The DWmegawad Club plays: SKULLTIVERSE

[Thrustpeak]

UV | Continuous | dsda-doom

 

MAP10: Terminal Decay 

While the last map had a plutonia-like feel to it this map felt like it came more from the school of TNT, and I dig it. It did a fantastic job at building tension. The sounds of archviles and revenants lurking as you wander through the dark to a somber midi creates a tense atmosphere as the encounters—starting off small and unthreatening—slowly getting meaner and meaner. It felt like something I should have continually gotten lost in, but somehow that was never the case except for one brief instance. It was all very well executed. It stands out for being such a unique experience compared to what has preceded it, and it has me looking forward to LordEntr0py's next map in the 19th slot.  

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

[Lorenz0]

MAP10 - Terminal Decay 

hmp/continuous

 

As the most atmospheric entry so far, this map is set in a dark base of some kind where you go through numerous winding paths and soak in the eeriness for a while, before you stumble upon the first major fight that would contain more than a few enemies at a time. It’s been a while since I played a map that withholds the combat from the player for so long. Some random zombiemen are all you’re going to fight in the first minute or two. (Doesn’t sound like a long time, but that’s almost the whole duration of map08, for comparison).

 

The base looks pretty good, with some nice attention to lighting all over the place, but I think the texture use is a bit monotonous. I constantly thought to myself that everything looks the same in this level. But it’s not a big deal, since the map is not incredibly big or anything. I’m fine with the approach focusing on atmosphere, I think that can result in a perfectly enjoyable map, but this one in particular doesn’t execute this idea as well as it could. The sole reason for that is that the midi doesn’t fit at all! Maybe it’s not immediately noticeable, but as I kept playing the map, I realized that the song doesn’t compliment the tone of the map in the slightest. Something much more ominous and calm would’ve worked way better, but the midi used here sounds too much like actual, pleasant to listen to, music, and too little like moody ambience. 

 

The layout of the map felt kinda confusing as I was going through it, but I’ve never actually gotten lost for more than half a minute at a time. I suspect that the main path is pretty linear, but it feels like it’s not due to how interconnected all the rooms are. I don’t really mind that I suppose, but once again I think that some more texture variety could’ve helped solve that “problem”.

 

I don’t have much to say about the combat though. It was all pretty good. Challenging at times, but perfectly manageable. 

 

Order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP09

MAP07

MAP10
MAP04
MAP05
MAP01
MAP03
MAP02
MAP08
MAP06

 

[DuckReconMajor]

MAP10 - Terminal Decay - dsda-doom - skill 4 pistol start many rewinds

 

This map is mean. The ending a carrot, dangled just out of reach the entire time.

Visually this map is awesome. The aesthetic tension of the emptiness in the beginning is well done.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP10 - "Terminal Decay" - LordEntr0py (100%K/100%I/66%S):

Wow, this map sure is atmospheric. Two things came in mind here, UAC Ultra and Eviternity. Great experienceso far, for the first 2 or 3 minutes, you feel like nothing is happening, but when you start getting keys, the map kicks in with some big fights. You get the blue skull really early,  but the map's amazing layout is something that you don't see that often, new paths open, older paths close, and, although pretty linear, this map manages to keep you lost, because of how well excecuted going around the same places with different changes is. You'll have to give 2 or 3 laps around this map in different ways, with many encounters on the same rooms, and new monsters to face. Yes, the start may be confusing, as when you get a key, you don't open the doors with the key mark, actually, you open said keymarks to reveal switches, those switches open new paths, but close older ones. I imagine there are some heavy voodoo doll trickery around this map, as everything is a complex trigger.
The map is genius, yes, there are some nitpicks here, like short hallways to maneuver, but, apart from that? I don't think, and considering one of the goals of this project was to make a map inside a X by X map-unit grid, this is one of the best examples of space management. 


Deaths: 30 (HMP - PrBoom+)

Order of preference:

 

Spoiler

 

MAP10
MAP09

MAP05

MAP03

MAP01
MAP04
MAP07
MAP08
MAP02
MAP06

 

 

[cannonball]

MAP10 - “Terminal Decay” by LordEntr0py

 

Well this is another very good map. Again the map (Like the last one) is very pleasing on the eye. 

So the good parts, this is a great little puzzlebox type map, where various parts move around meaning you cover many areas multiple times from different perspectives. The map is very linear, as such getting lost isn't an issue here. Just a question of navigating the organic, constantly moving maze. 

The combat once the blue skull is taken is pretty solid, enough challenge but nothing unfair. 

I wasn't too taken in by the atmosphere, I don't know but the early stages sat between two acceptable interpretations, either being relatively normal with a denser level of weaker opposition, or to simply have no monsters at all. To have a few zombies occasionally stand between you felt like a middle ground that didn't really work. That said I liked how you could sometimes here things move in the background but nothing appeared to attack. A nice level of paranoia there.

Overall a solid map, expertly crafted and maximising the space given. The atmosphere to me wasn't quite there at times, but that is the only complaint and chalk that one down to my subjective opinion than anything else.

