The DWmegawad Club plays: Community Chest 2

[E.M.]

MAP31 - “Ideé Fixe” by Sarge Baldy

DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start

 

After playing through it several times, this became one of my favorite maps in the megawad. This was made by Sarge Baldy, one of the pioneers of Doom speedmapping. It's short and simple. It starts you off with nothing but a berserk, so you need to do some careful maneuvering to get the monsters to infight and then punch them to death. The chaingunner surprise after picking up the SSG got me good the first time around, but I grew to enjoy it as it's always fun to coax them into killing each other. The same goes for the two other groups of chaingunners in the map. If you find a switch near the SSG, you can lower the red key which will open up a door that leads to a secret BFG as well as open up the exit to the super secret level. Using said BFG to mow down the revenant horde after grabbing the yellow key was some of the most fun I've ever had in the wad. My only problem was with the ending. I had to pick off the three perched mancubi with the chaingun and the cyberdemon fight was underwhelming. Aside from that, this map was great and I definitely see myself replaying it in the future.

 

MAP32 - “Sodding Death” by chopkinsca

DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start

 

This map is annoying, it's obnoxiously brown, it's frustrating, it's a slog, I hate it, and I skip most of it by doing an SR50 to the exit platform.

[Thelokk]

MAP31: Ideé Fixe by Sarge Baldy

DSDA / UV / 100% kills / 100% secrets

 

Short, to the point map with a CYOA feel that I appreciated a lot. Ammo is tight, like super tight, but at least you're rewarded with the big guns... if you went the RK first, at least. I really enjoyed the cramped bony bois ambush, it was lots of fun working around the U-turn to get the AV to go front and get slaughtered by them. Very simple but effective texturing too.

 

 

MAP32: Sodding Death by chopkinsca

DSDA / UV / 100% kills / 100% secrets

 

Lately I see a lot the 'magnum opus syndrome' criticism thrown at this and other maps - as if it was a bad thing. Often times, it seems to me it's just shorthand for 'mapper didn't make a cube full with enemies I can BFG down in five mins flat, and I was actually forced to find my way around instead of charging front like a bull in heat'. Well, respect, but I think there can be a bit more to Doom than that.

This criticism seems all the more misplaced regarding this map. To me, it's the first map in the megawad (and, along with we know who, one of the two overall) that feels like a proper adventure: like I'm exploring a place that was there before I warped into the level, rather than just a bunch of corridors with stuff for me to kill. The architecture and texturing is top notch, if you can't appreciated the beauty of near-monochrome maps you may want to go easy on the IWADs or '2022 retro fps *snickers*' for a bit. It reminds me of MAP05, except it succeeds in all aspects that map failed at. 

Beautiful environment, nice boom tricks, E1 sky fits like a glove and so the MIDI.

Best map in the wad so far, definitely a good tool to part the old guard from the twitchy Eternal Doom crowd. 

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 16 – Spirit World HQ by Gene Bird @Searcher

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

 

The Doom Grandpa got another slot to fill with an excerpt from his Blind Alley series, bearing the intriguing name of Spirit World Headquarters. Anybody expecting a homage to Doom II MAP28 is going to be disappointed; this was an early 2003 creation released before Community Chest, displaying basic visual design paired with Gene Bird’s signature combat. Sector lighting, texturing, environmental design, thing placement, and gameplay progression were deeply rooted in the 90s, for a result that shared common traits with The Pit, The Boardwalk, and his oldest uploads to idgames. Modern Doomers will look at them in dismay, they will rightfully label them as products of their time, and they will send them on the scrap heap without a second thought.

Spoiler

I beg to differ, as my typical experience with Searcher’s maps fluctuated between sparks of excitement and inoffensive boredom. His levels faithfully captured the most abstract side of the OG, elaborating personal ideas in the combat department with the environment evolving as a natural consequence, lacking the complexity that other mappers aspired to. Spirit World HQ began in an unadorned flat sandbox with four square buildings, a sight that might be gut-wrenching if entering from City Heat, and even more after contemplating Sodding Death. If the comparison was made with the rest of Bird’s work, the sandbox part stood out as something different: a brief switch hunt to raise stairs to the top of the terraced building, followed by a quick search for the RSK in the offices, and culminating in a monster teleport that could just be ignored, if maxing out the map was not a priority. There was still room for oddities like a skull texture acting as an unmarked switch, but I had no problem finding it with so little detail to check. The warehouse full of pallets loaded with Doom things was hilarious.

Spoiler

The map would have been too short if it had ended after the sandbox section, so the author opted for making it overlong as usual. The teleporter on top of the fort sent me in a subterranean network of rooms and corridors, holding incidental combat that was not particularly stimulating. After the courtyard decorated with geometric metal structures, the sound of a hidden Arch-Vile made me check a small hole in the wall. I killed him and the other goons in the dark cubicle, asking myself why Searcher bothered to put them there in the first place, since they could not do much harm and will be easily spotted. That room should have been an authentic coup de théâtre, as explained in the Blind Alley infotext; if the level is played with Doom2.exe or in JDoom (I checked the behaviour with Doomsday Engine), the zombies get crushed and the Arch-Vile resurrects them as ghosts, surprising the player in the entrance room. Spirit World HQ was meant to deliberately showcase ghost monsters, but the trick was lost in translation to modern source ports.

 

There were several rooms to clear before reaching the exit, including a YSK that did not serve any purpose, because it was given before showing the corresponding door. Even though the visuals were standard and repetitive, the encounters were proficiently designed, with closets, teleports, and repopulation of the backtrack route that felt just right, as opposed to Redemption that was lacking in that regard. Not very difficult, but not trivial also. There are many reasons to dislike Spirit Worlds HQ and its overly simplistic graphic traits, but I think it has redeeming qualities and that it stands tall among other Gene Bird entries.

Edited January 16, 2023 by Book Lord

[Doomy__Doom]

MAP15 - City Heat

This is definitely the best I could hope for in a 2005 CP. A level which departs from corridor affairs and embraces the fluid motion aspect of Doom.
 
The window dressing imps, elevated Revs and Cyber are there to keep you alert as you scavenge for ammo without oppressively forcing you to seek cover (imagine if all those windows were hitscanners). Opening doors and poking your head in with just the fist, we get to quickly back off of most of them. Acquiring a chaingun and shotgun, finding a few buildings to work with, the exploration is rudely interrupted by an enemy wave at some point.

 

The openness of the layout guarantees that Cacodemons can be a menace and will find you everywhere - building or not, they WILL sneak behind you. Roaming monsters can freely open doors, making buildings work as a risk factor - being swarmed is very much an option if you don't know your way around (and thus location of crucial arsenal). Recovery is present but not overloaded, so inattentiveness costs a lot.

 

The big waves fill up the city from different edges and test your wits and crowd navigation at all times. Surf a mixed cluster and watch the fireworks a little, pick off c(aco)rucial targets, then shift to clearing the next building on the chopping block while taking care to have an exit strategy. I can see the final cleanup bits leaning towards tedious (and some of the secrets can get to you), but most of the runtime was solid fun.

 

The sole sign of "ye olde" era here would be extremely sparing Arch-Vile usage. It's hard to imagine a contemporary wad resisting temptation to unleash a bunch to undo all your hard work.

 

I almost don't want to leave the city, because it's back to corridorland, isn't it?.. So far this is the only level I'm interested in replaying in general and probably with some weapon mods, as the threats presented are not going to be entirely invalidated by even quite OP by vanilla standard guns.

 

MAP31 - Idee Fixe

Alright, this one wasn't so bad. A tyson/pacifist start (either works), optional key situation, a trap which calls for the BFG but is quite doable without. The Manc trio meat wall is just an awkward existance though.

MAP32 - Sodding Death

I was definitely not in the right mood to appreciate this level (not all of this post was played on the same day). Or, well, the "inside of the temple" part of it. No way I'm going to appreciate the shotgun canyon of shotgunning. That part gets a sprint/10 from me. This is no Anagnorosis, where you can opt to just make meaningful progress elsewhere and get RL/BFG to cleanup canyonland. I guess I'll clasify first green armor and SSG placement as pretty evil too, although in reality the level just really expects me to go the "slowly shoot everything and explore" route. I can definitely see SR50 to exit being an attractive proposition at that point.

 

The meat of the level - the overgrown temple(?) - is beautifully done in terms of visual presentation. There's a reason why there are almost 15k vertices. Combat wise, I'd say it leans a bit too readily into meatwalling (a lot of those HK's and Mancs are downgraded and/or removed below UV), but well that's post-2015 level design enjoyer in me speaking.

Probably unsurprising, I found the most exciting part to be YSK setpiece. Cheesable by overdetailed architecture if desired (you can hide behind the wall near YSK once barons open up), but the core idea of quickly focusing down mancs is a solid bit of fun, with a modernly evil arch-vile to top it off. RSK can be item bumped for those who want a medium-sized journey. I'm not really sold on 31 being a secret level, but 32 was definitely in the right place.

