The DWmegawad Club plays: SKULLTIVERSE

[Book Lord]

2 hours ago, WashingMachineEnthusiasts said:

I agree with all of the criticism given, except getting hit from the other side of the map - hitscan enemies only appear in this map when you're near them, so if you're getting hit from the other side of the map it's because you let them live - and if it's a projectile then just dodge it.

 

I just want to point out that I have written the comment since I am playing with -fast monsters, who behave differently in most situations. It was mostly referred to distant imps and their fireballs, even though I took little damage from the hitscanners at the start while barely seeing them. 

 

My comments about gameplay can differ quite a bit from the others because of this. The Cacos and the Demons were threatening enough to me, since the former require fast movement and cover to dodge the rain of fireballs, the latter are just too fast and you cannot really punch them with berserk or outrun them in that pit. 

 

I will play with -fast until the megaWAD allows me to. MAP 07 was the first one to really question my play settings, but we'll discuss it tomorrow.

 

 

[Thrustpeak]

UV | Continuous | dsda-doom

 

MAP06: No OH&S Compliance

Both combat and visuals left a lot to be desired when compared to the maps that precede it. The closest call I had was not from any combat, but from taking a dip into the damaging water with the only escape on the opposite end. The room full of pinkies and the unleashing of cacos felt like they could have been handled a bit better as both ended up as rather lame affairs with me hiding in a corner and punching from safety or shooting through a fence. Also—even though I was looking straight ahead after flipping the switch behind the yellow door—I did not notice the stairs raising as the gray steps blended together with the gray walls. Probably the weakest map yet, and feels like it needed some more work. 

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by Thrustpeak

[RataUnderground]

MAP06 - No OH&S Compliance (by WashingMachineEnthusiasts) - UV

I ... have the feeling I played this map in the most inadecuate way possible xD. Wrong of order or something. I percibe some humor in all of this but overall was weird and unusual. The layout is so... unhuman, you know? This is (maybe) an industrial facility, but to me feels like the interior of a machine (A washing machine? xd) not designed for anyone to step in, and at the same time, the barrel clusters are too "gamey", too purposeful to be nothing more that a device in a fight. I don't like things in maps that feel like exist only for the sake of the player.
The lamps do nothing but annoying me, and I really dislike that a blue water pool is a damaging floor. Use nukage at least! or better, don't do damage. 
I don't understand why the switch that liberates the cacos is in a plataform that allows you to snipe them in a perfecly safe way. And then the music simply stops like a disco pub that is closing and the workers want you to leave xD
Okay, I don't want to only have criticisms. Good things: Despite all of this, I did have fun. The map is not difficult, but catch me in a few places only because is weird and I didn't know how to react.

(As always, sorry if my english is not perfect)
 

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by RataUnderground

[Biodegradable]

MAP05 - Green Tech’s Embrace

UV | Continuous | GZDoom and Vanilla+

 

Ayy, it's my favourite mapping bear :^) and he's got another banger for me to enjoy. While progression was a little tricky for me to sort out at first, the overall experience was great fun and I enjoyed the combat, ambushes and traps laid out. The overall design and layout is terrific and Mr Bear's exquisite use of textures is on full display with the decrepit-looking techbase structure that looks like its going to fall into a heap of rusty dust at any moment. I think this one might be one of my favourites just in terns of its general flow as you move around and sort out which element connects to which as you navigate your way around its use of lift platforms.

 

MAP06 - No OH&S Compliance

 

Oh hell yeah, looks like washing machines aren't the only thing this mapper's enthusiastic about by chucking in a track from the Thunderforce OST, so that already put a smile on my face. This one was a more simplistic and kind of flat-feeling affair with its meager use of height variation and the map overall looks a little sparse and devoid of detail in some respects. The combat's decent, though I feel some of the setpieces don't quite work. rd summed it up a lot better than I could, so I won't belabor that point. There's a fair bit of room for improvement, but it's not a bad map by any means. It just seems a little at odds with itself as its sterile atmosphere and music choice really conflict with one another, creating a somewhat jarring experience. Mind you, I still had a blast jamming to the music and indulging in my lust for demonic brutality.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 6, 2021 by Biodegradable

[DuckReconMajor]

MAP06 - No OH&S Compliance - dsda-doom - skill 4 pistol start - rewinds used

 

I like this one a lot. I'm a fan of the abandoned lab/industrial area aesthetic and the environmental hazards everywhere were fun to mess with. Awesome music too. 

There was one point I'm in a row of barrels I want to use to murder some pinky demons but of course I'm surrounded by barrels! I was able to slither out from them though and mostly get back at the demons here.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 06 - No H&S Compliance

 

I recognized the rather unusual user name as someone who'd done a map for Auger; Zenith, and while rd makes some good points about the intentionality of the barrels, this location does not disappoint as a setpiece. Yes, this is fairly monotonous and actually screwed up the midi loop to the extent that it continued after the map was finished, but that spinning red power structure in the middle is honestly kind of cool.