Edited September 10, 2021 by cannonball

[dei_eldren]

MAP11 - Cold Blood (HNTR, continuous w/ saves): K 100% (104/104), I 100% (2/2), S 100% (2/2), T 24:06

 

PS: i have to admit, i was a bit overwhelmed by the combat here, and wasn't quite able to appreciate what was actually happening, but it appears the progression and how it was designed and what happened along the way was actually quite substantial, and not something that happened on the side, as i wrote below.  i wish i had been able to put it together and appreciate while playing, but in maps like this the combat takes its toll and while it's just me trying to get from one place to another, i projected that unto the map :D  So, apologies for the unfair evaluation, and i really have to place this map higher on my rankings.  Whilst the fights in the open were tough as nails, i also played really really poorly in some parts, the only part i played well was probably the killing of the AV in the storage room - just wasn't my day. 

 

Spoiler

The map begins in a techbase courtyard, with a large field of ice over a lake of blood.  Enemies are everywhere, and there is little shelter from the incessant crossfire, with dozens of Imps, and lots of Cacodemons, some Revenants and Hell Knights not even taking turns trying to kill me.  They manage on the first try, but on second no longer. 

 

Every encounter on this map is lethal.  Once the yard is cleared, it's time to get inside, and first there's a situation with an Arachnotron and a Mancube.  There's plenty of cover and there's lot of health, but i manage to get myself killed regardless here too.  After this is a small hallway that shows a secret Soul Sphere, but then comes a small storage room with a maze of crates, behind which hides an Arch-Vile.  It didn't seem so difficult at first, before a Cacodemon joined in from behind, and it took me a couple of tries to manage the fight in the tight space.

Up a lift, the next fight is also quite unpleasant, with seemingly easy two Cacos and three Lost Souls, but the layout of the room makes it rather tricky, being rather constricted, and instead of RL i should have probably used the SSG for better result, as my health went down to 8% here.

 

And so it goes... after finally getting out of the building with the YK, it's time to press the switch on the yard, which of course brings out another Arch-Vile, and after him the courtyard is again getting filled with an assortment of demons.  The fight is possible harder than the first this time, and i camp eventually inside another part of the building.  There's a really impressive effect of the ice breaking in places gradually revealing more and more of the bloody lake below, until the whole courtyard is just a lake of blood.  A breaking wall of ice also revealed a new structure at the far end of the courtyard, where the RSK is hidden, and this whole fight was a mere prelude compared to the final large fight for the RSK.

 

After everyone is killed, i head for the new structure, collecting goodies revealed by the broken icesheet.  The fight begins with a couple of Chaingunners appearing in the green marble structure, and in a couple of seconds, about three-hundred thousand demons teleport in.  Some of them, apparently Revenants and a Mancubus teleport to the other end of the yard, while the Hell Knights start from the little temple.  This takes me a lot of tries, too many, but i always seem to take hits from too many projectiles.  On the attempt that works, i first went to shoot rockets at the Revenants killing some, and when the HK started coming up behind me, i ran to the temple, and benefitted from some modest infighting, i think.  But it was really too much luck.

 

After this there are only a couple of Revenants guarding the BSK left in the smaller wing of the techbase, and the secrets to find.  The first one is easier, among the crates, but the Soul Sphere is a very clever one.  After some while i thought the likeliest method would be to somehow get on the ledge around the room where it's at, but i'm not sure i would've found the way without the hint of one tiny white line on the map.  Regardless, it was very satisfying to discover.

 

i didn't realize it's actually the final map of the episode, so it is fitting that the difficulty is quite high.  The map is by ViolentBeetle, and indeed, the violence and sadism are on the same level here as on MAP07 Constant Companion.  On the video i mention that i quite enjoyed the map, but in truth, i think i'd rather been overwhelmed and conquering the fights had given me some satisfaction, but in actuality, after dust settles, it's not something i'd choose to play a second time.  The breaking of the ice was a fantastic design feature, and along with the secrets my favourite aspect of the map, but other than that, i found the map to be a representative of 'functionalism' for the extreme violence, and apart from the secrets there's not a real sense of adventure.  Just not my type of map.  And i'm not saying it isn't aesthetically (or otherwise) well done, it is on all accounts, just that the whole progression seems to be something that happens on the side.

 

 

Uptown top ranking:

Spoiler

MAP06

MAP01

MAP08

MAP04

MAP11

MAP02

MAP03

MAP10

MAP09

MAP05

MAP07

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2021 by dei_eldren : ps - re-evaluation + raise in rankings

[Book Lord]

MAP 11 – Cold Blood by ViolentBeetle

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

The second entry by @ViolentBeetle was characterised by the commitment to an original idea, in the same vein as MAP07. This time the Skullgate dropped me by a snowy mountain base, surrounded by a glacier. In the author’s mind I should move on and struggle to pick up the necessary weapons in the outside area, but -fast monsters were easier to confront from the window in the relatively safe starting warehouse. This was possible only with carryover weaponry and proved more reasonable than rushing out under a rain of projectiles.

 

Once the tougher and closer opposition was dispatched, I entered the installation, crossed computer rooms, cleared a warehouse, and finally reached a sort of reactor core that had to be activated. The demons were all but happy with my actions and relentlessly tried to kill me. The Imp survivors in the outside continued their attacks, putting pressure by every door or window.

Spoiler

I was not completely aware of the reason why this map was called Cold Blood until I got outside and flicked the yellow switch. It set off the ice melting process, which slowly revealed a creepy lake of blood surrounding an eerie marble temple, ornate with special MARBFACEs dedicated to the Skull Lord, the WAD antagonist who was formally introduced by the intermission text.

