The DWmegawad Club plays: 3 Heures d'Agonie 2

[Book Lord]

MAP 10 – Culture et Confiture de Mobs by Jean Bon (Jambon)

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

I will not be singing praises of the library theme as usual, because little happened between these dusty bookshelves. A caged Arch-Vile, killed through the bars before he can cause trouble, was the only threat of a totally symmetrical map with predictable monster placement and a low body count. I was happy to have the SSG, so I did not have to gun down the six Hell Knights with single-barrelled shotgun. The Spectres and the Chaingunners were not that effective, and the level finished before it started. Nothing bad, but also nothing to care much about.

Spoiler

 

[RHhe82]

MAP10: Culture et Confiture de mobs. 32/32 K, 1/1 S. Completion time 5:27.

 

Didn't care for this one, it has a certain 1995 feel to it. First buzzkill comes from having to kill six chevalier infernals with shotgun and even a pistol. I wonder if I made a mistake by killing the archvile without lowering the grates first? It's not bad as such, but I have hard time finding anything particularly positive about it.

[Roofi]

Map 10 "Culture et Confiture de Mobs"

 

 

What I like the most in Jambon's maps is the minimalistic design through the use of a very restrained number of textures and a simple architecture. Also, I love how the Aznavour's music transforms this little library into an intimate place.

 

Despite the relaxed ambiance, the gameplay was more stressful needed. Jambon doesn't grant you a green or blue armor and give powerful weapons later so you have to kill two groups of hell knight and an arch-vile locked behind metal bars with your boomstick. Also, getting the SSG releases a group of spectres in a dark and cramped room.

 

The scarcity of the resources force to you to advance with caution , and I didn't really spend a happy time. The symetrical design doesn't displease me though.

 

Grade : C

 

 

[Dersulbob]

MAP10 - Culture et Confiture de Mobs
(Blind run, UV, Continuous, saves allowed, GZDoom)

 

The one room this level takes place in looks just fine and would be a nice setting as part of a larger map.

 

As a full map it feels lacklustre. As Cannonball says, unlikely that this took the full 3 hours. Granted I only downloaded my first editor yesterday, so it's probably not my place to say, but it feels like a low effort map. 

 

Grade - D

[tmorrow]

game mode:  gzdoom4.8.0, uvmax, pistol starts. If a map is too hard, I'll revert to using saves and note it on that map review.

---

map10

This map is located in the library. Doomguy doesn't get much time to read or research. Instead he does what he does best, eradication of monsters. It's a small map and ammo is a bit tight if you opt for taking out the pesky archvile before the bars are raised and he is released.
 

[Poncho1]

Map08: Simple Souterrain

Author: Arnaud Florian (Oxyde)

 

From a bird's-eye point-of-view, this map looks an awful lot like a BTSX reject. Not that that's a negative. The techbase design is competent, as is the blending of the natural scenery that crops in every now and then, such as an outdoor fight with Imps, Cacos, Mancubi and the like. Truth be told, I found most of the fights standard and the progression stilted by being bizarring confusing, in spite of the level not being that large. The one encounter that stood out is the double-whammy Arch-vile surprise, an ambush that I got very lucky and survived unscathed. It's the perfect heart-attack moment for a map like that. Visually accomplished, though it's left wanting a little. An average level.

 

Map09: Generator of Death

Author: Sid Zetmeck

 

I'd never heard of this mapper, and Doom Wiki tells me it's his only map (unless he's released levels without a wiki page). The action takes place is a storage facility that's hooked up with, as the title implies, a power core of some sort. The first half is the standard techbase progression stuff we've seen in countless other WADs, but the gameplay picks up in the second half with Arch-vile ambushes, a generous supply of rockets and energy cells, Mancubi and, in the final room, two Spider Masterminds who hardly pose a threat since they'll make mince-meat of each other instead. The level concludes with killing a boss brain, NOVA Map18-style. Once again a mixed bag: mediocre first half, interesting second. I suppose it's a map that improves as you progress, which is, all things considered, a positive, though I would've like a whole map that was enjoyable, ya know?