MAP16 - Spirit World HQ

Definitely the best Gene Bird level so far, altough once again not knowing when to quit with room after room sours the latter third or so. For me this is still best finished around 100-120 incidental monsters in, with variety provided by the opening area I'm willing to extend it to 150-ish. Apparently there's one more to go later, let's see if the tendency remains.
I was somewhat confused by apparently mandatory "secrets", but oh well.

[Azure_Horror]

Map 31 Ideé Fixe by Sarge Baldy

UV, DSDA-Doom, pistol start, complevel 21

Mod: Vesper

 

How best to describe this map?

"Doom  e1m1 in layout, Plutonia map 32 in intensity." Yeah, I think this sounds about right.

"The real idee fixe was looking for idee fixe till the very end" - yep, this also sounds true.

 

Bombastic, in-your-face challenging maps are not rare. But such maps with small runtime, yet with full roster of weapons and high-power monsters, are pretty rare! And usually miniature challenge maps include some gameplay gimmick, be it platforming elements, infight-based combat puzzle, or some notable ammo starvation scenario. But Idee Fixe is very blunt in this regard – no tricks, just tough hellspawn and strong weapons*!

 

*well, you do need to search for the guns first. But this search is manageable due to rather "normal" secret placement and small map size.

 

In short, this map feels incredibly unique in its simple, but uncompromising vision.

I also finally learned, how berserk punches work in Vesper Mod. Hoooray!

 

Oh, and the super-secret exit is very elegant! It is connected to the red key, but hidden in plain sight right near the entrance to the final room. It can be found very naturally once the player decides to backtrack for exploration. Both secret exits in Community Chest 2 are implemented wonderfully!

CC-2 is a rare WAD, were both secret exit are actually secret, yet neither of them feels too obscure.

 

 

Map 32 Sodding Death by @Chopkinsca

UV, DSDA-Doom, pistol start, complevel 9
Mod: Bougeois Guns

 

A long journey through desolation. This is a familiar map concept... A defiant Doom Marine walking along the long path through lonely deserted lands/ruins... This is a pretty natural idea for a Doom Map.

 

However, such maps are very hard to implement correctly. Such concepts can easily fail in one of the following ways:

1) The map degrades into a boring grindfest (Speed of Doom map 10, or Bloodstain map 11 suffer from this, IMHO)

2) The map ascend into a exciting challenging map, failing the whole "lonely desolate wasteland" thing. (Anagnorisis from Eviternity is huge, tough and exausting. But it is an opposite of a wasteland!)

 

But Sodding Death walks right on the knife's edge. On one hand, the journey feels long, defiant and desperate. There are multiple fights against both lumbering behemoths and entrenched snipers. On the other hand, none of the encounters drags for too long. There is no long clean up sections. If there are fat monsters left – they  do not feel  like boring meat walls, or glorified stage hazards. They feel like dangerous opponents!

 

On top that, the fights manage to be quite diverse. The canyon sniping part ended much quikier than I feared quite fast, and the temple part was full of surpises! The familiar doom beasts occasionally show a trick or two. I especially liked the use of mancubi on this map. That Yellow Key encounter was exciting!

 

Oh, and I almost forgot about The Visuals! Never in my life I expected to be impressed by a series of stock Doom brown textures. Yet here we are...

 

 

Community Chest 2 keeps surpassing my expectations!

 

Map Rankings

Spoiler

 

The maps I like:

Map 15 City Heat    by The Ultimate DooMer

Map 31 Ideé Fixe     by Sarge Baldy

Map 06 The View     by Lutrov71

Map 32 Sodding Death    by chopkinsca

Map 04 Deja Vu     by GeneBird

 

Map 11 Beyond Pain     by Exile

Map 03 Slidge Control     by The Flange Peddler

Map 07 To Hell and Back     by The Flange Peddler

Map 01 The Furnace     by Erik Alm

Map 14 Shadow of Evil    by Mephisto

 

Map 12 Redemption    by Gene Bird

Map 02 Coolant Platform     by iori

Map 08 The Pit  by Gene Bird    &    Map 13 Annihilation Invention  by PsyRen

Map 05 Elixir    by RjY

Map 10 Intermission    by Volteface

 

Average / Mediocore / OK maps:

Map 09 The Transformer    by Graf Zahl

 

Bad maps:

None!

 

[E.M.]

MAP16 - “Spirit World HQ” by Gene Bird

DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start

 

Here's some more mediocre '90s-core from Gene Bird. The first questionable design choice is that you are required to press a secret switch in order to progress. Another major one is that you need to shoot in a very specific area in order to raise a lift so you can get onto a platform to press a switch that lowers down so you can open a door. I haven't seen this much needless complexity since Titan Manor. Then there's the yellow door, which is only revealed after you grab the yellow key. Why would you hide the door if it's locked? Why would you lock the door if it's hidden? There are some attempts at Doomcute, but for the most part, the detailing is bland and, as is typical of Gene Bird, has no consistent theme. It starts in a city area and it ends in a room that looks like The Inmost Dens. As for the combat, this is a Gene Bird map, which means you can just SSG everything. But despite all its glaring flaws, I still had more fun with it than a few certain maps in this WAD.

[NiGHTS108]

MAP02: Coolant Platform

By Iori

Kills: 88%

Items: 65%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 4:52

 

I played this map for the first time one time because I've never played it before. (Also nothing about it stuck with me.) Not much to see here, just the first of a long line of generic and uninteresting Community Chest 2 tech bases. I guess I like how much this map uses Boom, that being all one uses. The strobe room is definitely the most memorable part of this map thanks to that. The most interesting part about this map is the fact I died twice somehow recording this video.

 

Grade: C-

Difficulty: E

 

 

MAP03: Slige Control

By The Flange Peddler

Kills: 96%

Items: 65%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 5:07

 

Another generic tech base but one with kind of a backstory, as the name implies this map was made and edited from a Slige map for a contest back in the day (Which honestly isn't a half bad idea. Shame the concept seemingly never caught on.) It explains this map's extensive symmetry and careful lighting. You may wonder why I'm telling you this because I'm sure you all know about it, and that's because I don't have anything to say about this map either.

 

Grade: C+

Difficulty: E

 

 

MAP04: Deja Vu

By Gene Bird

Kills: 85%

Items: 60%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 9:22

Okay this one's pretty hilarious. I went into Deja Vu expecting the worst, and my hopes weren't high after leaving the first very monotonous room, but then the map just loses its shit and it's a riot. I mean, I knew what was coming, and even I was just shocked how many themes this map was able to pull out it's ass. Looking at the full layout after you've gotten to the end is really something special. This map is honestly such a comedy of errors I can't possibly fail it, like I'd never say it's good but I just love how the only justification for the name is the first chunk of the map being completely symmetrical, or how the map ends with destroying Romero's head for some inexplicable reason, or the random bedroom you teleport to, or basically all of the secrets. It's a great experience and gave me a taste of that Community Chest 1 flavour I loved. Again, I wouldn't say it's good, but I certainly got a lot of enjoyment out of it.

 

Grade: D-

Difficulty: C

 

 

MAP05: Elixir

By RjY

Kills: 91%

Items: 14%

Secrets: 57%

Time: 12:23

 

This one does not spark joy.
Elixir is an exhaustive spelunking mission into an abandoned """""health manufacturing plant""""". Ironically enough it's one of the most brutal maps supply-wise I've played in a while. In a few ways it reminds me of this one map from later on in this wad..? I can't exactly remember the name of it, though whatever I'm thinking of, this map is way worse. RjY's teleport ambushes are almost hilariously cruel, obnoxious and clumsy. Like let's look at the journey to the red key within this tiny room. I walk in, get assaulted by a pop up ambush with like 5 Revenants and Barons, so I claw through that, get a pop up Arch-Vile in my face approaching the key, kill him, pick it up and run away as more bullshit teleports into this room. This is definitely one of the more egregious examples but the rest of the map isn't much better! It feels like every breath here must be supported by an obnoxious as hell teleport ambush, and I say that as someone who considers themselves more forgiving of that stuff than most. All of this combined with extremely low health and ammo just makes this map drag so hard. It just gets worse as it goes on for me. I made the absolutely fatal mistake of not picking up the Berserk on my run until the end (Because I consider it pretty rational to not want to waste 100 of your 600 or so health in this map) and paid for it by savescumming around the ending Cyberdemon, which has decorations in the way to the exit to prevent you from doing that! This is exactly what I mean... this map goes out of its way to inconvenience you at every turn more than the most hopeless moments of Hell Revealed II's worst. I only got out of this map alive because I was lucky enough to find the blessing of a secret that is the mega armour deep into the depths of the factory. I did go into this map wanting to at least enjoy it but the more I played, the worse it got.