 

Unfortunately, the sprawling monster teleport hampered my contemplation of the climatic and technically marvellous thaw. An Arch-Vile popped up behind the switch and required immediate attention, then a big wave of monsters appeared in different spots and turned the outdoor area into hell itself. I could not stay in the open and retreated to the only accessible place offering a little strategic advantage: the door where I met the first Arachnotron. The author predicted my camping tendencies, so he promptly released two more AVs to make sure I could not hide there with impunity. Once I killed them, I made an epic stand against a veritable bombardment, which finally turned into my favour.

Spoiler

It was not enough for a free ticket to MAP12 though. Approaching the temple triggered a monster pop-up with integrated spreading lines. Again, @ViolentBeetle sent the Pain Elemental close to my hideout, so retaking it demanded another foolhardy assault. Once the violence died down, it was time to open the icehouse, kill the frozen Revenants and snatch the blue skull.

 

Very nice graphic concept and realisation, I felt playing on UV -fast mostly detracted from the experience, since the overpowering harshness did not allow me to appreciate the visual and gameplay qualities of this map, and of the previous two as well. Time to make up my mind about -fast monsters.

Edited September 11, 2021 by Book Lord

[Sectorslayer]

12 hours ago, Biodegradable said:

 

MAP10 - Terminal Decay

 

Nice 👍. Wait till you get to @LordEntr0pys second map. It’s even harder. 

[Omniarch]

Terminal Decay - Lord Entr0py

This map is, beyond the shadow of a doubt, the crown jewel of Skulltiverse's first episode*. Terminal Decay is a moody, gorgeously-lit techbase filled with surprisingly nasty encounters. So, in other words, par for the course for its creator, though in this instance Lord Entr0py seems to have exchanged his customary vast scope for a more intimate design. His mastery of space is apparent in the inverse as well, however.

 

Spoiler

Look at this masterful example of cast light. Simply beautiful.

 

Like the previous entry, the best way to describe this experience is cohesive. Every element; layout, combat, progression, resource balance, music etc comes together in harmony to form the whole. Additionally, there is an air of slick professionalism about the map, devoid as it is of any obvious blemish or noobulent oversight.

 

Of all elements, it is the layout of the map which impresses me the most. The way it all fits together is simply beautiful. I am surprised by how well each of the encounters manage to fit into their respective rooms, despite the restrictions to size and shape imposed by the set's limitations. Visual interconnectivity is also key to the success of the layout, giving the space a sense of cohesion and openess despite the total linearity of the progression.

 

Spoiler

I'll die in that room later...

 

Speaking of, I find the way the relationships between various portions of the map shift as the player progresses to be very interesting as well. The way new areas unfold and old ones are recontextualized is quite satisfying indeed. This sort of geometric dynamism is one of the aspects of Doom mapping that is most attractive to me, personally, so it is always a treat to this capacity used to great effect.

 

Combat-wise, the map takes a largely encounter-based approach, with little in the way of incidental or dynamic action. In general, the combat is quite difficult, with the main challenge stemming from the tight resource balance and cramped nature of most of the arenas. For the most part, the encounters are well-composed, if a little on the mean side (PEs in such a small space, with so little ammo? Really?).

 

Spoiler

Unrelated to my point, but this bugger just won't let me sight-see in peace...

 

One minor criticism I have of the combat is the very limited time the player is given to assess the situation before it becomes untenable. There is not much in the way of telegraphing, which encourages a trial-and-error approach to the encounters. This is not helped by the relative scarcity of ammo, which coupled with the lack of telegraphing and limited space results in a rather thin margin of error, which is fine enough for players that are a) playing saveless or b) above a certain level of competence, but can be quite irksome otherwise, and also pushes the difficulty of the map far above the average for the set.

 

^{Also, minor petty note, but using Specters in an already excessively dark map is a recipe for gamerage. Come on, Lord Entr0py. You are better than that ;)}

 

Still, my issues with the combat are but a minor blemish on what is, in every other way, a very strong entry, easily the best in the first third of the set, and one of the best overall. In short, Terminal Decay is a damn fine map, a testament to the skill of its creator. Speaking of, I shall write about Lord Entr0py at greater length in a later write-up. Suffice to say that I hold him in extremely high regard, and consider him to be the most promising mapper of the 2019-2021 generation by a country mile.

 

^{*In this case, I am referring to the traditional Doom 2 episode (1-11), rather than the wad's own internal classification.}

[DFF]

Map 10 - Terminal Decay by LordEntr0py

A wonderfully moody map that immediately sets the tone for the player; a long forgotten substation either lost deep underground or the depts of space possibly, the map itself creaks with old machinery as you move through it, and the sounds of demons within the walls fills the player with suspenseful dread, knowing that eventually its not going to be just zombiemen filling these halls. To be honest with all the comparisons, im surprised nobody mentioned Mr. X from Scythe2, since the use of exterior sounds while the player explores a (mostly) empty level to build suspense was used in a similar fashion. Both maps used these effects quite well.