 

Map10: Culture et Confiture de Mobs

Author: Jean Bon (jambon)

 

Mate, if that's your real name... Anyway, not even I really get the map's title. Is it supposed to mean a "jamboree" ("confiture" being jam in French) of demon action? A "mob" waiting to tear you a new one? Because those don't really describe the level. Pistol-starting this would probably be stupid, considering that you'll mostly likely end up having to pistol some enemies to reserve ammo for the Hell Knights and the final stretch. With my carried-over inventory, this was a piece of cake. I can't even compliment the visuals, since they're mostly brown, and the extreme symmetry also made for a dull experience. Gotta hand it to jambon for his hilarious signature (literally a slice of jambon), though that's the only real positive I have.

[NiGHTS108]

MAP08: Simple Souterrain

By Oxyde

Kills: 76%

Items: 76%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 4:52

 

I'm not sure why they call it "simple" when it's probably the most complex map so far.

Simple Souterrain is an underground underhall that, put simply, looks and flows really nicely. (I guess "simple" was an accurate name!) Don't do what I did in this map, make sure to find the SSG or be prepared to deal with several Arch-Viles with a mere single-barrel. There's a really strong sense of momentum here, apart from a sudden AV attack you're never slowed down in these dank sewers, ironically enough. I really dig this map, it's pretty and comfortable.

 

Grade: A-

Difficulty: B

 

 

MAP09: Generator Of Death

By Sid Zetmeck

Kills: 95%

Items: 67%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 4:58

 

Yet another map that passes by pretty insignificantly and quickly to the rhythm of Zetmeck's original MIDI, Generator Of Death is mostly a somewhat bland and angular base stuffed to the gills with hitscanners. This map probably frustrates me more than it should all things considered, there's more than enough ammo but I find the room behind the red key door can get annoying pretty quickly, the Arch-Viles are pretty forgettable, and the dual Mastermind duel at the end is frankly less interesting than it looks. This map isn't bad, it's just another pretty simple one.

 

Grade: C

Difficulty: C

 

 

MAP10: Culture Et Confiture De Mobs

By Jambon

Kills: 70%

Items: 44%

Secrets: 100%

Time: 2:21

 

Speaking of maps that are uninteresting, this hyper symmetrical library really just does not have a lot going for it. The start will be frustrating if you're not into shotgunning Hell Knights, and from there the map bleeds into an awkward pitch black room and not much more. This map is really weird and pretty slow to be honest, I can't even stretch out this review that much. Jambon's wonderful signature was easily the best thing about this map.

 

Grade: D

Difficulty: C-

 

 

Edited July 10, 2022 by NiGHTS108

[tonytheparrot]

(Played from a pistol-start on UV with Prboom+, saves are allowed)

Map 10: Culture et Confiture de Mobs by Jean "Jambon" Bon

110% kills, 97% items, 100%  secrets

Time: 3:20

 

Now, this one is strange. Culture et Confiture de Mobs is Jambon's first entry in the series and it sticks out like a sore thumb. It's religiously brown, excessively symmetrical and the midi rendition of Charles Aznavour's "La Bohème" playing in the background is very weird for Doom, even if I admit that it unexpectedly fits here. However, the map lacks in the combat department, it's simply: killing 8 shotgunners with the pistol, then killing 6 hell knights and later an arch-vile with the shotgun, then killing 5 spectres in dark places wth the SSG, then killing 2 revenants with the SSG and finally killing 10 chaingunners with the chaingun. Out of all of them, only the part with the chaingunners is actually fun. However, this map is kind of a guilty pleasure for me as despite the weak gameplay, it's just bursting with personnality as it's combination of the weird atmosphere and Jambon's minimalist style is unlike everything that I have played. Overall, I wouldn't say that Culture and Confiture de Mobs is enjoyable, but I don't think that any maps like it exist, which is why I like more than I probably should.

