The DWmegawad Club plays: 3 Heures d'Agonie 2

[Monsieur E]

Map11- Cendres Humaines by JC Dorne 
100% kills 

After reading the almost universal criticism of this level, the only "cendres" I see around here are the map's. However, I'm inclined to play devil's advocate here. I honestly didn't mind this level a whole lot. The level begins with a rather simple shotgun encounter which is, alright and then hits you with the goddamn mancubi pool. My best strategy here is to get an infight going with the arachnotrons and then clear the rest with a shotgun. Now this sounds like absolutely ass but I feel like going around in a crescent moon pattern on the ledge dodging mancubi firewalls was kinda enjoyable. I'd call it an amiable grind. Likewise with the rest of the level really. Get the cyber down the stairs to clear out the archvile and the imps, clean him up with the plasma rifle. Take out the two archviles who don't really do that much and then press the switch beyond the blue door to summon the cyberdemon and trigger an infight between it and the revenant squad up the stairs, finally cleaning him up at the end. For all intents and purposes, the level isn't really that good but eh, I got some enjoyment out of it, more than Map10 anyways :P. 

[Book Lord]

MAP 12 – Wrong Address by @Memfis

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

 

A quintessential Doom sandbox, though scaled down to the standards of this speedmapping megaWAD, Wrong Address did not care to equip the pistol starter before alerting almost all monsters and throwing them against Doomguy. I was hit savagely by some hidden Chaingunner who appeared at the worst moment, and for a while I wandered at 1%. There was not much health to recover, and pistol starters should fight hard to obtain good weapons.

Spoiler

I hesitated in front of the YK, as it was not clear that the pillar could be used as a lift, and I was a bit perplexed in front of the mandatory strafe run required to reach the RSK cave. The monster deployment that followed was deceiving, as the Revenants and hitscanners arrived in a random fashion, possibly surprising the player when dealing with the Arch-Vile. A Chaingunner sneaked at me for the first kill in action of 3 Heures d’Agonie 2. In the same vein as MAP07, the second contribution by Memfis had some rough edges, but it was a solid and brisk Doom experience.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP12 - “Wrong A[d]dress” by Memfis

100% kills, 1/1 secret

 

Fun little town map, with indeed a 'sandbox' layout that lets the player explore to find weapons and armor, but at the risk of waking up more monsters. A good mix of the bestiary here keeps things fresh and allows for infighting (which may well be needed given that the balance seems tipped in favor of the monsters, at least at first). Health is a bit light and you probably won't find the armor for a bit, so be careful to avoid those hard-hitting rev and manc fireballs. Snipers can also be dangerous. Like @Book Lord I didn't try the yellow key pillar until I had cleared out all the other places I could go, and the straferun along the wall was a bit annoying if you fall down and need to repeat, but these are minor complaints. Overall a solid fun level. And hey, Memfis remembered to include a real secret this time. :)

[Roofi]

Map 12 "Wrong Address"

 

 

I really enjoyed this open city map. It reminds me of "Downtown" and "The Factory" from Doom 2. The city theme also highlights the dark-blue sky, which is tailor-made for creating a cozy night stroll. I love the new music, it sticks so well with the freedom of movement considering it's the kind of electro soundtrack you may hear in DM wads. 

 

The gameplay become slightly more difficult than most maps from the first episode because some monsters can reach you in unexpected way . Ammo isn't abundant so you have to explore in order to collect resources and new weapons. 

 

Finally, Wrong Address trains a bit  your platorming skills since you have to do some "jumps", especially in order to obtain the red key. It might be a little frustrating if you really don't like calculate your jumps in Doom.

 

Grade : B+

 

 

 

[Biodegradable]

MAP12: Wrong Address

UV | Continuous | GZDoom

 

In comes Memfis to pick up the pieces with a much more interesting map than his last offering. It's a fun, compact design packed to the brim with demons pouring out from all corners. You've got guys on the ground, guys coming out of buildings and more of them sniping above from behind and the sides. Duck and weave your way around, collecting the keys and clearing them out to make a bit of breathing room. It's a bit stingy on health, largely only offering scant stimpacks, which gave me a bit of grief towards then end as I tried to conserve my health only to keep eating Rev rockets and inopportune moments. This likely won't make the favourites list, but this map's fun, it's spicy and very much makes up for the irritating slog that was MAP11.