This is a greatly atmospheric map to say the least, full of great detail. I do think however that its atmosphere is both its greatest strength and weakness. The tone is easily conveyed as a tense, and the run down circuitry mixed with the almost burnt out lighting very much conveys the idea of a forgotten installation that is very much a very dangerous place, festering with demon spawn. However in application, the map has the player basically run through majority of the map before any real combat, and then making the player snake back out of this evil trap to escape. This combined with the overall darkness makes combat sometimes difficult and navigation questionable at times. I love the moody lighting choice, however I feel like the use of floor lights could be used a bit better to light up certain areas a bit more. The map is just too damn dark most of the time, and I think a bit of the finely crafted detail present in this map gets lost in the darkness. I feel the mood could be just as effective but with a bit more specific lighting used, which could help with fighting, navigation, and map presentation. Despite this long critique, its still a very good map, had a lot of fun exploring it and the difficulty is medium to high here, a good place for map10.

I also tend to agree a bit with the MIDI choice being not the greatest fit. Its a pretty good choice, but i do think its not quite the "evil, dark, foreboding, forgotten" that the map seems to emanate. Still a great map and I agree one of the best of the first 10.

Map 11 - Cold Blood by ViolentBeetle

Map 11 is a much more open map than the previous which is a nice breath of fresh, frosty air. However this map packs the demons in to not give the player too much slack. This is a fun techbase surrounding a frozen wasteland and some ancient marble shrine locked away in the ice. The main feature of this map being that you much activate the thermal core to melt and shatter the ice to progress, making very good use of interesting Boom effects to make the map come alive (something i absolutely love in maps). The sequence where the machines broke up the ice and it melted the stark white snow to reveal the rich blood lake was a really neat setpeice, especially with the odd skeleton rising up from the depths to get their revenge on you. Great map, great use of environmental storytelling/progression.

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/Blind/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 10 - Terminal Decay - LordEntr0py

100% kills and secrets

Time: 18:04

Deaths: 2

 

Got some time during my vacation to knock this one out, just had to deal with friends trying to talk to me occasionally, which may or may not have caused a death here. Though to be fair, there's a lot of tricky areas to this map. This map has a very unsettling feel to it, with it being pretty dark, and the MIDI being calm and understated. Cause it's dark, there's a lot of times during this playthrough that I didn't see things attacking me which took a good chunk of health out each time. The darkness is the only annoying part, but it adds to the initial atmosphere immensely. I liked how there's barely any enemies until you grab the blue skull, then stuff starts showing up. You end up doing multiple laps around the map, each time taking new paths that have opened thanks to the yellow and red keys. You'll get back to the portal, only for bars to lower in front of it and forcing you to take another lap. I don't remember where exactly both my deaths were, but one was just before I found the secret soul sphere. All 3 secrets were pretty easy to grab, and 2 are useful (I already have a chainsaw). The fights themselves are compact and have nice enemy placement and variety. Archviles are really nasty here and blasted me a few times. Somehow, the close quarters fight with one and an arachnotron I took no damage in. A rarity compared to the rest of the level. This is a level that I totally like how what it does, but I wish it was a little brighter. I guess I like to turn the gamma up next time! Super solid level.

[Pseudonaut]

Map10 FDA (3 deaths, DNF):

stv10FDA.zip

Good, except for the spectres in dark areas where they can't be seen at all, which are just always bad. I died on the second attempt when the exit was in sight because a spectre was somehow right in front of my face when I fired the rocket launcher. In the previous seconds, I'd been firing the chaingun in the same direction and not hitting any spectre (or so I thought, but now there are spectre pain sounds in the video at that time? wtf), making me think there wasn't one. I had no patience for the map after that, so I put in a half-assed third attempt and stopped after dying a third time.

[cannonball]

MAP11 - “Cold Blood” by ViolentBeetle

 

Of the two maps so far from this author, this was in my opinion a far better map. This one can get quite dangerous at times with the outdoor section being the hardest as you encounter heavy opposition that can kill you quickly. The centrepiece is when you hit the yellow key that slowly melts the ice and you get increasing numbers of monsters (Running away to the only available building is not a good idea as I found out thanks to two archviles).

A fun map and decent end to the episode. The variation in quality is very wide so far, with some excellent maps like 5/9/10/11 and some that looks like first time efforts. The last few have made me feel a lot better about progressing onwards with this.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP10: "Terminal Decay" by LordEntr0py

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills*, 3/3 secrets

 

Another very strong entry, while not the calibrated war machine that MAP09 was this one's triumphs come from the atmosphere it creates (as everyone else has already stated). It's a very dark techbase with eerie monster sounds creeping in through the walls, small jumpscares from the sounds of teleporters with no monsters actually showing up, and other little quirks such as a creepy computer screen revealing itself upon entering a room. Given the limitations imposed, the work on this map is pretty incredible. There is a great deal of attention to detail in the lighting, and a fair bit of playtime is squeezed out of the confined space due to the frequently shifting layout of the map as bridges lower and raise and doors open and close. The navigation can be a bit confusing at times for a level as linear as this one, but it's not too much of an obstacle.

 

For gameplay, the map starts very slowly with only the odd fodder enemy here and there showing up, which gives the map a feeling of desolation for its initial stretch. Only once you obtain the blue skull key does all hell break loose. Claustrophobic teleport ambushes pop up from room to room as the exit teleporter is dangled just out of your reach. The level isn't super difficult, but isn't really a pushover either as its easy to get stuck among the monsters and there are quite a few revenants that can sneak a nasty homing missile in on you. The fight that did me in the most was kind of a random one, where upon hitting a switch a couple revenants teleport immediately next to you, some pinkies come in, and eventually cacos and a pain elemental float in from a window that glances out into a dark inaccessible area with large techy pillars. I found the revenants in this fight to be oddly annoying, both due to them punching you right off the hop if you don't move immediately upon hitting the switch, and also due to them often sneaking in missiles on me.