 

Footnote: Jambon always chooses excellent titles for his maps and his mapper mark is the best out of anyone that I know of.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

Love:

Map 6

Map 3

Map 5

Really Like:

Map 8

Map 4

Map 7

Map 9

Like:

Map 2

Map 1

Map 10

 

 

 

[RED77]

Map 11

 

Not gonna lie. This map destroys me. Just clean the floor with my face. 
I've already stated I'm not that good of a player and I personally don't like slaughter maps.
That said, I want to give credit to the mapper. It's simple but fair, and the monster- bloquer lines were very helpful. 
Another non-secret map.
 

★★★☆☆ 

[tmorrow]

2 hours ago, RED77 said:

This map destroys me.

 

Chin up @RED77 and keep fighting the good fight! This map punched my lights out the first couple times too. There are many more difficult maps to come, one beyond my meager skills.

 

---

 

game mode:  gzdoom4.8.0, uvmax, pistol starts. If a map is too hard, I'll revert to using saves and note it on that map review.

---

map11

The episode ender is a small but brutal map. This is not a drill! The cyberdemons have entered the arena. The battles consist of 5 set pieces. There's the warm opening, followed by arachnotrons, then mancubi. Doomguy has only chaingun and shotgun at his disposal for these fights. Fourthly, doomguy meets the first cyberdemon in the megawad, backed up with an archvile and several imps. At this point he can pick up a sorely needed plasma rifle to even the odds. After that, the fifth set piece consists of 2 archviles, revenants and a second cyberdemon guarding the exit. Doomguy expects the difficulty to rise in the later episodes. His intuition is good.

Edited July 10, 2022 by tmorrow

[LadyMistDragon]

6 hours ago, Poncho1 said:

=

 

 

Map09: Generator of Death

Author: Sid Zetmeck

 

I'd never heard of this mapper, and Doom Wiki tells me it's his only map (unless he's released levels without a wiki page).

 

He also made a map for another French-produced wad called "20 Years of Doom" but I had to search a bit for that one.

 

Also, Map 10 is a complete waste of space, but cool midi choice still.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP11 - “Cendres Humaines” by JC Dorne

100% kills, 1/1 "secret"

 

I'd love to know what the 'intended' way to play this map is, because to me it just felt like a slog. I originally tried to get the mancs and arachnatrons to infight, but it just doesn't seem very doable as they move too slowly, are a bit too far away, and there's not really anywhere to stay out of the line of fire. So, I eventually settled for just fighting each group separately. Killing the mancs is extremely tedious with just a single shotgun/chaingun. With the next fight, you can at least use the cyberdemon to get rid of the imps and AV, but then it's just plasma gunning a cyberdemon down a long hallway. Return to the opening chamber and fight some more AVs and revenants (which at this point, again, kinda tedious with single shells/bullets), and then one final cyberdemon - 100 cells is not enough, so back to again the single shotgun.

 

So yeah, this really just felt like a "better" version of the previous map - it's not uniform brown but still isn't much to look at, it's got a small symmetrical layout that's pretty forgettable, and the actual gameplay is tilted far too much towards using underpowered weaponry for mid- and high-tier monsters.

[Doomy__Doom]

DSDA-Doom, UV-Max, pistol start

 

Map 10 - something in French that I didn't write down

 

"Shotgun 6 hellknights" is not my idea of fun. It can be pretty challenging to dodge and bait enough of them into the pit at the bottom to run past and hit switches leading to backpack and SSG. You'll probably spend more time than just shotgunning them, but at least there's a goal to work towards with some non-repetitive activity to offer.

 

And after you're done with that, you might just take a 36 bite or two from a spectre you can't see or something. No armor and only 2 medkits is pretty rough as far as mistake recovery is concerned.

 

Overall, I'd put this one in "for esoteric interests" category.

