The DWmegawad Club plays: Doom the Way id Did (& Ultimate DTWID!)

[elic]

History lesson on E3M8 and my DTWID experience:

 

My first dtwid submission was a normal-length E3 style map which I eventually released as Castle of Fear. Honestly it's a pretty mediocre level - there's a handful of neat E3 style visuals but the combat is boring and lacks the creative energy of the original episode. In retrospect I had a pretty messed up attitude when making the map. At the time I was convinced that the original doom was highly overrated within the community compared to succeeding world of custom levels (I guess still believe this a bit, but less strongly), and designed the level as more of an experiment to match what I saw as the blandness of the original E3... really not a great set of conditions for inspired mapping. Not really sure why I decided to work on the project in the first place - guess I just couldn't ignore all the excitement buzzing from the project thread.

 

At some point I added a spider boss arena to the E3 submission, turning it into an E3M8 contender, though I removed it before the map's idgames release (instead ending the map with a cyb fight making use of the E4M6 special sector tags). I forgot if the arena had any similarities to what became Core, but this got me interested in the challenge of creating a non-underwhelming E3M8. I then started Core with the goal of making a spider boss battle that was worthy of being Doom's final level, as well as being not completely trivial to beat with the BFG.

 

I'd say I failed at that final point (it's definitely less BFG-cheesable than Dis, but not by a whole lot), yet I'm pretty satisfied overall with the final level. It's still pretty easy by today's standards, but I feel I succeeded in giving it more tactical depth than the original boss map. Standing on different points of the main star platform changes up the patterns of enemy fire you're exposed to, and while I can understand some finding the spider's raising and lowering cover walls being boring to wait for, I think they were a successful method of extending the fight's length. I'm particularly happy with the items under the crushers. The idea was to make going for the items a risk - is getting that blusphere worth risking getting crushed (and taking guaranteed damage from the lift platform) for?

 

Around the time the level was accepted into the final maplist, someone (@Xaser I think?) made some modifications to my submitted version. The teleport line onto the star platform after dropping into the arena was added (for reasons unknown to me) and the whole level was retextured (my original version was mostly textured with the green marble texture Sandy loves so much). I have mixed feelings on the retexturing - the level definitely looks cooler than it originally did, but also less id-like in my eyes.

 

Looks like level has had pretty scattershot reception here which is fine - it's been long enough since I've made it that I'm not taking any of the feedback personally and am mostly just interested in how people feel about a pretty unusual map. No apologies for making the lifts damaging though... :P

(...don't really get why (semi) mandatory damaging floors are so controversial in the first place - they create some interesting tactical situations and this case it's not like the level is already that hard. Guess people are just convinced that hell should play fair)

 

After completing Core I made another dtwid submission, this time an E1 level similarly boring to my first E3 submission which once again was fortunately rejected. In this case the level had an unexpectedly bright future, as I recycled it into a chunk of Interception's MAP28 where it ended up working much better as an ominous arch-vile hive.

[DJVCardMaster]

E4M1 - Into the Grave  - Walker "Pavera" Wright *John Romero* (100%K/96%I/50%S):

Great map, that goes quite accordingly to Romeros phylosophy of mapping and style for E4, taking inspirations from both E4M2 and E4M6, aswell as having the classic "cages with columns at the side" style taken from Doom 2 maps, just like The Abandoned Mines or The Circle of Death. Quite Romero-esque, it even gives you those Sigil looks at times. The map's main gimmick is teleporting monsters in quite an slaughtery way for Doom 1 standards, hitscanners can be a nightmare here if you don't take them out quickly. The map was quite nice and short as a good episode opener, but it needed to have some kind of twist like the original E4M1, then, Pavera puts me some rockets right at the end, oh no, don't tell me there is a... and there is, a cyberdemon fight right at the first level. Yes, all two maps by Romero in E4 have Cyberdemons, so that's a check. 5 out of 5 IDness. Also, the best starter map in the entire mapset. Good job. 

IDness ratio: 5/5

(UV Playthrough - Crispy Doom)

Order of Preference:
 

Spoiler

E3M3
E3M7
E3M6
E3M9

E2M6

E1M4
E4M1
E3M5
E2M7
E1M7
E3M4
E2M1
E3M2
E2M9
E2M2
E1M5
E1M6
E3M1

E1M3
E2M4

E1M2
E1M8
E3M8
E1M1
E1M9
E2M8
E2M5
E2M3

 

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by DJVCardMaster

[LadyMistDragon]

1 hour ago, Processingcontrol said:

 

Around the time the level was accepted into the final maplist, someone (@Xaser I think?) made some modifications to my submitted version. The teleport line onto the star platform after dropping into the arena was added (for reasons unknown to me) and the whole level was retextured (my original version was mostly textured with the green marble texture Sandy loves so much). I have mixed feelings on the retexturing - the level definitely looks cooler than it originally did, but also less id-like in my eyes.

 

 

I'm personally of the opinion that green marble is a texture that should be used far more conservatively than it often is (sorry Sandy, notsoory) so I'm genuinely really glad someone decided that arena needed a colour change.

[erzboesewicht]

E3 Part 2 - UV, pistol starts, prboom-plus

 

E3M4: Torture Chambers by Captain Toenail and Jason Root

 

This map, in my opinion, achieves the perfect middle ground between "idness" and "reimagining". It doesn't reference any Inferno map in particular (at least as far as I remember), but really reminded me much of the spirit of the original third episode. There are some cruelties which Sandy perfectly could have committed, for example a bridge between an escapable and an unescapable pit, or damaging floor tunnels which seem to lead to a secret but only return you back to your starting position. Visuals are good and there are memorable places like the dark cubicles and the lava maze. Also I liked many combat situations - the start is not as evil as in E3M3, but keeps you on your toes like many Inferno starts did. Some humour is also to be found, for example the crushers helping you in killing ... two handfuls of imps you would have probably killed before. The ammo (at least if you find the rocket launcher secret) is generous enough to experiment a bit with fighting, which makes the second part of the map relatively easy, although the damaging floors limit your movability a bit and pressure you to not take too much time. I died once but also reloaded an almost-endgame save some times when searching damaging pits for secrets.

 

10/10

 

E3M5: Chapel of Scorn by Paul Corfiatis

 

Again a homage map, although one which takes elements from two originals: E2M2 and E2M5. It does it decently, enhancing the "Slough of Despair" part with damaging floors, while the "Cathedral" was divided in a little chapel and a bigger building with an underground techbase section, still respecting the lava-infested concept. Combat is also decent, with a nice ammo starvation part if you don't find the berserk/ammo secret in the chapel. The secrets were well hidden, some have some evilness in it (the one where you run around a pillar in damaging floors, and the long lava run to the plasma rifle), I found everything except the computer area map, but had to search for about 15 minutes.

 

7,5/10

 

E3M6: Depths by James Cresswell (Phobus)

 

"Tight corridors, the map" - visually this mostly-indoor, cramped map is quite the opposite of Mt. Erebus, although combat-wise it had some similarities, mainly the starting "micro-slaughter" and generally many ambushes where cacodemons played the most prominent part. Difficulty was decent, although the majority of my deaths (around 6) came in the narrow toxic crusher tunnel to the blue key, as I came into this area first and had still no armor, so these things were 100% deadly. Liked the evilness of that passage. You get almost all weapons with the exception of the BFG, and they come handy for some tight and well-made Baron fights that almost were a little bit too "modern". An enjoyable offer, and it has until now the best secret - again, maybe a bit too "modern" - the chain which leads to a certain torch, which gives you access to the secret exit.

 

9/10

[RHhe82]

E4M2: Vile Affections. DSDA v0.24, UV-PS. 100% kills and 75% secrets (one found only after looking in UDB). Comp. time 17:27. UV-MAX/Demo run in 8:56.

