Waiting to Exit: ONEMANDOOM WAD Reviews update thread

[kmxexii]

Hello and welcome to the interminable season 19 of ONEMANDOOM!

 

This is my attempt at a ONEMANDOOM WAD review metathread. I long hesitated posting something like this in the old WADs and Mods forum, but now that non-specific and older WAD commentary has been parsed out into its own subforum I am comfortable taking this outside of the realm of the sixty or so folks who have elected to follow me on Doomworld. I won't promise that I'll be super-engaged with this thread outside of posting updates when I make them to the blog but I appreciate all readers, both long-time and new.

 

RE: Season 19: There is a natural ebb and flow to what I've focused on reviewing over the years based on the period following the Cacowards where I started to round up the WADs that I hadn't covered (late December / early January) and the point in the year where I began to panic because I hadn't played many WADs from the then-current year in preps for the Cacowards (late June / early July). In 2018, due to a suggestion regarding the progress of my overwhelming Malcolm Sailor monograph, I birthed a plan where I rotate through a more or less pre-planned series of topics. Season 19 kicked off with my review of the Russian Overkill mod on January 2nd, 2020, and is finally nearing its inevitable conclusion!!!!

 

SEASON 19

 

Short 'n Quick 2 (by @Varun)

Deep Core 1 (by @Use)

Entryway (by @Espi)

Secret Lab (by @Sphagne)

Shadowcaster (by @The Ultimate DooMer)

Mega Tear (by @Memfis)

Short 'n Quick (by @Varun)

Hell Pit (by @Use)

Simphony of Death (by @Sphagne)

The Abandoned Mines II (by @Torn)

Operation: Lightning (by @The Ultimate DooMer)

Gredna (by @Memfis)

One Humanity (by @Romero)

Fragport (by @The Ultimate DooMer)

Soulcage (by @Use)

E2M1ER (by @Espi (RIP))

Duse Ex Machina (by @Aleaver)

Barons o' Fun (by @Espi (RIP))

Find It (by @Erik)

R.A.V.E. (by @Aleaver)

Timelessness (by @Aleaver)

Silent Halls (by @Memfis)

OTTAWAU.WAD ver 0.9 (by Jean-Searge Gagnon et al)

Indifference (by @Aleaver)

No Hope For Life Episode 1: Back to the Fight (by @Aleaver, @pabloD, and @Jayextee)

bitebwad (by @Aleaver)

Blackness (DSV2) (by @Kaiser)

Download (by @Memfis)

Subversion (by @pabloD)

Blind Alley Y., "Dissolution" (by @Searcher)

Blind Alley X., "Forlorn" (by @Searcher)

Blind Alley 8., "Retribution" (by @Searcher)

Blind Alley W., "Redemption" (by @Searcher)

Blind Alley V., "Necrophobia" (by @Searcher)

Blind Alley U., "Deja Vu" (by @Searcher)

Blind Alley T., "Waste Processing" (by @Searcher)

Blind Alley B., "Octagon of Fear" (by @Searcher)

Rise of the Wool Ball (by @MSPaintR0cks)

-----
Europa 3: The Dark Side of Vrack (by @Erik)
The Anomaly: Part II (by @Varun)
Toilet Break (by @Memfis)
lilith.pk3 (by @anotak)
Evil's Playground (Diabolique part two) (by @pabloD)
Blind Alley S., "Spirit World - Headquarters" (by @Searcher)
Trousled (by @A.o.D.)
Titan 1024 (by @Ixnatifual)
ea Speedmap 3 (by @Erik)
Metamorphism (by @Vorpal and @Karthik)
Love You With Poison (by @Memfis)
An Infernal Place v1.1 (by @pabloD)
An Infernal Place (by @pabloD)
Blind Alley R., "Monster Mansion" (by @Searcher)
Beta 64 (by @Antnee)
Doom 64: The Lost Levels (by @Kaiser)
Europa 2 (by @Erik)
-----
ea Gothic 2 (by @Erik)
ea Gothic 1 (by @Erik)
Europa 1 (by @Erik)
Nexus (by @Vorpal)
Heart of Fire (by @pabloD)
Catastrophe (by @magikal (RIP))
3 Heures d'Agonie 3 (by @WH-Wilou84 @franckFRAG @Datacore85 @Roofi @Memfis @Oxyde @JCD @Ch0wW NilstheRed and Jambon)
Blind Alley E., "The Pit" (by @Searcher)
Gordia (by @Memfis)
MAYhem 2016 (by @Tarnsman @Alfonzo @Angry Saint @Jimmy @Argent Agent @Urthar @Pinchy @Benjogami @Breezeep @Alter @an_mutt @pcorf @Rayziik @A.Gamma @Dragonfly @Ribbiks @Remmirath @Marcaek )
Blind Alley Q., "The Warf" (by @Searcher)
MEMFIS_E1M1 (by @Memfis)

Russian Overkill (by @PillowBlaster)

 

Season 18: The Vorpal Bird Went Karthik-er Snack: Good Bye to the Alex Parsons Project, Loved You Lutz (July 17th, 2019 - December 28th, 2019)

Season 17: Shilpashastra (January 15th, 2019 - July 12th, 2019)

Season 16: Odysseus (July 6th, 2018 - January 10th, 2019)

Season 15: The DOOM Poets Society (December 5th, 2017 - July 3rd, 2018)

Season 14: A Quick One (July 17th, 2017 - November 30th, 2017)

Season 13: END1 or Adventures in Copypasting (December 22nd, 2016 - April 23rd, 2017)

Season 12: The Book of Relevation (July 2nd, 2016 - December 15th, 2016)
Season 11: DOOM Gone Bad  (December 29th 2015 - June 23rd 2016)

Season 10: How ERKATANE Stole X-Mas  (June 29th, 2015 - December 22nd, 2015)

Season 9: Per Your Request  (January 10th, 2015 - June 26th, 2015)

Edited May 6, 2022 by kmxexii : updating review list

[kmxexii]

I hope you're ready for some more @Memfis tomfoolery in my review of Mega Tear. This is another short, simple, and fun level with a race track-like periphery that promotes player movement... provided that you kick a mancubus and maybe a few other things out of the way.

 

   

 

Spoiler

This Doom II MAP01 replacement was initially published on the Doomworld forums in July of 2013 and was only uploaded to /idgames in June of 2014, nearly a year later. It's theoretically Boom-compatible but, in order to listen to the provided music track, the engine must be capable of playing mod tracker files. Memfis didn't have any contextual information to offer that would help clarify the choice of title, Mega Tear, and a cursory search doesn't reveal anything obvious like a manga. In the community, "mega" is more often than not associated with megaWADs, something that the author often started but never found the wherewithal to complete. One could argue, then, that it's named in deference to Memfis's practice of publishing megaWAD fragments. Would a reject removed from such a project be a "mega tear"? Or is it more of a reference to the author's regret in having so many "incomplete" productions, each one eliciting a salty "mega tear"?

 

What we do know is that a significant portion of this level's development was highly experimental, at least in terms of how we assume maps are made with the then-available DoomBuilder 2 and now its derivatives. Specifically, Memfis declined to use the editor's 3D mode until the thing was almost complete. This was a psychologically rewarding process for him as he was not so overwhelmingly familiar with the look of his architecture when he finally got around to playtesting. I assume that this experience partially bridges the gap between the experiences of the author and player, with the caveat that the former would still know the general location of any traps. Of course, such information might be temporarily forgotten while you're immersed in seeing your level geometry in the flesh for the first time.

 

Mega Tear is basically a techbase level with a familiar base infrastructure theme. The majority of the geometry is dominated by a deep sluice that runs from the northeast portion of the level down to a large, outdoor cistern to the southwest. There are a handful of small, offshoot segments like the starting alcove but most of the traditional playing area consists of the track-like walkway that loops around the sluice and exterior pool. I'm vaguely reminded of the first two levels of his Download minisode with their peripheral walkways but neither of those maps featured a complete circuit. The fully-connected route, mancubus roadblock excluded, allows the player to go on a real mega tear.