[Thelokk]

MAP11- Cendres Humaines by JC Dorne

UV / 100% kills / 1 lame ass secret found

 

Yet another 'spawn sector is the secret' bs start but, at this point, if I rule out maps with this dumb gimmick I figure I might as well drop out for the month, so I'll try and endure.

Not that the map itself helps. Map11's creator is, once again, mostly a speedrunner, and it painfully shows: this is a three-room, ugly brown, stuffed-to-the-brim affair that only someone going for a UV-max demo could enjoy, and that can't have taken more than half hour to make. There is very little to say, and very little to love about the map: monster placement is blocky and designed for gimmicky infighting, texture usage is primitive, close to no lighting gradients, item placement typical of your average 'challenge map' - rows of backpack, the worst thing right after secret spawning sectors. 

 

I remember someone saying in the MSCP playthrough thread that speedrunners shouldn't be given builders and, while I'm willing to give anyone the benefit of doubt, JC's map is one more indication that they might be onto something. At least this time around, given how old the mapset is, we won't have to suffer any passive-aggressive rebuttal.

Edited July 10, 2022 by Thelokk

[Monsieur E]

Map10- Culture et Confiture de Mobs by Jambon 
100% kills

Well, I like the simple library theme and the music selection fits the quaint library. The title is silly and Jambon's little ham signature is cute and endearing. Oh and the specter room was alright. Unfortunately, everything else served is just, not that good honestly. It's symmetric in map design leading to repeat encounters, all of which are very uninteresting and pretty annoying. Coupled with the low margin of error due to the low offering of medkits and stimpacks, it can get tedious pretty quick. Did not enjoy this one plain and simple. 

[Magnusblitz]

6 hours ago, Thelokk said:

Yet another 'spawn sector is the secret' bs start but, at this point, if I rule out maps with this dumb gimmick I figure I might as well drop out for the month, so I'll try and endure.

 

Good news, looking through the wiki, looks like only two more maps have this 'feature' (21 and 32).

[brick]

I have a lot of catching up to do... there are going to be speedreviews mostly.

 

MAP07 - “Merciless Flow” by Memfis

I wasn't enamored with this one. Every encounter is a gotcha but none are that creative, so the map got a bit repetitive. Once again the short length saves it from being annoying or a slog though.

Another thing I'm really enjoying is the little author commentaries for each map, it's fun reading about inspirations and thought process of the author.

 

MAP08 - “Simple Souterrain” by Oxyde

I don't even want to imagine what a pistol start on this one would be like, but playing on continuous I quite liked it! It's got a good mix of Underhalls and Waste Tunnels going on, with a bit of its own personality. I'm a fan of the Doom 2 track remix, of some of the custom textures that look similar to vanilla but with a slightly grittier look, and of the combat in general. Spectres are used very effectively, you've really got to be listening to not get surprise-chewed by one. Speaking of surprise, the archvile was one. Quite a bit of backtracking, but it's not a big deal on a small map. The baron at the end gave me "Baron Door" vibes.

 

MAP09 - “Generator of Death” by Sid Zetmeck

I forgot about the map name and got stuck for a while at the end. It's a cool idea but I wish it was signposted a bit better. The map's otherwise good, and I really like the pace at which it dishes out weapons. I really liked the lighting, such a great way to add detailing without going nuts with sector counts, and very fitting for a speedmap.

 

MAP10 - “Culture et Confiture de Mobs” by Jambon

I certainly didn't expect to hear Aznavour in a Doom wad, though it is fitting with the library theme.

Jambon's name rings a bell and it somehow had a positive association in my mind, but I wasn't a big fan of the map. The hot start with hitscans is not fun, even less so with the height elevation (thank god for modern ports and mouselook). For how tiny the map is it is full of dickish traps. Symmetry doesn't annoy nearly as much as many others here, but it does mean that annoying traps get repeated exactly when the first was already one too many. I lost a lot of health but didn't die, but still felt annoyed by the map.

