice traps, a couple of nods to the original "The Focus" and a short length. fun, beggining levels stuff

[Pechudin]

MAP04: Deep Focus (Kills: 40/40, Secrets: 0/1, Deaths: 0)

    A homage to the MAP04 of DooM II, but other than the raising and lowering shutters it reminds me more of some of the starting maps of D2TWID. Short, simple, and relatively (on HMP) easy. Hardest encounter were the final two Revenants, or at least they would've been if they decided to hang around the main elevator. Instead they hung out in one of the side shutter areas, and were easily disposed of. No idea where the secret is.

 

Verdict: Some enemy placement was a bit weird. That Mancubus looked way out of place.

[DuckReconMajor]

MAP04: Deep Focus

glBoom+ 2.5.1.7um, skill 4, pistol starts with saves, no complevel specified

 

Great Focus tribute, The essence of early Doom2 levels echoed throughout the map.

I normally hate Arachnotron encounters but I thought this one was really well done!

Had a close-quarters low-health Archvile fight near the end too which was pretty intense

 

Spoiler

 

 

[DFF]

MAP04: Deep Focus by The.Slovinator (100% kills/100% items/100%secrets)   Deaths: 1

Blind Run|UV|Continuous|Trailblazer 1.5

 

A very nice map that is of slight homage to focus, with other IWAD elements. And finally another secret! its not often a WAD's secrets get outpaced by the level count.

 

This is a good map, using similar tactics as 1K lines of re-using previous areas to save on resources, usually through opening up hidden parts of the map. This had just enough detail to be enjoyable, and the contrasting height movement in the map keeps things interesting, something that map02 did as well. Combat is tight but not unforgiving, with an arch-vile being the capstone of its difficulty. Overall an enjoyable map. I was gonna say the only change i would make was to save a sector for some lights, but upon a doombuilder look there was in fact ceiling lights throughout, I just didn't notice them. So overall a good map. 

 

Sadly I feel most of these maps may not get near the competency of dragonfly's map, but thats not unexpected and there is still a lot of potential, just depends on how creative the rest of this WAD gets.

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

MAP01: Wet My Appetite

MAP04: Deep Focus

MAP02: Nukaged-Powered Claustrocomputer

MAP34: Mild Terror at Vacation Station

MAP33: The Desert Base

MAP03: Bubble Home Bunker

 

[loveless]

On 9/2/2020 at 11:09 PM, Capellan said:

Would have been better off only having 47 maps in the WAD, IMO.

 

...tell us how you really feel.

[Endless]

MAP04: Deep Focus by The_SloVinator

LZDoom

HMP

 

 

Easy starting area ala tech-base style, kinda Ultimate Doom style. Some zombiemen here and here but nothing truly hard. The map opens a little bit more with to clear paths, right and left, allowing us to find the keys. After that is just some more combat to return and where are done. Truly, is just lame, like the previous one, it's not that is bad, but this could've been way more fun or at least visually pleasing. Can be tricky with that last area, but still doable, just run quite fast or... actually just run.

[VanaheimRanger]

 

[Pirx]

On 9/3/2020 at 6:20 PM, Roofi said:

Let me join the party ! I will write very short reviews.

 

 

 

i like your reviews. what program are you using for making your map layouts?

[BoxY]

I'm a few days late but I'd like to see if I can go the distance with one of these playthroughs. I'll play in GLBoom for the compatible maps, UV pistol start unless I start getting bullied in which case I'll cry and turn the difficulty down to whatever I feel like. I'll probably skip every secret and kill that's not in front of my face. My backlog:

 

MAP01: Wet My Appetite

Although I played so much Eviternity that Dragonfly and OTEX texturing became fused in my mind and it felt weird and uncanny to see his mapping style in stock textures, his trademarks are still clearly present with a dense and well connected layout, nice curvy bits and a fast and intuitive progression. The nice thing about maps like this is that even if I don't know what I'm doing I can just hit the nearest switch at random and it magically progresses me to the next phase of the map. The geometry is extremely impressive for a 20 sector limit but if you look at the symmetrical and repeating bits on the automap you can kinda tell how his optimisation process worked. Difficulty was breezy with the usual weakling enemies in keeping with timeless MAP01 traditions for a pleasant intro to the wad. But wait, isn't it supposed to be whet my appetite? Hello, paging hack fraud department.

 

MAP02: Nukage-Powered Claustrocomputer

The claustrocomputer clearly was overclocked and did a nice job of compressing half the map into crappy little 64 and 128 unit wide corridors. Depending on how nearby enemies decide to path, you can either get blocked and die or get away easy. Fortunately the map is short and straightforward enough that it's not a big deal either way. The crate maze stuff is kinda lame but I can see how it would be an easy way to add a sense of detail to the map without adding new sectors. Overall, I didn't hate it and the progression was nice and straightforward.

