The DWmegawad Club plays: Doom Zero

[Kyka]

@Zirtonic Yeah I agree the library does look really good, great contrast and lighting. But other areas look a bit overly simple 90's. Wonderful design throughout though.

[Doritos420]

Apologies for the big post due to missing the last few days. I only have 4 days off this month so expect more of these in the future.

 

Map07 - Claustrophobia

Spoiler

Very fun map, if not a bit challenging with the teleporting hell knights straight off the bat. I was running a bit low on ammo at the start of this level. Some fun fights in this one with lots of secrets to explore. I was able to find all of them, though the invulnerability was a bit lost on me as I only used it to deal with the final archville. One of my favorite parts was the lowering you into the room full of spectres, luckily I had picked up the chainsaw from the previous area. Then when you’re leaving the area the ceiling lowers (or floor goes up) and I thought I had accidentally activated some sort of crusher trap. As its name suggests it's a very compact level with lots of close quarters combat around the central starting area.

 

Map08 - Module Base

Spoiler

This level felt like a love letter to the original Doom maps. Loved exploring the familiar locales and rooms and uncovering brand new secrets and fights. Especially liked fighting the Barons in the familiar hangar, or the Doom 2 super shotgun room.  I liked how you could tackle the map in a few ways at the start, similar to Tricks and Traps. The yellow key room with the chain gunners, hell knights, and barons gave me the most trouble by far, but it was a fun fight. The BFG secret was very surprising, I bet the continuous players will be happy if they find that one.

 

Map09 - Ancient Archives

Spoiler

Starts off with normal sort of tech area. I liked how you could control the water height with the switch. I ended up taking the East path first (lucky me since I got the berserk pack). On the west side I also got the computer map (this made getting the secrets much easier). I found it a bit mean that a hell knight would spawn right in the middle of when you’re doing a platforming section. After that we get to fight some revenants (always fun). This hublike area with the keys is very cool, I like how the platform slowly rises up as you progress. After that you get into the actual archives, love the atmosphere in this area, very dark and spooky. I also appreciated the hidden invulnerability, made fighting the cacao ambush much easier. Great map.

 

[Sape]

Time to catch up 

Map06 - Echo Halls

100% kills 2/2 secrets and 100% items for the first time!

 

Map01's gimmick is back, this time in a more dangerous situation. I went to the blue skull door, hit the switch and suddenly 75 out of 78 monsters dead, the archviles and the Mastermind killed each other and i only went back to the first area to get 100% in at least one map. Interesting map, but kinda boring if you choose the blue skull key...

Map07 - Claustrophobia

100% kills 6/6 secrets

 

And now Triple Town's gimmick is back! as the map's name suggest, it's a small, interconnected level where you'll get cornered by teleporting monsters in almost every occasion. If you're pistol starting, better find the secret megaarmor and plasma rifle to deal with the mid-tier demons and archviles that this level contains. good map

Map08 - Module Base

100% kills 6/6 secrets

 

Tricks and Traps but made out of Doom & Doom 2 maps.

I like the references to the old levels but i'm not a fan of the Hell Revealed reference with the army of barons of hell in every corner, maybe if you're playing continuous with hundreds of rockets and energy cells it would be a better experience... 

[Snikle]

MAP09 – Ancient Archive

This one was fine, pretty good actually but a bit of a drag at points too. The early part of the level didn’t grab me too much, but once the rocket launcher came in I was having good fun. I found the secret plasma and a few other secrets as well because I thought they were progression (or maybe I’m just high). There were some really good fights in this level, and it was probably the hardest so far. Good stuff! Also the revenant has AV pain sounds? It fits. Without the secret plasma though I don’t know how I ever could have beaten any of it. Also I was kinda let down by the red door, there were so many supplies outside it and I was expecting a fun romp like the yellow door, but it was just a zombie then the exit. Doesn’t weaken the level much though, it was still very fun! I do love a good library map.

 

MAP10 – Leap Gates

Holy fuck I love this. I’m pistol starting, and this one was a hell of a time for that. Just a chiangunner at the start, only pistol and non-zerk fist. Then I had to use his chaingun to kill a hoard of pinkies, tons of lost souls from a pain elemental, and even an arch-vile! I was at 1% health for most of this time. Then there was the weird crusher puzzle which thankfully gave a secret soulsphere that I found on accident. There were still plenty of places that killed me of course, but surviving that opening was so great.

 

There was a bit of platforming in this level, a few strafe-needing (or at least strafe-helpful) jumps. The teleporter gates were clever and each gate led to a unique and interesting experience. My favorite was the one with the hitscanners at the start and the weird jumps around the little room eventually leading to a baron and PE on top of the ledge. The elevator-trap area was clever and hair-raising too, I had a lot of fun there. I loved how each switch would change one part of the sequence needed to get to the exit area, and how once in the exit area this idea is used once again (And shut off a secret teleporter that I only saw after it close) to get out. Speaking of secrets I found quite a few, all hidden in ways that I’m not positive how I got to them. Whatever, it’s good for me either way! Awesome map, possibly my favorite so far.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP10: Leap Gates

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 4/8 secrets

 

 

And that makes two big winners in a row for this wad. I can see what @dei_eldren is talking about when they call it their favourite. The start can be a bit of a slog from a pistol start, kicking off with you pistoling a chaingunner to death, and immediately chaingunning down a horde of pinkies/spectries, followed by a pain elemental, and then an archvile to top it all off. Onward from here though, we have a great level. As you sprint your way through crushers, chaingun a couple revenants to get the SSG, and make your way through the switch-activated door and some hitscanners and mancubi, you arrive at the level's titular gimmick. Three portals stand before you, each one taking you to a different section of the map, with a switch at the end that activates some part of the way forward (lowering a gate, raising a platform to jump to, and lowering the other gate after the platform.

 

The rightmost gate takes you to a section with a few lifts. The fights here are cramped and leave you little room to fight the cacodemons, mancubus, and pain elementals, but you do have a hidey-hole on the side you can use that I abused to avoid taking too much damage from the mancubus (cheesy I know). It closes with a couple of barons in another cramped area, which I do actually enjoy fighting this time due to you receiving a pretty good arsenal of weapons (especially from some of the secrets), and then a couple of revenants. 

 

The middle gate is the quickest, but the most memorable as well. You are greeted by a chaingunner with his back facing you, which definitely lets you know something bad will happen once you shoot him. Indeed, once you do shoot him and venture into the darkness, lost souls and a pain elemental pour in from the abyss below. Under your feet is a narrow path of brown slime in the middle of a wider path of green slime, and you must navigate quickly to the end through the brown slime and avoid the green slime, which damages you. At the end, you can safely hide behind the walls and dispatch the monsters from there. This section is just so cool. The image of the monsters pouring in is so visually striking, and gameplay-wise it's incredibly creative. 

 

The leftmost gate takes you to a brown brick section with hitscanners, which eventually leads you into a neat cave section. Here you have to deal with a couple of mancubi, more hitscanners, and then a rather annoying archvile (which I used the secret BFG obtained earlier on, because he tended to give me a zap from time to time). Once you make it out of the cave and get around the "hit switch and run to platform as it raises" puzzle (which this wad definitely loves to use), you have a baron to deal with, and then you're done.

 

After finishing off all 3 gates and making it to the end, you reach the final battle: a section I find reminiscent of Plutonia, a wide open area with a slime pit below you, hell knights on the platform to the left, chaingunners to your right, mancubi in the middle, and cacodemons swarming the place. The room becomes pure chaos rather quickly with projectiles flying every which way as the chaingunners pepper you from the side, so you'll want to pull out the best weapons you've picked up and keep that trigger held down until everything is dead.

 

Overall, an extremely good level. This one and the previous one have been my two favourite levels so far, so fingers crossed that this level of quality is a sign of things to come.

[Crusader No Regret]

Map 8: 100% kills, 5/6 secrets

 

  Is there a part of this map that isn't based on something out of the original IWADs?  I recognized four of the areas but haven't played Ultimate Doom outside of the first episode so anything from later on would fly over my head.  Also keep forgetting to mention how i like the skybox in this episode.

 

  The area where the yellow key if found can get claustrophobic with barons lying in ambush and a 30 second door behind.  But I had a near-full carryover arsenal so gunned them down without hassle.  Getting the red key was a puzzler.  At first, I thought it was intended to find something in another part of the map to open it up since I kept missing trying to jump to it.  Totally misplayed one section and got caught between chaingunners and an archvile.  Reload game, nuke archvile with BFG from secret.