 

The tropes are emblematic of Memfis's encounter design. The main playing area has a race track route but the author has at least one major obstacle in the mancubus roadblock in order to keep the player from steamrolling through. Combat is limited to "small arms", by which I am referring to the regular shotgun and chaingun, and the player must venture into hostile territory in order to secure either. It will otherwise be difficult or at least ponderous to remove ol' fatso . The majority of the monsters consist of Doom II trash like zombies and imps with a couple of Hell knights thrown in. The majority of my difficulty with the set came from the chaingunners but the mancubus and cacodemon make for an interesting opening scenario. There is a Berserk pack available in one of the optional side areas and I suppose that you could use it to mega rip and mega tear. It's more helpful I think for its HP reset property. I was more interested in how Memfis arranged the room as it's a one-way drop into the unknown.

 

Overall, I liked this simple layout. The side areas - some of which are optional - make for welcome additions to the world-building factor. The fact that you start in one and must exit by another (which you can check out first) makes them feel like natural extensions of the main playing area. The cistern comes with a prominent platforming setpiece and it didn't even occur to me that it has a giant, floating column of water that tries to crush you. It's such a wonderfully weird detail, though I suppose no stranger than the hydro-elevator that takes you to the sluice level with a teleporter, since they're cheaper for the UAC than a staircase or ladder. I also enjoyed the look of the southern annex with its broad, steep stairs descending toward an alcove. For some reason it makes me think of Tony Sideris but I can't back up my intuition with a specific example. It's definitely evoking some cool '94-'96 style feels. Contrast this against the more detailed and relatively realistic tech room found north of the Berserk room.

 

Mega Tear is a short and fun blastathon that would have been a fun-sized delight in a larger mapset. Enjoy it, here, as another demon-slaying vignette that gently challenges player movement with a dash of resource austerity.

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by kmxexii

[Searcher]

Nice to see these all compiled into one place.  That will help a lot.

[Megalyth]

This is great! I love reading your reviews. While not having the time to check out so many of these levels myself, I can still experience them in a way.

[PasokonDeacon]

I feel remiss for not commenting on your reviews more often, given how often I read them. It's awesome to have a dedicated thread here for them now, and I hope you get around to some really cool older maps/sets this year!

[Redneckerz]

14 likes thus far.

 

This needs to be hearted, so here is the 15th.

 

Onemandoom is my onestopdrop for details on maps. 

[LadyMistDragon]

Memfis has a certain unique talent, though his are not necessarily the most creative. I'm here for it.

[Captain Ventris]

Your reviews are some of my favorite writings on Doom. Outstandingly educated and efficacious. I absolutely love your writing.

[kmxexii]

If you were one of the select few Heretic hopefuls then do I have some good news for you! It's time for my review of Shadowcaster by @The Ultimate DooMer!

 

Reviewer's notes:

 

• I must have known about these before doing a deep dive of Clark's works but when I started in on Fragport I had completely forgotten that Operation: Lightning even existed and thought that Shadowcaster was a three-level ZDoom TC themed after the Raven Software game of the same name. Whoops!
• A year ago I would have maybe guessed that E5M8's title was a reference to the Stephen King series but I would have had no idea of the significance of the final battleground.
• Shadowcaster's work with using exploding pods as pushable platforms and the voodoo doll + morph ovum mechanic feels like it could have been revolutionary for the comparatively small number of authors of Heretic user levels. I don't know enough about the history of Heretic PWADs to be able to say with any certainty but, for whatever reason, I have seen neither of these gameplay innovations in the limited amount of other user levels that I have played (though I half-expect to see something like these in @scwiba's UnBeliever given Absolutely Killed's predilections toward twisting OG Doom's available mechanics into novel positions). It's probable that with what few Heretic mapsets that I've played I have seen and subsequently forgotten any instances of pod platforming. I can think of a number of explanations as to why these elements never took off, not the least of which is that Heretic is ostensibly a Doom clone with very soft action / adventure touches and its playerbase was quite happy with a relatively straightforward sword and sorcery FPS. If someone knows of any other Heretic PWADs that use pods in lieu of box puzzles or gets the player to chicken themself in order to take advantage of stuff like its shorter height and slow fall property then let me know! It's fascinating to see it appear out of nowhere, so to speak.

 

Spoiler

From 2000 to 2002, Stephen Clark (aka The Ultimate DooMer) had created an episode for the original Doom and then converted it to Doom II (Operation: Lightning) and crafted his epic, 21st-century Doom II megaWAD (Fragport). His next target for his own brand of experimentation and modernization was everyone's favorite Doom clone, Heretic. Shadowcaster is an episode 5 replacement for Shadows of the Serpent Riders, released in September of 2002. I'm not up on my Raven Software lore but I don't think that there were any major engine changes between the original release and the free expansion that would have necessitated using the E5 slot. Presumably, this was more of an aesthetic decision where the author could avoid having to contend with a clashing intermission screen.

 

Shadowcaster is a fantasy pastiche but has some interesting phrasing, declaring that the player character is part of "a sentient race of heretical elves", emphasis mine. Like the badass secret agent of Fragport, you are well-known for your heroism and thus constantly called up to perform feats of valor. The King of the realm calls you to court and tells you that a mage on the distant and unfortunately named island of Fagranc is summoning monsters from another dimension with the intent to conquer the kingdom. The quest will involve traveling to the island under the cover of magic and then laying waste to the dark mage's forces, the final goal being to both slay him and seal the portal.

 

In some ways, Clark's episode is a welcome break from the paramilitary Doom II trappings that dominated his previous two releases. The author's high fantasy takes you through several villages, caverns filled with both acid and lava, and even an elemental temple of water. The later levels take you through a massive castle, halls deeper in the dungeon, and eventually to a tower whose climax appears to invoke Stephen King's own epic fantasy The Dark Tower series. The Clark-Stephen has no fear of some of his favorite elements looking ridiculous when juxtaposed against the dark fantasy setting, however. Don't be surprised if, when wandering through the mines, you run across clearly-labeled "Rest Rooms" including a "Bog". He is glad to announce some of the more artificial elements like the "Gas Pod Gauntlet". I am only just now thinking about how weird it is for "Shadow Castle" to have every single one of its rooms clearly labeled over its door.

 

Like the rest of The Ultimate DooMer's previously-released material, Shadowcaster purports to be a "21st century" episode. Stephen's intent here was to approximate some aspects of more recent first-person shooters while folding in his own gameplay predilections. The results sometimes pushed against the boundaries of what constitutes good taste for level designers, especially nowadays, but it's clear that Clark was generally attempting to elevate the gameplay of Doom II. SHADOW is no different in its execution but there is an added wrinkle in having Raven's expanded toolkit. My admittedly limited experience with Heretic user levels suggests that their authors generally stick to the guidelines established by Raven's own game design. Stephen pushes these mechanics into new and sometimes uncomfortable directions.

 

The single most revolutionary thing that I saw in Shadowcaster was TUD's use of the exploding pods. "Watery Paradise" (E5M5) repurposes them as movable platforms, allowing the author to recreate crate puzzles in Heretic. These range from filling in pits to pushing together pod bridges, exploding pod trains that you hitch a ride on, and even propping open doors to keep them from closing. While clever, the mechanic fumbles in "The Great Hall" (E5M7) where you must consecutively push / escort three pods through an ophidian / undead warrior shooting gallery. The player feels especially vulnerable, there, and the dearth of health - and ammo - compounds the frustration of the experience. In general, though, I was blown away by Clark's exploitation of pod mechanics.

