The DWmegawad Club plays: Micro-Slaughter Community Project & Haste

[cannonball]

MAP07 - “Magma Templum” by Scotty

 

You could almost make the mistake of thinking that this map could fit into any other community project (Well most of it). The events up to the final fight whilst offer some engaging gameplay, are not exactly in the league of difficulty that we have witnessed this month. The midi oddly enhances this impression (Used in Map17 of Scythe 2 and the map gives off vibes of the same map at times). The final fight however will guarantee that you will strengthen your dislike of pain elementals and lost souls, pretty much all of my deaths were in this fight, most coming from eating a rocket that zoomed through a couple of dozen lost souls. 

Overall, looks great, some decent gameplay but that final fight is a little on the controversial side, you need a little luck with the meatballs (Even with plenty of BFG ammo available).

[Thelokk]

Haste MAP07 - Magma Templum by Scotty

HMP / 100% kills / no secrets

 

Nope. Just nope. Probably the lowest point of Haste (though there are some pretty tough contenders for worst map, later on), it reinforces my hunch that Scotty simply wasn't into this project that much. The map is not bad, it's generic, which is worse. It's the kind of 'lava with some rocks' deal that you can find in pretty much every community project, it's the kind of map I could have made (and believe me, this is not a compliment). It's CC2, CC3 material at best. 

Visually, it's just boring and by the numbers: if the huge lava fall was supposed to look majestic and intimidating, it doesn't. Gameplay-wise, it misses the mark big time: the horde guarding the blue key pretty much annihilates itself, the two fights in the BFG room make no sense at all (really, at least don't show me the already weaksauce ambush that the switch will activate. And if you do so, have the decency to make it intimidating), the tower of revenants and viles guarding the red key can be safely sniped from a distance. The final fight had some potential, but the ordnance you get by that point makes it comically, laughably easy. 

This map - shall I remind you, a map in Haste by a big name, heavyweight mapper - would have been average in a low-barrier, generic community project the like of which regularly crop up on DW. That it found its place in the midrange of a Cacoward winning wad says a lot about the lack of appraisal that, at time, must have gone into the assembling of this megawad. It also says a lot about Cacowards in general, but I've probably been controversial enough for a single post.

Let's just forget about this map, shall we? fortunately, its follow up is easily the best map in Haste, so I'm really looking forward to it!

[RHhe82]

MAP07: Magma Templum. HNTR, PS, 174/174 kills, 0/0 secrets, 21/21 items. Comp. time 12:16.

 

I played this straight after Concrete Vice. At first I was supposed just scout the area with resources left from previous map, but then I died from inescapable lava pit by some stairs. So, pistol start, but I figured I just did another scout, don’t bother with saving and give a serious attempt the next day.

 

Well, I did save, but only once during the whole level, upon obtaining the red key and pressing the switch, revealing the final fortress with cybies laying dormant. I’m not saying it was easy until that, either, but I guess I got lucky surviving some of the encounters with close to single-digit health numbers.

 

The final fight was easily the hardest, I’d just get stuck by some lost soul or fuck elemental or something, but after several attempts, victory. I really liked this one too, it had a lot of Plutonia textures from what I can tell, and indeed, it was yet another map made by Scotty. Insane Gazebo and Ribbiks are such established household names, but Scotty is becoming one too, for me, as I realized he/she/they played key part in Cydonia, a wad I’ve been enjoying (at least up until MAP07, have yet to play farther). I’m sure I’ve seen Scotty’s name elsewhere, too, maybe 1k3?).

[finnks13]

MAP07 - Magma Templum by Scotty:

DEATHS - 2
Scotty's back, with what seems to be intended as a break map. I enjoyed this one, it contains a lot of very freeform action and I like that you can, and are often incentivised to, trigger lots of ambushes at the same time to cause loads of chaos. It's not too difficult, though I may have blundered into a very easy route through the level due to it's non-linearity and I'm sure that foreknowledge of the positions of the plasma gun and rocket launcher helped. It's a fairly generic looking hell map, but that's an aesthetic I like so no problems there for me.

 

There's two more "structured" fights in the level, the first requiring either of the yellow or blue keys, and I liked this fight. I started by BFGing all of the archviles and chaingunners, as while they do get crushed at the end of the fight, they do far too much damage and exert too much pressure to keep alive. I then rushed past the rest of the enemies and activated the second wave which was pretty easy to dismantle with rockets and a couple of BFG shots. The finale is pretty overwhelming, three cyberdemons teleport to a very small section of map and this makes dodging rockets pretty difficult, though I liked how the walls keeping you in the arena are pretty low, meaning that dying to splash damage is unlikely. I found that letting some of the pain elementals filter out of the castle and then pushing through the remaining ones to safety worked best, and the cyberdemons happened to bunch up into a group to be easily BFGed down. This map particularly complex or challenging, but it's fun and that's the most important thing a map can be.

 

RANKINGS:

Spoiler

Really Liked: MAP04, MAP06, MAP07
Liked: MAP01, MAP02, MAP03
Mixed Opinions: MAP05
Didn't Like:

 

[Arwel]

Haste Map07 - Magma Templum by Scotty

UV, 100% kills, no secrets

 

After the visuals delivered by all previous levels this one was initially a turn off  for me due to rough and sparse natural environment looking straight 90s. Nevertheless, this map eventually grew on me. Layout flows pretty well, combat fuses sandboxy map5-like encounters with progression and individual strategy-oriented fights. The last 3cyber-fight kicked my ass yet again, making me realize fighting multiple cyberdemons is one of my weakest spots. Overall, not visually exciting, but fun and dynamic map.

[Solmyr]

HASTE: MAP 07 "Magma Templum" by Scotty.
HMP/Pistol Start.

Kills: 77%
Items: 100%
Secrets: 100%
Time: 10:09

 

This felt like a fun breather map so far. The map's visuals felt sort of like a continuation of "The Barbican" by the same mapper, as if this was supposed to take place on an outside area from that map. There was more incidental combat which can be dealt with infighting should the player chooses to. The only real slaughter combat takes place on two sections, the area beyond the Red Skull Key Switch, and beyond a "Plutonia style" door which can be opened by any key. 