 

Another one of the best levels in the wad so far. My only complaint is when I did die, I found it a bit less fun to replay through due to the slow start and the surprise of its ambushes being gone, but that's just something inherent in what the map sets out to do so I can't fault it so much. Also there is an asterisk on the kills because there was an arachnotron that did not teleport in for some reason. It was still asleep in its chamber and when I coaxed it out via IDCLIP it went to the same area as one of the archviles, so I assume it was meant to join it. In any case, superb map.

Edited September 11, 2021 by DisgruntledPorcupine

[Thrustpeak]

UV | Continuous | dsda-doom

 

MAP 11: Cold Blood 

 

Another solid map from the project lead in a new snowy locale. Despite my 2 self inflicted rocket deaths this felt a bit easier than the 2 maps that preceded it. A+ for the big setpiece fight in the central area where the once snowy surface melts away revealing a bloodsoaked battlefield and hordes of demons to contend with. ViolentBeetle really seems to excel at maps that are fun to play, and—with that understanding of what makes an enjoyable experience—the project seems like it was in capable hands. This wad has been on quite the hot streak with hit after hit from maps 9-11, and I hope it continues. 

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

[Biodegradable]

MAP11 - Cold Blood

UV | Continuous | GZDoom and Vanilla+

 

Project leading Beetle Man known for his penchant for violence shows up again to beat the living tar out of me in a non-stop barrage of nasty traps and one ball-buster of a final battle that caused me to lose my shit a bit, mainly due to some very precariously placed chaingunners and a well-timed Pain Elemental to start producing its god-awful children to get in my way at the worst possible moments forcing me to eat Rev rockets and swear up a good storm lol. I had to resort to a bit of questionable save-scumming just to get some semblance of progress because the utter lack of cover as you are being fired upon from just every bloody direction made it really painful at times.

 

And that's it for Episode 1, folks 

[Book Lord]

10 hours ago, Biodegradable said:

I had to resort to a bit of questionable save-scumming just to get some semblance of progress because the utter lack of cover as you are being fired upon from just every bloody direction made it really painful at times.

 

Well, that fight is surely difficult and the author knows that the only place where you get some cover is in the southern corner, by the door. I guess that's why the Pain Elemental spawns there and two Arch-Viles are released if you enter. They won't make much sense as a last ambush at the icehouse door.

 

I had to hide in that place because I could not sustain the -fast crossfire in the open ground. From there, it was still very difficult, but I finally did it. This final showdown and the subsequent death exit and forced pistol start prompted my decision to scale down the difficulty to normal UV. I realised that I was struggling too much and not appreciating the maps for what they offered.

 

I am ok with these hard maps, there are definitely harder ones around that I would never bother with, but I am let down just a bit by the lack of consideration towards UV -fast. It's a speedrunning category after all, and should be taken into account. Most of these maps are designed to be brutal and hard on UV, but they feel excessive on UV -fast. Not that the glorious mappers of old showed much care for this way of playing, but I hoped contemporary mappers did. Zone 400 was considered too easy and sometimes boring by the more experienced players, while I was generally entertained playing it on UV -fast. In Skulltiverse all worked smoothly until MAP07, where the lack of consideration for -fast became manifest.

 

From MAP12 on, I will switch to UV. I am sad to get back to powerless OG Doom monsters, but this WAD uses far too many Imps and close quarters Demons for each one of them to be a mortal threat.

Edited September 11, 2021 by Book Lord

[Lorenz0]

MAP11 - Cold Blood

 

A successful return of the colorful techbase aesthetic, this time mixed in with a snowy outdoors scenery, overtime engulfed in blood. Can’t say I dislike that. The selected midi is very fitting this time too. Explosive and exciting, it matches the fast paced combat well.

 

Looking back on it, I don’t think this map is that hard but it managed to kill me more than any other in the wad. It must be the many surprise ambushes and the sheer number of archviles, which is probably the most we’ve seen in the wad so far.

 

I wouldn’t say that I love this map, but I think it’s a slightly better experience than Violentbeetle’s previous one, so I guess it goes into my number two slot for now lol.

 

Order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP09

MAP11

MAP07

MAP10
MAP04
MAP05
MAP01
MAP03
MAP02
MAP08
MAP06

 

[DuckReconMajor]

MAP11 - Cold Blood - dsda-doom - skill 4 pistol start many rewinds

 

I really enjoyed this one. Might be my favorite map so far.

Like MAP07, this one was quite painful. Unlike MAP07, it felt much more fair in its sadism.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP11 - "Cold Blood" - ViolentBeetle (100%K/I/S):

I liked it, not as much as the two previous maps, but nearly as much, great combats, great rocket action, and a heavy map on voodoo doll scripts, nice effect to make everything at the outside yard lower into the blood lake, progressively, also, I love the "ice" doors that lower aswell, nice effect, a combination between "middle texture doors", an old vanilla trick, and transparent walls, a boom one.
Ice and tech-bases are for some reason a really good combination, I feel like playing Akeldama yet again. The last fight was a bit painful, but luckly, secrets were there to help me.
Oh no, death exit, sadly.