 

MAP11 - “Cendres Humaines” by JC Dorne

Another very simple layout map that just throws lots of baddies at you, and another one I didn't like that much. I also don't like it when a map forces pickups when I'd rather save them for when I really need them. This must be a pisto-start nightmare, I pity anyone who has to shotgun/chaingun arachnotrons, a dozen mancubi AND an archvile to death.

[RHhe82]

MAP11: Cendres Humaines. 84/84 K, 1/1 S. Completion time 9:15.

 

Another doozy for me. Haste and MSCP developed my taste for slaughter, but this is the kind of micro slaughter I don't care for: amateurish visuals (to put it kindly), and gameplay flow urges me to run around in circles and hope for the best. It lacks the combat puzzle feel to it.

 

When the final cyberdemon appeared, I thought geez, gimme a break. The map did give me cells, but not enough, I had to finish the goat with a single-barrel shotgun. Fun times.

[Roofi]

 

Map 11 "Cendres Humaines"

 

 

And then, the first episode of 3HA2 concludes with one of the weakest map of the megawad. 

 

I don't really care about the visuals and the simplistic layout. I think it's ok without being eye-catching of course.  Nonetheless, being constantly underarmed ruins the amusement. It's true I forgot to pick up the chaingun in my video , but you still have to kill group of mancubus with your weakest weapons.

 

You can speed up the process by trying to grab the heavily garded plasmagun as fast as possible, but you have to take excessive risks. Moreover, JC didn't put enough cells to kills everything so you should keep them for the viles and the two cybers anyway.

 

I could grade this level a "D" but I think two things save "Cendres humaines" from being a really terrible level :

 

- the ROTT music

- the fact it's pretty straightfortward if you progressively kill the monsters. 

 

So, I prefer to qualify "Cendres Humaines" as a dull filler since I've seen a lot worse in Doom.

 

Grade : C-

 

 

[Dersulbob]

MAP11 - Cendres Humaines
(Blind run, UV, Continuous, saves allowed, GZDoom)

 

A struggle for me. As I am playing continuous, I didn't have the same issues others have mentioned about lack of ammo, and I have no idea how I'd have scraped through this one from a pistol start, as it was difficult enough with almost a full arsenal. 

 

For whatever reason, I thought I needed to press both switches to progress from the first fight of the map, so continuously ended up in the middle of a Mancubus/Aracnotron crossfire, which I was unable for some reason to manipulate into infighting.

 

The two Arch-Viles that spawn in the starting room after you've picked up the blue key caused me difficulty and left me with very little plasma for the second Cyberdemon encounter. I stumbled into the exit teleporter without really meaning to, without killing the Cyber.

 

I didn't like the look of this map. It didn't feel very imaginative with the brown and grey and symmetry. 

 

Grade - C-

[Biodegradable]

MAP11: Cendres Humaines

UV | Continuous | GZDoom

 

Very simple, yet somehow annoying and frustrating map that was just a chore to play through. It's nothing to look at, the combat was tedious and awkward which lead to some dumb deaths and it also felt rather stingy when it came to health/ammo in some regards, even playing it on Continuous. I'll let my footage speak for itself, perhaps I was playing poorly, but this wasn't any fun for me. It stinks.

 

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 11 – Cendres Humaines by @JCD

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

A brown, symmetrical, and visually uninteresting map was the first proper attempt to reduce the player to a pile of human ashes. If you stick to the equipment provided to pistol starters, you will be facing mobs of high hp monsters with only the shotgun. When I saw the ten Mancubi, I pressed the other switch hoping to release different monsters and start a big infight, but the three Arachnotrons were not enough to keep them busy. Chaingunners tormented me on the terrace, so I ran past the fatsos only to be greeted by hordes of Imps, a super-nasty Arch-Vile, and a Cyberdemon.

Spoiler

I noticed the monsters could not climb the stairs, so I held the ground against the Mancubi. I used the carryover SSG, and I barely survived. Luck assisted me since the Vile was inadvertently disintegrated by the Cyberdemon. After a one-on-one battle against the boss, a predictable Arch-Vile deployment took place on the main battleground, along with a group of Revenants. I found the last Cyberdemon a tad repetitive and the author could have surely done without. JC Dorne was chiefly focused on combat and there was not much for the eyes to see, so this qualified as a below average, micro-slaughter speedmap.