 

Slaughter Encounter #1: Beyond said Plutonia skull door, there's a square room with a metal pillar on the middle with lion switches at the base, and a BFG 9000 and Soulsphere on top, the pillar is surrounded by some cells, and rocket ammo. Upon pressing any of the switches the pillar lowers, and the rest of the arena opens up, revealing a row of Chaingunners on the east, guarding a Door, which the player cannot reach yet, and a legion of Imps and Hell Knights in the north western area. There are also a bunch of Cacodemons and some Arachnotrons behind the Hell Knights and Imps, but they are beyond an invisible sector, which is acessible by pressing another lion switch on a pillar in the north western corner of this arena. This fight is easy and fun, the Chaingunner death row looks worse than it actually is, but most of them are blocked by square pillars, and there's enough room to use the Imps and Knights as meatshields, so they infight with those Chaingunners as well as each other.
 

Had i choose to press the north western switch and release the Cacos and Arachnos, with Hell Knights and Imp stragglers around it would have been worse, because they would've pushed me back into the range of the Chaingunners, but thankfully a crusher floor activated, which would take care of them, and the rest could be dealt with the BFG 9000, there's an Arch-Vile on the back, but that's only a minor concern. 

 

Slaughter Encounter #2: After getting the Red Skull Key, and pressing the red switch, a large portion of the wall in front of it, lowers revealing the titular "templum", a medium sized structure with two entrances blocked by invisible walls, there's also a small blue alcove with a Baron of Hell inside guarding the switch to the exit. Once the invisible sector's gone, the monsters from inside quickly react, three Cyberdemons teleport in the small arena outside, while the inside of the structure has tons of Pinkies, some Arch-Viles an several Pain Elementals, that coupled with the rockets fired by the Cyberdemons outside makes this fight the most brutal of the map, and the only tough encounter in this breather map.

 

Screenshots:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP07: "Magma Templum" by Scotty 

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/0 secrets 

 

Scotty's third map in this set takes us to some molten wastes, there's damaging lava everywhere here and rocky cliffs on the sides, as well as a pretty cool looking skybox.. You'll also find yourself taking the odd venture into some brown brick and metal structures. The midi is another Kevin Schilder track like we heard from the first map, this time from Heretic instead of Hexen.

 

To be honest I didn't expect to find breather maps in this wad, but this one feels like it fit the bill, I only died a couple times while feeling out the beginning area and that's it. For most of the map your primary obstacle is the damaging liquid, and to be fair it can cause some troubles, most notably when playing blind and having to find places to run from the surprise ambushes. You're best advised to venture East first, and not take the lift guarded by the revenants just yet. Blast them and carry on to the archvile with his crew of zombiemen ahead. He can be quite awkward to kill as you again having damaging lava everywhere and your cover options are somewhat limited. Once he, the zombiemen, and the turret monsters are down you can grab the plasma and mega-armour and then approach the RL and the blue key, where imps and cacos will pop up and accost you. You just need to clear out enough room to get those rockets and the rest is simple.

 

You only need one of the two keys to progress in this map, but if you're looking for max kills you'll at least need to start down the yellow key path. This ambush can be a little hectic, which is why I take it on after getting the rocket launcher and plasma. There's a pain elemental, cacos, and revenants here that you'll need to deal with, stick on the high ground to take down the flyers and then go down to meet the revenants. Past the any-key door you will lower a BFG and soulsphere, along with your next fight. There are chaingunners and archviles lining a ledge on one side, with hell knights and imps on the floor at the other side. The decision on which monsters to BFG is pretty obvious, and the rest of the room can be taken care of pretty easily with rockets, including the cacos and arachnotrons that you trigger later. If you have the blue key you get access to another mega-armour here, while the yellow key gives you a backpack. You can now carry on to the red skull key and the final fight.

 

This fight features 3 cyberdemons teleporting behind you in a not-so-open area, with pinkies and pain elementals pouring out of the structure ahead. If I'm being honest, I found this one to be easier than it looks. My strategy just involved spamming the BFG at the cybers while moving back and forth between the two ammo-filled corners of the building's exterior. Once they were down, I turned the sights towards any pain elementals that made their way outside, and then to the monsters coming out of the building, maintaining the same sort of motion the whole fight. You get a ton of cells for this one, so as long as you dip into the caches as needed you shouldn't experience much hindrance. There's also the mega-armour before, as well as the soulsphere by the red key and another inside the arena, so you will likely be able to tank a cyberdemon rocket as well. I did really enjoy this fight though.

 

A decent breather map. I don't totally feel the slow-paced beginning stretch but once the bigger fights start happening it's good fun, if a bit tilted in your favour.

Edited April 21, 2022 by DisgruntledPorcupine

[Thelokk]

Haste MAP08 - The Cradle by Insane_Gazebo

HMP / 100% kills / 1 secret

 

I find it very hard to give a rational, critical perspective on this map, as it's a hair away from being my favorite Doom map ever made - if JPCP MAP03 didn't exist, The Cradle would definitely own that distinction. 

 

This map is Insane_Gazebo at their best, unencumbered by the hyperthrophic, bloated hunger for mass and scale that (again, in my opinion) burdens and ultimately flaws his magnum opus that we all know and, for the most part, love. The Cradle is a mean, lean machine that subsists on claustrophobia, which increases instead of lessen as our missteps open yet another corridor, yet another trap. It reinforces my hunch - which first I got in MAP06 - that 'you, them and 2sq feet' is a treasure trove that I_G needs to explore far deeper than they have done so far.

 

Visually, the map is stunning, easily the best in the whole mapset. The use of stock textures is superb, and something about its space, its internal logic deeply resonates with me. It feels like a space a character could believably inahbit and move within, and all of it without recurring to silly doomcute nonsense. 

