The DWmegawad Club plays: Interception II

[FragsBunny]

MAP10: Eldritch Apparitions (100%/87%/80%)

1.       Baron of hell projectiles are seekers

2.       All projectiles travel faster

3.       Cacodemon fires mancubus projectiles

 

Yet another level made entirely of flesh, blood, and puss. The music choice seemed odd for the level, and the background sky is blue instead of green for some odd reason. Where are we heading to if Hell is already behind us? The progression itself might take a while for the first timers – they might not even notice the yellow skull key among all that flesh! The blue skull key also hidden in plain sight – you can only grab it by shooting the eye switch but, given the small size of the area you’re locked in, finding it wasn’t too difficult.

 

The imps flew themselves to me like moths to the flame, as usual. The cacodemon fireballs, while boosted in damage, were still slow and manageable. The BFG, which was supposed to be in secret location (I guess) ended up in a hand of a shotgun guy. The 4 secrets out of 5 that I’ve managed to find were quite generous with supplies, and even without them you can grab the mega-sphere before heading to the arena with supercharge and megaarmor reserved for you.

 

You’ll be attacked with multitude of enemies, including hitscanners, but the one you need to be constantly aware of are twin cyberdemons and later two arch-viles, each coming from a different closet. I lost my life in that arena once cause my mom kept distracting me! Other than that, the arena requires careful management of infighting and circlestrafing, made more difficult cause monsters tend to spawn in the outer area of the circle. Still, I wish a better soundtrack for this map!

[finnks13]

MAP 10 - Eldritch Apparitions by Moustachio:

Well, I suppose I should have expected something like this given the ending of the previous map but I wasn't expecting an exploration of an eldritch abomination's guts that was this expansive. This map looks fantastic, with such a limited texture palette of the Doom2 gore textures (and a couple of extras) Moustachio has managed to create an impression of a monster's innards rivaled only by cyriak's Map21 from Going Down which featured an equally disgusting exploration of an abomination's guts. The sky has changed to blue, for this map only, and I'm not entirely sure why - maybe the green sky didn't fit with the aesthetic of the map even though there's already loads of green from the nukage here already, not a big deal though.

 

The map was surprisingly easy to move through given the atmosphere of the map, with helpful bridges raising when new areas were accessed, and the few boom effects that were on offer here were pretty neat (such as the keys appearing in the void when I placed them in the switches). I thought the opening room was good, with the limited footing and imps on all sides requiring an amount of precision to succeed and the rocket launcher fight was a jolt of energy that took me a second to figure out, I eventually managed to get the auto-aim to co-operate and allow me to snipe the perched archvile.

 

The middle part of the map sagged a little bit as it's mostly just fodder enemies and a few mancubi which were no threat whatsoever, but that was made up for by the finale which featured a particularly heated encounter - the largest and most dangerous so far. I really enjoyed this fight, in no small part thanks to the BFG secret (very handy that the monster consumed one of those before I got here!) and I thought the mini-icon of sin brains to exit the arena was cool - though I heard a switch sound when I shot them with the pistol and that confused me for a sec before I realised that I had to use rockets. The exit room looked neat with the descent into the dark void - maybe I was wrong earlier when I said that this wad wasn't going to feature a black, endless void!

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP10 - Eldritch Apparitions - Moustachio (100%K/94%I/20%S): 

Since Skulltiverse, the fleshy aesthetics cannot leave us alone. Here we are again with a fleshy level, pretty similar to the one in Skulltiverse by the same author, remember MAP24? Well, this is an even more interesting take on said theme, we are now inside The Belly of the Beast, and this is why I think, the map names of MAP09 and 10, are wrongly swapped. The layout is pretty interesting, lots of fleshy tunnels and interconnected areas that you will connect with progression. Fights here were really fun, like the one at the RL area. The last fight was hectic, but was a really "Boss Fight". One of the best moments so far is said battle with the hellspawn. After MAP06, this one is the best so far, the ending was really interesting, falling into the beast's void.


(HMP Playthrough - PrBoom+)

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP06
MAP10
MAP09

MAP05

MAP04

MAP03
MAP07
MAP08

MAP02
MAP01

 

Oh boy we are finally one map away from MAP11

[cannonball]

MAP10 - “Eldritch Apparitions” by Moustachio

 

Well this is a change of pace (albeit expected on a visual sense). Still this is far far better than the author's interpretation in the Skultiverse. In fact I would say this is my favourite map so far in the set.

Oddly, the difficulty isn't too high here, the archvile in the rocket launcher area is probably the trickiest threat as he is difficult to hit whilst you are being mobbed on the ground and by newly perched imps. The ending is more bark than bite as you have enough room to move around, however I made life easier by finding the BFG secret that in fairness isn't hard to find. Still this is a lot of fun and lacks the aggravation that Moustachio has thrown in other maps so far. 

Overall a map fitting of its slot, it feels like a curtain closer for the episode, though somewhat forgiving. Technically we have one more map before intermission and a fall into the void to endure first.

[TJG1289]

Just a reminder for map 11:

 

It's a big boi, so make sure to carve out some time to beat it! I know it took me over an hour my first playthrough.

[DFF]

19 minutes ago, TJG1289 said:

Just a reminder for map 11:

 

It's a big boi, so make sure to carve out some time to beat it! I know it took me over an hour my first playthrough.

 

Yeah, I meant to post one about that but was busy yesterday. My bad.

 

I found I (as the creator) was able to complete the map in 20-30 minutes, but I know every inch of the map. I'd say 1 hour avg for general play and possibly a bit more for secrets. I can understand if this one may be a bit too long for some. 

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Pistol-Start/Saves

Map 10: Eldritch Apparitions - Moustachio

100% kills and secrets

Time: 18:42

Deaths: 1

 

NOW, we're in the beast's belly! DWMC members will remember Moustachio's Skulltiverse map, which is basically a mini version of this in style. Fleshy textures abound here, with toxic saliva oozing from nasty orifices. While that map was kinda underwhelming to me, this full version with no map size restrictions is the real deal. Goal is to grab the blue and yellow skull keys to open the path to the final arena. You can grab either key in any order, which is a nice touch. Going for the yellow key will net you the SSG, so you'll want to head for the switch that lowers it at the top of the flesh cliffs first. The blue key doesn't net you a weapon iirc. Just past the path to the blue key as an eye switch that raises a platform over to where you can use the keys. You'll spot the rocket launcher here, but going close to it will trigger an ambush some imps, revs, and a ledged archie. If you're good at platforming, you can find a mega armor secret around here too. Speaking of secrets, I managed to find them all this time, as I don't believe I did before. The BFG one is super useful for the final fight. If you need help looking for it, there's a shootable switch nearby the backpack in the road to the final fight. In the BFG secret, you can also jump to a secret cell stash as well. You'll need it for the final arena, which does give you a plasma, but sends in staggered waves of enemies (including 2 cybies), before 2 walls lower with chaingunners and archies. My only death was here, which is a marked improvement over my last playthrough! It's a very fun fight, but the arachnotrons liked to spawn in front of me and block my path. What a bunch of meanies. Very fun, gross looking level.