 

Anyways, a few maps with big barrel clusters are imo, honestly quite fun. We're still fairly early here and I just don't see that as being much of an issue. Though I can say it seems like it'd be easily to blow up both sets of barrels at the beginning without realizing that it might be smart to leave one of them for the inevitable last exit ambush. As it turns out, I didn't need it as I ended up dispatching the end mobs without thinking.

 

Which also brings to mind another issue, the serious ammo imbalance of the map. See, I'm not in favor of requiring the barrels to kill 4/5ths of the end demons/imps, but less shotgun shells could have certainly made things at least a little bit more tense.

 

I did like the active setpieces though, particularly the room with the crusher, which will work best of you use it right away I found. Then you enter the room, the floor plunges down, and you find yourself on the other side of a veritable hoarde of pinkies. Despite shooting the barrels directly in front, I hesitated after finding the second, got myself trapped, and barely was able to fight my way to the berserk pack I hadn't spotted initially before I could serve as a meal for some fortunate pinkies(I had around 5 health at this point). The electrical floor was something also to consider during playing, especially the crusher above one that had exposed wires at the bottom above some combat armor.

 

The rocket launcher might just possibly have a few too many rockets for it, but I would still leave a few more than you need for the cacos because missing occasionally. can be an easy thing to do. It was also not long after this I took a plunge into the drink, luckily I spotted the stairs out rather quickly.

 

The secret tagging is quite strange, though. Two of them are hard to miss, but I couldn't find how to access the third one.

Edited September 6, 2021 by LadyMistDragon

[Pechudin]

MAP06: No H&S Compliance - Deaths: 1; Total deaths: 2

        The 20% damage Caco-pit got me the first time around, but the map is short so I did not mind it too much. The map reminds me a lot of some Icarus maps, it has that playful non-serious feel of the early 90s mapping that I love. About the lackluster difficulty and non-threat of some of the map's fights I say: Does every map need to be a life-or-death challenge? Lemme blow some stuff up! And besides, I have played some of the later maps and lemme tell you, you will not want for difficulty later!

 

Anyhow, I quite liked this map. Dumb, action-movie fun complemented with a crazy MIDI that accentuates the quirkiness. Definitely lives up to the name, OSHA would not approve!

[Pseudonaut]

Map06 FDA (1 death):
stv06FDA609.zip

 

Obviously flawed but I still enjoyed it somehow. I definitely expected a more threatening fight after grabbing the rocket launcher and the billion rockets that came with it, instead got some imps/pinkies that couldn't reach me in the time it took to blow them up followed by a swarm of cacos that could never reach me through the grating. The ideas are good, just not executed well. Even so, it wasn't tedious to play.

[DFF]

MAP06 - No OH&S Compliance by WashingMachineEnthusiasts

a very strange map, the details of the map as noted are very much gameplay first. Its a wacky and lightly detailed techbase that has a mostly cohesive texture selection, but the design of the map lends it to feel rather chaotic by design. Whoever was in charge of storing barrels in this place must have also been contracted to work in the "barrels O'fun" warehouse as they are place haphazardly and rather dangerously so that the most amount of destruction could occur should a explosive accident occur. From free hanging electrical wires to spilled nukage and unguarded coolant tanks, this map definitely fits the "No OH&S Compliance" moniker.

 

I'm kinda on the fence with this map. I found it alright to play, a bit standard but blowing up a huge group of demons with barrels won't ever not be somewhat entertaining. The map is a bit bare in detailing, very much feeling "functional" in design over aesthetics. I think it gets a bad rep because its rather different than the Episode 1 maps (map06 I believe is transitioning to a new segment, with a new theming every 5 maps, not sure if episodes are going to be defined here on the actual episode selection or the theming conventions) in both design and detail, but its not a map i come away hating, or loathing, or even necessarily completely forgetting. Its fine, it could improve in a few ways, but its not bad. Going back to the chaotic by design, i do like that a small handful of the maps in this WAD tend to be less realistic and a bit more wacky or experimental, something i could get behind as you could argue the place the skull portal took you too is rather unstable, a dimmension or location warped by the power of the portal. Either way, I think I came away from this map more positive than not.

[Lorenz0]

MAP07 - Constant Companion

 

My favorite map so far. Clearly inspired by the Mancubian Candidate gimmick (get used to hearing that mr. author), which it executes really well. This time the unkillable enemy is the arachnotron, which has quite a few hitpoints less than the fatso. The main challenge in this level is making so the spider doesn’t infight, rather than dealing with hordes of monsters.

 

The layout is very simple - just a square with a room on each side. There’s no need for much else though, as this formula fits the gimmick very well, since the arachnotron teleports into each room, and you have to protect him. The only time where that posed serious trouble for me was in the last encounter with 4 mancubi inside the area in the middle. The spider was already so hurt from infighting earlier, that any stray fireball killed him. Even without him though, it was easy to get hit by the mancubi and die. That fight took me a few tries.

