Fallen Leaves (now on idgames)

[rita remton]

wow! your handiwork is getting better and better. will not be surprised if you win a cacoward one day (and i hope you do). cheers!

[TheCyberDruid]

Amazing mapset :)

[sandwedge]

Really enjoyed this one, second part up later.  Beautiful maps and love the autumn theme, works well with the palette, and you've delved into some fun slaughter-lite type combat.  I liked Hydrosphere a lot but you've outdone yourself with this one!

 

 

[Bri]

Good stuff, @sandwedge! Did you feel it needed to be harder? Or did the difficulty still feel engaging enough? I kinda feel like I've got a lot to learn about the slaughter parts and maybe some fights could be improved. Or maybe I'm bad at Doom :P

[Vile]

Another great mapset, Bri!  I had a lot of fun with this and have consistently enjoyed your wads quite a bit.  I think the only thing amiss that I noticed was an imp stuck in the wall near the yellow key in map01.

[IcarusOfDaggers]

DropBox has had multiple technocal issues in the past few months. There is some chatter, but nothing confirmed outside of what was said in 2020. Rumour is, technical issues are caused by high loads of traffic and closeby certificate issues, but that's all I could find on onion sites and main webs.

[nickxcom]

I really enjoyed this WAD- Difficult AND beautiful :) Great music too. Between this and Plutonian Sunrise, we have been spoiled with all these fun fall-themed maps!

[sandwedge]

7 hours ago, Bri said:

Good stuff, @sandwedge! Did you feel it needed to be harder? Or did the difficulty still feel engaging enough? I kinda feel like I've got a lot to learn about the slaughter parts and maybe some fights could be improved. Or maybe I'm bad at Doom :P

 

Hey glad you liked the vid!  Difficulty can be a hard thing to gauge, especially based off one playthrough so I would definitely wait for more before you consider making it harder.  A mapper recently adjusted things to be harder in their map after watching one of my playthroughs, and that made it too hard for other players.  And I think your goal was to make something more slaughter-lite, not full blown, so someone like me who is used to slaughter might find it easier.  If you make it harder it's going to be a brick wall for people who aren't into that playstyle.  So it's all about your goals. 

 

I thought most of the fights were fun and engaging, even the ones that seemed like I waltzed through first try - they can still feel dangerous and make me think about movement and combat in interesting ways, and can be satisfying to pull off cleanly first try.  There were maybe a couple which felt like perhaps I had an excess of space which either made it a bit easy, or perhaps made the dangerous part of the fight very brief, since once I got the extra space it just felt like a long "mopping up" phase.  I think I pointed those out in the vid.  But generally I think this difficulty will hit a lot of people really well, and I had a blast playing it!

[Blip]

As always an amazing Bri release. Really fun maps!

[Meowgi]

Awesome set, I really love the aesthetic of this, and the length leaves you wanting more instead of overstaying its welcome. I noticed you previously asked about difficulty in this thread; I got the impression that some of the fights were originally meant to be slightly harder, then were nerfed later down the line. I feel like UV could benefit from a bit of that extra oomph personally, but there's nothing wrong with the difficulty as is imo

Full playthrough from my stream yesterday here (first half):

 

[sandwedge]

Really enjoyed the end of this, great challenges and love the switch to a snowy autumn theme at the end.  This is still RC2 btw as I played the whole thing in one session, it was that good :)

 

 

 

[Degree23]

Absolutely outstanding mapset. Only slight letdown was Map 7, which I don't think was as challenging as it could have been, in part because of the fairly simple circle layout and abundance of ammo. I also was drawn to the Cyberdemon after killing nearly all monsters, and so was very surprised that I needed 3 keys to exit. I expected the Cyberdemon to be the final thing to do on the map, so I then spent a few minutes hunting around a quiet map for 2 keys and also finding 2 MegaSpheres that I didn't need.

 

But otherwise some of the most fun I've had in Doom in a long time.

[pcorf]

On 11/27/2022 at 7:08 AM, SCF said:

Good stuff. The maps look very nice, and they're fun to play. I didn't think to record demos of my first attempts until map 5, but here they are anyway:

FallenLeaves_demos.zip

 

On map 5 at the archvile elevator I accidentally switched to the rocket launcher and had to bail. It gets very awkward after that since you can't easily fight them from below, so you have to teleport right back into the fray. On map 6 I just got blindsided by a rocket I didn't notice. While the palette looks nice, I did feel like it make things harder to see.

 

Oh also, there were multiple bigger fights in maps 1-4 that were pretty soft to just circle-strafing around the room. Not a huge problem, but may not be intended.