The combat is not slaughtery at all, and is all the better for it. Aside for a few big mobs of revenants and HK, small death squads in tiny spaces is the name of the game, and you'll be assaulted from all sides, with no escape or chance for camping, over and over. The highlight is a close encounter with hell nobilites in what is barely a monster closet-sized room, and the map's finale is one for the ages - one of the cruelest uses of a cyberdemon I've ever come across.

 

So yeah, here it is. Absolutely fantastic, I could have a whole I_G megawad of this. Best map in Haste, now on to deal with the rest. 

 

NOTE: from now on I'll be commenting only those maps that I think deserve praise. Trying to foster some positive thinking, and some of the stuff Haste is making me wade through really isn't helping. 

Edited April 22, 2022 by Thelokk

[brick]

Haste MAP07 - "Magma Templum" by Scotty
I liked the way the map is laid out, with lots of open spaces, the lava restricts your movement a bit but there's plenty of solid ground to dance on. The graphical theme (lava and rocks) might be generic but I still liked the fiery rocks and the sky texture. The outdoor fighting was not too hard, revenants teleport in but there's a lot of space to dodge and rocks to hide behind, and I let the cacos and imps kill each other. Once you have either blue or yellow key (I think you only need one, but I ended up with both; having both does net you some nice goodies) you can go after the red. There are 2 waves, the first is a bit cramped but you have a BFG, and starting with the chaingunners made the rest very manageable. The second wave has bigger baddies but they went down easy too, as did the not-quite third wave (that one did surprise me; I should've known though!). The final fight is 2 cybers and a horde of PEs, rather than risk getting swarmed by Souls I just killed the PEs ASAP then leisurely took out the cybers. Because of the enemy-only teleport lines I think it's possible to let all the PEs teleport to the cybers and then just go for the exit sequence without bothering with any of them. Overall it's a pretty manageable map, plenty of health and ammmo.

 

Haste MAP08 - "The Cradle" by Insane_Gazebo
This one gave me more mixed feelings. It's not what I'd usually think of as slaughter, more like a study in making a hard map with difficult combat using a small monster count. I appreciate the idea and think it really works in parts, usually early on in the central hub and when you return there, the telegraphed teleport archviles were a standout, as was the turret finale. I did find the repetition with returning to the hub every time and finding more revenants, again, got a bit tedious eventually. Much of the fighting is also very cramped, which is ok most of the time (and works quite well at the finale), but I didn't like the one room with the knights teleporting in when you have no move whatsoever. I also wasn't a fan of the progression, for the majority of the switches you press one then go back to the hub and run around trying to find where a new tiny switch has appeared, rinse and repeat. That said I love the general layout of the map, it gives the impression of being larger and more 3D thanks to the very clever use of stairs around the hub. I was also very pleasantly surprised to find there's no platforming involved once you get outside, not even running, you can just walk from platform to platform without falling, that part was pretty atmospheric. The metal and wood look isn't new but IG manages to give it his own spin, in large part thanks to the layout and to the subtle detailing everywhere, and it looks beautiful as a result. It's a pretty unique map for sure.

[RHhe82]

MAP08: The Cradle. HNTR, PS, 84/84 kills, 1/1 secrets, 4/4 items. Comp. time 13:48.

 

Another great level by the Sunder maestro, the style is recognizable, although I had the advantage of knowing the mapper beforehand.

 

On HNTR The Cradle isn’t easy as such, but it’s not particularly hard, either. The hardest part was the final stand on the platform, and the long platforming section leading there. It’s not like the individual jumps were that hard, but there were so many.

 

I can but admire the amount of effort a map such as this one must take. I mean, sure, powerful functions of the editor can speed up the process when you know how to use them, but still. The levet itself is not a long one, and yet seems like something that’d take me over a year to make and it’d still look uglier than what Insane Gazebo has done here with what seems like mostly stock textures.

 

Enjoyed this one, too. Should I try Sunder sometime?

[Pseudonaut]

Haste Map05:
The best map in Haste so far, which says a lot in this case. I always appreciate sandbox levels like this one. Going into the run, the big archvile wave at the end is what I was most afraid of, but it went unbelievably well here; it never went that well in practice. Normally, at least one archvile survives your last BFG shot and you need to run away, killing what you can. It's tempting to run this again for a better time, but I'm behind as is.

 

 

Haste Map06:
Most of these fights are pretty easy, with a couple of exceptions. For the archvile fight (you know which one if you've played the map), I guess sitting in a corner puts you in the best position to avoid damage, and spamming the BFG kills the viles fastest, but there isn't much you can do strategically to make it easier; just dodge the attacks when you can. Surprisingly, once I started attempting this saveless, I never died on that fight. The ending is something else, though, and ended two attempts. I used a different strategy on the first of those attempts, tried running around the arena in a figure 8, died, then decided to check out decino's video and steal his strat.

 

 

Demos:

has05-06.zip

[Thelokk]

1 hour ago, RHhe82 said:

Should I try Sunder sometime

 

You should, save a few early duds it's very good, and very doable on ITYTD if like me you're not a slaughter veteran.

[Book Lord]

MAP 08 – The Cradle by @Insane_Gazebo

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

 

Getting out of the starting room, surrounded by all those Imps with limited space, was no joke. Two Arch-Viles behind the doors were a nasty surprise too, as I only had the SSG. After the awkward start, The Cradle revealed its elaborate wood and rusty metal structures, a grim but somewhat raffinate place for a slaughter. The small environment restricted the size of the hordes, and most of the combat set pieces relied on artificially impairing the movement options of the player.

Spoiler

The first battle involving Hell Knights, Revenants, and a Cyberdemon was one of the most crowded in store, but also one of the easiest. The boss did most of the hard work and I did not even need to ask. From that point, the quest for the BSK began. Pressing the skull switches caused new monsters to spawn and distract my attention, then I must search for the new way that opened. Every single 64-unit wide gap was put to use to create claustrophobic passages and cramped arenas. The one that gave me a hard time was that breathless room with four Barons and a Revenant. The plasma gun was the only option, but it was so easy to mess with the movement and get cornered. A difficult arrangement that I could not consistently beat.

