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dobu gabu maru

The DWmegawad Club plays: 180 Minutes Pour Vivre

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MAP08 - Ruée vers Laure (add four more deaths to my death counter)

doom05.png.b4f8d3e6443960eee67cdefd3b26fca6.png

It has a very nice concept and good gameplay, and can be pretty hard if you're not ready (or a noobie like me). I would have put a little more of ammo at the beggining, but it's good, quite good. It's a shame that the RNG hates me, I got many max damage rolls that killed me four times.

Deaths: 1+4=5

 

Edited by Lol 6 : LMAO

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On 3/6/2021 at 6:39 PM, MtPain27 said:

MAP 04: Ignominie

Good music too. (Doom Wiki doesn't have all the tunes listed, I kinda wish I knew what they were)

 

The tracks are listed in the txt file, I believe. The music is a MIDI version of Show Me How to Live by Audioslave.

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19 minutes ago, Thenuke said:

 

The tracks are listed in the txt file, I believe. The music is a MIDI version of Show Me How to Live by Audioslave.

Ah yes, I should have checked that first. Thanks!

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map08 fda

the atmosphere in this map is brilliant - it keeps you on the edge of your seat but id argue that nothing in the map is actually that dangerous but it puts you in the mood that something deadly is about to happen. i think this fits with the setting of a dingy cave where your imagination is often worse than the reality :)

i really enjoyed the platforming aspects of this as well (exit, blue key door etc.) lovely map.

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Map 08 :

 

584px-180_Minutes_Pour_Vivre_MAP08_map.p

 

An another occasion to comment my map. This is my favorite contribution among my 7 maps, with map 32 just behind. However, the last one has much more controversial gameplay choices. This explains its positioning in a secret slot afterall

 

When I designed this map on paper, I initially planned to do a fast-paced  and energetic level with like  fifth map but with the chaingun as the main weapon.. I got the idea to create the gold mine after playing Wild Guns on SNES (Awesome Game with a stuning soundtrack !!!!!) . However the layout was too cramped and the cavern too dark to create this kind of map so I chosed to make something a lot more trappy and atmospheric.

 

To be honest, I don't know if I would have enjoyed this map as much without the @Psyrus's music "Crystalline" which is one of the best midi I have ever heard. It's a the perfect track to set up a relaxing yet  enigmatic ambiance. Map 14 also uses a midi by Psyrus. He's a very very underrated midi composer.

 

Despite the rare but rather deadly traps , "Ruée vers Laure" was meant to be rather easy However, I decided to do something more dangerous than map 05. Playing slow is the key of success here. Rushing may be quite dangerous without foreknowledge. Some people considered this map as the first difficulty spike from 180mpv mainly because they miss the SSG located near the automatic circular elevator. I think I should have placed the SSG elsewhere to make it more visible.

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map08

Another neat Roofi map with nice cave geometry this time. The start is a bit rude with chaingunners, AVs, a PE etc. but the weapons aren't hard to grab and there's a big cache of free resources nearby, so no matter how badly the start went, you can still progress to the rest of the map with full health and armour, which I like, and you can save the rest of the medikits so that if you're hurting you can backtrack to restock yourself which is handy when the rest of the map is made out of hitscan and traps. I died to the arachnotron and chaingunner trap the first time, so the second time I cheesed it by headbumping the door, no regrets. :) The only thing I missed sorely is the rocket launcher, which I couldn't find despite getting a rockets and made killing the two AVs on the lift slow and boring. The first time I killed them with shotgun and SSG from the ground, but it was so slow I thought damn, this can't be the intended way, so I went through the map until I was above them but killing them there was even worse because the imps would bait my auto aim and waste even more of my time. Visually I liked the setting except it could have done with a little more light variation because it feels like most of the map is uniformly pretty dark and brown, just a few brighter sectors would have made the different areas feel more distinct and atmospheric. Overall a nice map.

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Map08: Ruee vers Laure - Roofi

100% kills and 66% secrets. Time: 7:40

Deaths: 5

 

I did not expect to die this many times in this level, but I got some unlucky breaks. 1st death came from the Rev that teleports behind you when you go for the chaingun (forgot about him). 2nd and 3rd came from the same passage toward the blue key with the elevated chaingunners (2nd) and the lone hell knight (3rd) cause I didn't have much health going into them. I tried going the other direction upon reload and ended up rocketing a PE-shot Lost Soul in my face. Final death came from the Mancubi before the blue key. Honestly, if I went to the left first and grabbed the SSG, these deaths probably wouldn't have happened. Other than that, I do really like this level. The gold mine setting is really cool, and I like the golden machine parts like the lifts. I actually turned the MIDI on when I read Roofi's comments on it, and it's nice and chill. Adds some nice atmosphere to the map. None of the fights seemed unfair, even if I did end up playing it the hard way without the SSG for 90% of it. I found 2 secrets, and kinda forgot to look to see how many were in the level before finishing it. Oops. 