 

On to map 11. The one I've been equally looking forward to the most, and dreading the most. It's very, very impressive (it was my fav map last time I played), but it's huge. Gonna get up a little early tomorrow so I have more time to beat it! 

[Moustachio]

MAP10: Eldritch Apparitions

 

I honestly wish I called this map Belly of the Beast (Pt. II) now. That aside, I have a lot to say about it. This map was the most challenging to make of the set (amongst a roster of maps that had already challenged me creatively). It was one of the last maps I finished. The boss was initially way more cryptic (and, frankly, looked awful). I had to do a complete redesign of that whole arena, and I'm really glad I did! The detailing in this map was experimental for me as well. I would take several circular chunks of levels and paste them around on top of each other. This would quickly create a set of sectors that I could then use as a base for all the masses of flesh, using height variation. Liberal use of the vertex randomizer tool kept the geometry feeling alive while I worked on it. One of the coolest a-ha! moments I've had so far as a mapper. Revisiting this theme for Skulltiverse was a lot of fun, despite having to effectively do the whole map in one day instead of five, but that was entirely on me anyhow.

 

I can't remember exactly why I decided to change the sky to blue. It was green at one point, but I think I just liked the way the blue looked. I continue to enjoy reading all of your write-ups and interpretations.

 

As far as MAP09 goes, I really only contributed first room and the northern room with the red key door (which can be opened without the key apparently?). Plus, I made some later gameplay edits. The exit was all DFF, and it gave me a good direction for MAP10.

 

The whole point of MAP09 was to pass it around so that various members could add a room onto it. I set aside three maps for this particular concept, but only two of them really took off (the other being MAP13).

 

And with that all being said, set aside plenty of time for MAP11, if you can, because it's the real beast of the episode. I'd say an hour and a half should be nice and comfortable if you really want to take it easy.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Moustachio

[DFF]

On 11/9/2021 at 11:31 AM, Krenium said:

The ending looks pretty cool -- a depiction of the 'beast' from the title emerging from the void. I wonder if the map makers took hints from MAP06 because this is reminiscent of some of the 'beasts' we saw in that map. When you get close, the beast opens its mouth in an impressive display. I sincerely hope we get to explore the beast's innards in more detail in the next map, though to be fair we did go through a teleporter in here.

This monstrosity was in-fact very inspired by map06's fleshy creatures. That map was originally in the map08 slot as i recall, so following up Big Ol Billy's map with some bigger fleshopoids seems like a cool idea. Plus it happened to be a great Segway to map10. Going back through this 2-3 year old community WAD its hard to remember all the small changes I made as i added several balance and detail tweaks throughout, but so did many of the other mappers. The only part of this map I can for certain say was mine is the final hallway fight and the exit. I did a lot of the hallway detailing like the scrolling wall facets by the red skull and the pipes + lights in the water tunnel. I may have designed the blue key room aswell but i don't fully recall, my apologies if im incorrect.

 

Map09: Belly of the Beast by Moustachio, Stewboy, Pegleg, NuclearPotato, and DFF

UV, Continuous, GZdoom, Corruption Cards 3.1 (card: Chaingunners do not flinch).
K: 89%, S: 100% T: 12:22

I figured non-flinching chaingunners was better than double the aracnotrons or homing hell knight projectiles, but this map showed me that this means chaingunners do not infight anymore, and when multiple chaingunners are focusing the player it becomes a serious problem. Definitely caused a few deaths for me.

I tend to enjoy more cramped fighting on occasion rather than big open horde fights so this map feels a bit at home. The fast mancubus projectiles were a much larger problem here as they were more plentiful than the last map.

The blue key fight i will add originally featured a spider mama blocking the exit rather than four aracnotrons. however playtest feedback said that it wasn't a huge threat and was too much of a chore, so it was swapped for a quad of aracnotrons. The ending also used to be a lot tougher, this was probably modified by Moustachio (or I, and I forgot) to be more accessible. The torch pillars used to lower one section at a time (which is why there's four sets of bars blocking the door), with more, beefier monsters spawning as the hallway opened up more. I recall this was too tricky for players since there was a baron and some revs at the finale with very little room to move. I also did not want to include any monsters inside or around the exit beast. I figured this would lessen the overall experience/impression of the thing, plus it was an exit.

I enjoy playing this map quite a bit. Its a bit more at home with my preferred playstyle, which i can understandably see is not everyone's cup of team. Its not as fancy as previous maps and a bit limited, but i like the progression it offers.

 

Map10: Eldritch Apparitions by Moustachio

UV, Continuous, GZdoom, Corruption Cards 3.1 (card: Shotgunners take 1 sec delayed damage).
K: 100%, S: 100% T: 10:43

I cannot comment on the names of the last two maps, but i can see an argument for both as-is and swapped.

I love this map, the gorey aesthetic here i find is very well done, with excellent use of height variation and convincing fleshy detailing. Very much makes me feel like I'm exploring the guts of a esoteric beast. I'm also a fan of the MIDI choice. Its a bit simple and not very blood-pumping, play on words intended, but its got that similar somber but adventurous design that many of the episode 1 MIDIs have. Doesn't remind me that the player has been swallowed alive and is in the process of being digested, which i think is a fair choice.

As moustachio could say, this map had been reworked a few times, and each time for the better. The original map was much shorter, with less toothy details. The sky originally was that of the exit portal, the red flesh-face sky. this however blended in to the scenery too well and was not very distinguishable. The blue sky was as I recall an idea proposed by moustachio to the group, with the group deciding Blue looked better than green. This was also offered to the entirety of episode 1, which was almost a blue dimension, but a lot of the architecture and maps were already designed with green coloring in mind so it was only used in this map (this proposal came towards the end of development rather than near the start). I like it as i find it makes the pink and white flesh pop out very nicely. The ending also used to be a flesh pit with an altered Icon of Sin. The arena was a pit with a spiral staircase going down, with the IoS being the beating heart of the monster. The player had to shoot rockets between pumping veins (crushers) to kill it. It was nifty, but the new design with the arena in my opinion is far superior. The ending arena design from Moustachio is so cool and fun to play in.

 

A fun map, and really the only part thats ok is the section before the end arena. its a bit open and barer than the rest of the map, but its not long, and its still melds with the map as a whole quite well.

I was hoping to review my map before many others did as I had a longer write-up planned for it, but i'll see if i get around to it, probably not until tomorrow.

Edited November 10, 2021 by DFF

[Moustachio]

32 minutes ago, DFF said:

The ending also used to be a lot tougher, this was probably modified by Moustachio (or I, and I forgot) to be more accessible.

I think that was me (not trying to Doom gaslight you). I just felt like the amount of enemies that you were trapped in with before was a bit of a cheap shot considering how small that room is.

 

Quote

The blue sky was as I recall an idea proposed by moustachio to the group, with the group deciding Blue looked better than green.

That's it! Glad we didn't change the sky for E1. I tend to throw out some crazy ones from time to time lol.

