The DWmegawad Club plays: Cydonia & Arrival

[Soll]

First time joining DWMC and a fan of Plutonia, so this will be fun. Started playing this wad last month so I'll probably have to replay some maps to refresh my memory.

MAP01: Quetzalcoatl

A nice, friendly opener for the wad, this map's difficulty is about the same as that of Congo. Visually, it also takes heavy inspiration from Congo, especially the passageways with the wooden frames. No Plutonia tribute is complete without Chaingunner traps in every corner, so keep an eye out and you'll be fine. First time playing this map I got by just fine without finding any secret, so they're more of QoL improvements and I like that. Progression is quite obscure since to progress you sometimes have to go one room to jump between ledges in another. Overall, a solid starting map.

[Pseudonaut]

Map02 (1 death):
Fucked over by hitscan RNG at the start, but the map was easy enough on attempt #2. Some amusing infight opportunities.

 

Map03: (No deaths):
Surprisingly, I've found every secret in these maps so far. Combat definitely feels plutonia-like, but without those fuck-you traps that you don't stand much of a chance against without foreknowledge, excluding maybe the start of map02.

 

Demos:

cy02-03.zip

[Book Lord]

MAP 03 – Ritual by Brayden Hart @AD_79

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

 

The homage paid by AD_79 to Aztec was obvious: winding 64-unit wide tunnels, brown and green palette, inconsistent use of damaging floors. Ritual had its own identity, though: it used space more efficiently, reducing the length of the meanders and keeping room size smaller. The blood-spattered altars were a recurring feature in various places (5 in total); it is surprising that such a simple prop was lacking in Casali’s map, where since the first playthrough I expected sacrificial temples but found nothing like that.

Spoiler

Combat was cramped with lots of camping opportunities, considering that the author did not indulge in the same sadistic pleasures of Milo: pit traps, Arch-Viles with zero cover, crossfires in the open. The only point that I found a bit difficult was the ambush behind the blue door, where I did not expect to find myself amid rabid Chaingunners and Revenants on the way to an ordinary teleport pad. The procedure to obtain the RSK was rather obscure during the game: I hit a switch in a faraway room, with red torches aside the nearby altar as the only link to its function, then I endured a forced swim through damaging sludge. I must say that the barely visible lift to safety was a bit cruel; finding the secret Soul Sphere required less effort, just an ordinary inclination for wall humping.

 

The way to the exit was repopulated with a few enemies to enliven the backtracking. If the player did not explore the left branch from the starting area, as in my playthrough, he will stumble upon monster closets and, very likely, on the secret plasma rifle. The last room had no surprises in store and felt very tame if compared to the evilness faced in Plutonia MAP03. This might be a sign that the authors wanted Cydonia to have a real difficulty curve, which Plutonia notably lacked, and Ritual was in tune with the early slot.

[Doomy__Doom]

Map 03: Ritual

 

If map01 was "Congo but less ugly", this is "Aztec but nice". Same cramped corridors, doorfighting, a couple traps here and there. Much nicer Vile and no awkward open area pin-downs. The only sour point is the lift-textured pillar at the secret blue face, which is in fact a TP destination and can cost you all of your health trying it out. And I guess a possibility of a softlock if you make the jump to blueface and then into the wall opening, although I do feel the jumps are awkward enough compared to everything that came before to discourage a fair share of players from trying.

 

I do wonder though, whether the non-lift is a genuine mistake or a nod to the original's pit inconsistency (the ones near the end at mancs being  20% no escape death).

[Anarkzie]

Level 3 Ritual

I love the midi that plays on Ritual. It's clear what level this is based on but it does not feel as heavily plagiarised as the first stage which is good. There are sections that remind me of Aztec but it's all handled in its own unique way. On my first playthrough I had trouble working out how to get out of the pit and also trying to find some of the door ways as they were tucked away in blind spots, on a second play through it was more fun and I better noticed the fast paced nature of the map. It's a good tribute that's fun to play.

