Dread Factory (First time OTEX!)

[ReaperAA]

I just played this map and I actually found it to be a pretty nice map. I didn't have any ammo issues that some others have reported (though that might be because I managed to find the backpack secret as well as the RL secret). The combat wasn't really that hard either (I only died in the area where we fight the first archvile)

 

My only suggestion would be to not hide weapons in secrets (especially if the weapon is needed). The RL (which is a secret) is almost needed for the final fight and the SSG is also in an area that can be missed if the player takes the route to the first archvile area (and then be Doomed because with SSG, the first archvile fight is really tough). I also never found the plasma gun despite having 440 ammo for it (Ignore this one).

 

Oh and plz remove the 2 spectres from the starting area. Fighting them with fists with vanilla hitboxes compatibility is just annoying.

Edited September 24, 2021 by ReaperAA

[Sectorslayer]

9 hours ago, ReaperAA said:

Oh and plz remove the 2 spectres from the starting area. Fighting them with fists with vanilla hitboxes compatibility is just annoying.

Thanks for playing and giving feedback! You are actually not supposed to fight the specters bare handed. I will check that there is enough shotgun ammo around...

[Sectorslayer]

On 9/23/2021 at 4:39 AM, Fiendish said:

Looks like this one's a bit polarizing based on the previous comments. I gave it a shot and recorded a demo for you.

Awesome demo, @Fiendish! You mastered this unforgiving version. Pleasure to watch...

[ReaperAA]

9 hours ago, sectrslayr said:

Thanks for playing and giving feedback! You are actually not supposed to fight the specters bare handed. I will check that there is enough shotgun ammo around...

 

Well there is some ammo of course. But if they manage to corner you, you have to punch/pistol them around 2 dozen times before they die.

 

I may also record a demo. The map isn't really that hard.

[Sectorslayer]

23 minutes ago, ReaperAA said:

The map isn't really that hard.

Hints on how to spice it up? 😏

[ReaperAA]

25 minutes ago, sectrslayr said:

Hints on how to spice it up? 😏

 

Not much ideas I got since I think it is fine as is. Probably what galileo31dos01 said about invul in the final fight being replaced by a soulsphere (+ a green armor too maybe) on UV. Since I too think that it makes the final fight a bit too easy.

 

There is also one part where we have to open 2 doors using a switch. The doors open for a few seconds and then close. The couple revenants on the opposite side can be easily killed with chaingun sniping (by tap-firing the chaingun) without entering the area. I would probably remove them and have revenants teleport there once you are already there and have raised the platform

Edited September 24, 2021 by ReaperAA

[Clippy]

17 minutes ago, sectrslayr said:

Hints on how to spice it up? 😏

 

16 more archviles

[ReaperAA]

6 minutes ago, Clippy said:

 

16 more archviles

 

... or that could work as well. 😅

[Fiendish]

Of course people vary wildly in what they consider difficult. Compared to a lot of modern maps, this isn't too hard. I'd say it's pretty close to Plutonia in difficulty. Sets like Ancient Aliens contain maps that are definitely more difficult, for example, and of course there are a lot of challenge sets that make Ancient Aliens look like a walk in the park. But I personally love maps that are right around this level of difficulty and length, since it's right around what I'm capable of completing saveless without a ton of attempts, but challenging enough to make playing it saveless tense. 

 

I do agree that it wouldn't hurt to make the finale fight a little more challenging on UV, though. When I played it, I took the plasma gun and was pretty conservative with ammo, since I had no idea what was coming, making it feel more challenging than it actually was. But watching Clippy's run, it looks like there was enough cell ammo to just blast everything as it teleported in and no need to save it for anything big that comes after. It also sounds like taking the invuln makes it a pushover too. I do really like how you give the player a choice between the two. So maybe decreasing the cell ammo and swapping the invuln for a soulsphere would help, as others suggested -- but also, adding more heavies that teleport in on UV would help spice it up too.

 

I actually like how you give the player the option to pre-kill the revenants before entering the SSG room. It rewards the player for being cautious, but gives them the option either way. 

[ReaperAA]

@sectrslayr I have made the demo: ReaperAA_DreadFactory.zip (I recorded it in GZDoom 4.7.0)

 

Ok, it turns out that I am a bit dumb. I totally didn't see the Plasma gun last time. Turns out that is a choice in the final fight (either grab invul or the plasma). Also Ironically enough, on this attempt, I actually managed to do well up until the last fight. I almost screwed myself up here (because I wasted by rockets no the easy enemies and didn't save for the archie). But I managed to prevail nonetheless

[Sectorslayer]

2 hours ago, Clippy said:

 

16 more archviles

Certainly 😏

[Sectorslayer]

Progress report: The update is in the making. Couple of issues have been addressed. Nodes are built. No-secrets run is possible but it’s still pretty hard. More ammo and prominent weapon placement. Currently fine tuning the final fight. Stay tuned! 🚧

[Sectorslayer]

Map Update! I hope it's playable on all approaches now. Let me know! Cheers...

[hakros]

Hi, i've play your map and i liked it very much.
Great design and it is quite difficult challenge, too.... ;-) !!

I will include it in my app at next release.
https://hakros.itch.io/hakros-doom-launcher !

Greetings.
 

 

[Sectorslayer]

16 hours ago, hakros said:

I will include it in my app at next release

Thanks! I’m honored. 😊

[Biodegradable]

Awesome job, Sect. Proud of you for taking the initial reception on the chin and making the necessary changes without compromising your vision too much. Another terrific map. ;^)

 

 

[hakros]

2 hours ago, sectrslayr said:

Thanks! I’m honored. 😊

 

You're welcome !