 

Stephen is relatively upfront about Shadowcaster's other gameplay element, though its full implication isn't immediately obvious. The .TXT talks about "manikins", what the community colloquially refers to as voodoo dolls. That's how they're initially used, standing blankly as hazards that cause you to question exactly how you're dodging projectiles or launching your own attacks. The manikins are ubiquitous, but in E5M7 you are forced to confront the totality of their secret purpose and realize just why the author has been leaving so many Morph Ova spread around the levels. Why, yes, you COULD make it under that gap if you were a chicken. Or, using the slower fall rate, coast across a considerable distance. One particular segment in "The Dark Tower" (E5M8) sends you on a clucking race past monsters, including a maulotaur, and through a miniature maze. I'd like to think that this particular mechanic was inspired by Duke3D's shrink ray puzzles. There is a third aspect to the manikins that comes up rarely but will require you to push them around with your staff. I don't know what if anything was standing in the way of Stephen doing voodoo doll scripting in the episode; it certainly seems like something his particular genius would have implemented.

 

I talked about the Morph Ova but there are multiple instances where acquired items have a specific purpose in another portion of the level. In one case, you need to use a torch to illuminate an otherwise pitch-black room so that you can perform some "Chasm"-style catwalking... hopefully making it back in time. In another, you must use a ring of invulnerability so that you can push a voodoo doll through Yet Another Catwalk where it will be safe from a more or less universal crusher. The closest that I've seen to something like that is one of the trials in Stormwalker's Heretic: Dark Deity's Bastion, minus the whole voodoo doll thing. The Wings of Wrath figure into several secret hunts - especially the road to the hidden "Steel Works" (E5M9) - and are required to complete the elemental challenge of "Crosswinds Village" (E5M4).

 

Four of the levels (E5M2-E5M5) feature this elemental trial motif. You must brave challenges associated with the classic earth / fire / air / water to lower four sequential barriers to a critical progression point. This consists of stuff like crusher gauntlets, lava damage floors, or using the Wings to find switches at varying heights in a blustery chasm. The execution is reminiscent of the structure of his "Crystal Maze" in Fragport's MAP32 except it's spread out across four maps. His puzzle play is not limited to these elemental trials, either. You'll find puzzle scenarios endemic to the fabric of Shadowcaster just as it is to all of Clark's works and the multi-stage switch mechanisms persist in the later portions of the episode.

 

As far as mazes go, well, they don't exist in this offering. At least, not in the sort of guileless form seen most often in Operation: Lightning or even Fragport. I would argue that the trident bridge of shadows seen in "Steel Works" (E5M9) is similar in spirit, as is the slow, convoluted water slide of "Watery Paradise" (E5M5). There are a few minor mazes, to be sure, but they have a timed sense of urgency and are too short to be truly confusing. Unlike, say, the three-floor linked-by-teleporter fortress in "Shadow Castle" (E5M6). I don't know whether having the separate tiers physically linked via something like portals would help the player's mental mapping anymore considering that you so rarely have to move between the floors. If anything, the monster placement is more of a hindrance to being able to explore and process each level.

 

Clark’s encounter design has always worked to provide an additional, “organic” aspect to the overall challenge of any given map. Shadowcaster feels even more aggressively weighted toward his Mission: Impossible level starts, from the very beginning of E5M1 (“Village of Light”) and its mummy melee with fire gargoyles at the player’s back. Weapon pickups are generally buried deep in each level with the player having to wade through considerable opposition. As I play through Stephen’s catalog, I have had a feeling that the UV-equivalent thing placement is meant to be a challenge for players who are already familiar with the level. The structure of E5M1, where the player cannot possibly have any carryovers, appears to confirm my suspicion.

 

If you want to experience some of the crazier puzzle mechanics without wading through the first half of the set then I strongly suggest that you ENGAGE on a lower difficulty setting. In fact, I would go so far as to caution any players from using Shadowcaster’s UV-equivalent, let alone Black Plague. Heretic is generally regarded as having unsatisfying combat due to the weapon feedback and more importantly the relative HP of its monsters. This is a major reason behind Not Jabba's tinkering with game mechanics in The Wayfarer episode. Clark’s combat does little to brook this stereotype, not that it wasn't a difficult task to begin with. Heretic just inherited more dungeon crawler DNA than Doom (and consequently Doom II) did, I guess.

 

Shadowcaster does suggest a solution to one particular mystery - that is, why all the green keys in Clark's work? Well, Heretic's default colors are red, blue, and green. I assume that Stephen fancied this scheme and thus carried the aesthetic forward into his 007: License to Spell Doom, thereafter backporting it via re-releases to Fragport and Operation: Lightning. It's just one more detail that makes his level design principles appear to be relatively immutable over his substantial first three releases. I was almost convinced, more than ever, that the song would remain the same for 007LTSD while playing Shadowcaster. Clark's potentially revolutionary exploitation of Heretic gameplay mechanics has suggested otherwise, however, so I'm stoked to see what he is capable of when he gets out of the vanilla Doom paradigm.

 

 

• E5M1: Village of Light

 

I was wondering what Clark's take on Heretic would look like. From what I can see here, it turns out that it's pretty much the exact same thing as Fragport, just with a much slower pace. This level has two parts. The first is a very small village with a watchtower-like structure. The pressure is on from the first shot as you're stuck with the wand vs. a whole horde of golems and mixed undead warriors. The various tiny buildings are also staffed with skeletons so that you are subject to erratic ethereal axes. Making any sort of headway involves a significant time investment, though you can use some of the spread-out time bombs to quickly thin out the mummies. As long as you don't get mobbed, that is.

The second half of the level is a very long canyon crawl down one side and back the other. The player has to contend with golem and gargoyle obstacles on the initial approach, the wind trying to push you into the gorge, and entrenched undead lobbing axes opposite whichever side you're on. Thankfully, you finally get an ethereal crossbow in one of the caves running off the ravine. Stephen's dickish tendency for traps appears here, echoing Operation: Lightning's MAP04 ("Disaster Area") and its numerous collapsing walkways. You get a mulligan, though, in the form of a Wings of Wrath item that you can use to skip the whole ordeal.

 

 

• E5M2: Thiolite Mines

 

A grueling gauntlet. There are a whole host of elements that make this level particularly obnoxious. The ethereal crossbow is secret, for one. While it isn't exactly far from the start, you will likely need to abuse the similarly secret gauntlets to grind through the multiple undead warriors. The dragon claw is also accessed nearby, but difficult to get for similar reasons. If you explore in any of the non-crossbow directions then you're going to be in for deep hurting, eleven wand style. Obviously, carrying over the crossbow from E5M1 will make a huge difference in how you start this outing.

Clark adds a major wrinkle to navigating the level by linking several of the upper-tier areas via one-time bridges. They can all be revisited via the ground floor, but it sucks getting trapped in enemy territory without a decent weapon to your name. There's generally nothing special about the combat, which is mostly incidental, apart from a preponderance of iron liches. I have no idea if it's just how Stephen laid his levels out but I found them to be supremely annoying, here.

The big hook is detailed in the early secret room with the gauntlet. Clark gives you four trials of Earth a la Fragport's MAP32 ("The Crystal Maze") to overcome. There's bamboo pole platforming; a collapsing, winding catwalk; a crusher tunnel with a vanishing margin for error; and a platform / crusher tour de force. Personally, the two groups of three iron liches that guard the two trial wings were way more frustrating to deal with.

 

 

• E5M3: The Volcano

 

Clark deigns to give you the ethereal crossbow upfront in this level. The dragon's claw isn't particularly far away, either. Was that so hard? I had a bit more fun with this level than "Thiolite Mines" but it is not without its own trials of patience. Most of the earthen corridors consist of narrow catwalks between lava damage floors. You can step off and into the lava and back to dodge the reams of weredragon and undead warrior projectiles, but - in some situations - the pitfalls are inescapable. To add to the frying pan, the lava ball geysers are placed sporadically along the walkways, ensuring some level of constant danger in otherwise safe areas.

