The DWmegawad Club plays: Uprising

[cannonball]

MAP05 - “Trainyard”

 

Given how essential it is, the rocket launcher really should have been easier to spot in terms of its location. Being located on a pillar that extends beyond the ceiling activated by a switch you will struggle to spot and hit during the early part of the map isn't a goo thing and is quite unnecessary if you are trapping it with a single cacodemon.

Well I suffered the blue key trap (Suffered being the apt word here because using the shotgun/chaingun is very aggravating), on the other hand the yellow key trap with the rocket launcher and 35 rockets was a humiliating defeat for the demons. That just about sums this map up, horrid if you don't find the rocket launcher and easy if you do. From a pistol start the initial stages will be the hardest because your health can be whittled down very quickly, especially with the plasma marines and beefed up imps. 

[Monsieur E]

Map05- Trainyard
100 kills; pistol-started

I had to play this level twice because I couldn't find the rocket launcher on my first playthrough until after I got 102/103 kills despite easily finding the two actual secrets :P. Considering the large supply of rockets being placed in the yellow key arena, I was under the impression it was just somewhere in the arena that would help with cleaning it up. Unfortunately, it's kept on a pillar obscured by the ceiling which is triggered by a switch you could easily miss when the map points you to progress on the side of the tracks away from it leading you to chow down through mid tiers using just your shotgun and chain gun while crowd controlling using probably the worst weapons for dealing with crowds. The only relief was they'd begin infighting pretty easily and the fights aren't too overbearing anyways, just more of an annoyance. 

However, the level is way easier when you have the rocket launchers. Infact, I'd argue the yellow key fight gives you too many rockets that, assuming you're pistol starting anyways, you have no reason to not unload on the demons and clear them out easily. I'm not gonna be too hard on the level since it's not like the RL was kept hidden behind a fake wall secret or something but, in my opinion, it was still placed rather unintuitively. 

I still prefer Map04 over this level but I appreciate the pace picking up. Again, initially health was kinda tight especially considering the higher abundance of plasma marines and dark imps but the rest of the level (assuming you got the rocket launcher) is pretty clean. I liked the map design too with all the trainyard doom cute. Overall, it was alright. 

[Cheesewheel]

MAP05 - Trainyard

 

It's always important to remind myself that these maps were made over a year ago and that design decisions made then do not reflect my current skill and philosophy. Still, the essential items are unnecessarily hidden and dampen the experience. I always felt this map was too short but the introduction of bigger monsters alongside bigger guns is welcome. Bring on map06 where things start opening up.

[finnks13]

MAP05 - Trainyard:
The most laid-back map so far, this map is set in a (no prizes for guessing) Trainyard and I love the little doomcute trains that are all over the place along with the train tracks. The gameplay in this map isn't Uprising's best, it's slow paced and despite introducing the rocket launcher, feels less threatening than even Map02 due to the lack of big fights. I managed to miss the rocket launcher on my first attempt, it's hidden up on a pillar and I managed to completely overlook the switch right next to it that lowers it. I managed to slug my way to the blue door before dying to the big fight within as I was searching for the rocket launcher.

 

Like Map04, we're in a fairly mundane location that's been overtaken by the demonic forces, but unlike Map04 this has a much larger emphasis on doomcute details and the juxtaposition between these very charming sector trains and the dark sky, destroyed buildings under the tunnel and the MIDI forms a really unsettling atmosphere. Dark imps are becoming more common, and the lack of SSG makes them the largest threat in this level when they appear since it never seems worth it to waste a rocket on one, but that'll often mean using up three shells on it during which it'll have plenty of time to attack you.

 

Overall, this is a pretty chill map set in a doomcute trainyard, whose gameplay doesn't quite live up to it's imposing visuals.

[tonytheparrot]

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

Map 5:Trainyard

100% kills, items and secrets

Time: 5:17

 

Like it's name implies, Trainyard takes a departure from the previous fortresses and manors, instead boasting a... trainyard setting. This is a pretty relaxing map overall, it's short, easy, fun and the doomcute is really pretty. This level's emphasis on doomcute and it's relaxing nature remind me of TVR!, so it was all natural that Cheesewheel would choose a midi from this wad's midi pack, of course, it works well. The combat is really solid, if unmemorable outside of 2 standouts:

1. exiting the starting building pits you against imps, zombies, piggies and cacos

2. getting the yellow key requires blowing up a lot of imps along with some cacos, chaos knights and revs with your newly acquired rocket launcher.

Overall, another really solid map.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

 

Love:

Map 4

Really Like:

Map 1

Map 3

Map 5

Map 2

 

 

[Gibbon]

Uprising - MAP05 - Trainy ard

Port: Sprinkled Doom

 

Well, I love the name :)

 

It is set in a pretty semi-realistic trainyard and those tracks, those are some chunky tracks indeed!  I loved the action and the puzzles of 'trying to find out where the hell to go'.  It was really great and the end part with the yellow key was a blast!  I died several times there and each time it was still fun to play through.

 

Jolly good show!

 

Video:

Spoiler

 

 

[Alaxzandarz]

I play on ultra-violence with pistol starts on DSDA-Doom

  

Map 04: Remnants

 

This map was a lot better than the ones before. The ruins in the castles courtyard look really nice. I like the hedge maze area and the final fight is the first sorta bigger scale fight and really fun. The new Hellnoble is a nice addition. Good map.

