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dobu gabu maru

The DWmegawad Club plays: #1 Kill & Number One Kill TNG

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Number_One_Kill.jpg

 

What is the DWmegawad Club?

This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

 

Can I join?

Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

 

What levels am I allowed to post about?

Whatever day of the month it is, is the upper limit for the map you can post on. So if it’s the 6th, you may discuss up to MAP06.

 

Do I have to post an entry every day?

Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

 

When do we vote on the next month’s megawad?

Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example:

 

+++ Ultimate Doom

 

Note that you can vote for up to three separate nominations in a single month, and every wad must contain at least three maps each. The winning nomination must receive at least four votes for a thread to be made. Ties will be decided by RNG.

----------

>>>DOWNLOAD #1 KILL HERE<<<

>>>DOWNLOAD #1 KILL EXTRA HERE

>>>DOWNLOAD NUMBER ONE KILL THE NEXT GENERATION HERE<<<

 

Do you like killing stuff? Well you’re in luck! Angelo Jefferson’s Number One Kill series is good at exactly that—killing! Here you’ll be killing zombies, demons, cacos—hell, even you might get killed (which will become a near-certainty when playing The Next Generation)! So what are you waiting for? Start killin’ some heckin’ hellspawn!

 

Maplist for #1 Kill: (played from 2/1 to 2/8)

E2M1

E2M2

E2M3

E2M4

E2M5

E2M6

E2M7

E2M8

E2M9 (played on the 4th along with E2M4)

 

Maplist for #1 Kill Extra: (played on 2/8 along with #1 Kill’s E2M8)

E3M1

 

Maplist for Number One Kill The Next Generation: (played from 2/9 to 2/28)

MAP01 - “Entryway”

MAP02 - “The Abandoned Mines”

MAP03 - “Space Port”

MAP04 - “Country Side”

MAP05 - “Radioactive Substance Control”

MAP06 - “Central Command”

MAP07 - “Gateway to Hell”

MAP08 - “Hell’s Welcome”

MAP09 - “The Pit”

MAP10 - “The Wicked Metal Garden”

MAP11 - “Circle of Death”

MAP12 - “Strange Universe”

MAP13 - “City of Hell”

MAP14 - “Pain”

MAP15 - “Lair of the Baron”

 

MAP31 - “On Earthen Soil”

MAP32 - “Arsenal”

 

MAP16 - “Fortress of Fire”

MAP17 - “Fortress of the Damned”

MAP18 - “Outer Mines”

MAP19 - “Hell’s Destruction”

MAP20 - “Final”

 

BONUS CONTENT

Doomwiki: #1 Kill | #1 Kill Extra | Number One Kill The Next Generation

DSDA: #1 Kill | #1 Kill Extra | Number One Kill The Next Generation

ONEMANDOOM: #1 Kill | #1 Kill Extra | Number One Kill The Next Generation

--------

OLD THREADS

 

Spoiler

The DWmegawad Club Metathread

 

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Edited by dobu gabu maru

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So, here we are! Nice OP @dobu gabu maru, there is no #1Kill logo around AFAIK, have you drawn it by yourself?

 

There are a couple of things to clarify:

- #1Kill Extra (EX.WAD) replaces E3M1

- It is not specified on which days the secret levels can be discussed. For #1Kill, I suggest to include E2M9 on the 4th (see reason below); for #1KillTNG, the secret levels are quite tough if I remember correctly, so they should probably receive their own day and the first maps of #1Kill should be compressed a bit, since they are very short. If this makes things too confusing, discuss MAP31-32 on the same day as MAP15 as usual (should be February 23rd).

 

Some advice for people not familiar with the sets:

- The first 5 maps of #1Kill are quite short. It is advisable to play ahead a little bit in the first days of the month.

- Pistol start is feasible and ammo for the job should not be lacking; however, the author did not share the modern ideas about that kind of play, so weapon variety, map difficulty and subsequent entertainment can be strongly influenced, and not always for the better. I recommend playing continuous to feel less oppressed by the absence of big guns on certain maps; otherwise, be ready to shotgun or punch some Barons to death. As opposed to my habits, I will be playing everything from pistol start.

- E2M2, E2M7, and MAP05 have sections with zero brightness and pulsating lights. If you find them too harrowing, IDBEHOLD+L is the optimal choice.

- The secret exit of #1Kill is wrongly placed on E2M4. If you ever happen to find it in a continuous play, remember that after E2M9 you will be sent to E2M6, thus skipping E2M5.

Edited by Book Lord

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Yeah I just make the logos when there aren't any. I'd prefer using M_DOOM, but it can be fun trying to find a fitting typeface.

 

Good point on assigning E2M9 being on the 4th. MAP31/32 will stay on the 15th slot, as is the standard. Would rather not make an exception and open other mapsets up to the MAP01/MAP02 sandwiching. The 15th has always been kind of annoying to plan for.

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Good, let's rumble.

 

E2M1

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Pistol start, non-blind run w/saves

 

The small appetizer that introduced Number One Kill was just a handful of rooms painted with green textures: marble, SLADWALL and STARG3, obvious choices to obtain a decent look when texture alignment required a lot of work with the editor. Angelo Jefferson filled them with as many enemies as possible for the limited space and included a streak of secrets, required to max out items and kills.

Spoiler

1277287566_1KillE2M1_01.jpg.0acea695059d359344e593327fa56015.jpg

The author wanted to show right off the bat that this was not like any other WAD uploaded on idgames at that time, so he displayed flashy tricks like the wooden door that split in two when approaching it; the effect caught me by surprise the first time and got me again on the replay. The closets in the water pool area were not that dangerous, but the way they suddenly opened caused a little adrenaline rush. I also liked how the Cacodemons used the wide windows to float inside the Security Armour area. E2M1 was short, punchy, and to the point; there was nothing fancy yet to admire but the first impression was positive, suggesting that this old, rusty WAD had some potential in the combat department.