Edited July 11, 2022 by Book Lord

[tonytheparrot]

(Played from a pistol-start on UV with Prboom+, saves are allowed)

Map 11: Cendres Humaines by Jean-Charles "JC Dorne" Dorne

103% kills, 0% items, 100%  secrets

Time: 3:15

 

Cendres Humaines deserves it's name as the enemies will probably turn Doomguy into ashes given the really big difficulty spike on display here. Now, this map is overall a real pain to play and probably my second least favorite JC map of all time (this comes from a fan of his work who has played his megawad Survive in Hell along with his contributions in the 3ha series, TN, 180mpv, PRCP and 100 Lines). The map is mostly difficult not because of the encounters themselves, but because the only big gun you get is the plasma with very limited ammo and JC can't be bothered to give an SSG. The strategy that I used may be faster than the UV-Max WR of this map, but it is absolutely suicidal and I doubt that it is really doable in a speedrun without spending a ton of attempts praying for good RNG and infighting. Here it is: when you open the mancubi closets, sprint past them along with the imps, arch-vile, spectres and cyberdemon, grab the plasma, let the cyber kill everything, grab the blue key, kill the archies in the middle of the fat bois, open the exit and let the second cyber kill everything while you kill the first one in the meantime. Even if it was unpleasant to make this strategy work, I am not shotgunning 10 mancubi to death. At least I like the midi, but I am also not the biggest fan of the visuals as the combination of the texturing and layout make me unsure of what this level is supposed to be: a techbase? a functional layout? something else? I just don't know. Cendres Humaines is sadly the megawad's weakest map so far.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

 

Love:

Map 6

Map 3

Map 5

Really Like:

Map 8

Map 4

Map 7

Map 9

Like:

Map 2

Map 1

Map 10

Dislike:

Map 11

 

 

[kalaeth]

Ok, so nine, ten, eleven, let's go! 

 

MAP 09 - Generator of Death : 

The browns! Shotgun and zombies, a not so hidden backpack, and we good to leave the room. More zombies, a pinkie, a SSG and a chaingunner. This won't stay easy for long. Imps, caged and not. Enter a small computer room to grab the red key, a small zombie ambush and the red door. It's a hitscanner party and my chaingun was invited. Another door, more shotgunners and imps, grab the blue key, kill some more imps and a pinkie, blue door. Shotgunners, imps, and the first big boys, a couple of revs. Rockets, a secret plasma. Things are gonna heat up. First, a few more shotgunners and then a lot of rockets and the RL, a Hell Knight and a blueball next to a switch. Oh, look, it's the baron brothers! Kill them, switch, enter. A square room with corridors. A shotguner in each, a manc in the middle. Grab all rockets, switch, exposing the brain, shoot to kill. I pistol it to death. Because I can.

 

100, 97, 100% K/I/S, 0 deaths, 7 minutes 43 seconds.

 

MAP 10 - Culture et Confiture de Mobs : 

Oh, another nonexistent secret. A library, and a bunch of shutgunners. Two doors. Opening one at random disperses a pinkie and a close combat HK. Press the switch, next door. Then you might want to cheese the AV before pressing the second switch. I did. Next switch, enter the AV chamber and a new switch opens the way to the SSG. Another switch, kill the specters, grab the RL. New switch, exit the room and kill the revs, tons of chaingunners and the exit. I'll leave the level in a bad shape, but alive.

100 % K/I/S, 0 deaths, 3 minutes 40 seconds.