 

Map 05: Trainyard

 

Another really good map. This one had two really good ambushes for the two keys. The plasmaguys are starting to get on my nerves. I like the burning train. My streak for finding all secrets has yet to be broken.

 

(I played these maps quite bit before writing about them, so short today)

 

Screenies

Spoiler

Nice view early on.

Really nicely done ruins

I like the ceiling

Cute station with benches

Nice railways

I like how the map transitions into a more ruin themed one

 

[NiGHTS108]

MAP04: Remnants

Kills: 98%

Items: 84%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 7:19

 

Another mild mannered fortress sinking in the depths of Hell, Remnants has you exploring a long abandoned estate hidden within the mountains. The combat here fares considerably better, this feels like the first map where the opposition isn't dominated by non-chaingunner hitscanners and Revenants. It has time to introduce yet another custom enemy, a dark Baron Of Hell who flings projectiles in blasts of three in exchange for considerably less meat on the bones. If you've played Struggle: Antaresian Legacy, you'll know an enemy like this can be tougher than how they are described. The key fight of this map definitely takes place in the hedge maze containing the key to leave the map. After navigating your way through, prepare for all the walls to lower revealing an Arch-Vile who can get out of your control and a spectrum of different demons in the area too. Step wisely.

 

Grade: B

Difficulty: C-

 

 

MAP05: Trainyard

Kills: 74%

Items: 12%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 3:00

 

Yet another smaller map here, Trainyard doesn't do a whole lot to separate itself from the crowd of the first few Uprising maps. The rocket launcher is unnecessarily hidden here, it makes the final climactic fight a little bit of a clunker to be honest. Beyond that this map is mostly forgettable, the combat being built out of incidental fodder sprinkled around with a few chunks of heavier demons in the mix. Not much to see here folks. 

 

Grade: C

Difficulty: D

 

 

[Gibbon]

Uprising - MAP06 - Sewer Rat

Port: Sprinkled Doom

 

Well this is a somewhat hot start.  You are in some giant sewer or waste treatment plant and it is..  well, sort of confusing.  Lots of keys and switches that open or lower an elevator that you use to hit another switch to get somewhere else.  Took me a good 15 minutes to finish this one as I got stuck more times than I could count.

 

Enjoyed it though, lots of monsters to shoot.  My only gripe is that it is dark, really dark.  So dark that I had to seal off my room in order to reduce glare so I could see where I was going.

 

Video:

Spoiler

 

 

[kalaeth]

Ended up not playing any more last week, so I have some catch up to do.

 

MAP 02 - Swamped :

We begin in the sewers, but it's merely the passage to outside, where a big wooden structure holds a green armor and some imps, a chaingun hidden in plain sight, behind some bars I can't yet figure how to open, and so I move onwards, entering a building where the BSK is in just there, waiting for someone to pick it up. I do and no trap, but then some imps, plasma and zombiemen show up. Take the lift back outside, find the switch to open the chaingun, open the blue bars and then fall down for the RSK. Water goes up, enemies surround me, kill them, go out, RSK bars, kill the final enemy, lift, exit.

100% K/I/S, 7:21.

 

MAP 03 - House of Hate : 

Shotgunners, imps, zombiemen.. All around me. Even pinkies! I go all the way to the end of the corridors and then go back to kill whatever still stands. Another secret chaingun, this one easier to reach, a revenant to the side, and eventually I must take the lift, revealing the first caco. A pair of blood pools lead to the RSK, and grabbing it throws a couple imps and a couple shotgunners. Going back a path opens allowing us to reach the berserker, before opening the door that leads me outside to go hunt the BSK. A ton of imps, then a few zombies and a rev. Blue door and there's the exit but I'm one secret short. Oh cool, a bluesphere!  And now, jump down the blood!

100% K/I/S, 6:40

 

MAP 04 - Remnants :

We fell into the insides of a huge beast, blood everywhere, but it leads to a very normal looking corridor, which leads outside where the black imps show up once more. Inside the remains of what must have been the guard house a switch lowers the gate. Up on the guard tower, a red switch. The first non-secret chaingun comes with a chaingunner. And a green armor. Then we are in what remains of the church, I suppose, because of the cross and the book in an altar. I pick the lift to the bell tower, grab a back pack and unleash the central box. Kill the caco first and the chaingun the gang to make way until the BSK. Use the newly found key to open the door, enter the castle kitchen, kill all, jump into the oven for a secret bluesphere. Back to the kitchen, lift up, kill everything in the lobby and then enter the library to grab the SSG!

 With a huge smile on the face grab the RSK, kill the big bag chaos knight, go back outside for that switch that opens the side of the outside area, a good old hedge maze. In it, a not really secret soulsphere, imps, chaingunner, shotgunners, and eventually a switch on a big wooden pillar. Press it, deal with the chaos knigh, plasma zombies and imps, and we've done all we set out to do in the old castle, so up into the techbase looking door we go. Another chaos knight and exit.

100% K/I/S, 10:22

 

MAP 05 - Trainyard :

The techbase is actually a train station! A switch opens the way to the tracks, a cargo train on fire blocks the path to outside and a secret backpack is there for grabs if you just press the right wall, then enter by either side into the room that has the blue keycard, beware the ambush, pick the secret bluspshere, lower the key and get ready for the next area, by picking up the RL in the column on the platform, and then blue door. This next zone appears to be a cargo processing area that has begun falling into lava, so be extra careful not to fall into the pits, or to get stuck inside the train while pressing the switch and end up dead, as I did. and of course I hadn't yet saved so, from the top! Ok, back to the switch, save press carnage! Survive and rime fo the exit.