 

  Pillar run before the exit room; no points for predicting they're going to sink and a demon behind the door at the end.  Not hard to do it legit but I enjoyed how it subverts the original in a good way.  It's not inescapable death if you mess up the pillar hopping.  Off one secret: I saw a door line in the yellow key area but didn't find the way to open it up even after some conscious searching.

 

Map 9: 100% kills, 6/7 secrets

 

  Finally remember to compliment the sky and there's none in the very next map.  Heh.  Off one secret again but I had next to no incentive to seek it being at max everything at the end.  Tricky secret invulnerability to locate can be put to use on a cacoswarm but I ended up not using it there instead introducing them to a fully loaded rocket launcher until they were mostly gone and picking off the last stragglers with SSG.  Wasn't even that hard to avoid damage, just got to stay alert and mostly make small movements to dodge.

 

  Found secret behind false wall only because I had looked at the automap and saw a purple line.  Checking the automap is helpful for finding secrets in general in this set.  Besides spotting secret sectors directly, in the spirit of the IWADs, hidden doors often show up on the automap.  If willing to backtrack some, the chamber with demons, hellknights, revenants, and an archvile can be approached from the other side to avoid being locked in.  After a certain point, a lift become accessible from the library.  It was quite the scene turning a corner and getting spooked by revenants.

  Also like the maps approach to a platforming challenge.  The reward for succeeding is avoiding burning feet and one can continue from where they mess up instead of having to restart the whole thing.

[Book Lord]

MAP10 – The Leap Gates

Doomsday Engine, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

The author considers the chaingun as the ideal weapon to perforate a pack of Pinkies, but being a -fast weirdo I disagree. Since the ammo was so abundant, like in the previous maps, I took my time to nail an Arch-Vile with bullets. The first area has a bridge where every step is a crusher, which I promptly identified as the “Leap Gates”. This section was easy to cross, just as much as the BFG secret was easy to miss. It seems designed to be found when backtracking.

Spoiler

The Mancubus appeared for the first time in an open courtyard, which acts as the level’s main hub. Once I found the room with three mirror-like portals, I realised my previous assumptions about the map name were wrong. Here we have a good non-linear design, with three different sections that can be tackled in any order.

Spoiler

I did not know what lied behind, so I jumped into a gate and found myself in an elevator of sorts. Quick and confused combat ensued in a very narrow space, with closets opening at every trigger and almost nowhere to hide. I was even forced to find a secret, just to leave the pit in which I fell while retreating. Monsters often came in pairs, like the Barons waiting in the side alcoves. They would surely have cornered me in that small room, but my sixth sense worked to their detriment.

Spoiler

The next portal brought me to a brown brick and nukage area, then inside a cave, where Health Bonuses created a strange game of light. Such a sight to behold… then walls lowered and 2 Mancubi began shooting at almost point-blank range, with a Chaingunner to take care of my back. I died before I could say ‘oh’, but besides this spiteful trap I enjoyed this section for the nice visuals and winding path.

Spoiler

The last portal destined me to a large nukage-filled chamber with an eerie atmosphere. The army of Lost Souls emerging from the floor chilled my bones, but I held my ground surprisingly well. If more Pain Elementals had been used, BFG would have been the only viable option.

Spoiler

In the outdoor area before the exit there is strong opposition to deal with. Just sprinting ahead, all guns blazing, was a bad idea. It took me 2 attempts to realise that the Commando squad was shooting me dead from a ledge on the right. I was too busy dodging and aiming at Cacos and Hell Knights to notice that. It was not so fulfilling to snipe Hell Knights from the entrance, but I was able to kill them all without being sealed in, using different weapons. From then on, the remaining monsters were easy pickings. I could not believe how many secrets I missed. A successful map, with unforgiving spots for a blind first run, it encourages replay with a non-linear layout and many secrets to uncover.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 14, 2021 by Book Lord

[Biodegradable]

MAP10: Leap Gates

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom

 

OH MY GOD ENOUGH WITH THE PAIN ELEMENTALS!

 

Ahem... so, DZ ramps up the stakes a little by throwing a lot at you in particularly cramped conditions right from the get-go. I experienced my first death of the run here thanks to the Mancubus double-team ambush in the tight caves and didn't have time to switch to a better weapon because I had really low health and was barbecued pretty much instantly lol. There's a lot of encounters like that with all sorts of devious little tricks like hiding Barons and HKs in thin alcoves behind walls, which I thought was particularly sneaky. This map feels like it's really testing your knowledge with demon attack patterns and how well you can handle taking on a crowd in very little room to maneuver, especially with the final battle at the end. Besides that one Manc Gank, I managed to survive them all, which gave me a nice little confidence boost for sure hehe especially one Revenant ambush where I got out of unscathed. That's a rarity for me, given how much grief those Bone-Heads usually give me lmao. I'm hoping the next map will give us a little more breathing room, perhaps give as some bigger area challenges so I can practice my crowd-control skills. So far, DZ seems to focus on compact maps, so I'd be interested to see how it tackles larger-scale fights.

 

 

[Doritos420]

Map10 - Leap Gates

Spoiler

Cool level. Felt like a step up in difficulty. I loved the crusher bridge starting area. The start of the level was a bit taxing with fighting the archville with limited cover and weapons. I actually got the BFG secret here and totally forgot about it until I went back to write this out. It could have come in handy with some of the more claustrophobic fights. I liked the leap gates that teleport you to the various areas. My favorite was probably the cave system area with the hit scanners and the lite platforming. The area with the 2 mancubi in close combat was exciting and the archville at the end was intense. Luckily he decided to resurrect a soldier before he could zap me. The middle gate area with the toxic waste and lost souls was creative, I ended up finding the light amplification goggles after everything was dead. Last area with the elevators was pretty difficult due to the confined fighting space. Last arena was very fun, forcing you to run around a lot avoiding projectiles while dealing with the chaingunners. The last secret took me a while to figure out, how to keep the door open, bit frustrating. Overall very good. Feels like levels are getting longer so I’m wondering how complex they will become.

[FistMarine]

Hopefully I'm not too late this month! I downloaded Doom Zero last year (before it became an official addon for the Doom Classic Unity ports) and thought it's better for a first playthrough to experience the mod before the changes it received around time it became an official addon, since I didn't get around playing Doom Zero until now and note it's mostly a blind playthrough (with occasional checking for secrets on doomwiki.org or some videos on YouTube). No, I don't actually own the Unity Doom ports to experience Doom Zero that way since I don't own a console and I only own Doom engine games in physical format, original CDs, not on Steam, which I heard the steam versions of Doom games were patched to include the Unity ports for free. Also I know I'm 5 months late but congrats for DASI-I (Christopher Golden) for Doom Zero becoming official!

 

I guess it's time to start playing DOOM ZERO!

Doom Zero (v1.8), DOSBox 0.74-3, Ultra-Violence, 100% everything, Continuous with saves, Keyboard only (arrow keys, etc)

 

Spoiler

MAP01: High-Rise Roof

A nice and easy opener. This map feels very inspired by Doom E1M2, at least the beginning parts with those stairs, while the outside reminds me a bit of Doom E1M3. It already gives a classic Doom E1 vibe and it only features zombies, imps and demons. The most interesting part is that you are given the choice between picking up one of the three keys and after you grab one, obviously the other two become unavailable. This adds a bit of strategy and replayability, because you will have to decide which is the best choice and if you come back to replay the map, it may be worth to try the other choices to get the full experience. I ended up grabbing the yellow key, much like most people did when they played through the map on YouTube (as I watched some videos in past months, it was inevitable because the wad has been on my to-play list for quite a long time). It seems to be the most logical way to get the yellow key, at least to me, because it made cleaning the outside area a bit easier. I will admit I tried a bit to find a way to get that soulsphere but didn't really feel like trying to figure myself since I was in a hurry to complete the map and then I went to doomwiki.org (my main source of information in regards to secrets, if I can't find anything myself) to find out, then realized I did the right choice. Because there was another secret at beginning that is easily missable (I wonder how many people check the door behind you at start of the level? I do most of time but not this time around, apparently). So I went back and grabbed the berserk and the armor. Well, I already had 100% armor and 200% health, so I didn't actually need them. But I still needed to access the secret and grab the berserk to obtain 100% everything!