 

MAP03: Bubble Home Bunker

A cute MYHOUSE type map that probably isn't supposed to be taken too seriously. It's also cramped and the extremely low ceiling height gives me a vague anxiety but there's enough room to fight everything if you use the space you've given. On my first run I got cornered by the revenant horde from the blue key trap and died, and on my second run the blue key trap didn't activate no matter where I walked (sector related bug?) so I just exited. Crawling with guilt at having not only cheated the game but myself, I went back a bit later and cleared the map properly. Not too bad.

 

MAP04: Deep Focus

I quite like The Focus and I'm all for people dropping tributes to McGee's mapping style, but this map is slightly ass from a pistol start, at least on UV. A beginner's trap from the first room is that half the ammo you need to get started on the map is tucked in the little side corridors, so if you do the obvious thing and grab the shotgun in front of you then you can get dropped down and can't go back and get the ammo. Getting teleported away from the SSG area by the unmarked teleport linedef was sux and if there's one thing I almost can't forgive, it's maps that make me fight pain elementals with only the shotgun. Depending on where you happened to kill the other enemies, the vile that spawns in the main hall will immediately rez the mancubus, caco, arachnotron etc. and waste time and ammo, or sometimes he rezzes nothing at all. Overall this map wasn't badly made but little details in thing placement rubbed me the wrong way.

[Scorpius]

1 hour ago, Pirx said:

 

i like your reviews. what program are you using for making your map layouts?

 

You can use SLADE3 to save images of the map layouts. I do this myself sometimes :)

[Horus]

14 minutes ago, BoxY said:

MAP01: Wet My Appetite

But wait, isn't it supposed to be whet my appetite?

 

It's wordplay based on the prominent use of water in the map

[BoxY]

Just now, Horus said:

 

It's wordplay based on the prominent use of water in the map

Dang, you're completely right, the punnery was even more powerful than my pedantry.

[RottingZombie]

Took a while to find that secret. This map riffs on one of my favorite Doom II levels, so I enjoyed it. Thought it was well done and it reminded me of some kind of lost Zone 300 map. That's high praise since that's one of my favorite megawads off all-time.

 

 

[VanaheimRanger]

15 hours ago, Roofi said:

Map 34 by Impie

 

 

A cute vacation center located in the middle of the space. The level is surprisingly difficult because of the lack of ammunition. A nice  challenginglevel.

I believe I used the word "cute" several times when recording this map, myself, lol.  I was especially amused by the blue key on the surfboard, lol.

[Capellan]

MAP05

Another one with quite the riot of textures, but I felt they were combined more effectively and 'naturally' than map02.  Good use of height variation given the sector limit.  Fun if low key action, too, though I think carrying over decent weaponry didn't hurt here as it made the action more brisk than it might otherwise have been.  Liked the endgame monster combination, though probably pretty easy to ignore it and just rush the exit if you wanted.

 

[Pixel Fiend]

 

05 - Wastewater Plant

 

[Presentation] With this beautiful winding indoor structure decorated with things like pipe sprites, and intereesting shapes of walls, DavidN proves to be a talented mapper. The spaces are neatly filled, and seeing as Doom in general will force you to walk through exceptionally bland rooms, this is a most satisfying view. Also worth noting is that suspended bridge area. There are nooks like that to admire. I noticed that the fantastically made midi rendition of one of Quake 2's rocking songs doesn't lend itself to this maps's atmosphere very well. That said, it's nice to jump back to this level to hear it again. It is by no means as dreadfully monotonous and distracting as "At Doom's Gate".

 

[Gameplay] The map also plays really well. You have to be perceptive to locate the few switches and the cleverly "revealing itself" red key in order to get to the centre. The enemies provide balanced combat, with many infighting opportunities. The final encounter is easily skipped as a several menacing monsters crawling from the circular room easily let you through to the exit hole. Sometimes that's a welcome skip, but I expected a little challenge.

 

8/10

Edited September 7, 2020 by <<Rewind

[klaymeb]

MAP05 - “Wastewater Plant” by DavidN

UV / Pistol start / GZDoom

 

This map is so cool! The combat is constant fun, and I think the MIDI really supports the run-and-gun feel I had playing this. The traps and roaming monsters are pretty well-balanced and there's enough ammo to go around. Playing from pistol start, the way that rockets are given teases that there must be a rocket launcher somewhere on the map, and it took me a while to realize where it was. Cleverly you have to choose between rushing to the exit, clearing the monsters with your limited arsenal, or get the rocket launcher. The latter option allows the Arch-vile time to resurrect, so it wasn't an obvious choice. I had to try that one a few times.

 

I loved the layout, circling around the central room that you open in with the last key. Lowering/raising platforms to open up sections of the map is a good way to add progression, especially in a small map. The design with pipes and going up and around nukage pits bring home the theme. There's some forced nukage sections, but there's plenty of rad suits around. They lend themselves to treasure hunting though.

 

Simple, but engaging run-and-gun gameplay in a well-designed map that looks great. Certainly my favourite map so far.