100% K/I/S, 1 death, 6:12

 

and finally, 

MAP 06 - Sewer rat :

So we got shipped to a techbaseish place and onto a hot start. Really hot because there are flame troopers! So, after walking around and killing everything I saw, I spotted the yellow key in a river of grey water. By the time I pick it up I've already killed 90 enemies. I kill a little over 10 more, then find out how to grab the secret blue sphere, and then it's off to the yellow door. Enter, switch, kill, switch, lift. The SSG is a trap, but after it there's the lift back up, then stairs down, grab the blue key, the blue armor open the blue door and oh! the first spider. Then switch, lift, and we are outside! kill some cacos, fall into a pool, grab the bluesphere and then enter the sewers, again, and jump down! 

100% K/I/S, 15:37.

 

so far, 100% everything, 1 death, 53 minutes and 10 seconds time. I'm enjoying it very much! Will be back for more tomorrow.

[finnks13]

MAP06 - Sewer Rat:
Uprising's first map with over 200 monsters, Sewer Rat is a large, fairly non-linear map set in (surprise!) a sewer. It follows a similar style to Doom 2's The Waste Tunnels, comprising of mostly brown bricks, with some tech elements and CEMENT thrown in to give the map a more distinct identity. I really like the start of this map, it's frantic with projectiles coming at you from all angles, you've not got any weapons and immediately have to face off against the flamerthrower zombie, which fires imp fireballs in rapid bursts of three. Using the imp's attack is a really good idea to implement a flamerthrower monster without making any alterations to the projectiles. They are pretty threatening in this map, as you'll have to learn their attack pattern very quickly since they can sneak up on you and burn you to a crisp.

 

The yellow key is protected by a small fight that spawns enemies high up on both sides of you as you make your way down a channel filled with grey slime, which is fun to take out with rockets, and each weapon you get is also guarded by a small ambush, my favourite being the fight for the rocket launcher. There's a fun secret fight for a soulsphere and some ammo, against a few chaingunners and chaos knights which I found after completing the rest of the map but I wasn't expecting secret fights so this was a pleasant surprise. The section after the blue key door is great - you go outside to the ruined city and face off against a small caco-cloud before being dropped into a pit containing a load of fodder and an archvile.

 

Overall, this is a great map that shows off what I think is Uprising's best quality - the ability to create immersive, atmospheric settings which contain fun gameplay scenarios.

[RHhe82]

MAP06: Sewer Rat. 214/214 K, 1/1 S. Completion time 21:53

 

Another bump up in quality, but also in difficulty; Sewer Rat provides you with a heated start, and only later on gives you breathing room between ambushes. Stylistically we're sitting tight in vanilla territory, and that's fine by me; Cheesewheel can do it quite well, and at least I'm not fed up with vanillaish aesthetics.

 

The map indeed gets easier it progresses. Some surprise archviles don't pose that much of a threat, but without saves could prove fatal to the unprepared.

 

Love the music! I've heard it at least in one megawad currently in beta phase, but I can't remember where it's originally from.
 

[Doomy__Doom]

Playstyle: dsda-doom (-cl2), UV (generally max but occasionally might skip secret hunt), pistol start, sparse saves/rewinds (no mid-combat)

 

Map 06 - Sewer Rat

The start of this map is quintessential Uprising - lots of fodder plinking away at your health from unexpected angles. A very open map, despite taking place mostly indoors - most of it is a single area split by boxes, perches and some other structures.

 

With introduction of uhh triple-imp-fireball-trooper (UDB gives me "hotshot" as their name), Uprising's projectile fodder gets really nasty - first game of the day, and I find myself on 6% within a minute. Gone are the days of giving armor before action. After a bit more running around, picking off threats and barely stabilizing at 50-ish HP, I find my first death. A non-instant floor-raising trap houses imps, but those imps do not have Ambush flag (unlike the backpack they're guarding), and thus I straferun into an instant melee Doom64 dark imp piled against the pit's linedef in just the right place. A very silly death with no immediate living enemies around, so I opted to rewind that blooper over starting from scratch.

 

Another path (or rather part of the main area) houses much needed armor and chaingun, alongside more stuff to dispatch. The rocket launcher trap preys on my escape movement instincts, but this time I do manage to dodge Chaos Knight and not get triple meleed to death.

 

Around the sewery part there's a lot of across-fence combat to be done to remove sniping revs, plasmarines and whatnot. Secret blue face and ammo stash - always welcome, although there's no reason to actually jump down into the ambush, when you can just stay where the switch is. YK is a bit more involved. Past yellow door - a couple more 'bushes, SSG, all part of seeking a way through aforementioned fenced off area, housing BK.

 

BK in hand, a brief tour over Tomato Street. It has seen better days, and what awaits us is sinking back into them severs. A final horde, a vile, last few fodders. The exit is a hole. Again. Weren't we supposed to be, y'know, UPrising?

Bonus: this map is absolutely bombastic on solo-net/coop_spawns.
Open space, lots of additional enemies (245 vs 214), ammo and health = doom at its best. Zipping around in absolute chaos, chased by a Cyberdemon in a very interconnected layout where he can near enough always reach you, with lots of distractions, sniping enemies and infighting going on gets adrenaline going. The only unfortunate thing is that SSG is waaay too late - having a real fighting chance against Cyber earlier on would be better, even if there are plenty of good damage sources to help you out - but so far that's Uprising in general, and I still wholeheartedly recommend solo-net for this map in partucular.