[Soll]

MAP02: Amazon

This map is easier than I thought. The only fights that can potentially be scary are the hitscan ambush at the start and the Hell knight fight with the revenant turret to the left. The SSG can be acquired early by jumping down the pit at the start, which opens up several closets of mancubi and revenants. Get the mancubi to infight with the revenants, and the fight is essentially won. Going into the first room, I like to rush through the perched chaingunners, climb up the stairs and take care of them from there, which makes things much faster than sniping them from outside. The water area is a pushover, besides the aforementioned HK/Rev cage fight, there is nothing of note here combat wise. Anyone with a bit of knowledge in secret hunting would know to doublecheck switches that stand seperate from the wall. Even easier than MAP01, though this is probably cydonia luring players in for the kill. 

[cannonball]

MAP03 - “Ritual” by AD_79

 

I feel rather lukewarm about this one. Aztec was a nasty little number with some real harsh moments that can seriously screw the player, this map (Which seems to riff more on the source material than Map01/02) feels very defanged to the point where the map is essentially a procedural process of moving through narrow walkways/corridors and periodically shooting monsters with primary the SSG. It isn't a slog and there are a couple of traps of note, but overall this didn't really give any emotion whatsoever. Again I found all the secrets, I guess in  reality a lot of Plutonia's secrets aren't difficult to find.

This is the weakest entry so far, but then again maybe that is because Aztec is just a poor map in terms of being able to move around in general, and is only remember for some really nasty rooms (Both keys and the clearing near the exit). At least this doesn't provoke the player towards a state where damaging their computer is a likely outcome.

[tmorrow]

Cydonia map04

 

An open tech base with plenty of green slime and my favorite map so far with some spicy gameplay. The map does not want doomguy to have the red key. Blue and yellow bars slam down to prevent him collecting it as he approaches. A hot start, doomguy needs to make sure he doesn't stir up more enemies than he can handle before picking up some decent weapons.

 

The map is nonlinear in that doomguy can tackle the blue and yellow key areas in either order. The blue key is guarded by an archvile and revenants. The yellow key on the other hand is regarded by the enemy as twice as important so they doubled the archvile reinforcements in that location.
 

There's a completely optional plasma rifle area. Optional may be, but what self respecting doomguy isn't going to head in there to pick up a plasma rifle?

 

The maps single secret can be reached in 2 different ways.
 

Spoiler

You can run in through the window to collect the soulsphere. Alternatively, you can shoot the switch out past the slime to the west to open the door to the soulsphere.

 

[erzboesewicht]

Finally I'm able to join the club again, and Cydonia was a wad on my list anyway. I'll be a bit casual, with probably rather short writeups in chunks of 2-3 maps at a time, focussing on what I considered special about each map. I'll play UV pistol start with saves.

 

Difficulty scale roughly: 1-2 - easier than all of Plutonia, 3 - Congo, 5 - Genesis, 7 - Abattoire, 8 - Twilight/Go 2 It, 9-10 - harder than Plutonia.

 

MAP01: Quetzalcoatl

Cydonia greets us with a very green map, even with green chaingunners :) A full-on homage to the Congo original, but with a bit more complex progression involving more play with height differences. As some have mentioned it's a good bit easier than Congo, with only a single, secret vile. But some harshness is present, as is to be expected from a Plutonia-inspired WAD, with the fast revenant lifts near the shell boxes in the blue door area being particularly outstanding as you can get insta-cornered if you're too sleepy there. While there are some tight encounters, you can in theory run away from all of them (for less fun, obviously). Good starter, still not too ambitious.

 

Rating: 6,5/10
Difficulty: 2/10

 

MAP02: Amazon

Small map where we jump to standard Plutonia difficulty. You're greeted with a good amount of crossfire at the start. Nice SSG pit ambush with mancs and revs, but still easy to get them infighting. Things get a bit punchier behind the first door, where you're harrassed by a row of distant chaingunners, having to put them down painfully one by one (or run past them tanking damage) as the RL is handed to you later. Like in MAP01 a lonely, stealthy Pain Elemental will appear near the mid of the level. Near the end we find the most "Plutonic" of all monster combinations: AV + revs. Seems impossible to return from the exit area to earlier parts.

