The DWmegawad Club plays: Doom Zero

[Biodegradable]

MAP 23: Atmos Caves

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom

 

So this was an odd one with a non-linear progression allowing you to chose colour-coded teleporters to the three keycards, which I thought was neat. Completing each area ended with you nabbing the key to exit said area and add a step towards the exit. I kind of buggered up the progression with the last step because I forgot about the red key switches and accidentally jumped in frustration, but I went back to the red key area and did what was left so the step was raised properly but decided it wasn't worth redoing the last area to fight the surprise Archies at the end again because pbpbpbpb I didn't want to lmao. I'd say the combat was a bit of a mixed bag in this one with some encounters being pretty gnarly while others where a bit of a doddle. As for the map's overall design, layout and progression? Meh, it's all right. Didn't really light my fire. It got a little creative here and there with some of the raising platforms, but otherwise it was more of a hum-drum kind of map for me.

 

 

[Azure_Horror]

UV (savesless for maps 20-22), pistol start, glbloom+ (complevel 2)

Map 20 Familiar Face

 

A very atmospheric little map.
The monster-less doom map with some weapons scattered around can invoke one of the two feelings in the player
1) A sense of relief.
2) A massive sense of paranoia.  
In my case, it was the latter. I was expecting the rug to be pulled from under me by either espesially cruel puzzle or reveal of some insane combat encounter. It was the perfect mood for the final room. At first I was like "Hmmm, this a big spooky gargoyle texture. But why do I hear the demonic laughter?". A moment later it dawned on me that this thing is not a texture, but a sprite for some kind of boss monster. And the floor of upper balcony is damaging! So I pushed forward and found myself at the boss arena.
The boss encounter is phenomenally presented. It uses common player knowledge and standard doom gameplay features to achieve a great artistic effect. The boss is revealed while the player finds themselves on unmarked damaging floor. This leads to a sense of urgency mixed with confusion. Artistically, that part leaves an impression that the monster can cause damage by its mere gaze. At first, the main fight looks like a typical Icon of Sin fight. Thus the player is likely to attempt damaging the monster itself. But the Demon Witch just makes the projectiles disappear, confusing the player further. And only after quite a bit of time the solution reveals itself. But this solution promises not a victory, but a mere chance to escape. So the Doom marine leaves the level battered, but not defeated, with an understanding that they will likely face the Witch again some time later. And the next time, they will need to defeat the monster for good...

 

Exactly as the intermission screen narrates!
This is a wonderful case of integrating the narrative with the gameplay.

 

Map 21 Starbourn

 

Mysterious and oppressive is the name of the game on this map! The architecture is weird and foreboding. The decorations are pale and sinister. And the fights are claustrophobic and intense.
And the first monster encountered is not a part of normal Doom 2 roster. This mysterious fiend is an Alpha Soul. Alpha Souls look like Doom Alpha lost souls (hense the name) and have the same HP, but othervise behave differently. They are hard to stunlock and have a deadly attack: they shoot cacodemon fireballs in arachnotron style salvos. Relatively few Alpha Souls can create an impressive amount of projectiles in cramped spaces. This is exactly how the Alpha Souls are used on Starbourn.

 

All notable encounters on Starbourn have one thing in common: they feel oppressive. Even the first fight with four Alpha Souls feels that way, while being rather easy.
And most fights are not easy. They happen in rather tight spaces, and really threaten to block the player with both numerous tough monsters and swarms of projectiles. The first taste of such fights happens in the second area. The green torch secret throws six revenants against the lightly armed and almost armorless player. This encounter is optional, but the next big fights are not. And they are even more oppressive. Better to hunt for powerful secrets and stay vigilant for mid-fight ambushes, because Starbourn does not take prisoners. At least the map has some strong secrets after the first two main rooms, including the BFG and the megasphere.

 

Visual design of Starbourn manages to reference both Ultimate Doom and Plutonia experiment, while still being unique and memorable. The star structures present a great callback to E1M8, while the wooden walls coupled with the verticality act as allusions to UDoom Episode 4 and Plutonia. The use of skull pile textures for the floor flats fits very well with the above design choices, and also contributes greatly to the atmosphere.
I wish more mappers employed skull pile floors, instead of going for usual blood-and-wood design.

Map 22 The Cracks

 

This map is likely to end as my personal favourite map of Doom Zero. (Unless there is something completely phenomenal among the maps  23-30) I have always loved more open maps of Ulimate Domm Episode 3, especially e3m2 Slough of Despair and e3m6 Mount Erebus. And I always wanted to play a similar map, but with Doom2 expanded monster roster. The Cracks delivers exactly that and then spices it up even more!

 

The Cracks is an exploration map with many winding passages. Most parts of the map are accessible from the very beginning, but some areas have locked doors. To access the exit, the player will need to find a number of progression items and push a number of switches. The monsters are spread all over the map, and can move between different areas relatively unobstructed. The opposition has quite a number of beefy and/or dangerous long-ranged monsters, like hell knights, cacodemons, Alpha Souls, and Arachnotrons.

 

The start with Alpha Souls and some bigger monsters is rather intense. We also can cause some infighting, and see how an Alpha Soul fairs against a revenant. The answer: Alpha Soul loses, but can shove about half of the skeleton's health. And 3 Alpha Souls can easily overpower one revenant. Alfa Souls are not to be underestimated! You will encounter a lot of those lovely little fiends on map22.

 

While you are given the SSG at the very start, it is not the perfect weapon for the map. You are encouraged to search for plasma weapons, and/or rocket launcher. Until you get the tougher weapons, you can use the chaingun to make use of plentiful bullet ammo lying around. In the narrower parts of The Cracks the chaingun proves to be a suprisingly potent weapon. (I am not sure, but it seems that in Doom Zero the Chaingun spread is reduced, while its fire rate is a bit increased.) Overall, the combat on this map is frantic and intense, and you never know which monsters will join the fray after the next turn of the canyons.

Add to that the clever layout and 8 interesting secret areas, and you get a challenging and fun map, which plays extremely well. The Cracks continues the streak of extremely well-crafted Doom Zero maps, which began with map19. 

[Book Lord]

MAP 24 – Booster Hub

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

 

This one had a gentle and quiet introduction in an outside area, where I must shoot a Baron Face to activate a teleporter. The gate structure was surrounded by a pool of muddy water and ashen cliffs, soon to become the scene of a telegraphed ambush. I am glad I am playing -fast and had to be constantly on the move, but those Imps were not the challenge one expects at this point of the WAD. I could easily ignore them and enter the revealed teleport, by the way.