Spoiler

1357625684_1KillE2M1_02.jpg.9860c5e1a1185d76b695cbc14f45d692.jpg

 

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Quick question before I get started. The wiki pages for the first two say the built in demos require Doom 1.9, but I'm not sure if it means pre-Ultimate or not. I realize the only difference, if any, will be Lost Soul behavior, but I still take this a lot more seriously than I probably should. Is there a definitive way of finding out if, by my own arbitrary rules I wouldn't impose on anyone else, I should be playing at cl2 or cl3?

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16 hours ago, SiFi270 said:

Quick question before I get started. The wiki pages for the first two say the built in demos require Doom 1.9, but I'm not sure if it means pre-Ultimate or not. I realize the only difference, if any, will be Lost Soul behavior, but I still take this a lot more seriously than I probably should. Is there a definitive way of finding out if, by my own arbitrary rules I wouldn't impose on anyone else, I should be playing at cl2 or cl3?

The demos seem to run ok with both complevels, but I am pretty sure to have always played #1Kill with cl3.

It is interesting to watch how the author played his own levels... he never gets tired of pump-action it seems.

Edited by Book Lord

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Yeah, Vanilla Shovelwaresque wads ! I'm in ! Here are my self imposed rules for reviewing :

 

- I play on DOSBOX, on Ultra-Violence

- I play on stroller mode as much as possible.

- I try to find the most secrets I can see but maxing the map isn't mandatory.

- I play on pistol start

 

So...

 

#1KILL - E2M1

 

Number_One_Kill_E2M1_map.png

 

A short opener which focuses on shotgun combats. Unfortunately, the aesthetics don't match with the IWAD standards since the hellish elements symbolized with the green marble and the wooden door, don't blend well with the tech textures. Anyway, two things help making this level a tad more memorable :

 

- The wooden door divided into two sectors which one acts a lift and the other as a door

- The big room with its large water pool located just behind.

 

The stairs leading to the green armor and the soulsphere secret seems to be a tribute to the two first maps of Ultimate Doom.

 

Nothing fancy but I like this map. Contrary to Down The Drain I reviewed months ago, I might expect more innocent maps which don't lean to much on ammo starvation and overoptimized monsters placement.

 

Grade : B

 

 

 

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Woof!, -cl 3, UV, pistol start, blind

 

E2M1

A short, easy, but fun trek through marble halls. The wad doesn't come with its own soundtrack, but I think "I Sawed the Demons" fits here - a cast of mostly zombies and imps (plus few spectres and cacos) makes a great target for a running and shotgunning. There is a supercharge if you are low on health.

As for visuals, the map is rather minimalist in its decoration. Two things stand out to me though: a steep staircase on the left to the first arena and the split door, where one half opens up and another down.

 

Overall, not a bad start for an episode.

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Doom 1 stuff, eh...

 

#1 Kill


DSDA-Doom, Nightmare!, pistol start*

 

*unless I give up lol. I will try to go for low saves/single segment after dying a lot learning where stuff is, but I will settle for a run with saves/rewinds if need be (I've played up to E2M4 as of this writing to test waters).

 

E2M1

 

Painful welcome. Very little health all around, lots of shotgunners (well it is Doom 1). After clearing the starting room, a quick mad dash upstairs for the armor. The medkit is pretty much just to pay for the hits you'll take while getting the armor. This also wakes up Cacos, who may wander into the corridor that's up next on the agenda. You're forced to stay in the nukage pool room dealing with stuff behind the door and watching your back for respawns and (very rarely) the other door.


The last segment with weird not!door is not that bad if you saved some health. Going for 100s can be risky, you have to expose your back as you're dancing with imps, so every non-single hit kill brings you closer to respawns. And the annoying spectre (I feel like I will say this a lot lol) who needs to die quickly or get hit by cacos in the blue face are.

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I'm actually quite happy that another older wad somehow managed to win, believe it or not! I kind of wanted to wait on this, and it sounds quite grindy if the onemandoom entry on it is any indication but anyway, here we go!

 

As per usual for most of the wads that I believe I'll play all maps in, everything will be on UV, from pistol-start

 

E2M1: Nuclear Marble

 

You know, I should really be criticizing Angelo Jefferson for his mangling of visual themes in ways that don't make much sense. But it's clear that he was attempting visual consistency in what clearly was his first map. MARBWALL and NUKESLAD are actually similar enough to each other that they provide the perfect complement to each other, even if it's a little doubtful an actual corrupted base would jump so seamlessly between the two.

 

As stated above, there are definite signs that this was a first map from the somewhat awkward placement of the player in a tiny box room that looks like the first rooms of many mappers. The awkward stairs leading to the green marble room with green marble at the end in a cramped room and the highly linear structure are also befitting of this.

 

But here's the thing, this map establishes itself very early as one whose emphasis should be on KEELLENG. From the start, vast amounts of sergeants whittle down our health and rooms are generally fairly packed without overwhelming us with baddies. However, there's still plenty of ammo and hardly less health as well. Although what you won't see in the demo is being whittled down to between 35-45 percent of health by a pair of Cacodemons. This map does not hesitate to throw small groups of these flying tomatoes at you, despite being the first map.

 

But we rewinded because the secrets....let's just say they're completely unmarked and are a fair distance from the hidden door opening the hallway leading to them. Which doesn't quite seem like a John Romero thing. I know there was that outdoor secret in E1M7 accessed from an unmarked closet but the difference there was the distance between the door and the tagged secret sector. Here, it's just frustrating because the gimmicky door that brings us to this last room with the pool going up and down in most directions will softlock for no discernable reason since the difficulty sort of goes away after the enemies closer to the door are cleared out. At the least, you still get plenty of bad guys to kill in the secret.