"Volcano" feels more like a battle of attrition, but it's at least one that I felt like I could muscle through without too much sweat. There's one super-annoying iron lich outside a brick annex that leads to a Hellstaff (!) but the rest of the combat is corridor shooter stuff. With, uh, you dodging, fleet of foot, onto the lava. The elemental trial of fire is way less demanding than the earth equivalent in E5M2 and mostly boils down to how quickly you move across molten rock.

I think that this is because Clark saved the true challenge for the secret exit. You need to find nine mostly-hidden switches, spread across the level, to fully open the way. I say mostly because a few of them are in plain sight. At least four of them require the wings of wrath to access otherwise inaccessible locations. One of these probably threw you for a loop when you saw it in the exit area of E5M2 but there's another that is the most dickishly clever of all. The switch that requires you to use a particular teleport face, well, bleh to that.

 

 

• E5M9: Steel Works

 

Umm. This is a dark metal crypt, I guess, with a very simple layout. Players are subject to several monotypical monster packs that will leave them feeling perpetually outgunned. The hordes of sabreclaws early on really pour on the pressure, though I suppose that you could save on ammo by repurposing the ethereal crossbow crusher trap. In fact, I suspect that this was partly Stephen's intent. The Firemace appears here and is the level's main focus but, as usual, it feels more like a weapon that you're being forced to use. The most Clark thing here is a maze that uses catwalks in shadow that you can't see with the points of tridents directing you to the next bend. And then, uh, you have to make your way back while weredragons and undead warriors fire at you from the opposite side.

 

 

• E5M4: Crosswinds Village

 

Ostensibly a level in Heretic's city theme. If you hadn't guessed from the title, then know that the element of the day is air. You didn't really get browbeaten by the theming in "earth" and "fire" was pretty predictable. I mean, the firing of the geysers and their spread was random, but it was all clearly visible. This fuckin' wind, though. Your movement outdoors is hampered by a series of crosswinds. From the moment you leave the safety of the opening ravine you are buffeted toward the east or west gorges on each side of the village. The lamp posts signify where the force swaps from one direction to the other. Take note that the force gets significantly stronger when you're near the edge. You know, like where all of the outdoor health items are located.

The kinetic floor is an obnoxious but manageable confounding factor when you are flush with ammo and kitted out with weapons. Most of the monsters that you face on the outside are either golems or sabreclaws since enemy projectiles are generally worthless outside. It feels as though the wand start is heavily reliant on using the gauntlets, however, and Shadowcaster does not do battles of attrition very well. Particularly when your movement is erratic due to the acceleration of the wind. Most of the building interiors are painful to break into due to the sheer monster density inside and trying to duck in and out is rough when the wind keeps blowing you around. Pile this on top of the doofy voodoo doll gimmick and, well, it's a memorably painful experience.

The trials are much simpler in comparison. The toughest aspect is obtaining the two Wings of Wrath. You have to walk a narrow catwalk while the winds blow you east, and the walk has several ninety-degree turns, at one point doubling back. When you have the power then you just have to flip four switches in alcoves at various heights. This opens the way to the pod race, an even simpler challenge where you rush against an explosive timer. The last 10% of this map is so much more fun than the rest of it.

 

 

• E5M5: Watery Paradise

 

When Clark promised a 21st-century Heretic PWAD with innovative gameplay elements, well, he might have had this level in mind. This hydromancy is worth a look all on its own. The sanctuary is a mix of flowing water, low-friction ice, and explosive pods. The ice is a hindrance to combat but generally easy to compensate for as long as you keep your distance from monsters and dodge early. Two of the trials are built around slick surfaces. One of them is Clark's typical "Chasm"-thin tightrope walk. The other is a multi-stage timed switch sector machinery challenge with a voodoo doll in the center of the room as a confounding factor.

Flowing water is a similarly obnoxious element. A late-level trap requires the player to make a strafe-sprinting leap to cross a large gap, but the other side's floor flows quick and straight into an inescapable death pit. You need to skirt the edge of the cistern right after you make it through. Even afterward you must fight the lethal currents of the rest of the chamber drain as you deal with a squad of ophidians.  On the more benign side of things is an amusement-park style "water slide" (more of a lazy river) that takes you slowly down a torturous path with pitch-black walls. It's the kind of thing that's difficult to rush through as there are a ton of hard ninety-degree turns and the walls remove much of your spatial context. My advice: sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. Until it reaches the couple of monster stations, anyway. When you finally get to the Iron Lich kiosk the flowing water will be suitably annoying again.

What makes this level wonderful is its use of exploding pods. The fact that you can push them when coupled with Heretic's deeper z-collision gave Clark the brilliant idea to use them for what are effectively crate puzzles. It's a true "Holy shit!" moment that Stephen attempts to teach you for the red key puzzle. The setup may be a bit inscrutable, however, as it requires you to push voodoo dolls out of the way without killing yourself. At Clark's most inspired, you must ride one of a carousel of pods as they float around a whirling pool. Twice you must push them to form a bridge to walk across.

This isn't all that bad of a level to fight through in terms of combat. There's one relatively close-quarters maulotaur fight and three others in more spacious surroundings. Thankfully, the author declines to pit you against the dark servants on frozen fields. I think that the wand start trap is to waste your time on the first secret or the ophidians in the opening dragon claw room. If you want to, then come back with a later-acquired chaos device. The big settling pond chamber in the center of the map has a nice look and also serves as a decent arena for magical firefights. Least favorite fight, uh, the outdoor canyon area with the two voodoo dolls and the disciples that get blown clear across the level.

 

 

• E5M6: Shadow Castle

 

This is a huge fortress with a ground level, second floor, and basement. The challenge is immediately ramped up in the opening. One room inside the castle has all of the regular weapons. You need to somehow make it past the rampart's undead warrior guards to raise the drawbridge and then fight through the fortress to the armaments. It helps to know just exactly what room the weapons are in, of course. The only tools available to you are the gauntlets and a tome of power. This ought to be more than enough firepower... provided that you know where you're going.

The castle hallways are pretty wide-open so that Clark can throw packs of monsters, Iron Liches, and the occasional maulotaur at the player. The bull on the second floor feels like a more desperate encounter since you probably aren't expecting to cold run into a dark servant in the corridors. While the dungeon is more cramped for its minotaur encounter, there is at least one wide-open room with braziers to block its charge attack. I had more trouble with the sewer segment that closes out the level. There, both health and ammo are at a considerable premium, and you are subjected to both mandatory damage floors as well as two squads of four Iron Liches.

Progression in this level is challenging as the player must make repeat visits to all three floors (linked by teleporter stairs). The first goal appears to be to enter the locked room in the library, after which the dungeon should become available. Eventually, once you've exhausted all avenues of exploration, you should be able to return to the second floor and grab the green key. The Clark-style puzzles are mostly found in the dungeon and are fairly benign. One requires you to use a torch to illuminate a room with a "Chasm"-style catwalk, so don't blow it when you get it! Another uses the push-crate aspect of the exploding pods differently than E3M5.

I had fun with the adventure game stylings; shoutout to the secret Wings of Wrath and its double-secret purpose. The combat at the beginning and end was frustrating when coming in from a wand start, a common motif in Stephen's style. I've suspected since Fragport that Clark made these McGuyver-style hot starts as a challenge mode for players who already knew the level. They're still viable without foreknowledge as long as you're comfortable with a trial and error strategy.

 

 

• E5M7: The Great Hall

 

This one ranges from dank catacombs to a huge network of hallways and staircases that reminds me vaguely of Heretic's E5M6 ("Colonnade"). Combat is quite difficult in spots as ammo is spread out and hidden everywhere. Also unsurprising for Clark, critical weapons are hidden deep in the level. Carryover players will have a much easier time with several gameplay elements including an especially tiresome execution of the pod puzzles debuted in E3M5.