 

Grade: D-

Difficulty: A+

 

 

[Poncho1]

Map09: The Transformer

Author: Christoph Oelckers (Graf Zahl)

 

I wouldn't be surprised if this happened to be a speedmap. From what I read in previous posts, it was originally from the mid 90s, and by 90s standards it's pretty good what comes to detail. What I'm not a huge fan is that the map is insanely easy to clear out, and there aren't what I'd call ambushes, since the picking-up of the keys never triggers a trap. This makes it so one can clear out the whole level (again, with ease) and have nothing else to do. It really feels as if it's almost a single-fight map, and the opposition doesn't put up much of a fight, given that well over half of the monsters are Shotgunners. Without the (admittedly obvious) Chaingun secret at the beginning, this will probably be a pain for Pistol starters, but for me it was piss-easy. The map happens for a good 5 minutes tops, and that's it. If you're on your lunch break, I suppose you could do worse than play this, but that also means there's a lot better out there.

 

Map10: Intermission

Author: Simon Broadhead (Volteface)

 

Another somewhat mediocre map. Maybe I should just Pistol-start more often, because the only fight that posed any kind of threat was the Arch-vile and his Pinkie cronies. Even the Cyberdemon at the end is a massive pushover; those Lost Souls won't help him nor hinder you much if you stick to the Plasma Gun, which is given for free at that particular fight. The detailing and lighting is somewhat Alm-esque as others have pointed out, and I liked the part where the floor gives way as you cross towards the Yellow Key, but beyond that, there isn't much to recommend here, either.

 

Map11: Beyond Pain

Author: Dennis Meuwissen (Exl)

 

The first time I played Cchest2, I didn't have fond memories of Exl's here map: I found the design underdeveloped and the layout lacking in stucture. Coming back to it and playing it again, I better appreciated the flow: not too many levels - off the top of my head - allow you to go just about *anywhere* in the map (besides the exit, for you nitpickers), so for that, this map's somewhat different. In addition, I enjoyed the design much more the second time around. I always liked the starting point: the base's entrance just looks cool, and I also like the rails, the brief use of caverns, the central nukage processing pit, and the smaller tech rooms nearby. What comes to enemies, there aren't too many that'll catch you off guard, with the exception of an Arch-vile in the western portion (the water/cave section). What I didn't like was the end, where the Blue and Red doors require switches (okay, whatever), but the Yellow door can be opened just by walking up to it. Inconsistency, people! In any case, I've grown to appreciate the map's finer details and easy-going sense of rhythm, though I guess it's a bit of an acquired taste.

 

Map12: Redemption

Author: Gene Bird

 

Critiquing Gene Bird levels is a lot like when I review Italian poliziotteschi or Spaghetti Western flicks: I may like plenty of them, but at their core, they're fairly similar. Gameplay-wise, Redemption is pure Gene Bird: SSG is handed out early on, the enemy mish-mash is his usual mix of hitscanners, Imps, Pinkies, occasional Revenants and Mancubi; the progression is intensely linear, and the secrets are pretty difficult to miss. However, what his third entry here has going for it is that there's actually some aesthetic consistency going on: I can clearly tell that we're in an underground crypt of some sort, and Gene runs with the theme to its conclusion, which is nice. I also liked a few individual areas such as the blood-soaked port, the multilayered Blue Key chamber, and a darker room towards the end where there's a secret hidden up a narrow set of stairs (you know what I mean). As I said before, SSG-centric action doesn't bother me too much when done right, and though similar to Déjà Vu in this regard, Redemption is more stylistically homogeneous and its rooms sometimes feel designed to intentionally throw the player off, such as the curvy corridor that ends with a run-in with Revenants, whose heat-seeking missiles are perfect for the layout. Decently passable fare.

 

Map13: Annihilation Invention

Author: Jeffrey Graham (psyren)

 

Nukage-filled techbase rampages are a dime-a-dozen in Doom, so one would think that this ultra-basic description of psyren's Cchest2 contribution would blend into the average mold of said map genre, but its fast-paced gameplay ratchets it up a notch into something more memorable. Psyren's attention to lighting is especially remarkable for early/mid-2000 level design, and his sense of urgency in the combat department accompanies the acceptable visuals. Though I would've liked a couple of the secrets to be a tad easier to figure out, this was a blast: plenty of barrel action against low-tier enemies, a not-overwhelming amount of Cacos and Hell Knights, and the map caps off with a fun abuse of the BFG under the influence of an Invuln. Though I missed a couple of Pinkies (and thus missing out on 100% kills, don't know what that's about), I can forgive this slight error when the rest is one of Cchest2's most fun outings.

 

Map14: Shadow of Evil

Author: Mephisto

 

Though a certain YouTuber praised this map as having - what did he say? - "polish and poise", I wasn't too much of a fan. Now certainly, it's true that the map pays attention to its smaller details and lighting, however it never feels truly wonderful when the mapmaker decided to focus on turning his level into a corridor shootout, thus making it feel small, cramped, and lacking in scope. The transition from wooden prison to tech area was also rather abrupt. As for the action, well, the aforementioned cramped nature certainly adds a dimension of intensity to a few of the fights (especially those with Revenants), but others feel needlessly time-consuming, such as the Cacodemons the swarm the opening room, to the point that it got boring waiting for them to teleport in. Looks kinda nice, plays kinda dull.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Poncho1

[Thelokk]

MAP16: Spirit World HQ by Gene Bird

DSDA / HMP / 100% kills / 100% secrets

 

What a dreadful, disgraceful map. Probably the lowest point of the megawad - yes, it's even worse than map05. "This is where Hell keeps its stuff" is the kind of conceit only a 90s mapper could find interesting. The plaza and the buildings whose exploration we have to endure are worse than some shovelware I was unfortunate enough to play; the mishmash of themes and room + corridor combinations that came afterwards were even worse. Combat is Bird's usual unorganized, 'whatever goes' soup of monsters, with little regard for synergies or planning. I actually downgraded to HMP just so I would have less stuff to kill.

 

Sodding Death a slog? nosiree, this is a slog. 

 

 

EDIT: I noticed the author keeps tabs on the thread. Just to be sure, nothing personal - I'm sure you're a wonderful person and community member. But this map? Still a big fat nope.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Thelokk

[Book Lord]

MAP 17 – Through the Black by Andy Leaver @Aleaver

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

 

Andy Leaver owned the MAP17 slot in the whole Community Chest series, and Through the Black was the map that established the tradition. As typical of this author, the map was compact-sized, nice to look at, and with a few effective combat set pieces. Technically speaking, the level did not implement any Boom effects, just a series of aptly tuned teleports and clever monster placements. Like in the first Community Chest, Leaver’s map provided a quality breather between long and more demanding submissions.

Spoiler

The action began in a 64-unit wide corridor with pitch-black alcoves, spewing out the first batch of monsters, and continued in larger room full of Cacodemons, Imps, and zombies, inviting you in for a circle-strafe on the dance floor, soon to be invaded by Pinkies. I was a bit baffled by the Imps teleporting inside the cages, they were just a waste of time, but things got a bit more complex in the next room, where monsters trapped by blocking lines were at both sides, including three Mancubi shooting from the distant top of the blood fall. It was possible to rush into the next room and fall prey of Imps and Revenants, while killing the Hell Knights and Cacodemons required patience and use of corners.

Spoiler

The temple with the RSK looked empty at first sight, but if you try to grab the rocket launcher and quickly vanquish the skeletons, you will be ambushed by deaf Chaingunners.  Leaver rewarded a cautious approach and punished players running around carelessly, as they would meet more and more hidden opposition, and probably miss the easy and munificent secret stash. The Cacodemons shooting through the MARBFACes were honestly not the best idea, just as the trapped sniper monsters (Mancubi and Arachnotrons) that added little substance. The four Barons trying to block me after picking up the RSK were a laughable challenge, considering how many rockets and resources I collected in Through the Black. It was a good intermission with fine vanilla design, granting a vital break before MAP18.  

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 17: Through the Black

by Andy Leaver

Played UV, From Doom With Love

 

Andy Leaver continues to raise the stakes in all categories with this entry which once again occupies the Map 17 slot.

 

We'll just talk about the aesthetics first. There are some little silver things at the beginning and other little touches which border on tech but you can mostly see marble and wood walls everywhere and the Lee Jackson track "Watz Next" can only add to the overall menace and uneasiness of this location. The map may be less attractive than Andy's previous CC maps but it is perhaps a little bit more polished. Progression is stupidly linear however, and that's the only annoying thing.

Combat is more refined than the other slot in the previous Community Chest. It's still somewhat grindy in locations but Andy has considerably improved in how he's able to spread apart his various groups of enemies. Although the little Caco/HK sandwich in the outdoor blood fall area seems more designed to keep you moving than anything else ( I guess one exception would be the square room near the beginning with marble in one corner and stone hex (the way forward) in the other where Demons teleport in for a bit). Health is rather limited, so there isn't really much room for error. The far Mancubi in the blood fall area don't make much sense. And I'm not really certain the Cacos behind the fake wall are meant to do much beyond keeping you from staying in the rooms from which they spew their electric flame. Otherwise, there is little else to say. Other than the little Revenant murder on the ledge above the RL which is honest-to-god nasty, more so than the little Baron ambush near the RK. That's par for the course with Revenants though.