 

This one I didn't like that much. Probably biggest reason is the lack of health pickups and that the level looks and plays like a lower effort display after E4M1. There are a couple of tight spots, especially the one tight corridor soon after accessing the BSK door, which I guess wouldn't have been bad if there had been health. But, the only soul sphere is hidden behind a secret that comes only after this encounter. Then there is the berserk behind a stupid, stupid secret that I first thought was a mapping error when I looked it up in UDB.

 

At first I decided not to attempt a demo, but I gave in. I promised myself one try, and if that's not cutting it, then I'll just forget it. But, knowing all the secrets made the level passable, and I guess I wouldn't even have needed the Soulsphere. Berserk was essential for conserving ammo and gaining health, even if in the demo I pick it up by accident - I meant to save it for later. I still feel that one spot I survived by small amount lack instead of skill.

 

rhhe82-e4m2._dsda-doom_udtwid.zip

 

*

E4M9: Terror. DSDA v0.24, UV-PS-NoSaves. 100% kills and secrets. 1st play comp. time 17:53, UV-MAX demo comp. time 11:37. 

 

Yeah, yeah, a solid map that takes to its mother, the original E4M9, and then outshines it. It also feels surprisingly more easy than the two maps that came before it

So, like the original, this one does feel a bit like E1 map, it doesn't stray too far from its techbase origins. Perhaps the one thing that could be taken as a negative here is that it doesn't feel like a secret map, much like the OG. (I guess E4M9, be it this one or the OG, could pass for a E1 secret, if we forget about asset restrictions, then it would feel special). But whatever, I still liked Terror, just that it could have instilled the player with more... fear. That's it, maybe it was a bit too easy, indeed. I mean, I had a full load of BFG at the end, and I used a couple of charges against demons I might just as well have berserked away.

 

After my 1st playthrough I went for a demo. I thought it'd be a breeze. It kind of was, completion time dropped to little less than 12 minutes, BUT! I had to attempt it twice, because only on my first saveless attempt I discovered that one of the secrets has to be fetched the first time the way there is activated. If you miss it, then it's bye-bye for 100% secrets. I find those a little annoying, just like in E2M5, although missing this one doesn't lock you out of anything else.

 

rhhe82-e4m9_dsda-doom_udtwid.zip

[Agent Slacker]

E4M2: Vile Affections
DOOM Retro, UV, Continuous w/saves, return of the DualSense (Samuel Hayden)
 

Compared to the last level, this one is easy. The only challenge was the lack of health items. The layout of this map was pretty fun, pretty square, like most of McGee's maps. The more I think about it, the more I think, this isn't a super memorable map, but it is a fun one. I don't remember a whole lot about it, even though I just finished it (I always right these immediately after I finish a level), but I remember enjoying the encounters, the layout, all of that stuff. 
 

E4M9: Terror

Boy does this remind me of NEIS. It's not nearly as brutal, but it is as long as some of those maps can get. I'm not super fond of the use of the red brick texture here. The map itself is kinda big, and tall. As much as I'm trying to avoid direct comparisons to classic DOOM maps, I can't help but be reminded of Fear if it were more vertical, and more red. Other than a couple of monster closet ambushes, the rest of the map was pretty easy.

[DavitW]

E4M2: Vile Affections

I might have something against the Thy Flesh Consumed style, because honestly most of its maps just came across as bland and boring to me. I'm afraid this one doesn't do much for me either, and there's also not a whole lot to write about the gameplay. It may take a few tries to get through but I feel that's more due to a lack of health than it is anything else. One of those maps that just wears you down and kills you with shotgunners slowly grazing your health to zero rather than presenting you with any particularly dangerous encounters.

 

E4M9: Terror

For the most part this map did a good job of pacing itself, keeping the action relatively intense throughout. Though the lengthy trek back to one of the yellow key doors felt a bit out of place. One of those maps that's fun to play but ugly as sin to look at. Could have been the red brick of the surrounding walls clashing with the dark blue of the water, or maybe how every floor felt like it was the same old rusty brown texture. Whatever it was it didn't come across as particularly attractive to me.

e4m2.zip

e4m9.zip

[dei_eldren]

E4M9 Terror (HMP, continuous, blind): K 100%, I ???%, S 67%, D 0, T 39:16

Grade: C+ / Difficulty: C+

 

It seems the names are getting more and more incongruous with the maps they represent, ha-ha.  Not saying there's no challenge in this map, but not much by way of atmosphere or heavy opposition as the name might suggest.  At any rate, the one time i was in trouble was in an ambush of a few Pinkies and Imps which for a while got me surrounded badly and had i not had a good amount of excess health, i would have easily died, losing almost 90 HPs.  Other than the, the combat is nice, the enemy count is quite high and there's strength in numbers as they used to say. 

 

The progression is quite unintuitive, i forgot for a while the NW YSK door i'd come across earlier, but was sort of guided to the right direxion by new enemies in old areas.  i stumbled upon the Backpack (i liked this one, funny) and BFG secrets by accident (can't say at all if this was well designed or not in my opinion because no idea what opened it - generally though secrets that open in some random place by some linedef, or whatever, aren't my favourites), and couldn't figure out how to access the Soulsphere, obviously having missed the one time opportunity to get it that i now read about.  i thought it would have to be related to the central platform in the hall behind the YSK, but that turned out not to be a secret at all.  When playing i assumed a face i shot in the western route on the side of the temple had something to do with it, but i actually think more likely the teleport to it was available the whole time.  At any rate, i entirely miss the point of the switch on the platform to open the side bars of the looting area.

 

Not my favourite map, don't know how i feel about much of it, but it wasn't unpleasant to go through, even if i didn't really know where i was going most of the time.  The aesthetics were clean and well done, with imposing architecture and good-looking decorations (as perfectly exemplified by Book Lord's images).  i only remembered to take one picture.  Confusing, but at least i was able to put the BFG to good use with the first Baron of Hell of the episode. 

 

Spoiler

Spoiler

 

 

And sorry, i forgot to press record on the video.

 

Who's Who

Spoiler

Thy Flesh Consumed

E4M1 - Into the Grave - B / B-

E4M2 - Vile Affections - B- / C

E4M9 - Terror - C+ / C+

 

Inferno

E3M1 - Abyssal Stronghold - 10+/10

E3M3 - Malebolge - 10+/10

E3M9 - Lake of Fire - 10+/10

E3M2 - City of Corpses - 10/10

E3M4 - Torture Chambers - 9.5/10

E3M8 - Core - B / C+

E3M7 - Inner Sanctum - B- / C

E3M5 - Chapel of Scorn - 9/10

E3M6 - Depths - 9/10

 

Shores of Hell

E2M6 - Foundry - 10+/10

E2M1 - Receiving Station - 9.5/10

E2M4 - Mental Ward - 9.5/10

E2M7 - Ore Processing - 9/10

E2M3 - Rec Facility - 9/10

E2M2 - Filtration Compound - 9/10

E2M5 - Deimos Command - 8/10 (2-point penalty for design choices)

E2M8 - Vault - 6.5/10

 

Knee-Deep in the Dead

E1M7 - Logic Core - 10/10

E1M9 - Excavation Site - 9.5/10

E1M5 - Engineering Bay - 9.5/10

E1M6 - Reactor Complex - 9/10

E1M2 - Military Bunker - 8.5/10

E1M4 - Treatment Plant - 8/10

E1M3 - Fuel Synthesis - 8/10

E1M8 - Transport Facility - 8/10

E1M1 - Communications Bridge - 7/10

 

[kalaeth]

E4M2 - Vile Affections :

A shotgun and some shells await me on top of the stairs, in a courtyard. A couple of imps protect them and the blue key in a pedestal. I move inside the next building, go left, down on an unmarked lift, back up to press a switch, shotgun a caco and a pair of imps out of the closet, down, teleport, across, teleport again. A switch raises a platform granting access to the blue key. Back to inside, another door, a corridor to a chaingun and a blue door. But first, that green torch sure looks suspicious.. Ah ha. Blue door now. Couple of shotgunner and a lost soul, stairs, jump, door, caco, switch. Imps, shotgunner, exit. One enemy, 3 secrets and the secret exit to go.. First that green armor in a ledge. Or not. I suck at platforming. Second try, done. Now there's a door in the courtyard I haven't crossed yet, open and jump time it is.. It leads to the green armor I just picked. hum. So now.. Map tells me there's a room without any visible doors to it.. Ah ah! It had to be there somewhere, the opening. Now that switch opened something else.. Oh! The secret exit. But I'm still one other secret short... Lots of wall humping after, wall opens, rockets! Switch, RL, and now, secret exit. I liked this level. Small, circular.