 

There were more of such instances, like the battle with Revenants for the BSK. I was not expecting the second wave, deployed by an off-screen voodoo doll timer. More closets accompanied me to the outside, where a rather long stroll on pillars brought me to the final encounter that surrounded me with Revenants and a Cyberdemon. It was surprisingly easy, at least when you know what to expect. The Cradle was another variation on the slaughter experience by Insane_Gazebo; I enjoyed it better than his previous maps because it explored the possibilities of space restriction and gave a special role to the silenced plasma rifle. Even though it relied on wood and metal stock textures, the detail and the lighting were so good that the place did not feel monotonous. Walking around the structure in an eerie atmosphere was another highlight of an outstanding map.

 

Time: 15:26    Deaths: 9

[kalaeth]

MAP 08 - The Cradle :

 

Armor, SSG, ammo and 4 doors. From the little windows in the corners you can tell they all lead to the same room, and opening one opens all. 2 imps in each door. Open one, kill all, open the next door. There's 2 HKs on opposing sides, remove them, and then I pick the side with the megasphere and plasma. And then I shoot a switch and a ton of revs and HKs show up. They get me to a corner and make minced meat out of me. Next try. Now I do a lap around the open part of the map and it seems as this skull is the only thing that can be pressed. Or shot, to be more precise. Better this time, I managed to get rid of all skells and company. Next.. Two AVs in cages next to a switch. Oh yeah, this will be fun. Yup. They 'port into the middle of the room and start resurrecting skells, leaving them protected.. Hum.. The RL is now available so I'll switch to it this next try. Yup, better. Next switch. It opens a path down some stairs to another switch.. A bunch of close-quarters HKs rip me to shreds. Next time I managed to kill them, switch for a lift, switch that does.. Something? Back up the stairs. Ah, it opened the door next to the plasma. Switch and.. Oh goodie, more skells and me at half life!This try I didn't even try to kill them, I just ran to see what had open : a few stairs with a baron meatshield on them that lead to another switch, yey... By using the big-brain move of "shoot rockets until all are dead" I managed to kill the skells and the barons,press the switch and then went up. I'm nearly dead... Oh well. Relatively mild ambush, I managed to kill both waves and grab the bluesphere. Then an AV, the BSK, switch. All the way down, blue switch, ooh armor! And health! Still, I die to the the HKs who show up behind me while I'm focused in the AV.. Different approach : kill the HKS, switch to RL and kill all from the corner. I almost succeed! Next try, the AV first, the HKs after and I almost did it again, but rocket to the wall got me. Next try, I realize you can actually see and shoot at the HKs from a window in the way so I cheese the fight a bit, removing a pair of them with the SSG, before walking over the trigger line. With less pressure from behind I managed to rocket the AV and imps and the worry about the remaining HK. Success! Switch, door, and of course, it wouldn't be a challenge without some platforming, right? It's actually not that hard, I only fell once. Now, a platform complete with megasphere, rockets and cells. Oh, a bunch of revs and well, let's be honest, I knew he was coming, a cow. Done! I'm missing the secret but no way I'm gonna go all the way back.

 

100,100, 0% K/I/S , 15:16 / 1:41:54

(my pistol start took many many tries but I managed to reach 100% K/I/S, 16:26)

[RonnieJamesDiner]

MAP08: The Cradle, by Insane_Gazebo

DSDA, pistol start, HNTR and UV

 

I want to describe The Cradle as a house of horrors, as much as I want to describe it as a Chinese puzzle box, and I think it’s accurately summed up somewhere between the two – MAP08 was executed to damn near perfection, as far as I’m concerned. HNTR flirts with the fight concepts, and seemed to offer a small taste of each idea without ever really taking down the guardrails; health and ammo were aplenty, and even where space (or lack thereof) remained a crucial element, the enemies involved were often squishy enough to fold under minimal pressure. Apart from, perhaps, the finale which seems to demand a bit of nimble footwork regardless of difficulty.

 

On Ultra-Violence, The Cradle felt as fine-tuned as a guitar string. I was constantly on the edge of having just enough health, just enough ammo (nearly leading to cardiac arrest when I finished this fight** with naught but 2 shells and a pistol left), just enough space to outmaneuver each new threat, and just enough wherewithal to process some of the dirtier tricks gleaned from the modest enemy count.

 

**

Spoiler

 

By far the biggest hurdle for me was being locked together with the 4 Baron brothers (and their anemic, twice-removed Revenant cousin), trying to circle-jerk me in what amounted to no more than a broom closet. I certainly preferred killing the Rev as quick as possible, so I could safely use the back of his pillar as a pivot point without being punched to death, and safely plant a foot in each corner without risking a homing rocket, while I slowly whittled down the Barons. That was rough on UV.

 

And then, there’s the literal victory lap around the outside of the madhouse, gliding across a platforming section so perfectly timed to the beat of the music that I’m convinced Stuart Rynn’s “Alien Jungle” was picked specifically for this segment. I loved this bit. I loved just about everything going on in The Cradle, from its use of space and sight lines, to the way it recalls lessons hard learned from Scotty’s introductory level. Brilliant map.