 

The combat armor secret is perhaps more obscure than it needs to be, marked by metal trim on the left which rather sort of masks the odd-textured door.

lmd_cc2_17.zip

Edited January 18, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[Azure_Horror]

Map 16 Spirit World HQ by Gene Bird (@Searcher)

Mods: Vesper first, then re-played without mods to get UV-Max.

 

What an aptly named map!

The "Spirit World" is Doom 2 map 28. It is a VERY weird level by Doom 2 standards.

Gene Bird's "Spirit World HQ" is a more presentable and respectable map, but it is still weird. This map includes Mandatory-for-Progression Secrets, weird buildings, sudden doomcute elements, a storehouse full of decorative sprite-thing-objects, and a semi-separate room with hitscanners and an archvile.

Sounds very much like the HQ responsible for Doom 2 "Spirit World", if you ask me!

 

The progression and exploration aspects are pretty good, even with mandatory secrets in mind. The aesthetics is on par with Doom 2, so it arguably hits the mark too. But the combat is felt like the weakest among all Gene Bird's maps in the WAD. The combat combines heavily limited non-shell ammo of map 08 04 with relatively down-to-earth enemy composistion of map 12. Without zany sergeant/midtier combat scenarios from map 08 04 and without good supply of rockets and plasma from map 12, the encounters felt much less exciting to me.

And non-combat aspects, while good, didn't carry the map either.

 

In the end, I cannot say that I dislike this map. The very clever name made my day, and the gameplay felt like a decent recreation of Doom 2: Hell on Earth. However, I cannot say that I like this map either. For me, Spirit World HQ  is a model example of an OK map. Not bad at all, but without memorable good traits either.

 

 

Map 17 Through the Black by Andy Leaver

Mods: Vesper first, then re-played without mods, because the map is short and punchy.

 

This is a pretty solid map, all things considered, but it does have a flaw. Almost all the fights on this map encourage cautious door-camping on a blind playthrough. In fact, outside of the starting room, every fight seems to reward door-camping  approach:

1) Flanking Hell Knights and cacos? You don't have rockets yet, best to door camp them with SSG!

2) The rocket launcher hall? It is infested with chainganners and also has a very dangerous rev fortress in the middle! It is best to lure chaingunners one-by-one! (Technically this is a Stairs-camping rather than Door-camping, but the general idea is the same.)

3) You've got the rocket cannon and feel prepared to explore further? Say hello to hidden cacos behind fake walls and fat entrenched mancubi in narrow rooms! Camping is the best strategy once again...

 

Outside those Camp-or-Gotcha designs, the map does feel like a decent modern map. (Quite an impressive feat for a community project map from 2004. Then again, the author of Scythe also took part in the same community project...). Weapon variety is fine, enemy roster is diverse, visual design is varied and effectively detailed, run-time is neither too short, nor too long. But "camping is the best" situation does sour the experience... Trying aggressive approach is a headache in almost every battle! This feels like a wrong desing choice for an action-oriented level.

 

 

Map 8 (The Pit by Gene Bird), some additional thoughts.

After playing yet another Gene Bird's map, I decided to re-evaluate map 08. I still like it less than map 04, but I think its combat deserves even more praise than I have given. The combat of map 08 is unique among CC-2 maps, and it feels very unconventional in general. The fights are mostly incidental, and they feel very Doom 2 in spirit, but the map manages to include a full arsenal of weapons and power ups! And it still manages to pack some notable punch, despite the player being heavily armed!

 

Map Rankings (some re-evalutions included)

Spoiler

The maps I like:

Map 15 City Heat    by The Ultimate DooMer

Map 31 Ideé Fixe     by Sarge Baldy

Map 06 The View     by Lutrov71

Map 32 Sodding Death    by chopkinsca

Map 04 Deja Vu     by GeneBird

 

Map 11 Beyond Pain     by Exile

Map 03 Slidge Control     by The Flange Peddler

Map 07 To Hell and Back     by The Flange Peddler

Map 01 The Furnace     by Erik Alm

Map 08 The Pit  by Gene Bird (went up in rank)

Map 17 Through the Black     by Andy Leaver

 

Map 12 Redemption    by Gene Bird (went up in rank)

Map 14 Shadow of Evil    by Mephisto

Map 02 Coolant Platform     by iori

Map 13 Annihilation Invention  by PsyRen

Map 05 Elixir    by RjY

Map 10 Intermission    by Volteface

 

Average / Mediocore / OK maps:

Map 16 Spirit World HQ    by Gene Bird

Map 09 The Transformer    by Graf Zahl

 

Bad maps:

None!

 

Edited January 18, 2023 by Azure_Horror

[Veeda Vidlak]

Map 31: Idee Fixe (GZoom, complevel 9, UV pistol start)

 

So this one had an unfavorable first impression. I went to move past the enemies and the revenant and a hell-knight coordinated blocking the tunnel while the pinkies matched my actions to corral me perfectly. But in subsequent playthroughs they didn’t have Subotai conducting their movements, so all is good.

 

Anyway, Sarge Baldy’s Idee Fixe is quite the odd duck. You have a brief Tyson fight, some chaingunner shootouts, a trio of annoying mancubi, and a yellow key ambush that will destroy you if you didn’t grab the red key and return to its door for a BFG first (or at least get the rocket launcher). You also have a cyberdemon parked at the exit who presents a passable but awkward boss battle. I find myself perplexed at what the intent was here as all the encounters seem disjointed from each other. It has the feel of a speedmap with its short runtime and “here’s some fights” gameplay.

 

This is actually the first level I struggle to write about because it’s so short and everything’s kinda random. It’s not bad per say, but there’s not much I can find to praise or criticize. You spawn, kill some enemies, don’t grab the yellow key before red, cyberdemon, GG. I guess if I’m nitpicking it’s pretty rude to put the rocket launcher (and a ton of ammo) on the mancubi platform when I really wanted it to kill said mancubi. It’s also not practical against the cyberdemon meaning you probably won’t get a chance to fire it at all. The visuals are fine, certainly nothing bad about them (nice underground cave atmosphere that ends in the open, like you’re leaving) and the cyberdemon is nice two shot practice as well.

 

Maybe the intent was to reward continuous players for finding the secret exit (rockets, yay!). Otherwise eh, it’s a map. And a pretty fun one honestly (making this one short was a good decision). Next one.

 

Map 32: Sodding Death (GZoom, complevel 9, UV pistol start)

 

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say CC2 is getting good. We’re just a few minutes past City Heat and we have another contender for best map so far. Chopkinsca cranks up the atmosphere with this disquieting behemoth leading the player across a barren, mountainous landscape and into a temple of evil, crawling with hellspawn and their arch-vile overlords. And it isn’t all bark either, as this level is pretty hard. Definitely second to Elixir (which this one plays kind of like a superior version of).

 

Sodding Death nails its ambiance, presenting a dark, gloomy environment that just oozes malice. It’s abundantly clear you aren’t supposed to be here. Just getting to the temple is an ordeal in and of itself requiring climbing up natural terraces while bombarded by imps, hell-knights, cacos, and hitscanners. There are a lot of incoming projectiles and you have no armor and limited health and ammo to work with, so get rid of the gun bois quickly and work your way to the top. As you approach the temple you have mancubi, hell-knights, and sniping revenants to contend with and in all honesty the best move is probably to just activate the switch and sprint in, fleeing past them and the fortified arch-vile that will immolate you if you try to camp the entrance.

 

Now in his domain, Chopkinsca provides you with his inhospitality, unleashing well-positioned ambushes at every turn. These traps are mean, and I love it, making the player pay for their foolish trespassing. This place really earns its wickedness, with solid lighting, grim architecture, and an unsettling decrepitude that implies centuries of age. Unlike the similarly gameplay themed Elixir, the traps feel calibrated and with ammunition now plentiful you can fight back instead of painstakingly pick off enemies. And if you find the secrets you’re greatly rewarded, obtaining powerups (or a BFG!) that give you the boost needed to escape this place alive.

 

As for your goal, you must find the three keys, which are used to unlock switches located in a little shrine by the lake outside the temple, allowing you to exit. The temple itself is nonlinear, and once inside you have freedom to obtain the keys in any order you please. Given that you can tackle challenges at your own pace I do not think this level drags (at least until the ending), though there is a fair bit of switch-huntiness to it. I really like how well the temple’s rooms integrate with each other, permitting many different approaches to the various traps. If a particular area is giving you trouble, try going around, or obtain one of the secrets first.

 

Upon collecting the third key you will soon realize the cultists won’t let you leave with their treasures so easily. Various monsters teleport in on the path back to the exit (outside the temple), giving you a use for all the rockets you no doubt stockpiled. I’m not a fan of this ending to be honest. These enemies are laughably nonthreatening and teleport in at too slow a pace, leading to the player just tapping their foot waiting for them to arrive. It’s a complete waste of time and it would probably have been better to just have one massive fight at the entrance to the temple, the worshipers’ final stand at preventing your escape.

 

Despite the weak finish, Sodding Death is a banger, and really gives you your money’s worth for finding the secret exit. This is one adventure map I’d be happy to choose again. Now back to the regulars.