[Suitepee]

https://youtu.be/Cm0LBbXnA4o

 

My playthrough starts at around 1:00.

[LVENdead]

This was a pretty fun map and it looks great! It's an interesting use of OTEX and overall detailing - it seems like a halfway point between classic-styled "good looking" maps and ultra detailed modern maps. Lots of use of border textures and thoughtful sector detailing, but you're not going so into it that you're making complex sector patterns on the floors or making each overhanging lightbulb its own unique sector like you might expect in a more modern-style map using this texture pack. I like it.

 

The layout and progression were pretty interesting for a linear map that's this size. It's a very straightforward journey, but rather than be a sequence of hallways and  rooms, it's like a sequences of nice-medium sized "internally" interconnected areas that all connect to each other one after another. I definitely was expecting some degree of backtracking at the outset, just based on how the map "presents itself" but it's not really a negative in this case. I think there is a tipping point where linear maps get to be too long and start to feel like a slog, but this one is over before you get to that point. I think that's helped a lot by how there's a good amount of exploring/looping in each of the mini areas themselves.

 

I like a lot of the fight construction; the few traps were definitely the best parts. Outside of dying a couple times to the ambush near the berserk secret, and once during the last fight, I didn't find it to be very difficult at all. It almost makes me curious to know what my experience would be with the first version you posted. 

 

Good stuff, I definitely enjoyed it.

[Sectorslayer]

5 hours ago, LVENdead said:

Lots of use of border textures and thoughtful sector detailing, but you're not going so into it that you're making complex sector patterns on the floors or making each overhanging lightbulb its own unique sector like you might expect in a more modern-style map using this texture pack.

Thanks for playing and the extensive feedback! Yeah, I only gathered some experience detailing vanilla styled maps. But the limiting factor might be by editor and skill. 😏

 

5 hours ago, LVENdead said:

It almost makes me curious to know what my experience would be with the first version you posted.

It was basically about being short on ammo and health. The first version started out as a resource management exercise. No fun for most people. 🤔

 

5 hours ago, LVENdead said:

Good stuff, I definitely enjoyed it.

Glad you did! 😊

[Sectorslayer]

7 hours ago, Suitepee said:

https://youtu.be/Cm0LBbXnA4o

 

My playthrough starts at around 1:00.

Thanks! Apparently you played the first version. There where quite some changes in revision B. 👋

[LordEntr0py]

So I finally got around to playing this!

Nice to see you absolutely tearing it up with OTEX. I love the way it enhanced your natural techbase style in this map.

This map started with a bit of a cruel shocker (shotgunner AND a sneaky spectre in your face at the outset!?) and kept on packing punches.

I really like the way progression works in this wad. Really nicely interconnected, and I kept reaching old areas from new angles unexpectedly.

 

Secrets were well-signposted and I felt rewarded for keeping my eyes open.

I realise I have played a re-balanced version, judging by comments on this thread, and in my opinion it's now well-balanced. I don't know what the previous version looked like, but I enjoyed the surprise situations this put me in.

Good final arena battle, too. I like the way you prevented the player running away too easily by necessitating the key pickup, requiring both switches to be pressed, having a couple of monsters coming out of the the exit room AND the barrels in front of the switch. During play experience, you don't really notice these steps, but when I think about it, it was a really successful solution to a problem I've wrestled with many times and never truly felt satisfied with my own attempts to solve it.

Great work! This might be my favourite of the levels from you I've played so far -- that was a high bar to beat!

 

 

[Sectorslayer]

4 hours ago, LordEntr0py said:

. I don't know what the previous version looked like, but I enjoyed the surprise situations this put me in.

Thanks for playing and recording! Pleasant to watch. Yeah, the first revision - imagine less health, hidden weapons and a nastier first ambush. Most people didn’t enjoy it. Others prevailed miraculously or by finding a good survival strategy. It has some flaws but I enjoyed making it. OTEX is great, but I still have things to learn.

[Feden05]

hey sectrslayr, after completing your map in the Ultra-Violence difficulty I want to say that I found it quite fun, a little package of frenzy, and I want to say that it did not feel so difficult (I do not know if it is because of PB or because of an update) I actually never had a problem with the ammunition

To be your first time in Otex, it is quite good, in some moments it feels inconsistent (mainly due to sudden changes in the tones, for example going from black to a greenish gray, I think lmao) As for combat, as I said, it feels very frenzied, and sometimes too excessive (for example, the zombieman's trap in the first sectors), I especially liked the way of introducing the battle with the two archviles (it didn't seem like it in the video, but in other attempts it was very difficult) and the choice between the plasmagun and the megasphere.

 

All in all, a very frenzied map very nice to hang out or suffer a bit. by the way here is my playthrough

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by Feden05

[Pixel Fiend]

I just played through the map in Woof on HMP in 10 minutes. The enemies and health packs were perfectly balanced. Not too many while still giving a good challenge.

 

You're a really good mapper, the map looks great, has clever layout and I had lots of fun playing it. Are you planning to include it in some small mapset?

[Sectorslayer]

@Feden05 Thanks for playing and recording! It’s easy to make OTEX inconsistent, there is so much! I was playing around a bit before actually consolidating. 
 

@game I was just checking out OTEX and making another Doom2 map in between working on Knee Deep Again. And some secret Christmas stuff… 😏