 

MAP02: Toxic Tower

The second level seems to be featured in the intro demo and is another Doom E1 styled level, again inspired a bit by Doom E1M3, though I could be wrong about the exact inspiration of the level. The level features quite a few monster closets and it can catch you up by surprise. Since I began the level with 200% health, it wasn't too bad. Most enemies are easy to dispatch. The secrets are easy to find and there are no inescapable pits (I think there weren't any so far in the levels I played today?), there is a radiation suit that will help you navigate the level and find secrets. You can grab the chaingun and chainsaw in this level, I think they are inside secret places, at least the chainsaw was. I think there was a backpack in a secret area too (or in a non-secret area, I forgot). You can also find a soulsphere secret and the blue armor secret. They are both easily found and much needed for next level. However I recommend grabbing them when you are at end of level and killed all enemies. What seemed interesting to me is when I got into the room with the two chaingunners, I killed them, then I stepped and lights turned off. I was a bit concerned that monsters will get unleashed upon grabbing the yellow key, as reference to Doom E1M3 where grabbing blue key would unleash imps from a monster closet. Nothing happened, so I simply went further. Then grabbed the goodies I saved and ended up with 200% health and armor for the next level! And I'm certainly glad I did! Also I liked how there were those timed lion switches, one was required for progression and other opened the soulsphere secret area (only half of the wall is revealed, so just press on it to reveal the secret).

 

MAP03: Marble Zone

Funnily enough, when I read the title, I was thinking of the level name from the first Sonic the Hedgehog game. It really feels like a marble zone. And it is packed with enemies too! I admit after I dropped down in that hole, I started taking quite a bit of damage. Mostly because I had a hard time to dodge cacodemon projectiles in close quarters, since I didn't grab Super Shotgun and ended up fighting them with shotgun & chaingun. Not to mention the keyboard controls I stuck with (since I prefer playing original DOS games with classic keyboard controls, while I save modern controls for source ports), makes it much harder to dodge the projectiles, especially combined with my shitty laptop layout. So I lost almost half of my health/armor and made me play a bit more careful for the next part. Then I grabbed the SSG before advancing. I also forgot to mention I noticed the water is light blue-ish, made me think if it's meant to be frozen water or actually, cold water? Either way the next encounters were interesting and it paid off to conserve health/armor for the most part. There was a chaingunner trap that gets unleashed but I was careful enough to not get shot to death, instead of stopping when walls started lowering, I went further, turned around and killed them carefully with chaingun. I was still a bit above 100% health and still wanted to save the soulsphere for after getting everything, so I was preparing to go to exit. I think there was a cacodemon in exit room (?) that I killed from outside and there were also chaingunners that I noticed in last moment. Then I went backing off while killing one of them but noticed the door closed behind me, so I turned around to try to open, only to start getting shot in face but thankfully I still had around 71% health. Went back, grabbed medkits and the soulsphere secret for now (still had a decent amount of blue armor left), then backtracked to find remaining secrets (and get the blue armor too, which I needed for the next level). Good thing the author is generous with supplies and provided ways to backtrack to beginning! Before I went back, I got the backpack secret because I initially missed and went to find missing secrets. I noticed there was a secret I had to leap to at beginning of level, so I tried that. Only to get stopped by a spectre biting me off (thinking maybe it was a cacodemon, because the spectre got lucky with a healthy bite that did 40 damage) that I couldn't see and try get past it, then later I tried again and managed to get in but still took some bites from those two damn spectres waiting me here. Well I killed them but I didn't like how I didn't have my 200% health when I finished the level, only 160%. I guess they didn't want me to have that nice "perfect" level end where I end up with full health and armor. I also liked how one of the secrets were accessed, because I would try to get upstairs and the secret immediately closes, so it's one of those secrets you need to trick by stepping back and immediately rushing to get inside before it closes. I think this might have been the blue armor secret I got at the end of the level. And it's not the only tricky secret that is accessed that way! There will be more in the next levels...

 

MAP04: Triple Town

An interesting town inspired level, I was thinking it is a bit inspired by MAP13: Downtown from Doom 2, although looking a lot better (I don't actually hate most Doom 2 levels but I do agree with some of them looking ugly and they could have been better designed). There are also a couple interesting puzzles and encounters. The first interesting thing is that there is that pentagram on floor that marks teleporting traps. The plasma can be found here and it is only guarded by two hell knights. I thought there will be a teleport trap or something when grabbing it but nothing happened, so I moved on. Yeah I'm kinda used to the usual traps that exist in many wads, where grabbing an item can potentially spawn or reveal monsters. Then I reminded there was no pentagram on that room and it's a bit early for teleport traps.

There is an invisibility secret at start that is quite tricky to get, it seems stepping off that platform immediately closes the secret. I tried for like 5 minutes (not in same moment, I would just come back later and try to get it again) until I managed to make the wall open and grab it. I didn't get the benefit of the invisibility, since I only went to clear one or two rooms until invisibility wore off and then realized I already cleared those chaingunners outside without the invisibility.

The part I found interesting was that room with demons and cacodemons that were with backs turned. I'm glad I didn't directly step into the room, so I just picked them off slowly and carefully until I stepped into the room and all I had left were just two cacodemons to fight. So I fought them and then those hell knights in the next room (carefully around the corners), then I explored and found the blue armor secret! Except that I already had a lot of blue armor, so I didn't feel like picking up that blue armor yet. I went with the one I already had. I got confused for a moment at those switches, one would lower that blood sector and other the elevator with two chaingunners. Good thing I didn't get caught by surprise, I was quick to kill them with my chaingun. Then I could proceed further.

After clearing the level, I still had two secrets to find (and an enemy and some items to find). I actually went ahead and look for a YouTube video to quickly see where they are. The secrets I needed to find were soulsphere (guarded by a hell knight) and the megasphere. I felt a bit sad I didn't get to use these items (mostly the soulsphere) because I ended up grabbing the megasphere shortly after I was at 200% health and armor. This of course is because I need to get 100% everything and I'm at end of level, so this is a rare exception where you must grab everything. No one would want to grab a megasphere when already at 200/200. Maybe this is in response to ending the previous level with less than 200 health?

 

MAP05: The Pits

A bit unrelated to MAP09: The Pit from original Doom 2 but it has a few similarities, maybe the parts you have to drop down at one point, that contains demons and zombies, though it is optional and I left that for the end because I didn't feel dropping down, considering I can't look up/down in original DOOM2.EXE and I was thinking that is damaging floor (it isn't). So I went with normal progression...

Either way, this map seems a bit of a step up in difficulties and it's not really because of archviles that get introduced, at least they didn't cause me problems so far (for the MOST part!). I carefully cleared the beginning parts (there are quite a few cacos and imps, as well as some knights) and then I got to part with pressing the switch. I am glad I reacted in time before I got overwhelmed and ran away without a scratch, when the monsters got unleashed. I can't imagine what would have happened if I waited too long and got boxed in. I found funny that in next room, I was expecting the same trap happening, instead the monsters were already dead. And there was a chainsaw and some bonuses too.

I have been saving rockets & plasma until now and this is where I started using them (the rockets for now to clear some parts at beginning, the plasma around the archviles started appearing). I found the plasma secret which was nice for some extra ammo I've been saving. After carefully killing the first archvile, I went to further explore and noticed monsters started getting revealed behind walls, so I ran away to that door and carefully killed them while still having around 140-150 health and armor. Good! But then, I was trying to figure out the puzzle. I pressed the switch and went back and noticed the second archvile appeared. I decided to use the plasma. Unfortunately the archie started resurrecting two cacodemons that were crushed under the door and this caused two GHOST CACODEMONS! I will admit it's not the first time happening, just a couple months ago when playing Akeldama (in PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4), I encountered one or two ghost revenants in one of the maps, which were also annoying to clear! But now we get two cacodemons in a very inconvenient moment. I rushed in to kill the archvile and those lost souls quickly, then I was almost getting fucked up from those cacodemons because I was trying to make so that they are close to walls why I use my RL but it was difficult to pull it off. I kept going outside and inside, until I went back down with the elevator after my previous armor ran out and grabbed those medkits, I then went to grab that green armor I've been saving and finally managed to kill those two bastards while they were coming through walls down the elevator! God, that was very annoying! I guess people who play in ZDoom/GZDoom have an easier time without these annoying vanilla bugs (infinitely tall actors, ghost monsters, etc). I simply decided to get the intended experience that the author wanted, at least in DOSBox because I no longer have my old Windows 95/98 PC since like 15 or so years ago, so I can't test on a real hardware, sadly!