[tonytheparrot]

(Played on UV with pistol starts on Prboom+, saves are allowed)

Map 8: The Cradle by Insane_Gazebo

100% kills, items and secrets

Time: around 10 minutes

 

Insane_Gazebo never disappoints! When you played this map, it's very likely that the first thing that struck you was the midi, this excellent Stewboy BTSX E2 tune gives the map a surreal and dreamy feel, despite it being 90% wood textures. The level is of course hyperdetailed, as usual for Gazebo, but my favorite looking part is near the end, when you get out of that wooden building and see the seemingly endless black void, it's these kinds of visual moments that define Insane_Gazebo's aesthetics for me. Combat-wise, the map is still really fun while having a lower enemy count and being more claustrophobic than any other Gazebo entry, especially compared to Concrete Vice for example. It starts off with a surpringly difficult encounter in which you need to SSG a group of imps in a tight space, which makes it much easier for the imps to hit you with their fireballs, slowly chipping away at your health. Then, you need to make a cyber infight with a group of revs and hell knights, which is again, suprisingly tricky. Then comes the most evil ambush in the map, 4 barons and a rev on a pillar in a very tight space. The barons take up a ton of space and take a long time to kill, and the rev's homing misssiles are really difficult to dodge. After that you get a horde of teleporting revs and a small ambush with a rev and baron, followed by an other tricky fight. 2 small groups of revs teleporting successively in a tight space with little cover, followed by an archie. Also, did I mention that the first area regularly spawns archviles to resurrect the imps from the first fight, along with the revs and hell knights from the teleporting horde and the cyber infighting party? After that, you get an other encounter with 2 alcoves opening, 1 with a lot of imps and arch-viles and 1 with a few hell knights and an other archie. Then, after opening the way outside, you may gasp at the sight of all of these pillars, but that platforming section isn't that bad. To prove it, I can say that I beat it on my second try despite being horrible at it in games. After that, you get a pretty anticlimactic fight with 6 revs and a cyber to cap off this superior map. The Cradle is beautiful, dreamy, and Gazebo's combat is still very solid despite the limited space, one of Haste's best.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

 

Love:

Map 6

Map 8

Map 4

Really like :

Map 5

Map 2

Map 3

Map 1

Like:

Map 7

 

 

 

[Arwel]

Haste Map08 - The Cradle by Insane_Gazebo

UV, 100% kills, 0/1 secrets

 

This map, similarly to previous one, plays better than looks. Not that it's bad visually, it just looks worn out in terms of palette and textures. Unlike previous one though, it doesn't look like something legit old, because signature sector outlines and tricky detail are still there. The layout is pretty cool also, and features the longest platforming section so far. Rooms on which initial archies-imps fight is based on, thankfully to careful window design, work so well for so many things, that they are repurposed for few bigger fights that follow. One of the latter fights with 2 archviles, the one before platforming, can be cheesed in funny and most likely intentional way using archjump (and it's still possible to kill all the monsters through the fence). The last fight is probably the easiest last fight in set. It's not trivial, but it's made in a way that I have no doubts it's totally fair and won't ruin saveless player's best efforts! Speaking of which, I find this map one of the most realistic ones for me to go saveless, but it still just takes too much time for a single day. Overall, a decent map with snappy combat and interesting layout choices.

[Alaxzandarz]

Played with pistol-starts on UV on DSDA-Doom

 

Map 08: The Cradle

 

Sunken fortress of wood and stone. The starting arena is reused quite a few times and the central structure makes the fights interesting. There are quite a few spots in the arena you can get stuck while strafing. The other fights in this map are consistently crammed, I like them. They force you to use rockets, which makes them engaging. The map is packed in a very compact way, which makes the place feel more real. I love that you move outside of the structure, the outside area is beautiful and it's nice to see the building from outside. The lighting sequence that circles the entire stage is really enhances it. The final fight is a nice change from the fight indoors. This map has some of the best vanilla texture detailing I have ever seen. Loved this map.

 

My rankings

Spoiler

1: The Cradle

2: Concrete Vice

3: Floodplain

4: Firebug

5: Magma Templum

6: The Wheelhouse

7: Snoutish Pug Nose

8: The Barbican

 

[finnks13]

MAP08 - The Cradle by Insane_Gazebo:

DEATHS - 1
This is Insane_Gazebo's final solo map in this wad, and while it's not as flashy as Map06, it's my personal favourite of his three. To start off with, the theme of underwater ruins is great and one I would love to see explored more often (I've tried this myself, and it's not easy to depict), and the map looks incredible considering it's largely vanilla texture palette. I wish there were slightly fewer little sticky-out bits of wall to get stuck on, but this didn't really affect any fights, just general moving around the map. I also adore this MIDI, the opening song from BTSX E2 by stewboy, it sets the mood perfectly and was an excellent choice.

 

The fights don't mess around, and reuse the central hub often, which lets the low monster count shine through a mixture of resurrections, and the general lack of fodder outside of the initial few imps. I like the first big ambush when the cyberdemon and a large group of revenants and hell knights spawn, it's fun to try to get them all to have a massive brawl, and the high availability of cells lets you get out of tight spots. There's a couple of parts in this map that I can best describe as "mean spirited traps designed to murder you" and in spite of this description, I liked these, the very tight baron ambush is particularly mean and I'm genuinely surprised I didn't die here.

 

There aren't any fights I don't like, and I think Insane_Gazebo's archvile usage is best in this map, they're all mean and very effective at hitting you due to the lack of solid cover, especially when they decide to set up in the central room. I like the little platforming segment, and the final encounter with the revenants and cyberdemon is a small adrenaline rush before the end, though it's hard to concentrate when the scenery is as gorgeous as it is here. Fantastic map, definitely my favourite so far.

 

RANKINGS:

Spoiler

Really Liked: MAP04, MAP06, MAP07, MAP08
Liked: MAP01, MAP02, MAP03
Mixed Opinions: MAP05
Didn't Like:

 

[cannonball]

MAP08 - “The Cradle” by Insane_Gazebo

Ah so the author has reached critical mass and has become the singularity that is this map....

In all honesty, it is an absolute pleasure to see something much more restrained and it is fair to say that Insane Gazebo is more than capable of creating something that the likes of Death Destiny would be proud of. There are a couple of niggles, firstly the small room with the 4 barons + revenant is rather harrowing, especially as you can snag yourself on the architecture. The other is the fact that the central structure seems to collect roaming monsters far too easily, as such it can become a little irritating to play the fights as intended. Other than that the fights and progression are absolutely fine. The end fight is surprisingly easy compared to other fights in this map, also I wouldn't describe the approach to it as platforming, yes there are gaps between the pillars but you could do this at almost full speed without to much hassle, even for the average doomer. 