 

Visually the map is nice, continuing the colorful techbase look, present in a few earlier levels. The midi fits pretty well too, though I think it’s a bit too short and repetitive.

 

Order of preference:

MAP07

MAP04
MAP05
MAP01
MAP03
MAP02
MAP06

[dei_eldren]

MAP07 - Constant Companion (HNTR, pistol start): K 94%, I 100%, S 0% (0/1), D 10+, T 6:19

 

Spoiler

So i played almost through this on HMP, until the final fight against the four Mancubi, and i might have gotten through if i had had more than 49% health to start with for that fight, but i would have not enjoyed it anyway, so it's all for the best.  The difficulty really jumped onto another level with the start of Episode 2.  Of course, i skipped the last two maps on HNTR, so had to pistol start this one. 

 

i saw Decino play a map with this concept, perhaps it was in Valiant, where the task was to protect a Mancubus.  And it took me a while to figure out what's going on on my blind run, since i don't generally pay too much attention to what's on the signs.  Anyway, the beginning is of course horrifying, seeing those Arch-Viles in a row.  And already the first combat, once up the lift, is one of the hardest so far in the whole WAD, with Revenants, Hell Knights, and others, with a central Arachnotron who must not be touched.  This part is pretty humane, though, since there is at least some cover available.  After this, there are three side areas, to gather all the keys, which are needed to gain access to try and get the BSK.

 

Obviously, the one area that gave me the most trouble is the one with YK, with the fucking Arch-Vile as the main pest.  i died LOTS here, trying to kill him with the SSG, but eventually managed with the RL, despite proximity being a problem.  i also died once in the room with the caged Revenants, when the Pinkies came, but that was just sloppy playing on my part.

 

Eventually it's time to try for the BSK, and with only two Mancubi in the ring with the Arachnotron, i actually succeed on first attempt, after the innumerable practice runs with insufficient health on HMP!  The one secret i did not obtain, presumably the Green Armor, even if i did find a switch in one of the pillars, i was in no mood to investigate further the secrets of this map.

 

Stupid me to not realize in the heat of the action i should've gone collect the rockets from the rooms when the Arachnotron had already teleported out, but to be honest the combat here demanded most of my attention to get through.

 

Obviously, it's my least favourite map so far, and that's wholly subjective, i just didn't care for the gameplay - no offense to the mapper, or anyone who does, i do recognize the skill that has gone into designing this.  On HNTR it would have been ok, without the added difficulty of the AV in the YK section.  Just like liking MAP06, i'm sure i'm in the minority with this one. :)  And to be honest, i had nothing against anything else, i think all the other sections were fair.  Visually it's good, and nothing wrong with the layout.

 

 

Been meaning to do this for a while.  Maps in order of preference.  And what's remarkable about this WAD is that after playing already nine maps i still remember them all.

 

Spoiler

MAP06

MAP01

MAP04

MAP02

MAP03

MAP05

MAP07

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by dei_eldren : uptown top ranking

[cannonball]

MAP06 - “No OH&S Compliance” by Washing Machine Enthusiasts

 

This is a thing....

Not sure what to say on this one, I was killed a couple of times by the environment. Some large groups of monsters that can be neutered by explosive barrels.  The cacos released by picking up the rocket launcher are prevented from being any kind of threat by that wall in the start area. I guess this get a point for being a bit of an oddball, though unlike map03, I didn't particularly enjoy this one.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP06: "No OH&S Compliance" by Washing Machine Enthusiasts

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/3 secrets

 

Kind of an oddity this one. Its rushed development does show in some areas, with the plain flatness of the textures and the improperly looped (but great sounding) midi, but I enjoyed it in places. It's pretty easy if you know what's coming, but does have some potential for danger if you are playing blind. The pit full of pinkies and barrels you get dropped in is definitely dangerous at first, and probably one of the highlights of the map, but once you know how to handle it it's not so bad. You'll also want to stay out of the pool full of cacos, as it does damage you. Upon releasing the cacos, they are almost a non-threat though as you have a bunch of rockets and there's a cage separating you.

 

A bit of an oddity as I said, but I'm sure it could have been pretty nice with some refinement.

[FrancisT218]

6 - Have not played or tested, looked...alright...in a few other streams I saw of it.

 

7 - Very good map, very nice concept even if it is borrowed from...I won't bother to name it, actually, because there is no need to repeat what is already well-known. It still stands well on itself with its own twists though!

[DFF]

MAP07 - Constant Companion by ViolentBeetle

Part of the reason i wanted to participate in this month's WAD specifically is because there was a good number of maps in this WAD that I never got around to playing during development. This is one of those maps and i do regret it. I absolutely love this map, its a very fun design that has great pacing and map layout. Its quirky, its a good difficulty for the slot, it even does well in the detail department. Each subsection offers a different design and challenge to deal with around the Arac, and none feel too tedious or samey. And I love that the kill switch is an archvile swarm.