Spoiler

The destination was a “Deimos tech-base”, a mishmash of man-made places and out of place hellish environments, like the lava-filled marble rooms. Combat was incidental, mostly against hitscanners with a tougher foe here and there. Except for the occasional jump scare caused by Revenant closet-traps, fighting the way through the installation was not very thrilling. Secrets were interesting and the Cyberdemon was a dangerous opponent in that cramped room.

Spoiler

I suppose the map name comes from the central hub room, which must be crossed several times during progression. Monsters were released at every passage and the first group caught me off-guard, but after that it became like a fixed appointment.

Spoiler

Eventually I reached a gate leading to another outdoor segment. This was a river of blood, surrounded by piles of skulls and bones. A little dull if you ask me, and very linear. The task was to reach the dark end of the river, where the only things I could see were the YSK and Revenants' rockets, then backtrack to the teleporter, watching out for the inevitable monster closets. This part felt a bit off and uninspired.

Spoiler

The YSK opened the last section, which in strong contrast to the rest was rip-roaring. I was sealed inside a small room where I had to shoot a Baron face to get out, but when doors opened I had Hell Knights in front of me and Cacodemons on the right, which were thankfully distracted by Alpha Souls shooting from the distance. I pushed forward and met Barons of Hell in a wooden hallway, with Imps in lateral alcoves. My rockets’ splash damage disturbed an Arch-Vile who got in the middle of the battlefield and resurrected a Baron and an Imp before I could put him to rest. A funny, chaotic section.

Spoiler

My deathless run was ruined by the last trap, which involved a cage with Spectres in my face. I hate those setups, but since they are so deadly just because I play -fast, I usually blame it on myself. I found this one to be particularly cruel because it plotted to distract the player. There was a window in an empty corridor, with a strange vertical lava box that got my attention. I was aiming my pistol there when I heard the groans of my soon to be killers. Since MAP03 no other trap caught me so unawares. For the next attempt I was armed and ready, but not only Spectres were involved in that ambush and I had to fight tooth and nail. The hidden megasphere was much appreciated. My overall impression from the playthrough was favourable: the map had a positive balance between greatness and occasional dullness.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 24, 2021 by Book Lord

[Crusader No Regret]

Map 16: 100% kills, 5/8 secrets

 

    This map made a strong impression on me for the amount of difficulty it put up and the number of times I died.  Difficulty is not the main feature of Doom Zero but this map had quite a bit of punch in several spots.

 

    The starting room begins where the teleport devices from map 15 and 31's normal exits drop you off.  A mob of hitscanners to start before a timed slime section.  This took some tries to get through both fast enough and not getting chewed up along the way.  On one failed attempt, I gut stuck in the void next to the big poison lake after the drop-off unable to do anything while the radsuit ticked away.  The void took on the nearby damage floor properties too.

 

     After gaining enough control over the area, the difficulty lets up for a while.  Cool secret leads to both a rocket launcher and an advantageos position to pick off a group of zombies.  The sound block lines are set up so that one can pick them off one at a time instead of rousing them all at once.

 

    A big room after a timed run to a lift is where the difficulty ratchets up again.  First there are al lot of hitscanners and no cover in the room itself so door camp or eat lots of lead.  Then the wall comes down with mancubi, a pain elemental, and other assorted riff-raff which die to infighting and are forgotten.  Projectiles can reach me everywhere in the room and the lost souls can pursue everywhere.  Door camping is the only sane place to hide from them but I want to take out the pain elemental first so it doesn't fill the room with skulls while I'm away.  Got blown up by barrels a few times by being too close when a mancubus shot or flying skull exploded one.  The usage of textures to simulate the damaging sludge being drained away is really cool here.  Next area has lots of hitscanners and lots of barrels around to blow them up, great fun.

 

    The barrel puzzle stumped me as to how to do it without getting hurt.  I saw the arrows but couldn't translate that into how to move.  Reloaded a save numerous times trying various things.  Got blown up in most of the attempts.  Finally got one where I took 30 or so splash damage and decided "good enough."  The platforming coming up is simple enough.  Just don't get so caught up to get knocked off by waiting monsters; it's a painful trip back to solid ground if you fall off.

 

    My secret sense must have been off for this map; this is the most I've failed to trigger.  Map 1 had a lower percentage but it had fewer secrets total.  Still was able to get back up to full health, armor, and ammo so while I did search a little, it wasn't that important.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP22: The Cracks

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 7/8 secrets

 

A nice hot start on this one as you're immediately faced down with Alpha souls from the start, and a revenant pops out when you progress forward. I really dig the E3M2-esque canyon aesthetic going on in this one. This was one of the more fun to explore maps in the wad so far, trolling the stone alleys and alcoves for monsters was a really good time. The level does mostly boil down to a key-hunt in the end, but I thought it was a pretty fun one as far as those go. My favourite part of the map was crossing the FIREBLU wall into the red area, I thought this was a really jarring and effective transition.

 

The combat for the most part was fun, although I found it to be the easiest proper map (ie. MAP20 and MAP32 aside) in quite a while, as I beat it on my first try without ever really being in much danger. The closest encounter I had was inside one of the buildings, where the walls open up to reveal revenants and Alpha souls in cages that immediately start peppering you, a nice frantic ambush. The archvile in the red area can be a bit of a nuisance too, especially if you cross back past the FIREBLU and leave yourself unable to see him (which I ended up doing, silly me). I also felt very gorged on ammo in this one for going at it from a pistol start, which isn't something I've felt all too often in this wad.

 

I did really like this map overall though. I thought it could stand to be a bit more difficult, but I still had a lot of fun.

[Biodegradable]

MAP 24: Booster Hub

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom

 

Hell yeah, I really enjoyed this one. Map has a nice E2-vibe going on with a bit of everything from techbase to castle to a bit of Hell-stuff with a big gore-lake enveloped by a wall of bloody skulls, riddled with demons and fun traps to keep you on your toes with excellent Archie placements, it's a grand ol' time for sure as it continues to provide neat ideas for secrets and pushes me to remember what DZ has been teaching us about how it utilises buttons and shootable textures in order to find secrets. I even managed to earn myself a secret BFG, oh fuck yes hehe. While the WAD's been slipping a little in the visuals department for me lately, this map very much makes up for it with a big jolt in the fun factor. I love it.

 

 

[Doritos420]

Super long post ahead. Finally caught up after a long stint at work.