Edited November 10, 2021 by Moustachio

[Krenium]

MAP10 - Eldritch Apparitions by Moustachio (with edits by DFF)

PrBoom+ / Hurt Me Plenty / Pistol start / Saves / Demo

 

 

The opening view of this map leaves quite an impression. I love the teeth protruding around various orifices, including what seems to be the esophagus. The various streams of bile (with translucency!) and blood are some neat visual flair that really help cement the setting of being inside something's actual guts. The map can be divided into four broad sections: the opening area, which orients the player and is largely characterized by incidental combat with the odd mini-ambush; the tunnels (small intestine) on the way to the blue key; the caverns (large intestine) after unlocking the key door; and the final area (um, I'll leave it to your imagination where this might be).

 

I enjoyed the sense of progression near the start, with the switchbacks up the side of the 'stomach.' Nice verticality in here, and the capstone fight up top after grabbing the rocket launcher was both fun and probably the most vicious fight of the map (I died here once). The other notable fight that takes place here is of course right before the exit. It's pretty nasty, but keep moving and using the resources available to you and the opposition will clear out enough for you to finish the job. I didn't find the BFG, yet I was able to handle this okay (but only just so in terms of ammunition). Thanks for balancing with us secret-challenged folk in mind!

 

An oddity I experienced was the two barons at the very end were both very low on health and only took a rocket or two to die. I wonder if that was intentional using some Boom trickery or if they had actually managed some infighting from behind the bars. All in all, it's a solid map that manages to make the most of its limited texture palette, in large part due to some convincingly organic architecture. Very curious to see where we'll end up next...

 

Map ranking (favorite -> least)

6 4 2 8 3 10 9 7 5 1

[Dragonker]

MAP10 - “Eldritch Apparitions” by Moustachio

 

Woof!/GZDoom * HMP * Pistol start * Saves

 

As someone pointed out before, this map is pretty similar in concept to Blood's E4M7: you are inside some sort of flesh amalgamation surrounded by blood, bile, body parts, and, most important, demons. The layout is pretty nice, twisted as you would expect the belly of a beast to be, but comfortable to run through. Gameplay-wise, it's not that hard. The last fight is an arena battle which is a first for this set so far.

 

The berserk secret is very useful to conserve ammo, specially against the lost souls in the blue key room.

 

Had no real trouble with this one, specially because, at last, I found a secret (berserk) and that helped a ton, but the exit lower action didn't trigger on Woof! and had to finish the level on GZDoom.

[RHhe82]

MAP11: Slipgate Ex Nihilo. Played on UV, pistol start, blind, with saves, DSDA-Doom. Completion time 87:59 (!), 600/601 kills (really, missing one!?) and 10/11 secrets.

 

... Wow.

 

I think I had noticed people were hinting about MAP11, but I guess it just didn't register. When I saw the kill count after finishing MAP10, I suspected we have some slaughtery stuff ahead.

 

But boy, oh boy. There are no bloated encounters to bump up the kill count. No, this level is just BIG. And its glorious. I know my experience in modern wads is very limited, but I was almost constantly thinking while playing this one just how could anyone do a level like this, it must have taken years to complete. It's not just that the level just keeps on continuing, but the gameplay, I think, stays on constantly on the fun, flowing side of things. The only time I was lost and baffled was what turned out to be quite early in the level after I had obtained the blue key. I didn't know where to use it, and for some reason I thought the rooms that had the switches controlling force field doors were locked away. This easily added some 10-15 minutes of gametime for me.

 

Easily my favourite map thus far. This is also a level I wouldn't dare to play saveless, especially since I could never resist the call of the secret area at the end that's reachable by some archvile jump shenanigans (took me some 5 tries to make it and even then it felt accidental, and the crushing ceiling area before also took a lot of tries to make it). Then a small batch of demons and then, such a sweet surprise. I'm looking at you, hacker. Pathetic creature of meat and bone. Loved it, loved the map, hats off to DFF.

 

Edited November 11, 2021 by RHhe82 : Added remark on the super secret area

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP09: "The Belly of the Beast" by Moustachio, stewboy, Pegleg, NuclearPotato, DFF

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 1/3 secrets

 

Input from a whopping 5 people in this map. This take on the green void castle starts you at about the middle of the castle, and the hallways are feeling a lot more cramped here. It feels like a bit less adventure-styled than many of the maps we've played so far, with the narrow and somewhat mazy progression in the hallways almost feeling a little old-school flavoured. That said I looooooved the stewboy midi in this one, it's from the Rebirth midi pack apparently and I had not heard it before prior to playing this, but it fits the map like a glove.

 

A sizable chunk of the combat here takes place in the castle's claustrophobic corridors, and the map tends to love its hitscanners. There are a couple of relatively nasty chaingunner traps in the hallways that are simple if you see them coming, but can really put a dent in a first-time player's run. Although I don't mind this hallway shooting combat, my favourite parts of the map were probably the parts where it opened up a bit more, with my favourite fight being the one for the yellow skull key. A great opportunity to pull out the rocket launcher and just cut loose, while the scattered teleportations of hitscanners on the higher cliffs ensure that you're never all too safe. Also love the way the big fleshy beast looks at the end of the map, it's quite a surreal image floating in the green void like that.

 

Solid map overall.

 

MAP10: "Eldritch Apparitions" by Moustachio

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 4/5 secrets

 

This one finds you inside of the fleshy beast that you dropped into in the previous map. The textures are obviously fleshy, and the map is covered in green ooze that drips down from above. This one definitely looks great, I agree that the blue skybox does fit quite well and the environment is suitably gross looking. The progression is relatively simple, your objective at the start is to locate the blue and yellow skull keys before you can progress deeper in, and eventually to the final battle.

 

The beginning stretch isn't too tricky overall. The rocket launcher trap can be a bit dangerous if you don't know what's coming, but otherwise it's not too challenging. The final fight however is a different story, and is probably the best and most explosive encounter in the wad so far. I lucked into noticing the eye switch that brings you to the secret BFG, but even with that the fight is no joke. It contains 2 cyberdemons, quite a large amount of revenants that can cover the area in homing missiles quickly, and eventually two very tricky archviles join the show. Cause as much infighting as you can and make sure the archviles are taken out right as they show up, as if you enter their sights it can be quite a challenge to notice where they are seeing you from.

 

This one looked great and was a ton of fun. Definitely one of the set's best so far.

[Krenium]

MAP11 - Slipgate Ex Nihilo by DFF (with edits by Moustachio)

PrBoom+ / Hurt Me Plenty / Pistol start / Saves / Demo

 

 

Yowza, what a map! It starts strong, it stays strong, and it ends just as strongly. The forklift pictured above, for example, is a sweet detail right near the end of the map. For a map of this size and ambition, and by one author, it's incredibly impressive for a map not to have any obvious cut corners. For the record, it took me 45 minutes to beat on HMP without searching too hard for secrets. I devoted maybe 4 minutes or so and ended up finding maybe 4-5 of them. The map is mainly a sprawling tech base but it's nestled into some cliffs floating in a black void. The beginning of the map features some very pleasing natural terrain.