 

Rating: 7/10
Difficulty: 4/10

 

MAP03: Ritual

Many "Aztec"-vibes here visually, although the map is much easier, the arch-vile placement for example is very mild. Chaingunner ambushes, often in combination with revenants, are the biggest danger here, with a special mention to the fight behind the blue door. I liked the exploration-focused layout with many paths to take at the start, although I believe the map progression is linear. One doubt I had is if there's a path from the soulsphere to the main area without crossing damaging slime.

 

Rating: 7/10
Difficulty: 3/10

 

First impression: A start very close to Plutonia. So far, the maps are homages to the originals in the same map slots, but differ mostly in the individual fights, which are less "in the face" but more elaborated. I feel instead of the wonky difficulty progression in Plutonia we are greeted here with something a bit lighter at the start, more akin to the progression in modern megawads. Let's see if the homage-style and the laid-back combat continues later ...

[finnks13]

MAP03 - Ritual by AD_79:

5:42/0 Deaths
I like the little ritual altars that appear around the map, it's just a little bit of doomcute spice but it gives the map a personality beyond "Aztec 2.0". The curved hallways and tight spaces that make up this map remind me of Plutonia's Aztec, down to the curved hallways being really quite annoying to navigate - thanks doom collision! The fights are given extra oomph thanks to this cramped layout, though the difficulty is still kept pretty low. I did find the progression to get both keys was a bit weird, especially the part where you have to jump into some slime, with the only visible elevator being non-functional.

 

Cydonia has been much less full of mean traps than Plutonia so far, and this map contains just a glimpse of where the wad is likely heading - after the blue door, having the gall to walk up a set of stairs spawns in some chaingunners and two revenants around you - I would have certainly perished here were it not for the secret blue armour. It's not a hard trap to take out, as backtracking to safety works, but the initial surprise is a wake-up call for anyone who found the previous two maps too easy. Other than the annoying corridors though, I'd say this map is a fun time overall.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 03: Ritual

by AD_79

 

A map is presented to us that somehow manages to feel even more laid-back than the previous two maps, even though it also has a higher monster count. While the Plutonian trio is certainly present, the Arch-vile located near the rocket launcher isn't hard to spot and in most cases, we'll be very safe if our default strategy isn't to charge in literally everywhere. I do have to admire that trap behind the blue key door, as the chaingunners/revenants which suddenly appear can still certainly make one's life miserable.

 

Aesthetically speaking, AD_79 utilizes his tendency for monochromatic color schemes with the vast amount of vined green textures covering the various square rooms, save for the small and tan hallways that curve around everywhere. The environmental storytelling is so much better than anything from Plutonia though. The little red shrines that are seen sometimes probably best earn the map it's title. Overall, there's a certain snugness to this place that we don't really get enough of in Plutonia, thanks to the generally small room size. Although there are some slightly larger outdoor areas, namely the pool of piranha-possessed mud below the secret Supercharge where most of the progression points are accessed, or the beautiful melding of green from the slime and vines near the start. But the Jade Earth midi used here can only reinforce this.

 

Some personal observations: it's certainly possible to  straferun to the Supercharge although it personally took me around 4 tries, but there is a teleporter that'll take you there is you're patient. Also, the eastern hallway will no doubt frustrate you if you take it first, miss the rocket launcher just off the central courtyard and realize you're lacking a red key.

 

All the same, it's good AD_79 placed multiple rocket launchers and shotguns around in some anticipation of this. Although Plutonia's not exactly what you'd call exploration-based in any strong sense, this sort of modern touch (Ozonia  did the same thing) really helps a lot.