[Anarkzie]

Map 5 Trainyard

God I love the start of this map, you open to a major fight in a waiting room that just keeps building room after room. I had almost no ammo after the last level and I found myself having to prioritise killing former humans swapping between what ever weapons I had just acquired ammo for. This level seems to take the best parts of the levels that have gone before, it's got the enemy firing from all directions that was the key experience of level 3 with level 1 recognisable locations dialed up to 11. I wonder if the author was learning to map as he went along as this shows better technical know how. Great music sounds a bit like a western. I also notice that the Arachnotron sprite has been touched up.

Level 6 Sewer Rat

The opening big fight was thrilling and it was a real challenge to gain a foothold in the level. I like the new solders shooting imp fireball guys but I don't like that they don't drop ammo. My poor colour blind eyes are struggling to tell these solders apart at this point, thank god Doom is a shoot everything you see kind of game as this would cause problems otherwise. Level detail just continues to get better with lots of doom cute as people say. The level also features the best ambush so far, I forgot what colour key it was but the one in the water with everyone shooting down at you, kind of reminds me of the 90s action movie The Rock. This is the first level with bad music, it kind of reminds me of Ancient Aliens, maybe bad is the wrong word more music that does not fit the level.

[tonytheparrot]

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

Map 6: Sewer Rat

102% kills, 81% items and 100% secrets

Time: 9:41

 

Sewer Rat is scored beautifully by Stew's midi and takes place in a warehouse built under a destroyed city. This map is the longest and most populated in Uprising so far, and you will notice it right at the start, in which hitscanners, imps, marksmen and the new enemy will assault you. The new enemy I am mentioning is the hotshot, who is a grey recolouring of the marksman that has the same health as the lost soul and shoots 3 imp fireballs in a quick succession. Later in the level, you will notice that all the weapon pick-ups trigger nicely calibrated ambushes: picking up the RL teleports imps, marksmen and chaos knights, the chaingun reveals imps and the SSG makes you face pinkies, imps and zombies. While these ambushes are really fun, my favorite moment is near the end when you take a lift out of the warehouse and discover the city that it is built under, but later come back down where a group of imps (both types) and an archie await you. This is another really good outing from Cheesewheel as it is pretty and really enjoyable.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

 

Love:

Map 4

Really Like:

Map 6

Map 1

Map 3

Map 5

Map 2

 

 

[Cheesewheel]

Map06 - Sewer Rat

 

This starts off great, a mad dash for weapons dodging lots of fodder until you get armoured up. I like to rush the rocket launcher then start disposing of them. The yellow key trap makes you move fast and I like the SSG trap not only because it loops nicely back but also the cheeky cacodemon behind you can get you off guard. The reveal of the ruined city shows that we are out of the wastelands and in the thick of it now.

Good stuff and the first map I am really content with; I still like to regulary replay the start of this one.

[cannonball]

MAP06 - “Sewer Rat”

 

I don't know whether this is intentional, but you can obtain the goodies from the only secret without actually going through said secret because the switch that lowers the items can be pressed from a location late on in the map.

On the whole this felt the most solid in terms of combat. The hot start is a proper rush and is certainly better than the efforts made in the Train Yard. Once you are clear of this then the rest of the map is pretty straightforward, the yellow key trap isn't too bad if you have acquired the rocket launcher, in fact my biggest threat were the revenants that can snipe you from the blue key area. I was pretty flush in terms of rockets towards the end, so much so that I actually used this for the last 30 or so kills, regardless of how the came. The visuals are functional (If rather dark), the gameplay is solid but front loaded with the map becoming pretty easy once you have clear the yellow key trap. A solid effort this one and probably the best so far.

[Anarkzie]

Map 07 Meat Grinder

 

Not a bad map. It does not have the intensity of the last two maps but there's a more even pace throughout. I like the popping out of a man hole start to the level, you get the feeling that you're infiltrating some kind of enemy HQ. Cool little change to the plasma rifle  projectiles and sound but the red tint looks a little amateur. The music grew on me as the level progressed and fits the feel of taking the fight to the enemy. The level ends in a dead simple remake room that snuck up on me.

Edited June 7, 2022 by Anarkzie

[kalaeth]

time for

MAP 07 - Meat Grinder : 

Climbed up from the sewers and into a burning building at the distance. Up some steps into some zombies and a IoS wall. to one side the shotgun, to the other a switch that opens the IoS mouth. Once inside take a lift, to his brain maybe? Quite a wooden brain, with a lot of parasites. Eventually I found the secret backpack + rockets, and then another lift to grab the SSG and release the imps and pinkies down below. Follow the blood until the fall which will rise the blood until the skull. You are there at red door number one and from there proceed to red door numbers 2 and 3. Shoot some rockets, go grab a refill of said rockets, kill the first AV of the WAD, steps up, kill chaingunners, then don't get killed by flame troopers, imps a revenant or two until you press a switch and enter a trap crusher corridor. It's not extremely hard to cross it and reach outside where the IoS brains are all over the place and the blue skull key lies in a pool of blood. Grabbing it brings you down into a small massacre of imps revs and chaos lords. Then press a switch, ride the lift up, and now you get a pick of two blue doors. I pick the smallest of the two but I'm not sure the other one is harder or not. Down some steps, across the blood, up a lift, across the room, down another lift, fight for the switch, kill two zombies, grab the key and face another AV.