Deaths: 36 (HMP - PrBoom+)

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP10
MAP09
MAP11

MAP05

MAP03

MAP01
MAP04
MAP07
MAP08
MAP02
MAP06

 

The last three maps were what I was expecting from this megawad from the start. Now moving into the next episode.

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/Blind/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 11 - Cold Blood - ViolentBeetle

100% kills and secrets

Time: 13:29

Deaths: 3

I decided to make this map even more challenging today: by playing this outside by the lake!

 

So not only do I have to worry about demons in the game, I now have to worry about the bee that has been hovering around me ever since I sat down here. And I picked a good map to do this with. This house we rented has a private beach which is nice for this warm weather we have today, and the level is the opposite when it comes to temperature! Our project lead gives us another solid map that takes place in a frozen base. The goal is to turn up the heat so we can melt the ice blocking the demon alter the red key is at. This allows access to the blue skull. Before that, we have to take on a relatively hot start, with a lot of enemies outside in the cold. The cacos almost got me since they followed me into the hall with the red switch and almost cornered me. All of the encounters here can kill you if you're not careful. The ones in the base use limited space making hard to use rockets, and the waves outside just keep teleporting enemies in. There's a few archies inside the base that makes life miserable, and the one in the crate area is especially annoying. Grabbing the yellow key and turing on the heat will start to melt the ice inside the base, unleashing revs, hitscan, arachnotrons, and an archie, all while pinkies spawn in the room with the switch. 1st death here. The other 2 deaths came back outside, where hitting the yellow switch melts the outside ice, and unleashes hell, like I mentioned earlier. First, an archie appears behind the switch, then revs, hell knights, mancubi, cacos, arachnotrons, imps, and a pain elemental all come in. I tried to get some infighting going, which worked a bit, but then I needed to starting shooting. I face-rocketed on something to one death,  and rev rocketed for the other. It's a fun fight, since the ice melts gradually, which allows for gradual area increase. Cool idea. MIDI is pretty good. 

[Pseudonaut]

Map11 FDA (No deaths):

stv11FDA.zip

Good spacious circlestrafing fun. The first area was a tad easy to just circlestrafe forever while things infight, but the last big fight achieved a good balance between having plenty of space to move and being threatening.

[dei_eldren]

MAP12 - Ruins (HNTR, continuous w/ saves): K 100% (76/76), I 100%, (3/3),  S 100% (1/1), D 2, T 19:43

(& HNTR, pistol start: K 100% (76/76), I 100%, (3/3),  S 100% (1/1), D 0, T 10:48)

 

Spoiler

The first view of the map is a face-switch right in front, and next i realize i'm trapped inside the skullgate, while projectile-throwing enemies from the distance have noted my presence.  At last am forced to conclude the switch is actually shootable, and only then the view of a large cavern serving as a clandestine location of an old temple now in ruins presents itself.  i don't know yet what the combat will be like, but aesthetically it's certainly a map that appeals to me, as i expect many maps in this third episode to be.

 

At first i basically stand there taking hits from the HK in front and Imps from the ledges on the sides, both far away, and then i find the only (somewhat disappointing) secret of the map, a Soul Sphere, on a small ledge below me, on the wall of the central pit of green goo.  Being forced to pistol start, and being provided with only the SSG, i'm not in the mood to start wasting shells on the HK from this far, and jump down to the pit leaving the enemies behind for a while, and some dozen Imps teleport in.  As usual, it's fun to mow them down with the provided SSG, and it actually sets the tone for the map, as the combat here is enjoyable throughout, if not altogether somewhat easy. 

 

The map really is one large area, with one small room and a small building, with a central pit from which rises a stone structure, upon which are the switches for progression when corresponding keys have been found.  The combat is largely against a few enemies at a time, with the only hordes being those of Imps in the pit, but that doesn't mean it's without danger, as projectiles for much of the time keep coming from far away the other side of the cavern, and occasional Revenants and Mancubi also make an appearance.  i died twice, at the hands of said Revenants - first i didn't see their whereabouts and dropped down directly into their embrace, and next was caused by my incredibly indecisive gameplay trying to kill them.

 

The small room behind the YSK door is curious, with a pool of green goo for floor, lots of plasma and rockets, a Green Armor, and the BSK on display.  Pressing the switch i expected a nasty trap, but instead only the BSK disappeared, with enemies repopulating the main area instead.

 

i enjoyed this map tremendously, and in my opinion the whole concept beautifully realized seemed quite unique in its execution.  The combat on HNTR was in my opinion suitable for HNTR while still retaining some bite, and the only thing i didn't enjoy was my below average gameplay, but that seems to always vary from day to day for me.  Even more so after having attempted HMP, where i had to quit after grabbing the RSK, because i couldn't deal with the Arch-Vile shielded cleverly by the Hell Knights and getting to whom without being totally exposed was too difficult - but even before then, the difficulty jump was rather extreme. 

 

The video is my second run, a deathless HNTR pistol start run, which i did because i felt bad for playing badly on my blind run on this map that i liked so much, and today felt like a much better dooming day.