 

lmd_cydonia03.zip

[Soll]

MAP03: Ritual

A bit tougher than the last map, Ritual takes after Plutonia's MAP03 both in gameplay and visual, with multiple close-quarter combat scenarios in winding passageways. Speaking of which, I don't know if it's just me but the passageways here feel much easier to navigate than in Aztec as it doesn't trigger Doom's wonky collision as much as Aztec. Do be careful fighting Revenants in the passageways as the homing missiles might curve perfectly along the way, forcing you to retreat quite a distance. One thing I don't like is to get out of the brown sludge pit, you have to go up a metal lift, which is quite hard to find as there are multiple metal pillars that look the same as the lift, and the metal texture itself kinda blends with the brown brick texture, making it even harder to find, all the while your health is chipped away by the 10-damaging sludge. On the topic of damaging floors, the green nukage doesn't seem to damage you. Maybe it's some sort of homage to Plutonia's famous inconsistent damaging floors. I don't really find it annoying, just kinda strange. A fine map, unlikely to stick in your mind but it keeps the action going as we head deep into Cydonia.

 

[DavitW]

Demos recorded with Prboom+ on Ultra-Violence.

 

MAP01: Quetzalcoatl

This is basically a Congo tribute map. There are 3 secrets here that were all easy enough for me to find, and they give you enough rockets to deal with anything that might give you trouble here. So far all of the weapons and monsters are the same except for the chaingunners, they're green now. I have no idea why the wad author went out of their way to make such a small change, but it does match the Plutonia theme.

 

MAP02: Amazon

Not too many monsters here, but it's designed in a way that it feels like at least half a dozen of them are shooting at you from 2 or 3 angles at any given time. My strategy here was go through the first door, clear the room, get the rocket launcher, then jump down to get the Super Shotgun. Both of the Archviles felt a little gratuitous here, just save a few rockets for the second one and it should be no trouble.

cydonia01.zip

cydonia02.zip

[Egg Boy]

MAP03 - “Ritual” by AD_79

     Another AD send up of a classic map. What I appreciate about this map is that it references Aztec, but wraps it around a unique layout. The "spaghetti-corridors" weave in and out of more spacious arenas unlike the map its based off of, which mainly uses these hallways to connect two different areas. There is also great restraint in refusing to reference the famous torch room from Aztec. Speaking of, this map has a cheeky reference to E1M1 in the rocket launcher room. Its funny that in order to reference Plutonia, you must also reference Doom and Doom 2. I will say that this map might be easier than Aztec, which isn't a problem, megawads are an ensemble piece after all. Reference.

[RHhe82]

MAP04: Carcinogen. Played on DSDA v0.24, UV, PS. 59/59 K, 1/1 S, 29/29 I. Completion time 10:24 (10.2.2022: 13:17).

 

I feel like this is where the difficulty clearly goes up a notch for the first time. The start is heated, and I felt if you take the wrong route, things ain't gonna be nice. Especially the archvile sandwich trap - I couldn't survive it without first fetching the plasma rifle. If only there were either no spectres or no revenants... Later on I looked at some UV MAX run of it from DSDA archives, it appears I may be panicking a bit too much for my own good... but even that runner went for the plasma rifle first.

 

Once again I love the layout; The map isn't linear as it revolves around some sort of central structure. I wish I knew how to contruct this sort of nonlinear maps, simple as it is.

[Book Lord]

MAP 04 – Carcinogen by Alex Scott @Scotty

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

 

I was dreading a remake of Caged, one of the hardest levels in the first episode of Plutonia, but Scotty dropped the player on a cross-shaped ledge with only a few gratings and almost devoid of enemies. This choice cooled down a potential hot start and postponed the hardest blows to later sections. The rocket launcher was readily available but necessary to repel the Cacodemons that soon converged on Doomguy trying to grab the RK and failing. The plasma rifle could also be earned after killing a swarm of fliers supported by Arachnotrons and Mancubi. It was advisable to waste cells right away to thin their ranks.