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Map 06

 

Speaking of abstract designs, this level's title is "Central Complex" in English, I think. Not unlike "Central Processing." which was used on at least two occasions in classic Doom. All sense of place is set aside for the purpose of creating a visually-striking and structurally sound level. If the structure containing the blue key is any indication, it's a power station set some ways from the coast (judging from the imp-containing hills directly across from your starting location), but maybe I'm just putting too much thought into this. No wait, of course I am. :p

 

The brown textures and yellow lights ubiquitous to all the levels before 05 make a strong return, despite one important building having a dull gray techbase look. I guess it's nice that a Revilution track is used, though I do feel sad because that's probably just one megawad I probably'll never get around to playing.  And I also feel fortunate that I only used rockets on the last Revenant you can see when you step out of your starting location because the swarm that attacks you when you cross the blue key linedef's pretty nasty. This level also introduces this megawad's frightening variation of the Archnotrons. Remember those cute baby blue eyes? Well, those are GONE, and you now have to contend with a menacing spider-thingy that shoots bright magenta plasma your way.

 

 Thankfully, infighting opportunities are pretty plentiful here, with the nightmare cacos only boosting the likelihood with their multiple fireball attack.  And I somehow didn't die here. The spot the megaarmor's located in is tagged a secret because perhaps the mapmaker thought having a map with zero secrets was just odd, idk. Killing the arch-vile at the end in the grey building where you had to press a button to lower the structure around the blue keyt wasn't too difficult, but I really need to learn to sidestep, lol. I thought the intermission text was funny. Can someone tell me why we have to go to another castle?

 

Map 07

 

Speaking of Central Processing, the music track "Horizon" was used in Map 20 of Evilution. It's quite funny. People usually think "HuntShootKill" or some other music track when they think Tom Mustaine ("More" is my personal fav), but this hauntingly atmospheric piece may just be the best thing he's done musically. And it really fits the tone of the level. I dunno if Datacore just likes cavernous areas since that's a style he also utilized extensively in Map 03 of this set, but I haven't played his other maps and I'm not sure if he's gonna show up.

 

So moving on, this level seems to be set in a hidden lab where teleport experiments are being conducted. And it feel dangerous! You push one button and monster closets open in the backs of teleporters containing Imps. Push a button in the back of one of them and open something else up. Push a button behind that and the area of the room you're in plunges down, and you're surrounded by some fairly nasty foes. I died a couple of times in this area. The rest of the level doesn't feel quite so ridiculous though, despite the constant tiresome traps. Dark blue is used in a prominent-enough way, you have to wonder if the demon's captain's happen to like blue and corrupted the base with that color scheme in mind. Chances are it was just like that anyway, and they just enhanced what was there. I died around 6 damn times to that double Arch-vile ambush in the last hallway before I realized that maybe I should try running a little farther and take whatever resurrections they felt like.

 

However, I did manage to find both of the secrets though, which some folks had some trouble with. I wandered around for about 15 minutes before I hit a linedef around the corner from where you see the last Arch-vile, lowering a barrier in the same room with stairs that you can also find the plasma rifle where you can then enter a hallway with some goodies and a linedef which causes an arachnotron to teleport in. Lame.....

 

Map 08

 

Roofi calls this "easy" in the text file, but he's not speaking of pistol starts in here. Every death I had here (8 or so) came because I'm a dunderhead who can't figure out which areas shouldn't be accessed right away if you're pistol starting (Roofi is essentially correct when he says taking things slow's the best strategy). Plus ammo is tight, so you only have so many options. I found myself running from one end of the level to the other so that I had enough ammo to take out the enemies

 

I should probably say a few words about the level. Somehow you're in a mine. The music track used was apparently made by another Doomworld user who has composed for Doom before and it's kind of nice. Roofi says he likes to make open levels but the detail and shape of the level show a decent amount of thought went into it. The Wolfenstein door across from the corpse-filled stating location is like a storage closet with several gold bars with a Revenant who teleports behind you and a chaingun at the far end. And yes, I didn't realize you were supposed to use the Chaingun on the Revenant. And that wasn't the only combat foible I had either. Killing the two Arch-viles on that one platform that was constantly raising and lowering with the super shotgun was horribly tedious and I still don't understand why Roofi thought that placement made any sense. But there is a rocket launcher which will speed it up you can find on a raised platform at the opposite end of the level, which counts as a secret. I only found one other one that's located near the exit. The wiki says something about pushing some buttons not too far away from that which open a teleporter that takes you to the ledge with the supercharger, but it wasn't that obvious to me. And I suck with endings for some reason.