 

Map13 - Tease

Spoiler

More difficult map with a bit of a silly gimmick with the teleporting. I like how the beginning area blends in with the previous level. The archville at the beginning game me some trouble but I was able to soften it up with a bit of infighting from the arachnotron, in the end it ended up blasting me up to the shotgunner platform so I was able to get some secrets early. I enjoyed the switch puzzle and fight in the next room, wasn’t too difficult. The amount of pain elementals in the last room was a bit of a hassle but wasn’t too difficult. For me the difficulty of this map was all at the beginning (as a pistol starter), the 1 arena fight with the review and hell knights was very fun though. I was also able to get all the secrets without  too much trouble. The soulsphere wine with the revenants was pretty brutal though, since I retreated and basically had to tank their rocket attacks due to lack of space for movement.

 

Map14 - Crust

Spoiler

Got to admit, I didn't care for the first part with the moving platforms. Made for interesting combat but navigating through was a pain. The next area however was very fun. Had very open a fast paced combat with lots of cubby holes filled with enemies. I enjoyed that there were multiple paths to get through the map and made for an optional encounter later on. I ended up getting the blue key first. Very fun map, with lots of action.

 

Map15 - Peak Factory

Spoiler

Pretty tight on ammo in the first areas with all the hell knights, but with the inclusion of the berserk pack early on it becomes more manageable. Some tough secrets on this one. For a long time I tried to jump from the blue bridge to the plasma gun to no avail only to figure out later theres a teleporter secret. Some highlights of the level for me were the rocket launcher room/areana with the double archville surprise. I also really enjoyed the key room/complex with all the areas folding in on itself with the platforms to cross the gaps to get all the keys. I ended up getting the area map which made getting secrets much easier. I ended up finding the secret exit while backtracking. Very good level with a tough start. Minor point of criticism would be using D_RUNNING (good song, but I think everyone would be fine not hearing it in a doom level ever again).

 

Map31 - Meat

Spoiler

Very creative level with a lot of work put into it. At first I didn’t really get what the gimmick was except that everything had a flesh texture. I was thinking, this map is very flat and a bit boring when I was in the opening Wolfenstein level. Then it opened up into the hanger level and beyond and it finally clicked. I thought the level would stop at Entryway but went on to include Quake 1 and 2. I got all the secrets but oddly enough I missed one of the easy ones (shooting the wall in the quake area) and had to go back and get it. Very fun with some of the fights cranked up. Especially liked fighting in the quake 1 and 2 areas.

 

Map32 - Dark Roof

Spoiler

Bit of a let down compared to the previous secret map. I like the creepy atmosphere but wish there was more to it. Maybe let an archville loose at the end and you have to defeat all the previously slain monsters. The end fight itself is pretty easy with the BFG after getting the two bosses to infight.

 

Map16 - Natural Supply

Spoiler

Hectic start to the map with all the toxic canyons. Very deadly but very fun. I like the first arena sort of area with the rocket launcher secret where you can get the drop on the hit scanners guarding one of the switches. The next area was a bit too dark for me, ended up having to pull the blinds down in my office to see what was going on. The next area is another hub like area, again fun little battle. I love how the level folds in on itself to revisit this area. In the next area I liked how you have to drain the toxic waste to continue. I didn’t really care for the switch puzzle, felt like I mashed the buttons until I got the stairs working correctly without thinking it through. The next area felt like a reference to barrels of fun, great job. I ended up finding all the secrets except for the secret plasma rifle room (happened upon it only after I killed everything).

 

Map17 - Testing Labs

Spoiler

The beginning area was a little bit of a pain taking care of the arachnotrons with just a shotgun. It’s a bit creepy how you can see the archville just hanging out waiting for you. I actually liked the blocky room with the switch puzzle. Fighting the hell knights here was very intense. I really liked the hitscanner ambush that you encounter after running through the red door area, the next tech arena was also very fun with all the hitscanners. The secrets were a bit more tricky in this level (the secret with the hidden skull switch was very sneaky!). Overall I enjoyed this one, very frantic.

 

Map18 - Atom Transporter

Spoiler

Difficult start to this map. Feels like if you make 1 wrong move you’ll be torn apart by the chaingunners. Luckily there's a berserk pack right after that. Feels like the maps are getting more and more crazy and large now. To me the hardest secret on this map was the plasma rifle and the BFG. The secret mastermind really shocked me as well. I really liked the arena battle past the blue doors early on with teleporting pinkies and hell knights. Even though the map is big it’s hard to get lost since each fighting area is distinct. I do think I did an area out of order though. I ended up teleporting to the yellow key area without getting the red key by strafe jumping off of the platform in the toxic waste pool to get to the teleporter, before raising up the platforms I was supposed to use. Oh well, still had a fun time with the map despite unlocking an area early.

 

Map19 - Quantum Processing

Spoiler

Feels like the levels are getting very complex now. Very difficult start especially for me since on my first run I missed the plasma and rocket launcher secrets, making the toxic area with horde of revenants quite hard. I liked a lot of the puzzles in this one and thought it was awesome how the whole level was interconnected and had shortcuts opening up (good thing too since some of the platforming can be a bit tricky). With the increased complexity of the levels I found this one a bit hard to navigate. This level definitely felt like a step up in difficulty, but was also very fun.

 

Map20 - Familiar Face

Spoiler

At first I though, oh great a puzzle level to spice things up a bit. Found the first few secrets no problemo. BFG one was pretty hard to get though. Then we get to the demon witch. Pretty spooky and unexpected. Enjoyed it though.

 

Map21 - Starbourn

Spoiler

Very dark and spooky map. The new enemy types are pretty brutal. They hit hard but are luckily a bit of a glass cannon. I enjoyed how you progress through this map. Lots of cryptic secrets and things to explore. The one to get the first backpack was especially tricky. I managed to find the secret invincibility at the end making the last arena a breeze.

 

Map22 - The Cracks

Spoiler

Absolutely loved this level. Great nonlinear level design, the beginning area almost felt like a mini slaughter map. Tons of secrets that were well telegraphed. Had a lot of fun running around fighting all the monsters, never felt boxed in. Great flow to the map. One thing that I missed out on was finding the BFG right at the end when all the monsters were dead.

 

Map23 - Atmos Caves

Spoiler

This was great. Felt like a classic weird Doom 1 hell map. I tackled the areas in this order: Red, Blue, Green. My favorite was probably the red area with its maze like design. The beginning room is a little tricky, but you can run around in circles to make the enemies in fight. This area also gives you a BFG as a secret (I ended up saving it for the triple archville ambush at the end). The secrets here were actually too easy as a lot of it is just platforming to get to it. Very well done.