 

 

And my poor blind continuous run in case anyone prefers that:

Spoiler

 

 

Uptown top ranking:

Spoiler

MAP12

MAP06

MAP01

MAP08

MAP04

MAP11

MAP02

MAP03

MAP10

MAP09

MAP05

MAP07

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 12 – Ruins by Juza

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, UV, Pistol start, blind run w/saves

 

Nothing upsets me more than a death exit with subsequent hot start. Moreover, I began this map trapped inside the Skullgate and to get out I must shoot at the gargoyle face and alert everybody. Finally, if I did not move at all, it took 1 second for the faraway Hell Knights to snipe at me in my bird’s cage. I dare not describe how hopeless it was to harvest the weapons under a devastating bombardment. Since the WAD’s recklessness had long since taken an upward swing, time has come for me to throw in the towel and get back to regular UV. The -fast parameter here is just for Doom Gods and players with complacency towards self-harm.

 

I was impressed at how smooth this map played without the extreme pressure of -fast monsters. Ruins was set in a huge cavern with a pool of non-damaging green slime, surrounded by many active enemies and with a huge swarm of Imps ready to join me for a bath. The green nukage vs. brown brick palette has always been a quintessential Doom II theme and @Juza implemented it well here, with good planning of space for game purposes. There were nice metal details, interestingly low ceilings, and proper lighting on display, but the constant action left little time to contemplate the vestiges of a glorious fallen civilisation.

Spoiler

Once the welcoming horde was destroyed, I found a switch near to the plasma gun. An Arch-Vile appeared along with many other creatures repopulating the cavern, but he teleported away and had to be localised, or else he would wreak havoc by resurrecting corpses and blowing me up. This pattern was repeated two more times: once by the YSK and once more after the blue skull disappeared and materialised in the middle of the level. Even though the encounters had a similar arrangement and risked feeling repetitive, monster deployment was varied and thoughtful, requiring different approaches each time. The Pain Elementals forced me to hide behind the door of the sanctuary structure seen from the starting point, waiting for them to get within SSG range.

 

Ammo and health were finely balanced and required only once to search for supplies during combat (the boxes of shells on the central ruined structure). Besides dying a couple of times to outperforming Arch-Viles, I had a good time with this level. Hopefully, playing at normal speed will improve my experience with the rest of Skulltiverse.

Edited September 12, 2021 by Book Lord

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP11: "Cold Blood" by ViolentBeetle

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 1/2 secrets

 

Aptly named, this one takes place in a wintery techbase with snow and small blood pools in the outdoor area. The starting area is quite dangerous so you'll want to arm yourself with the guns in the area and get inside as quickly as possible. Not that it's much safer inside, but you can get some infighting going with the revenants and the arachnotron or mancubus and the door will close behind you once you step on the stairs, so it gets a little less underwhelming. The rest of the indoor section isn't so difficult, although the archvile in the crate maze can make things a little bit tense, but he never managed to give me too much trouble.

 

After getting the yellow key and cleaning out the outdoor area, you're left with a switch to hit. This triggers waves of enemies come in as the blood pools overtake the surrounding snow, resulting in a mini slaughterfest. This section is quite a lot of fun and the theatrics of the snow sinking into the blood is really cool and well executed. Just keep circling around the arena here while going to town with the rockets and you'll be fine. After all this is done, be wary of the two archviles that try to kill you when you go for the red switch. You're left with only two revenants guarding the blue skull to kill and you can then exit.

 

Episode 1 closes off with a streak of 3 great maps. Hopefully a sign of things to come.

[DFF]

Map 12 - Ruins by Juza

A rather foreboding hole we are stuck in, and a forced hot start aswell. This map is another arena focused map, somewhat like the previous, with smaller side exploration areas that revolve around one main arena. The visuals are excellent, lighting is well used, dark in the nooks of the great cave but bright around the center and anywhere where major combat occurs. The detailing is very natural, with lots of discarded and broken brick sinking into the slime and undergrowth. The walls seem natrually broken apart and looks like something that was mostly natural with some outside force carving the rock to accomodate this battleshrine. The high cliffs supporting a long collapsed railway and a possible pumping station that has long ago flooded.

Aside from the simple but elegant map design, the fights are well balanced and give lots of room to maneuver and tackle situations as you need. There is great verticality and many ledges and paths to take to possibly gain a better vantage point on the combat. balancing was also quite good, i had to scavenged 3 or 4 times after fights for health or ammo, being scarce but I always found just enough to restock. My only complaints are that this map had no chaingun, something I really would have liked. And the one singular secret in the map is just there to have a secret. its out in the open and extremely easy to get. I'd personally just prefer no secrets over a super easy secret.

Aside from those really minor points, this is an excellent map and a joy overall.

[Lorenz0]

MAP12 - Ruins

hmp/continuous

 

This one reminds me of Sunlust’s nature episode, at least visually. The pace of the combat slows down here quite a bit, in comparison to the previous map. It’s no less difficult though. I’d argue that it’s actually the hardest map in the wad so far (still not like insane though). 

 

The beginning includes a section where you have to watch out for attacks from many directions at once, while being careful not to fall down into the liquid. Afterwards you’ll face a few nasty traps with hordes of monsters, dangerously placed archviles, or both. You get most of the weapon roster to battle them though, except for the chaingun, strangely.

 

One thing that annoyed me to no end were the yellow key bars and doors, as they didn’t care if you had the yellow key or not, and had to be triggered elsewhere. I notice that sort of thing in many different maps and I always find it incredibly misleading. 