Edited by LadyMistDragon

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Map 08 - Ruée vers Laure

This map was a real blast. Very different game play compared to Roofi’s map 05, much less enemies and a lot more methodical exploring. To me it still had an enjoyable atmosphere thanks to the nice music and unique setting. Lots of devious monster surprises in this one, but nothing that was too crazy to handle. When I went inside the vault area at the start the revenant scream actually made me jump right out of my chair, hahaha! I ended up taking some damage in the hallway with the baron, arachnotron and chain gunners on pillars, so I ended up dying to the surprise mancubus that was guarding the blue key (he must have seen me enter the level because I had heard him and wondered where he was). I was able to handle the archvilles and Pain Elementals (I tried to get right in their face so they couldn't spawn lost souls) and the secrets weren’t too hard to find either. Really enjoyed that one, can't wait to play the other maps that Roofi has in store for us.

 

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Map 08 - Ruée vers Laure

PrBoom-Plus 2.5.1.5 with OpenGL, UV, pistol starts, saves, any%

 

The exact opposite of Roofi's map05. Strange visuals with lots of yellow and combat that really forces the player to take it slow, as opposed to a generic blue techbase and fast-paced combat. There's also not much ammo in Map08. I'm forced to use the pistol for longer than usual and I have to earn the other weapons I get  - the first chaingun is trapped with a Revenant, the super shotgun is right in the path of two Arch-Viles, and the rocket launcher is locked in a secret area I didn't find. Can't say I really enjoyed this map, but I do respect it for how successfully it creates its intended atmosphere.

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(Rewrote the whole thing, i was wrong the first time, ha-ha!)

 

MAP09 - The level has a few different sections, outside areas and one large building, and progress is made through a system of caves.  We start by a shallow river met by a welcoming party of hitscanners upon ledges and Arachnotrons and Chaingunners on your level.  Good opening battle, and a lap around the river initiates pleasant infighting scene.  But nothing really to give a sense of what's to come later as there's enough vacant space here for the fight to be almost easy-peasy, but not to worry, the lemon-squeezy -part will come soon enough.

 

The route to the next area through the caves is lethal, the fights are constantly intense and the traps are vicious, which constantly manage to kill me once, even on the second run.  There's two courtyard battles, both of which are tricky, combining different kinds of enemies with difficult placement, creating a rather nightmarish scenario in both cases.  But i managed through them on second run without dying.  To be honest, i like this now a lot more than first time, when i perhaps was a bit overwhelmed.

Entering the temple i'm greeted by the first new enemy, a black Cacodemon, with tougher peel and increased firepower. Hmm, i could take him or leave him.  Inside ensues soon an intense fight with a variety of demons, which i could only handle with rockets.  Oh, ammo!  Ammo is not plentiful, even if at times it seems so, it all gets used up rather quickly.  Here comes also another new monster, a Disciple of d'Sparil, of all things...is he lost?  He doesn't pose much of a threat, as i kill him from relative safety, but he does take a lot of ammo to dispatch.  Meh.

Then we get to the Yellow Key fight, with the second Archvile of the level for me, resurrecting Chaingunners.  i do like it, in fact, i like all the battles so far, though on my first run thought some were tedious, but now i get the point better. 

 

The worst fight so far comes as so often before with the Blue Key.  A horde of Revenants flanked by Pain Elementals is set loose in a slightly constricted space.  This time around i manage to mostly kill them with rockets, leaving maybe couple behind, as well as not paying heed to the PE's, in interest of saving some health and ammo.  So i run for the Blue Key and dash out.  It'd be possible to go back to kill the rest but...maybe next time.  For now i'm just glad to get out with some grace.

 

The final major fight comes just before the exit, in a circular room with closed lodges that release Cacos in waves.  It's tough, even on my second run, i die twice before finally succeeding.  Think the Black Cacos are a bit unfair, with the arsenal i've got at least...run out of rockets and plasma, so i had to shotgun them in the end.  Maybe i was wasteful, but sure didn't feel like it.

 

So yeah, my opinion changed quite a bit, and i'm glad i played through - didn't like a lot of it first time, but now nothing felt tedious, just tough as nails - i just wish a bit more ammo.  The layout works really well, i like the non-linear progression, and frankly, so do all the battles.  It also has a dark and eerie atmosphere, the music sounds like it's from Heretic, which i'm sure partly creates the mood.

i could take or leave the new monsters, for me they are gimmicky and unnecessary, but i know a lot of people enjoy them, and many like using them and creating them, so...i'll just agree to disagree with that.  Mixing Heretic and Doom, as in the temple, isn't my cup of tea, either, but the music really works well.

 

Nothing more to complain about - 8/10!  Definetely the hardest and most expansive level so far - quite an achievement if this was made in 180 minutes.

 

(And i watched in between the tries, first was few days ago, Henry K's playthrough, which admittedly helped a lot, making me see the error of my earlier ways.)

Edited by dei_eldren

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Crispy, UV, pistol starts, some occasional saving but trying to wean myself off of reloading (haha).

 

MAP08 - Ruée vers Laure

Interesting map, one of the most memorable ones thus far. There’s a real sense of dread and danger to this map that sets it apart from all the maps thus far, even if it isn’t necessarily outright hard. The traps and weapon placement definitely encourages a more methodical approach—I ran around like a headless chicken the first time around with just a pistol, but that’s on me—although it does get easier if you grab the relatively easy to find supercharge and RL.