OK now where was I, ah yes, that annoying puzzle! I was wondering at first how I can make it before it raises and I actually managed to burn through like half of my health when I tried to run directly to the platform closer to the place I was supposed to reach. Then I desperately try to rush to get out and find more medkits to waste, because it's not like I haven't been struggling enough as it is! Especially with the lava dealing 20 damage! Well I managed to make it through next time (as in second try of the puzzle, I haven't died so far, thankfully) and I figured out what I had to do. The puzzle isn't too bad once you figure out. Carefully and quickly step on the platforms before they raise, so you can make it to the second "platform". I wonder what others think about this puzzle, if it's bad or it was ok.

After I made it, there was a spectre room which wasn't too bad but it made me think a bit how to reach that blue armor I needed. Oh and then I stepped into final sector and there was a hell knight teleport trap. When getting hit by one of projectiles, lost quite a bit of health and grabbed those two nearby medkits. After that, I found the exit and the secret with plasma cells.

I saved and went to YouTube to see where are remaining secrets. I will admit after I read that you start next level with low health, I went to watch an YouTube video in advance, of map 6 as well, so I can expect a bit. It seems like I have watched this map before, so it's not a fully blind playthrough, sorry if I didn't specify it before. I like to be fair but sometimes I gotta check a bit in advance, though I can assure that my playthrough so far has been mostly blind, with exception of a few levels I have randomly watched in past or simply watching intro demos (which seem to have been re-recorded a few times so far, there were other levels shown in demos at one point).

So I figured out, to reach those 2-3 secrets (one containing the blue armor), you need to make it fast through that lava puzzle mentioned earlier. I once again fell and lose half of my health, meaning I was forced to try with 50 or so health remaining, since I went back to look for any leftover health items, all I could find was a stimpack. Well I did it and got the blue armor and other goodies. I made sure to get those secrets, as it's impossible to tell if you "collect" a secret in vanilla Doom.

Then I went into the pit (heh) and was cleared all those demons & zombies without even taking a hit, so my armor remained intact and was able to collect everything!

Then I saved and went to the end, only to realize I missed a secret (the backpack secret near end). So I reload, get the secret and finish off with a nice 100% everything (101% kills because of archvile resurrecting those ghost cacos).

 

MAP06: Echo Halls

Starting the level with 10% health (and 110% armor) certainly made me carefully step to not make those monsters wake up. Since I had watched a video earlier, I knew what to expect, otherwise I don't know if I would have handled this level without dying. I made sure to get the secret armor & backpack and get the blue skull key, which is the best choice you can make, since the monsters will get crushed (after you make it to blue door) and you will have an easier time in the rest level. Make sure to grab the weapons (RL & Plasma) and first wait until the monsters get crushed! Then go through the teleporter carefully, grab the soulsphere (green armor wasn't needed at continuous run) and fight the Spider Mastermind! I had the Plasma ready and with circle strafing and taking cover, it was no threat at all! After that, I was looking for the next switch, grab the red & yellow skull key then carefully kill the archviles and that's it, level complete! But wait, don't forget to get the nearby secret teleporter that returns you to beginning and allows you to access the other doors with all those goodies inside! Soulspheres, invulnerabilities and a lot of rockets & cells! I ended up fully maxed out, except for the BFG that should show up in the next levels.

Also forgot to mention, in regards to weapons, that Plasma has been redesigned to look like Quake 3 Plasma Gun and it has no delay when firing, making it much more useful this time around. The rest weapons have received slight cosmetic changes, like the muzzle flash. The only thing I find weird is that weapons are centering when firing even though I'm playing the vanilla Doom. I know that DEHACKED can apparently make weapon centering possible even in vanilla (this and Doom 64 for Doom 2 are only examples that come in my mind right now) and in fact even some Heretic & Hexen weapons center when firing in original DOS versions (such as the Gauntlets). I just find this feature a bit weird and unusual in non-ZDoom ports, considering it is one the features I initially disliked when I first used ZDoom (which was my first source port, back in 2007) and it's also one of the features you can't change at all regardless of compatibility settings. But otherwise, it doesn't bother me much, I kinda miss having the weapon remain in same position when firing it, at least when playing in vanilla ports. At the very least, the weapon still stays in same position when changing the weapon, unlike in ZDoom where it also centers in that case too.

Deaths: 0

E1 overall: Pretty good! I like Doom Zero so far and it might become one of my favorite megawads of all time. It really feels almost like an official expansion that could have been released in the 90s, probably alongside Final Doom.

 

Hopefully I can catch up quickly in following days, with at least 3 levels per day. I might even get a bit ahead and in that case, I will only post in the respective day, as per topic rules.

 

Screenshots (in spoiler this time, to not clog the topic)

Spoiler

 

Edited May 10, 2021 by FistMarine

[dei_eldren]

Doom Zero - MAP11: Too Close to Home (HMP: K 101%, S 100%, D 0)

 

City-levels in general are not my cup of tea, because whilst i understand the concept, i just prefer to play in more fantastical locations (i am not a city-person IRL either.)  Contrary to popular opinion, i like Sandy's city-maps, possibly partly because they don't look like actual cities.  So in city-maps, i prefer some abstractions to actually trying to make it look like a city.  As city-maps go, this does succeed in looking like one pretty nicely, but is surprisingly small.  My personal likes and dislikes aside, the gameplay on the other hand is what the deciding factor here is.

 

The first house i enter after clearing the streets of the initial Cacoswarm and a few Mancubi and Imps (won't take long and i think the Cacos pose the most threat), however, really warms me to the map, because i see it as a nod to my favourite level in Hell Revealed, the Chambers of War.  The architecture downstairs, the staircase and the doors to the left, is so reminiscent that i can't pass it off as coincidence.  But that's where the similarities end.  Upstairs is a room 'filled' with, or at least inhabited by, some hitscanners and Chaingunners.  It also has a couple of secrets, which should be pretty easy for everyone.

 

With the key obtained, the next building to visit is some kind of storage facility, with a Pain Elemental, and some Imps and Knights of Hell (was there Cacos as well?  Maybe!)  It's a nice little combat from below against enemies mostly on higher ground.  When they are cleared, there's a little surprise above, as Archie makes his appearances from some hole he was stuffed in.  With lesser arsenal he probably would be dangerous, but this time my BFG shot doesn't miss (pistol starters have the chance to get the BFG later, before the final encounter.)  An easy secret in plain sight awaits after all that trouble.

 

The fights in the second to last building are more dangerous, and i'm pretty sure i died on my first run in the ambush of Hell Knights.  There's a lot of health and armor here, to make one a bit wary of going upstairs where one finds even more armor bonuses laying around.  Entering the computer room, first one is attacked by a pack of Invy-Pinkies (again i think very good use of them), and if one is not careful and simply waltzes into the room, they will definitely be capable of ruining your deathless run flanked by Lost Souls and a whole cadre of Revenants emerging from behind somewhere.  The secret here is rather obvious, i doubt anyone will pass it by without trying.

 

And after pressing the ill-fitting ugly face, we have gained access to the final building.  It is for this i saved the secret Invulnerability-sphere in the HR house, as i'm not that great at dodging Cyberdemon's missiles.  So i go grab it, and try to have a little chat with Cybie.  He isn't interested but instead gets annoyed at me, and i'm finally forced to defend myself.  He's easy enough to kill without the Invulnerability, too, as one can just leave the building and there'll be a enough space and cover.  This is a rather soft introduction to him in this set.

 

This is relativelly disappointing after what we've been through for the last four levels.  Bland and boring sound too harsh, because it's not a drag to play through, but just underwhelming - and it's as totally linear a level as there ever was, there's always only one unvisited building you can get into.  i enjoyed this more on the blind run when i didn't know what to expect.  At least in part it's due to the scarcity of enemies, but the fights for the most part are not very inspiring this time, either - yet, the biggest problem for me is the limited locations, lack of selection of where to go and what to tackle next...in a city map these are a necessity.  Ultimately, linearity in a city-map is ... undesirable.

Still, it's a perfectly acceptable effort for what it is.  i enjoyed most the HR reference, and also the computer-room was kind of cool, very well done and i've never seen anything quite like it.  i think it's the setpiece of this map, and also the best encounters are there.  However, the face-switch again flattened the effect for me (i literally sighed, 'oh no', upon seeing it this time), here it feels artificial and only thematic, not being there because the level would necessitate it (i mean the exact distinction @D4NUK1 has referred to a few times.)  The next level will be a more inspired one, i should think - and if i'm not mistaken, it's gorgeous throughout :)  And there's a really cool area that scares me because it took me multiple attempts on first run - this time, i am determined not to let that happen, all that's required really is a cool head and a dynamic approach.