The early level segment includes a large, "C"-shaped room and, later on, an upside-down "T" chamber, both of which are lined with monster cages. It's not all that difficult to avoid the ophidian projectiles or undead warrior axes... provided that you're not trying to push a pod from one end of this circuit to the other. This is a feat that you must accomplish three times, taking care not to let the monsters strike you or the explosive. With enough ammo (and backtracking to a later-revealed secret elevator) you can disarm the cage traps. This is difficult if not impossible to accomplish for challenge-mode wand start players, however, so be warned.

Monsters are numerous and fierce. Turret-style enemy placement abounds and it's obnoxious when they're ghosties and thus sacrosanct from Phoenix Rod projectiles. There are something like four maulotaurs stomping around the hallway / staircase network, too, which adds to the ammo / gun-hunt panic. Judicious use of tomes and invul rings will help but this requires you to sniff out some of Clark's secrets. The biggest help by far is the acquisition of the aforementioned Rod, whose platform is only accessible via distant timed trigger mechanics.

For all my bitching, however, "The Great Hall" is devilishly clever in its voodoo doll usage. I'd been looking at these things across the episode for so long that I took for granted that they were just there to annoy me. I'd also seen low ceiling areas that looked like they were meant to be accessed via the chicken form. I had no idea, though, how on Earth I could do something like bounce Morph Ovum projectiles back at myself like Duke 3D's shrink ray. Well, gentle reader, you can't progress in this level unless you figure out how to Chicken yourself. You'll need to do so on at least three occasions, too, so beware if you thought of using the eggs to augment your combat abilities. I was especially surprised at using the Chicken mode to cross long distances.

 

 

• E5M8: The Dark Tower

 

Opening with an enormous, spiral staircase. Rooms spur off on the eastern side and present you with a series of Clark-ish challenges that you must conquer. The first is a fairly humdrum vine and block maze. The second uses floors of ice to complicate the congested, semi-slaughter combat. The third is a boisterous outdoor total slaughter where you must acquire all three keys. Accessing each pillar - and the ring of invulnerability - spills even more hordes of monsters into the playing field for maximum chaos.

The fourth and fifth challenges have Stephen at his most inspired. One of these intends for you to use your ring of invulnerability so that you can push a voodoo doll across a "Chasm"-style network of thin walkways. The other uses the Morph Ovum trick to rush you through a maze of death where you must avoid several monsters and almost certainly peck a gargoyle to pieces. I wasn't big on the level up until the huge brawl on the tower's exterior but between it and the subsequent puzzles I was having a ball.

The final battle is at the top of "The Dark Tower" and is initially a straightforward fight vs. the Serpent Rider. Well, apart from the voodoo doll in the center of the chamber. Clever Clark uses the boss's scripted teleporting to have it escape, after which you must discover the purpose of the keys acquired in the third challenge. The final battlefield appears to occur among the pillars of reality in deference to the Stephen King book series from which this level gets its name. Observe, for instance, the beams running along the cardinal and intercardinal directions.

The action itself is obnoxious as the air dance is attended to by hordes of maulotaurs and iron liches. Amongst all this chaos, you have to repeatedly seek out the Shadowcaster to do what damage you can. I'm not thrilled by the battle but it's less frustrating than many of the wand starts that I took upon myself. It makes for an epic conclusion and psychedelic visual, at least.

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by kmxexii

[scwiba]

8 hours ago, kmxexii said:

I don't know enough about the history of Heretic PWADs to be able to say with any certainty but, for whatever reason, I have seen neither of these gameplay innovations in the limited amount of other user levels that I have played (though I half-expect to see something like these in @scwiba's UnBeliever given Absolutely Killed's predilections toward twisting OG Doom's available mechanics into novel positions).

I'm ashamed to say I've never played this episode and had next to zero experience with Heretic wads prior to UnBeliever. Even the fact that Heretic doesn't have infinitely tall Things was a surprise to me when I started mapping for it, so there isn't too much Thing platforming to speak of I'm afraid.

[Not Jabba]

9 hours ago, kmxexii said:

• Shadowcaster's work with using exploding pods as pushable platforms and the voodoo doll + morph ovum mechanic feels like it could have been revolutionary for the comparatively small number of authors of Heretic user levels. I don't know enough about the history of Heretic PWADs to be able to say with any certainty but, for whatever reason, I have seen neither of these gameplay innovations in the limited amount of other user levels that I have played (though I half-expect to see something like these in @scwiba's UnBeliever given Absolutely Killed's predilections toward twisting OG Doom's available mechanics into novel positions). It's probable that with what few Heretic mapsets that I've played I have seen and subsequently forgotten any instances of pod platforming. I can think of a number of explanations as to why these elements never took off, not the least of which is that Heretic is ostensibly a Doom clone with very soft action / adventure touches and its playerbase was quite happy with a relatively straightforward sword and sorcery FPS. If someone knows of any other Heretic PWADs that use pods in lieu of box puzzles or gets the player to chicken themself in order to take advantage of stuff like its shorter height and slow fall property then let me know! It's fascinating to see it appear out of nowhere, so to speak.

It's my firm belief that you could make an entire puzzle megawad out of just pod physics and chicken physics, though personally I'll take the flexibility of GZDoom for the chicken transformation. I actually don't recall UnBeliever using either, but trust that it will open your eyes to quite a few other possibilities of the game.

 

There are a couple of pod-walking sequences in Quest for the Crystal Skulls, which is largely otherwise action-oriented but is a ton of fun. I think many mappers have a backburner interest (or more than that) in Heretic's features, but then when faced with projects, decide they'd better figure out the game first and the quirks second (certainly including myself). Which maybe just means more people should make a second Heretic project.

[kmxexii]

1 hour ago, Not Jabba said:

It's my firm belief that you could make an entire puzzle megawad out of just pod physics and chicken physics, though personally I'll take the flexibility of GZDoom for the chicken transformation. I actually don't recall UnBeliever using either, but trust that it will open your eyes to quite a few other possibilities of the game.

 

There are a couple of pod-walking sequences in Quest for the Crystal Skulls, which is largely otherwise action-oriented but is a ton of fun. I think many mappers have a backburner interest (or more than that) in Heretic's features, but then when faced with projects, decide they'd better figure out the game first and the quirks second (certainly including myself). Which maybe just means more people should make a second Heretic project.

 

Yeah, it would be less clunky to not have to depend on voodoo doll / morph ovum setups, particularly since it also relies on consumable items. By that same token, one could make indestructible pods, letting the destructible ones fill in a sort of "escort" role a la the incredibly cumbersome gauntlet of SHADOW's E5M7.

[Not Jabba]

7 minutes ago, kmxexii said:

By that same token, one could make indestructible pods

 

True, or pushable barrels, which might feel less clunky to work with as well. The pods are a bit tough to manage, but it may just be a matter of non-intuitive width or something. For pods, vanilla Heretic also allows you to place spawners that infinitely generate them, so you don't have to worry about running out of them accidentally.

(Also, I remembered another cool experimental Heretic wad that you might like)

[brick]

Serpent's Wake is fantastic. I didn't love all of its design decisions but they're all interesting and it's absolutely worth playing.

 

While I appreciate all the experimentations Shadowcaster tried to do, I thought not all of them panned out great in execution. The pods was one of the main things, the idea is so original but in practice trying to babysit them one at a time can be an exercise in frustration (I think Quest of the Crystal Skulls did a little better with them; and I agree that wad is a ton of fun). TUD also loves putting voodoo dolls all over the place to increase damage taken (he does it in his Community Chest maps too), and the first one in Shadowcaster you can even hit (and kill yourself) by trying to kill enemies through an opaque midtexture and not even know what happened. I really like their use as combined with the Ovuum puzzles though, I thought that was very creative. The wad definitely deserves credit for originalality. TUD later made Serpent: Resurrection, a sequel for Hexen (Banedon, Shadowcaster's protagonist, returns as an NPC) with some RPG mechanics and another good dose of experimentation, that one's also worth playing IMO.