 

 

[Dersulbob]

MAP12 - Wrong Address
(Blind run, UV, Continuous, saves allowed, GZDoom)

 

The megaWAD is back on track now with this small enjoyable city map. A breath of fresh air after the oppressive nature of the last map, there is plenty of room to run around, dodging attacks from a large range of enemies, some of whom are on the ground, some of whom are perched on ledges and some of whom are moving in and out of the central buildings in the map.

 

It's another map where you have to keep momentum, if you come to a standstill it'll likely result in death. For me there are no real standout encounters as such since most enemies are just placed in the map with you and wake up as soon as you fire your first shot, however this keeps you on your toes throughout so I wouldn't really call it a criticism.

 

The Arch-Vile spawning in after you pick up the red key wasn't signposted in anyway, but it seemed the logical thing to do in a map of this nature, so I felt I was well-prepared for it and was able to deal with it without much fuss.

 

Visually, it evokes the city levels of Doom 2 which I always quite liked aesthetically despite the convoluted nature of the maps.
 

Overall, I liked this one a lot. Probably my second favourite so far after MAP08.

 

Grade - B+

[tonytheparrot]

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

Map 12: Wrong Address by Memfis

103% kills, 100% items, 100%  secrets

Time: 3:11

 

Another really enjoyable Memfis entry, Wrong Adress takes place in a small but also great-looking city area that feels like a Doom 2 city map (of course on a smaller scale). Once again, the enemy count is low but the monster placement makes all of them very dangerous especially the revenants, arachnotron, hell knight, arch-vile, and pain elemental which will keep you on your toes and make you zoom around at top speed for the whole map. Also, coincidentally or not, the midi, on top of being catchy as hell was actually made by a french composer! I don't have much else to say about this one, but it is still a really fun and intense level that improves a lot over the last few.

 

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

 

Love:

Map 6

Map 3

Map 5

Really Like:

Map 12

Map 8

Map 4

Map 7

Map 9

Like:

Map 2

Map 1

Map 10

Dislike:

Map 11

 

 

[RED77]

Map 13

 

I like this map. It has a very distinctive feel to it.
It has a lot of small parts working together in a single small but interesting arena.

Very useful secret. 
A lot of fun

 

★★★★☆ 

[kalaeth]

Ok, new day, new map.

 

MAP 12 - Wrong Address: 

A cave, leading to a street and outside it's carnage. Lot's of snipers. imps and shotgunners. Some steps gift a SSG and a rev, leading to a chaingunner and a red door. I enter a building and face a HK guarding a lift, up there a chaingunner and a green armor. Next building, zombies and the RL. Out, down some steps, kill a rev and some zombies, grab the yellow key, kill another rev, back up, jump down into the water for health and rockets. Enter the yellow door, up, ledge. Try some 4 times to do the jump, cross it, new jump into another ledge, kill the rev, grab the red key, die to the AV.. Next try I kill him with the plasma, kill the other two revs and exit time. I haven't been at 100% health in a while, but..

100% K/I/S, 1 death, 8 minutes 26 seconds.

 

Total 1 hour 17 minutes and 18 seconds, 10 deaths.

 

[finnks13]

MAP12 - Wrong Adress by Memfis:

4:30/0 Deaths
Back to easier stuff, this map reminds me of some of the small city maps that can be found in the first episode of Revolution! It's probably the blue sky and vanilla city visuals that are doing that, because the combat is much more punishing than anything in that wad. I didn't die, but was very low on health throughout due to some early revenant missiles and shotgunners and there's very little to heal up while you're on the ground level. This cleanup of the initial monsters was my favourite part of the level, it does lose steam after grabbing the yellow key since none of the fights that follow that are particularly threatening, but I did enjoy unpicking them despite that. I liked this a lot more than Memfis' other map, it's sprightly and fun after the slog of the previous two maps.