 

I thought the SSG could indeed have been placed in a slightly more obvious location, but it’s not a dealbreaker. For some silly reason I persisted with shotgunning the AVs even though I’d found the RL on a previous attempt, but hey. 

 

I’m not always appreciative of trappy design but the traps fit the map’s mood so well that it worked for me. Being so short helps too, of course. Probably my favourite thus far?

 

MAP09 - Pour une Vengeance

I really liked the progression here. Starts out wide open with a perfect infighting enemy combo, but ramps up and maintains a pretty steady stream afterwards. I liked the mix of tight corridor shooting, monster closets, and the handful of more open, bruising encounters like the YK Caco horde and BK Revenant + PE combo. The latter was quite tough but manageable the second time around. I quite liked the exit room too; the Nightwatch Caco adds a welcome extra variation to Caco swarms beyond the usual Caco + PE combo, and I appreciate their strength in monster infighting. Looking forward to seeing them lay waste to more enemies à la MAP05 down the line.

 

Not entirely sure about the other new DeHackEd enemy. The temple structure with the Heresiarch just hanging out on the ledge didn’t do a lot to sell me on the enemy, and the fight wasn’t all that special either. Admittedly, I found the blue armour secret after the YK, so I just spammed plasma at it while tanking the blasts with the aid of the armour and supercharge, so maybe it's got more to do with me than the enemy itself.

 

In two minds about the Heretic assets, but then I’m not entirely the biggest fan of Heretic’s assets in general so, yeah, maybe it’s again just me.

 

Still liked this map more than a lot of the others so far, though. This is shaping up to be quite a good WAD.

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MAP09: Pour Une Vengeance (For Revenge), by @WH-Wilou84 - 100% / 50%

 

A love letter to Alien Vendetta, For Revenge is a complete mini-adventure, taking the player through a series of naturalistic caverns into the heart of a dark castle and back again.

 

Despite being completely linear, and hosting a fair number of chunky mid-tiers, this map is never dull. Each encounter is memorable and well thought out, my favourite being the final battle before the exit.

 

There are also a number of small interconnections that help bring the separate arenas together into a cohesive whole, like the lava moat inside the castle or the yellow key area.

 

The map also serves as an introduction to the Heresiarch, a rather chunky magician type enemy. While his debut encounter is easily cheesed, it also informs the player of the new beast's moveset. I am interested to see how this creature is used going forward.

 

Resource balancing is fair, generous even, the Heretic midi (that I remember because of AV) rocks and the visuals are pleasant to behold.

 

Overall, a fun mini-adventure map.

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MAP08 - Ruée vers Laure

HMP | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom + Dead Marine

 

The demons caught me trying to steal their gold hehe. I liked the design and theme of this map: plundering an abandoned mine riddled with a demonic infestation. Shame there were no mine carts to ride in. I appreciated the shift in tone to a more methodical and ambient affair where you're encouraged to be a little more cautious with this one, which in turn complements the atmosphere. Of all the maps I've smashed through so far, this one stands out to me as the one with the most personality.

 

 

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MAP09 - Pour une Vengeance by [WH]-Wilou84
Stats: 93% Kills | 94% Items | 50% Secrets

 

This is so far the most diverse level with both outside, more open areas, and close-quarters interiors/caverns. It is clearly inspired by Alien Vendetta (which is not a bad thing) 

 

The monster count is much higher than in the previous levels but this time it's more about the tougher ones like revenants, hell knights, or cacodemons. Imps and shotgunners/zombiemen are still present though. You have access to a lot of weapons starting with SSG and chaingun and ending with the plasma gun. The balance, flow, and the whole progression is really well made and thought out. There's enough ammo and health for every encounter but that doesn't mean that you can waste your ammo. You still have to manage it and be careful about the guns you use in each situation otherwise you'll have problems with the upcoming encounters. The part where you get the blue key and there are revenants and pain elementals everywhere was quite "meh". You can take them down with the plasma or rocket launcher but for me, it just wasn't fun so I just straight up skipped it during my third run. The "necromancer", as I call him, is the second new enemy (maybe even boss) of this WAD. He uses a mixture of imp, arachnotron and mancubus attack if I remember correctly. His introduction wasn't difficult at all since you have a lot of space around to maneuver. He's probably going to be a much more common enemy in the next levels.

 

The classic secret with the chainsaw was nice because it helped me save a bit of ammo on pinkies and imps. Couldn't find the second one. I believe it's behind a wall in one of the caverns. 

Overall a fun, well-designed, challenging level. It's really impressive that something like this was made in 3 hours (180 minutes). I like this map more than the previous ones so far but I enjoyed MAP 08 a bit more. 