 

K/I/S : 100% , 100% , 100%

time : 21:26 / 29:05

deaths : 0 / 6

 

E4M9 - Terror :

Free berserker, free green armor and then a fall into the water, with all those potions. A switch opens a door, a wall falls, I use all my bullets and then pick up some more after the cleansing. Another door, chaingun some more! Bullets gone, back to shotgun, killing done, this was fun! Teleport : a door. Imps and a caco from the front, a baron down bellow behind me sings. Down some stairs, a door won't budge so up we go and jump the ledge. Open a door, kill imps some more, shoot a barrel, sgotgunners dead, I guess I'll shoot that switch instead. Lost souls flying, by my hands dying! So many enemies, I've got no ammo left! Oh shells and bullets, at just the right time! There's a secret in here, that I cannot see but I can hear, so I advance with no fear! Another door, more imps and lost souls and gone are my shells again. Punch a skull I must until some ammo I find, secret backpack! And nothing more to be done here so I go back. Oh! the key is now at hand. A tomato teleports, I teach him to land. All that done, to a yellow door I go, open it go down and outside I am, exploring and I jump into a teleport : wrong choice! A baron is here. Run away, rocket rocket kill! Outside once more I kill the remaining four and now 2 secrets to go! There's something I'm missing, a teleport maybe? or a switch that lowers the towers? Oh! somehow a wall has opened and now I have a BFG! With all of them dead it won't be of much use to me, but I'm one secret away from being able to flee. I have pressed every switch, triggered every line but the soulsphere doesn't want to be mine!

 So reading the other posts, it appears to be a timed secret. I hate those. There goes my perfect score. Oh well, end.

 

K/I/S : 100% , 98% , 66%

time : 27:46 / 56:52

deaths : 0 / 6

 

Other than the unreachable secret soulsphere I actually liked the map. I should have picked the bersker sooner as not to get so low on ammo, and I could have finished in 10 minutes less if I wasn't searching for a way to reach that secret... 

 

[edit : did a second run, just for fun and to see if I could grab that soulsphere. I didn't grab it but finished with the same K/I/S and in 11:13... Still no idea how to grab the sphere.]

Edited February 23, 2022 by kalaeth

[finnks13]

E4M2 - Vile Affections by RottKing:
I'm sorry to report that the map replacing my favourite Ultimate Doom map kind of sucks. Maybe I'm being harsh, but I found this map to be flat out boring - I can best compare it to E4M4 from the original Thy Flesh Consumed, which is a slightly browner, equally boring map. Fittingly this map is emulating American McGee, and it definitely does a decent job of capturing his texturing style, and general feel of the map. The layout is decent, and if any of the ambushes had any punch to them, it would have worked very well for the map. I didn't like the secrets much, I thought they were a bit too cryptic (and come on, you've got so many torches here, why do you subvert the classic American McGee torch secret with a straferunning secret) and just ended up warping to the secret map.

 

The only part of the map I can say I liked was the small series of ambushes leading up to the blue key, they're decently snappy and fun. The combat in this map definitely suffers from the player being limited to the shotgun throughout - you do get a chaingun, but there's almost no bullets in the map, and I never found the secret rocket launcher. I think giving out a rocket launcher could have helped this map to give out some more punchy ambushes. Donna to the Rescue also feels very odd here, it's fast paced and slightly silly tone doesn't really fit the slow-paced, dull map at all. Bit of a shame this.

 

E4M9 - Terror by Use3D:
The map seems to be an homage to Tim Willits' Thy Flesh Consumed secret map, down to the title. Unfortunately, I really don't like Fear - it's a really boring, symmetrical, brown map that outside of the opening, I find entirely uncompelling. Thankfully, Use3D only imitates some of the less annoying things and generally improves on them by only being, for example, a bit symmetrical - while the central areas of the map do mirror each other, the rest is much different.

 

The high monster count (and vague memories of this wad) made me expect a slog, though in actuality since most of the monsters are fodder, the map actually plays pretty well with most of the downtime coming from me getting a bit lost. While the texturing is still pretty brown, the red marble bricks are thrown in to the mix as well, and they do a lot to help with the texture variety and I actually really like how this map looks. I'd say this is a pretty well done imitation of Willits' style, and even though it doesn't stand out much to me, it's certainly my favourite map in the episode so far.

[LadyMistDragon]

E4M2: Vile Affections

 

Something that wasn't touched on earlier is that practically all of the mappers here were part of the D2WID team, if not necessarily the DWID team. Such is the case with RottKing whose contribution to UDWID doesn't even try to match the difficulty of its infamous slot-holder. Some ambushes can catch you off guard (and probably even will at least once) but it's a little bit lacking in energy. The squarish layout and the generically E4 aethetics (wood and marble basically prevailing here) don't really help matters to much. One room that can take you apart that seems a sort of mini-homage to Perfect Hatred doesn't really help matters too much either. Still, giving you access to the rocket launcher near the beginning was kind of nice, and the process to open the secret exit wasn't cryptic but wasn't exactly blatantly obvious here. Ammo is quite limited, but that just serves to prolong fights. Overall, it plays decently though

 

Grade: B-

Difficulty: D+

 

E4M9: Terror

 

I guess you could say this plays like a secret map only insofar as the techbase-ish tendencies are out of place with E4 as a whole. Then again, it acts as a solid representation of Tim Willits' style without slavishly imitating him (much of the building seems comprised of red brick) since Tim displayed in practically every Doom map he did hardly more visual flair than the much-maligned Sandy Petersen (I will say that he actually made some good visual choices in Quake maps like Gloom Keep but that's neither here not there).

 

Then again, I'm pretty sure Tim would have also provided more than one way to the exit if the Raven maps or Attack/Canyon are any indication. For some reason, you're forced to skip the teleporter right after the crusher if you want to eventually open the bars guarding the exit. Also, I guess Use3D could not help himself in his evil design tendencies because the Supercharge you see hanging in the window in the north part of the map is only a one-time only secret. Guess who totally missed it because she didn't realize what to look for? Yeah, though it may have been my fault I failed to pick up the berserk pack at the beginning which players who reach the end will fully appreciate.

 

Now combat is actually quite enjoyable, though monster density is certainly a good deal higher than you'd see in any actual id map. After you get past the initial bullet hell of the beginning though, things become a good deal easier. You even get barrels scattered throughout the complex to bring explosive fury upon your foes! You're also completely overloaded with cells if you find the secret BFG, but that may just be a Willits thing (his maps were not known for their difficulty, though I should say Canyon ain't easy). The increased presence of Barons toward the end doesn't really make thing harder though. Overall, it was a delightful romp, with apparently custom music further bolstering this bright experience.