I don't have a lot to say except i love playing this map, the MIDI, the layout, and everything about it I just enjoyed playing. Its somewhat goofy in design and aesthetics, but still a blast.

[Thrustpeak]

UV | Continuous | dsda-doom

 

MAP07: Constant Companion 

Drawing obvious inspiration from Valiant's iconic MAP07, it puts it's own spin on it tasking us with keeping the arachnotron alive or suffering the consequences. At least, I assume that's the case since I didn't actually kill the arachnotron until I got the okay. Gather 3 keys while fighting through 3 separate arenas—making sure the teleporting arachnotron doesn't die to infighting—and finally see that familiar MAP07 sight of being caught in mancubus crossfire. Finish them off and it's finally okay to kill the arachnotron and head out. A well done Mancubian Candidate homage, and—while MAP05 is still my favorite visually—this was probably the most fun I've had yet. 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited September 7, 2021 by Thrustpeak

[Biodegradable]

MAP07: Constant Companion

UV | Continuous | GZDoom and Vanilla+

 

Our humble project lead, ViolentBeetle, brings us a fun gimmick map where you have to make sure your pet Brainiac doesn't have his grey matter splattered all over the walls all you will be executed by his large posse of Flamelads who will teleport in and toast your arse into oblivion. No pressure! Each of the keys had a unique challenge that encouraged you to try and use the Brainiac for some infighting (though I found him pretty uncooperative most of the time) grab the key and get the fuck out. Getting the keys turned out to be the easy part. The hard part was keeping the 4-legged idiot from getting barbecued by the Manc ambush at the Blue Skullkey pit or getting killed by splash damage from my rockets.

 

This was a terrific and entertaining challenge that, despite some frustration, was good fun. :^)

 

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 07 – Constant Companion by ViolentBeetle

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

 

In the first room I thought the level would use Arch-Viles like Hunted from Plutonia. The introductory text seemed to hint at something following Doomguy, but hey, this is MAP07. The Constant Companion was the single Arachnotron in the green force field, who disappeared as soon as I shot the cross hairs. The Arch-Vile chorus was ominous indeed, but at least I was handed an SSG, a Mega Armour and a Rocket Launcher right off the bat.

Spoiler

This variation on the Dead Simple formula was exceptionally clever. I soon understood the Arachnotron had to survive (even though I missed the signs), otherwise his 16 Arch-Vile tutors would appear and light me up to death. I stood no chance against their overwhelming number, considering the limited cover in the level, so I must care for my companion, even though he followed me everywhere and had the exasperating attitude to pick a fight with anyone.

 

The level had a main hub with the Arachnotron and the BSK at the centre. All keycards were needed to bring the challenge to the final stage, and each of the three branches had one. Grabbing the keycard and getting out alive was a difficult task, since not only each sub-arena was full of monsters in dangerous arrangements (4 caged Revenants by the BK, a swarm of Cacodemons and Lost Souls by the RK, a mishmash of hellspawn including a stray Arch-Vile by the YK), but there was also a lever to flip to get out and a second teleporting wave of monsters to combat. All of this while preserving the health of our not-so-friendly companion.

 

This was not supposed to be easy; quite the opposite, it was extremely hard to achieve without the help of saves. The worst aspect was the random damage dealt to the Arachnotron, often unnoticed with all the mayhem going on. His demise could happen at any time, as proven by my many fruitless attempts at recording a UV pistol-start demo. I tried it to check if the level was beatable for my skills, but my conclusion was that pure luck was required for success. This will be a good challenge for more dedicate players.

 

sv07-fail.zip

 

As for the UV-fast blind run, I struggled a lot to gain all keys, but there were less cases of Arachnotron deaths mid-level. Unfortunately, we both arrived at the final stage like walking dead and it was enough for the Mancubi to open fire for both of us to die. This part was a bit overkill. The pit was way too small to fight 4 Mancubi: there was no room to dodge fireballs, no distance to shoot rockets without blast damage, no way to circle-strafe, no cover except the central pillar, which meant that 2-3 fatties at a time had line of sight.  Impossible to survive with -fast monsters. The Arachnotron easily got in the way and was killed in milliseconds. I had no choice but to cheat my way out of this mess. I could stand a chance if the hidden mini switches netted me a Megasphere, instead of a measly green armour.

Spoiler

The concept of Constant Companion was sound, refreshing and intriguing. I have never played The Mancubian Candidate, which others have quoted as a possible source of inspiration, so it appeared to me as a flash of genius by @ViolentBeetle. The execution was marred by radical design choices, the worst one being the cramped arena with the Mancubi. The size and the layout were insufficient to enable the survival of both Arachnotron and player on UV-fast. On UV, the Mancubi have slower reaction times and with good health, some luck and Arachnotron cooperation it could be possible to get out alive with the BSK. I cannot see how this map could relate to the previous ones in terms of difficulty; I only hope sudden and disproportionate difficulty spikes are not commonplace in Skulltiverse.