[kmxexii]

It's been five days - you know what that means! It's time for my review of Secret Lab by @Sphagne!

 

   

 

Reviewer's notes:

 

• This is the second of the thirteen available single-player Sphagne levels. Sphagne, if you ever visit Doomworld again and end up reading this, then I want you to know that I'd love to see the levels that you weren't comfortable releasing!
• Secret Lab belongs to a select genre of levels that features a substantial, optional, and most importantly secret area that imagines itself as an internal bonus map. Given some time I'm sure that I could pull other instances out of my memory but the first and really only one that came to mind (the ODESSA ref is a bit of a stretch) is Number One Kill: The Next Generation's MAP01 since Angelo literally touted the secret "half" as a third, secret level.

 

Spoiler

Community Chest contributor Sphagne uploaded the majority of his works to /idgames in mid-2002 but the levels themselves were purportedly crafted from 1995-1999. There are quite a few holes in the collection. For instance, Simphony of Death is the first of his creations that is available and he notes that it is actually his second. This one, Secret Lab, is the second upload from the collection but it's his fourth creation. Like the rest of his works, it is a Doom II MAP01 replacement. Given when it was created and his admission that he was unaware of online communities, it would appear that #SLAB ought to be vanilla-compatible. It appears, however, to have been tested in Boom and ZDoom prior to upload.

 

Sphagne's levels have no overarching plot unless you are willing to grant that its protagonist leads one of the most charmed lives in history... After-life, too. On this particular occasion, you are an agent who has been tasked to infiltrate and destroy an enemy base. Rumor has it that this facility also hides a secret lab where no doubt unholy experiments are being performed. There's no guarantee that you'll be able to find it, but if you do then purging the laboratory will be much-appreciated. The location of the Secret Lab is not woven into the normal level progression; it is an optional area that houses something like a third of the monsters. As Sphagne mentions in the .TXT, it is a level unto itself much like the secret annex of Number One Kill: The Next Generation's MAP01 ("Entryway") or Bob Evans's Odessa 11 ("Sojourn").

 

Having played a single level from an author isn't enough to get a sense of their personal "style" but one can identify some commonalities from two. Sphagne's level design is largely dungeon crawler Doom with a lot of classic sector machinery that either feeds complex secret sequences or the required map progression. Consider an early secret hinted at in the .TXT, a game-changing SSG that is important enough that TimeofDeath specifically mentioned it in his /idgames comment. The button that opens the door out of the SSG annex also momentarily opens a chamber opposite to the secret that you just came from. The way the player threads through the level is generally linear, but as you progress you will find key doors that grant access back to previously-explored portions. The author also appears to be a fan of sprawling, end-of-level ambushes, but the natures of the "get the fuck out" invasion of Simphony and the climax of the technically optional Secret Lab are fairly dissimilar.

 

Aesthetically, I would place this in the genre of Doom II starbase levels, though some features like the outer yard and the computer tunnels speak more to Knee Deep in the Dead. The level is not without its dark secrets. Coding some of the deeper secret areas as Hellish annexes creates a conceptual motif as the player turns over the base in search of the level's Secret Lab. Both #SLAB and Simphony of Death feature a large number of secret areas. Here, teasing a large portion of the map as a substantial secret to be hunted for encourages players to engage with an aspect of Doom's gameplay that appears to be dear to Sphagne's heart. And, well, it's also likely that he wanted to be sure that people didn't miss a significant portion of something that he was sharing to them.

 

#SLAB feels a bit closer to a regular Doom II level than Simphony's stop-start pacing. I think that it has a greater miles-per-switch ratio, if you will, than #SYMPHOD's first act, though it's still kind of busy with the computer console that opens the cage and the pedestal elevator switch. Once you get past the opening wing it settles into a more or less normal corridor shooter as you advance through the eastern, peripheral hallways. You don't really get back to Sphagne's finicky / claustrophobic feel until exiting the massive, outdoor yard to the west. This is true for all three possible paths of egress, with an honorable mention for the tower that you just came through due to the blue armor bit / closet.

 

To draw another comparison, I would not be surprised to find that Sphagne has at least one large, carefully-arranged setpiece fight in each of his releases. Simphony of Death had the Cyberdemon-led orchestra arena. Here, the player is deposited in the center of a platform ringed by a group of Barons who are facing outward with a Cyberdemon on the outside. Make a noise and, well, here comes the pain! The setup is a spin on the original Doom II's "Tricks and Traps" scenario and has the same general feel of the spectacle of #SYMPHOD's instruments of destruction. While the initial action has a more intimate feel due to the scale and immediacy of the threat, it gives way to a more spacious outdoor brawl with its own lurking dangers. 

 

Otherwise, the room-and-door encounter design is generally straightforward what you see is what you get gunplay. The eastern area has interconnections between both side-cages as well as the marsh-like exit cistern and makes for the most complex incidental combat. The platform with the exit elevator has both a Baron and a mancubus on the high ground so they're from a relatively sneaky position to launch projectile attacks given that the window and height kind of limit your field of view. The Secret Lab itself has a handful of weirdly-planned encounters, no doubt meant to reflect the nature of the experiments being performed. One of these is a standard monster teleporter juke where the creatures are difficult to hit when they're not attacking. The other has a cacodemon terrarium which is backed by a long, thin imp cage which is itself bordered on its outer edge by an arch-vile compartment, no doubt meant to grant imps limited immortality.

 

As for the entrance to the Secret Lab, well, I found it before I got to the exit but I had no idea what I was looking at when I first saw it. It's accessed going south from the multi-tier teleporter that unites the map's southeastern and southwestern areas. I think that the room is sealed at first but if you manage to get inside and see the letters L-A-B then all you need to do is make a running leap over the little blocking wall. There's another DoomCute bit that I am unsure of - the word STOP appearing in part of the hallway leading to the elevator. It's probably significant to the lab but I cannot be bothered to crack open the map in an editor to figure out just what purpose it would serve, if any.

 

Secret Lab is a classically-styled mid-'90s Doom II level. As with Simphony of Death, it would probably be better-loved by players who delight in puzzle-box style layouts marked with sector machinery that unfolds as you poke around and explore. It's interesting to see the Community Chest era function as a sort of call to arms for folks who had stowed away relatively older material, whether Sphagne here or Gene Bird's Blind Alley series, not to forget Mike Alfredson's 2004 archival publications. Whatever comes next I can assure myself that it will come as another intriguing time capsule.

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by kmxexii

[brick]

5 hours ago, kmxexii said:

Secret Lab belongs to a select genre of levels that features a substantial, optional, and most importantly secret area that imagines itself as an internal bonus map. Given some time I'm sure that I could pull other instances out of my memory

The first one that always comes to my mind is stones.wad, the straight-to-exit path is pretty straightforward but half the map is a series of secrets and optional areas, including everything to do with the red key.

Another one that could count is Xaser's Logos Anomaly which IIRC also changes the map flow and the ability to backtrack depending on whether you go the normal or secret way.

 

Thanks for the review, always fun to read them!

[kmxexii]

2 hours ago, brick said:

The first one that always comes to my mind is stones.wad, the straight-to-exit path is pretty straightforward but half the map is a series of secrets and optional areas, including everything to do with the red key.

Another one that could count is Xaser's Logos Anomaly which IIRC also changes the map flow and the ability to backtrack depending on whether you go the normal or secret way.

 

Thanks for the review, always fun to read them!

 

You are most welcome!