 

Grade: B+

Difficulty: C-

 

 

[DJVCardMaster]

E4M2 - Vile Affections  - Matt "RottKing" Cibulas *American McGee* (100%K/72%I/75%S):

Yes, it is an American McGee map, square rooms, 90º angles, long hallways connected by windows with the ones at the sides, similar texturing, and also a similar gimmick to his work on the original E4M1, issues with resources, specially health, there is no much of it in this level, and this will hurt gameplay a lot. Feels a lot more like a Master Level/Doom II level, rather than an E4 map, because of its depressing texture usage. It's boring to even look at this level, just like Unruly Evil, at the M4 slot in Thy Flesh Consumed. American McGee could make at times really good layouts, but if they were not good, they were boring as hell. I guess RottKing tried to go with this design choice though, and it's not bad, but the map itself, is tasteless, and a pain in the ass because of the health issues mentioned before. The search for the secret exit is so arbitrary and random, it does not have much sense, but hey, I've found it, and I'm totally sure that McGee could have hidden a secret exit like that in an alternative universe.
Boring and hard level, just like his two original attempts in TFC.

IDness ratio: 4/5

E4M9 - Terror  -Use3D *Tim Willits* (100%K/98%I/33%S):

 

Yes, it feels like a secret map, but in the same way as fear does, it pays some tribute to the original M9 here, and to the original way of how to make a map by Tim Willits, same texturing, convoluted layouts that are overly interconnected (Something I also like to do but it can end greatly, or fall into misery), and other similar design choices taken from not only Willits' submission to UD, but also both ATTACK/CANYON from the Master Levels. Yes, it feels like another master level, and its gameplay was just boring, keeping it up with the previous map's style and way of being. It has some interesting exploration, with many paths to take, but the level has its problems with ammo supplies. The only good thing you can take from this level, is the BFG secret, if you manage to find it, you did not play this in vain. This map does not have anything interesting to show, the original M9 had some interesting architechture that was "copied" greatly in wads like No Rest For the Living. This one offers little to me.
It is something Tim Willits could do, though, but not for ID, his work was a little bit more polished than this, the red buildings... ...I don't know, all 4 Willits' maps are samey in colors. Good attempt at replicating him by Use though.

 

IDness ratio: 3/5

(UV Playthrough - Crispy Doom)

Order of Preference:
 

Spoiler

 

E3M3
E3M7
E3M6
E3M9

E2M6

E1M4
E4M1
E3M5
E2M7
E1M7
E3M4
E2M1
E3M2
E2M9
E2M2
E1M5
E1M6
E3M1

E1M3
E2M4

E1M2
E1M8
E3M8
E1M1
E1M9
E4M2
E2M8
E4M9
E2M5
E2M3

 

 

Edited February 25, 2022 by DJVCardMaster

[TheOrganGrinder]

E3M9: Lake of Fire

 

This one doesn't entirely click for me.  It's certainly an enjoyable map, but I'm left with the impression that it's wandered a little bit sideways from the project's premise and ended up feeling less like something that could have been a part of Doom in an alternate timeline, and more like a tidied-up version of familiar Inferno levels with all the rough and ragged edges filed smooth.  The outdoor section draws upon Mt. Erebus pretty plainly, while the indoor section isn't as immediately comparable to any single, specific map but feels like the doted-upon love child of Pandemonium and House of Pain.  In part this comes down to the limited selection of textures available to map authors wishing to depict Doom's version of Hell - there's only so many times you can throw around flesh, masonry, lava, and crumbling rock before any instance starts to remind you of every other instance - and I won't claim that I could have built a map with the same title, premise, and restrictions that didn't stumble at the same pitfalls, so I'd rather not take the map author too harshly to task here.  At least it's not an attempt to recycle Warrens' own map-recycling gimmick?

Taken purely on its own merits this is an enjoyable romp through an infernal fortress-temple perched on the edge of the titular burning lake along with a handful of outbuildings, at least one of which will have to be looted before you can breach the castle gate and start assailing the demonic citadel in earnest.  I do like the subtle integration of a vertical element as the paths within the fortress diverge, one leading east and up to some kind of open-air shrine overlooking the lava lake, a place that feels to me like a ritual hall or sacrificial chamber, while to the west, the hallways tend downward as they lead to the inner sanctum where the yellow skull key that unlocks the path to the exit can be wrested from its rather ferocious defenders.  Much of the map can be considered optional, but its generally open nature means that dancing past enemies that you don't strictly have to fight just leaves them free to harry you at various points on your return journey, often reinforced with additional monsters that your dungeon-delving antics have released.  Monster closets tend to be rather removed from their triggers, so rather than a strict perception of cause and effect, treasure and trap, there's instead a merrily chaotic feeling of demons being set free upon cruel and capricious whims to punish you for your general insolence and refusal to lay down and die; you often don't know just what you did to end up with a particular pack of pinkie demons, cloud of lost souls, or swarm of cacodemons turned loose for you to deal with, but they're angry and they're in your face and you'll be too busy pulling the trigger to spend time ruminating upon the exact positions of possible trigger linedefs.

 

E3M7: Inner Sanctum

 

I mentioned back when I was talking about the early-to-mid maps of this WAD's re-imagining of The Shores of Hell that certain levels possessed a sense of outward rather than forward progression, starting the player off in a central location from which they had to work their way out.  This map starts out cast in very much the same fashion, with the start room resembling a prison cell or perhaps part of a vault, considering the keys and BFG 9000 locked away in the adjacent chambers; from that starting point, though, escaping the central structure takes no time at all, and from that stage onward the player's path loops continuously back into the central structure, the titular sanctum, from different directions, each loop yielding a different prize before the player is cast out once more and has to find their way back in again via a different entrance.  The level re-uses its encounter spaces wonderfully, without ever feeling repetitive; every time you return to a place you've visited previously, a door opens or a wall drops or a new pack of demons has been turned loose hungry for your blood.  I find myself particularly tickled by the way that notion is applied to the teleporter in the very centre of the map, which can drop you off in any of four different destinations, depending on the side from which you enter it; one either puts you on the path to the exit or drops you off outside the sanctum, depending on the state of your progress through the level, but two lead to marked secrets and the last to an untagged but delightful Dopefish secret.

 

The setting of the map, an infernal temple in the heart of a vast underground cavern, doesn't feel as though it has any direct analogue or counterpart in the IWAD, so in that respect it's a pretty refreshing experience, and while I can see where people might be drawing comparisons to Mt. Erebus in terms of its overall layout, I think it more closely resemble's Doom II's MAP20: The Citadel, simply by dint of most of its geometry being condensed into a single, rather complicated structure.  I'll happily acknowledge it as feeling like an authentic example of Petersen's mapping style even if it perhaps embodies that style at a more advanced stage than is typical of Inferno.