Edited September 7, 2021 by Book Lord

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP06 - "No OH&S Compliance" - Washing Machine Enthusiasts (100%K/100%I/33%S):

We have some kind of edgy anime music with bad tempo here, that kinda annoys my experience even more, but the level is not like something I would enjoy anyways, its layout sure is ugly. Was there another quirk for the proyect? Short linedef counter or remaking old 94 maps? It feels yet again, like a 1994 layout, the wall of lamps, as with any other wall of obstacles, something I've seen for the last time in the Master Levels, is something I really don't like. This map looks, again, like one of those weird Icarus's SIM levels. Combat is just barrels, and groups of the same enemy here and there. there is a pool at the middle, filled with cacodemons, do I need ZDoom for this? Why an underwater section?
I would think this is another mapset and I got confused if it wasn't for the exit portal. 

Deaths: 6 (HMP - PrBoom+)

Order of preference:

 

Spoiler

 

MAP05

MAP03

MAP01
MAP04
MAP02
MAP06

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 07 - Constant Companion (UV, pistol-start)

 

A smaller map with Skillsaw influences in more ways than one, this one also steals a gimmick from him by giving you an enemy whose death ensures the teleportation of five Arch-viles that you can see when you start to punish the individual responsible.While I think you could kill them from a pistol-start, you'd probably die several times in the process. I don't really understand how they'd have the Arch-viles to spare for something like this, and me being me, I'd totally forgot the other posting about this map, and basically didn't even interpret the 'no Arcachnotron death' graphic.

 

So when you leave the starting room, you'll see three switches either behind you or to the sides, dependent on where you step onto the opening lift. Each of these switches requires a corresponding colored key card. You acquire these key cards by heading into the rooms accessible from each side of the square the Arachnotron is located in. After taking care of the enemies in the central square and learning that you should really only fire your rockets when you have plenty of room, you can head in either of the three side rooms, color-coded to give you a hint on which key can be found in each one.

 

The yellow key has little to describe, other than the computers on the sides. The blue key has caged Revenants standing over a spotted blue-floor textures. The red key is located inside a mountainous backdrop with fountain-like structures on the side. They all sort of progress the same in that you rocket the enemies presenting an immediate threat then switch to shotgun whenever you find yourself particularly close to the Archnotron, then fight off another ambush once you hit the switch that raises the stairs back to the central hallway. The yellow key fight is probably the trickiest, as you have to fight off an Arch-vile with what'll probably be a Super Shotgun while trying to survive the assaults of possibly other enemies in addition to the Arachnotron. You can't ignore the Arch-vile like you might other enemies, and I was hurt quite badly here.

 

That's nothing compared to the final fight though. Once you've pressed all three of the colored switches, you gain access to the flesh-floored (don't ask) central chamber with the Arachnotron that also contains the blue skulll key. As you soon as you step foot here, 4 Manicubi teleport into what is quite a small area. While the large middle square can protect you from excessive enemy fire, you still don't have lots of room to move, and I was killed twice here (my first deaths) around the time the Arachnotron somehow died even though I made sure I was out of their line of sight. It should be noted that I used no rockets in my successful attempt. It's little things like this that are the reason that I never try completing a map saveless, even something as small as this.

 

 

[DuckReconMajor]

MAP07 - Constant Companion - dsda-doom - skill 4 pistol start - rewinds/godmode/IDFA used

 

I guess everyone has their limit and this map dashed right through mine. 

Most of this map is quite enjoyable, aside from suppressing the innate need to blast the face off the worst enemy in the game (as opposed to the more capable fun-loving blob in this map's inspiration)

The final fight, though. I'm sure I could've protected the stupid spider more early on in the map but this is probably the most frustrating moment i've ever had playing a Doom map.

Finally said screw this and IDDQD/IDFA'd and blasted the resultant arch-viles

Each quadrant was its own distinct themed vista, something I did like a lot.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/Blind/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 06 - No OH&S Compliance - Washing Machine Enthusiasts

100% kills and secrets (I IDDT'd the secret rocket launcher)

Time: 7:54

 