 

Edit: I overlooked this because I know where it is, but the super shotgun should not be located somewhere so missable. If you fail to see it on the off-path outside terrace the temple becomes an utterly miserable slogfest.

Edited January 17, 2023 by Veeda Vidlak

[E.M.]

MAP17 - “Through the Black” by Andy Leaver

DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start

 

The detailing reminds me of Alien Vendetta. So does the combat. The map is tough early on, but you can make it easier with the help of a very generous secret. It's one of those levels that can be tackled in different ways. You can either play it safe and pick off enemies one by one, or you can live dangerously by charging in and making them all infight. Going with the latter option made things a lot more exciting for me. I didn't like SSGing a group of 4 barons after grabbing the red key and I thought it was an odd choice to hide cacos behind midtextures, but other than that, the fights were thrilling. The best part for me is that it's short. I was able to beat it in less than 8 minutes.

[E.M.]

MAP18 - “Internal Reaches 3” by Kaiser

DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start

 

This map is very nicely detailed, but it's hard to tell what you're expected to do and it goes on for way too long. At several points while playing it, I thought to myself, "Oh my God, when will this level be over?" The combat is pretty bland for the most part. You can SSG your way through most of the fights, but then you run into the problem of not having enough ammo or health when you really need it. What really infuriated me was that it gives you lots of rockets, but it hides the only rocket launcher in a secret. This map has 15 secrets, by the way, but good luck finding them all. They're a pain in the ass to get, especially the one that involves shooting switches that open timed doors. I am once again reminded of the Master Levels. Some of the fights are dickish and lead to cheap deaths, such as the one before the pseudo-3D spiral staircase. There's also lots of backtracking, which I hate, although it's nowhere near as bad as a certain other map in this WAD. Also, I'm pretty sure I broke the map somehow because after I pressed the 3-keyed switch, the TEKWALL bars in front of the cyberdemon fight and the northeast section never opened. I had already spent half an hour on the map at that point and I didn't want to start it all over again, so I just noclipped my way into those areas. Furthermore, putting a crusher room at the end of the level is all kinds of dickish. Overall, Internal Reaches 3 brought me nothing but confusion, frustration, and a headache.

[Book Lord]

MAP 18 – Internal Reaches 3 by Samuel Villarreal @Kaiser

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

 

Community Chest 2 featured only one submission by Samuel Villareal, arguably one of the most prominent figures of the Doom modding history. The name Internal Reaches 3 established a thematic connection to his first map with the same name, found in Community Chest, and to two other chapters he released as standalone in his Kaiser PWAD series (Internal Reaches 2 and 4, respectively). It vaguely suggested a level built in a rocky landscape, featuring underground areas as well as open air courtyards.

 

He knows how to make good tech-bases with symmetric though still excellent architecture, this time hinting at TNT:Evilution thanks to the pervasive brown textures and the borrowed midi Infinite. There were great technical marvels to admire during the exploration, like the spiral staircase with fake 3D steps; unfortunately, some parts were not exciting at all. Barring a couple of closet scares and a single unfair trap, the threat was surprisingly mild, with more time spent killing the spread-out critters than fighting for survival.

Spoiler

Every map I played from this author was plagued by a serious problem: the idle backtracking. It was incredible how many times Kaiser asked me to come back to a previously visited place, just to check if I had paid enough attention and my memory kept the data. With Internal Reaches 3 I was luckier than ever, spending minimum time wandering around aimlessly; it still took 37 minutes on a blind attempt, and roughly 25% were spent retracing my steps. It was not acceptable, and the only attempt to break the monotony was devising an unwarranted ambush around a Combat Armour, appearing in the exit hub room. Being trapped like a bird in a cage for 30 seconds with Chaingunners, Imps and Revenants free to shoot at me was brutal, and it was the only instance when the map killed me outright. Once known, the trap is easily avoided by quickly strafing aside.

Spoiler

After a first section where I fought low tiers in narrow corridors to collect the basic weaponry, I found a courtyard with the twin teleporter gazebos, one allowing to solve the nearby RSK switch puzzle, the other leading to a separate area where the three skull keys were required to access. Making the teleporters look the same was a really bad idea, as a player might think they lead to the same place and miss vital information. The RSK granted access to the exit hub room, continuing into a marble section with the YSK to the north-west, then into a courtyard with the BSK to the north-east. The keys must be used in the remote-control area mentioned before to unlock an extra section in both the YSK and the BSK branches. Switches inside them raised the scrolling TEKWALL bars that blocked the exit, bringing me to a ridiculous finale with point-blank monsters under a crusher.

Spoiler

The mentioned checkpoints were often distant among them and performing the above progression steps undoubtedly took a lot of time, leaving not much energy to search for the whopping 15 secrets scattered across this sprawling level. I did my best to find some, struggling with the mind-bending timed lifts and absurd triggers, such as the one required to collect the Megasphere. By the way, the Cyberdemon fight in that chamber was the best one in store, and it was still easy because of plenty of room and weak sidekicks; this does not come out in favour of the lacklustre, mechanical combat that permeated Internal Reaches 3. A solid technical construction missing focus on proper set pieces, it embraced the puzzle philosophy without much concern for player enjoyment or prevention of downtime.

Edited January 18, 2023 by Book Lord

[brick]

GZDoom, Boom compatibility, HNTR, blind, continuous with saves.

 

 

MAP16 - “Spirit World HQ” by Gene Bird

One thing you can definitely say about Gene, he's not afraid to try different themes. This one could've easily been two smaller maps; combining them makes for a stranger and more abstract adventure. The first part is a large open space with several buildings, each one containing a switch/key that opens up access to the next one. The first one is a storehouse of various Doom decorations, which I found hilarious; I've always enjoyed Gene's sense of humour and the overt playfulness he displays in his mapping. The second is a warehouse that hints at a mechanic you'll see later on (the switch lowering from the ceiling). The largest one is where some of the typical Gene doomcute is, with the living room sofa, the office desk with the book on it*, and the secret room with servers (I think?). With the red key you can get into the last building and teleport to the next section. This one is a succession incidental combats, but with some more Gene lighthearted scenes (like the lost souls stuck in front of the scrolling wall of faces). There's a very nice looking intricate metal ceiling shape opening onto the sky (I've noticed Gene has at least one of these in every map I've played, usually in the starting room, and they often look really cool thanks to nice contrast between the material, the shape, and the sky textures). At one point you're opening a series of look-alike doors, except the last one is a lift and drops you down into stone caves. I like when these surprises show up but aren't nasty death traps, it keeps things lively without making foreknowledge a requirement for survival.

 

* I swear, Gene's use of stock textures carefully misaligned to create doomcute absolutely kills me. How could we possibly find patches that could simulate the look of a book? You'd need one for the spine, and one for the other three sides, basically the look of a few hundred sheets of paper tightly packed together. There's nothing remotely meant for this in the iwads, oh no, what do we do? No problem says Gene, just use PIPEWAL2 for the spine, and LITE3 for the paper. LITE3!! And it's not even the first time I see him with that transcendental PIPEWAL2, Monster Mansion in CC1 also used it... to create the look of sheets running down the side of a bed. I don't know how I could even begin to think of out-of-the-box uses like this.

 

 

MAP17 - “Through the Black” by Andy Leaver
Another short and quick map with some nice detailing and another pleasant Lee Jackson MIDI. There's no real sense of place or much coherence between the different (small) sections but I still found it fun going through the small fights, the ambushes, and some nice lighting work, especially in the first half or so. I don't remember much of Andy's maps in CC1, though I feel I liked this one more. It's not hugely memorable but it was still enjoyable, and it's a good breather before the much longer map that follows.

 

 

MAP18 - “Internal Reaches 3” by Kaiser
I'm not sure that there's anything linking the Internal Reaches "trilogy" (apparently it's a quartet? I never noticed #4) other than the name. The first was in CC1 and was probably my favourite of Kaiser's maps there. The second is a standalone release that I haven't played. The third unfortunately reminded me why, despite admiring what Kaiser has done for the community, especially with Strife and Doom 64, I don't particularly enjoy his mapping. It reminded me of all the things I didn't like about Termination Center and especially Breakout: ambushes every two steps, melee-range fights with barons and revenants, backtracking through the same corridors over and over and over again (something of an unfortunate Kaiser special), obscure progression made worse by timed switches where in some cases you may not even know what the switch does. In the first half or so I also got very frustrated with the gargoyle switches; some are progression switches, some are for secrets, some are shootable, most do nothing; have fun figuring out which is which of the many dozens. The passage to the blue key was absolutely infuriating, I spent a good half hour backtracking through the map trying to find what I missed, discovering most of the secrets in the process, before I found the completely hidden lift that takes you there; and the only reason I thought of even trying to find a lift was that one of the secrets is hidden the same way. There are some cool moments, like the surprise when pressing the triple-key switch, or the exit room, but there were too many annoyances to enjoy the map.