 

Map24 - Booster Hub

Spoiler

This map gave me Metroid vibes due to the backtracking progression aspect. Very fun level. Was able to get all the secrets without much hassle (the beginning area one was a bit tricky). The initial arena fight was very memorable and fun. Very enjoyable map. The one aspect I disliked was the bloody/gore trench where you need to fight revenants in pitch darkness. Also the secret cyberdemon really surprised me!

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP23: Atmos Caves

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 5/9 secrets

 

Another cool non-linear map here. This one has you on a small floating island with three face switches that trigger three teleporters. You simply need to progress to the end of each of the three sections the teleporters take you to and the exit will become accessible.

 

The north teleporter containing the red key takes you to a small pit of nukage with cliffs surrounding it and a building ahead. The path is probably the easiest one and perhaps the best to tackle first. It does have some barons to deal with that you may not immediately have the arsenal for, but there is a secret SSG on the cliffs that is pretty easy to notice and get to. You are also free to take the teleporter you came through at any time to pick up the left over shell boxes in the hub area, so ammo isn't too sparse to take them down. One cool thing that I noticed in my playthroughs is that the archvile at the end of the area is a bit easier depending on the order you press the switches in, as you can prevent the archvile from being able to reach you and can take him out safely from a distance instead of risking having him run at you.

 

The south teleporter with the blue key takes you to a brown and green canyon area, containing quite a few Alpha souls, some hell knights, imps, an arachnotron, and an archvile that can be somewhat tricky if this was the path you chose to start with. After the canyon you drop into a cave, which greets you with a somewhat awkward and claustrophobic encounter with hell knights, an imp, and lost souls. After this is a building crawling with Alpha souls and a small switch + sprinting puzzle, and you are on your way out.

 

The west teleporter greets you with quite a nasty hot start, you are spat out into a cave with pinkies and arachnotrons in the centre, and imps and lost souls coming in from the sides. If this is where you started, you'll have to nimbly circle strafe through this one, getting monsters to infight and grabbing the SSG in the centre when the arachnotrons give you the room to do so. If you choose to nope out of here and go back through the teleporter, the monsters will start following you so this likely isn't an advisable route to take. After you sort through this mess, you enter a building with a bunch of mid-tier monsters, and a dark platforming maze crawling with spectres and some revenants. There are two switches in the maze to lower the wall hiding the way out, and raise some platforms across the nukage. You can just spring across the nukage though, so only the former is actually needed. The latter switch has some pain elementals guarding it though, so you do still need to go to it for 100% kills.

 

This was a good one. I enjoyed the floating island aesthetic in the hub area, and each route was pretty fun and had that Doom Zero-esque puzzle flavour.

 

[Crusader No Regret]

Map 17: 100% kills, 8/9 secrets

 

    I'm glad I'm playing continuous, make the start go by smoother with carryover.  Some moments stood out more than others.  Even with carryover, that chamber with barons, overlooking chaingunners, and lift puzzles took some effort into fighting off the monsters without getting too beat up.  Finding the optional blue key was a feeling of accomplishment.  And yeah, the monster placement after using the red key switch and running over the gaps is really well done.  Even if it is possible to alert a lot of them from below.  Having blue key allows access to the upper levels which gives more options for vantage points.

 

    My live monster counter was at zero when I approached the switch with a floor pentagram in front of it.  I didn't expect to make it out unopposed though I didn't expect the sheer number of lost souls that showed up.  Madness.  And now that Doom Zero has conditioned me to expect monsters from the pentagrams, it gleefully subverts expectations by making them show up everywhere but where they're expected.  A standout encounter.

 

     Secrets felt secret in this map.  I didn't find very many for a long time until the map was nearly over.  That computer map dangled just out of reach and finding the hidden switch to raise the lift to make it reachable was one of the last things I did before exiting.

Edited May 26, 2021 by Crusader No Regret

[Book Lord]

MAP 25 – Abandoned Compound

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

 

The compound was all but ‘abandoned’. In fact, everything began already in the line of fire of Alpha Souls, as expected. There are several monsters roaming around this tech-base, whose visuals were more typical of Doom 2 (abstract, bare looks). I spent some time to clear everything and get an idea of the surroundings. The map had a significant lower quality than the average seen so far: lighting was all but extraordinary, monster placement was random and not so effective, room layout was boring, texturing did not make much sense, and item placement was haphazard at best.

Spoiler

I lost an incredible amount of time on this level, but it was not because of big size, difficult combat, or brain-teasing riddles. I wasted half an hour wandering everywhere, with most enemies already dead, because I could not see how to progress! I had the entire solution sequence figured out at some point, but there was a missing link: a damned Satyr switch that was nowhere to be found. I watched Youtube videos because I was totally lost, but people there had no problem because there was an open door where I had a locked yellow door, stairs to YSK were readily accessible, and there was no Satyr switch at all! When I realised where it was, I had already no-clipped to the RSK and had broken the progression.

Spoiler

I am surprised that after so much obsession with clarity the author has conceived such a counter-intuitive idea. I assume this is a 2.2 version change, but it could have been checked a lot better. That essential switch was hidden in the exit room, which was signposted but I was not able to locate, neither in-game nor from the auto-map. Uncovering the exit required a precise switch timing and run, then it was concealed by one extra lift a player is not likely to look for. I was greeted by Hell Knights in a tight space, but I was so furious for the wasted time that I literally wiped them out. And more ugly faces smiling at me for a clear, seamless progression.

Spoiler

At that point, I did not care for secrets. I just wanted to leave this obnoxious level. I think the screenshots give an idea of how incidental and bland the level was. I read the Nods to the Mods interview, in which Christopher Golden said that the last third of Doom Zero was developed in a 4-month final rush, just to be ready for Doom’s 25th anniversary. That was a remarkable and worthy achievement, but contrary to the author's claims the last third of the WAD was affected. This does not mean the quality is bad, but the perfect equilibrium of puzzles, combat, visuals, atmosphere, and exploration that has been steadily improving up to MAP20, has been declining in the MAP21-MAP25 streak. Every level had some strong points that still made them good, but for MAP25 I cannot find a saving grace.

Spoiler

In the same interview, the author revealed that he used a map he made in 2011, and this could well be ‘Abandoned Compound’. But the godforsaken Satyr switch is a recent tweak, and it did not improve the level in any way. I still have a sixth of the WAD to play, but this is a strong contender for the worst map title.