Spoiler

Gaining the RK was required for leaving, and the other keys must be collected to open the coloured bars that sealed its niche. The YK could be found in the western wing, protected by an Arch-Vile duo that worked like a charm with the obstructing Spectres. The BSK was on display in the eastern basin, and it was protected by a double sequence of monster closets. I made the mistake to leave the distant Arachnotrons to their business, but they stayed focused on me from miles away. Their barrage pinned me down in the small room where I teleported after getting the skull key, allowing the Mancubi to trap me there and giving the Arch-Vile time to resurrect several fallen bodies. However, I possessed the firepower to deal with these threats and with the phasing Revenant trap just behind the red door, a seminal Plutonia technique. A single Revenant appearing as the last enemy was ludicrous, but the rest of the action was very entertaining. The exit room was a clear nod to The Omen, complete with its inescapable pit, now with damaging floor. You kept up the good work, Scotty!

Spoiler

 

[tmorrow]

52 minutes ago, Book Lord said:

The exit room was a clear nod to The Omen, complete with its inescapable pit

 

Note that you can escape from Cydonia map04's exit room if you fall in the pit. There are 2 trigger lines near the west side in the pit that lowers the floor in the room before the walkway. Scotty is going soft on us!

[DavitW]

MAP03: Ritual

Might bear a resemblance to one of the early Plutonia maps, I can't really tell. The long, cured hallways and acid that doesn't hurt you, yet brown floor that does rings a bell. Only one Archvile around this time, placed in a very non-consequential spot. They even added 2 pillars into the room just to make it extra easy! Probably the easiest map so far, so long as you're comfortable fighting Revenant's in close quarters.

 

MAP04: Carcinogen

Okay, we have a pretty open ended map that lets you go just about any direction you want at the start. Loot the chaingunner's chaingun, grab the rocket launcher in front of the red key as it only comes with a rather trivial trap, then drop down for the SSG. I saved grabbing the yellow key until I stopped by the plasma gun and mega armor room first. The soul sphere secret near the yellow key should have you set for the rest of the map. I used a little exploit with the Hell Knights opening the door to the plasma gun trap to make things a little easier. Why? It's not even that hard of a fight, I just wanted to show-off.

cydonia03.zip

cydonia04.zip

[Doomy__Doom]

MAP04: Carcinogen

 

No sign of a relaxing "see thing shoot thing" journey here anymore. This level offers freestyle exploration scramble to get adequately equipped while getting hit by traps just about every step of the way.

 

Who could possibly be blind enough to miss a dark rocket launcher on a darkish background far away? Who could possibly completely gloss over a pillar with SSG in plain sight? Well I could and did, which resulted in a couple short-lived attempts. The successful one was still a mess, as I wasn't keen on dropping into SSG pit without any indication as to how/when said SSG lowers, so most of the map was cleared with RL/CG/Plasma.

 

A nice looping layout that's easy to navigate with some interesting sightlines - an exit area arachnotron can shoot all the way into the alcove you emerge from out of BK pit for instance. More of this style is definitely welcome.

[Anarkzie]

Map 4 Carcinogen

It's at this point that I realised that this map pack has two authors and also that that neither of them are the same person that did the other wad, Arrival. I kept seeing people vote for these two wads in tandem so I thought they were linked.

Anyway Scotty's 2nd map has much the same merits as his last map, beautiful map construction and good combat design. I liked the simple yet effective rocket launcher/Revenant trap which utilises a good understanding of level geometry to make an interesting encounter.

The use of Arcantrons which at first seem harmless until you forget that they're there and then get hit by a volley of hot plasma while taking cover from Hell nobles and chaingunners is an another example of good monster usage.

I'm guessing this level is based off of "caged" by the numbering but if I'm right it's subtle in its execution. The only clues I can gleam being the large pits scattered around the level. Its another great level.