Edited May 10, 2021 by dei_eldren

[RottingZombie]

Liking this mapset so far. I'm just playing a handful of maps in one session every couple days and probably won't comment on them individually. On map seven or eight so far and hoping the puzzles don't get too puzzly.

[PeceMan]

Map 09

Considerably longer, but definitely fun. I really apreciate the attention put to secrets. Also, can I just say, I hate the new revenant sounds.

 

Map 10

It's almost a compilation of different gameplay set pieces, all of them interesting, and all of them fun. It's not a hard level, it just has some tricky parts.

 

 

[Book Lord]

MAP11 – Too Close to Home

Doomsday Engine, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

I will not try to downplay it: the last level of the first episode let me down. The sheer quality of the last streak of maps surely rose my expectations, to the point I was taking for granted that DASI-I would never take a break. He eventually did it here, while paying homage to a typical Doom 2 concept: the city map. The first minute in the level was quite promising: eye to eye with a Pain Elemental in a blind alley, with a substantial group of Cacodemons already swarming in the distance. After clearing the streets, the district becomes quiet and so it was meant to stay until the very end.

Spoiler

The effort to replicate real world locations is evident, as the buildings have accurate visuals and details. The brown edifice could be a notary’s office, with desks, sturdy paper baskets, wooden furniture, a computer, and a card file cabinet. It was overrun by former humans protecting the YK, which granted access to a nearby warehouse.

Spoiler

The monsters inside the storage attacked from a high ledge and formed a dense cluster, which was quickly dispersed with rockets and the shotgun. I had trouble with a stray Pain Elemental, who vanished mysteriously and was found half stuck above the entrance. His presence prevented the door from ever closing and he unleashed many Lost Souls, before I realised where he had gone. The Vile was a no-brainer, if compared to this “buggy” encounter.

Spoiler

The blue door opened onto a luminous and futuristic computer lab, packing the highest monster concentration of the map. It was delivered in two instalments, the first with Imps and Hell Knights on the ground floor. The Revenants lurking behind dividers in the upper computer hall surprised me, but I retreated downstairs and repelled them easily.

Spoiler

It was about time to face a Cyberdemon, but here it was underwhelming. He was just hiding in a corner, hoping to blast an incautious Doomguy before he could retaliate. I pressed backpedal and invited him to confront me in the streets, where he stood no chance. The exit room with Cybie sums up the level: a nice representation of a realistic place (check the purely “cosmetic” upper galleries), generally entertaining but lacking real intensity or danger.

Spoiler

The secrets were not so difficult this time. I missed the most interesting one, which leads you by the hand to the Dopefish cameo. I noticed the worm-eaten bookshelf, and these were my thoughts during play: “well yeah, these comp wizs may have needed a real book sometimes!” and I moved on. I could not resist and reloaded the game just to find it.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 17, 2021 by Book Lord

[Maribo]

MAP10 - Leap Gates

PrBoom+, UV (89% Kills, 0% Secrets), Pistol Start, No Saves, Blind

 

This is a concept level about being shoved into various kinds of meat grinders. That's the most pleasant description I can provide.

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP06: Echo Halls (HMP/continuous/saves)

7:40 | 100% Everything

This map revisits MAP01's pick-just-one-key gimmick, but unlike that level, unfortunately, this one comes down to just blind luck. I believe this was the last map in the demo I played years ago, so I sort-of thought I remembered the crusher switch was behind the middle door, so I grabbed blue. (The first time I played this, I think I got the invul room, which was a chore!) I still somehow woke up a pinky on my way to the key, so I had to lure him into the key room to kill him so I didn't wake everyone else up! Once everyone's dead, you have to face a Mastermind (easy) followed by a surprise vile (not quite as easy). There is a secret that lets you teleport back upstairs with all of the keys so you can pick up everything you missed the first time, which is nice. But the secret itself isn't telegraphed at all, with only the automap giving its existence away. I've noticed a lot of that style of secret through the first 11 maps, and I can't say I'm a big fan.

 

MAP07: Claustrophobia

15:36 | 100% Everything

A quirky little map, lots of puzzles and switches and lifts. So much of the level just consists of seeing where you have to go and figuring out how to get up there. Some clever puzzles, but maybe a little too much for its own good.

 

MAP08: Module Base

13:41 | 100% Everything

Tricks & Traps, but all of the rooms are swiped right outta the IWADs. A lot of hit-a-switch-then-hunt-around-for-what-it-did gameplay. A bit tedious, but the IWAD vibe is kinda fun.

 

MAP09: Ancient Archives

22:28 | 100% Everything

The mandatory trick to raising/lowering the water level is something I only stumbled across by accident; not sure how else one is supposed to figure that out? A pretty fun map, still. The main bit consists of incrementally raising the lift that allows access to the exit room. The giant library is probably the most memorable bit, host to a giant cacoswarm that appears once you get caged in on the upper floor. I liked the backpack secret a lot, felt pretty smart when I figured that out, LOL.

 

MAP10: Leap Gates

30:31 | 100% Kills | 92% Items | 75% Secrets

A very striking level, this one. The crusher bridge is somehow quite easy while still being rather nerve-wracking. The eponymous gates are gorgeous to look at, each ending at a switch that partially opens access to the exit area. I spent way too long trying to figure out that final secret, and eventually gave up...

 

MAP11: Too Close to Home

11:43 | 100% Everything

A fantastic-looking little city block that feels like it should host a lot more combat than it ever does. The building interiors are much the same: nice-looking, but rather perfunctory in how they play out. I kept expecting the outdoor area to repopulate with baddies when I went back outside, but it never did. The biggest surprise was that I actually managed to find a secret invul right before tackling a cyberdemon (that never happens.) The second-biggest surprise was that the super-secret red key merely leads to... a dopefish?

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP11: Too Close to Home

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 5/5 secrets

 

OK, I cheated a bit here. I was unable to find the final kill and looked to the wiki to see if there was maybe a bugged monster spawn or something that I couldn't find, but it was of course the Dopefish I was missing. Anyway, about the level itself, it is a city level that I think looks rather nice. I also didn't find it too confusing to navigate, with the layout being pretty straightforward. Unfortunately, I didn't find it all too fun to play. It is a very linear map for a city level, which feels a bit like a missed opportunity, and the combat really doesn't seem to push you much at all, with you either fighting some easy enemies or if it is throwing tougher enemies at you, it feels like it's always in an environment that is advantageous to you. The only time it feels like the level is actually trying to stop you is with the most random cyberdemon at the end, where you walk into the final building and bam, he's on the corner to your left. It felt a little bit arbitrary and weird for a cyberdemon encounter, almost like you'd expect a chaingunner or something to be in his place. If you are expecting him or he doesn't blast you right away, he's no threat at all either if you've saved some cells. I wouldn't call the level bad or anything, I think as a setting it's a pretty well made city map, but the gameplay is a little bit of a letdown after the past few efforts we've been through.

 

 

 

[dei_eldren]

Oh dear, i have totally missed the Dopefish.  i don't mind the concept of an uncounted secret secret but still makes me feel like i didn't max the level after all despite the percentages :P  Seems it would've been hinted at in killcount, had not the AV raised two Imps and gotten my kills over 100%.  (Disadvantage of playing this without source port, i don't see the actual counters.)

Edited May 11, 2021 by dei_eldren

[Biodegradable]

MAP11: Too Close to Home

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom

 

We've got ourselves a city map that looks a lot more like a city than the notorious Downtown we all like to dunk on, with some added effort to some DoomCute with the office building where you grab the yellow keycard. Combat's a bit on the dull side though, unfortunately. The first encounter with a Caco-Cloud, the zombie-infested office building and the warehouse fight were all fairly decent and I didn't mind the cluster of Revs in the second-last building either. Bit disappointed that second-last building didn't spring any traps on me with its locked doors. Also, I think the open streets outside could've been utilised better by having them be repopulated after grabbing the keycards with new demons teleporting in. Just feels like some missed opportunities for some more dynamic combat situations in general with this one. I'd say this is the first map of the WAD that left me slightly deflated, if only because it could've tried harder I feel.

 

 

[princetontiger]

Is there a reason why this isn't on /idgames?

[Kyka]

Map 11. A really good city level. As others have mentioned, the fights are not super amazing, and I agree. Perhaps more repopulated areas after passing through, perhaps a big finale with the streets flooded with baddies, rather than a single cyber to finish, which was a little of an anticlimax.

 

But again, great design and layout.