Some of the above posts were making it out to be that this one was not good, or at the very least "meh". I can see that, but I enjoyed it overall. The mess of pinkies that popped up after I grabbed the shotgun was surprising and almost killed me, definitely a first in the WAD so far. And I also fell into the caco pool, not realizing it is deep water. Curse you ZDoom features! (I think. Watch, cause I said that, it's actually a Boom feature. I know nothing). Getting to rocket said cacos at the end was pretty fun, since you get a ton of ammo for it. There are a few complaints I have. The map does seem under detailed, which is fine really as long as the map is fun, which it is for the most part, but compared to the rest of the WAD so far this is bland. The lowering floor into pinky-ville fight was meh, especially since there's a berserk right there where it lowers and the pinkies are blocked by barrels, so there's no real threat here. You can plan your attack. It'd be more exciting to have them instantly attack, but it could also be too mean in that case. Also, the rocket launcher secret is not only unnecessary, but way too hidden. Idk how I was supposed to know that was there. As WME mentioned in his post earlier, he has done better in his Auger;Zenith map, so I'm not too upset about the mapping decisions here. Everyone makes not great maps! MIDI was pretty loud compared to the others, but fun. At first I thought the guitars were going to grate on me, but they didn't.

 

Map 07 - Constant Companion - ViolentBeetle

100% kills and secrets

Time: 5:40

Deaths: 1

 

Got my first death here! And it wasn't from the map's central gimmick either. It was from a combination of rocketing too close, and getting flamed by the lone loose archvile. I say lone loose since there's a ton of them behind a force field in front of you when you start, and a screen showing a dead archnotron with a line through it. Yup, we have the unofficial sequel to Valliant's legendary map 7! Don't let the arachno die, or you'll be spit roasted by a football team's worth of flame bois. You have a central hub that splinters off in 4 directions. The 3 that aren't the one you started in each has a key. The spider will follow you into each area and stay perched in the center. The arachnotron's plasma rate of fire is very useful for taking out baddies, but you don't really want it to infight. Thankfully, each area has some cover so you can try to SSG or rocket everything out of the spider's line of sight. Oh yeah, we finally get the SSG too. While in each area, look out for a hidden switch. It looks like you need to hit 2 out of the 3 to lower the armor in the central hub, the map's lone secret. Once you get all 3 keys, you can smack the switches and head into the central pit. Here, the spider will finally be loose, and you have to kill the 4 mancubi down here before they (or you) kill the spider. Once they're dead, the captive archviles will die, allowing for a safe kill of the arachnotron. It only took 1 SSG blast to kill at this point, so I was cutting it close. This was a really fun inversion of The Mancubian Candidate. I like how the spider follows you to each area and provides pressure. There's also the duel strategies of having it infight but risk it dying, and not letting it infight and have to deal with taking everything out yourself while taking cover. Super fun. Surprised to hear a Master Levels MIDI pack choice. Idk if it fit too much. Kinda too wacky for this map.

[dei_eldren]

MAP08 - Corruption Complex (HNTR, continuous w/ saves): K 100% (31/31), I 93%, S 66% (2/3), D 0, T 18:19

 

Spoiler

As the killcount indicates, this map of a highly corrupted techbase was a welcome step down in difficulty, while still retaining some lethal bite.  From the start, where the BSK is visible but out of reach, there is only one route to take, and it leads up to a room filled with nukage, that has a central structure holding the YSK guarded by some Demons, and a raised walkway to a closed door.  On the backwall there is the familiar target from Si666il, the evil eye, and shooting at it opens the door, and also a small compartment in the corner of the nukage pool, from which emerges a small ambush of lesser enemies.  A switch behind the door opens up two teleports in the room before the nukage-pool.  i take first the green one, which takes me to the first secret, the berserk-pack on top of a crate in the nukage-pool.

 

Next i take the YSK door, the normal progression, behind which is some sort of a electronics-center of the base, with the devices creating a small maze down below.  As per enemies, there are only some Imps at the bottom.  Despite the rather easy combat so far, the level is actually thick with atmosphere of foreboding.  On top of the electrical devices there are some goodies.  The only way back up is an elevator which takes me to an outside area, possibly rooftop of the base, and am immediately shot at by a Chaingunner!  The area has some big crates, and the first Revenant of the map is hiding behind them.  There's also some Armor available here, and other goodies.

 

The only way forward are stairs going down back inside into a some kind of computer room, where the SSG is available first time for pistol starters.  Grabbing it, the lights go out and some unpleasant Pinkies teleport in to the rather cramped room.  In the next room the RSK was available on HMP, and guarding it a Revenant and a Spectre, serving as the penultimate encounter.  From here there is only a teleport to take, which takes me back to the skullgate, next to the RSK door.  And my video begins only here, in front of the RSK door, as i conjure up the missing RSK, which is missing on HNTR.

 

The small room has only one Spectre guarding the skull-switch implanted into a canvas of skin.  Pressing the switch teleports in four Revenants to the starting room for the hardest fight on the map, but with some safety provided by the RSK room where they can not enter.  On HMP there was an Arch-Vile present also, and i died twice before successfully killing them all.  While looking for the RSK i had found the teleport to the second secret, visible behind bars at the skullgate-room, so now i have one more to find.  i look for a few minutes, before taking carelessly the teleport that places me in middle of the skullgate, making continuing search impossible.  But, i'm also out of ideas how to find it, so decide to leave it at that and accept my transportation into the next location.  To be honest, would have been better if the teleport took the player next to the skullgate instead.