Screenshot_Doom_20210309_135643.png

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MAP 07 Chaologie Quantique

 

A man after my own heart: this map features one of TNT: Evilution's best MIDIs, Tom Mustaine's "Horizon," but bears little resemblance to the TNT map that uses it. Chaologie Quantique is a compact techbase frilled with blue textures; it goes heavy on the teleport traps and hitscanners, so guard your health early on. The arch-vile trap nearly got me (just loop around him, grab the plasma, and go to town), and the DOUBLE arch-vile trap also almost got me (the plasma also saved me again at the last minute), but surprisingly, after an early hitscan-induced death, I wasn't stopped by anything else the level threw at me. I also found both secrets, though god knows how I found the second one with the cells and the surprise arachnotron. Just walk around until you hear a lift lower behind you I guess.

 

MAP 08: Ruee Vers Lauree

 

My lack of French knowledge is probably handicapping me in this playthrough. Does the title mean "Gold Rush?" That would make sense, because it's set in a gold mine, with the treasure rendered exactly like the loot in MAP 32 from JPCP, the bank robbery level. 

 

Ruee Vers Lauree would probably be a lot more fun to replay than it was to experience just once, a couple of these fights were a little claustrophobic or just plain irritating with my very incorrect initial approach, but Roofi gives you plenty of tools and supplies if you know where to look. Don't be like me: find the barely-hidden rocket launcher secret sticking out on a ledge right as you go up the elevator to the path that leads to the blue key. It'll help you deal with the arch-viles quicker, and also polish off the mancubus lying in wait. The room with the hell knight, arachnotron, and several chaingunners is pretty annoying, but can be neutralized by killing the hell knight before crossing the linedef that springs the rest of them on you. I love the health and ammo cache on the pile of gold bars (which I inexplicably left till the end of the map) and the pile of weapons you're given right before the map ends. Looting in Doom feels good. 

 

MAP 09: Pour Une Vengeance

 

Yikes, this map was not my cup of tea. A significant departure from the speed map format we've seen up to this point (it took me about twelve minutes to beat without secret hunting), Pour Une Vengeance is cavey, trap-heavy, and stretched out. There are a few fights I liked: the revenant/pain elemental ambush right after you get the plasma rifle is intense, and the final face-off with mixed sets of cacos and their nightwatch cousins was legitimately entertaining...god damn are the nightwatch cacos overpowered. Speaking of overpowered, the Heresiarch. He's slow and fairly vulnerable when you have cover to fall back on, but he's got about as much health as a cyberdemon (I hit him with 20+ rockets, 10+ SSG shots, and a handful of bullets), and my man spits far too many projectiles. He's like a Struggle boss, and wildly out of place in this relatively-unmodified megawad. I think the two custom monsters will come into play a lot more later on, and I hope the mapmakers don't abuse them, because they have the potential to throw the balance of combat way out of whack. 

 

Anyway, Pour Une Vengeance felt Alien Vendetta inspired; the text file confirms my suspicion, but I have to say, it looks and plays nothing like MAP 11. Trust me, that's a good thing.

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map09

This one was decent. It definitely has a very AV feel about it, I guess partly because of the music but also because of the geometry style and kinda epic adventure-y feeling as you journey through tunnels to different large open areas. I liked almost every fight, except ammo got too tight for me around the middle, especially shells, I suspect because in the middle cave area there were two shell boxes places in very annoying narrow areas which are the exact places I wanted to move to dodge enemy projectiles, which made me pick them up too early and waste them. This is why I don't really like maps that try to be too fancy with the ammo and plan out exactly what the player is supposed to be using at every single moment, because it only takes one off-script event to potentially throw that whole plan in the bin and cause problems in the rest of the map.

The new custom enemy seems pretty boring so far, since he seems to fill exactly the same role as the black caco i.e. slow tanky enemy that can shit out a million projectiles, and he seems to have replaced the smm and inherited her hp pool and splash immunity, which makes him a chore to fight one-on-one, although I suspect he's probably good for infighting in later maps.

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Map 09

 

300px-180_Minutes_Pour_Vivre_MAP09_map.p

 

The first map using the Heresiarch. The introduction of the new monsters and in particular the Heresiarch did not really meet the unanimous approval within the team. For my part, I liked to use it on most of my maps, but I wouldn't have been against keeping the Mastermind. The Heresiarch is basically a nastier mancubus which don't look as impressive as the cyberdemon but it fits with the theme of the map at least.

 

As other Wilou's maps , aesthetics are top-tier. "Pour une Vengeance" is a rustier more Heretic-like tribute to Alien Vendetta's map 11 with a big castle lost in a mountain and a lot of cavernous networks. I think everyone remembers how cramped and detailed were the caverns sections in AV map 11. This map offers wider outdoors and indoors spaces but a lot more linearity in counterpart.

 

I said in map 02 that I was not a real fan of grinding with the SG, however it's a different story for the SSG. It's a very fun and relaxing map where you just have to pulverize every monster blocking your way with your S.S.G. Some parts may be a bit tricky , notably near the end , but nothing really dreadful for now.