 

Order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP09

MAP11

MAP07

MAP10
MAP04
MAP05

MAP12
MAP01
MAP03
MAP02
MAP08
MAP06

 

[baja blast rd.]

map10: "Terminal Decay" by LordEntr0py

 

This is a masterclass in mood and tension. The earlygoing is gripping even as you are fighting lone zombiemen. This is thanks largely to the murmuring of an archvile you're ages away from ever meeting. 

 

It's also thanks to an environment is dismal and dark outside of occasional flickers and slices of light. Along with the eerie glow of items, these scarce sources of light are your only regular beacons. Some vistas hint at remote areas you may reach later but when remains a mystery. Others are like being stranded.

 

 

 

Most of the time, you are alone and lonely and little happens and what little happens is fleeting. 

 

Then there's an outpouring, that first big encounter with a flood of imps. Because of the build-up, there is a sense of finality in it. If you hadn't checked the monster count, you could be forgiven for thinking you were nearing the end. You've been here as long as many of the rest. You're covered most of the map's real estate -- if not, it feels that way. 

 

The blue skull isn't far away. You hit one last switch, pick it up, and leave...

 

 

From that point on, "Terminal Decay" really starts unfurling and unraveling, fake ending after false promise refusing to let you go. You're skittering across familiar chambers with new unexpected events. You're clambering through tunnels with barriers you're sure you've unlocked before. You're observing arenas you've already been to reinvented for new diabolical ends, or new spaces that look eerily similar to old ones? As if knowing would help. For a while, it's like one of those dreams where you can't walk from point A to point B because your feet don't work right, you can't read plain text in front of you because the letters are undecipherable. But unlike those dreams, you can't wake up without finding all the keys.

 

map11: "Cold Blood" by ViolentBeetle

 

Loved this map; it's my favorite to this point. It's not unusually gorgeous or ambitious, but it's really comfy. With the chaotic texturing in small, modest areas, it would look right at home in a JPCP sequel.  

 

 

Monster usage tends to be loose and playful, so I felt I could choose how to enjoy myself, especially in the open area. At the start, I got the cacodemons to take out every single cliff imp for no particular reason, and then set up long-range infights between hell knights and surviving mancubi. Another player might do something entirely different, but so many of these interactions feel possible -- like you're in a sandbox of monsters (instead of the usual progression sandbox).

 

While the map isn't hard, it has a knack for transmitting the feeling of danger in excess of how dangerous it truly is. There are sudden reveals of archviles or pinkies in tiny spaces, and revenants and hell knights lurking behind pillars -- and these aren't oppressive but sure feel startling when you run into them.   

 

Combining all of that is the final fight, which is also a great spectacle: waves of monsters porting in, no shying away from the occasional archvile or pain elemental in their midst, with the battlefield of ice crumbling under the heat of the conflict and revealing a growing blood lake. The transformation is mostly for show, but even though Boom scripting has been around for ages, that sort of thing still has novelty to it. Plus it looks really fucking cool.

 

There are other neat moments like that: a reactor "turns on" and melts ice when you hit a switch.

 

 

Near the end, frozen revenants melt and thank you by instantly attacking you. 

 

map12: "Ruins" by Juza

 

This is another good map, one that captures what is possible with space limitations when you commit to smartly reusing the modest space you are allotted. Like many of the author's works, the cavern and its surrounding structures uses a design style that reminds me much of Alien Vendetta's earthy episode 2 maps -- a lot of brick and metal and slime, a lot of brown and green. 

 

 

The space reuse is highly structured -- recurrent in a way that feels musical. The central pool of slime hosts the map's "choruses" so to speak, leading with a wave of imps, then later on a gang of boners, and then a fleet of cacos and pain elementals. Some moments are quiet: intimate scuffles with some hell knights or revenants or mancubi. Some are loud and cacophonous: hordes suddenly spilling over the terrain. Sometimes single archviles port in and flicker away, like dramatic chords at the end of halves of progression. This reuse and its rhythm is the gameplay flow's defining attribute. 

 

The occasional adrenaline rush of hunting down those archviles was the most fun part of combat for me, along with the long-range artillery of mancubi and hell knights lofting projectiles all the way across the big cavern. 

The author's thoughtfulness is also clear. When you start the final battle for the blue skull key, convenient stairs to the central structure have given way, making it much harder to take out that one pesky archvile immediately. The first broken bridge you notice very early turns out not to be an essential path forward as I expected, but a convenient return, rising dramatically like a final bow. 

[Biodegradable]

MAP12 - Ruins

UV | Continuous | GZDoom and Vanilla+

 

Ugh, it's one of THOSE kind of maps. The kind that throws a bajillion demons at you right out of the gate, pouring out of every orifice, an immediate bullet-hell scenario so you have to die over and over and over again just to figure out what the hell you're even supposed to do and where to go and you can't think straight because everywhere you go you eat shit. I can't stand these kind of maps and I don't know how anyone can. Pbpbpbpbpbpb

 

 

[DuckReconMajor]

MAP12 - Ruins - dsda-doom - skill 4 pistol start many rewinds

 

I like to call these 'bathtub' maps, though I'm sure at some point they've been given a better name.

It's got a big pit in the middle and we work our way around it. The slime doesn't damage you, which I actually prefer. It's always a relief when health doesn't start ticking away down there, I think it makes for more interesting fights down in the 'canyon'.

When I grabbed the automap, of course like anyone I hit Tab right away. And Juza has had the good sense to put their watermark in that area for easy viewing. I thought that was neat.

 

Spoiler