[Poncho1]

Map12: Wrong Address

Author: Memfis

 

A city speedmap? Well, I guess it'd be more of a hamlet than anything, but let's not get too technical. Backed by one of Community Chest 2's best tracks, this short offering by Memfis is quintessential... uh, Memfis. The aesthetics are nice and consistent, if not overly detailed, and the combat's pretty good. The opening few seconds aren't difficult, but they give you a chance to blitz through the enemies and feel quick. After that, the only part that resembles difficulty is the Arch-vile ambush, but he usually just goes into the Rocket Launcher room like an idiot and makes himself an easy target. Over quickly, but certainly time well spent.

[Doomy__Doom]

Catching up, work was not nice for the past couple days and probably won't let up for a while.

 

Map 11 - Cendres Humaines

The o.b.j.e.c.t.i.v.e.l.y. best way to play this map is to press the switch that reveals arachnotrons and then find your way on top of chaingunner perch, from where you can jump over blue bars to the exit and not deal with the rest of the level. I'm not shotgunning those mancubi, tyvm.

Map 12 - Wrong Address

This level feels like it was made with speedrunning in mind - underequipped pistol start forcing player to move forward, limited health pickups and relatively hidden green armor, mean sniper sightlines and free roaming opposition constraining you in such a way, that knowing where everything is becomes essential to not get overwhelmed/stuck.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP13 - “Traumateck” by franckFRAG

100% kills, 1/1 secret

 

This one felt different, more of a combat puzzle-box than a straightforward Doom map, with extremely cramped confines and lots of monsters perched in places where they can't move but can easily shoot at the player. In retrospect, looking back at franckFRAG's other entry so far (MAP04) you can easily recognize the same author - similar design with relatively cramped settings, use of different vertical tiers in the same area, lots of enemies in windows or on ledges. This one felt even more constrained though, and the fights a bit nastier (the teleporting AVs will likely smoke you if you don't have the right weapon out already). Funny enough, like MAP04, the end battle is also a bit of an anti-climax. I did end up playing this through twice - the first time, I neglected the red door, not realizing it was basically an armory, and didn't open it until the end and thus spent most of the level at extremely low health and armor. Visiting it before the AV fight makes things a lot smoother. All in all another fun one to blast through, quite punchy, though if you don't like FF's style this won't change your mind.

[RHhe82]

MAP12: Wrong Address. 58/58 K, 1/1 S. Completion time 7:33.

 

Small town map. Basically nothing exceptional, but when one compares this to Doom II's Factory or Downtown, or Industrial Zone, this one's cool and intense even. At first I was mad when the map was being stingy with weapons and ammo, but I wasn't just looking in the right places (or... in the wrong addresses, uh-huh). Nice entry, after all is said and done.
 

[Thelokk]

MAP13 - Traumateck by frackFRAG

UV / 100% kills / 1 secret found 

 

Yet another 'puzzle box' map by frackFRAG, a super compact piece where what seems at first like a single room progressively peels off layers to reveal more rooms - and more enemies. Establishing a foothold might be problematic, and dispatching the living doors barons of hell as fast as possible is paramount. The red key will reveal more ordnance, but also a host of hitscanners and, by the flick of a switch, a very tricky archvile: with no cover given, one can simply hope for a lucky string of stuns. 

Again, a disposable secret (really, what's the problem with French mappers and secrets) and a very aesthetically unpleasant cluster of backpacks round up our gaming experience as we make our way to the end of the level - and its inexplicably mobile exit door. Why does it move? no one knows. 

Good map overall, not as fun as MAP12 but it keeps the tension going. 

[sandwedge]

Played through the first 9 maps on Saturday, I didn't find it incredibly memorable since I played thru a lot on the stream.  I think they were some solid speedmaps though, and always interesting to see what communities around the world come up with.  I do remember accidentally breaking progression in the second level by hitting a switch from below, so that was a fun "speedrun" to try lol.  Definitely some spicy moments in early maps which were fun.  I might try to play thru some more on streams because otherwise it's hard to keep up with these in normal videos.