 

Despite the secret bitching though, this is genuinely an auspicious start. Generally, there's nowhere to go but up from a simple work like this, and honestly, the grindiness is probably no worst than if one pistol-starts the average CC map, but we'll see.

lmd_#1kill01-00002.zip

Edited by LadyMistDragon

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19 hours ago, Book Lord said:

- The secret exit of #1Kill is wrongly placed on E2M4. If you ever happen to find it in a continuous play, remember that after E2M9 you will be sent to E2M6, thus skipping E2M5.

Thank you for pointing this out! I made a mapinfo and used it to change the secret exits and put E2M5 back in the lineup (also removes iwad inherited par, intermissions and map names). I think none of the regulars in DWMC use ZDoom but I'll post it here just in case.

Spoiler

// MAPINFO for 1kill.wad

adddefaultmap
{
    enterpic = "INTERPIC"
    exitpic = "INTERPIC"
}

episode e2m1
{
    name = "#1 Kill"
}

map E2M1 "E2M1"
{
    next = "E2M2"
    sky1 = "SKY2"
    music = "$MUSIC_E2M1"
}

map E2M2 "E2M2"
{
    next = "E2M3"
    sky1 = "SKY2"
    music = "$MUSIC_E2M2"
}

map E2M3 "E2M3"
{
    next = "E2M4"
    sky1 = "SKY2"
    music = "$MUSIC_E2M3"
}

map E2M4 "E2M4"
{
    next = "E2M5"
    secretnext = "E2M9"
    sky1 = "SKY2"
    music = "$MUSIC_E2M4"
}

map E2M5 "E2M5"
{
    next = "E2M6"
    sky1 = "SKY2"
    music = "$MUSIC_E2M5"
}

map E2M6 "E2M6"
{
    next = "E2M7"
    sky1 = "SKY2"
    music = "$MUSIC_E2M6"
}

map E2M7 "E2M7"
{
    next = "E2M8"
    sky1 = "SKY2"
    music = "$MUSIC_E2M7"
}

map E2M8 "E2M8"
{
    next = "Endgame"
    sky1 = "SKY2"
    nosoundclipping
    cyberdemonspecial
    specialaction_exitlevel
    music = "$MUSIC_E2M8"
}

map E2M9 "E2M9"
{
    next = "E2M5"
    sky1 = "SKY2"
    music = "$MUSIC_E2M9"
}

episode e3m1
{
    name = "#1 Kill Extra"
}

map E3M1 "E3M1"
{
    next = "E3M2"
    sky1 = "SKY3"
    music = "$MUSIC_E3M1"
}

Speaking of logos, I really like the titlepics that kmxexii made for the blog and used them in my Doom Launcher. Now I'm thinking dobu's logo would make for a great M_DOOM!

 

GZDoom, Doom compat, software, HNTR, blind, continuous with saves.

I thought about going UV, since this is an older wad and I thought difficulty should be more manageable, then I saw the 390 enemies on E2M7 and read about shotgunning barons and thought better of it. I could've gone for HMP, and I think I'd do fine with it here, but I like the idea of having a HNTR comparison, and the more relaxed gameplay this will entail.

 

#1 Kill E2M1

Very small and very short opener map. Lots of shotgunners, which is probably setting the bar for what the rest of the wad's difficulty will come from. The raise/lower double door really is quite cool. The rest of the visuals are unremarkable but nothing struck me as unseemly, and I kinda liked the water pool. The unmarked secret within the unmarked not-secret was a bit eh, I'd have never gotten it if I hadn't already read about its existence. The green armour felt like a definite Hangar homage but I didn't get the Soulsphere one until I saw Roofi mention it. Not bad for an opener.

 

#1 Kill E2M2

A bit more substantial, and IMO an improvement in some ways. The lighting is definitely more studied, the contrast between the initial darkness and coming back and finding the area lit up is pretty cool. The strobe lights didn't bother me but I can understand some people finding them unpleasant. UV is missing a light amp that makes the darkness much less threatening on easier settings. The secrets are much improved, they're all hinted one way or the other and finding them was fun, and very rewarding. The contents of some also make me suspect the wad was designed with continuous in mind; I feel that back then wad authors in general didn't put as much effort testing their maps for pistol-start. The chaingun was a welcome addition to my arsenal, and shotgunning the cacos made me glad I did not play on UV and have to deal with barons instead.

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E2M2

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Pistol start, non-blind run w/saves

 

The total blackness encountered at the beginning of E2M2 will inevitably be the touchstone of any Doomer’s resolve to play Number One Kill. The horrible design choice defied common sense, gameplay balance, and any idea of fun. Opening an invisible door and being attacked by unseen enemies is not something that happens nowadays, and everybody is grateful that Doom mappers now consider such things taboo. The only chance given to a UV pistol starter was to find the secret just behind the starting point, providing ammo, a Computer Area Map and the marine’s best friend: the chainsaw.

Spoiler

1164230871_1KillE2M2_01.jpg.5784f46b407c75b17fd093258d05ca46.jpg

Using the secret as a hiding spot, the player can draw the enemies out of the shadows and kill them before venturing in the dark chamber. The only reference point were the blue torches, but the full automap granted by the power-up was crucial to navigate the twisted tunnels while shooting at every noise in front of you. The tech chamber with pulsating lights can induce seizures, and I strongly recommend to IDBEHOLD+L to preserve the optic nerves. Once the four switches were pressed, I returned to the dark room which was now easier to navigate with the light beams, though I was overwhelmed by Pinkies and had to chainsaw them in pitch-dark. An unusual experience, and not necessarily a bad one. The RK at the centre allowed me to enter the next section.