Lift back up, yellow door, lift, grab the red-plasma gun, and final fight! Kill the mancs and as soon as you do realize this IS map 06, so kill the spiders (and the cacos) and then grab the lift to press the switch, and exit.

100% K/I/S, 16:37

There were some close calls but no death! Yey.

 

so far, 100% everything, 1 death, 1 hour 9 minutes and 47 seconds time. 

[finnks13]

MAP07 - Human Processing/Meat Grinder:
This map has two names, though both seem rather appropriate considering the grisly scenery and gore everywhere. There's not much ammo at the start of the map, and you'll be forced to pistol a fair amount if you miss the chaingun on the way to the red key. The lift leading straight to two dark imps is a bit of a dick move, but I like the fight that comes after grabbing the SSG that they are guarding. The fight for the red key is hampered by only being able to teleport monsters to one area on a raising lift that's used, but once you're at the top the density of dark imps along with the revenant proves to be quite a formidable challenge.

 

Behind the red key door lies the more technological part of this horrible structure, you get a rocket launcher here, and soon go into an absolutely brutal room full of flamerthrower zombies - those guys are not to be messed with if they've got the high ground on you. I don't like the little crusher section before the blue key, it feels like forced damage and isn't fun to randomly die to on a blind playthrough. This is made up for by the excellent blue key fight - two archviles, a few revenants and chaos knights, along with a bunch of imps and dark imps teleport into a fairly small arena with only a few thin pillars for cover. You have to dive in and out of cover carefully to avoid the archvile's attacks while keeping an eye on homing revenant missiles that could force you out of a seemingly safe spot.

 

After another surprise archvile, we get the yellow key and riding up after the lift reveals this facility's dark secret - it was Dead Simple all along! I like Dead Simple as a gimmick, and this is a fun one. We get the incredibly red plasma gun before the fight starts and firing at all in this room spawns in a load of revenants and dark imps which is rather mean. Taking out the mancubi reveals some arachnotrons and two small caco-clouds. Two archviles guard the exit of this facility and so ends one of the first episode of Uprising's most fun set-pieces.

 

Overall, this map's gory aesthetic hides some fun and well designed action within.

[Monsieur E]

Was busy yesterday so couldn't get a writeup up for Map 06, so I'll be doing it today instead alongside Map07!

Map06- Sewer Rat 
100% kills, pistol start

I really liked this one. First off, the triple fireball soldier (let's just call them impguys) are pretty lethan and can chop down your health quick in the level. The start is probably the hardest part since you're running around escaping from enemy projectiles hoping you don't get hitscanned or those revenants don't 80 damage rocket your ass. A tough cookie but fun to pull off and scramble for weapons to turn the tide back against the demons is pretty exciting. Unlike the previous map where the rocket launcher trivialized the demons, here it's more balanced considering the higher enemy count as well as the more lethal roster. I like how open and arena like the map is, it's pretty well designed. The doomcute is done pretty well too. My favorite bit in the level is towards the end where you go outside of the sewer notice the city consumed in a shit state, it helps the whole "uprising" aspect of it.  Although, idk if it's a GZDoom software rendering thing or not but some of the map is pretty dark and kind of hard to see in. Nothing that is exceedingly difficult but it did somewhat bother me. All in all, this was a fun map. 

Map07- Meat Grinder 
100% kills, pistol start

Another very enjoyable level. The design and architecture here is very cool, it's a nice hellish, gore-y structure inline with its name invoking alot of Map03 but larger and more modern so to speak. I've come to realize that the biggest threat in Uprising (so far) are the lowtier enemies who are numerous in number and just cut your down health little by little. However, thank the lord, this level is pretty ssg friendly giving you sufficient ammo for it and also giving it to you pretty straight up so you don't have to run around with the og for too long. In general, once you get your hands on the ssg (and the backpack secret which was pretty straightforward), the level becomes far more manageable and enjoyable as you aren't shotgunning fodder groups as this chip down your health. It is an especially helpful for dealing with the damned dark imps. The level is still not a pushover and is a fair challenge climaxing at the Dead Simple fight. I'm not too big into DS fights however considering theres more to this fight than just "haha kill 10 mancubi then 10 arachnotrons" I liked it alot. You also get your first plasma gun but it's.. well frankly I like all the other sound replacements but this one just doesn't do it for me, kinda lame and weak sounding honestly. That doesn't detract from the actual fight though, it's pretty good. Infact, the RL alone is sufficient to clown on the demons and clear the encounter. I might've been a bit skeptical of the early levels for being kinda meh and being just sequential shotgunning the fodders with a hit of a few mid tiers but after the last two levels, I'm excited to see how the rest of the wad played out.  

[Doomy__Doom]

Playstyle: dsda-doom (-cl2), UV (generally max but occasionally might skip secret hunt), pistol start, sparse saves/rewinds (no mid-combat)

 

Map 07 - Meat Grinder

Featuring heavy blood/flesh corrupted steelbase aesthetics, we finally get into bigger setpiece territory. From this point on I will probably cut down on play-by-play impressions and stick to bigger picture and standout encounters.

 

Initial exploration involves a quick hello from an IoS, followed by a lot of tight corridor combat, which goes pretty well with a very rhytmic choice of a soundtrack. SSG is finally not too late, although the lift into 2 point blank dark imps ambush prior to attaining it could be quite deadly. Health is in good supply and eventually, after some more standard Uprising incidental stuff and minor ambush pieces, come the bigger fights.