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Biodegradable]

MAP 25: Abandoned Compound

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom

 

Not too shabby a follow-up to the last map as the combat remains gritty and fun from beginning to end in this second beige techbase that's honestly not much to look at, feels a bit flat most of the time. Not a big fan of the progression of this one, at least in terms of how you go about getting the keys and finding the right switches. It's a tad annoying in that regard and made the map feel like a bit of a doddle once I'd found I had killed most of the denizens of the map and was left wandering around trying to link up the faces to their corresponding switches, which unlike most other times, proved rather tedious. The combat however was great, coming in hot and heavy with a great use of the Alpha Souls and interesting ambushes and demon grouping that kept things dynamic at every turn. This map is a bit of a mixed bag for me: Great combat, but boring design and annoying puzzles.

 

 

Oh yes, since it's the 25th for me down here, I'll put down my vote for next month's WAD. I'd like to propose +++Bourgeois Megawad

Edited May 29, 2021 by Biodegradable

[Kyka]

On 5/24/2021 at 5:03 PM, Biodegradable said:

MAP 24: Booster Hub

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom

 

Hell yeah, I really enjoyed this one. Map has a nice E2-vibe going on with a bit of everything from techbase to castle to a bit of Hell-stuff with a big gore-lake enveloped by a wall of bloody skulls, riddled with demons and fun traps to keep you on your toes with excellent Archie placements, it's a grand ol' time for sure as it continues to provide neat ideas for secrets and pushes me to remember what DZ has been teaching us about how it utilises buttons and shootable textures in order to find secrets. I even managed to earn myself a secret BFG, oh fuck yes hehe. While the WAD's been slipping a little in the visuals department for me lately, this map very much makes up for it with a big jolt in the fun factor. I love it.

 

 

 

Boner Party ?

 

Boner Party ?

[Biodegradable]

20 minutes ago, bLOCKbOYgAMES said:

Boner Party?

 

B O N E R  P A R T Y !

 

That's pretty much what I call big groups of Revs. I love to hate these bony bastards, they're the best because they're the worst. A terrific demon, the favourite of slaughtermappers, Bridgeburner's Golden Skullboy and the bane of my Dooming career.

Edited May 25, 2021 by Biodegradable

[Kyka]

 

 

[Book Lord]

2 hours ago, Biodegradable said:

MAP 25: Abandoned Compound

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom

 

Not too shabby a follow-up to the last map as the combat remains gritty and fun from beginning to end in this second beige techbase that's honestly not much to look at, feels a bit flat most of the time. Not a big fan of the progression of this one, at least in terms of how you go about getting the keys and finding the right switches. It's a tad annoying in that regard and made the map feel like a bit of a doddle once I'd found I had killed most of the denizens of the map and was left wandering around trying to link up the faces to their corresponding switches, which unlike most other times, proved rather tedious. The combat however was great, coming in hot and heavy with a great use of the Alpha Souls and interesting ambushes and demon grouping that kept things dynamic at every turn. This map is a bit of a mixed bag for me: Great combat, but boring design and annoying puzzles.

 

It took you about half the time than it took me to find that hidden room with the Hell Knights. You "WTF?" moment around 15:00 is tip-top, but you've been so lucky with that movement. I did it so many times but I never triggered the required line and lost so much time for nothing.

 

The combat is ok, but most of it is monsters in front of you. Nothing seemed really well organised on this map, not even the pickups (a soulsphere stacked above a megaarmor???), but it was about time for an "imperfect" map. Coming up with 32 great concepts in 2 years, working as a one man team, surely deserves great respect and praise. I'll draw my conclusions within a few days.

[Snikle]

MAP23 – Atmos Caves

A series of distinct caves to get the three keys. Simple enough premise, kinda like a tiny “Mediggo III” (or whatever it was) from NOVA. Each one was fun, and a bit puzzley. I ended up in the area with red torches first, which had the hottest landing spot of any of them, but luckily I got a secret plasma rifle pretty early on. Then there was a (groan) baron room, followed by an interesting platforming section. Combat was enjoyable but not too hard. Then I went in the toxic slime teleporter, got the arachnotron to kill the HK for me, always fun. Maybe a few too many nobles later, I got the red key and had to figure out how to make the platforms move right. I still don’t know how I did it. I did the blue key last, and it was pretty easy, just a lot of alpha souls. They killed an AV though, so they’re all right. Some more AVs teleported in at the very end, but I just left.

 

MAP24 – Booster Hub

One of my favorites so far, as well as one of the larger maps we’ve seen. I found quite a few secrets (and opened another one that I forgot to actually go to…), the best of which was a BFG + Cyberdemon room. The start was home to two secrets, a RL and PG, which I noticed once after activating the switch and dying. Then I went exploring before hitting the switch and found both! Then I died again and realized I didn’t save and had to do it again. Oh well, past the teleporter was a hub room with three main areas off to the sides and an exit on top. Each one was fun, and each one was a challenge, as well as oodles of secrets. I think they are done in a linear fashion, but its hard to tell. Eventually you get the yellow key from a darkening blood river (I enjoyed this part) and go for a ride in the final rooms of the map, full of HKs, Barons, a manc, an AV, and alpha soul snipers. Then there’s a trap of spectres and revenants (And a megashpere secret too, right after the blue armor in the last room!), and that’s pretty much the end, other than the last ambush at the exit. I also shot into a lava hole to open a pillar to reveal another secret near the end, but dumb ‘ol me forgot to go find it before I left.

 

+++ CPD

[Book Lord]

MAP 26 – Fortification

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

 

Considering my bad experience with MAP25, this one had to be inevitably better. In fact, it was a genuinely good level, boding well for the last streak of Doom Zero. At the beginning there were two paths to leave a crater of lava. The closest one led inside the eponymous ‘Fortification’, where a demons’ nest waited to be stirred only to flick a partial progression switch. The other way passed through a network of obsidian caves. A couple of pressure plates had to be activated in quick sequence to go through a metal barrier and ride up a lift.

Spoiler

A bulky but unorganised resistance could not prevent me from reaching the outside, a mountain crag hosting the bastion I entered before. It was a majestic sight to behold. From this side I was able to raise a bridge to the inmost part, which held the RSK and a small library guarded by Revenants. The real danger was on the way back, when a pit trap opened on a previously safe corridor and dropped me in the crossfire of Alpha Souls, Imps and a Mancubus. I saved my skin, but I cannot really tell how.

Spoiler

Back to the lava crater, I noticed a new path had opened, so I postponed opening the red bars. I stumbled upon another pool of lava, which I must cross by carefully jumping on rocky platforms. There was a concealed Arch-Vile in the middle and he enjoyed hiding behind the central stone, so I used the BFG for once. The ball missed him and he survived tracers, then completed his retaliation against the poor Imp behind. The Imp was propelled on higher rocks and the Vile killed himself with his own splash damage. I was still laughing when I fell into lava, which revealed itself as an (almost) inescapable pit.