Spoiler

379947762_1KillE2M2_02.jpg.ade622bbbf67e619c469f8df9684e79d.jpg

The bright part of the level was more ordinary and tolerable. Cacodemons came flying from the windows and joined the fight inside the building. A couple of switches opened two paths to the outside, the one on the left winding around the building until the exit door, the one on the right leading to an optional GSTONE1 maze with a Bruiser Brothers encounter. If you care to spend a minute killing them with the single-barrelled shotgun, the reward consisted of the chaingun and a Soul Sphere. E2M2 was obviously not a good level and the lowest point of the megaWAD; from here on, things can only get better.

Spoiler

1739808894_1KillE2M2_03.jpg.a5eda7e078c13865db2a5f20f608a001.jpg

 

Edited by Book Lord

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6 hours ago, brick said:

then I saw the 390 enemies on E2M7

And here I was about to write how low enemy counts are nice. I guess I know when I'm giving up on Nightmare now -.-

 

E2M2

 

Nnnnnope no thanks. Way too many pinkies with just a shotgun, you're completely at their mercy(lessness). Blue armor is nice, but as I said somewhere in the previous month - you need health to go alongside it, and the author seems to not like accessible recovery very much.

 

I didn't really mind the darkness aspect, since on NM a lot of blind pre-firing corners is going to happen anyways. Also a special mention to a displaced blue torch in the narrow corridor limiting pinky mobility in there - not something relevant on sane difficulties, but quite crucial with respawning turbo horror in play as you have to spend time in the corridor on your way back since RK area is beyond overpopulated.

 

Even if you get lucky with a turret cacodemon or something on your way back from 4 switches and get through the red door without 3+ pinkies on your back, there is a room chock full of hitscan and 3 more pinkies, and you get no reprieve for your health situation. And you need to press a switch right next to a shotgunner, 2 imps, and pinkies can very much run up the corridor stairs. You get 1 medkit... in plain view of imp/shotgunner row. And if you zigzag through pinkies successfully, there's the caco to lure away from the door... while hitscan respawns and pinkies come down the stairs :) Oh and near ending door there are probably 2 cacos and pinkies who get stuck there as you visit 4 switches.

 

I settled for a scummy exit here. Getting up to door to main/RK room after 4 switches is easy and consistent, but the rest seems beyond painful. 100s I didn't even try lol. That pinky maze gets a #not worth/10.

 

Self-inflicted woes aside, I feel like the author was more into making deathmatch provisions than a fun singleplayer level. TWO barons for a chaingun secret? Yeayea there's a soul sphere and a backpack too, it is an overloaded secret probably aimed at continous players, but, like, 3/4-ing two barons? That is '97 alright. The secret at the start also contains ammo for MP-only weapons. Oh and the pit with a billion pinkies that contains nothing of value. More "party like it's the 90s" time.

 

Looking at UDB, the best option seems to be playing the map with MP items, as you get a BFG with 100 cells early on - 3 shots can dispatch silly demon crowds and keep momentum going instead of bogging down in pump action.

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I'll be honest, I've never heard of this one. That said it has a wiki page and was notable enough to come up with this club so it's got to be worth trying out to some degree. I'll be using Woof!, -complevel 3, UV, pistol start, and at least giving a good college try to max everything but I won't make myself lose sleep if a 90's secret eludes me for too long.

 

Also, since I coincidentally recently replayed Ultimate Doom and it doesn't seem like this wad has custom music acompanying it, I'll be playing using Ultimate MIDI Pack.

 

E2M1

 

Short but neat. Had I not refamiliarized myself with the exhilarating combat of Doom 1 recently I'd probably have a sacrastic comment about shotgunning cacos (unless this counts *whitsles*) but with practically drowning in shells compared to the stingy ammo placement of some of Sandy's maps this was honestly kind of relieving. The secrets were kind of goofy, having impassible line defs on the windows with no mid textures but having bar mid textures in the first secret is a choice fitting of a wad of it's age but it's hardly the worst thing that could be in a first map.

 

The simple detailing and weirdly split door triggered by WR specials were also charming; I hope these kinds of things keep up in the future levels.

 

nH3Wnom.png

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7 hours ago, brick said:

I thought about going UV, since this is an older wad and I thought difficulty should be more manageable, then I saw the 390 enemies on E2M7 and read about shotgunning barons and thought better of it. I could've gone for HMP, and I think I'd do fine with it here, but I like the idea of having a HNTR comparison, and the more relaxed gameplay this will entail.

 

39 minutes ago, Doomy__Doom said:

And here I was about to write how low enemy counts are nice. I guess I know when I'm giving up on Nightmare now -.- 

 

E2M7 was longer than I remembered, it takes quite a while to get through on pistol start, since you are forced to use the shotgun for a good portion of the map. I am not considering "Nightmare!" as a skill setting because I find it too random and confusing, but these map sets can be quite challenging on UV pistol start, especially The Next Generation. Do not judge the difficulty from the first 4 maps of #1Kill; you'll get a glimpse of what lies ahead when you reach E2M6, and in the "Extra" PWAD (which is short and bloody). The Next Generation increased the monster count quite a bit, but I remembered the maps to last between 15 and 25 minutes each on continuous play (I have no experience of pistol start yet).