[NiGHTS108]

E4M2: Vile Affections

By RottKing

 

Kills: 98%

Items: 59%

Secrets: 50%

Time: 8:32

 

E4 keeps the ball rolling with this map, I'm not sure about the usage of grimy grey brick here, I don't remember it being used a whole lot in E4 but it's a minor quibble, RottKing's Vile Affections doesn't contain ANY (any) [none] Arch-Viles so I am deeming the title a scam! Seriously though, RottKing's Vile Affections doesn't bare resemblance to the original E4M2, but is still pretty fun, I like the clever Cacodemon usage even though you don't get a whole lot of ammo to deal with them, however something I don't appreciate is being stuck between a wall of Cacos and a flaming gullet of super lava in the room with the brown hut! You're basically forced to take damage here, not cool dude, to find the secret exit, open a wall where the Cacos I just mentioned were to find a switch which opens a door in the optional east dungeon outdoors

 

Grade: B

Difficulty: C+

 

 

E4M9: Terror

By Use3D

 

Kills: 93%

Items: 72%

Secrets: 33%

Time: 9:15

 

Huh wow I actually like this map quite a bit

Use3D's Fear riffage is as symmetrical and tan textured as its ancestor, but nice to play and look at! It isn't as confusing as E2M5, only really one point where you may get turned around after not knowing where a yellow door is but it shouldn't be much of a problem, Use3D's texturing shines brightly here, maintaining a good theme throughout with only vanilla textures that somehow still looks good to look at, riffing on Fear and all, I'd say not very E4 but given the map it is very obviously based on, yes it is, the weaponry is quite rich but I don't know where the plasma rifle is sadly, in conclusion, good map, nice progression, layout, fights and weaponry

 

Grade: B+

Difficulty: C+

 

 

E4M3: Earth, Blood And Fire

By Purist

 

Kills: 62%

Items: 33%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 2:42 (!!!)

 

Wow! Episode 4 is on a hard roll! I love this map, it's very snappy and direct, keeps straight to the point and doesn't dither, takes less than 2 minutes, you can basically power-walk your way through the whole thing, blasting enemies' faces off and running around, it revolves around a lake of magma but you'll raise a bridge quickly when you get the red key, then take a few teleporters while blasting more chaff fodder enemies, telefrag the 4 Barons on the corners of the pit, grab the blue key, and leave! That's it! Wow!

 

Grade: A-

Difficulty: C-

 

 

[Book Lord]

E4M3 – Earth, Blood and Fire by @purist

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

 

Another map inspired by McGee’s design, Earth, Blood and Fire revolved around a central lava pit and its side areas, which were unlocked one by one, in succession. Pistol starters should not miss the switch on the ledge, as it lowered the elevator to the chaingun and a box of bullets. As a continuous player, I took the luxury to waste my spare rockets on the four Barons of Hell dominating the centre of the map, just to avoid being struck in the back. Patient players would be rewarded with ammo-saving telefrags.

Spoiler

It did not take long to gain the RSK, but the way back to the red door was not straight. I dropped down into the lava and followed the path to the south-east, entering a teleporter that brought me to the west of the central pit. Shotgunners were everywhere, always chipping away some health with their -fast and precise shooting, at least until I grabbed the Blur Sphere. After clearing the western room, I uncovered a clever secret that generously offered 4 medikits! Being at 100% health again induced a state of euphoria. I raised the S-walkway to cross the lava and dealt with the predictable Cacodemon attack, then I opened the red door to find where the poor pistol starter was meant to put his hands on a decent weapon. A Baron of Hell inside a room with four dead Barons hanging on the walls… was he the only survivor of a blood feud between Hell Nobles?

Spoiler

The teleporter sent me to the first of the Baron ledges in the central room, initiating a sequence of telefrags for players without carry-over ammo. I found the plasma gun secret by moving swiftly into the next teleporter, but it was so packed with monsters that I thought a pistol starter should probably stay away from it. The chain of teleporters continued to the north-western corner with another closet trap involving Demons and Sergeants, then to the north-east where both the BSK and the blue door were located. The only purpose of that key was to avoid leaving the room without opening the exit, guarded by a Baron and two Cacodemons.

 

Purist made the most out of the limited size of the level, which was slightly more reasonable with resources, provided the player finds some secrets. It was easier than the previous maps but not a cakewalk (that definition does not apply to this episode), though this impression might depend on my liberal use of rockets to eliminate the Baron turrets early on. Earth, Blood and Fire seems a highfalutin title for a small map, but as the other level names in Ultimate Doom the way id did it was a direct quote from the Bible (Joel 2:30). It was exactly what Kevin Cloud from id did, and this iteration of American McGee’s style resulted in some good Dooming.

Edited February 23, 2022 by Book Lord

[erzboesewicht]

E3 part 3 - UV, pistol start, prboom-plus

E3M9: Lake of Fire by Christopher Lutz

 

This map feels much more like a secret level compared to E1M9 and E2M9. Visually, it's very close to the original "Mount Erebus", expanding it with a large indoor section. But the difficulty level, which exceeds every other map in DTWID (in my opinion) make it feel like an extra challenge. The reason is mostly a tight monster placement with many shotgunners, lost souls and crossfire situations everywhere and not much health (some of it placed on damaging floors). The general combat character is close to Ultimate Doom's E4, for example I was reminded sometimes of the crossfires in the first part of E4M9. Admittedly, I might have tried to "rambo" too much and took also a long time to find an armor, which made it worse, and died three times in the crusher section. Generally I liked it, but the hitscanner placements made it a bit tiring, and it lacks a bit of an own personality with all the Mt. Erebus homages.

 

7,5/10

E3M7: Inner Sanctum by Jacob Zuchowski

 

In the last "regular" DTWID map, we get not so much a "Limbo", but more a "Mount Despair". The homage is however very well done, as the location in an underground cave gives it its own personality. The transformation and opening of the inner part of the main building is really cool and contributes to make this probably my favourite level of this author in the set. The secrets are relatively easy here, with a multi-functional teleporter being a major protagonist. You get the BFG very late, but I suppose it's more aimed to continuous players to be handy for the boss level. The monster population is very light and the map is generally easy (a breather before the big boss battle), but the scattered lost souls (there seems to be a repopulation in the middle of the level) make the combat unpredictable and you have to search a bit for a really safe place. I was several times under 50 health, but never really was in danger of dying. Great map.

 

9,5/10

E3M8: Core by Eli Cohen (ProcessingControl)

 

This is, by far, the most difficult and also in my opinion the best boss map of the three classical DTWID episodes from 2011, I scored no less than 5 or 6 deaths. It is also one of the rare occasions a single spiderdemon is made threatening. The mastermind towers on a central elevated structure inside an E1M8-ey pentagram-shaped ledge which is the only somewhat safe place, she (and the player) are protected by periodically lowering walls, and there are eight barons on the ledge, which are pretty threatening in this configuration, as you must evade them and the spider's bullets at the same time, trying to get clean shots on Mommy which is also not easy. There are plenty of resources you can gather outside of the pentagram, but they're protected by giant crushers, and even worse: the lifts to return to the pentagram are damaging. I'm wondering if such a dynamic fight setup has been tried in the IWADs, at least of this scale I don't remember any - I was more reminded of Jim Flynn maps or even something like Sunlust's MAP29, thus maybe this map could be rated a bit lower on the "idness" scale. But I was excellently entertained, and the difficulty was not really out of the IWAD range, so I'll give it the full score. (I looked then at the author's portfolio and he has also made one of the best puzzle maps I know, "The Crusher" from Doom 2 in Name Only, which shares some traits with it.)

 

10/10

 

E3 Overall: I liked the reinterpretation of "Inferno", and was only disappointed by the first map. Like in E2, the authors took some liberties when reimagining Doomguy's path through Hell. There are more homages than in E2, but they are generally well done. For the first time I also felt that the combat was on par with the original, with a couple of maps, particularly E3M3, E3M9 and E3M8, having even a higher degree of difficulty, at least from pistol start.

 

DTWID Overall:

 

I think as there were no less than eight years between the releases of DTWID and UDTWID, which covers the fourth episode, it makes sense to dedicate some specific lines to this wad. UDTWID was released after D2TWID had been done, which was elaborated in a more "scientific" way, so I expect the same from the fourth episode.