 

No End In Sight's E3M7 ("Netherworld Citadel") feels like another one of these kinds of maps in spirit, not just because of the body of the main level that's locked behind the one-shot path through the catwalk nexus but the secret jaunt through relatively isolated excerpts of END1's E1M1 and E2M4.

[kmxexii]

It's been five days - you know what that means! This review of Entryway / KARMEA.WAD by @Espi (RIP) is more for WAD historians as it is an early version of Suspended in Dusk's MAP01. If you are the kind of player who enjoys more subdued Doom II action then you will want to give this one a look.

 

   

 

Spoiler

Espi solidified his status in the Doom community with the superb environmental design of his Suspended in Dusk. The four-map PWAD had been in development since at least 2001 going by the name One Hell of a Day, as evidenced by his early release of its first level. Entryway (KARMEA.WAD - Google translates to "lurid", "spooky", "infernal") is a MAP01 replacement for Doom II and it's fascinating to have it available as one can juxtapose it with the "final" product seen in SID's MAP01 slot. The author had a clear architectural style as seen in here as well as his E2M1ER and LAITOS as the latter originally appeared in the DoomCenter E1 Mapping Contest. It's his subsequent development as an environmental artist through to 2005 that differentiates KARMEA from its latter incarnation.

 

Suspended in Dusk never had an official, provided story but what you gather through the action is the tale of a space marine making their way through rocky wildlands to a derelict, overrun UAC base. It metamorphed from One Hell of a Day so it's reasonable to assume that KARMEA's overall implied narrative would be similar if not exactly the same. The title, though, makes it seem like the player character showed up to work one day and found it eerily deserted. I suppose that it's possible that the PC is a delivery person or inspector or some other type of UAC employee who cold pulls up with no inkling that anything is amiss. Up until the monsters start to pop out from around the corners, anyway.

 

The resemblance to SID's MAP01 is understandably uncanny and, as mentioned, the skeleton of this level is pretty much the same. This is a concrete starbase map with a ton of staircases that connect myriad elevations. It also has a dingy lower level / basement that comprises the map's southern portion. The theme of the player encountering dirty, unkempt recesses of the base would go on to be developed in Suspended in Dusk with extensive dark metal sections and cavernous recesses. The ribbed stone walls found in KARMEA serve as an appropriately grimy stand-in but Espi would go on to cultivate the disused look of the base over the next four or so years.

 

The author's careful work with upper / lower texture cheats and midtexture walls have been essential aspects of how he detailed his previously released works and Entryway is no different. At this phase of his career, Espi clearly tended more toward using textures to augment the appearance of his geometry as opposed to complicating the playing area with sector detailing. Entryway hints at the future and adds something new to the mix with a custom "flat" (floor graphic) created for incidental detailing, a cracked concrete segment. It caught me by surprise when I noticed it in the basement section, I guess mostly because of how monotextured the floor had been up to that point. It's cool to see it pop up here, knowing the depths of environmental design that were to come.

 

In terms of action, this is basically an OG Doom level. The only sequel monster to appear is the Hell knight with the majority of the beasties consisting of zombies, shotgun guys, imps, and demons. Your weapons are limited to the shotgun and chaingun, early on, with the rocket launcher appearing much later. Espi would go on to take a much harder line with Suspended in Dusk. The zombie shootout at the gatehouse leaves you unprepared for the mini-cacodemon swarm that sends you packing deeper into the base. It's pretty easy to establish yourself in KARMEA and, while the pickup placement points the way toward Esa's thoughtful storytelling, the biggest danger comes from overconfidence leading to sloppy play. The interconnections offer some vantage points for monsters to sucker punch you while you're unawares but the simple projectile-tossing beasties dulled my reflexes due to a perceived lack of threat.

 

There are some interesting architectural setpieces secreted about the hallway- and staircase-laden layout. The texture scheme leaves things looking a little plain but the copious height variations and interconnections shine through. The opening hallway and its huge, upper windows makes for a great, scene-setting vista and survived, with some world-building additions, in the final product. The stepped pit area behind the yellow key door is pretty much intact, though the connective tissue that adjoins it to the main area underwent one of the more significant renovations. I really like the outdoor area to the north with its control tower. It looks more geometrically dynamic - I guess more like a virtual playground and less like an installation - in this original incarnation due to the size and prevalence of the staircases. The server stack area to the south maintains the general shape of the curved, western window but had probably the most severe alterations of the larger rooms. It's still a neat segment to run through but the final version helps to better drive home the idea that so much of the base is suspended above a dark, cavernous unknown.

 

Entryway is cool to have as a snapshot of his creative process, much in the same sense as Tolkien's drafts found in History of the Lord of the Rings. The community generally goes nuts for this sort of in utero material when it comes to id's iterations on OG Doom and Doom II. I can only imagine the sheer shock of what would happen should the original draft of something like TNT: Evilution be made public. If you are a fan of unassuming and relaxed Doom II levels, especially if you like the more laid-back gameplay driven by the original bestiary, then you would do well to give this one a try, curio or not.

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by kmxexii

[kmxexii]

Uhh, yesterday was too busy for me to even click post so here is my review of Deep Core 1 by @Use! This is another great, classically-styled Doom II level with a fun layout and a highly-restricted bestiary as befits an early level in a prospective megaWAD.

 

   

 

Spoiler

I have long-assumed that Nilla Doom was Mike's in-progress megaWAD and that most of his solo-outtakes are rejects from the running order as development progressed. I was incorrect, to say the least. Beyond Doom was - and remains - Use3D's rainy-day megaWAD. It initially began life as a more difficult replacement for Doom II's Hell episode (MAP21-MAP30) before Mike rebooted the whole thing. Deep Core 1 is the original iteration of this level as it appeared in what I assume the first reboot of Beyond Doom; Use3D subsequently remade the level in 2005, hence the numeric designator on this release. DEEPCORE was originally crafted in 1997 and is a MAP02 replacement for Doom II in keeping with its original slot in the Beyond Doom project.

 

At the time that this level was replaced, Beyond Doom was supposed to be loosely inspired by the plot of the licensed Doom II: Hell On Earth novel. In the same way that the novel adhered to the action of the game, I'm sure. I haven't read any of the series myself and almost certainly never will. From a cursory glance provided by the good folks at DoomWiki, it would have involved fighting in Disney Land, which would have made for a wicked cool third episode. Looking at Alfredson's 2008 running order it doesn't look like the maps had anything in the way of important plot beats related to the novel. It would probably be more accurate to say that Beyond Doom would be a retelling of Doom II in Use3D's particular style with some consideration of what Hell on Earth would actually entail.

 

Anyway, this is a large, techbase-style level with Knee Deep in the Dead overtones. Architecturally, I sense this mostly from the areas that are located near the starting room. There's a massive, outdoor area with some stacked crates that's visible from two viewing areas with recessed, blue carpet flooring. The octagonal columns in the western segment especially peg the KDitD feel. The exterior portion is accessible via a secret and it's a deep, level-spanning one, suggestive of the yellow door in OG Doom's E1M3 ("Toxin Refinery"). There's also a nondescript, boxy tech guts room further west with a large monster closet ambush that sort of evokes one of the big brawl chambers in Doom's E1M6 ("Central Processing").

 

Deep Core 1 is has nearly 200 monsters. Surprisingly, the bestiary is composed almost entirely of the shareware episode's trash monsters (zombies, shotgun guys, imps, and demons) with the chaingunner appearing as the lone Doom II representative. This and the weapon kit - shotgun and chaingun with a (perhaps) secret rocket launcher - help to solidify the Knee Deep in the Dead feel. Just, you know, with a bit more teeth considering the prevalence of the commandos. The combat is generally WYSIWYG with a couple of memorable ambushes. Much of the threat comes from the sheer number of creatures that are spread out in each chamber. One of the progression points conjures forth a small army of beefy monsters to defend it, appearing out of a clean, blue-tech teleporter. It's vaguely reminiscent of the pentagram key situation in Doom's E1M9 ("Military Base"). I also like the storage locker room before the exit. Are the alcoves stasis chambers? Specimen containers? Whatever the case, the contents are hostile and make for a good swipe at the player.