 

Linked to the start time (8:21):

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 12 - Wrong Address

by Memfis

 

Ok, what's going on here? That attempt at a snooty accent can't possibly conceal the natural snort which emanates from the poor throes of the Russian anime fan, despite the objectively fun and speedy midi used being from an obscure DOS French cart racer Yet, he still manages to show up the French food pun cartoon and the guy who never tried rat piss. I died a good half dozen times, with the last death or two in particular proving incredibly embarrassing, but in a heavily Plutonia-inspired bent (ammo might just a touch too generous to be compared to Malcolm Sailor) that might well be the second-strongest map thus far!

 

Breaking the streak of maps with starting sectors as secrets, Memfis adds in the most lame and useless one ever behind a door that shouldn't even be one. All the same, it's miles ahead of the laziness of the last two maps. And the visual design! Everyone's presumed this is a mini-city map and it's hard to seriously disagree with that assessment. While I guess that's supposed to be an actual skybox, it almost seemed to be some kind of Wolfenstein ceiling on first blush, which is by no means a bad thing with the correct color scheme. And let's just say Memfis' generous use of red brick with wooden buildings really does help add a lot to the setting! And while the indoor areas are quite abstract, they each have a distinctive character, more than I could say for some of these maps

 

Combat is surprisingly challenging. Someone a little more methodical than me could probably do a better job here, but there are just so, so many Revenants and not enough immediately-available ammo for them all. Then down past the stairs with the shotgunners, a Pain Elemental will slowly descend behind you and you'll run into two more Revenants! Bad luck dogged me throughout this section, with my first death coming humiiatingly from a chaingunner guarding the yellow key that I didn't immediately realize needed no switch to lower.

 

But before the player of Wrong Address grabs the yellow key, they might be advised to grab the Super shotgun at the entrance to a building, inside which lay in wait....two Revenants. I guess the lack of bullets make it much harder to stunlock the lot, but that's more of a keyboard-only issue. In any case, there are also two buildings on either side of a street leading to that ruthless Arachnotron in the middle, the one on the left containing a rocket launcher, and the one on the right containing some armor. This one on the right can be particularly nasty as it seems to pour out chaingunners like frat boys pour unspeakable liquids onto each other. There's maybe 3, but it sure seems like they keep coming!

 

The YK door leads to a ledge going behind the entrance with two Imps that should've been killed earlier and eventually to a ledge with a Revenant that forced me to drop down and take them out before proceeding. Eventually the RK was claimed and it was only a short trip down the hallway with the Super shotgun behind the red door and to the exit.

 

This is the Memfis I fell in love with! Dangerous, detailing where it counts and enemy placements which make you think.

 

 

lmd_3ha2_12.zip

Edited July 12, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[Monsieur E]

Map12- Wrong Address by Memfis 
100% kills 

Memfis returns with another enjoyable level, a definite upswing from the duo of drudgery preceding it. The level design is pretty neat with the simple "city" theme and I particularly like how you enter the city through a tunnel along with the silly secret behind the door, dropped by who I presume to be a previous agent who also received the wrong address. The combat here is pretty sharp with the rather spread out ammo placement and the compactness of the map, with the archvile being the obvious high mark but I'd say that the sprinking of revenants are the true threat here although I must confess my sole death here was delivered by a fucking zombieman in the exit room :P (granted I was down to below 10% health). Anyways, not much else to say here, this level is simple fun. 

[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.

---

map13

A mean little facility, packed to the brim with badness. The game play is all about positioning and best utilising your limited weapon choices. The enemy has highly restricted movement and doomguy needs to take advantage and find those few safe spots. Ammo is tight. There is one switch not to use until after you've collected the rocket launcher or its curtains for your doomguy. The switch releases the 2 archviles, keen to undo doomguys handywork. After beating the archviles, the rest is easy peasy.
 