 

 

One detail I like about this map is how (aside from a couple yellow doors) it employs colored force fields instead of key doors. The cool thing is you can see through them, so you can get a small idea of what to expect. This does a lot to give the map its own identity and split it up into memorable logical sections. The map is pseudo-linear. What I mean by that is that despite weaving and bobbing and winding and redoubling around all over the place, there is generally only one place to go at any given time. Later in the map, it opens up a bit more and you have some more choice, but early on it does a good job guiding the player. Which is good, because for a map this size, the alternative could be overwhelming. The pseudo-linearity is well-disguised so it shouldn't bug players who dislike linearity. (I personally love it, but I digress.)

 

 

At the beginning of the map, we get a nice archvile jump scare, presumably giving us a preview of all the archies we'll be fighting. And fight them we will! There are multiple ambushes in this map that unleash multiple archviles at the same time and you'll need to be very good at hoarding health/armor or getting out of line of sight to stand a chance. For the most part, combat in this map flows smoothly, with a good pacing between incidental combat and ambushes. The map is fun to explore; even though the macro scale is the main draw of the map, DFF sprinkles around just enough cool details to keep your need for micro detail satisfied. I should also mention the way control rooms and other terminals were made in this map was incredibly aesthetically pleasing to me in a way that most maps aren't. The 'tech stuff' in this base isn't just haphazardly strewn around; placement of things makes logical sense. Hats off for that.

 

I loved that room where the cacodemons were trapped in cages, slightly sunk below the floor. Besides the area looking cool as hell, the cacos were so annoying to kill! But in a good way, heh. The music track was a great choice, since it is rather inoffensive and exudes exploratory vibes. I didn't tire of it after nearly an hour. In conclusion, this map is a marvel. I'd love to read some backstory behind it. How is it possible for one of the most active contributors to the wad to make a map this big and impressive solo, while having time to contribute elsewhere?

 

Map ranking (favorite -> least)

6 11 4 2 8 3 10 9 7 5 1

Edited November 11, 2021 by Krenium : add some more details about what I liked

[Book Lord]

MAP 11 – Slipgate Ex Nihilo by DFF

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

 

I have played a handful of maps by @DFF, though nothing of the calibre of Slipgate Ex Nihilo. Going through this prolonged and immersive experience was the best way to get familiar with this brilliant mapper, rightfully mentioned in Cacowards 2020 as one of the most promising newcomers. Considering that I typically loathe extensive and oversized maps, the fact that I never felt bored, at loss, or wasting my time during this 67’ journey is a proof that visuals, layout and gameplay were all top-notch.

 

A rather unsettling start featured twelve Arch-Viles disappearing into the darkness, leaving me alone in front of a bizarre portal. They will turn up for the appointment in due time, leading a surprise attack at every progression step. After a short but animated ascent through hellish caves, the first spectacular vista appeared before my eyes: a rocky cliff dipping down towards the black void, where countless souls twinkled like will-o’-the-wisp, and a monumental loading bay in the background, suggesting that a big tech-base was nested inside the eerie landscape.

Spoiler

The large installation was entered “from the back door” and required a thorough exploration before I could start cracking its puzzle. Firstly, I descended a staircase to the south-eastern edge of the cliff, where I found plenty of monsters to kill and resources scattered on the ground like candies. I returned to the centre of the base, taking note of the position of coloured doors and force fields. BK unlocked the green force fields and lay abandoned under a fake 3D bridge in the northern portion of the level, preceded by a large teleport ambush. The RK deactivated the red fields and was found by just following the new route behind the green barrier. The second Arch-Vile attack in the force field control chamber was particularly vicious, with the healer resurrecting a lot of baddies before I could locate him.

Spoiler

 

 

The YK search was slightly less clear, since there were multiple red force fields leading to a yellow door with bars, while the correct path was in the room with the bright yellow pool. It led to a lava-filled reactor chamber, a computer room with glass windows, and finally to the YK seen before in the cargo bay. No need to say the outdoor area was repopulated, and I had a great time hiding from the Arch-Viles and fighting back from behind the rocks. The quest went on: I backtracked to the yellow door, endured intense fights through halls with bottomless pits and stuck Cacodemons, until I reached a control room with hitscanners waiting for me on top of the elevator. A bit rough, I must say. The switch opened the bars and granted access to the warehouse at the bottom, quickly reached thanks to a teleporter shortcut.

Spoiler

A Doomcute forklift decorated the place, which was one of the last uniquely detailed areas before reaching the exit through a silent teleporter, creating the illusion of being at a lower floor, supported by the final outdoor area having the same shape of the terrace at the upper level. The alert sounds of hellspawn came from the big gate and I somehow expected them to come from there. They teleported in front of me instead, in full force, but it was possible to make a run for the slipgate building, guarded only by a few zombies and Imps, then annihilate the horde from there. It was not the real end though, since a rather mean Arch-Vile trio was about to ambush me in a dark room with no escape and only a few pillars for cover. A trap like this, coming after more than an hour of play where I was challenged without dying, gives me confidence that playing PWADs with saves is the right choice.

Spoiler

It was a sour note to end an immersive and pleasurable experience, paired with the disappointment about the huge unexplored area hinted by Computer Area Map. I found 6 secrets but was very far from unveiling the full sequence to open the yellow force field. I had not enough time to search properly, so I opened the map yesterday in Doom Builder trying to understand. It was tough to figure out and I am really surprised that somebody found it on their first try, especially the totally invisible and unmarked ammo box in the first room. The way back to start was not sealed but I would never have considered backtracking for so long on my first encounter with Slipgate Ex Nihilo.

 

A very long and complex map, it was so engaging that I only checked the clock when I was behind the exit door, with only a few rooms left. I still prefer Doom levels to be more compact or split up in parts, but I see the charm in polished and carefully designed adventures like this, if compared to the never-ending slogs showcased in older megaWADs. This was without question an extraordinary level to end the first episode, and one of the highlights of Interception 2.

Edited November 11, 2021 by Book Lord

[finnks13]

MAP 11 - Slipgate Ex Nihilo by DFF:

So I'll lay my cards on the table here: I don't enjoy long, sprawling 'epics' such as Alien Vendetta's Misri Halek, Eviternity's Dehydration and BTSX's Underground Initiations. I can appreciate that for all of these maps an enourmous amount of effort has been put into their design and layout and this map is no exception - I can commend the ambition and scale and I wouldn't be surprised if this was many people's favourite map in the wad.

 

The map ditches the green fortress in a green void aesthetic for a very nice rusty, brown techbase in a black void one, and I think it pulls it off very well. The map is thoroughly detailed with some fun small touches throughout - love that forklift! I thought the secrets were interesting and a few led to a secret BFG which was a cool and eerie sequence. Was expecting something awful to appear when I picked up that BFG but beyond the archvile jump up there and the pinkie horde before it, there wasn't anything else - I suppose this isn't exactly the kind of vibe this map is going for so that's just on me!