[Soll]

MAP04: Carcinogen

Tutorial phase is officially over. Cydonia is getting real now, beginning with this map. The start isn’t really hot, but once you grab the rocket launcher, you’ll have to be on the move constantly if you want to stay alive. Cydonia is getting ruthless with its traps and use of heavyweight demons, especially archviles. The heavy weapons in this map are heavily guarded but there is usually a safe space that you can take cover in, so as long as you act fast and are aware of your surroundings, you should be ok. The yellow key fight is possibly the nastiest in this map, with a double archvile tag team along with their entourage of fresh and revived monsters. You’ll be in for a bad time if you’re underequipped, so try to get the ssg and plasma rifle before getting the yellow key. One thing I adore is the soul sphere secret. By common Doom sense, you‘ll try to hump the walls or find a hidden switch to get the secret, but not here. You get the sphere by… walking right into the window. It legit gave me a chuckle the first time I found it. It’s such a stupidly simple secret yet it defies all Doom logic, it’s amazing and I love it. This is definitely the strongest map so far, with energetic, fast-paced combat and non-linearity. This one gets a big thumbs up from me.  

Edited September 4, 2022 by Soll

[cannonball]

MAP04 - “Carcinogen” by Scotty

 

This map is in my opinion the strongest map so far. There is a definite sharpness to the traps, the yellow one was the one that got me proper here, the main reason being the revenant that sneakily appears in the previous area that automatically closes down on you whilst you fight the pair of archvile. Devious but it is reasonable once you realise where all the chess pieces are. blue key was easier, though I am not sure whether I just got lucky with that one. I guess the ending was probably the weaker section of the map, but otherwise this was a very solid and compact map.

[tmorrow]

Cydonia map05

 

A map in two layers, the ground/water areas and an upper section of connected walkways. The progression is mostly linear, doomguy is on the hunt for 3 keys and trying to avoid getting fried by the 3 archviles that are released one by one at strategic locations. The plasma rifle secret is the harder secret to track down. Stepping into the water near the exit reveals an interesting floor texture change.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 04: Carcinogen

by "Beam me up" Scotty

 

It took me a good four deaths to realize that this was indeed the most difficult map so far. Although I think it's a little debatable to call this as sadistic as what the Casalis did, there's no doubt that all the traps have far more teeth to them in this outing, which aesthetically is quite unremarkable, other than that oh-man ending. Mainly just lots of square rooms and grayish brick with the exception of that one outdoor rocky cavern area. Speaking of which, shooting a lever for the secret was just a really dumb idea. Why you couldn't just shoot an inaccessible button I'll never know.

 

But anyway, the only non-factor in this map were the Revenants on the ramparts above the main circle of the map. Everything else is incredibly threatening and the poisonous green water (highlighted by the name) can only serve to accentuate this. And Arch-viles seemed to appear at the worst possible times for us. While certainly predictable, being caught in a weakened position twice never feels welcoming. The blue key is probably worst though, since enemies don't appear instantly and we teleport back to the ledge above before being set on by a particularly deadly Arch-vile/Revenant combo.

 

Not to say the plasma rifle trap is necessarily better. If you don't back out fairly quickly, you can end up softlocked, but never fear! A little opening shows a way to get on the ledge surrounding this location, thusly not risking annihilation by staying down in the pool here. Although again, backing out and coming back later is certainly a viable strategy.

 

The exit area has little notability, save an opportunity to shoot some Arachnotrons who were harrying us earlier and shoot some Revenants which appear, but after everything else, it was probably better not to bother.