 

Use3D offers some fairly direct choices for the player to make in exploring the map. You are free to pick between western and eastern elevators and the level is handily divided between the two, notwithstanding one window that connects the two portions in the southeastern corner. Two pairs of elevators - the other being located immediately south of the starting area - are the only means by which players may jump between sides. As with Hell Pit (and, to a lesser extent, Soulcage), there is a sense that one must be willing to descend into inhospitable depths in order to confront adversity. This is consistent with the nukage room / elevator combo behind the red key doors. The implication is that the end-of-level exit is an elevator that leads down, deeper into the infested installation and that you are merely at the front door of Deep Core 1.

 

There is a healthy mix of key-locked doors, key-activated switches that open color-coded doors, switch-opened doors, and blockade barriers. Alfredson has even stuck some beasties behind a few of the barricades. It may not mean anything mechanically for the auto-aim assisted player but it's a neat touch that makes monsters look slightly less like the dumb bits of code that they are. There's a bit of back and forth that may challenge the player when combined with the elevator loop-seals that divide the two halves of the map. The blue key switch is located on the opposite side of the level, putting it a fair ways away from its ultimate effect, but Use3D sensibly demonstrates the key switch / door relationship early on with the red. The yellow (secret) key door arguably muddies up the situation but the difference when set against the other two might clue the player in to it being special.

 

Alfredson's levels are always visually interesting. The core of this level follows the OG Doom rule of a small area of symmetry to evoke pleasing, real-world shapes before spiraling into the wildly abstract with some areas following their own bisymmetric designs. The recessed, blue carpet near the center of the level gives it something of a unified character. I love the eastern branch off the starting link with the adjoining curved staircase and freestanding console panels. The ribbed spoke / chainsaw shrine off its southern bend is a cool, little embellishment and the positioning / presentation of the inset nukage chamber gives me the impression of a profane vault.

 

Deep Core 1 may not appeal to players who are looking for the bleeding edge of adrenaline-inducing combat but it will sit well with those who desire a more relaxed combat experience. It's something as befits the opening overtures of a megaWAD, just without arbitrary size constraints that might demand that the playing area be small so as not to overexpose the limited bestiary. If the idea of shotgunning your way through a bunch of OG Doom monsters plus chaingunners appeals to you then give this a try! It'd be a shoe-in for a classically-themed megaWAD along the lines of Memento Mori or MM2.

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by kmxexii

[kmxexii]

It's time for my review of Short 'n Quick 2 by @Varun.

 

   

 

Spoiler

Varun only released two levels sporting the SNQ monicker. The original Short 'n Quick, released in 2002, was a relatively straightforward Doom II starbase level with a few encounter setups that pushed the player into slightly uncomfortable places. As something that appeared to be patterned after Pablo Dictter's work, it looked nice and managed to squeeze in some worldbuilding. Short 'n Quick 2, a Doom II MAP01 replacement published in 2003, is a vastly different experience. It is still a small level, relatively speaking, but features a difficult series of encounter setups that has more in common with the sort of challenging fare seen in Congestion 1024.

 

SNQ2 apparently followed in the tradition of the then- and still-unreleased The Anomaly: Part III, the look of which was itself partly inspired by Chris Hansen's Flay the Obscene: The Third. Not consciously, mind you; it's more that CH's level was one of Varun's favorites. Where ANOMALY2 was a thematic hybrid that best related to OG Doom's E3M3 ("Pandemonium"), FLAYOBS levels feature grimey, green grass; rocky wildlands; and gothic, brick and metal structures. Blood was an important component of FLAYOBS2 but The Third uses blue, ostensibly clean water. The lack of sanguine fluid ought not to disavow you of the notion that you are fighting to survive in a hostile Hellworld.

 

Short 'n Quick 2 embodies most of the aesthetic traits of FLAYOBS3. Blood runs through the whole of it, though, a constant reminder that you're not in some terrestrial ruin. It also inverts the spatial focus. Hansen's level is primarily composed of north and south dungeon / fortress sections that are joined together by an outdoor area whose two landscapes are split by a prominent walkway. The exterior segment is a great bit of worldbuilding that serves to anchor the Gothic ruins. In SNQ2, the outdoor area comprises the vast majority of the playable space. The few interior locations that you visit are both peripheral and cramped. They're aesthetically pleasing and feature some painstaking sector lighting that's juxtaposed with monster closets of dark oblivion, but all of the shine is on the great outdoors. Which is fitting, really, because that's where almost all of the challenging combat takes place. 

 

The action opens with a great, panic-inducing reveal. You're at one end of a causeway with a lone shotgun guy, a super shotgun, and a pile of shells at the other end. Stepping forward causes the walls on both sides to lower and expose you to monsters that you probably woke up with a few premature pistol shots. It's out of the frying pan and into the fire, though, because the elevator at the end of the newly-formed bridge leads to a yard that is positively swarming with monsters. It may not feel like it at first but you have your choice of the three outdoor areas to start out in. As the author notes, some directions may be more difficult than others.

 

The yard with the yellow key card bunker is by far the nastiest. The position is heavily fortified with a bunch of monsters on the cramped floor including demons and goat men, revenants on the high ground in three different perches, and a handful of cacodemons. Speedrunners may have their own strategies but I feel that fully clearing this area is best skipped for later. All three directions have some extra shell ammo to help you out so you're not missing out on anything critical. One of them even has a rocket launcher (and a secret plasma gun that I didn't take the time to figure out). Your ultimate reward for storming the yellow key bunker consists of four more monsters, two of which you might want those explosives for.

 

I had the most fun with the southeastern area. It's a bloody cistern cut across by an earth bridge with a far eastern ledge staffed by mancubi. The encounter setup brings to my mind the cargo bay area from Short 'n Quick as you need to deftly maneuver your way in between fireballs as you SSG the fatsos to death. The Hell knights sitting on the lower rocket launcher ledge sort of preclude a daring daylight dash so the placement fosters more of a tactical approach to combat. Flipping the required switch ushers in a minor mob of revenants but, supposing that you snagged the rocket launcher before chancing a trap trigger, you ought to be okay. I generally enjoy blasting skeletons at door frames. Your mileage may vary.

 

The indoor sections feature simpler combat, like zombies, and are far less dangerous to handle when compared to the madness of the yellow key bunker. Underscoring the importance of the non-linear layout, the exit chamber features a monster closet that unleashes an arch-vile who otherwise oversees the rocket launcher yard. It's not particularly difficult to deal with as a token end-of-level ambush but, as the level is initially laid out, it could be a confounding factor. The fact that you can explore the southwest dungeon and release it before heading east is a really cool gameplay decision. I typically see the ability to defang pitfalls as a reward for finding secret areas. Dovetailing it in with what might be a final poke at the player feels like clever economy of design.

 

Short 'n Quick 2 looks great and packs a lot of punch into its compact layout. If you were wanting something with less cramped, 1024-ish super shotgun dancing then you can dial the difficulty down in order to explore this corner of Hell with a little less intensity. It's interesting to see how quickly Varun's taste for challenging combat accelerated; I have no idea what to expect from Reanimated, his joint venture with his brother, Karthik. Will the two levels cook quite this hard? There's only one way to find out.

 

Edited May 7, 2022 by kmxexii

[LadyMistDragon]

Still waiting on the first review of a Will Hackney map....;P)

[kmxexii]

3 hours ago, LadyMistDragon said:

Still waiting on the first review of a Will Hackney map....;P)

 

Well, here are two of them!

 

The Baron's Domain

No Quarter