 

The best parts of the map for me was the introduction of the large staircase with hitscanners (which was mostly because it was hilarious), the rocket launcher fight which took me a couple of attempts to get without being fried and the large outdoor ambush near where the berserk pack is located, which was definitely the most enjoyable part of the map. The majority of the rest of the combat was less interesting (though this was because the most of the enemies in the map were fodder and I was very well supplied to deal with that) and the final fight in the downstairs area before the exit trap was a bit of a letdown because while it looked quite intimidating it was incredibly easy - just plasma the pain elementals behind you and then stand still and shoot a load of rockets at horde (I hadn't found the BFG either at this point). I found the final four archviles at the exit a cute callback to the beginning of the level, even if the BFG trivialised it (that's what it's for though, isn't it!) and I think it ended the map on a pretty good note.

 

Something which is very good about this map is, unlike most other maps of its type, I didn't find that it was a slog to play through and complete after a while unlike the three maps I mentioned (and plenty more marathon maps that I didn't bother to mention) in the first paragraph. This may be because of the fairly low difficulty, but I do think it is impressive to have a map this long play fairly 'quickly'. I must admit I was dreading this map after reading that it could take over an hour to complete, even though I managed to get through it in around 35 minutes as I've never cared about finding secrets unless there's hidden fights in them. Overall, I had a better time than I expected and I think this map was a good closer to the first episode and I applaude the effort and ambition put into it. I hope this write-up doesn't sound too negative as I did think the map was good!

 

Overall thoughts on Episode 1:

I enjoyed this a lot more than I thought I would - this isn't a megawad I would have chosen to play were it not for this and I'm very glad that I bothered to join this month. I think the difficulty curve for this episode is a bit backwards as I found the first half much more challenging than the second half due to the lack of ammo in the first few maps which is not really a factor in any map after map 6 - and I didn't think the fights in the later maps were much more difficult than the ones in the earlier maps to make up for this. That's not a big deal though, I can appreciate that difficulty curves are hard to do in megawads, especially if you're trying to ammo balance for continuous play (having failed to do both of these things myself!) and I thought the maps themselves were pretty good.

 

I've always liked the voidscape aesthetic that's found in a lot of hell episodes in doom wads and I think the green void is a cool choice to mix that formula up, and who doesn't love castles? The maps were very polished and none of them were bad, I didn't enjoy a couple though that's more of a personal taste thing as the quality of the level design was good throughout. Looking forward to Episode 2!

 

Rankings for Episode 1:

Spoiler

(Favourite)

Map 6 - What Could Go Wrong?

Map 7 - The Everlaster

Map 2 - Beyond the Living

Map 10 - Eldritch Apparitions

Map 4 - That Which Shall Not be Named

Map 5 - Astral Castle

Map 11 - Slipgate Ex Nihilo

Map 9 - Belly of the Beast

Map 1 - Euphoria

Map 8 - Bermuda

Map 3 - Desecration

(Least Favourite)

 

(Don't put too much stock into these, I mostly ranked them off of how I was feeling about the maps immediately after playing them by giving each a number grade.)

 

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP11 - Slipgate Ex Nihilo - DFF (93%K/90%I/54%S): 

Ok, this is it, DFF's magnum opus and one of the big maps he has made for Interception II. A map that could take you 40 minutes in-game time, with a semi-linear structure, focusing around caves and tech-bases in a big void. After we fall right into the nothingness the belly of the beast is, we land near a teleporter, that sends us into void itself. If you thought most of the previous maps were long, this takes all the cake. There are lots of open space for you to navigate, although the map may be mostly linear, it will never feel repetitive. What I like is how getting keys and using them opens some force-field gates, those are really cool to look at, and a really interesting effect you can do in the Doom engine. In fact, I remember copying this trick for the portals blocking your way in MAP02. Said force-fields have the color of the key you need, so make sure to remember where they are located, some of them may be way at the start for you to backtrack and uncover secrets.
The map was not that hard at least in HMP, but it has its moments, I think UV may be waaay harder for sure. The last fight, though, can end your run at the very end of it, the four arch-viles at the void itself, a place similar to the starting room, and really small pillars for you to hide from them. Love it. 
This is for sure the best map of the wad, unless I've miss some other one right at the end of development, MAP20 comes in mind, but I think that got changed or rejected(or withdrawn for further use in other projects).  My only grippe is that, in HMP it was not that hard, there are several invulnerability spheres and ammo here and there, so I've never really struggled for it, in fact this map left me pretty stocked up for the next map, and sadly, there is no death exit here. I think this map should have ended on a death exit so you wouldn't carry all that ammo for the next map.
A master piece by DFF.


(HMP Playthrough - PrBoom+)

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP11

MAP06
MAP10
MAP09

MAP05

MAP04

MAP03
MAP07
MAP08

MAP02
MAP01

 

 

[Doritos420]

Map11 - Slipgate Ex Nihilo by DFF

 

Wow, what a level. Don't have too many specifics to say, I played this one late at night, had just got home from a little party and was pretty tired and just tried to play and relax. What I was greeted with was a beastly level that was just epic. The beginning set up a spooky atmosphere and gave a nifty secret. The bloody cliffs area was just a little warmup for the mammoth tech base ahead. Extremely intricate level that somehow managed to stay intuitive and not be a slog despite the long length and intimidating monster count. Great use of verticality, and cool progression. This is a level that demands a revisit, I want to take apart and see how it works. I only got about half the secrets and ended up beating it with a good amount of monsters still left (not sure where they were though). Very well done.

[FrancisT218]

DFF maps in I2 were great. There's two more solo showings later on as well! I think he definitely went for large adventures with his three Interception II maps, as I have played several of his non-I2 levels and they are medium/comfort sized. (Nothing wrong with that BTW!) In the later category, Akeldama; Rudy 2; and Mohawk 2 come to mind along with McBoat and Hellevator/Skulltiverse. But DFF has IMO definitely shown he can do well in either category, while not quite going (to date) up to the scale of Eviternity's Anagnorisis, surely one of my all time favorite DooM maps. (FWIW @finnks13 on the topic of Eviternity maps I do NOT like Dehydration however, I find that to be the sloggy kind of big, and lacking the vast majority of what made me never wish for Anagnorisis to end, though I did split Anagnorisis into several sittings when I played it, but was always looking forward to coming back. Whereas Dehydration I crushed in one sitting cause I just wanted to be done with it. BTSX actually not played to date; Misri Halek I do like until the end when it got quite confusing where to go which definitely blemishes it a bit.)

[finnks13]

14 minutes ago, FrancisT218 said:

FWIW @finnks13 on the topic of Eviternity maps I do NOT like Dehydration however, I find that to be the sloggy kind of big, and lacking the vast majority of what made me never wish for Anagnorisis to end, though I did split Anagnorisis into several sittings when I played it, but was always looking forward to coming back. Whereas Dehydration I crushed in one sitting cause I just wanted to be done with it. BTSX actually not played to date; Misri Halek I do like until the end when it got quite confusing where to go which definitely blemishes it a bit.

 

For really long maps like these, I tend to prefer maps that have very memorable moments or fights that stand out to me as I'm playing through them. I find a map being fairly bland combat wise less of an issue when a map is quite small, as I can view it as a break map, or just a smaller interlude in a larger set of maps. That's part of the reason why I like Anagorisis in spite of how large it is, because there are a lot of really memorable moments in it - the 400 lost soul fight, the yellow key archvile swarm and the final battle to name a few (I haven't played Eviternity for nearly 2 years at this point too, so that should show how well it's stuck in my memory).