[Biodegradable]

MAP13: Traumateck

UV | Continuous | GZDoom

 

Franck returns with another compact map that feels pretty similar to the last one, but even smaller and perhaps even deadlier. If I had to describe Franck's style in just a few words, I'd call him Walter Confetti with a mean streak. In saying that though, our man chose to be overly generous in this one. The combat is quick to let you know you're fucked and I died within the first few seconds, but this cruelty is compensated later by offering the player 4 backpacks along with a generous helping of rocket ammo with zero ambush to go with it. I was fully expecting to be swarmed with the surrounding front wall opening, but nope, nothing. Perhaps Franck will turn up the heat some more later on. While this map does feel like a bit of a retread of MAP04, it has enough changes for it to stand out and is certainly welcome to keep pushing the tension a bit.

 

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 13 – Traumateck by Franck Livolant @franckFRAG

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

 

If the purpose of this miniature tech-base was to traumatise the player, it succeeded in my playthrough. Pistol start seemed quite desperate, as there was only the plasma gun with a cell pack, barely enough to kill the two Barons guarding the RK. Without the key, it was impossible to leave that ultra-cramped mess of a room. Finding a safe spot to elaborate an attack plan was impossible, because there were multiple monsters with line of sight on every corner; my skills were not enough to snatch the key under so many noses, so I resorted to the SSG and chaingun to kill at least some of the active harassers.

Spoiler

Traumateck did not give up after leaving the deadly starting room. It continued to send Arch-Viles and other annoying creatures against me, while I was exploring the place in search of health and the way to progress. The healer in the first room had the potential to resurrect a ton of hp, but he mercilessly directed himself towards the grating, where I had trouble breaking through the red bars. The exit was the only spot where I felt frankFRAG was backing down, satisfied with the havoc he wreaked so far. This was hard as nails and not exactly fair, especially in the first seconds when the danger level skyrocketed, but it was fun, nonetheless.

 

[RED77]

Map 14

 

I think this map It's a weird one. I'm not a big fan of the red bricks aesthetic, but the feel was right in this one. 
That said the combats were a bit overwhelming, especially that cage for the red key.

Super helpful secrets but I have to iddt the SSG one.

 

★★★☆☆ 

[kalaeth]

MAP 13 – Traumateck :

Hot start! And me at 19% health? It took me 5 tries to manage to kill the revs and barons, and then I died to the switch that pops an AV. Next attempt I go through the red door and not the bars. I do good, grab the not so secret berserker (it IS better than just triggering the secret at start but..) and then die to the second AV, the one outside. Another try, another approach : go for the backpack, then trigger the AVs, kill 1 with plasma, change position to kill 2 and his rev friend, go grab the berserker to return to 100%, chaingun the final fight and that's that.

100, 97, 100% K/I/S, 7 deaths, 5 minutes 08 seconds.

 

Totals : 

1 hour 22 minutes 27 seconds, 17 deaths.

 

[Poncho1]

Map13: Traumateck

Author: Franck Livolant (franckFRAG)

 

Brutal start... quintessential franckFRAG. I died within 30 seconds on my first attempt; luckily, I completed the map on my second. Those two Barons at the beginning happen to be more annoying than the Revenant snipers, probably owing to the fact that they have loads more health. Luckily, franckFRAG throws a bone and gives the player a Plasma Gun with a ton of ammo at the beginning. After that, the only worthwhile encounter is another mean one: two Arch-viles. One teleports right by you as you return to the beginning, and the other teleports in behind the two more-than-likely dead Barons and Revenants. Oy... Well, the map does give you a lot of plasma and rockets in general, so clearing out the hordes shouldn't be too bad once the first AV bites the dust, but it still feels a little cheap, especially in a map this small. Once they're dead, it's a simple matter of clearing out the stragglers, including a rather dull killing of the Imps on the cliffsides at the end. Aesthetically, it's a hodgepodge of tech stuff, almost as if the base had suffered some trauma... well, you got me there. Eh. I suppose it was alright, this one...

[RHhe82]

MAP13: Traumateck. 68/68 K, 1/1 S. Completion time 7:29.

 

A compact level and intense as fudge. I like it, although I found it a bit difficult. Perhaps that was me just routing a bit wrong. For instance, I could have gotten the rocket launcher earlier than I did and I ended up not even using it, because I already had dealt with (using numerous rewinds) the archviles, especially the second one that did some inconvenient resurrections.
 