 

In general terms I think the mappers succeeded with "Doom the Way id Did", bringing us a three-episode wad with high nostalgia factor. Comparing the episodes, I felt E1 to be the weakest of the three, although the maps were by no means bad. I don't know if E1 was done first, but it felt a bit like the mappers started a bit timid, focusing in all maps (E1M8 aside) on the common traits of John Romero's originals, not too often being bold enough to try to reimagine more unique and memorable locations like those some of the originals provided, for example in E1M6. This got much better with E2 and E3, when from the start on, the mappers took more liberties, trying to create different, but at the same time id-esque maps. The only maps which I think had a relatively low "idness" score and would probably not have been released in this way by id in 1993 were E2M5 due to its pretty "modern", polished look and maybe E3M8 and E3M9 because of their difficulty which fits more into the E4 add-on or Doom 2. In contrast, I felt E1 and E2 were substantially easier than the original episodes. Maybe the mappers underestimated their difficulty - many of us have played these maps so often that we think we can beat them even asleep, but they definitively have sections with more teeth that I missed a bit in the first half of the wad.

 

So I am glad to have played this wad, I was generally well entertained. Overall I would give it an 8,5/10.

[RHhe82]

E4M3: Earth & Blood & Fire. DSDA v0.24, UV-PS. 100% kills and secrets. Comp. time 20:10. No demo time.

 

Somehow I have hard time getting excited about this one, too. That's partly on me, I should give this one a second playthrough, because I wasted rockets on several enemies that could be dealt without spending ammo. Ammo stinginess hurt, anyway, I completed the level with 0 of everything despite dealing with some of the early cacos thru infighting. Second playthrough would probably fare much better. In defense of E4M3 it needs to be said I played the level in another place I usually do my dooming, sitting in a more uncomfortable position.

 

Layout-wise I found the level a bit on the square side, lots of right angles. TFC had lots of those, too, when you think about other maps than the highlight ones, but I guess E&B&F feels more 1993/1994 than 1995, but this is only a small problem, or not even a problem, but it could have made me forgive resource starvation.

 

I tried recording a UV-MAX demo, but after a few attempts I gave up. It wouldn't be impossible, a decent player could probably do it with ease, but apparently not me. My demo attempts would end up in death soon after I have given up trying to reach the chainsaw secret. That chainsaw secret had me open up the level in Ultimate Doom Builder, just to see if there was another way than a straferun jump from a lift, but apparently there isn't. But what I DID discover was that the level has considerably amount of ammo and powerups that are flagged as multiplayer only! Nothing wrong with that, either, but I couldn't find any monsters that would have a multiplayer flag, which makes me think the level wasn't supposed to be that stingy on ammo, but ended up being such a way due to mapping error. Or maybe that's intended, maybe the multiplayer items would have made the map too easy, but I can't help but think just how much more I would have enjoyed the level if I didn't need to pistol down spectres at the start, but could have used a chaingun that would have resided on a ledge that currently seems to service no purpose at all except as the platform used to reach the chainsaw secret.

 

So, a step up from E4M2, but not quite on par with E4M1.

[Agent Slacker]

E4M3: Earth, Wind Blood and Fire
DOOM Retro, UV, Continuous w/saves, played on a PowerA Enhanced Wireless Controller for the Switch (DOOM 25th Anniversary Edition)

Apparently PowerA managed to snag the rights to release DOOM themed controllers for the Switch. There are 3, but I only have 2 of them. One is for the 25th anniversary of DOOM, one is for DOOM Eternal, and the last one is for the Slayer's Club. I'm just missing the latter.
 

I might prefer M2 if only for the fact that the secrets aren't nearly as much of a pain in the ass to grab as 2 of the secrets here. There's also far less damaging floors. The map is very aesthetically pleasing with the heavy use of right angles and that one green texture. The fights weren't super challenging, although the blue key ambush kind of caught me off guard with the two lost souls thrown in with the caco. The teleport "puzzle" was a bit underwhelming, and a bit annoying actually because of how you were always facing away from where you were going. This led to me getting shot in the back by a shotgunner and taking a decent chunk of damage. Now that I think about it, there aren't a whole lot of regular mooks are there? Like, 95 percent of the former humans so far have been shotgunners.

[dei_eldren]

E4M3 Earth, Blood and Fire (HMP, continuous, blind): K 100%, I 100%, S 100%, D 2, T  33:44

Grade: B+ / Difficulty: B-

 

Spoiler

i swear i have to start looking up who made the map before playing, as it transpires Terror was by my mapping-frienemy Use3D, and that just explains all the weirdness i experienced.  Of course the 1-chance secret was unfair but it would have been nice to be prepared.  Next time i will be! 

 

Here, for about half of the playing time i was getting more and more frustrated as i completely missed the central idea of the map, but when i finally got it, and no longer simply jumped back down from the Baron's perch (the telefrag part i noticed too late) but turned around instead to access the intended area available from one, i really started appreciating the map. 

 

There is a central room inhabited by four Barons upon their ledges, and the first task is to raise a pathway over the pool of lava around which theiy are placed.  After this, and partly before, also, progress is made through a series of teleports, along the way telefragging each Baron in their turn, and accessing the areas behind ledges, the last one yielding the final BSK needed for the exit.  The combat along the way is tough but generally survivable, even if i didn't quite survive it.. but my playing was downright hapless as my attention for most of the time was somewhere else (not the fault of the map), and i died twice in this stupid ambush by shotgunners and a Baron behind the RSK, twice!  From the splash-damage of my own rockets :D  But, still, there's constant sources to diminish health, starting from the Barons in the central area having quite a long range of view inside some of the areas, along with hitscanners and copious use of damaging floors.  i can't even remember if i died anywhere else.  Health was not non-existent, but certainly there was no more than just enough.  

 

At long last i netted all the secrets, having to try the jump to the last one an embarassing amount of times.  Not that the others were much simpler, and it seems i'm still really bad at evaluating jump distances, since i also had trouble realizing how to get to the secret teleport in the western part, with the timed wall...Oh well, couldn't be helped this time.  And i never got clarity if i missed something in the third secret section with the lowering floor, probably not, but i'm suspicious.  An off-day.

 

Very clever layout and progression, i liked all the areas, after understanding them, and the aesthetics were very TFC.  It's sort of a shame to say, and maybe surprising for me to admit, but some of these maps would have been even better if they had not been necessitated to imitate the styles of the pioneers of Id.  Errrr...., and Tom Hall's in particular.  The boxy design here is as well done as it can be, just as in Terror, but i'm getting tired of the straight angles.

 

 

Who's Who

Spoiler

Thy Flesh Consumed

E4M3 - Earth, Blood and Fire - B+ / B-

E4M1 - Into the Grave - B / B-

E4M2 - Vile Affections - B- / C

E4M9 - Terror - C+ / C+

 

Inferno

E3M1 - Abyssal Stronghold - 10+/10

E3M3 - Malebolge - 10+/10

E3M9 - Lake of Fire - 10+/10

E3M2 - City of Corpses - 10/10

E3M4 - Torture Chambers - 9.5/10

E3M8 - Core - B / C+

E3M7 - Inner Sanctum - B- / C

E3M5 - Chapel of Scorn - 9/10

E3M6 - Depths - 9/10

 

Shores of Hell

E2M6 - Foundry - 10+/10

E2M1 - Receiving Station - 9.5/10

E2M4 - Mental Ward - 9.5/10

E2M7 - Ore Processing - 9/10

E2M3 - Rec Facility - 9/10

E2M2 - Filtration Compound - 9/10

E2M5 - Deimos Command - 8/10 (2-point penalty for design choices)

E2M8 - Vault - 6.5/10

 

Knee-Deep in the Dead

E1M7 - Logic Core - 10/10

E1M9 - Excavation Site - 9.5/10

E1M5 - Engineering Bay - 9.5/10

E1M6 - Reactor Complex - 9/10

E1M2 - Military Bunker - 8.5/10

E1M4 - Treatment Plant - 8/10

E1M3 - Fuel Synthesis - 8/10

E1M8 - Transport Facility - 8/10

E1M1 - Communications Bridge - 7/10

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by dei_eldren

[DavitW]