Again the theme is very on point, great contrast between the very brown temple and the surrounding sea of blue. The plasma gun is given the centre stage, which is great. The fight that gives you the blue key is a great jump scare for the first time player, nice touch. Out of the three maps by this author, this one probably sits in the middle (I prefer Map06, but I think this is far more compelling than Map02). As much as Sunder is the infamous beast that will never be outdone, it would be great to see more stuff like this.

[NiGHTS108]

MAP06: Concrete Vice

By Insane_Gazebo

Kills: 100%

Items: 88%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 10:36

 

Oh yes, Concrete Vice is great, do I really need to say it again? I love it, the palette, the fights, that one moment where like 15 Arch-Viles steadily drop into a cramped room, all excellent, this one puts a pretty heavy focus on the BFG and Arch-Viles in particular, lots of very dynamic battles, the opening is definitely one of my favourite, the monster placement comes around in an extremely impressive way here, nothing feels unnecessary, I also really like those said 15 Arch-Viles and the ending, my suggestion here is to simply kill the platformed Cyberdemons as fast as possible, they will do everything in your power to prevent you from standing still so stay frosty, I love this map, it's crisp and fresh and never lets me down!

 

Grade: A

Difficulty: A-

 

 

MAP07: Magma Templum

By Scotty

Kills: 100%

Items: 95%

Secrets: 100%

Time: 7:57

 

Magma Templum is the easiest map in Haste

...

Up until the final fight

The first map I've never played before, Magma Templum is probably the most generally relaxed affair so far, more content to just enjoy the skybox and create a nice piece of scenery, it's still got hard fights, love the Arch-Vile on a pillar of bones, the Arch-Vile on a pillar of zombiemen, and the Imp + Caco fight all outdoors, but you're finally given some fresh air after the last two adventures, you can actually beat this one surprisingly fast, I'm pretty sure the red key is the only one needed to lower the rocks to the final fight, which is guarded by a threatening mob with a peanut gallery of chaingunners and more Arch-Viles, I like this fight, I suggest snubbing out the Arch-Viles as fast as possible with any BFG ammo you may or may not have, shouldn't be a problem either way, I also really like the last fight, a dense shrub of Pain Elementals, Cyberdemons, Arch-Viles and an overclocked BFG, feel free to go wild here, not much to it, I like this map

 

Grade: A-

Difficulty: B

 

 

[Pseudonaut]

Haste Map07:
There were some close calls, but the only death I had here today was from falling into an inescapable pit at the beginning. This map can be roughly divided into thirds, beginning with some generally incidental combat in the first third. You can take everything one piece at a time here or spawn everything and deal with the chaos. My approach was somewhere inbetween.

 

In the next fight, my first instinct was to immediately kill the viles/chaingunners with the BFG, but when I saw that they get crushed later on, I decided on another method that's slightly better for conserving cells. Either way works pretty well, it's not a hard fight. Then there's the finale, which is dangerous simply because three cyberdemons are roaming around in a pretty tight space with other enemies, but it always turned out well as long as I held the trigger down and moved in a U-shape until the cybs died.

 

 

Haste Map08:
I got rekt by this map earlier today. I was going to post a playthrough with saves, which I did record later in the day, but it went so smoothly that I decided to just record a demo and post that instead. There are a couple of fights here where I used a different strat than what I saw elsewhere: the cramped room with four barons and one revenant goes pretty well if you focus on the barons and just dodge the rev when you can. For the ending fight, I tried to just dodge rev missiles while focusing on the cyb, which went well in practice, but almost cost me the run this time. Maybe the other method I saw, focusing on the revs first, is better. I experimented with that just before posting this, and it seems the pillars with torches on them can actually protect you from cyb rockets, so moving in a U-shape between them while taking down revs seems like the best strategy.

 

 

Demos:

has07-08.zip

[RHhe82]

MAP09: Infinium. HNTR, PS, 389/389 kills, 1/1 secrets, 6/6 items. Comp. time 15:37.

 

Another one by Scotty, but this one doesn’t play like a Plutonia map, but has a more ”grandiose” slaughter feel to it.

 

No matter, I still had fun with it. Not as much fun as with something like Concrete Vice, but still. Infinium gives you guns and ammo, and unleashes hordes on you in a handful arenas, first of which I chose the yellow key one. While HNTR goes easy on you (I guess), some of the herding skills (or rather being conscious about it) came in handy until enemy lines had withered down enough. The same goes for the other arenas, as well. I don’t think any fancy tactics are required in any of them, but each arena could be deadly because of the enemies closing in on you.

 

The final room with 20+ revenants cramped together had me employ one tactic: spam BFG, but close enough to the revenants that they don’t fire (too many) missiles on you. Brute force, maybe, but it did the trick. A good map, maybe not my favourite, but certainly a good map.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP08: "The Cradle" by Insane_Gazebo

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/1 secrets

 

MAP08 sees a bit more of a reserved I_G this time. The architecture less grand in scale, although no less detailed and pleasing to the eye, and with a pretty small monster count of 136. While their last map brought the grey-green textures, this one goes all in on brown, providing brown brick, wood, and metal texturing. We see a re-used theme from the archvile fight in MAP06 though, with little water-textured squares being used to telegraph monster teleporters throughout this one. The midi is one of my favourites, stewboy's "Alien Jungle" (not to be confused with stewboy's "Alien Forest"). It first welcomed players to Back to Saturn X Episode 2, and it's a fantastic track.

 

With the smaller monster count, the fights are a bit less slaughtery than one might be used to from an I_G map. Monsters do come in hordes, but you'll find the space provided to you to be more of an obstacle than the monsters' numbers most of the time. You start at the center of a small square structure, the doors opening to a corridor full of imps, and the doors there opening to the main area along with a couple of archviles. Once you've SSG'd your way through these guys, you can get the plasma rifle and shoot/punch a switch to unleash the first big fight. This one kicked my ass my first few goes at it, but it's not too bad. Just avoid getting cornered while maintaining a circuit around the room, and try to get the cyberdemon infighting. The center structure can make things awkward for you sometimes though, either with monsters getting caught up inside it or with projectiles flying through the cage-windows and catching you off-guard.