 

MAP 11 - Cendres Humaines : 

Human ashes? Is it? Talk about a hot start! And me at only 30% life.. This will be tough. Try one : death to specter rocket to the face. Try two : Death to.. Not sure. A imp. If I hadn't had a plasma I'd be dead for the third time. As it was, I survived. Grabbed two measly stimpacks and opened switch one to reveal 4 mancs! No wait, 5. 6. One of them gets me eventually. Try four, from the top. Slightly better at the initial shootout, still down to 30% for the mancubi. This time I actually pressed the other switch. It was chaingunners and spiders. Got rid of them, next switch. Oh. At least 10 mancs. Then imps, barons, and a f5cking AV?! And this was supposed to be done with only a shotgun?! Ok, try number five, from the spiders. Wen't OK until autoaim shoot a rocket at my feet and killed me. Try 6, from the mancs. It wen't pretty good. First time since the start of the level that I've had more than 50% health.Wen't down the steps, plasma on the AV, kill off the barons with the RL, grab the BSK and it's off to the exit door. And death to an AV. 7th attempt : kill the AV and the revs, door, switch, baron, exit! 

 

100% K/I/S, 7 deaths, 3 minutes 49 seconds.

 

total time at 1 hour 8 minutes and 52 seconds and 9 deaths. 

[finnks13]

Not been feeling well over the last few days, so I may fall behind a bit again, but I'll try to keep up-to-date anyway.

MAP10 - Culture et Confiture by Jambon:

3:29/1 Death
Bit of a confusing entry here, I don't really understand what the intent was - you've got just a shotgun to deal with 6 hell knights and an archvile (which is just incredibly fun) and by the time the map bothers to give you an SSG and rocket launcher, it's to deal with some chaingunners and imps. The map got me once when the first group of hell knights appeared and just tore me to shreds but outside of that the main challenge this map poses is to my ability to stay awake. The MIDI adds a certain sillyness to the map, which makes me think this whole thing is some sort of joke I'm not French enough to understand.

 

MAP11 - Cendres Humanes by JC:

4:23/10 Deaths
Holy shit, that's a difficulty spike and a half. Most of my deaths here came from my attempts to get the mancubi and arachnotrons to infight so I didn't have to shotgun them all to death, but eventually I gave up and wasted 2 minutes of my life on that - I hope this pointlessly harsh weapon deprivation stops soon. The map is very boring visually, comprising mostly of one ugly wall texture but I did like how JC changes the floor texture gradually to simulate a light coming from the sky in the opening room that is shining off the bronze floor, which is a cool little detail. If there were an SSG in this map, I'd have probably liked it, but as it is this map is a boring slog that pointlessly throws two cyberdemons at you that I couldn't be bothered to shotgun to death.

[RED77]

Map 12

 

A simple and not very interesting map. 
For some reason, I failed the jump for the red key area like a zillion times.

Not much to say.

 

★★☆☆☆ 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 10: Culture et Confiture

by Jambon

 

This map was shit. So allow me to break down why in bite-sized pieces

 

-For someone who likes to use puns not easily translatable to English as map titles, Hambone seems strangely bereft of creativity, or indeed of visual flair. Tan sucks, seriously

The 'combat' is around 70 percent shotgunning Hell Knights in small closets.

-Actually the small size might be one of the few strong points of this map

-Or the French folk music our hambone friend recommends we support. It's not bad dude, but ok

- i guess he didn't understand how to teleport because the arch-vile in the cage just asks for cheesing. not like it's that hard to handle them when it breaks out as it's easy to run and hide and shooting resurrected hitscanners just means more ammo

- you made a library about as exciting as eating blue cheese...excuse me, fromage. Great job!