 

@Biodegradable at 8:14 in your map 11 vid, super unlucky. The arch didn't even look like it had a chance to rez that hell knight. The hell knight seemed to almost resurrect itself long after the archie had died. Interesting and rare to see. 

[D4NUK1]

MAP08:  Module Base

Official Port UV-SAVES. Continuous with losing weapons if dead.

OK, IM a lover of maps with the style of tricks and traps, but im somehow disappointed in how some rooms could not exploit the same level of crazy enemies with powerups or mechanic traps, but doing a call backs to some old maps with enemies's also cool. It's feel like DoomGuy PTSD strikes back.

Some platforming that I was not so proud to miss, and the Archie Maze room it's the highlight for me on this map, and the laboratory with the barons feels like a throwback to some .wad but I not catch the reference.

Good map, but not a good Trick and Traps per se...

 

Spoiler

 

MAP 09 Ancient Archives

Official Port UV-SAVES. Continuous with losing weapons if dead.

 

Nice strat of the map. Really chesseable with continuous weapons but i lossed it. The traps with the pinkies are really well trougth, and can kill you if you are not so aware. Going to the toxic room first could help you more with that easy secret.

My only downside it's this mechanic of lower and up the water it's a cool stuff that should be they own level instead of the start of other.

 

Now with the real Archives, the brown feeling  hits good, and make me trink  of early Quakey palete.  A good placement of enemy, and the exit it's shown, you just need to fix the platforms. So the fix should be in the Archives, it's was well done in aestethic and feels like a good share of ligthing and easy enemys verticallity. The 3 secrets here make you feel smart. and the arena with the archive, hell knighs and reverants feel out of the map, like, its so "simple" in comparation with the rest of the level.

Blocked by the red door, backtracking for the yellow key, and you'll get another figth with a archville that can revive all thoses hell knigths, guarded by reverants. Figth you way there and make sure you can hit the archville without exposing youself to rockets., clear the yellow door, grab the red key, and make another backtrack just to press a switch (That's a negative, that could be better with a more interesant use of the doors. But well, kill the zombieman and win the map.

 

Spoiler

 

MAP10: Leap Gates
Official Port UV-SAVES. Continuous with losing weapons if dead.

Other Plutonian feel map, with this hot start of pinkies, and chain gunners, make your way up with the speed of you strafes and pass the traps of crushers, hit the switches and gear up to the main gimmick of this level, 3 Nice looking teleports.

The first one I used was the right one, and with sheer luck and skills,  just survived all the close encounters that really tell easy dead if you move around. This is the moment where early BFG and Plasma shine to clear this type of small arenas. Sure, I left some enemies behind but wait at me going back for the secrets ;). Grabbing the key opens a teleport to the main area.

The second one was the left one, platforming action in a toxic waste, ending in a cave, maybe just the easy one so far,  and you can get the automap if you know already the tricks of this map creator, highlight of this part it's the achiville covered by mancubus.

The last one tell you pain, lights out, toxic waste and arena full of lost soul and a Pain Elemental, it's gimmicky and i love it. Waste the chain gun ammo in that ugly skulls and grab some secret goodies and googles, now with the 3 switches, go to the final arena.

This part it's the hardest so far, in how quickly you're outnumbered and without a place to run. You best bet its waste plasma on close, and rockets to those one that are far. The zeker it's really welcomed if you are in a hurry, and see the carnage unfold the green place its good telling that you win, but go to the switch behind the important switch to the platforms to get in an arena where it's rockets, if that place was so more easy to get, it's the best place to waste rockets to the enemys in safe place, but it's placed at the end where everything it's already or should be killed, so that's a negative.

Love the map, but it's still not beat some older maps.

Video it's coming when i go also with the MAP 11.

[Doritos420]

Map11 - Too Close To Home

Spoiler

I actually really liked this map, maybe just because I actually like city levels. Very impressed to see a realistic city level with just the vanilla textures. I especially loved the chairs inside the blue door building. Hot start to the level with a big fight on the city streets. Ended up exploring the wooden building and finding the secrets. I foolishly used the secret invulnerability to clear out the rest of the mancubi and cacos on the street. Really liked the fights in this one. The storage building with the yellow door was an intense battle with the added archville, luckily there is plenty of cover but the addition of the pain elemental makes you rethink using rockets. My favorite encounter was probably the Revenant swarm in the computer building, making you dodge rockets in small corridors, I love it. The last cyberdemon also surprised me by hiding in the corner. I ended up using my remaining BFG/plasma on him and then finished him off with the rest of my rockets. At the end I was confused why I still had one enemy left (I hadn’t killed the secret Dopefish). Very fun level I was kind of hoping for more levels like this one but it looks like we’re going to hell instead.

[Maribo]

MAP11 - Too Close To Home

PrBoom+, UV-Max, Pistol Start, No Saves, Blind

 

Mostly easy city level based in linearity, which is a bit of a missed opportunity, like others have said. I actually didn't explore hard enough and went through the entire level with just the ssg + chaingun + plasma, didn't even find the rocket launcher til I had already killed the cyberdemon with the ssg. Disappointing cyberdemon, by the way, it would have felt more fitting to have like..... idk, some kind of bigger scale "Fill The Street With Enemies" type of finale, rather than a lone cyberdemon in a room you can lure him out of anyway. The level looks good, more like a city than a lot of other city maps I've played. It's a borderline Doomcute level.

[FistMarine]

Time to catch up!

Spoiler

MAP07: Claustrophobia

A very cramped map that relies on lots of teleporting traps, marked by those pentagrams. The beginning can be a bit overwhelming at times with those hell knights, I had to switch to plasma to kill most of them because the SSG was too slow to handle them and chaingun is too weak for them, I even got scratched once that rolled max damage because I was getting cornered between a knight and two demons or spectres, whatever, so I had to run away but I escaped in end and yeah, I admit I've been quite unlucky in this map with some fights, even if I handled some fights rather well, there were some devious traps that made me lose lots of health/armor. I discovered that secret that leads to a poisonous area but didn't want to enter it initially because I wanted to conserve my health & armor, so I don't think I ended up discovering any secret myself, had to look them up after I finished the map. The part with that acid area that has a few cacodemons teleporting behind while you clear out the zombies that get revealed, I handled surprisingly well with minimal damage, since I stayed alert and I had plasma in hand. Unfortunately, my luck has been pretty much over in this map, because as soon as I got to that part with the two archviles, it went immediately to hell. I didn't find the very much needed invulnerability secret, so I tried a combination of rockets & plasma (or just plasma the first time around) while camping and thinking at that pentagram what's going to teleport behind me, couldn't concentrate and got blasted twice and I was almost dead. Finally died once as soon as I was trying to run away towards the elevator to take a better position after finishing the last archvile, only to get finished by a resurrected chaingunner. Damn! It's all more painful the more I think, that I had started the level in best way possible (with maxed health/armor and full ammo) and still ended up dead. Reloading the save and trying the fight again, still made some mistakes but survived with 4% health, at long last. Had to peek around the corner with chaingun to finish off the last chaingunner I had to kill (probably the same one that killed me before?). Then grabbed all the health I could find and the green armor, before I went to exit area. The last archvile wasn't too bad, since I had the plasma in hand and I was hiding behind exit door at edge that somehow didn't blast me, I got lucky here, maybe as compensation for the previous disastrous fight. Then I looked up for the secrets. I'm somewhat happy I didn't went exploring that acid area earlier because it was quite tricky to navigate and also very dark. Either way, after grabbing everything (getting to secret soulsphere took a few tries to correctly make it from those raising platforms), I ended up with 184 health (guess I grabbed all medkits before I got the soulsphere) and 200 armor before exiting. Interestingly, I had 114% kills, meaning those two archviles ended up resurrecting quite a couple of monsters in that room. At least I didn't get anymore the stupid ghost monster bug. Also this map is shown in the intro demos, so I was familiar with the beginning parts, until the chainsaw room. Then I was pretty much on my own and it shows. If only I had known of that invulnerability secret before...