[Monsieur E]

Map15: "City Heat" 
By The Ultimate Doomer, 457/457 monsters, 9/9 secrets, (I had overwritten my saves for 15 and 31 so no times for them unfortunately)

I actually quite like this map, but it still has a few aspects I'm not big on. To get the negatives out of the way, the combat here feels uncompelling despite the apparent high intensity. The map feels too big for its crowds to be a threat and they end up infighting pretty easily and for the individual buildings, can be pretty grindy. The exception are the cacodemons who often float in from outside into the buildings to complicate matters which I found to be a pretty good use of them. Also, why is the super shotgun, the weapon you'd want to deal with the intermediate combat, located in building five of nine; although this map gives you every other weapon early on so it's not much of an issue.

The real meat and bones of this map, and really why I like it in the first place, is the switch hunt aspect. There are nine numbered buildings, each guarding a switch and hiding a secret one, the former required to exit normally and the latter the secret. Each of the buildings feel distinct from each other and are often linked by 3d bridges so it gives a feeling of interconnectivity. There are alot of cool boom features on display here and I think all of them are done pretty well. Pressing each switch lights up a number indicating the building you just completed near the gate so it's easy to keep track of progress. And of course, you have the fun secret hunt which can be obtuse occasionally, but I don't mind because each secret switch is located within the building rather than just being scattered about. 

City Heat isn't perfect, but I like it more as a pseudo-puzzle map that is a concept I would love to see a modern implementation of!

Map31: "Idée Fix" 
By Sarge Baldy, 68/74 monsters, 1/1 secrets

This map feels like a refreshing speedmap, it's a bunch of quick combat setups that don't last long but still have the potential to be dangerous. I don't know why the red key room is a secret, I mean it's right there! Don't have much else to say since this feels like a breather between the previous map and the next map... 

Map32: "Sodding Death"
By Chopkinsca, 353/366 monsters, 1/3 secrets, 31:23

Despite the work that clearly went into this map, I find this map awful. The beginning section is okay, except that the super shotgun can be easily missed blending into the brown cliffsides, I only located thanks to UDB after I was informed that it's located in the opening cliff sections where I couldn't find it normally because I assume cc2 required a contact that mandated obnoxious ssg placement. Thank god I did though because I cannot imagine trudging through the claustrophobic and dark mess that is the marble fortress without it.

Do you like corridor fighting against walls of meat (particularly hell knight ones) for minutes on end, or fighting in darkness, how about getting fired at by hitscanners you can't even see properly behind the vine midtextures; how about all of these and more for over half an hour of real time. The actual setpiece encounters guarding each skull key are easy and do not pose much of a threat, compared to the annoying slog of actually locating each. I also found a shortage of health here because why not. The map despite the openness in selecting the key order, feels long and winding to find your way around among the corridors that blend into each other. 

Once you're done with that mess, good luck fighting your way back against the final ambush headlined by an annoying spiderdemon. I would have liked this better if I wasn't running low on both health or ammo, and the final batch of resources does not alleviate this. Maybe this map gets better on replay and the map looks pretty with the cliffsides and the actual overgrown fortress is stunning to explore from a visual standpoint with an uneasy atmosphere helped by the lighting and MIDI selection. But as it stands, I didn't like this map unfortunately.

Map16: "Spirit World HQ"
By Gene Bird, 308/316 kills, 4/4 secrets, 16:42

I've decided that I kind of enjoy Gene Bird's maps for the humor I get from the occasional absurdity, and I don't mean that as a slight against his corpus at all! I genuinely find a lot of the obscure stuff in this map (and in prior ones) endearing in a fun way. Whether it be the weird storage room, the sudden shifts in themeing again, the obvious progression points tagged as secrets (except the first one, that was obtuse), I often found myself liking the absurdity of it. The combat is more or less the same (didn't like the obnoxious hitscanners in windows in the early part though), with the original ghost mechanic failing to work properly in the complevel this wad uses for the rest of its maps, but in its original release which I looked around in, I liked the implementation. 

Map17: "Through The Black"
By Andy Leaver, 159/162 monsters, 0/2 secrets, 8:32 

This one's okay too, it can get grindy with chopping down enemies who don't pose much of a threat and being rather door-fightingish, plus there's the annoying placement of cacodemons behind the marble textures you can't see and the mancubi located on a cliff that you can't normally reach nor do they do much (maybe accessible via a secret ?). But the map is pretty short all things considered and has some highlights like the opening surprise and the room after that, alongside the revenant room altogether initially; plus the lighting choices and MIDI work together to create a bit of a moody vibe throughout this map. It's an average map I guess.

[Andromeda]

10 hours ago, E.M. said:

MAP18 - “Internal Reaches 3” by Kaiser

 

I am once again reminded of the Master Levels.

Yeah, this level seems heavily inspired by Vesperas in particular.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 18: Internal Reaches

by Samuel Villarreal @Kaiser

played with the Anteresian Reliquery weapon mod, UV

Midi choice (because Infinite was an atrocious choice, sorry) "Galaxy" by Mark Klem

 

When you've played one Kaiser map, you've played them all...probably. Lots of tan textures that are thankfully not the light brown of Doom II "starter maps" but are of a deeper color, wood and concrete brown from Doom 1, along with a marble section, and that one brownish tekwall at certain locations, as well as lights near the beginning. Not to mention, Kaiser will occasionally add in some fake 3D or other curious structure that will be more suggestive than the general visuals of this map would lead you to assume.

 

One thing to appreciate: Kaiser really knew how to utilize abstract environments to their greatest advantage, such as when thematic transitions come, they don't feel particularly abrupt and certainly feel like that of some castle, albeit one with some ever so slight hints of techbase. Yet, these elements don't manage to feel a hair out of place.

 

Combat and progression on the other hand are quite eh. Like the beginning is going to suck when you have a default pistol. And also that central courtyard at the beginning is something I've seen in many other maps. Remilia Scarlet's WMC02 entry, for one. Secrets are pretty nice to find, even if Kaiser isn't exactly Eternal, and one particular secret with ammo stores in the eastern sort of ventish area has a rather convouluted access process involving running back and forth twice. And the rocket launcher was hidden in a secret I wasn't able to find.

 

But anyways, as MtPain has touched on, combat feels incidental to the point of ridiculousness like in most Kaiser maps, but here, it's especially egregious, almost reminiscient of Termination Center. I should probably say that Kaiser was far more influenced by Doom 64 than the Master Levels if the Mancubi setups are any indication. I think there might be some subtle influence from Outpost Omega in at least one of the caged enemy rooms. 

 

But even the combat has it's bright spots such as the 'final battle' with the Cyberdemon and assorted enemies in a circular room (I'd forgotten there were some cells off the hallway  near the blue key door which I then went on to wreck with plasma), a Revenant clutch near the second key acquired (yellow, I think), an Arch-vile ambush near the switch on the tower that lowers the three key barriers, the baron ambush that was probably far nastier with my mod, and finally, a moment with some mega armor that can theoretically trap you for a bit, but which I passed on because it became clear my health was too low to handle the ambush at that stage.

 

But we get to the worst part, which is the utterly inane progression. I don't know if Kaiser designed maps in such a way that they sprawl a bit before reaching a point where he realized he had to insert keyed doors but it might explain why backtracking happens in basically all of his maps. However, I'm also starting to get the impression that he liked making players walk back and forth to a large extent. But heading back to the beginning comes across as the final insult after having already entered two three-keyed hallways to 'open the way.' Funny because the Lost Levels of Doom 64 are much more in line with a more modern mapping philosophy.

 

That being said, this is still a better constructed map than Breakout from Community Chest 1, which had more concise combat but a cruddier layout and the idiot requirement to enter two yellow doors before opening the way to the exit. I do wish I'd played "Plummeting" from the Plutonia Midi pack to a certain degree, but this map has less stairs than Internal Reaches 1 (Kaiser is someone who really seems to like sequels, check out DSV and The Community is Falling if you don't believe me) and in any case, "Galaxy" works well enough. Ultimately, this is a more mature map than Internal Reaches 1, but that map has a certain charm that's unlocked when you're not listening to "Running from Evil". Combat is better, but I'm really not sure it's enough to make a difference.

lmd_cc2_18.zip

Edited January 19, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[Yumheart]

Hi folks! I'm sorry to say, but I'll have to bail from this month once again as my final exams are happening soon, meaning I don't have a lot of time for Doom at the moment. Wishing y'all the greatest of fun with the rest of Cchest2.wad!