 

There's another one in MAP05:

 

This is certainly very frustrating for sure. I say avoid using Zennode as the Nodebuilder and change to BSP_W32 Normal. Also move some linedefs around. The trails won't occur in Gzdoom.

[Bri]

16 hours ago, Meowgi said:

Awesome set, I really love the aesthetic of this, and the length leaves you wanting more instead of overstaying its welcome. I noticed you previously asked about difficulty in this thread; I got the impression that some of the fights were originally meant to be slightly harder, then were nerfed later down the line. I feel like UV could benefit from a bit of that extra oomph personally, but there's nothing wrong with the difficulty as is imo

 

Thankyou! You are right; I did nerf it quite a bit simply because I've played it too much and I start second guessing myself. This is where videos like yours really help me to see it from another view. And you raise great points to improve it so I appreciate that. I'm definitely going to re-work most of it.

 

7 hours ago, Degree23 said:

Absolutely outstanding mapset. Only slight letdown was Map 7, which I don't think was as challenging as it could have been, in part because of the fairly simple circle layout and abundance of ammo. I also was drawn to the Cyberdemon after killing nearly all monsters, and so was very surprised that I needed 3 keys to exit. I expected the Cyberdemon to be the final thing to do on the map, so I then spent a few minutes hunting around a quiet map for 2 keys and also finding 2 MegaSpheres that I didn't need.

 

But otherwise some of the most fun I've had in Doom in a long time.

 

Funnily enough, I was planning to make more maps and MAP07 was kind of meant to be a quick simple map (this versions "dead simple"), but I just decided to release it as is. But I am going to re-work it to be more challenging, as well as working out the keys better. And I'll get rid of the excessive powerups.

 

7 hours ago, pcorf said:

 

This is certainly very frustrating for sure. I say avoid using Zennode as the Nodebuilder and change to BSP_W32 Normal. Also move some linedefs around. The trails won't occur in Gzdoom.

 

I usually play with GL DSDA, so that's why I miss these. Although, lately I've grown to love software mode. But this is good information. I don't understand the different node builder options in UDB, to be honest, but I'll give that a try.

[SCF]

4 hours ago, Bri said:

Funnily enough, I was planning to make more maps and MAP07 was kind of meant to be a quick simple map (this versions "dead simple"), but I just decided to release it as is. But I am going to re-work it to be more challenging, as well as working out the keys better. And I'll get rid of the excessive powerups.

 

Since you're going to rework the map, here's a few notes on it. I recorded two UVMAX demos as well (I wasn't happy with the first one... or the second one for that matter). It's short and sweet, but there's definitely room for improvement.

 

FallenLeaves_RC3_Map07.zip

 

• I didn't like the cyberdemon. At the start of the map, I had my hands full seeking cover from the arachnotrons and roaming archvile, and it's hard to keep track of a cyber that's somewhere behind you and is too far away to hear when he shoots. I eventually just decided to ignore him entirely and just hope I don't get hit by a rocket. The environment also makes it hard to tell from further away if he has line of sight or not.
• Before I got used to the layout, I died multiple times trying to grab the green armor and running right off the edge, especially when I was trying to keep my eyes on the archvile.
• It's also kinda weird that you get a mega armor so soon after that. Might make more sense to put it in one of the revenant closets that open up after you get the BFG.
• The part where you have to take out the mancubi to progress was an "a-ha" moment at first, but I'm not sure how much purpose they actually serve. They're too far away to pose any threat, so it's basically just a sequence of shootable switches. Also, one of the windows facing the mancubi is in such a place that the cyberdemon can see you through another window, which can lead to a frustrating unexpected death.
• When the final fight starts, you can just stay inside the building and let all the cacodemons come to you. The other enemies will generally get stuck outside. You can also use that window I mentioned above to get the cyber to hit the wall and start infighting (I tried that in both demos but he didn't want to shoot).
• Was it intentional that you can take out one of the perched archviles from the window? I liked that, it rewards you for noticing and you still have another one to deal with.
• If you don't find the secret, the archvile there is a huge pain during the final fight, since he's so far up and can zap you without you even seeing him.
• I always ended up with a large clump of harmless hell knights left over at the end. Not a big deal to clean up with the BFG, but they're not much of a threat.
• The first time I played it, I briefly got lost searching for the blue key, because I didn't expected it to be at the key door.

 

Edited November 30, 2022 by SCF

[Bri]

Thanks SCF! I agree and am going to address these issues. Maps 06 and 07 will have the biggest changes overall.