Spoiler

With BSK in my hand, it was time to open the red bars and… hey, a Cyberdemon! I did not expect one to appear in such a narrow tunnel, but I did not panic and lured him out, into the crater. This was a nice mini-boss fight, neither too trivial nor too dangerous. I bet the secret invulnerability, which became accessible after taking the RSK, was meant for this encounter, even though it would have been more useful for the pit trap.

Spoiler

A small castle on a cliff was the setting of the final encounter. Firstly, the surroundings must be cleared from monsters, including Cacodemons flying down from the ramparts; secondly, I had to deal with the castle garrison, consisting of more Cacos, Barons of Hell and twin Arch-Viles. Once I noticed the healers, I knew that killing the Barons by the doorway was pointless, so I did my best to draw them outside. One last easy puzzle and I finally reached the scorching exit, which sent me to MAP27 with only 2% health. I sense a gimmick map à la ‘Echo Halls’ is next, but this level was wonderful and fully restored my faith in Doom Zero.

Spoiler

 

[Doritos420]

Map25 - Abandoned Compound

Spoiler

I really enjoyed this map, lots of wide open areas to explore and plenty of fun fights. I would say though that theres a few obtuse secrets here and there, wish there was an area map pickup to make secret hunting a bit easier. As per usual I found the BFG when all the enemies were dead.

9 hours ago, Book Lord said:

(a soulsphere stacked above a megaarmor???)

I thought that was done to look funny. Like a little blue man powerup. I thought the map was pretty fun.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP24: Booster Hub

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 7/9 secrets

 

This one was a big winner for me. I think we hit a new high in monster count with 189 in this level, and it's got good action to match. You start off taking down an unassuming chaingunner, and once you find the switch that unlocks the way forward you are met with a nice imp ambush. You then take a portal into the main area: a room with multiple paths to take. Despite that though, the progression is mostly linear, and there are helpful flickering lights on the floor of the central room if you don't feel like guessing at where to go. The ambushes are really on point in this level especially towards the end, they catch you off-guard but aren't too unfair, and they are each a lot of fun to take on. You have what is the second cyberdemon in the whole wad if I'm remembering correctly, tucked away in the BFG secret. The secret is a dark room with a few narrow hallways, and after venturing in he gives you a nice jumpscare from the left. You'll need to narrowly avoid his rockets and grab the invulnerability from alcove he came out of and the BFG from the opposite one, and he can then be easily disposed of.

 

Another notable moment is the teleporter to get the yellow key, which brings you into a canyon with a blood floor and the red/beige skeletal texture making up the canyon itself. As you venture into the canyon, it gradually gets darker making the encounters (and especially the spectres) a bit more difficult, and it finally throws revenants at you when the canyon is at its darkest. I find levels that use darkness against you to be a bit hit or miss, but this one I enjoyed. On your way back, more areas of the canyon open up with arachnotrons, a mancubus, revenants, and an archvile to take care of. Mercifully, these are left to when you can see well enough to fight them effectively! 

 

This isn't it though, as the level continues to turn up the gas from here on out. After hitting the yellow switch and taking down some cacos and alpha souls, you shoot a switch that unleashes another ambush, hell knights immediately in the door ahead and some cacos up close in the window on the side (with some alpha souls from the distance behind them in case you didn't have enough projectiles to deal with. If you try to quickly take care of the hell knights and run out, there are barons down the hallway with more monsters in the small alcoves on the sides (including an archvile!). You'll want to kill the barons before they can close in on you, but not move forward too much so as to wake up the archvile and put yourself in a bad spot.

 

As you progress up the stairs from here, you have likely noticed a secret lava switch that you needed high enough ground to shoot and these stairs happen to be taking you there. However, if you distract yourself with shooting the switch, you'll be caught off guard by pillars closing you in and spectres zooming at you from behind. As if that was not enough, walking into the room that opened reveals more revenants and imps from the sides, with not a ton of room for cover. Finally to close it out you will return to the central room to an archvile and more riff raff, and then you can finally exit.

 

Was a big fan of this one. I think the stretch from the yellow key canyon to the end of the map is the most fun I've had in this wad so far.

[Biodegradable]

MAP 26: Fortification

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom

 

This was a fun, interconnected map with about 5 key areas with their own cheeky surprises and progression elements. I found the puzzle elements in this one a lot more fun and less frustrating to come together. The two-step gate/lift switch being the stand-out. I just thought that was neat. The combat remains just as engaging as the last two previous maps and I found the design of this one a little bit more intriguing. The way things are shaped lead to some surprising encounters and a trap or two that kept me on my toes and punished me when I let my guard down. Also, I managed to two-shot a Cyberdemon in less than 8 attempts, so that's a small victory for me. ;^D

 

 

[Crusader No Regret]

Map 18: 100% kills, 7/8 secrets

 

     The chaingunner ambush at the very start sets the tone for the resistance in this map.  Numerous tricky setups to be found.  And the trap that springs at the yellow key has been the most difficult so far in the WAD in a set where difficulty isn't the defining feature.  Most of the ambushes can be outwitted with foreknowledge.  Such as luring small groups from the region behind the blue key door instead of alerting them all at once.  The brawl at the end can also be hairy without the secret invulnerability.

 

     Tracked down all the secrets except for the plasma rifle early on which sat on a ledge just out of reach.  If this was supposed to be reached by archvile jump, I messed up by killing off the nearby archviles as soon as I found them (ysy carryover BFG).  My intuition led me to an optional red key.  Preserving the radsuit from a different secret made the trek beyond the red door much easier though I was still too slow and had it run out before I was through.  One secret (or rather, part of the path to one) I question its placement since it seemed to be triggered by wandering into a corner which doesn't seem like there would be anything there.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP25: Abandoned Compound

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 9/9 secrets

 

The third map of the last four to have alpha souls peppering you as soon as you begin. Unfortunately though, this map was a miss for me. First off, it's probably one of my least favourite maps aesthetically so far, probably down to personal tastes perhaps but it uses some of the duller textures and not in a particularly neat way. Additionally, like some others before me, the little switch puzzle to hit the first face switch completely eluded me, and I was running around aimlessly for about 20 minutes trying to figure out what to do before finally getting it. I've really liked the puzzle aspects of the wad up to this point, but this one was a little bit too easy to get stuck on for my tastes, at least for a mandatory part of the progression. Funnily enough, I found the actual secrets in the map a lot easier than this mandatory bit, although the main reason I did get them all was to clean up the remaining kills (the invulnerability secret was an exception, that one was also a little obtuse).  