 

MAP08: Module Base

A very interesting Tricks and Traps type of level. It also makes several references to IWAD maps from first Doom and Doom 2. The references I could recognize were from E1M1, E1M7, MAP02, MAP08 (obviously) and one Doom E2 map (I guess?) that I can't exactly remember because I'm not as familiar with E2 & E3 than I am with Doom 2 for example but I think that's all the references I could find. It was quite a tricky level but not as hard as previous level, thankfully. I even managed to get insanely lucky again (probably to compensate for the previous hellish level) because at some points I took two baron balls to face while I was turning around to dodge and they rolled the lowest possible damage (only 8 dmg). It's good I managed to conserve most of my health and armor throughout the level. I even managed to handle that room with two archviles (and two chaingunners) very well, without any damage. I can't tell if the secret invisibility has helped me here but all I did was camp on that switch and take cover while killing those archviles with SSG below me. Not bad! The trickier room was with the raising platform puzzle where you must grab the blue key and activates teleport trap with barons & knights. Good thing I switched to RL in time since I wasn't sure what weapon to use, any later and I would have probably killed myself with the blast. I still took some damage from my own blasts and a projectile in face but I survived with 67% health and around 50% or so armor. I was pretty much done with the level and before stepping into the final room, I went to look for the remaining stuff I had to collect. So I had to look on YouTube to see where rest secrets are. I imagine some secrets would have made my life a lot easier if I found earlier, including that BFG + Invulnerability one or the blue armor one where you can handle the knights/barons trap much easier. Either way, finally getting the BFG (just like in original Doom 2 MAP08), feels like you can become almost unstoppable now. The traps where monsters will surround you will no longer be a problem with having the BFG and enough cells to get rid of them. Of course, try not to waste all those precious cells for every fight!

Now, once you are done, quickly step on those platforms before they lower into the ground! Wait, no! I accidentally fell off while on last platform (it's rare to happen, I've successfully gotten through this part before in Doom 2 in last 3 consecutive playthroughs) and then noticed that the floor wasn't damaging anymore and you can activate the walls around you and press switches to get back up! So cool that the author has thought of making the life easier and give you a way to escape from that if you happen to fall. After you make it, kill the demon and exit the level.

 

MAP09: Ancient Archives

Thankfully the level isn't called Ancient Archviles, hehe. Well the archies do show up later in level but they aren't much of a problem, especially since you should have the BFG now. There are some interesting fights, I cleared the first couple rooms better than I expected and I noticed the level has quite a lot of armor bonuses, meaning your (blue) armor should stay in good shape. In fact, there are two blue armors (and a megasphere!) to be found in the level, so it's quite generous with supplies. I found the first two secrets by myself and the computer area map has helped a lot with navigating while looking for secrets later in map, though that blue armor ended up being unused in that first secret area. Some interesting fights that happened while playing, the first couple of barons that came and started infighting with chaingunners, I ended up BFG-ing them all with the blast. Then that part where you step onto rocket launcher platform and monsters get revealed from two directions? No problem, just use BFG and annihilate them! Both archviles also got BFG'ed in the face, although I may be getting a bit ahead for now, so let's talk about the library. It was pretty interesting and it contained a few secrets as well. There was another one of those tricky secrets to open because they would quickly close and you had to step into the previous sector somehow, not sure how to explain but after a few attempts of walking on that area (before the part you get locked with that cacodemon swarm), just to make the secret stay open. Oh yeah about that trap, not too bad with the BFG. Would have been interesting to know how it would be with other weapons but I guess I couldn't resist the temptation to BFG them to the face. Then I reached the part with the archvile, revenants, etc (probably the most dangerous part of the level) and I used various weapons to clear them, initially BFG-ing the archie in face while it was running towards me, then using RL on whatever rest enemies were around that area, using SSG on those revenants waiting around the corner and so on. And then unlocking my way through the level and getting to the exit, the second archvile was BFG'ed too as mentioned above. Then at the end there was a zombieman in exit room. It was quite funny to see just a single zombieman. However I still had to look for the remaining secrets, so I checked Doomwiki and an YouTube video (to clarify, the playthrough by pagb666 because he has a couple of useful playthroughs of various games and mods) and was able to get the rest. There is a megasphere guarded by a bunch of chaingunners, I stayed in one corner and safely killed them from there. I also noticed the megasphere is orange colored. Too bad the invulnerability secret was no use, once again. Don't worry, there will be a time where invulnerability will be useful in next two maps. At least the map was fairly straightforward and didn't pose much of a treat in regards to the enemy placement, in fact my health didn't drop below 100, which hasn't happened since second level. And saving the megasphere for the end of level was nice too.

 

MAP10: Leap Gates

Another interesting level, that used to be shown in one of the demos and also plays differently from the pistol start, based on videos I've watched on YouTube of this map before. You have to kill the chaingunner and use the chaingun against all those demons at beginning and the archvile. Since I play continuous for now (I will pistol start the maps at a later time, probably with using the latest version of wad as well), I was able to just use the SSG and kill them quickly. Then snipe that elemental with chaingun and BFG the archvile. Then I found an useful soulsphere secret that I saved for later since I didn't need it at that time. I still picked up the other secret soulsphere at later time in map and kinda regret it a bit but the fights still went smooth for the most part. Forgot to mention the puzzle at beginning is fairly interesting. You have to traverse those ledges quickly before you get crushed. I was able to successfully traverse them (don't want to find out if it's a slow crusher or not) and later it opened a checkpoint in case I wanted to go back. There was also a nice BFG secret to be found.

At some time later, there seemed to be three portals you have to choose from. I went from left to right and I'm glad I did them in correct order. The first and second one weren't too difficult. First one seemed pretty standard, even with those mancubi and archvile, they didn't pose much treat because I used plasma on them. And got the computer area map with soulsphere secret. The second area seemed quite tricky. There were a bunch of lost souls and a pain elemental (or two?) in a dark room filled with acid. After unloading most of my bullets into them (also a side note, the lost souls bump into an item first, so I strategically left those ammo boxes for most of the time until I stepped off, to have some protection against them), I stepped off and thought I have to rush through this part while I can't see much. I didn't find the useful light amp goggles secret but instead used my chaingun to illuminate the room at some points, of course not holding fire to waste my ammo, just fire every once in a while, so I can see where I'm going. But then I shortly realized if you step on brown areas, you don't take any damage. So I ended up carefully following that path until I got to the teleporter. On the third portal, things seemed to turn out quite interesting. Using the powerful weapons cleared the dangerous rooms quickly, although I suffered some damage at some points (don't remember what gave me any trouble) but I still had around 75% or so health and just picked up a new blue armor from one of rooms the revenant was staying in. I went and grabbed a medkit before grabbing the soulsphere I saved from the beginning of level.

The last area wasn't too bad actually. I simply killed those two mancubi from firing RL from far away and the explosion still took them out. Then proceeding and using the BFG to clear initial caco + knights swarm and finishing off the remaining knights with RL, then using chaingun to kill those chaingunners on ledges.

Took a while to find rest secrets but ended up with 200/200 once again (the few lost health points was recovered from some remaining health bonuses), it was pretty sweet. The last secret is quite tricky, you must press the secret switch behind pillar while it was raising, otherwise you lower the bars, so you must press the main switch again.

 

MAP11: Too Close To Home

Another highlight of Doom Zero (and another map shown in the opening demo), it is a city styled map and features some interesting encounters, although it feels far too easy, in fact it might be one of the easiest maps in the pack. There weren't any threatening encounters, I barely took any damage (mostly two fireballs from cacodemons at beginning) and most of the map was going pretty smooth. The invulnerability sphere secret (accessed from pressing on the computer) is easily saved for the cyberdemon later in map and that soulsphere secret found in same building, I decided to save soulsphere for the end. I had to look up to get that extra Dopefish secret (which also required a red key), then realized it didn't count as a secret and I was still missing the blue armor secret (still had 80% secrets), which I didn't actually need because with those armor bonuses, I ended up repairing the few points I was missing. Well I still appreciate those two cell packs, those were much needed. Ended up with near full ammo again. And as for the extra Dopefish secret, I found it pretty interesting and good to see another Doom 2 wad featuring them (previously they showed up on Doom 2 The Way Id Did as a secret boss fight level). They replace Commander Keen Easter Egg from Doom 2 and probably add to kill count as well, because I had 101% kills when I finished the level. Maybe the Archie resurrected someone earlier while I was busy BFG-ing it? Other than that, I can say this has been one of my favorite levels so far. Oh and just like with MAP09 (and first two levels), my health stayed very high most of the time.

 

I also forgot to mention that the Cacos and Knights (maybe Barons as well?) have new sounds and even revenants made the archvile pain sounds, at least I noticed that last one happening on MAP11. The revenants also started appearing in last few levels, as already mentioned. Kinda weird that the Archviles appeared since MAP05 and the Revenants appeared since MAP09. Now it seems like we've seen all monsters, right? Not really. There's a few new monsters that should show up in next couple of maps. We will see in the next days!