 

The experience was only slightly marred by the absence of the RSK, doesn't change the fact i think this is a brilliant level in many aspects.  The visual design of this corrupt techbase is very nice, and so is the layout, how it all comes together, making for a linear but eventful progression.  Undeniably the map is a breather, but very welcome one giving a chance to enjoy an atmospheric and exploratory location after the sadism (or bs?) of Constant Companion, restoring my faith in... well, this WAD (even if i'm still sore from that map, but i do feel a little bit better after also some veteran players having some choice words to say about it!  i have to admit, the great idea of using cheatcodes like many chose to do didn't even occur to me, but i do believe things will get only rougher, so it would have only been a temporary solution for me - the few maps i've played ahead have been more difficult on HNTR than episode 1 on HMP, MAP05 included, which i thought was the toughest one.)  Finally, the way the encounters escalated here towards the end was a nice touch, too.  And, unfortunate that this is the only entry by Late Night Person in this WAD, would've been interesting to see more from him.

 

 

 

Uptown top ranking:

Spoiler

MAP06

MAP01

MAP08

MAP04

MAP02

MAP03

MAP05

MAP07

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 08 – Corruption Complex by Late night person

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

 

For the second time in the MegaWAD, a technically impressive and elaborate level is followed by a basic and unassuming entry. While MAP02 had some redeeming qualities to it, this one felt very amateurish, with a ’94 design made of square rooms and mostly vanilla effects, used in sequence like they were being tested for the first time, just to see if they work as intended. This was either a first mapping effort or a perfect deliberate reproduction.

 

There were no Boom marvels on display besides the prefabricated Skullgate, no sophisticated layouts, and not much refinement in texturing. There was some effort to give the last switch some visual appeal, but as the rest of the level the triggered ambush was not threatening by any means. I found only the rocket launcher secret by backtracking when the level was already finished, and since it teleported me inside the Skullgate, I must leave. Never mind, I guess this map slot had to be filled with something.

Spoiler

 

[cannonball]

MAP07 - “Constant Companion” by ViolentBeetle

 

The Mancubian Candidate this isn't.

So the gimmick is pretty clear, protect the spider or get roasted. The layout of this map is essentially a hub-spoke from the blue key area, you start in one of the four sides and you need the keys from the other three to unlock the central fight against 4 mancubi. Now don't get me wrong the mechanisms to keep the spider moving around is nicely done, but what you have is a series of rather cramped small fights. The Revenant cage is the easiest for yourself on both fronts as moving around should keep both of you unharmed. The yellow key is by far the toughest to navigate thanks to the archvile, though its placement does not bother me.

However I reached the central fight and apparently I had the spider on effectively a one hit kill. Several attempts later and I got lucky with clearing the mancubi. The level is essentially over from here.

At the end of the day, the reason why Valiant Map07 is seen as a classic is more than just the gimmick, but also the flawless design. It is this that is lacking from this map. The gimmick just about gives this a pass but I don't feel the need to play this again. 

[RataUnderground]

MAP 08 – Corruption Complex by Late night person - Pistol start UV

 

You hear too much in a pejorative way of maps that seem to come out in 1994 and personally it is something which I do not agree. I don't think it's a bad thing to create abstract, low-detail, orthogonal maps as long as they have something interesting to contribute to the player, and there is plenty of them. Don't you remember how great is OG Doom? This type of map is as valid as the style that is fashionable today, and saying "this map has 94's design" shouldn't carry such negativity. 

But the line that separates that style from lack of style is thin, especially in the present case.

I must admitt the map is too lineal, visually bland and too vague, but that didn't bother me too much as I was at least entertained, wich is a thing I can't say about the final fight in the skullgate room. The encounter with the revs and the Archville its not a challenge as it is a bureaucratic pain, because the monsters can not pass the linedef in the room of the switch. This has no logic besides a lazy way of giving cover to the player, and should be avoided.

[Book Lord]

24 minutes ago, RataUnderground said:

You hear too much in a pejorative way of maps that seem to come out in 1994 and personally it is something which I do not agree. I don't think it's a bad thing to create abstract, low-detail, orthogonal maps as long as they have something interesting to contribute to the player, and there is plenty of them. Don't you remember how great is OG Doom? This type of map is as valid as the style that is fashionable today, and saying "this map has 94's design" shouldn't carry such negativity. 

 

You are right in saying that there is nothing wrong in '94 design and I fully agree. I am mostly a vanilla Doom consumer, starting in 1994 with a bought copy of Doom v. 1.2 (the one with max 199% health, the swastika in E1M4 and random sound pitch still working) and this is my first Boom compatible playthrough.