 

BK setpiece has quite simple U-ish shaped arena with pillars, where you start on one side and mixed enemy roster + 2 viles pour in from the other end. At this point there is enough RL ammo to spam things down as long as you can handle a couple rev missiles and maybe a zap coming your way simultaneously.

 

Upon reaching final arena with a newly acquired plasmagun, it suddenly clicks that we're in a map 7, and thus dead simple gimmick must be utilized. The arena itself showers you with plasma and rockets so much, and with almost 0 damage taken from BK (you get a set of blue face and armor there), the stack is good enough to keep the megasphere in the center for emergency/phase 2. Mancs+Revs into Spideys+Cacos into some Viles and Chaingunners - nothing circlestrafe to win can't beat as long as you don't catch too many stray projectiles.

 

I exited the map with 200/200, 36 rockets and 200+ plasma despite not holding back, so many continuous players will probably feel quite comfortably set after this level.

 

Bonus content: not going to recommend solo-net for this one.
Starting area gets heavily overpopulated - ~20 or so extra enemies of all kinds in cramped space, and that's the one part where health is limited so you kinda need to know where to go and not take sneaky dark imp shot in the back. SSG, due to being behind a tall lift, is effectively locked out until you tediously clear stuff with sg/cg, unless you're a fan of softlocking on a lift you can't go down.

 

Even worse, the crusher tunnel to blue key/doors area has a cyber on the other side, which turns the whole thing into a massive "is he gonna block and/or rocket me" RNG fest, as your ability to abuse AI pathing to lure the goat far enough away to cross the trap is very limited.

 

Final fight's phase 1 is quite spicy though, with 2 viles being in the arena right away alongside all mancs, revs and dark imps, so you actually have a tough-ish space to navigate, and having 600 starting plasma and then some isn't going to sub in for lack of awareness here anymore.

[RHhe82]

MAP07: Meat Grinder (or: Human Processing?). 241/241 K, 1/1 S. Completion time 26:54.

 

The best map so far, Meat Grinder (?) still has that vanilla look to it, but the design feels far more modern than the previous maps. The difficulty bumps up a bit again, nothing too hairy here, but I quite liked the ambush near the BSK. At first I lowered there without the rocket launcher (which I had forgotten to pick up as I suspected it was trapped).

 

One little gripe I have: the small corridor with crushing pillars. It's nothing major, but I hated traversing through it *twice* - an extra round, as I had not found the secret before entering the final battle, which I also liked (only there did I realize this was MAP07).

 

Completion time inflated a bit because I had to look for the secret room. I knew where it was, but not how'd I get there. Automap gave me a false clue (some computer panels nearby looked suspicious but at the end did nothing), I tried searching near the other gargoyle face also found at the secret balcony. I had already suspected the correct solution, but for some unfathomable reason I just missed the way, even when standing right next to it in a curious elevator.

 

I wish I had found the secret earlier, could have really used the backpack. No matter: there were very little ammo concerns (save for some of the early parts of the map, but nothing annoying), I'm a happy doomer.

[tonytheparrot]

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

Map 7: Human Processing/Meat Grinder

101% kills, 100% items and 100% secrets

Time: 10:12

 

Set under an awesome Pcorf midi, Human Processing offers the most original premise in Uprising so far. The goal is to open the mouth of the icon of sin and enter inside him to discover a human processing center built by demons. While I love the concept of the map, the action is not stellar as it is mostly made of serviceable incidental encounters and easy predictable ambushes. However, there are 3 fights that I love and that save the map for me. The first one triggers after grabbing the SSG and coming back down the lift : a lot of imps, revs and pinkies will be ready to destroy you, but your 2 new barrels are of course way stronger (of course only new if you're pistol-starting). The second one triggers after pressing the switch allowing you to escape the blue key area : 2 arch-viles and a lot of chaos knights, dark imps, pinkies and revs teleport in, but they are great fun to deal with using your trustworthy rocket launcher. The third one is the final fight, which is a dead simple rehash that contains more obstructive meat and also throws 2 arch-viles at the end. Overall, the map concept is nice but the combat is just fine outside of the 3 encounters that I talked about previously.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

Love:

Map 4

Really Like:

Map 6

Map 1

Map 7

Map 3

Map 5

Map 2

 

 

Edited June 7, 2022 by tonytheparrot : Small corrections

[Cheesewheel]

MAP07 - Human Processing

 

Each key fight is great fun and the premise of entering a literal human processing factory made by the demons is fantastically morbid. I never like the action between the big fights though, the space isn't open enough and there isn't enough to do between fights.

 

I think the dead simple arena is more than just a gimmick, it's a 2 wave arena fight with extra enemies beyond mancubi and arachnotrons. Map08 should be entertaining for those wanting to do a bit more exploring after the cramped conditions of map07.