 

Misri Halek is an excellent looking map, but I don't find it very memorable beyond the excellent opening shot of the pyramid as so much of it is SSGing mid-tier monsters in small corridors. Though with any of these maps, I still find them quite impressive from a scale perspective even if I don't like them because I couldn't even begin to imagine how I would go about making a map of that magnitude - the longest map I've ever made was around 20 minutes and that's mostly because it was a slaughtermap and the few fights in it took a long time to complete.

 

There were definitely a few memorable parts in this map that I talked about it my write-up - the hitscanner staircase and the outside fight with the berserk and invulnerability - and I think that's part of the reason (along with the fact that the map isn't a slog to play because of how well supplied you are) that I had a pretty good time with Slipgate Ex Nihilo. I haven't played either of DFF's other solo maps in Interception 2 yet (I've just finished Map31), but this map has made me interested to see if they are as good as his first.

[MtPain27]

MAP 08: Bermuda

Apologies in advance for this review and the next one, I played maps 08 and 09 a few days ago and my recollections of them are musty. Another solid map given a substantial lift by another delightful Eris Falling MIDI, Bermuda starts strong, with a frantic staircase fight ringed with hitscanners that spews monsters out of a pentagram in the center. The bars thankfully block the pain elemental's spawns, so you can take out the hitscanners, run up and down the stairs, and let everything infight without too much hassle. Bermuda leans on vanilla textures, especially in the courtyard with the bridge, which reminds me a bit of Hell Revealed 2 for purely aesthetic reasons.

 

 

I wasn't a huge fan of the fights that took place atop lava, rad suits weren't restricted or anything, but the action felt a bit dry and/or circle-strafe-ish. I did like the dimly lit cave section, partly because I found the secret with the night vision goggles and BFG, and partly because I always like how lava lights up dark spaces. The final room that springs an arch-vile on you when you try to leave is quite a looker as well. Bermuda isn't the strongest map in this set, but it's a pretty damn strong set, so nothing to be ashamed of there. 

 

MAP 09: Belly of the Beast

This is another one I felt mostly neutral about: BotB gets off to a bad start, throwing lots of hitscanners and heavies in your face point blank, hammering you with traps in narrow hallways until around the midpoint, when things open up significantly. The yellow key fight is the highlight of this map for sure, a rocket fiesta on three fronts: hitscanners piling in from the top of the hill, pinkies and imps swarming from below, and revenants and hell knights bleeding in from the hallway, blocking attempts to escape. Great stuff. I got lost after I found the soul sphere secret, the way forward was almost harder to find than the translucent wall switch, it's such a small and un-obvious little corridor I almost iddt'd to progress. Then again, I'm impatient and rather lazy about figuring stuff out myself these days. I'm surprised no one posted an image of the final shot which is some gnarly Lovecraft shit, very freaky and impressive. I'm inclined to agree with those above who have suggested that this map and the next one ought to have their titles switched, but MAP 09's current title works as a nice bit of foreshadowing for 10...maybe "Into the Beast's Belly" would have been better...I'm sorry, I had to.

 

 

MAP 10: Eldritch Apparitions

What a gorious--I mean, glorious--opening shot! I take my hat off to Moustachio here, the first five minutes of this map could have been pure zombiemen pistoling and I wouldn't have cared, this is some resplendent ickiness, probably the best intestine-themed map I've played since Indigestion from Going Down. This big monster seems to make a habit of carefully swallowing explosive barrels, because the whole map is pockmarked with them. Another nice bit of translucent texturing guards a secret (berserk), and this goes for most of the megawad so far, but I found the automap, and it wasn't too helpful, haha. So many hidden linedefs, and hardly any secret cues. Oh well. 

 

The fight that comes after you use the yellow and blue keys to open the cave maw Doom Eternal-style was a blast, and the final fight was even better. I audibly whooped when the two cybers joined the furor, and the two arch-viles that show up at the end gave me a good zing. I think I glitched the map somehow at the very end, because I shot rockets into the two lava pockets with the voodoo dolls at the end, and one of them worked, but I just killed myself on the other one, because the doll was right at the bottom of the opening...I can't say for sure what happened, but I got all the kills and noclipped to the exit. I'm going to save my energy for DFF's monster map tomorrow: Eldritch Apparitions set the bar very high!

 

[cannonball]

MAP11 - “Slipgate Ex Nihilo” by DFF

 

Large magnum opus style maps really need to sell their narrative and theme to really be a hit.

This one just about makes it across the line.

The theme comes across as you entering a techbase stuck in a mix of rocky/fiery rock and the void you fell into after the previous map. The map largely holds your hand in terms of progression, worth noting that memory will be as useful for secret hunting as your eyes here as a couple are hidden behind forcefields that are essentially out of your way. The gameplay is for the most part engaging, functional and surprisingly forgiving given some of the pain suffered in the previous 10 maps. You should be able to handle the opposition here with enough cover in the cramp sections and enough space in the more oppressive mobs thrown at the player. 

The final fight is a bit of a shock, however the tight space works for you here if you have enough rockets as you can easily take all three down quickly if you are aggressive enough, just the one death thanks to pulling out my plasma gun by mistake the first time.

I found map10 to be the more compelling map, however this was a fine effort and the environmental narrative spun over the past couple of maps was very well done. Properly sold on your return to at least some kind of reality in the same realm as Earth....

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Pistol-Start/Saves

Map 11: Slipgate Ex Nihilo - DFF

100% kills and secrets

Time: 55:22

 

This is it. This is my favorite map in the WAD. It's a gigantic techbase in a pitch-black void that is just oozing with detail. There's a lot here that's going to be hard to distil into one post like this, so I'll just go over some main points. First of all, despite being huge, it's fairly linear. There are some non-linear parts to it, but those areas give you some nice scenery, fights, and goodies. It's actually pretty hard to get lost. I'm pretty sure the only archies in this map are the ones that jumpscare you at the beginning, making you think this is going be another one of those map 11s. Thankfully, it's not. This playthrough, the first archie didn't show up until like the 15 minute mark, though they are used pretty effectively as either a blocking mechanism, or an undo button to the carnage you just did. I forgot the beginning of this was on some rocky cliffs, but that is a nice setup to the main reveal of the techbase. The keys in this map are used to deactivate force fields, so as long as you have been paying attention, you should remember where you need to go after deactivating them. I managed to find all 11 secrets this time. I know I had trouble finding a few before, including all 3 crate secrets. These ones feature a lowering crate in each, and once all 3 are found, you're able to deactivate the yellow force field near the back door of the base by hitting a switch just before the exit door. This alternate area is super cool, featuring some mad dashes over lava crushers, a mandatory archvile jump, and fisting some pinkies, all to grab the BFG. Just in time for the final fight, which makes it super useful. You have a big wave of monsters to deal with (including an archie and some pain elementals), so BFG them, but make sure to save some ammo. The exit teleporter takes you back to the void where you have to deal with the final 3 archies with only a few pillars for cover. NBD for the BFG. Other than these fights, there's not a lot of super intense ones. It's a lot of incidental combat, which is incredibly impressive given the size of this thing. No fight seems unfair, as there's usually plenty of ammo and health to go around. There's a few tricky situations here for sure though. I know I died a few times last playthrough, so I'm very surprised I didn't this time! And the detailing in this level is phenomenal. I loved seeing floating decorations in the black void. It's pretty eerie. There's so much detail in the techbase itself too, like the crate usage, monitors, a forklift toward the end, etc. I'll echo some others and say I have no idea how DFF managed to not only make this beast of a level, but to also make MORE levels in this WAD. It's insane. This level made me take notice of DFF, and I honestly can't wait to see what else they have in store for us in the future. This is a fantastic level, and one of the best techbase levels I've played in a very long time. Bravo!