 

In sum, just skip this. It makes Map 31 from 180 Minutes Por Vivre look competent. Don't play it. Sorry for being harsh but on the other hand...you'll see

 

 

Map 11: Cendred Humanes

by @JCD

 

JC Dorne is someone who's maps I tend to dread in some form or another, and I haven't quite pinned down why other than some serious oppressiveness. But this?  The little city textures make a more vibrant palette than the last map, but it largely plays like some shitty Hell Revealed ripoff where you receive no Super Shotgun and have to let infighting do most of the work. I swear, if I didn't practically skip the last map, I would've skipped this one. And STOP MAKING STARTING SECTORS SECRETS. Do we really need more proof than this that vanilla limits are stupid? Well, back in 2014 maybe. I just feel stupid for killing the Mancubi and not considering there might be a second Cyberdemon to thin the ranks out a little but I don't think I can be blamed when you have to engage with some tedious shotgunning of some Arachnotrons earlier. So maybe my lack of patience was to blame in part, but I'll say it again: Dependence on infighting mechanics is one of the worst and most dragg-y things you can do to your map unless you leave plenty of room for combat dynamism. The trickiest part might trying to fight off Mancubi while letting the first Cyberdemon kill the Imps and Arch-vile down where he's at. Trouble being you may find yourself expending much of the plasma ammo in the map to take him.....my fucking god, I'm done wasting my valuble time here. demo here, and you can bet i rewinded because i hate this shit so much. I do like the music though. Too bad the action is just, muhhhhhh

 

 

 

lmd_3ha2_11.zip

Edited July 11, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[tmorrow]

game mode:  gzdoom4.8.0, uvmax, pistol starts. If a map is too hard, I'll revert to using saves and note it on that map review.

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map12

Doomguy went to the wrong address again. He's found himself on the wrong side of town. The bad side of town. The hardest part of the gameplay is getting a start. Doomguy took the approach of racing for the green armor and picking up the rocket launcher early too. After a few tries to get a satisfactory start, he could go about the business of clearing out all the buildings and hunting down the keys with grim determination.

[Poncho1]

Map11: Cendres Humaines

Author: Jean-Charles Dorne (JC Dorne)

 

I completed the first 3 Heures d'Agonie a couple of months ago, and I recall that, of all the mappers present in the first instalment, JC was perhaps the most consistently good. His maps definitely feel Hell Revealed II-lite, in that the aesthetics of his levels look like Jonas Feragen's, only more detailed, and he's a lot more forgiving that Feragen. So what on earth happened here!? Though there're only 80-odd enemies, a lot are beefy enculés (Arachnotrons, Mancubi, a few Arch-viles, and a pair of Cyberdemons) along with a horde of Imps and a gang of Revenants with the high ground in the starting room. Even with my carried-over inventory, this was a bit annoying, and probably even more so for Pistol-starters who aren't even given an SSG; only the single Shotgun and the Plasma Gun to take on the monsters. The ammo's pretty scarce too, which makes the double Arch-vile teleport trap (on top of the dead Arachnotrons and Mancubi, no less) even more aggravating. Maybe this was JC trying to imitate the original Hell Revealed's sluggish gameplay instead of its sequel's, but in any case, I'm not a fan.

Edited July 11, 2022 by Poncho1

[Thelokk]

MAP12 - Wrong Address by Memfis

UV / 100% kills / 1 secret found

 

Well, here comes the wake up call this megawad badly needed. A step up from the previous couple of maps, in all regards. 

First of all, see the little secret in plain sight, right at the start? sure, it's not much, but it's an actual secret, something that I have to interact with. Was it that hard? was it that difficult? I think not.

Then, the map itself. Visually it's serviceable, nothing crazy but shows some good use of basic textures. Gameplay-wise, it's the utter, 'lead flying from all sides' kind of chaos I really enjoy. You're under attack from all sides, by a wide variety of enemies, most of them positioned as to make infighting something you have to actually work for. As usual, the best course of action seems to grab that SSG, get rid of the hitscanners, and the proceed to make mince meat of the spooky bois and the spidey. The layout of the map is fairly open, one can clean up as they see fit before going for the yellow key (with a beautiful touch of CEMENT) and then the red one. Make sure grab a not-so-obvious plasma gun along the way, it'll help you out a lot.

The pick-me-up that basically prevented me from dropping out of this playthrough, I can only hope to come across more maps as fun as Memfis'.

Edited July 11, 2022 by Thelokk