[cannonball]

MAP07 - “Human Processing”

 

Nice opening shot, and in general a nice theme. Vanilla, yes, but there are some nice nuances in there. There is some real teeth to a couple of the fights, though obtaining the SSG was probably the toughest moment for me as grabbing it and surviving the ambush in the room you left previously can go sideways quickly. The blue key fight is probably the nastiest of the big fights, the archviles can checkmate you quite easily if they teleport in an unfavourable manner or get behind a wall of other meat. Still there is sparing cover, so this is a nice fight. The yellow key is a little bit of an issue because the Archvile is able to resurrect the imps in an earlier part of the map (Annoying if you want all the kills), as such it became apparent that I would need to go through a significant portion of the map to backtrack, I think a shortcut would have been nice once you have reached the yellow key door. The final fight is frankly a dead simple re-hash, though it gets a couple of marks for throwing other monsters into the mix, which in fairness makes the fight more interesting. The lift to the switch in that room rose to the ceiling (Is this intentional?), this was a little irritating as you can easily mess up getting into the cubby-hole to unlock the exit. The archviles and chaingunners should be an easy dispatch as ammo is plentiful in the final room.

Overall I liked this one, there are some flaws, but also felt like a more complete map in terms of setting the scene, a factor that was missing in maps like Sewer rat for instance. 

[Sethlab 79461813]

Hey everyone! I've been a reader of these for a long time so I'm very excited to be able to take part in one finally! 

This is my first time playing or even having heard of Uprising. I've been pleasantly surprised by blind playthroughs of wads I know nothing about so jumping into this one no problem. I am going to be playing this UV pistol start with as close to 100% as I can get without losing my mind. Since most of you know nothing about me at all, I tend to get a little overanalytical, to a fault. What may seem like incessant nagging is just me being passionate about this game and loving to pick apart anything I can about it. @Cheesewheel and any other mappers have my utmost respect in making these things for us to play with no hope of financial compensation. I wish I could make maps. Take my opinions with a pound of salt. Where I have more opinions is typically in music, having played multiple instruments my whole life. A good or bad midi can make or break a map, in my opinion, so know that my opinions on those come from someone who has professionally played music before so I tend to REALLY analyze music to a point where it feels formulaic. This will also probably be a jumbled mess while I catch up to the rest of you guys, so excuse my stream-of-consciousness style of writing. Anyways, let's go!

Right off the rip, I LOVE the statusbar. I think statusbars can be overlooked as a design bulletpoint but I am HUGE into aesthetics and this wad sets the tone right away. I love the black and red scheme and the recoloring of the pistol and shotgun. I always thought it was strange that in the future, on another planet, a space marine would use a wood stocked grandpa shotgun. I like the more tactical aesthetic. One thing that is really irking me, however, is the coloring of the SSG, chaingun, and RL. To my eye, it looks like instead of replacing the pixels with darker shades, it looks like the overall gamma was reduced on them, making it look like you're standing in shadows even in fullbright. It's an effect that shouldn't bother me as much as it does. However, I found myself instinctively messing with Gzdoom's lighting settings without realizing it was the weapon sprite itself. The difference between the SG and SSG is a little distracting. Oh well, maybe I'll get over it. I love the sound effect replacement for the SG. Chaingun sounds like a laser a little bit. 

I love the doomcute right away (and the implication that doomguy burns books for heat lmao) and the simple architecture and texturing help achieve a lot of atmosphere with very little. I love the brick polygons on the ground, for instance. The first map has a great midi and sets up the theme incredibly well. Made me very excited to keep playing. 

map 2 helped solidify the Flesh/tech aesthetic immediately. Considering that TNT:R is my favorite wad at the moment, this wad starting really jiving with me. I'm feeling like the enemy placement is a little sparse. I'm not looking for sunlust, but I crave more shotgun action with these new former humans. The enemy replacements are pretty good so far. I dig the new HK and plasma guy, the dark imp. I'm not crazy about the imp-ball human. He feels a little phoned in.  The red key fight woke me up real quick. I dug those hitscanners around the pit. Give me more of that.

Map 3 is alright. I can't really pick out a lot that stuck with me. Some of these fights feel a little lackadaisical; I just feel like I'm meandering around environments killing singular guys. I'm still on board with the aesthetic, I just want the action to pick up a bit. Here's where I'll be a little harsh: this midi doesn't work, imo. The hopeless and desperate atmosphere this wad tries to evoke does not work with this track. It's got a weird funky swing and swagger that I think would work better in DN3D or something like Heartland maybe. I don't feel like with the world burning around me and being surrounded by flesh tech horrors that the soundtrack should feel so....confident? I don't know. It's taking me out of it.

map 4 got me very excited right away and ripped the rug out quick. It's not the map's fault. I just LOVE the flesh textures (think Bloodstain, Jenesis, parts of Sunlust) so I was hoping the whole level would continue. No such luck. The continuity between maps is fantastic. I love the busted crates in the courtyard; great worldbuilding. Any time I see green marble I get nervous (i hated it in 93 and hate it now) and my first thought is, to quote @MtPain27, an "elephantine disaster" like AV Map11: Nemesis. Luckily, this map wasn't as much of a snore. Not much to write about, but I loved the castle. good stuff. What's not good is this midi. It starts out great with a foreboding atmosphere and some creeping keys. As I was taking notes about how good it was, there was a hard shift into weird Toe Jam and Earl funky stuff, followed by spooky lich/clown atonal harpsichord that would be more fitting in a Mouldy tune. While these elements are all done well in their respective sections, none of them really gel well together in my opinion, and the goofy 90's sounds just take me right out of the atmosphere this wad has done so well up to this point. It feels like a mismatch to me; it seems more fitting in a Heartland or Auger Zenith style wad.