[Dragonker]

MAP11 - “Slipgate Ex Nihilo” by DFF

 

Woof! * HMP * Pistol start * Saves

 

Anticipating that it would take a while, I played this on short bursts through the morning. Spoiler: it's as awesome as everybody is saying.

MAP11 is a dramatic shift in aesthetics. Gone is the green void, now the sky is as dark as a nerd's heart on prom night. Great-looking techbase sprout from stone cliffs. To summarize: space station built on the face of a mountain. There's a nice variety of textures without straying far from the theme; every room looks interesting by itself while being part of the greater whole. The attention to detail is palpable, specially inside the main building—I love those futuristic, see-through doors. The author wants to create an experience, no two ways about it. Both the opening and the finale mirror each other, giving a sense of completeness. The floating candelabra is a nice touch, and the map is full of little things like that. Here's another: I found a cliff that makes a mouth (with decor serving as two eyes) if seen from the correct angle. Took a pic of it, but lost the screenshot.

 

The gameplay is pretty approachable, at least on HMP: two invulnerability spheres, easy access to plasma gun and rocket launcher, and plenty of pickups. The treacherous combo of pain elementals + arch-viles is used again but there's plenty of cover. Even so, the usage of pain elementals align this map firmly on Chaotic Evil territory. Roll a natural 20 or go home.

 

Verticality (is that a word?) is used to great effect, both for aesthetic as for combat. Lots of imps can chip away your health if you aren't careful, as well as a chaingunner here and there. Some secrets are all about switch hunting, and I found many this time.

 

This is just below MAP02 as my favorite map so far. Great work.

 

Edit: Found it!

Spoiler

Edited November 11, 2021 by Dragonker

[Book Lord]

MAP 12 – Deep Space Mine by Moustachio

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

 

The sinister visions of the Realm of Souls are behind Doomguy, but his pilgrimage continues in the second episode of Interception 2. The slipgate sent him to a derelict base under a billion stars, still a long way from home. @Moustachio got a firm hold on the megaWAD narrative with Deep Space Mine, initiating a series of space station levels where the character travels with a shuttle from one place to another.

 

The atmosphere reminded me of Crater from TNT, sharing the MAP12 slot. The starry skybox, the rocky brown cliffs around the base, many texture choices in the indoor areas roused fond memories of the iWAD. However, the level was more compact and far from abandoned; quite the opposite, it was stuffed with enemies and wild teleport ambushes, especially in the last segment before reaching the spaceship launch pad.

Spoiler

The numerous alerted hitscanners incited me to clear the outside area first, an operation which was carried out with basic weapons and a couple of rockets, my only advantage over the pistol starters. Then I entered deep inside the base, reaching a nukage-filled area with several useful resources and the RK. The keycard granted access to the northern part of the level, which was made of two connected chambers, which in turn were divided in two levels at different height. Elevated enemies made good use of their position, especially an Arch-Vile, but I was able to snipe them from below.

Spoiler

An Imp horde including Pain Elementals was released by pressing the switch near the rocket launcher, but the real challenges began after collecting the BK. Revenants and an Arch-Vile emerged from a concealed room, then zombies and Imps teleported in, meeting me on the ground floor. They appeared slowly and gave me false hope that the wave had ended. The way to the YK was almost already clear because of my previous exploration, but I wanted to pick up the BFG when I figured out the secret. By my return to the northern halls, I found them repopulated with Revenants and another Arch-Vile, who had been quite active with fallen bodies.

 

This dirty trick preceded the end of the level, which I found just behind the yellow door. As I entered the shuttle to leave the station, I was disconcerted by the missing kills, secrets, and items. I found my share of concealed stuff and did not imagine there was a Megasphere with another massive teleport in the north-eastern corner of the map. I also missed the Soul Sphere at the start because I tend to keep distance from Security Armours. A perfectly fine level to carry on the journey, its visuals were not mind-blowing (e.g., the featureless and oddly textured shuttle), but adequate to represent another nice tech-base. The combat scenarios, the numerous secrets, and the multiple paths of exploration were the main strengths of Deep Space Mine.

Edited November 12, 2021 by Book Lord

[RHhe82]

MAP12, Deep Space Mine, played on UV, DSDA-Doom, blind, with saves. 100% kills and secrets. Completion time 29:12.

 

After a beast of a map I guess one is easily disappointed. Deep Space Mine is not a bad map, but it does feel bland, especially the starting area with tekgrens and all. It looks a bit like stock Doom 2 map. When I got to outdoor area, I was sniping arachnotrons and pain elementals with chaingun, such a chore.

 

After that the level does pick up, but while combat is fun enough, I guess the problem is the map looks like a standard Doom 2 map, where as so far we've had floating castles in poison green alien dimension or beastly bowels. I couldn't let go of the downbeat mood triggered by first impressions. Still, the fights near the end of the map are enjoyable with hordes of lower tier enemies, revenants (the ones I fought, not sniped with chaingun) and archviles. Speaking of archviles though, I'm not sure I liked how the map punishes player with two archies for finding the megasphere secret.

 

As for the layout, I did like how the parts of the map interconnect. @Book Lord suggested this map reminded of TNT Map Crater, and I do see the resemblance. If the map was part of Evilution map set, Deep Space Mine would put all the rest of the levels to shame.

 

I'll have it on record that Deep Space Nine is my favourite incarnation of Star Trek by far (see my profile pic) and I did recognize the doomcute runabout at the end of the map :)

 

Little off-topic: I wonder why my DoomLauncher won't save statistics for MAP11. MAP10 went okay, as did MAP12. My self-diagnosed OCD does not approve.
 

[DFF]

Map11: Slipgate Ex Nihilo by Me

UV, Continuous, GZdoom, Corruption Cards 3.1 (card: Mancubus have acid health).
K: 92%, S: 81% T: 29:26

 

I decided to opt out of my own super secret since I have played this map way to many times and i want to get to the response. I also took acid health from mancubi since the other options were weaving hell knight projectiles and the other I forgot but it was equally as nasty.