[Alaux]

On 11/27/2022 at 7:17 AM, Gregor said:

I found two more glitches in Map04. I haven't played the rest yet. The first is a bit weird, as i'm not quite sure what triggers it. It disappears when the enemies are dead and flickers on off while they're there. The second though is persistent regardless of monsters. It's in the eastern outside section

If by glitches you're referring to the clipping trees - which I assume you are - then they're really just that, sprites so big that they clip through the geometry. Shouldn't be related to the enemies as far as I'm concerned. Here's a better look at it (used freelook and a flight cheat):

Spoiler

 

Speaking of visual glitches, I found some myself:

Spoiler

This one's on Map04, visible specifically when the block is lowering:

 

And this one's on Map06:

 

 

These glitches didn't worsen my experience at all, though. I find it to be a pretty solid WAD. Didn't like it as much as Hydrosphere personally, possibly because of the aesthetic, but I did like it in the end; it's not that I don't like the aesthetic, I just prefer Hydrosphere's. That said, my god does this WAD look warm, somewhat cozy even. All in all, great job!

[eharper256]

I usually get around to capping a vid for your levels, so here we are with maps 1-3, played with Walpurgis:

Tough, but quick and punchy maps (picking Cluster Hammers as my Secondary Hammer upgrade really helped me out with how dense enemies were here lol). As always with your stuff, looks great and flows well too, so nothing to complain about, and Autumn is always my favourite season and aesthetic to see in levels for games.

[Bri]

Just updated to RC4. I sorted out the later maps. Fights are generally more dangerous. There's also less Hell Knights now, haha! Check the original post for download and changelog. I'm hoping this is the last update so I can put it on idgames, unless someone finds something drastically wrong. Thanks, everyone!

[YoshiTheMage]

I decide to finally pull the trigger on making a Doomworld account after 3 years of on and off Dooming and about 50 WADs and I'm greeted by this absolute gem on the front page. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this WAD, UV-Maxing all seven maps in about 100 minutes... uh, except for MAP03 these two Archviles didn't teleport in for some reason I couldn't determine. I assume there's supposed to be four of them when you take the BFG but I only got two.

I also encountered this what I assume is a linedef bug during MAP06's final fight. It got me killed twice and badly hurt three other times.

 

I played this on GZDoom if that's any help. To talk more generally about the maps themselves, they're all very well paced on top of being gorgeously sculpted and detailed. I had a relatively comfortable experience throughout, taking only the occasional death then a few more silly ones on MAP07. You say this is harder than your other works but that assumes I'm familiar with those which I'm not (Hey, more high quality stuff for me to play right?) so all I can really do besides try and fail to compare it to Plutonia is just describe how I felt about the challenge playing it. The short version is I like it. I like the simmer the combat is kept at a lot of time and I like the big slaughter-lite fights but truthfully I think UV could've been a bit harder past MAP02, just a bit. I don't usually pistol start but I decided to do it with maps 4, 5 and 6 after clearing the WAD. It was harder but not massively so especially after you start getting weapons and heaps of ammo for them. Secrets are a very subjective thing but I found almost all of them no problem, for me they ranged from impossible to miss to decently hidden. I particularly liked the soulsphere secret on MAP05.

 

All in all a great time and one I'm going to recommend to others for sure.

[Bri]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. 

 

I'll look into those problems you found. Those linedef ones where you get stuck are the bane of my existence...

[Bri]

I uploaded a new version (RC4.1) which fixes those errors. I hope this is the last update!

[EffinghamHuffnagel]

Lots of fun and really good looking!

 

I found one additional thing in MAP06 of RC4 that I didn't see mentioned.

 

Found a thin wall ledge next to the outside of the Red Key door. SR'd to it, worked my way around to the steps, then to the Rocket Boxes and got outside without the Blue Key. At first I thought it was a hidden speedrunner route, but the second time through I fell into the Chaingunner pit.

 

[nobleflame]

This looks great :)

[Meowgi]

Hey, I went to download RC4.1 but the dropbox link seems to be broken? D:

[FEDEX]

It isn't broken, it doesn't redirect automatically.. just right click, save target as.. it works like a direct attachment , or something like that ..

[Bri]

I apologize for the download. Never had this trouble with dropbox before. Hopefully it doesn't take too long to get on idgames and it won't be an issue. But yeah, like FEDEX said, right-clicking and "save target/link as" seems to work. Cheers!

[knifeworld]

Excellent maps with fun fights! I'm at map4 now.

However, I noticed a zombieman stuck in the floor on map3:

it's also possible to fall down there.


Near the same spot there's a couple of slime trails that can be seen from many angles:

[Soulless]

Having a really good time playing through this, super fun and great to look at, as expected

after playing Elysium Curse and Hydrosphere. I love the orange visuales and the textures selected,

thanks for the work!

[nobleflame]

For some reason the download in your OP doesn't work.