 

No longer snug, this set is picking up. Authentically Plutonian yet not cloned from the Casalis, is this where things really start to deviate? Other than the level design feeling more natural than what was  possible in 1996, I'm not so sure.

lmd_cydonia04.zip

Edited September 4, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[finnks13]

MAP04 - Carcinogen by Scotty:

6:35/1 Death
The pressure is turned up quite considerably here, I was very lucky to only die once (to a face-rocket, of course!) as there are some pretty mean ambushes contained within the map. The key and each weapon is guarded by harsh ambushes, but the layout of the map lets you get into a real flow of defeating ambushes, and fumbling your way into another one. The only fight in the map that didn't really work for me was the plasma gun fight since it can be declawed very easily by, at least my, instinct of running away and hiding on a staircase. Archviles are used very well in the blue key fight to limit your movement, and in the yellow key fight to murder you - spawning one on each side of you is very mean and unexpected for a Map04, even a Map04 of a Plutonia homage - and the little window to the soulsphere secret makes retreating and trying to deal with the viles that much more challenging.

 

I've not mentioned this yet, but I like the sky used in this first episode - I think it's just the plutonia episode 1 sky tinted a bit orange, but I think it works really well with the style. There's also the first instance of "Plutonia Liquid" in the wad, the nukage wasn't damaging in MAP03, but it is here! Thank you to Scotty for not making a Caged homage (because I hate that map :P) and I'm glad to say that this is the first truly excellent map in the wad, and I hope more are to come!

[Book Lord]

11 hours ago, tmorrow said:

 

Note that you can escape from Cydonia map04's exit room if you fall in the pit. There are 2 trigger lines near the west side in the pit that lowers the floor in the room before the walkway. Scotty is going soft on us!

 

I am not talking about the room with the ledge and the last teleporting Revenant. I am referring to the very last room with slime falls and only the exit pad. Even though only idiots and curious people would fall in a pit like that, it is inescapable but at least it kills you, unlike the similar exit room of The Omen that permanently softlocks the player.

 

I integrate the next map review in this post, less than 90 minutes to midnight here:

 

MAP 05 – Hopeless by Brayden Hart @AD_79

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

 

The only Hopeless thing in this map was keeping a sense of direction. Regardless of the relatively small dimension, I found the layout to be very confusing, thanks to the twin triangle-shaped, elevated corridors connecting rooms and natural caves bearing the same colour scheme, and sometimes undergoing permanent transformations. Former Humans made their first appearance here, neglected in the same fashion as in Plutonia. After the nice RK warm-up, the direction to follow was not always clear: a switch showed me the YK I had already spotted from a window but did not allow me to get any closer to it. So, I dropped down from the yellow switch, which was one of the two access points to the bottom cave area.

Spoiler

The multiple paths allowed approaching the YK and triggering the various lurking monsters in different order, increasing the replay value. I must stay aware for alert noises, as monsters steadily appeared without warning in various points of the level. With the key in hand, I raised the bridge to the waterfall cavern and reached the BSK through a series of ledges. The Chaingunner teleport on the key walkway was slow and awkward, but the biggest headache was retracing my steps to the blue switch, found in a cave accessible only via an unmarked elevator I used before. The final Arch-Vile attack was devious and killed me for good, as I was not expecting it before hitting the switch. I could not find how to access the plasma gun secret and it was a bit too hard, considering how essential the weapon was in that last fight. Hopeless might be a great map for deathmatch, and I liked some of the wild monster deployments in it, but the general impression was of a less organised level, sporting a monotone texturing that eventually disoriented me.

[General Roasterock]

Map 04: Carcinogen

 

  This is probably the best opening so far, visually appealing, symmetrical, and well executed. Still, I find myself grinding against continuous Plutonisms that I've never been able to get around. All of these maps so far have slowly shifted into careful Rocket Launcher usage over the course of their runtime, with the Plasma Rifle being a safer yet less available option. Both of these weapons are completely viable excuses to stuff singular Revenants in closets, and drip feed Arch-Viles in inopportune stretches of space. The random guessing as to which SUPPORT3 column is a lift that will allow me to escape damaging nukage and which one isn't has passed the point of irritation, and I feel that any high Revenant roll or Arch-Vile blast is difficult to recover from on top of the first (and likely second and third) time sulking around in the slime. 