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Map09 - Pour Une Vengeance

 

WH-Wilou84's map again. I had high expectations for this map, and they were surpassed, as this is the best map in 180MPV so far by a mile. It's much more elaborate than one would expect for a map made in three hours, and there are some excellent fights - especially the blue key trap and the ending. Really fun. The Heresiarch feels like a boss monster, and I expect that is how it will continue to be used, though who knows, maybe one of the later maps will spring twenty on me at once. Lots of Heretic (?) textures, and I think the music is also from Heretic. I guess WH was going for a fantasy style here.

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Long time lurker here, I decided to finally participate in DWmegawad club monthly playthrough.

 

GLBloom+; UV with saves allowed; pistol-start

 

Map 01 - De Bronze et de Brique
The openning shot brings to memory map01 of Eviternity, which also begins with zombies and the way ahead curving to the right. The design of walls and tech pannels here also reminded me of Eviternity: they are remniscient of techbases in episodes 2 and 4. Off to a good start!

The chaingun is the main weapon on this level. I like it! There are not enough chaingun levels! You get none of the shotguns, but there are some other weapons present: berserk, plasma gun (secret), chainsaw (unmarked super-secret).

The secrets here are fun to seek but not difficult to reach (except, maybe, the chainsaw). You have plenty of bullets and many weapons, but you fight pretty mild oposition for the arsenal provided. I wish there were a few more monsters. I was expecting more pinkies/specters and a cacodemon or two somewhere outside, or near the end of the level.

 

Overall, this is a wonderful first map of the megawad, which makes me eager to see what comes next.

 

Map 02 - Yttrium
The level continues the visual theme of map01, but the combat becomes notably more fierce. Monsters are diverse squad of low-tiers (up to cacodemons), with a fair number of hitscaners. The progress works as follows: we arrive onto the new battlefield, fight our way through, push the button, fight our way back,
and proceed to the next battlefield.

The description above may sound boring, but the level feels very fun to play. Maybe this is because the number and the composition of enemies is calibrated exactly right, and you get to familiarize yourself with each battlefield before fighting the "main battle" there.

 

Also this map has the first new monster. There is a Nightwatch Cacodemon hiding in one of the 3 secrets.
Unfortunately for the round floating fiend, the same secret also contains the plasma rifle...

 

Map 03 - Retour sur Terre
We now arrive into underground caverns, to challenge more dangerous and more incidious foes. The start of the map is notably more difficult than both map 01 and map 02. We get not much ammo, a number of fat demons, and the first two unpleasant ambushes of the megawad: teleporting cacodemon in a in kinda small space and chaingunner behind the back. Oh, and of course there is a mancubus behind the very first door!
After defeating initial hurdles, the player must proceed with caution, because the monsters ahead are ready to attack you from multiple directions, while for a time being the chaingun will be your strongest weapon. And don't get overconfident after finally reaching the SSG, because
this map also introduces the first archvile and the first revenants of the megawad! Those spooky rocket bastards have a new down-to-earth makeover and try to blend in with the brown walls!

 

This map is notably more punishing than preceding ones, but the difficult encounters do not threaten to cascade out of control. There is no possibility of blunders like "You've let that achvile reach the pile of dead hell nobles", for example.

 

Map 04 - Ignominie
This map is short, but for me this shortness feels like a strong notable feature, not like a bug.

Imps in the dark are a nice twist, and they can waste a lot of ammo of a non-prepared player (like me). The first "main" encounter is the four revenant brawl after the red key. This is not as easy as it sounds, because your heavy weapon is rocket launcher, not the SSG, and the room is not that big. It is big enough for revenant missiles to fly in circles, but small enough to make it hard to outright run away from danger.

 

I will admit that I totally fell for the fake exit, because the fight before was difficult enough to serve as culmination of the slot 04 map, while the baron of hell looked exactly as obligatory end-level mini-boss. The only way to make the fake exit even better would be to put a nightwatch cacodemon inside. The first non-secret new monster could have been perfect fit for the "end-level miniboss" role.

 

People say that brevity is the soul of wit. In my opinion, this map proves them right.

 

Map05 - Grand Bleu
Hunting pinkies with the rocket launcher on the seaside! Sounds like holiday (doom holiday, that is).
This map, like map 01, has an unusual set of weapons: for the most of the map the player will be armed with berserk, rocket launcher and a big pile of bullets for the pistol. The oposition consisits of zombiemen, imps, sepcters, and pinkies, with some hell knights, mancubi, and ocasional chaingunner sprinkled in, so all three weapons in your arsenal come in handy.

From the begiining to the very exit all the combat on this map is the pure doom joy, culminating with big crowd of trash monsters to be moved down with either the rockel launcher, or with the shiny new chaingun.

 

But what if you want some bigger demons to fry? Than you need to find a little secret,
and go to the secret battle arena!
The secret arena starts with the invulnerability powerup, so that encounter is also not particularly hard,
despite having 3 (on UV) archviles on the flat island with little cover. The same fight also has a few nightwatch cacodemons, which prove to be formidable infighters,
destoing lesser demons with deadly salvos of imp and mancubus projectiles.