E4M3: Earth, Blood and Fire

I'm just glad to be done with this one. The only way I could find to get to the chainsaw secret was using SR50, and I'm honestly still impressed I made it on my first try in the demo. I'm not sure if you can make it with regular straferunning but I couldn't pull it off in a solid 40 or so attempts in practice. Either way I feel it's a bit much to ask for. Anyways, the rest of the map isn't particularly difficult but it is one of those resource shortage maps, making me feel like it would lose most of its challenge if played continuously. Like by using surplus rockets or plasma to take out the Barons in the corners instead of steadily telefragging them as the level progressed.

e4m3.zip

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

E3M7: "Inner Sanctum" by ellmo

UV with Corruption Cards, no saves

100% kills, 3/4 secrets

 

Card: Baron of hell turns to stone on death

 

This level brings us to a cavern with damaging blood floors, and two structures in the centre. One that you start off in and also locate the keys in, and one with the exit. I really liked the layout in this level, the caverns were nice and open and the key hunts were fun to partake in and I liked how they brought you back to the starting area as well as opened up the walls in the building. I failed to acknowledge the midi the first time it appeared back in episode 2 (also map 7), so I'll do it now and say it's probably one of my favourites of the midi replacements. It's got this neat Bobby Prince meets Nobuo Uematsu vibe, I don't know if it's just me that feels that but it's a nice combo.

 

The combat in this one was nice, there were some parts early on where I was feeling the open caves didn't really pair well with sparser monster population, but I liked how closets opened up as you progressed to give you new threats in the caves and I had a fun time with this one in the end. The cards that deal burn damage when looking at imps or cacos were actually very annoying to deal with here, the more open layout meant that sometimes you'd be looking at an imp way out in the distance and start getting burned all of a sudden. Quite tricky to deal with. The new card doesn't seem too substantial, I could see the barons getting in the way in certain scenarios and messing you up but it didn't make much difference here.

 

Really cool map, this one is a highlight for me.

 

E3M8: "Core" by ProcessingControl

UV with Corruption Cards, no saves

100% kills, 0/0 secrets

 

Card: Replace the Spider Mastermind with a new boss.

 

Oh no, even when playing a Doom 1 wad I can't escape having to kill John Romero in order to win the game. ROM3R-0.666 is a John Romero head decked out in a robot suit covered in chainguns. He will teleport and jump around the level, determined to chase you anywhere you go and decimate you. In a later phase, he gains a shield and will summon monsters to his aid. It definitely made this map, which is a rather ordinary spiderdemon boss map, pretty tricky. In my successful run I actually died at the same time as the boss, so very close call.

 

I played the map without the mod as well since the mod decided to transform it completely, and I wasn't too big on it. It takes place in a big cavern with crushers on the exterior of a starshaped arena, and goodies below the crushers that you can race for. The lift back up to the platform damages you as you stand on it, and there are inescapable deathpits in the platform. The spider has raising and lowering walls around it, which gives you cover but also can make killing it a bit more time-consuming than it needs to be. 

 

E4M1: "Into the Grave" by Pavera

UV with Corruption Cards, no saves

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

Card: A cyberdemon will try to assassinate you.

 

Card: One monster is invulnerable until most monsters are slain

 

Alright, let's get it out of the way, I am a coward. I made several attempts at this level with the first card, and each time the level ended up seemingly impossible to complete. My thought going in was "oh, I'm guessing a cyberdemon is going to show up randomly, fire at me a few times, and then teleport off". But no, the cyberdemon stays there. Not only that, but it's a fast cyberdemon, ie. he will fire at you non-stop whenever you are in his sight. Each time I tried he ended up blocking off the progression of the level, and I wasn't able to get him to move to a safer spot. One exception was when he was in the lava cave area in front of the path to the blue key door. I was able to manipulate him so that I could open up the exit, but whaddya know the exit had another cyberdemon, which forced me back into the view of the fast cyberdemon, posing a situation far too difficult to overcome. So yeah, since it's the first map of the episode I decided to roll the dice again on this one, it wasn't something I really had the patience to deal with.

 

OK now onto the actual map. As others have pointed out, it feels very Doom II Romero-esque with the Abandoned Mines-like caged hall, the slowly lowering lift and catwalk that calls The Living End to mind, and the damaging floor at the start with goodies riddled throughout. So a job well done on the id factor. You start in a hellslime valley, navigating up a wooden staircase, before lowering into the caves below. It's a nice simple layout compared to most of what we've seen.

 

The combat at the start of this one is a bit mind-bending the first time you come across it, with monsters teleporting every which way, but once you get used to it it's quite a fun introduction, and it can be tough not to take a fair bit of damage with all the hitscanners. After you take care of this introduction and the area below, the level closes with a cyberdemon dickish enough that it would make Romero proud. He took all my rockets and a fair bit of ammo from the smaller arms to take down. To avoid baking in the hellslime, I took the berserk secret back to the starting platform and shot him from there. The card I ended up on is one that seems potentially interesting, the invulnerable monster here was an imp near the start. I had to sort of clear out the start area while navigating around him, before going back up via the secret to finish him off later on.

 

This one starts things off quite nicely, and introduces the expected E4 difficulty spike.

[Book Lord]

2 hours ago, DavitW said:

The only way I could find to get to the chainsaw secret was using SR50, and I'm honestly still impressed I made it on my first try in the demo. I'm not sure if you can make it with regular straferunning but I couldn't pull it off in a solid 40 or so attempts in practice. Either way I feel it's a bit much to ask for. 

 

Many seemed to have a problem with that secret. I also thought it was an extreme strafe run challenge, at first, then I realised that you can wait for the teleporter lift to get back up, then activate it again when you jump down from the green torch platform.

 

If you do so, it is still advisable to jump with SR40, but you can make it without top-notch movement skills. The gap between the teleporter and the other platform requires no strafe run, if you run across with the right momentum, though SR40 makes it much easier.

 

[kalaeth]

E4M3 - Earth, Blood and Fire :

 

 

Wasn't this a band? Well, let's go and fire some rockets. Open starting space, a pair of barons on the other side of a river of lava, some imps, and a switch that raises me to some imps and another switch, that lowers me. Not sure if anything else.. Oh, more barons. And me without rockets. But I do have a BFG. Now.. A radsuit and a run through the lava I guess. Red key, green armor, chaingun a caco. Down, up, switch, oh a bridge. And lost souls. Now, red door. Up, up, teleport, back, switch, teleport, enter the wall, kill skulls, grab plasma! Outside, teleport. Back, down, kill skulls, press switch. Kill pinkies, teleport. Back, switch, blue key. Kill skulls, exit! 2 secrets to go.. One is the soulsphere, the other the chainsaw.. And I stepped on the exit. Dammit. 

Second try? Ok, there's a teleport here! It's a short timed lowering of it, so I'll need to run fast as the wind... Ah! done. Now to go grab the green armor.. And oh fuck, the suit is damaged! Ok. Chainsaw. I don't think the jump is possible.. Oh no, it is. Keep trying. And just use fly to get there, sorry. It's not a "smart secret", just a very hard and time consuming jump. 

I ended up using the second time, because  I forgot to write the first one.