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#KILL - E2M2

 

800px-Number_One_Kill_E2M2_map.png

 

For your information, I completed the whole episode yesterday's night on continuous and... the wad gets a lot more brutal than I expected, despite it's meaningful name. As Book Lord's said, the first 4 maps can be described as the easy part but the second map has way pointier teeth compared to the first one, because of very dark area at the beginning which grants a considerable advantage to your opponents. The obscure chainsaw's secrets doesn't help a lot unfortunately but the level becomes way more gentle once you cleared the unlit areas.

 

As the previous and the following maps, the shotgun is your best friend, maybe too much. Having several friends is sometimes better. A chaingun  with lot of ammo can be found but too late in the map, so it doesn't help reducing the grindy shotgun combats. Moreover, you will maybe spend a part of your bullets in defeating the two poorly placed doors wih health guarding this optional weapon.

 

In brief, this level didn't left a great impression to me and as the first map , the aesthetics look average without being a caricature of the 90's bizarre stuff. The lights that illuminate in the red key room enhance its look though. It's perhaps the most remarkable place in the level. The fights in darkness irritate more than providing exciting challenge.

 

Grade : C+

 

 

 

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E2M2

 

Like the previous level, this one also seems rather basic, but it just doesn't work for me. A speedy pace of E2M1 is nowhere to be seen, instead E2M2 relies heavily on pinkies and cacodemons, and killing them with just a pump-action is a slog. The chaingun is hidden in a secret (guarded by a maze of pinkies and a pair of barons), but you get it at the tail end of the map. It's just level 2 and I'm already missing the SSG...

 

As for the look, it swaps the marble of E2M1 for a basic techbase aesthetics with nothing really sticking in my mind. Maybe except for the overall darkness (have fun fighting in a room where you can barely see anything) and migrene-inducing flickering lights.

 

I'm not a fan of this one. I know I shouldn't expect miracles from a 1997 Doom 1 wad, but compared to the opening level, it's a disappointment.

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Alright, let's get this going. dsda-doom 0.24.3, complevel 3, pistol starts with saves, gonna be loose on the final tallies and just focus on completing the level, UV.

Number One Kill
By Angelo Jefferson

E2M1
32/32 kills, 2/2 secrets, 3:32

A pretty cool opener I must say. Relatively dense with low tier enemies perfect for shotgun fodder while still having the potential to mess you up, especially regarding the shotgunners. The map is pretty modest, not ugly but also not really popping out, it's a plain techbase with a hint of hell, and with an odd "door" trick can be awkward if you let only one of the segments move while the other doesn't. Overall, it's a neat map. 

E2M2
107/111 kills, 2/4 secrets, 7:49


UDoom suffers from a lack of dynamic midtiers and an appropriate cleanup weapon, and as a result, its combat with its reliance on shotgunning and chaingunning  can get annoying to put it lightly. And that's where this map fails ultimately, it's loaded with several cacodemons and demons you have to grind down one after another and it gets annoying really quick. Couple that with the obnoxious starting room that's dark to the point of being unable to see anything and the bothersome flashing light rooms, and this map falls quite short from the simple fun of the quick map01. 

E2M3
58/69 kills, 0/4 secrets, 3:11


Honestly, a pretty forgettable map, it takes place in a hellish wooden fortress of some sort, particularly invoking parts of Episode 4 in my mind. But the combat is pretty sleepy, the entire first segment of it barely stands out in my mind other than the cacodemons blocked in to fire at you on in the bridge segment. The only thing of note here is the encounter after you teleport from the teleporter in the blue skull door. It's not a bad map, but it's completely forgettable unfortunately, at least it's over pretty quick.

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On 2/1/2023 at 1:05 PM, SiFi270 said:

Quick question before I get started. The wiki pages for the first two say the built in demos require Doom 1.9, but I'm not sure if it means pre-Ultimate or not. I realize the only difference, if any, will be Lost Soul behavior, but I still take this a lot more seriously than I probably should. Is there a definitive way of finding out if, by my own arbitrary rules I wouldn't impose on anyone else, I should be playing at cl2 or cl3?

Just in case the couple of reactions I got mean others are still wondering about this, I decided that the presence of a DEMO4 lump must mean the author expected people to play it with UD.

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E2M2

 

Hey fam I think you left out a few pinkies maybe put a few more in next time for good measure. As fun as turning up my gamma correction to 4 and dry punching melee demons to death in tight corridoors is it uh isn't I did not have fun. The extreme harsh darkness of what I can only assume is light level 0 makes for a cool atmosphere I guess? but having to re-open the minimap constantly before throwing my hands up in resignation as I opened the settings menu isn't ideal. Keeping the chaingun in a secret near the end of the level after fighting all the pinkies was certainly a choice, too, although I guess desigining with continuous play in mind was more common early in Doom's life.

 

Silver lining, Myrgharok's "Halls of Wandering Spirits" is a wonderful midi and was surprisingly fitting for the level. I'll definitely take it over The Demons From Adrian's Pen.

 

PYqBWKY.png

Ah yes the way Doom was meant to be played.

 

z1y53gG.png

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I live again (for real this time)

 

- PLAY INFO -

 

Spoiler

- GZDoom 4.10 source port
- Doom (strict) compatibility
- Ultra-Violence difficulty
- Pistol start every map
- Saves are allowed
- Completely blind
- I try to get 100% kills sometimes
- Using mods Autoautosave and IDCLEVer (Improves GZ autosaves and auto-forces pistol starts) and a few other mods that don't change gameplay (Doom II Minor Sprite Fixing Project, widescreen huds, DSDA-Doom hud in GZDoom)

 

- Number One Kill -

 

E2M1

Kills: 68%

Items: 16%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 1:10

 

Very very basic and rudimentary opener here, this map is a cramped... tech base/hell map, I think, with quite a few hitscanners in tight corridors. Naturally since it resides in those slots, the Shores Of Hell influence is apparent right away, mainly in the visuals. (Even if in this map it comes off more ugly than surreal.) The gameplay is super typical for a 90's opener, cramped rooms in which you shotgun... stuff... blah blah blah. Sadly this map doesn't inspire a lot of confidence in this month for me, but I'll give it time before I pass any judgements.