[Roofi]

Map 13 - Traumateck

 

 

 

Another small and compact map by Franckfrag but the increased difficulty and the music make me feel heroic. I liked this , killing the toughest ennemies and especially the arch-viles bring satisfaction as if I defeated a kind of mini-boss. I think it's my favourite submission from Franckfrag in 3HA2.

 

Grade : B-

 

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 13: Traumateck

by FranckFRAG

 

I was wondering if this would be better than Franck's last map. And it is! Unlike 10 and 11, pistol starting was actually considered and it doesn't overstay its welcome. The music track from "Zone 300" goes perfectly with the incredibly compact layout, utilizing lots of verticality but never going overboard. It is very warm here, so my performance may have suffered somewhat. I eventually figured out that at least one of the Revenant platforms should be left alone so you can take out the caged enemies near the location of the shotgun. The one switch near the lift will cause an arch-vile to pop-up right behind you as well as two to appear in some incredibly inconvenient spots that'll probably make you rage a bit. Possibly, this is why we get so much ammo in this map. I was half-expecting another Arch-vile at the exit, but to be fair, it wouldn't have added anything. Maybe a Revenant or two, but that outside area is pretty cool anyways. My second favorite map by a shockingly large margin (I didn't think anything would top Wrong Address so soon, but there you go. :)

lmd_3ha2_13.zip

[finnks13]

MAP13 - Traumateck by Franckfrag:

3:13/3 Deaths
I have an enourmous amount of respect for Franckfrag's mapping style in 3HA2 and Swift Death, and how much mileage he gets out of tight, very interconnected layouts with very carefully placed monsters. This map follows in that style perfectly, being a short, brutal techbase that will mess you up if you make a wrong move. The only thing I didn't particularly care for was how abruptly two archviles appear to fry you - the fight itself is great but I wish it wasn't possible to find this without first grabbing the rocket launcher. Two of my deaths were getting fried here with only the shotgun and 20 cells to my name, and the third was to an incredible face rocket. Very fun map, I hope there's more from Franckfrag to come.

[cannonball]

MAP11 - “Cendres Humaines” by JC Dorne

I can see exactly how JC wants this to be played, but its execution leaves a lot to be desired. The lack of any real texture variation does no favours here either. I left the cyber at the exit, no point using the boomstick on something that clearly needed to be deployed earlier.

 

MAP12 - “Wrong Address” by Memfis

This one is surprisingly tough, more so as recovery items are in quite a short supply. Overall this is a nice compact city-style level where monsters are well placed for an engaging time. Good map.

 

MAP13 - “Traumateck” by frackFRAG

That start is certainly something, oddly once you get through this and get the red key then the rest of the map isn't so bad. I cheesed one fight really badly by using those red bars as a shield and simply punched everything out the other side. This map lacks the substance of Franckfrag's first map, but it is still solid overall.

[tonytheparrot]

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

Map 13: Traumateck by Franck "franckFRAG" Livolant

108% kills, 88% items, 100%  secrets

Time: 2:47

 

 

Traumateck is another level scored by a Zone 300 midi and that purely represents Franck's mapping style. Right from the start this map doesn't mess around, throwing hell knights, imps, revenants and hitscanners while making you kill 2 barons with the plasma to get the key they guard, allowing you to get out of this mess. Later on, you will trigger another really tough encounter with 2 arch-viles teleporting in the base, including one in the starting area who will either resurrect a lot of dead enemies or be a accompanied by a lot of foes you've decided to ignore earlier. Whether or not you decided to kill the monsters at the start, that ambush is the hardest fight of the map. The rest is still pretty fun, even if it's not as memorable or difficult as the 2 moments described before, but no matter what, don't waste your ammo for the rocket launcher and plasma as you won't find much in here. Just like Entraxe, Traumateck is another really good franckFRAG map, even if I slightly prefer the latter.

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

 

Love:

Map 6

Map 3

Map 5

Really Like:

Map 12

Map 8

Map 13

Map 4

Map 7

Map 9

Like:

Map 2

Map 1

Map 10

Dislike:

Map 11