E1 (both parts) deaths: 1 (MAP07)

E1 (both parts) overall: Very good! Most of the maps have been really good so far, the balance was spot on, design was excellent and secrets were nice to find, although I found some parts a bit annoying (mostly in regards to certain switch puzzles) but thankfully they don't detract from the experience, at least not too much.

 

Screenshots

Spoiler

 

Edited May 11, 2021 by FistMarine

[SiFi270]

MAP11: Too Close to Home

Spoiler

DOPEFISH LI-oh never mind

 

[dei_eldren]

Doom Zero - MAP12: Underland (HMP: K 100%, S 100%, D 0)

 

...and we have reached the infernal regions.  The first area we see of Hell is dominated by a pool of lava the shores of which on each side we must visit to venture deeper.  The task is to raise in stages a cross-bridge over it, as each stage grants access to a new section.  The combat here is very much to my liking, and can get quite chaotic, thanks to swarming Cacodemons and also some Pain Elementals that will appear at different points from some hole of hell.  Even with the Revenants in one section, it doesn't get terribly difficult, but there's always risk of taking too much damage if one isn't careful.

The last fight here is against a cadre of Knights of Hell, who emerge from the pitch black staircase leading below.  Here i fell from the bridge, but luckily into the third secret cave of the area and not lava, so in the end after some dramatic moments i managed to kill everything without dying - unlike on my blind run.

 

Going down into total darkness is frightening, and without being careful it's easy to get blasted away by the Mancubus in the narrow dark corridor.  After which the Exit is found.  But we must still gain access to it, by raising couple of stairs...  Both to the left and right there are teleports, which take the player to areas which must be visited.  First i venture left, and find myself in the middlepoint of some sort of circular labyrinth.  It's simple, and to my eyes also beautifully textured and realized.  Very scary, though, because it's not difficult to guess in broad strokes what will happen.  Last time the Archviles in the labyrinth killed me three times, and i won't let that happen again - really, my attitude was too much poor baby me with these evil Archviles.  So, i go in, get to the outermost ring, and find the first one.  Mobility is the key here, and blasting plasma while making sure to take cover at proper moments it's actually much easier than i thought.  There's three of them on HMP, and the other two find me while killing the first.  i'm lucky that they are together, though, and not coming from different directions.  Anyway, after that it's a matter of pressing the switch and getting back.

The last area, the other teleport, is also very nice.  An architecturally interesting marble hall with wide marble tiles used as split-levels and stairs, all the way to the top.  And every level has a Baron of Hell.  The fight isn't difficult, but it is satisfying.  Starting with a couple BFG shots, followed by some rockets, and finishing the last with the SSG.  Just very basic enjoyable killing.  Then there's a little mechanic to figure out, to get back, and this is my favourite such on this level.  There's some help for it, too. 

 

First the criticism.  The bridge in the first area again doesn't fit but feels out of place as it's not in the spirit of the level (in my opinion), and in addition, also feels clumsy to me - for me it's another instance of an idea being favoured over what the level would require.  A permanent bridge with another reason to visit each section would've to my mind worked a lot better.  In this level the face-switches themselves are nice and fit well, but i think raising a couple of silly steps with them to get to the Exit is just overblown.  Easily a better element could've been conceived that is manipulated with them.

 

Regardless of these stylistic criticisms, the gameplay on this level is great, and it's easily one of the most aesthetically pleasing levels so far.  And while this is not the most difficult level, it's still challenging enough.  i enjoyed the whole thing a lot, on both runs.  And the Archvile maze is really fantastic, for me, the setpiece of this map.  Based on what i remember, i have mixed feelings about the next map, but look forward to playing it again - and in the very least, it has some very nice moments and places!

[Book Lord]

MAP12 – Underland

Doomsday Engine, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

Thankfully MAP11 was just a breather. The gameplay is back with a vengeance in this underground hellish level, which consists of two parts, the first being a lava basin you must cross. The puzzle requires to flip switches and raise a cross-shaped bridge multiple times, keeping an eye out for the frequent surprise attacks, until the level of the exit hallway is reached.

Spoiler

The first group of ambushers was a bit too heterogeneous. This fact, combined with their increased speed, triggered a ridiculous brawl I enjoyed in total safety from afar, distracted only by a single Lost Soul that teleported where I was standing. I noticed the presence of certain monster types only because I took the screenshot below.

Spoiler

Other ambushes around the lava pool were not so threatening, except the one involving Pain Elementals and Cacodemons, but all were fun to work out. I was well rewarded for searching all nooks and crannies in the cave for secret stashes; I only gave up the mega-armor, because I forgot to check my MAP02 report for a clue.

 

The descending staircase hosted more Hell Knights than it seemed at first glance, then I was put against the silhouette of a Mancubus in the pitch dark. In the second half of the map, the familiar ugly faces sent me on a quest for two more switches, hidden somewhere beyond two teleporters. This time the “choose your destiny” theme is conveyed by self-explanatory MARBFACes behind the pads.

Spoiler

Barons of Hell are among my favourites, so MARBFAC3 was my first choice. The sheer number of ammo sinks, showing me their muscular rear ends, hinted at some stealth puzzle à la Echo Halls. I carefully sneaked up to the first switch, but from there on I had no idea how to proceed without alerting the bruisers. To hell with stealth, I said! BFG Time! Poor Barons… RNG was harsh on them. When I figured out the procedure to leave that chamber, I doubted even more that a pacifist way was possible. I hope somebody here may shed some light on this puzzle.

Spoiler

The teleport pad with MARBFAC2 led to a quadruple Arch-Vile encounter in a round, symmetric maze. Easy to forecast, it was still tricky to kill the first two without being zapped. By then the others had grouped together and were taken down in seconds. Thumbs up for almost everything on this map for me.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Book Lord

[Snikle]

MAP11 – Too Close to Home

Another fun one, this time in a small cityscape. This is more realistic than any of the Doom II city maps, and featured all sorts of doomcute details, while still having a somewhat abstract design in terms of layouts and room shapes and some decorations. I found 4/5 of the secrets here (Must have been a Rocket Launcher in the 5th…) and they all helped a lot. Ammo was tight at points, that backpack with the cells was probably the most useful. More useful than the BFG which only had enough for one shot by the time I found it. Speaking of, hello cyberdemon! I didn’t wind up killing him, just fed him my big ball and stepped out. Nice map.

 

MAP12 - Underland

Is the name a Venture Bros. reference? This one was great, as usual. Very hellish visuals this time around, most of the map taking place in a lava pit surrounded by skull switches. The goal is to move the central lifts all the way up in order to escape. There are a few more fights after this too. The main aera with the lifts was my favorite. Lots of secrets here, many of which I found, those were nice. The fights later on were alright, one was an AA-esque Archvile-filled saucer and the other was a baron room. The AV bit was pretty enjoyable, the baron one not so much. Anyway you leave after doing both. I had a good time in this one.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP12: Underland

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 4/6 secrets

 

This level gets bonus points right off the bat for using Sinister, my favourite track in the first two Doom games. Here we have the first instance of a hell themed level in this wad, and it pulls it off pretty smoothly I'd say. The first room, which you'll spend most of your time in, involves raising two intersecting bridges in the middle of a pit of hellslime. The textures here are that of a hellish cavern and it is a pretty neat looking work of architecture. As you raise the bridges, you'll have to deal with a hodgepodge of monsters pouring in via lifts, teleporters, or lurking via the caverns off to the side that you'll be venturing through. You'll want to avoid fighting on the bridges themselves as much as is reasonable, as the hellslime beneath deals 20 damage, so falling in can be costly.

 

After you're done with the initial room, you'll venture through a dark hallway guarded by a mancubus, and then a fork in the road. There are two portals, one marked with a hell noble face and one with an archvile face, hinting at what's behind them. The hell noble one takes you inside a marble structure crawling with barons, all with their backs towards you. You'll want to sneak by them and get to the cache of ammo just up the stairs, as you'll want as much rockets as possible to take them down as a reasonable pace. As far as baron encounters go, I kinda like this one. There is a pretty large number of barons all having a better vantage point than you do, so their large pool of health definitely amps up the pressure as you'll want to thin the herd as quickly as possible so that you are dodging fewer projectiles. The archvile portal, takes you to a circular structure of brown vines. As Snikle mentions, this one called Ancient Aliens to mind for me with its saucer-like shape. The layout definitely lends itself well to the herd of archviles here, and it's probably my favourite archvile encounter in the wad so far. Very fun.

 

Overall, pretty solid level both visually and gameplay wise. My only complaint is I didn't really enjoy the combat of the initial room too much, but the rest makes up for it.