 

Grade: D

Difficulty: D-

 

 

E2M2

Kills: 46%

Items: 46%

Secrets: 0%
Time: 2:11

 

WOW that's an obnoxious start... being flung into a pitch black tech base and being forced to pistol a bunch of shit in a tight corridor followed by another room with strobe lighting really isn't exactly my picture of perfect... I don't even really have anything to say on this map to be honest, I guess at least the start stood out to me for how absolutely horrible it was but then the rest was just more shotgunning stuff. Not gonna waste my time here. Skip this mess. Really hope I start liking the wad soon.

 

Grade: F

Difficulty: C

 

 

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E2M2: Backup Power

 

The layout of this map is more reminiscent of someone who's been mapping for at least a month or two. Despite consisting essentially of simplistic twisting corridors with an outside courtyard wrapping all the way around west to the exit, it's definitely not just another on-rails map.

 

Aesthetically, this map clearly echoes the 90s, with lots of plain colors and clumsy lighting use, the latter of which results in much of the first 30 percent of the map sitting in essential pitch-darkness. There does seem to be some vague attempts to be a sense of place, such as the structure that inspired the name I came up for it which turns on some limited power in the central room or the twisting pathway in the east that might perhaps be interpreted as a trencg through rock that leads to the Barons or the central structure in the badly-lit room that has the red key in the center. Ok, I didn't say everything in this map made sense, but as a base that's been overrun a la Alien, it more than qualifies. 

 

Combat-wise, there are some troubling signs of the latter maps, with the grindiness for me getting to be a little too much toward the end in the middle of the courtyard and it just seemed like too many Cacodemons and Demons were being gunned down for their own sake. However, this still isn't Hell Revealed amounts of monster real estate, so there is some room to move around. Although the player would be advised to turtle for the first large fight in the central room as well as for the enemies behind the red key door and perhaps the trap opened when you press the switch that turns the power back on. It does have to be said that the pits felt basically to be an excuse to add 'danger' while temporarily tossing aside the consideration for 100 percent kills in the shadows like everything else. There was a Spectre I could clearly hear in the darkness somewhere but perhaps because they'd run themselves into a wall, it didn't really seem worth the effort to stick around.

 

 

The secrets here are probably a slight improvement, although again, the wall in the starting room seems to be unmarked and also manages to contain 3 out of 4 secrets for this map! Clearly, Angelo clicked more than once while attempting to make secrets, and as per the other ones in Nuclear Marble, have enemies inside! Although because it's pitch-black, there's only two shotgunners.

 

The last secret might not pass muster for some people since it's not behind any sort of wall and instead can be found by taking a twisting out-of-the-way path through some vined rock, chainsawing pinkies in an incredibly tedious manner until you reach the ending, an outhouse or supply closet containing a pair of Barons, a chaingun and a Supercharge. I have no idea if there's some sick human out there that actually likes to chaingun Barons, but let's just say you're the reason I padlock my liquour cabinet and door every night! Still, it's easy enough to tell that it's only a taste of what's to come. The chaingun would  have certainly made the last section leading to the exit less tedious.

I actually liked this map until the drag set in but that simply didn't last long enough to end up caring too much. Like @dististik said, "Halls of Wandering Spirit"  goes great with what's quite a dark map. I suppose the hitscanners will provide a higher degree of threat despite making up less of the monster count because of the need to target the enemies closer to you. Still, the 90s tropes were actually downplayed besides the whole extreme darkness characteristic and walls of white.

lmd_#1kill22.zip

Edited by LadyMistDragon : added clarification after the words "...lighting, redundancy use..."

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4 hours ago, SiFi270 said:

Just in case the couple of reactions I got mean others are still wondering about this, I decided that the presence of a DEMO4 lump must mean the author expected people to play it with UD.

 

While there's no txt file in the zip archive, there seems to be one in the idgames archive's database. That one lists Ultimate Doom explicitly:

 

Quote

No known bugs. Definitely no major problems
must be used with doom 1.9 (the ultimate doom)
A 486 or higher is recomended because it  
may slow down in some big and complex areas

 

We'll see how the bugginess claim ages.

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What is this? A trilogy of wads from 1997? That I’ve never heard of? That Roofi hinted is shovelware? Oh, this is going to be fun.

 

I’ll just list my personal rules once this time.

1.     Two playthroughs of each map

2.     GZDoom, UV, all kills. I’ll make a modest effort for all secrets but won’t require myself to always find all of them.

3.     Pistol start

4.     Saveless, unless the level is kicking my ass hard enough to need them.

 

I don’t recognize the author so this is about as blind an experience as a levelset can be. Can’t wait.

 

 

E2M1

 

Not bad. The start certainly sends a message, sicking a bunch of shotgunners on you while you’re stuck with the pistol. Afterwards you have the standard map one fare of hitscanners and imps. There are two pairs of cacos but neither group are engaged in an area that permits them to seriously pressure the player. There is a strange wooden door leading to the final area that splits down the middle upon approach, one side functioning like a lift and the other a door, both of which can open or close together or independently of one another. It adds a bit of flair to the final fight, making door fighting awkward and encouraging aggression (if you’re hurt kill the shotgunners before heading in).