 

Overall, map 05 is a very fun slaughter-y light-hearted experience, which nethertheless provides
a hint of more difficult things to come.

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Map09: Pour une Vengeance - [WH]-Wilou84

100% kills and secrets. Time 17:12

Deaths: 2

 

Much fewer deaths than my original playthrough where I got completely destroyed by the Heresiarch and wave of Revs multiple times. This time, I only died once there, with the other being at the beginning when I got hit by a single Arachnotron plasma bolt for at least 40 damage when I only had 38. The level itself is fairly linear, with only a few spots with tough encounters. Pistol-starting makes those encounters hard, since I'm trying to ration rockets for later, but I needed to kill things quickly or get swarmed at one point. I do like the level look, with the cavern going into a castle/fort. The Heresiarch as an enemy is ok, but I think he may attack for too long. Like I keep expecting the fireballs to stop coming earlier than they do. And the wide range he shoots them at can be hard to avoid. Thankfully, there's enough Revs around to cause some infighting to go on. The final area with cacos and their Nightwatch variations seems like it would be harder than it is. I expected a Cybie to show up once that column in the middle lowered. I think there should have been SOMETHING on it. I ended up not needing that Megasphere in the room and didn't grab it until the end. Still, a pretty solid level.

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Map 09 - Pour une Vengeance

Right away, I recognize the rocking music from Heretic. I really like how in this level it feels like you’re infiltrating some kind of base. Coming from the gold mine/caves of Map08 it’s almost like there’s a bit of continuity.  Some really outstanding fights in this map. I really liked the one at the end with the red & black cacos (took me a couple tries). The Heresiarch seems a bit too tanky for my tastes. At first I thought he might be invulnerable after unloading a few rockets at him, so proceeded with the level. I ended up releasing the revenants and pain elementals to let them infight with the Heresiarch, I actually missed out on his death animation. Other than that I really liked the level, great detailed level design. Feels like some kind of hidden fortress in the mountains.
 

Spoiler


Also, gotta love the classic secret behind the waterfall!

 

 

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Crispy, UV, pistol starts.

 

MAP10 - Triléthal

 

Back to more typically Doomy aesthetics here, harkening back a bit to Oxyde's opener here in the texture choice and theme. It also comes across as a bit of a more relaxing affair after the past two maps, with the only really nasty bit being the last barrage of Mancubi and the AV that's waiting to teleport in. Can be mostly defused by taking out the AV down through the small slit provided, or by just running past everything to the exit if you're not aiming for 100% kills.

 

Didn't like the Cyberdemon fight much, just felt like a drag sidestepping rockets and blasting away at it with the SSG. But it did remind me how rusty I am after my almost year-long break from Doom, as I died to it more times than I really should have.

 

It's not a bad map, and I think it's mostly executed well. It is overshadowed by the previous two offerings, I think, but that's how it goes.

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5 hours ago, Doritos420 said:

Map 09 - Pour une Vengeance

Right away, I recognize the rocking music from Heretic. I really like how in this level it feels like you’re infiltrating some kind of base. Coming from the gold mine/caves of Map08 it’s almost like there’s a bit of continuity.  Some really outstanding fights in this map. I really liked the one at the end with the red & black cacos (took me a couple tries). The Heresiarch seems a bit too tanky for my tastes. At first I thought he might be invulnerable after unloading a few rockets at him, so proceeded with the level. I ended up releasing the revenants and pain elementals to let them infight with the Heresiarch, I actually missed out on his death animation. Other than that I really liked the level, great detailed level design. Feels like some kind of hidden fortress in the mountains.
 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Also, gotta love the classic secret behind the waterfall!

 

 

In the text file, it mentions the Heresiarch is resistant to explosives. I think he's kind of supposed to be like a super Shambler that can actually dodged much of the time.

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MAP10 - For a change, a map fully in classic style - a lovely seaside techbase!  In difficulty the level is a throwback to the first few ones, which is a welcome change for me.  This doesn't mean it would be a walk in the park, as the first fight outside, with Pinkies, Mancubi, and Revs, takes it's toll on me.  First i attempt to brave the fight in the open space, but after several attempts must admit defeat and retreat to take the fight inside.  Come to think of it, did i actually need to wake up the Revs before killing the Mancube?  Errrmm, moving on.

 

i enjoy everything about this map, all the fights, the visuals, and the layout.  i think the outside areas are particularly nicely done and well used.  However, there was one thing i didn't enjoy - apparently being outsmarted by the froggies (endearingly meant) again!  Not finding either Yellow or Red key, large areas of the map remain beyond my reach, in spite of which i got all the kills and secrets, 90/90 and 1/1.  After carefully checking for switches, i'm finally forced to exit the level totally confounded.  So when in Map07 (i think) i missed a linedef (thanks LadyMistDragon for mentioning it, and someone else after, sorry i forget the name), i wonder what i missed here?  Will check a YT video.  But, being fair-minded as i am (....), i won't let that drop the score for this level that really did everything so well it felt like a level in Ultimate Doom or TNT - 9/10!  (HMP, Continuous, Blind.)