 

Combat-wise, I feel like this is another one that feels too easy for its placement, and is a bit of a letdown compared to the firecracker that was MAP24. It does feature a high number of mid tier monsters, but the map kind of lacks ambushes or tricky placements, with most of the combat allowing you plenty of room and cover and not really leaving you surrounded or caught off-guard. If it weren't for the alpha souls or large amounts of mid tier demons, I would think that this map fits more into the first episode difficulty-wise. The biggest threat here was to my patience with the switch puzzle mentioned before.

 

So yeah, I gotta say I disliked this one. Oh well, onto the next!

[Doritos420]

Map 26 - Fortification

Spoiler

I enjoyed the opening to this level with the large slaughter-like fight that wraps around the map. Very cool. After the crazy opening, the level cools off a little to allow some more relaxed exploration. Progression and secrets were pretty simple, though I found the BFG one a bit tricky to figure out. The cyberdemon fight near the hub area was very intense, especially with the limited footing. The fortification itself was surprisingly pretty small despite being the name of the level. One point of criticism would be I hard a bit of a hard time finding the switch that raised up the pillars to cross to the exit (it was just on the other side of the elevator switch!).

[Crusader No Regret]

Map 19: 100% kills, 8/9 secrets

 

    An archvile at the start is an ill omen.  And the layout makes it tricky to deal with unscathed even with a handy secret that's accessible right there.  Even carryover BFG doesn't make it a free kill as missing is always possible.  Soon after, a teleport ambush is sprung.  I semi-cheesed this one by luring them one or two at a time towards the opening corridor and attacking from there to avoid waking up the room but that takes patience.  Which I have plenty of if it aids survival.  There's quite a number of timing puzzles to advance (such as the one with handy hint arrows to indicate which order to push switches  It's also training for a later setup without the hints.)  The map is also fond of placing monsters to ambush anyone coming out of a timing puzzle.  Even if you know they're there, there's still the rush to go forth before the path gets closed off.

    Secrets are another tricky bunch to locate, with the last eluding my ability to sniff it out.  I don't think I would have found most of them without the early computer map.  Such as the rocket launcher early on.  Don't think I would have looked for it without it being visible on the computer map.  BFG was less tricky to reach than I expected.  Unless it turned out that I met the prerequisite before I found my way to the platform its visible from.

 

Map 20: 2/4 secrets, kills irrelavent

 

    This was a tense opening with the barrels everywhere and me looking for a spot to not get blown up by them.  It's more straightforward than the setup from map 16 and I easily found a way to avoid being damaged by the chain of explosions.  Found a hidden radsuit which lets me breeze by the next section as well as safely reach a secret in the next area.  Climb fast to avoid being crushed and pick up a key at the top of the course.  Actually easy to complete but the crushers add a chunk of tension to the climb.

 

    I shall point towards Azure Horror's writeup which captures the atmosphere of the map in words far better than anything I would have come up with.

[Book Lord]

MAP 27 – The Junction

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

 

Here we go again, noise paranoia like on MAP06. The level begins in another octagonal hub, with a sizeable red arrow pointing at the only accessible door. I had a full arsenal of weapons, but even a former human was a formidable foe at 2% health. Thankfully the first enemies to spot me were Imps, but the slightest hesitation was punished with death. After the skirmish, time was ripe for a new iteration of the ‘choose your destiny’ trope.

Spoiler

If you have read some of my previous reviews, you can safely bet I chose BSK. The locked doors connected the hub to three vibrantly coloured pavilions, each one containing its own challenge of stealthiness. ‘The Junction’ was like an amusement park with various carousels or escape rooms, which is a more fitting designation. In the blue section there were lots of hitscanners who could have killed me in the blink of an eye, then a crowd of mid-tier monsters behind the corner. They were all looking the other way, except some Spectres blocking the flight path. I silently retreated to the pavilion entrance, shot them dead and wondered why nobody heard anything.

 

I gladly replenished armour and health and picked up the other keys, including a secret BFG nearby. It was soon obvious that I had to eliminate all the small hordes inside the pavilions. The red zone had a lot of meat to grind and a much nastier setup than the blue one. The yellow route showcased a corridor similar to ‘Echo Halls’ but with an Arch-Vile mixed with the rabble. BFG was the best option to thin the ranks.

Spoiler

Killing all those enemies was mandatory to reach the familiar ugly face switches, which opened three new areas at ‘the Junction’. The freedom of choice was only apparent and I was lucky to start from the leftmost Gargoyle door, minimising the need to backtrack. An ‘Echo Halls’ spin-off returned in the big room with monsters staring at fleshy walls. Lost Souls wanted to trick me into shooting, but I dodged them and ran straight for the switch, which set off a demon-crushing mechanism. I was leaving when a squad of Revenants reminded me there was another switch to press, and I even found a captivating secret with a teleport slot machine puzzle.

Spoiler

The Lion door hosted an ominous chamber of darkness, where the only means of navigation were a few beacons of light. Lost Souls shined bright in pitch-black, but more dangerous enemies awaited in that high tension sequence. I realised that the Light Amplification Visor in the red pavilion was probably meant to help here, but I am no clairvoyant to know it beforehand.

Spoiler

Satyr door on the right revealed the last path to tread. It hosted a mean ambush that would not feel out of place in a Casali map. The mandatory skull switch triggered not less than 4 Arch-Viles behind a fake wall, complete with a Baron corpse I just left there for them to raise. I died because I got stuck on the resurrecting Baron and received a 4x Vile blast a fraction of second later. Second attempt was automatically BFG-time. A light-hearted map with original gameplay, featuring the highest monster count of the WAD courtesy of the various gimmicks. Surely a high point in creativity for Christopher Golden.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 27, 2021 by Book Lord

[Biodegradable]

MAP 27: The Junction

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom

 

We got ourselves a bit of a callback to MAP06's sound gimmick with the demons facing the walls a lot of the time along with the previous map robbing all but 1% of health to start us off with and a fun button to press and watch all the bastards get squashed if you manage to sneak by them. I'm rather chuffed with my dodging skills as I managed to not get hit once in the first challenging room with that said 1% of health. The map itself is one of those Choose-Your-Own-Adventure styles with the keys again, but it doesn't ultimately matter because you need all three in the end, plus working with the three stone faces as usual for progression. The map's a little humdrum admittedly except for two elements that stood out: The aforementioned 1% health as it felt a lot more challenging this time in the red skullkey room I chose and the surprise 4-Archie ambush towards the end.