 

Visually, you have a classic green marble theme, sparsely decorated and mixed with techbase elements. The culture clash can come across as illogical at times, such as the OG E1M1 like area with the security armor and the DOORTRAK texture by the demonic wooden double door. The level  doesn’t look ugly though, so this is more an atmospheric nitpick than an aesthetics one. The ending room looks nice, with the pillars and the large pool in the middle complementing the double door leading in. The caco ambush here also plays into the level design (I’ve always liked how the red tomatoes pop out against these backgrounds).

 

I will say the Wolfenstein like secrets are pretty weak. You press on a nondescript marble wall in the pool room, which looks like a techbase door from the other side (?), then press on a tile in the back to enter the soulsphere courtyard, killing some irrelevant enemies along the way. They feel like an afterthought, and the monsters are the last kills in the level, so the soulsphere can only help continuous players. This probably wouldn’t bother me as much, but you can see this courtyard from the green armor area, and it’s set up in a way that makes you think you can jump through the window by the green torch. This would have made the specters more meaningful and given the soulsphere at a useful time.

 

A solid start, all things considered. It is a map one from the 20th century after all.

 

E2M2

 

Lmao, this is exactly what I was hoping for upon signing up for Obscure1997.wad

 

Ok first off, for the love of God open the secret behind you at the start and grab the computer area map. Then, open the off-colored wall to get a chainsaw for the excessive number of pinkies in this level.

 

Now that you’ve got that stuff open the door (yes, there’s a door there) and be presented with total darkness. And when I say total darkness I mean you can’t see anything. Not the room, not the monsters, not even the goddamned door you just opened. Fighting the monsters here is ridiculous and your best bet is to sit at the start and fire blindly when you hear the sound cue of an enemy opening the door or whenever you see a muzzle flash. There’s a blue armor (you can actually see) at the back you can grab once you have an opening, which should cover you the rest of the level. There’s also a caco here, who can wing you if he floats close to your space.

 

Now you get to move through narrow corridors of more total darkness. I’d recommend navigating solely using the computer area map and revving the chainsaw the whole time to mow down whatever’s in your way (use the minimap to aim). This leads you to a headache inducing flashing lights room with superfluous demons and imps inhabiting sunken areas under the walkway you enter on. Switches here turn some lights on back in the large dark room and open up the red key.

 

With that misery out of the way we proceed to a more normal Doom 1 techbase experience, though its still mildly exasperating. There are waaaaaay too many pinkies running around and if you want to max you’ll need to hop down into the seizure pits to kill like ten of them. To the east is a maze ending in a groan inducing encounter against two barons you’re forced to shotgun. The chaingun you get from this fight is fun to murder everything with at least, and you have a ton of ammo for it. In fact, there’s a ton of ammo in this map in general, and my second playthrough I exited with 100 shells.

 

So yeah, a big red flag this map was. Giving strong “abandon all hope ye who enter here” vibes to those bold enough to continue.

Edited by Veeda Vidlak

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This is my first time contributing to a DWmegawad thread.

 

DSDA-Doom v0.25.6, UV, Pistol-starts, 100% kills (unless its not worth it), saves, comp-level 2 though, because somehow I messed that up despite knowing it should be 3 before I started.

 

I generally enjoy 90s wads, even if they aren't my favorite. And a little bit of grindiness won't stop me either. So let's see how much I enjoy this series of wads.

 

I am going to be saving, but I'm going to try to accomplish levels in single segment if I can. The first three levels weren't hard and I was able to beat all three of them without a death.

 

E2M1

I enjoyed this introduction to the wad, although it didn't impress me either. I spent a bit of time looking for the secret in this map, only to finally give up and check the wiki. I'm not exactly certain how I missed it, since I thought I checked all of the walls in that room. Apparently not. The secret is unmarked, but it's location can be reasoned out well enough. I really should have found it on my own. Your first instinct it to try to jump through one of the windows to get to this secret, but that path is blocked despite it being an easy jump.

 

The texture work is a bit underwhelming. The only thing really tying the entire level together is the fact that the wall textures are mostly green. I don't expect 90s wads to excel in this, so for the most part I'll give this wad a pass. The outdoor area has one linedef with grey textures for no discernible reason, and that almost looks like a mistake.

 

I definitely didn't like the split door. My main issue with it is that it had walk-triggered lines to open it from one side, but from the other you had to use half of the door directly. Then only half of the door would open in that case. It's just awkward. If it had a little more room on the side next to the room for more walk-triggered lines, I probably would have found it mildly charming.

 

One room here evokes part of E1M1, although it's distorted enough you might miss the reference if you run through it fast enough.

Grade: C

 

E2M2

The pitch black sectors didn't actually make the level harder for me, but I can definitely say I don't like them. I use a monitor with a fairly high native contrast ratio so I was able to still see well enough without adjusting the gamma. The darkness makes everything kind of ugly. The lighting in general in this map is just weird. There are blue torches that give off no light, and bright sectors exist right next to absolute darkness.

 

Not that this level would be good-looking with more light. I think somehow the texture work here seems worse than last level, although maybe I'm just being biased due to the bad lighting.

 

The ammo was actually kind of tight until I found the chainsaw after I had collected the red key. This is due to me not using the pistol and shotgunning too many demons. The minimap gave it away due to the front door line being hidden. After that I prioritized sawing demons. Which is good because I needed the ammo for the two barons in the chaingun secret. I really didn't enjoy shotgunning them, but I suspect that will be a regular feature in this wad. I don't mind shotgunning things in general, but barons quickly bore me when all I have is a shotgun. After that point I had more ammo than I needed.

 

I think this is a strictly worse map than the opener.

Grade: D

 

E2M3

This is a pretty short map with not a lot to make it stand out. It was better than the previous map at least.