[Poncho1]

Map15: City Heat

Author: Stephen Clark (The Ultimate DooMer)

 

Somewhat evoking Technodrome in its ambition and scale comes The Ultimate DooMer's sandbox city map, complete with a whopping total of 18 (!) switches that must be found in 9 different buildings (that's two in each, if we want to do basic maths) to open both the normal and secret exits. The mapper provides an array of different challenges and Boom tricks that further enhance the immersion: conveyor belts, 3D bridges that connect certain buildings to others, and probably most remembered is the deep nukage that's a bitch to wade through. Another interesting aspect is that every 10 minutes exactly, a swarm of enemies that consist mostly of the larger, more dangerous foes (Hell Knights, Barons, Mancubi, Arachnotrons and Revenants) will flood the central fountain square and can teleport around the streets. This addition of a ticking time-bomb, which was personified literally in Technodrome, is improved here since you won't be killed by anything besides bad skill: you can approach these big ambushes in any way you want, whether directing, via infighting, picking them off, etc., without the threat of being randomly killed by an offscreen voodoo doll. The various challenge rooms are a nice variety, as previously mentioned, though the bridges can potentially break (didn't happen to me, thankfully) and also cause the Cacodemons in particular to glitch out and get stuck. I don't think Clark intended the bridges to become caco-paper, but whatever. Besides that, the detailing isn't extraordinary, but acceptable: I liked the little computer panels dotted around a few of the buildings, and the inaccessible waves by the exit were a cool touch. As for my playthrough, I opted for the secret exit: whilst my memory helped in beating the map in about 45 mins (without a mid-map save, I'm proud [or fuckin' arrogant] to declare), but one of the secret switches is insanely hidden (the one that opens in the circling light room). Backed by a riveting track, I'd say that City Heat is one of Cchest2's highlights. Certainly better than Pistol Panic.

 

Map31: Idée Fixe

Author: Owen Lloyd (Sarge Baldy)

 

I guess it's meant to be a bit of a puzzle map of sorts, since the easy way of completing it is to go about it in a very specific way, such as obtaining the bigger guns like the BFG before encountering the Revenant swarm that's accompanied by an Arch-vile. Once you crack its "code", the map's a joke. In fact, due to accidentally taking the normal exit on my first go (and thus having to reload the map to get the secret exit), I decided to play the map how you would normally by only using my carried-over weapons once I found them in the map itself. I only broke this rule with the Mancubi at the top of a lift and just rocketed them to death. Frankly, it wasn't very hard, and the Cyberdemon at the end is more awkward than difficult. The super secret exit is also super strange, being a switch that randomly opens right by the red door in front of the normal exit. Somewhat mediocre level; the Spear of Destiny track certainly fits the feelings I had here.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Poncho1

[Azure_Horror]

Map 18 Internal Reaches 3 by @Kaiser

UV, DSDA-Doom, pistol start, complevel 9 (21 for Vesper)

Mods: 1st playthrough - Vesper ;  2nd Playthrough - Anatersian Reliquary Mod Pack

 

Oh my God, I love Time Rewind feature of DSDA Doom! Especially on maps like Internal Reaches 3.

 

Backtracking? Disgusting gotcha ambushes?? Crucial Weapons in secrets???

That's horrible! I say that this map is...

 

Kinda fun, actually!

Okay, the flaws are pretty definitive. And I don't want to ignore or downplay them. However, I still liked the map in the end. It reminded me of TNT:Evilution approach - epic and unwieldy, yet full of character and filled with unorthodox mapping decisions. Lots of map elements are there because "Why the hell not?" (Sector-bridge staircase? Why not?). Yet those semi-disjoint elements add to a coherent whole.

 

On top of that, the combat manages to be quite diverse, despite being basic. In fact, I personally think thar combat in Community Chest 2 Map 18 is better then combat in Scythe 2 Map 18. In the case of Scythe 2, the combat is too complex to focus attention elsewhere, yet too simple and repetitive to be a prime engagement driver. An Uncanny Valley of fun gameplay, if you will. Fights of Internal Reaches 3 are less complex, and it works in the map's favor, IMO.

 

Of course, none of the Evilution vibes erase the objective flaws of the map. But I do harbor some love towards team TNT side of Final Doom. And I always feel a bit happy, when somebody manages to recapture the Evilution feeling, even by accident. (It is a pretty hard task. It seems that Evilution is the hardest IWAD to emulate. @General Roasterock said it best in his TNT:Evilution Summary Post)

 

And for this spirit of Evilution-style adventure I consider Internal Reaches 3 a good map, even with its objective flaws. (15 secrets were also pretty nice, I guess...)

 

Map Rankings

Spoiler

The maps I like:

Map 15 City Heat    by The Ultimate DooMer

Map 31 Ideé Fixe     by Sarge Baldy

Map 06 The View     by Lutrov71

Map 32 Sodding Death    by chopkinsca

Map 04 Deja Vu     by GeneBird

 

Map 11 Beyond Pain     by Exile

Map 03 Slidge Control     by The Flange Peddler

Map 07 To Hell and Back     by The Flange Peddler

Map 01 The Furnace     by Erik Alm

Map 08 The Pit    by Gene Bird

 

Map 18 Internal Reaches 3    by Kaiser

Map 17 Through the Black     by Andy Leaver

Map 12 Redemption    by Gene Bird

Map 14 Shadow of Evil    by Mephisto

Map 02 Coolant Platform     by iori

 

Map 13 Annihilation Invention  by PsyRen

Map 05 Elixir    by RjY

Map 10 Intermission    by Volteface

 

Average / OK maps:

Map 16 Spirit World HQ    by Gene Bird

Map 09 The Transformer    by Graf Zahl

 

Bad maps:

None!

 

Edited January 19, 2023 by Azure_Horror

[Monsieur E]

Map18: "Internal Reaches 3"
By Kaiser, 267/312 kills, 2/15 secrets, 30:12 

Another long map; another round of me feeling annoyed, bored and frustrated for over half an hour in real time. I didn't think m32 would be "topped" so quick but Internal Reaches 3 had me covered. We have the full list here; low ammo check, low health check, annoying corridor fighting against meatwalls check, stupid weapon placement (this time the 92 rockets I generously got could not be used because all weapons except the ssg were placed in secrets) check. Actually the ammo depravity here was to such a terrible extent I had run out of shells and ammo several times during active encounters despite maximizing infighting and being as precise as I could, I had to use idclip to move past the dumbass baron that was planted in front of the door out of the spiral staircase; gee I really appreciate the 2 secrets I got giving me a line of health bonuses and cell packs for weapons I did not have. Could any of the 15 secrets not have been reorganized to be given in regular progression, what a mess. 

Oh yeah, the "regular" progression is stupid too with some annoying backtracking moments, had to look up a video on youtube for the multikey blockade to be raised which I actually liked as a concept truth be told since it opens up previously blocked areas that were telegraphed. The switches early on all blended together because gargoyle textures were used normally as well, and there were also timed ones with particular offense being the lifts in the maze corridors. Every combat encounter immediately runs sour if it wasn't boring because of the constant ammo starvation and health famine; it isn't fun fighting hell knights or pinkies in uncomfortably cramped situations with 2 shells and 20 bullets while hitscanners snipe you because there's hardly any cover for you, there is a certain balance of claustrophobia and openness that makes a fight good in my eyes (see the first few sections of m31) but this map jumps too far towards the former. 

I hate the Internal Reaches 3, along with its annoying MIDI selection (were there truly no other Evilution tracks that could have been used), it's a joyless mess that if it doesn't bore you, will be tedious as a result of its inaccessibility without finding the secrets, the only silver lining is the good detailing and use of shadows to bring life to the arenas, and the relatively cohesion despite offering a variety of themed areas. My impression of it is it tried to soar high as a standout map but pummeled back to the earth at an alarming rate. 

[Crusader No Regret]

At first, I wasn't intending to downloads CC2 again.  I'd played it a bunch between 2004-2008 already.  But I don't think I've ever properly cleared 15.  And 32 was interesting the time I tried it but I abandoned my playthrough partway due to external factors and I haven't really seen it through.  Reading the various impressions has been interesting too and reminded me I have some unfinished business with this set.

 

  I'm not going to be playing every map or even most of them.  Just the ones I have some loose ends to settle.  That means not 24 again, which is the one map I did use saves to see to completion way back when.

 

First up, payback on map 5.

 

This was a miserable experience to play from scratch saveless even though I stuck to HMP.  The time or three I made it into the facility itself, one of the many surprise ambushes always got me.  It's clogged with monsters with a density reminiscent of JPCP maps 12 and 17 but less fun.  Not enough firepower to comfortably deal with the congestion and no barrel frag opportunities either.  I believe this is the sort of map that demands foreknowledge and tight resource management to see it to the end.

 

But I'm playing Doom for entertainment and clearing this fairly would not be entertaining.  So I loaded up some mods to change the experience.  Touhou Doom Weapons replaces the fist with a low power projectile thrower (among other weapon changes but this is a key one).  I'm leaning on this to deal with low level single threats to save ammo.  At worst, I can peck the boss monster to death with it.  Also enables extra lives, which allow continued playing when health hits zero.  I'm sticking with the default setting of 3 but 1up icons replace the berserk so I will have 4 lives to clear the map.  Each life also starts with 100 health and armor which is convenient given the lack of armor on the map. (only found one megaarmor in a secret)  Touhou Doom Enemies for spice and that all hitscan attacks are replaced with equivalent projectile attacks.  Dammaku demons tend to be more aggressive and projectile happy than vanilla monsters (though revenants and archviles are less cheap) though I'm also mixing in Gensokyo enemies.  Gensokyo enemies are like popcorn in the HP department but are also silent on the approach and deadly at melee range (highly dangerous if they sneak up on the player).  Some of the variants are also very projectile happy so it's not like this mod is automatically easier to deal with.  Though Gensokyo enemies also randomly drop health/armor bonuses and small ammo pickups (and rarely stimpacks) and given how ammo starved this map is, the extra ammo is a welcome feature.