  What is up with the Soulsphere secret? I managed to simply walk into it by using the bridge where the Yellow Key sits to jump through the window, which I almost thought was the intentional route. However, the actual way to reach it is by shooting a switch (which touches on my pet peeve of making a shootable switch with a hand lever) which opens a door that you can also open from the inside already? If both of these routes are considered for players of all levels of skill, then that would be very interesting, but that's not at all the vibe I got from the setup. Nevertheless, I have only that Soulsphere to thank for surviving as well as I did because the traps here are brutal. What this WAD manages to do in terms of difficulty with so few monsters is commendable, but that also has a lot to do with the resources in tandem with the monsters. I can only assume that it will get tighter and tighter from here on out.

  Also kind of anecdotal, but it is straight up a mistake to allow monsters to follow you through to the exit teleporter. I ended up chasing a Revenant back and forth through the teleport to the slime cave for no less than twenty trips like a fucking scooby-doo chase before I managed to gun him down, it was downright embarrassing for me.

 

Power Rankings:

Spoiler

1. Amazon
2. Quetzalcoatl
3. Carcinogen
4. Ritual

 

[Egg Boy]

MAP04 - “Carcinogen” by Scotty

     Carcinogen is simply marvelous. The intro reminds me of MTrop's contribution to PRCP, Stony Halls, with the falling bars, blocking the key. However, this map improves on that idea by making them key bars, giving the player an immediate goal as well as telegraphing how they will meet that goal. As far as layouts go, this is my favorite so far. Like I said before, the player has free reign of the map, having the ability to visit most any major area before they've even picked up a weapon. My favorite encounter was the yellow key archvile double wammy, being perhaps the most deadly trap in the wad so far. Chaingunners are deviously placed overlooking the balconies on either side, and the spectres make for excellent revival candidates. I also really enjoyed the blue key area, opening closets as you try to lower the blue key, and afterwards being met by a rock and a hard place. This encounter would be great on its own, but what makes it especially dangerous is the spider-masterminds from across the map laying down suppressing fire, and the meat-shield ready mancubus ready to take one (or one hundred) for the team. The Brisk pace, interconnected layout, and well-thought out encounters make this a joy to play.

[Monsieur E]

Map03- Ritual by AD_79

I don't have a whole lot to say about this map, the level was rather easy and other than the narrow corridors and ledges which you'll be traversing, not a whole lot stood out. I found it a bit strange that the toxic nukage was not damaging but the dirty sewage water was (even though I don't think it was damaging in prior levels). I also liked the presence of the bloodstained "altars", it was a nice bit of worldbuilding but it might've just been coincidental. Coupled with the cool MIDI, it had a nice atmosphere going for it.

Map04- Carcinogen by Scotty

Now here's a map I had quite a lot of fun with. Definitely my favorite so far. The ambushes were light but surprisingly devious. The rush at the start forcing you to plan the best route to collect weapons while dodging ambushes popping up was very exciting and this energy carries through to the end due to the openness of the map letting you pick the order of operations. Every action you do will likely trigger a reaction and considering the relative tightness of ammo and health, knowing when to pull the trigger and at whom is crucial. All in all, this was an extremely fun map for how short and brisk it is. The beautiful final room is the cherry on top, good stuff all around.

[TJG1289]

Wasn't originally gonna play this today, since I ended up getting hit with COVID and didn't get any sleep yesterday, but I'm awake and bored so here we go.

 

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 04: Carcinogen - Scotty

100% kills and secrets

Time: 7:41

 

Easily the most fun map so far, this one even has the first fight that can be a scare: the yellow key fight. At first, it looks like just several spectres you need to take out, but it turns out 2 archies teleported to the entrances here. Good thing I found the secret soul sphere here, cause I did get zapped at one point. Other than that little shot of adrenaline, the map is pretty straight-forward, and uses the expected Plutonia elements well. I did like the fight after getting the blue key that has the walls open up when you teleport back up to safety. You see the baddies in there, but don't notice the archie in the far away rev closet from before. Clever trick there. The final room is a looker, too. Solid map.