Map 5 is a fun time. Very good depiction of a trainyard and great continuity, keeping with the trend. Much better midi usage here, but I could do without the sproings and bwangs. Some areas, like the main outdoor grey walls, could use a little splashes of color but for the most part, this is a nice environment. I got my first real fight in this map. The yellow key area with hell knights, imps, revenants, and cacos feels like the first hand-crafted fight of the wad and I love it. The infighting feels meaningful. This is one of those fights where you're like "oh yeah, let's go" and when it's done, you feel smart; like you figured a puzzle out. I like the secrets in this wad. I'm not a huge secret guy and I'll only stare at my minimap for so long. These secrets feel organic and pretty rewarding, but not absolutely necessary to completing the level. They're not amazing, either. Just good. Pleasant.

Map 6 loses the aesthetic for me. Kind of feels too much like Underhalls or Plutonia's Sewers texturing wise. Midi match is great. Has a good sense of mystery and darkness. Sets up the sewer atmosphere well. Around this time I realized that my expectations might be a tad bit too high. I was comparing this to other sort of partial conversions that I love like Struggle: Antaresian Legacy and Valiant but I don't think that's fair. Not because this isn't a quality wad but because I think this one is a bit more deliberately old school than those ones. I could be wrong. Once I kind of started looking at this wad as a classic-style love letter, I started to enjoy it a LOT more.

Map 7 brings back the aesthetic. Right after I typed a note that the enemies are too sparse and "where are the fights?" I encountered the SSG fight and got absolutely slapped. I restarted this one a few times. The chaingunner ambush in the red double doors was another wake up call. The final fight was fucking awesome in this map. This is the kind of action I've been looking for. I'm fully on board with wherever @Cheesewheel wants to take me, if we can keep up the momentum. I love the plasma gun sprite and really dislike the narrow crusher hallway but I am a grumpy crusher hater by nature.

Really looking forward to the rest!

[NiGHTS108]

MAP06: Sewer Rat

Kills: 85%

Items: 27%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 6:03

 

Sewer Rat definitely feels like the richest and most energetic map so far in Uprising, this one makes a big point about introducing the Flamethrower Guys, they absolutely flood this murky station, their three Imp projectiles do a good job keeping you on the move here. Sewer Rat feels like it has less incidental combat as a whole than the previous maps. Stuff like the blue key fight makes this feel more lively and upbeat as a whole, ironically enough. The SSG fight isn't the most choreographed thing ever, but it's fun enough, and I really like how you go on the roof in this map. It makes it feel surprisingly more real, if you get what I mean. Even the space in between major fights feels noticeably more lively too. Sewer Rat is pretty firm, reliable and simply entertaining overall.

 

Grade: B+

Difficulty: C

 

 

[Gibbon]

Uprising - MAP07 - Human Processing

 

There is a bug here, the level name in-game is actually 'Meat Grinder'..  so I have no idea what the level is actually called.  Maybe Meat Grinder Human Processing? :D

 

It is a relatively short level and full of action, some great fights, nice traps and gorgeous use of rather plain textures.  Another good Cheesewheel map.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Uprising - MAP08 - Street Fighter

 

Ok, this one got a bit confusing for me.  It is pretty large and there are so many rooms and little alcoves and switches that it took me nearly 30 minutes to finish.  Nice scenery though, definitely isn't boring at all.  I know I missed a whole bunch of stuff and I couldn't get that door way up high, but this is a goodun indeed, really great stuff.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Sethlab 79461813]

*Played on UV with pistol start. Saves allowed*

MAP08-Street Fighter

This map opens in what I assume is an apartment building or something of some kind. The sad dog photo next to what I assume is his eviscerated owner legitimately made me say "oh no" out loud. It was a nice little touch to add to the desperate tone of this wad. Exiting this building into the large city area, I can only assume that Cheesewheel was slightly influenced by Downtown, whether they knew it or not. The amount of random impguy fireballs hitting me from areas I can't see was very reminiscent of Sandy Peterson's brutalist dumpster fire. However, Cheesewheel doesn't share the same abstraction and gross texturing as the aforementioned. This map's texturing and environments are rock solid. I love the cracked earth with lava flowing underneath, the large structure with RESIST painted on it, the stock room/library areas, etc. While I enjoy some insane Ribbik's level architecture just like the next guy, a classic brutalist Doom city is really what gets my nostalgia going. This map feels like a warm hug from an old friend; like a map I could have easily played as a kid alongside other classic maps. All of the doomcute details also give this map a bit of proto Build-engine vibes. I liked the open, exploratory nature of the map. I tackled it 3 different ways on each of my attempts. Big marks for non-linearity that isn't overtly confusing. Some of the more open spaces want for more fights, in my opinion. The final imp horde was great but I would have loved to see a fight in the big downtown area or the blood fountain and its adjoining stockroom which sadly only had one revenant and a few chaingunners. Overall, I really enjoyed this map.

The midi for this map is my favorite so far. It is a mysterious and inspiring piece which evokes feelings of redemption, heroism, sadness, and a call to action. The pensive and fragile sections bring feelings of innocence lost and sadness at your world crumbling down around you. Alternating with this section though is a confident brawling sort of pounding guitar riff that really drives home the stakes and the impending retribution. It's not the apex of your journey, but clearly seeing your city in ruins has raised the stakes. I'm really impressed with this pairing of music, not only tonally but in the structure as well. The peaks and valleys of the composition fit really well in the sort of meandering-then-quick-burst-of-action sort of playstyle this map has. While I'm not the biggest fan of said playstyle, the midi complements this map absolutely perfectly in its pacing. Whether or not that was intentional, I'm very impressed.