 

K/I/S : 100% , 100% , 100%

time : 15:13 / 1:12:06

deaths : 0 / 6

 

[NiGHTS108]

[del]

Edited February 27, 2022 by NiGHTS108

[FrancisT218]

[Moved vote to later in thread]

Edited February 25, 2022 by FrancisT218

[finnks13]

E4M3 - Earth, Blood & Fire by purist:

This American McGee inspired map is significantly better than it's counterpart. Admittedly it doesn't look very good visually, the central area is almost entirely textured using grey, mossy bricks and it looks just terrible, though pretty accurate to McGee's entries to Thy Flesh Consumed. The gameplay and layout of this map, however, are very good - the opening is pretty tense with a rush for guns, armour and rad-suits against a not trivial amount of shotgunners and spectres. The 4 barons in the centre of the map is a fun gimmick, though I wish I wasted less time trying to get them the infight with cacodemons and less rockets killing them myself before telefragging became an option.

 

I do find the progression in this map a bit off in places, since it all looks pretty similar I've forgotten when I've been a fair few times, and I always lose the trail of progression after the first baron telefrag as I never think to walk backwards afterwards, since the teleport faces you away from it. I did like the 4 miniature fights in these wings, they're fun little ambushes. I'm also very glad I found the 4 medikit secret, this map seems incredibly tight on health without it. Pretty fun map overall.
 

[LadyMistDragon]

E3M3: Earth, Blood, and Fire heed my(oh wait, wrong game)

 

I think I had slightly more positive views of this map the last time I played, probably because I wasn't trying to rush it. Still, this is a nice and solid square map, combining various aspects of the E4 aesthetic to create a unified and incredibly deadly whole. This is underscored by the central area of lava where the corners are occupied by Barons of Hell. Honestly, you're probably better off waiting on most of them because their placement doesn't make it easy to hurt them before the bridge over lava is raised.

 

Shotgun guys are basically everywhere and placed just right to give you a very bad day. Worst is probably the area of lava near the blue key. There's a Lost Soul that you can run past, only to be confronted by 2 Spectres in the lava and a couple of sergeants and Imps on the lift directly above.

 

As you progress, you'll telefrag each Baron one by one, though usually with someone starting to attack you from behind. The only other secret I found besides the chainsaw secret was the one with the plasma rifle and Lost Souls in the middle of a high stone wall.

 

By the time I reached the exit, I just wanted it to be over.

 

Grade: B+

Difficulty: C

[dei_eldren]

E4M4 Unclean Spirits (HMP, continuous, blind): K 75%, I 70%, S 0%, D ..., T  23:07

Grade: D / Difficulty: A-

 

Spoiler

...when i eventually got to the teleport transporting me to the BSK platform, guarded still by Barons as i had had nothing sensible to kill them with, my health was so low that it took all my skill simply not to die by the one right in front of my face.  Running for the BSK was out of the question, so the best i could do, managing it after like ten tries, was to jump down into the fucking lava and take my chances against everyone still there... Or, imagine the fun when i after some while made my way to the arena, offering some rockets!  i tried the fight a few times, but how the hell am i gonna manage against invisible Spectres in a dark cave with rockets, Chaingun and a shotgun while being attacked by a swarm of Cacos and Imps?  A couple of tries i got sort of close, but the Spectres always got me in the end.  Best that can be said is that the fight wasn't mandatory, so i just left to look for the teleport to acquire the BSK, having earlier killed the Barons guarding it with the shotgun...

 

What a clusterfuck of a mission.  Hitscanners and crossfire, no health, and no sensible ammo against Barons, and vicious use of damaging floors.  And to start this level with 67/16.  :F  Yeah, it's possible to stumble through it, but i wouldn't bother a second time.  That's why gods gave us iddqd.  i'll enjoy watching people beat this deathless from pistol start on UV on videos and demos, though :D  For me this is the kind of level that makes me not want to touch Doom for a while.

 

The map is well constructed and designed, though.

 

 

Who's Who

Spoiler

Thy Flesh Consumed

E4M3 - Earth, Blood and Fire - B+ / B-

E4M1 - Into the Grave - B / B-

E4M2 - Vile Affections - B- / C

E4M9 - Terror - C+ / C+

E4M4 - Unclean Spirits - D / A-

 

Inferno

E3M1 - Abyssal Stronghold - 10+/10

E3M3 - Malebolge - 10+/10

E3M9 - Lake of Fire - 10+/10

E3M2 - City of Corpses - 10/10

E3M4 - Torture Chambers - 9.5/10

E3M8 - Core - B / C+

E3M7 - Inner Sanctum - B- / C

E3M5 - Chapel of Scorn - 9/10

E3M6 - Depths - 9/10

 

Shores of Hell

E2M6 - Foundry - 10+/10

E2M1 - Receiving Station - 9.5/10

E2M4 - Mental Ward - 9.5/10

E2M7 - Ore Processing - 9/10

E2M3 - Rec Facility - 9/10

E2M2 - Filtration Compound - 9/10

E2M5 - Deimos Command - 8/10 (2-point penalty for design choices)

E2M8 - Vault - 6.5/10

 

Knee-Deep in the Dead

E1M7 - Logic Core - 10/10

E1M9 - Excavation Site - 9.5/10

E1M5 - Engineering Bay - 9.5/10

E1M6 - Reactor Complex - 9/10

E1M2 - Military Bunker - 8.5/10

E1M4 - Treatment Plant - 8/10

E1M3 - Fuel Synthesis - 8/10

E1M8 - Transport Facility - 8/10

E1M1 - Communications Bridge - 7/10

 

Edited February 24, 2022 by dei_eldren

[purist]

E4M3 - Earth, Blood & Fire: Author Notes

 

Despite bring a pretty active mapper during the long development of the original DTWiD I think my attention was diverted to Hadephobia and my only submission was a day late and a dollar short. That map ended up in E3 inspired Bedlam episode and I instead made a concerted effort to have a map included in D2TWID instead. Alas, despite around 6 submissions I only had one late, partial success when Tarnsman reworked one of my maps into a Refuelling Base style Peterson/Hall mash up.

 

Why mention all of this? Well, I believe it was my involvement with the D2TWiD team that earnt my the invitation to submit a map to UDTWiD.

 

I picked an American McGhee map because his style is very orthodox and most similar to my own. My pitch was to make E4M1 and the concept of progressing by telefragging Baron's came first, triggered I think by the E1M8 music in the slot. I think the concept works better as an opener because something is lost to the player equipped with resources from previous maps but I didn't have any say in the final map order.

 

The map went through a few revisions - all of them involving shrinking the map. First by narrowing a lot of the play areas and then by relegating the PR area, which was once part of the normal progression into a secret area.

 

I don't have a lot of memories of making the map, except that it was pretty stress free - even when being asked to rework it, which I usually find to be a chore.

 

I notice some players have lamented the running skills needed to find two of the secrets. This surprised me because I don't consider myself a very nimble player but I can usually get them without too much trouble.

 

EDIT: Oh, the name. My pitch included a couple of name suggestions. One was Amongst the Beasts (a nod to the telefragging) and I don't remember the other(s). I don't know why they were passed or why the final name was decided but I am honestly not very keen.

Edited February 24, 2022 by purist

[RHhe82]

10 minutes ago, purist said:

I notice some players have lamented the running skills needed to find two of the secrets. This surprised me because I don't consider myself a very nimble player but I can usually get them without too much trouble.

 

Frustration is real, though. I rebooted the level just to make sure I wasn't having a bad dexterity day back when I played the map last weekend. Results: Tried the jump to the chainsaw ledge something like 30 times (lost count). Succeeded once. Then I tried the run for the medikit secret. Five attempts, three successes. Okay, I'm with you on the second one :-D

 

It's always interesting to hear from the creators themselves! I also lamented on low ammo resources, but the more I think about it, I should have just had a second playthrough without any demo shenanigans. I had suspicions on the multiplayer only weapons, but later I actually realized they must have been there for the deathmatch.