Boy, I appreciate all the great reviews and comments on the map. Im quite relieved that the length was not too long or dreary, since this was probably the map's biggest problem for most of its development. Surprisingly I didn't cut out any areas the the map currently doesn't have, but there was some major changes made which made many areas optional. The entire outside loop with the zombie staircase used to be a mandatory path, where the player could go either that route or the inner tech roadway, where upon grabbing the blue key underneath the bridge, the large bunker door from the side you came would shut itself and force you to finish the loop using the other side. This was the biggest time chunk cut as i made that an alternate section with a invulnerability bonus for making the effort, and a section of the ground was removed so players couldn't access the red key. The other major time cut (much smaller) had the player being forced to go into the cargo room, and they had to climb on the forklift and run around the rim of the wall where the health bonuses were to get onto the elevator. A small diversion but one that was just not necessary.

Many are surprised i was able to contribute such a large contribution and them make 2 other maps and have a hand in several others. I did have a lot more free time back then so it was not that difficult, but as I had mentioned earlier, Interception 2 had a very long development. I had saved 8 major changes to map 11, with the earliest being May 13th of 2018 and the last being may 19th of 2019 incidentally. If i recall correctly this WAD started development sometime at the end of 2017 or early 2018. Majority of my initial time for this map was spend then, with the next 2 some years used to either make my second map (much smaller by comparison), my third map (one that was made much later in development, and was an amalgamation of a few unreleased maps up to that point, more on that later this month), and making small to medium modifications to the other maps. It was a lot of work done by me, but it was over a decently long period of time, and during that time Interception 2 was the main thing I worked on.

Of the other changes this map saw over its development, there was probably only a few very notable changes over the years. Suprisingly I always had a clear idea in mind of what I wanted with the map, so version 1 played and looked pretty close to the final version, with the biggest difference being the change to the outer ring. For one thing the map used to be green, as i wanted to keep the connection to the lost soul dimension while still having the void aesthetic. I took the green rock textures from Deus Vult 2, and i liked them but a lot of people found it to be an ugly sort of watermelon look, which I can understand. the latest version i think is a lot cleaner and more palatable, so I appreciate those that convinced me to do the swap. A few other texture choices for the buildings were deemed questionable and were cleaned up/replaced by Moustachio at some point, a change i also greatly appreciated. For a brief time there also was kinda ugly colored arros on the ground of the facility to help with direction, but this was quickly changed with the much cleaner colored lines on the walls, which some may or may not have noticed. I tried to keep respective areas and the directions to their keys rather color coded. The courtyard outside the yellow key path also used to have a red and later blue forcefield meaning you couldn't get back up top or that area until getting the respective keys. This was also changed as there was no reason to block off that section from the player and made accessibility greater. The final big change was that this map actually did use to have a death exit, which was a large explosion after a rainbow Slipgate sequence. This was removed since Moustachio decided he didn't want death exits per chapter. That and I wasn't exactly sure how to make a cool teleport sequence, and the original result was described like the scene from Spaceballs where they went from Ludicrous speed to "plaid". The MIDI used to be Pluvious from the Plutonia MIDI pack before Stewboy made the superb MIDI for this map, named "'There Lies the Sky". I greatly appreciate the track he made for this map and it would not feel the same without it, an honor to have a great track from a talented creator.

 

One of the main focuses I had for this map (and many of my maps) is that I like when my maps have some sort of more realistic dimmensioning and impression to them. Something that is wildly fantastical, but just ever so slightly plausible. I wanted this complex to look like it was used at some point, like a facility initially used by the UAC to reach this alternate dimension, but one that eventually was lost in the deepest depth of the dimension, something that was maybe lost for decades until the player came upon it. I also did things like modelling the underneath of the complex to match a similar section above to help create the sense of the player that it was not a detached section of map, and that the map was larger than it seemed. Its hard to make a large piece of scenery or map look like its floating in air in Boom format doom, so I'm glad i achieved some facsimile of a floating complex in the void.

The only other points I can really add to it was that I always liked having my maps full of fun secrets to explore and find, and I had decided from the start i wanted to make a grand chapter finale, and as such i wanted a multi-staged secret. I forget why I chose the crates to be the secrets to unlock the alternate secret route, but i liked what I had done with them. The secret path itself I always envisioned like the Doom equivalent to the Death routes form the crash Bandicoot games, an alternate and much more difficult path for those who wanted to go out of their way for it. I wanted a short but slightly more technical challenge. something that wasn't just a slaughter or only more demons to slaughter. So i designed the tricky platform section and the archvile jump sequence which I think i got designed decently well, but i can see where its probably not everyone's cup of tea.

 

23 hours ago, RHhe82 said:

Then a small batch of demons and then, such a sweet surprise. I'm looking at you, hacker. Pathetic creature of meat and bone. Loved it, loved the map, hats off to DFF.

As for the System shock 2 reference. I wanted something fun and referential at the end of the secret (much like Build games such as Duke Nukem or Blood), and I was actually playing a System Shock 2 run at the time, a game i very much enjoy, so it was fun adding the hub from one of the more ominous sections of the ship. 

I hope this doesn't sound like too much self grandeur. The map was a flash of inspiration, in a theme (void) that i really really like with doom. I am just pleased that people generally enjoy it. Hopefully this insight was interesting at all. I'll try to minimize the writeups for my other maps but there was a lot of interesting points to discuss on this maps development. Theres plenty of other great maps in this WAD to discuss as well, looking forward to many of them.

[TJG1289]

2 hours ago, DFF said:

The secret path itself I always envisioned like the Doom equivalent to the Death routes form the crash Bandicoot games, an alternate and much more difficult path for those who wanted to go out of their way for it. I wanted a short but slightly more technical challenge. something that wasn't just a slaughter or only more demons to slaughter.

 

Holy crap, that makes total sense now. It does feel like a death route. That's really cool!

[finnks13]

MAP 12 - Deep Space Mine by Moustachio:

A fairly quiet opening to episode 2, which seems to be techbase themed, this is a shorter, more laid-back map than the previous two. The techbase the map is set in seems to be dug into some sort of asteroid, I assume from the story text (and the map name!) that Doomguy has been transported far into space away from Earth, and the map itself is again really nice visually, there's been lots of care put into introducing the episode's themes.

 

The map doesn't really hold much opposition to the player, especially if you're happy to be pretty gung-ho with rockets and plasma (I had 400 bullets, 100 shells, and no rockets or cells at the end!) but this is the norm for episode openers so I think this is OK. Most of the combat is incidental and the key ambushes don't pose any threat really - the blue key ambush would be quite hard were it not for the fact that you can just bottleneck all the revenants and archvile on the staircase leading up to it. The yellow key ambush can be much more challenging depending on how smart the archvile decides to be - the first time I did the fight, the archvile resurrected 3 enemies and stayed outside but the second time (after I got lost and died in some nukage like an idiot), the archvile ran inside and resurrected the horde of fodder monsters inside the blue key room. 

 

I did enjoy the horde of imps that appeared when picking up the rocket launcher (who doesn't love blowing up imps?) and I liked the fight that happens when you go outside for the first time - the arachnotrons and hitscanners exert a decent amount of pressure on you, requiring you to close the gap fast - this was also the best looking part of the map I thought. I also want to mention this MIDI in this map, as I really enjoyed how relaxing but also quietly intense it was at the same time. Overall, it was a fine opener to the second episode, if a little less interesting than the previous couple of maps.