 

 

[Kyka]

18 minutes ago, Biodegradable said:

MAP 27: The Junction

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom

 

We got ourselves a bit of a callback to MAP06's sound gimmick with the demons facing the walls a lot of the time along with the previous map robbing all but 1% of health to start us off with and a fun button to press and watch all the bastards get squashed if you manage to sneak by them. I'm rather chuffed with my dodging skills as I managed to not get hit once in the first challenging room with that said 1% of health. The map itself is one of those Choose-Your-Own-Adventure styles with the keys again, but it doesn't ultimately matter because you need all three in the end, plus working with the three stone faces as usual for progression. The map's a little humdrum admittedly except for two elements that stood out: The aforementioned 1% health as it felt a lot more challenging this time in the red skullkey room I chose and the surprise 4-Archie ambush towards the end.

 

 

 

7:45 Dat BFG shot doe!!!

 

Also well done on not dying on this level. 

 

On Topic, I died a lot on this level, because I chose the blue key path. (The one with Biodegradable's famed BFG shot) and I died. A. Lot. 1% health with all those baddies ... not so much thanks. That said, great level, interesting design, clever ideas. Classic Doom at its finest. Except for the 8397 deaths (or something like it...) One of the most memorable levels in Doom Zero.

[Snikle]

MAP25 – Abandoned Compound

This one felt more like a ‘90s map than the others so far. Almost like “Refueling Base” with its packed rooms and compact, Tom-Hall-ish style layout. The visuals were okay, but not as good as earlier maps in the set. Gameplay was decently enjoyable when I could find the enemies, if a bit SSG-heavy. Note the “when I could find the enemies,” progression in parts was downright esoteric. You had to do the switch puzzle to the exit room to activate a different switch to progress… and then do another switch puzzle to get the red key (At least this one was right there). After getting the yellow key I ran around for a while again trying to find what to do, until I realized the exit was open. Thanks for telling me, I guess?

 

MAP26 – Fortification

Really fun map, lots of outdoor and cave areas which I always enjoy. After a hot start was a two-step puzzle to lower a gate and open a wall, which was pretty neat. This leads outside, where falling off the cliffside will let you telefrag 2 barons. There’s a soulsphere secret in this outdoor part too, and I’m not sure what I did to access it, but back near the opening gate where you came in is a secret invuln across a bridge over the lava, near a rocket launcher. Once you get the red key there’s a cyberdemon in a cave, as well as another open area housing an exit building. Find the blue key nearby to open it up. Sadly there’s an infuriating platforming bit between you and that blue. Maybe I’m just bad, but this area killed me so many damn times. I’d always either fall off the platform with my low-ass health and die instantly or be AV blasted. Luckily behind the blue key is a fake wall with a soulsphere. Then I was out. Other than that BK bit I really enjoyed this one.

 

MAP27 – The Junction

As a pistol-starter, the beginning of the map wasn’t as tense for me since I had more than 1% health, BUT the silence challenges still worked because they were the only way to get weapons better than a shotgun and chaingun. Taking the advice of this thread I went for the blue key first, but I’m not sure it would’ve mattered too much. The red key area killed me the most but that may have just been sloppy playing. Getting all the keys opened a BFG, which was nice. Were there other ways to get it/one? Flipping switches in each key area opens three more areas, again full of nasty traps. There was a large room with crushable monsters, a dark room full of souls (Lost, and sphere), and a mean AV room that you can run past to exit. High monster count, fun gimmicks, enjoyable map.

 

[Zirtonic]

UV, pistol starts, no saves

 

MAP20-22

 

I really liked the progression across these 3. We start with a puzzle/atmosphere focused map, then MAP21 adds in more substantial combat but keeps it grindy and slow, and then MAP22 blows the doors off its hinges with maybe the most frantic map in the WAD so far. The progression deserves commendation but I will say I didn't care for MAP21 much at all. Having to slow roll Pain Elementals and (I think? it's been a couple days) Arachnotrons with a shotgun is not my cup of tea. MAP22 mostly makes up for it though, at least once you get past the early key hunting. The combat is balls-to-the-wall pretty much the entire time and I especially loved the Revenant trap in the secret near the exit. I thought the secrets here flowed well too. It took me a while to find the first one but once I did the rest seemed to fall into my lap. 

 

MAP23-26

 

Hmmm not much to say here. MAP23 has an adventurous edge to it with how distinct each area feels, but none of the combat is all that engaging outside of maybe the opening cave arena with the Arachnotrons and sniping Imps. The blood stream in MAP24 with the increasing darkness is certainly memorable, and the problem might just be my own eyesight, but putting Spectres in areas that dark is instantly aggravating. I can't see them at all and have to spray'n'pray well past the point of tedium. I'll echo others' thoughts in regards to MAP25's cryptic progression. I actually ended up IDDTing mid-level because I'd been completely stumped for 15 minutes and I still couldn't figure it out. Eventually I started trying random bullshit and got lucky sprinting past the exit sign into a mini Hell Knight trap. The texture work in this one was also noticeably weaker than most of the WAD; I'd agree with @Book Lord's assumption that this is an older level that was repurposed/revisited after a long time away. Speaking of cryptic, Mr. Golden deserves multiple demerits for making the SSG a secret in MAP26. The only reason I don't dislike the map more is because of the Invulnerability secret that you can use to facetank the cramped Cyberdemon encounter. 

 

I'm not disliking the WAD but the last third is a noticeable step down from the middle, at least for my tastes. Too many puzzles (many of which are tied to the progression of the levels) and outside of a fight here and there most of the combat is...let's say satiated. I suppose that fits the theme of trying to make it feel similar to the IWADs though so I can't really complain. 

 

+++ Return to Hadron series

+++ Running Late 1 & 2 would fill up 23 days but I don't have any ideas for the remaining 7

[Doritos420]

Map27 - The Junction

Spoiler

Cool map, very reminiscent of Map06. At the beginning I thought I was being naughty by going in the opposite direction of the arrow, little did I know that both doors lead to the same place. I ended up going for the red key first and just running past all the enemies to get to the platform with all the keys/goodies. Did the same thing with the rest of the doors just to get all the guns and then I went in guns blazing. I really enjoyed the secret teleporter goodie room, very creative little puzzle. One area I really disliked was the pitch black area. Fighting enemies was no fun here and and trying to find secrets by hugging the walls was even less fun. Luckily there were some light emitting items to give a bit of navigation help. One area I loved was the area towards the end past the Demon Witch door with the flickering lights guarded by the lone Baron of Hell. His placement in the corner surprised me and made me jump a little. Then when I doubled back I accidentally ran past all the archvilles, what a surprise! Luckily I picked up the BFG earlier. Cool level, despite that one dark room I enjoyed it.