 

The next stretch has some fun stuff, but it does have a tendency to just give you the middle finger sometimes. The next switch teleports two archviles inside the center structure, and they can cause lots of trouble if lots of mid-tier monsters died in there, which can be a difficult thing to control. Problems here can be compounded by the next fight as you will want to head into this one with a lot of cells and health. You get 4 barons in an extremely tight space with a revenant on a pedestal to make matters worse. As quickly as possible you need to focus all your plasma on one of the barons, as getting rid of just one makes a world of difference for your manoeuvrability. After that you can take down the revenant if you've got the time, or continue on the barons otherwise. Without lots of health and plasma, this fight can be a big problem, and even with that sometimes the barons can just decide your run has gone long enough and block off your escape routes. 

 

When you come back, another switch is unveiled in the main area, which gives you another archvile and a bunch of revenants in the center structure. Kill the archvile right away, and then you can circle around the center structure which causes the revenants to get kind of stuck in there for the most part, and they can be rocketed with relative ease. Then you have a small revenant-baron ambush, followed by another room that can sometimes be trouble. It's worth noting that the stretch of the map from the first teleporting archviles to now does not give you much to work with in the way of health, so you will often reach this fight with little room for error. You have revenants in a tight space with a bunch of pillars in the way, you'll want to rocket them to do some good damage ASAP but it can be tricky not to take a missile or two. After a pause, you get a soulsphere that will probably be much needed along with another wave of revenants. Once you get the sphere and take down the revenants, the ensuing archvile is a piece of cake if you're ready for him. You're now in the final stretch.

 

This next fight is probably the most potentially troublesome in the map. You get one archvile with a horde of imps, and another archvile with a horde of hell knights, all in a very cramped corridor. Just grab that plasma and start spraying the one with the imps as fast as you can. Depending on that the archies do, it can be very difficult not to get zapped here. Sometimes they cooperate though and it goes smoothly. Now run down the cool looking path of square platforms to the final fight. You're surrounded by revenants on pedestals with a cyberdemon at the front. This one never really caused much trouble. I just rocket the revenants as fast as possible and once they're down, the cybie is a pushover with your plasma. Just keep moving and take good shots and you'll most likely survive.

 

That was a long writeup, but there was quite a lot to this map despite its small enemy count. It's another one of my favourites of the set so far, very well designed fights throughout.

[Book Lord]

MAP 09 – Infinium by @Scotty

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

 

Scotty resorted again to the flooded level aesthetics seen in MAP04, albeit in a tech-base setting. The number of used textures was very limited, relying largely on the contrast between brown metal and the blue of water and night sky, sometimes replaced by decorative inserts of the same colour. What Infinium lacked in visual variety, it compensated with its combat scenarios, which were never overwhelming but at the same time not trivial to figure out.

 

The Cyberdemon seen at the beginning was a thorn in the side. I was about to sacrifice some ammo to kill him on many occasions, but I thought he could serve as a multi-purpose infighting ally. I could not be more wrong, as he became an increasing nuisance while advancing through the map. When I dropped in the pool with the BFG, I must keep an eye on him while battling the opponents there. This first area was the only one that was toned down on HMP, as there were only 2 Arch-Viles instead of 4 in the closet. I was missing the rocket launcher to reliably kill the elevated Arachnotrons that guarded the YK, so I involved the second Cyberdemon in the hostilities. I still must go up the lift and carry out a risky assault with the SSG, to conserve cells for the boss and for the plethora of Pain Elementals behind the locked door.

Spoiler

The second arena was broader and much more crowded, mixing Hell Knights, Revenants, Cacodemons, and Pain Elementals. A host of Chaingunners appeared on a balcony and must be accounted for, after destroying the brown balls to stop their Lost Soul spawning frenzy. There were plenty of room and useful cover to exploit, so I did not have much trouble with this one. After collecting the BK, the path to leave the arena led me to the last section. A two-stage slaughter awaited me before I could put my hands on the RK. The first group was rich in Revenants and beefy Barons of Hell but using the environment to my advantage was simple. This was not the case of the second wave, consisting of a double closet full of flying monsters, complete with an Arch-Vile duo protected by more Barons. Here I regretted keeping the Cyberdemon alive, as he negated the use of part of the arena without being much of a hassle for the enemies. I struggled to contain Cacodemons and Lost Souls, while at the same time trying to assassinate the Viles before they resurrected too many fallen Barons.

 

There was one more Arch-Vile on a walkway, then a squad of Revenants in the exit room, but the challenges were practically over. I found a hidden button near the three-coloured door, and it was one of those switch teleporters that Scotty likes so much, used to telefrag the pesky Cyberdemon. Good to know for the next time! Not the best-looking map from this author, lacking some extra detail to mark the important spots (i.e., progression switches), Infinium featured a clever layout and interesting combat arrangements that allowed for multiple approaches.

 

Time: 18:21    Deaths: 6

[finnks13]

MAP09 - Infinium by Scotty:

DEATHS - 6
Haste's hot streak of maps I adore ends here, as while there are some decent moments here, it overall doesn't work as well as the other maps here. To start, while this palette looks great when in a more natural setting, I really don't think the blues work here in contrast to the dark metal that 90% of the map is textured in, they feel very washed out and even the brown slime used to indicate inescapable pits looks better against it. I do like that Scotty's maps continue to offer the player choices in how they tackle the map, though if you're like me you see a BFG and immediately jump for it.