 

Loading both the Touhou Doom Weapons and Enemies makes spellcards available.  By default, each life starts with three (no carryover if one dies with unused ones, likes most shmups) and they're functionally a panic button, clearing nearby projectiles and granting about 2-3 seconds of invulnerability to escape a bad situation.  There are stronger spellcards but they must be found and are not lost on death (unless it's the last life of course).  The Enemies settings I'm using are 112/256 chance of a monster being replaced by a Gensokyo enemy (otherwise it's a dammaku demon) and a 80/256 chance of a boss class monster (viles, spider masterminds, and cybers) being replaced by a character boss.

 

Also loading up Gun Bonsai because I hadn't tested it with a custom weapon set yet and wanted to see for myself if played nice together.

 

  My first real attempt ended in failure.  I was on pace to finish the level having hit the switch the opens up the exit and only having lost 2 of my 4 lives.  But I totally misplayed on the end stretch and let Youmu get close when I could have kept blocking bars between her and me and got massacred out of my last two lives.  Yeah, Youmu replaced the ending spiderboss and is a terror at melee range.  Really sucks because I earned instant weapon switching late in the map but that's how the ball bounces.  Next couple of attempts I reset after an early death.  Finally got a successful exit after some tires.  One death from getting greedy trying to bait hellknight and revenants into infighting but that was the only one.  Got a spellcard from a secret which I splurged on the dammaku spiderdemon at the end to vaporize it faster.  I didn't get to pick instant weapon switching for my one player upgrade so went with the damage buff but maybe Scavenge Lead (guaranteed ammo drop when killing an enemy) would have been a better choice for this map.  Though I did exit at about 30-40% ammo capacity so turned out OK.

 

    Not too much to say about strategy.  Methodically clear areas, know the key ambushes in advance, and don't get caught in the middle of a teleport squad.  Also when in doubt, hit that panic button, leg it to safer location, and shoot anything in range to reduce the enemy count.  The other big survival strategy I sued was not diving into the lower level of the facility when there are monsters swarming down there.  Instead, I made some noise to rile up all the fliers.  If there are infight possibilities, door camp at the fast door to bait infighting first.  Then door camp some more and pick off survivors.  Use the lift to lure small groups of monsters to the upper level rather the diving down and being exposed to anyone milling around down there.  Tedious but it's what keeps me alive.

 

So yeah, an exit.  98% kills (4 monsters missed), 6/7 secrets  Far from standard Dooming conditions but still satisfying.

 

Final word: Seriously?  Three ambushes in that tiny office with the red key?  Isn't that going overboard?

[Book Lord]

MAP 19 – The Marbelous Three by Jan Engelhardt @Hirogen2

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

 

Who on earth is Jan Engelhardt? This German author was very active in the Doom scene for about three years, from 2001 to 2004, then his PWAD contributions ended abruptly with MAP19 of Community Chest 2. A real shame considering the attention to the visuals, the richness of detail, the unusual texture juxtapositions, the Boom effects, and the brisk though never overwhelming combat contained in The Marbelous Three. For some reason, this map was released standalone on idgames a few weeks earlier than the project it had been created for. I cannot know if this was done in agreement with the project lead or if it was a misjudged move; anyway, Hirogen2 greatly reduced his activity on Doomworld following the publication of the megaWAD and has only recently returned to the community.

Spoiler

The Marbelous Three elaborated on the popular Doom iconography, frequently organised “in groups of three due to the limited texture set”. The triptychs included the famous MARBFACes and the satyr/gargoyle/lion effigies, which the level displayed in various arrangements with good taste and creativity. Another successful experiment was mixing marble with tech-base elements that blended well together, supported by an accurate lighting that gave the map a strong character and a modern vibe. We are used to see crumbled stone props and round columns today, but such details became possible only with more advanced editors that flourished at the time of Community Chest 2.

Spoiler

The map was a multiple key hunt, taking place in a small level with an optimal use of space. The starting room acted as the hub and connected the various mini sections; each one contained small-scale combat moments, all entertaining despite the total reliance on the shotguns, and ended with a key pickup. There were fuzzy progression steps, for example the gun trigger that elegantly delivered the RSK through a stream of blood, and some backtracking to previously seen locked doors or switches, but the small size of the level made everything simple, especially if you look back at MAP18 and its flaws in that department.

Spoiler

Even though I rarely felt challenged, I enjoyed every second spent in The Marbelous Three. The RK ambush was neutralised by the Invulnerability on UV, a rather strange power-up to replace the Soul Sphere, and the one-time secret with the Pain Elemental made no sense. However, the positives clearly outshined the negatives here, and I think this was an authentic gem hidden in this old megaWAD. A curiosity: Jan Engelhardt reappeared in 2021 to leave feedback in the development thread of Hellevator, a megaWAD that used a cross-shaped layout like this level and even featured a map called The Marbelous Floor. Was it just a coincidence?

[Dusty_Rhodes]

Hey guys, I'm already behind by quite a bit, but I'm now out of town and will be till Monday. I might not be able to finish but I am looking forward to reading everyone else's posts. I love this wad. 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 19: The Marbelous Three

by Jan "Hirogen2" Engelhardt

Played on Skill 4 with the Psychic mod

 

You know, I think I'm actually starting to get used to this mod! A little small to have many upgrade opportunities but hitscan presence was quite minimal at least so they didn't suck up too large a percentage of the blood tokens. They're actually well-placed in the that ridiculous YK crate room with the Invulnerbility Sphere.

 

It's a very solid map though. I honestly just thought the title was some clumsy pop-culture reference but what Book Lord says makes a lot of sense. It certainly goes well with a map as relatively small as this. Probably a good thing it didn't get too much larger though.

 

Secrets are easy enough to find, but in a tomb like this, it's easy enough to picture them. Seeing the RSK be sent through a drainage system was certainly a nice touch. Also, the outdoor construction pit with the Imps in the center and the general sense of a dig site were great to experience and witness. One of the best parts was getting a damage powerup and gunning down several teleporting Imps in 10 seconds with some guns akimbo.

 

Psychic mod might prioritize targeting hitscanners which makes it good that they've received somewhat of a buff because they're not going to be exactly in your face except in one location not too far from the beginning. On what I think it's an unrelated note, it's cool Jan gave you a shotgun at the beginning to kill the extremely obligatory pinkies at least. The hidden rocket launcher will not be acquired until close to the end. Though in my case, that's a good thing because the grenade launcher replacement's a little touchy.

 

In the end, this is a rather insubstantial map, mostly because the combat leans a little too heavily on masses and some measure of claustrophobia. The lack of flow is probably the worst part. But at the same time, this is prime 2004 map detailing and will probably be fairly painless in vanilla Doom.

[Monsieur E]

Map19: "The Marbelous Three"
By Hirogen2, 114/115 kills, 3/6 secrets, 7:17

A map that doesn't get on my nerves for once, in fact it's a pretty calm map throughout. The map is richly detailed that makes the classic doom marble fortress standout, my favorite being the little conveyor belt used to spit out the red skull key. The combat here feels laid back and barely presses you, arming you with an invulnerability against the only encounter that seemed threatening. It feels more aligned to exploration rather than combat, and I actually really like the overall pleasantness of this map. Not much else to say but this map is a good break from the rough streak we were on. 

[Doomy__Doom]

MAP17 - Through The Black

 

Now that's a trope I honestly forgot exists - a secret which has so much of the ammo allotment that it makes or breaks your experience. I didn't find it blind and ended up running near enough empty. Skipping the HK/Caco praty stuck behind monster-blocking lines, SSG and spare rockets are just barely enough for the rest of the level.

 

Still, it was a nice level overall. I liked the way tiny glimpses of outside gave a sense of place - some sort of excavation site in a marble canyon with a city sky/background.

 

 

MAP18 - Internal Reaches 3

 

Continuing with a theme of secrets being quite essential to not feel horrible, but now there are 15 of them. Combined with gargoyle texture usage that is now firmly associated with D2ISO in my mind and predicatably oppressive midi for the level's runtime, I quickly became friends with idclip for backtracking and threw in the towel for the rocket launcher secret once it became painfully obvious I missed that somewhere way earlier.

 

I liked the care that went into ensuring the exit switch, while pressable from the very beginning because #justdoomthings, doesn't actually do anything until you've gotten as far as you should have. If only a certain level at the beginning of this wad did the same instead of facedesk-inducing cyberparkour.

 

MAP19 - The Marbelous Three

 

Nicely detailed, laid back, a good choice after the previous level. It does run out of demons ever so abruptly though. When you get to the "final encounter" you just accidentally realise - "oh, it's over". Picking up bonuses in the marble columns room was seriously annoying due to how collision works - a good old "tested in zdoom" moment I figure.

 

Once agian, 115 monster count reaffirms my assessment of what constitutes a suitable length of simple combat with no real focal points for me.