 

EDIT: Oops, one of these days i'll be able to consider options before conclusions.  i sort of knew i had to be wrong in some way!

Edited by dei_eldren

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50 minutes ago, dei_eldren said:

i enjoy everything about this map, all the fights, the visuals, and the layout.  i think the outside areas are particularly nicely done and well used.  However, there was one thing i didn't enjoy - apparently being outsmarted by the froggies (endearingly meant) again!  Not finding either Yellow or Red key, large areas of the map remain beyond my reach, in spite of which i got all the kills and secrets, 90/90 and 1/1.  After carefully checking for switches, i'm finally forced to exit the level totally confounded.  So when in Map07 (i think) i missed a linedef (thanks LadyMistDragon for mentioning it, and someone else after, sorry i forget the name), i wonder what i missed here?  Will check a YT video.  But, being fair-minded as i am (....), i won't let that drop the score for this level that really did everything so well it felt like a level in Ultimate Doom or TNT

I'm pretty sure each difficulty has a different key, so you take a different path based on that. I'm pretty sure that's what I figured out when I examined it in the editor a while ago. 

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Just now, TJG1289 said:

I'm pretty sure each difficulty has a different key, so you take a different path based on that. I'm pretty sure that's what I figured out when I examined it in the editor a while ago. 

 

Thanks for telling me.  Yep, nothing wrong with that.  Interesting idea, and sort of makes me check the level on UV and HNTR, too!

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MAP05: Grand Bleu by Alexis Jeanson (Roofi)

 

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A great battle scenario that serves as a small warm-up for the maps coming later in the megawad. With a layout that expands and sends hordes of enemies with plenty of ammunition, this map entertains with sincerity and simplicity. 3/5

 

MAP06: Complexe Cendré by Jean-Charles Dorne (JCD)

 

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We went through a lot of enemies and now we have the welcome of an interesting layout along with a more tactical enemy positioning. New companions welcome us, demonic companions I mean, and a few surprises in a circuit style map with good fibers. Pretty fun. 4/5

 

MAP07: Chaologie Quantique by Maxime Bisiaux (Datacore) and William Huber (WH-Wilou84)

 

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We return to the interiors and are now in a dark, tight and relatively simple map that makes more use of constant close encounters than anything else. 3/5

 

MAP08: Ruée vers Laure by Alexis Jeanson (Roofi)

 

cb6cdd38a231aa76041497016cb3d8431de1090d

 

Interesting change from tech-bases/industrial zones to a more natural area that seems to be inspired by mining caves. With an understandable layout under a small size, this is a fast map that combines different heights in a good layout as well as a decent challenge. 3/5

 

MAP09: Pour une Vengeance by William Huber (WH-Wilou84)

 

df38048ce9a867b77fc9a0e4400d79d14f79e048

 

The first challenge we will face in this great megawad. A large map with a fortress in the middle, guarded by a multitude of enemies in different positions and waiting to fight in different and varied encounters. We are also introduced to the two new enemies of this megawad: the Nightwatch Cacodemon, a slightly stronger and more violent version of the Cacodemon and the Heresiarch, a rather dangerous bastard that replaces the Spidermastermind. Overall, a great map with a solid challenge. 4/5

 

MAP10: Triléthal by Arnaud Florian (Oxyde) and Jean-Charles Dorne (JCD)

 

db960e50603d7ce639d8ffb99f3edc7a0b81d5de

 

Smaller than the previous one but with a design just as detailed and full of solid visual quality. The virtue of this map lies in its fast flow and constant combat as well as a good positioning of enemies that makes perfect synergy with the type of level we have. I've always found it interesting because there are 2 doors with extra keys that we won't even find, as we'll soon find out as we progress through this map. But I must say, clever design! 4/5

 

So far, so good!

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2 hours ago, LadyMistDragon said:

In the text file, it mentions the Heresiarch is resistant to explosives. I think he's kind of supposed to be like a super Shambler that can actually dodged much of the time.

Interesting analogy :)
The Heresiarch is indeed immune to rocket blast damage (due to him replacing the Spider Mastermind).

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MAP10 - Triléthal by Oxyde
Stats: 100% Kills | 66% Items | 100% Secrets

 

MAP 10 returns to the more classic techbase style. Aesthetically it's really well made and detailed. The outside areas are a nice touch.  I have to say however that I didn't quite enjoy this map that much therefore I don't have much to say about it. It wasn't bad, but the previous maps were just better. The monster placement could be better as well as the cyberdemon fight, which for me felt kinda dull. This entry just felt a bit mediocre. Looking forward to MAP 11.

Screenshot_Doom_20210310_124357.png

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