 

After dying in the blue key area once, I did try to do the yellow key fight first, but without the BFG the pain elementals here become a nuisance so I decided to just do the blue key fight first and this area is fine, but I can't remember much about it. I do like the scale of the yellow key fight, and the chaingunners are quite a threat if you don't kill them immediately. The red key area is also pretty fun, though I wasn't able to get through the fight by triggering both waves at once, it was entertaining even when taking it one wave at a time. The yellow & red key areas have some convoluted progression in them, lots of wandering around pressing buttons far away from the elevator that they activate, which becomes irritating if you have to re-traverse it ever. This isn't a bad map by any metric, and my poor mood as of writing this may be clouding my opinions, but I left this map with no desire to replay it unlike every other map so far.

 

RANKINGS:

Spoiler

Really Liked: MAP04, MAP06, MAP07, MAP08
Liked: MAP01, MAP02, MAP03
Mixed Opinions: MAP05
Didn't Like: MAP09

 

[tonytheparrot]

(Played on UV with pistol starts on Prboom+, saves are allowed)

Map 9: Infinium by Scotty

100% kills, 50% items and 100% secrets

Time: around 9 minutes

 

My god, such a good level! For a map not only made in only 3 hours but that is also the oldest one in the wad, Infinium kicks ass and is without any doubt my favorite entry in Haste due to it's awesome action and great visuals. I love the aesthetics, they are simple, and the layout is a bit blocky, but the combination of greys and blues works very well, especially if you add that stary sky. The map is also supported by Jimmy's excellent BTSXE1 midi, “Faultline”, which contributes a lot to my enjoyement of the combat and fits the aesthetics perfectly. Combat-wise, it features more open fights and gives more ammo than most of Haste, so it's easier, but don't let your guard down as you can still die aplenty if you aren't careful. There are 3 main fights, I am going to talk about them in the order in which I tackle them, I think that you can start the first and second ones when you want, but you need to beat the first one if you wanna play the third one. You are also surveilled by a centrily-located cyber during the entire map, so watch out as he can be really dangerous. The first one gives an SSG, plasma and RL, but throws lots of hell knights, cacos, pain elementals and revs along with some sniping chaingunners, but you get lots of rockets and cells, so let them fly while moving at top speed to not get overwhelmed. The second one gives a BFG and an SSG, but pits you against archies, pinkies, revs and hell knights who are helped by a few arachnotrons. Later, a cyber shows up and the exit to this encounter is guarded by a horde of pain elementals. However, these pain elementals can take the teleporter out of the arena and letting too many of them take it will fill the map with floating skulls. The third one gives a BFG, but throws barons, revs and imps, and later archies, barons and a ton of lost souls and cacos. It's the hardest fight in the map in my opinion as it can get pretty overwhelming, especially when the flying foes show up. After that, open the exit door to reveal a horde of revs and don't miss the secret switch that allows you to telefrag the centrally-located cyber. This level is incredibly entertaining, perfectly scored and looks great, one of Scotty's best in this wad, and my personal favorite map in the set.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

 

Love:

Map 9

Map 6

Map 8

Map 4

Really like :

Map 5

Map 2

Map 3

Map 1

Like:

Map 7

 

 

[RonnieJamesDiner]

MAP09: Infinium, by Scotty

DSDA, pistol start, HNTR and UV

 

Collect my keys in either order? Check. Extra Arch-Viles, and a more aggressive assortment of hitscanners on UV? Check. I think it’s a Scotty map! I have to give him huge credit for creating four of these nine levels so far, and managing to elicit wildly different visuals each time, despite sticking to a relatively consistent recipe. That said, even the gameplay side has swung from compact combat puzzles to pure, “hold down mouse1 and run” action, and everything in between – good stuff!

 

Any level that hands me a Megasphere, backpack, and a full RL, SSG, and BFG (depending on which route I take), before firing a single shot, is nigh impossible for me not to enjoy. In a mapset where I’m pistol starting each entry, cutting straight to the fully-loaded bloodshed is refreshing. This might feature the least differentiation between difficulty settings up to this point, but I think it sits in a comfortable enough pocket to get away with this – Infinium’s approach is nothing I would characterize as obscure, and the combat isn’t expecting me to be proficient at anything the previous levels haven’t taught me. MAP09 seems to take the spirit of the project and simply throw some fun in my direction – I’d reckon most players should be ready for this kind of level, regardless of which skill setting they’re coming into it on.

 

I loved the Cyberdemon acting as overseer for all three arenas, and although I slid straight into several death pits – on more than one occasion – like an absolute lush with a bottle of whisky and a pair of roller-skates, I really enjoyed the layout here. Overall, quick reactions and general awareness seemed to safely carry me through these encounters without having to sit down and scratch out a game plan, and it rendered the whole thing very satisfying to blast through. Awesome level!

[Alaxzandarz]

Played with pistol-starts on UV on DSDA-Doom

 

Map 09: Infinium

 

Abstract water and metal map. This map has very open fights and you get quite a lot of cells, so they are pretty easy. The pain elemental gang is annoying, if some of them manage to escape. Killing the turret cyber is a pain. I enjoyed the last revenant horde. I like the sorta aesthetic this map is going for, but the detailing is pretty rough. Still I liked this map quite a bit.

 

My rankings:

Spoiler

1: The Cradle

2: Concrete Vice

3: Floodplain

4: Infinium

5: Firebug

6: Magma Templum

7: The Wheelhouse

8: Snoutish Pug Nose

9: The Barbican

 

[Arwel]

Haste Map09 - Infinium by Scotty

UV, 100% kills, no secrets

 

This map brings back bigger scale slaughter which I started to miss already! I also dig its abstract design and textures-as-colors approach, although I would prefer a bit more decorative detail and some way to make black colors stand out more: I've been falling a lot here simply because floors are often barely visible. There is still binary non-linearity to progression, but it's presented in a little bit less straight-in-your-face way we've seen in maps 1 and 4. Fights are pure but quality slaughter, bringing some challenge but not asking for any complicated strategizing, which hits the right spot for me on Saturday. Overall, this map is not quite a breather, but it's somewhat relaxing and very enjoyable.