 

I found Corrupted Complex to be underwhelming if compared to everything else in this WAD so far, thus looking inappropriate with its '94 experimentalism. I could comment on so many things that I decided not to write them at all, since I did not want to slam the author for designing a map that looks like a "first map" (especially if it really was his first map).

[baja blast rd.]

map07: "Constant Companion" by ViolentBeetle

 

An alternate take on your mom's favorite Dead Simple gimmick, the Mancubian Candidate from Valiant. (Wait, she liked Sunlust more?) 

 

Brief comparisons of the dynamic with the central pest: 

Spoiler

- The mancubus in the original mostly channels the danger of infighting: it can easily bicker with something distant you can't really reach, which can be disastrous. By comparison, the arachnotron in Constant Companion is much more of a direct threat. (In fact, in a few encounters here, spider infighting is unlikely or impossible.) 

 

- In the Mancubian Candidate, which is much more spacious, the manc is a possible sponge for your attacks in only one encounter, really -- and you do a lot of work with weapons that can't kill it easily by mistake. In Constant Companion, the smaller spaces and emphasis on rockets means I was a lot more worried about misfiring.

 

- The arachnotron switch-up, more than just a way of adding novelty, seems like a smart call with the tighter spaces involved. It would be much easier for wayward mancubus projectiles to hit a caco or revenant off towards the side mostly through bad luck, instead of through a mistake on your part. 

 

In Constant Companion, the basic encounter mechanics are pretty solid. I liked the scattered use of pinkies in the north and middle. Those encounters show off their ancillary potential as distractors or roadblocks (or even meatshields for you) without being so numerous that they dominate the fight.

 

One thought is that if you're doing a map with a spider that can't die like this, you want monsters that are dangerous in accumulation to the arachnotron (like, revenants and hell knights) but also, just as importantly, monsters that can't really hurt it -- so that it's not so one-note about "every monster can ruin you." That probably explains on some level why pinkies and lost souls are relatively common, and why hitscanners are left out entirely. 

 

If you're doing a skillsaw-ish thing, it helps to have a good grasp on minimalist fights, and those were fun. I don't enter a map expecting "one revenant, four imps, and one pinky" to be a Good Fight, but with the arachnotron's constant soft pressure mixed in, it works well. I also thought it made sense to have two shorter fights like these per arena rather than a longer one, smoothing out encounter flow that might have been choppy otherwise with this very basic layout.  

 

A rough note in the gameplay is that the last four mancubi can be quite devastating if you don't know they are coming. For something not presented as a really important fight, more just a way of tying the map together, the rise in danger felt off.

 

As to whether it lives up to the Mancubian Candidate, I think that is a trick question. It doesn't really have to. It's a fun little map regardless.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP07: "Constant Companion" by ViolentBeetle

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 1/1 secrets

 

As if the map being a Mancubian Candidate imitation wasn't enough to get me excited about it, it uses my favourite track from Peter Lawrence's MIDI pack for the Master Levels as its backing music. It was a nice surprise to hear the tune show up in something far more desirable to play. The central gimmick to the map is like the Mancubian Candidate, but with an arachnotron, meaning there's an arachnotron in the map that you have to ensure does not die until the end of the map. If he dies prematurely, the level is swarmed with archviles that will quickly end you. The arachnotron is far more annoying to play around than the mancubus in skillsaw's rendition, as I feel you are forcefully left out of cover far more often in this map, and the arachnotron can shred your health much faster. The constant companion also tends to die a lot more than the mancubian candidate in my experience.

 

The gameplay apart from the central quirk of the map is also quite a bit different, as this one has you tackle 3 small arenas in any order you wish, and the arachnotron will teleport into the arenas as you visit them and occupy the center area. The yellow key arena contains a very nasty archvile that can easily cause problems for you amongs the other demons, the blue key arena has four revenants in a square with very little cover for you (but is definitely the easiest arena regardless), and the red key arena is littered with lost souls and cacodemons that you can easily get tangled up in. Your only two weapons are the SSG and rocket launcher, and I found myself running out of SSG ammo pretty easily leaving me in a potentially tight spot with the rocket launcher. The map closes out with a very nasty fight with four mancubi and the arachnotron in a claustrophobic arena, and you again have to ensure the arachnotron survives the onslaught which is pretty difficult to do as he roams free along with you and the mancubi. Once the mancubi are all dead, you can safely kill the arachnotron last and leave.

 

I had a lot of fun with this one, it wore the gimmick well and was a good challenge.

[dei_eldren]

6 hours ago, RataUnderground said:

The encounter with the revs and the Archville its not a challenge as it is a bureaucratic pain, because the monsters can not pass the linedef in the room of the switch. This has no logic besides a lazy way of giving cover to the player, and should be avoided.

 

i didn't highlight it in my review but this was my only real complaint of the map - the way the Revenants refused to come into the small room felt very artificial and made the combat quite trivial.

Edited September 8, 2021 by dei_eldren