 

There are some monsters outside the cage in the secret that are difficult to kill due to the angle. I used a rocket launcher to get most of them by using splash off of the wall, but the cacodemons refused to die. I decided it wasn't worth the effort to try to get 100% kills in this map by trying to pick at them with bullets.

 

There's another reference to E1 of Doom here. This time it's E1M3. Again it's something that would be easy to miss.

 

I'm not a big fan of using blue water textures for damaging floors. It can work in some wads where it makes sense, but I don't think it does here.

Grade: C

 

So far this wad isn't filling me with hope that it will be good. But I'm enjoying it anyway, at least in bite-size chunks. This is not going to be a bingeable wad.

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E2M3

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Pistol start, non-blind run w/saves

 

Another very small level featuring more marble textures, E2M3 warmed-up the player with several gunfire scenes in the first room and in the subsequent hallways, continuing through a small yard with a bridge and static Cacodemons at the sides. The path ended in front of two switches: one of them opened the door to the BSK room, guarded by a Baron of Hell and a good number of Cacodemons. Pistol starters should better have learned to find the secret door that Jefferson put in every starting room, or they will exhaust their ammo belt to kill everything with basic weapons.

Spoiler

2075202833_1KillE2M3_01.jpg.9a8b27b0b5c33e1b179cb3bc0d216d13.jpg

The other switch lifted an open-air computer terminal and revealed the YSK. Time to head back to the blue door, jump into a teleporter and be greeted by a good assortment of rabble. I ascended the stairs and the exit was up there, once again too soon. The compact size should encourage humping at every possible wall, thus discovering the secret section with the yellow door and its stash of goodies. Unfortunately, the enemies placed around the cage cannot be killed except with rocket splash, so maxing the level without cheats is a difficult task. Nobody cares I suppose, though at this point I was asking myself how the author could spend 300+ hours building and testing this WAD, considering what he proposed in the first three maps. The answer was in the second half of Number One Kill.

Spoiler

1053803842_1KillE2M3_02.jpg.51001a327ed41acf1f50dbb63dbb9e7d.jpg

 

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Sticking with NM up to E2M9, and from there as the levels get untenable for that, I'm honestly considering tapping out until TNG. In general, this has everything I expected (and don't enjoy in any way) about a "Doom 90s wad" - copious corridor shooting, a monster every couple meters, meatwalling, shotgun overload... I'm willing to give Doom 2 one a go because it has a potential to fix "natural" D1 issues, although I'm not exactly holding my breath with anticipation.

 

 

E2M3

 

A RL at the start, nice. Painful room of hitscan, not nice. Thankfully, once you slip past the doors, you're safe as they aren't monster-operable. Past the Cacoturret bridge and two pinkies (the true horror of these levels so far) we get to a nice narrow corridor, which is not traversable by our meaty friends and is the saving grace of the map. Clean out the room and don't forget YSK switch, then rocket the BSK podium until it runs out of HP, get the heck out to the safe tunnel and ensure the door is closed. Now you can corner peek the repopulated pool area, grab YSK and leave.

 

A teleporter sending you straight into enemies and not much space. Chaingun is a godsend, but your health may very well be approaching garbage at this point. Try to get on top of the computer panes asap to not get fireballed to death while stuck in the small alcove. If you survive this, you've probably beaten the level as all that awaits is "all the goodies" kind of secret. Should still have a couple rockets to expedite dispatching repopulation of the TP room if any.

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E2M3

 

I can't sleep so I decided to play the next map instead. This one is much better. Nice (mm, maybe that's not the right word... noted?) E1 references, actually gives me the chance to use the chaingun this time, neat quick building out of the ground stairs, unoffensive but also kind of unremarkable. I will say it's a pinch unfortunate that I don't think 100% kills is possible; even saving all the secret rockets until the end there's just too many cacos to kill everything with splash damage. I even replayed the map since my blind playthrough I used rockets to kill the baron by the blue key.

 

Side note, I see the "Perfectly fair with plenty of ammo." in the text file meant drowning the player with ammo constantly; on that second playthrough I pistoled most of the cacos and the baron to death and still had more than enough chaingun ammo to kill everything autoaim would let me target while sitting on a full cache of shells. I'm curious if the whole wad will end up like this. Now if only this generosity extended to the rockets on this level...

 

PUmwj45.png

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DSDA cl3 Blind UV, continuous only saving at the start of new map (currently)

E2M1

I immediately start by adding a couple of F11 points of gamma because my eyes but also whenever I go back to the 90s I know what I'm in for... This means when we get to E2M2 I will be cheating a little bit compared to people with proper gamma, but then again I do not play in a dark room so let's call it whatever. From the first room one gets the impression there's going to be more numbers combat in this than in ultimate doom, heh. Really odd choice of window rim textures, but you kind of get used to it and it gives the map its visual identity when you look at spaces through those windows to see complex perspective points. It's a cool look and I can see why it gave the mapper inspiration to continue.

Minus points for big open windows that doomguy should fit through but we must imagine some invisible pane of techbase glass, there, I guess. Everything is cramped or square in that special way first maps by new authors tend to be. I fight the cacos with the single shotgun in a meditation knowing there's going to be a lot of single barrel in my future and even meatier things than cacos to grind away at. At least there's a pool area for relaxation, it's nice for map01 to have a pool. Enemies get stuck on door ledges and I remember how cl3 is.  note the double door like everyone else in the thread, though it kind of malfunctions a little. The midi doesn't fit the feel of the level, fat doortraks aren't unpegged, super steep staircases, all the good early mapper things.

Logically deduced the sphere secret by hugging automap walls. Getting the outside area is as satisfying as in the maps this secret is a homage to. Sets me off with a feeling of accomplishment to 100% and move on to map two in my playthrough. All in all, good fun, didn't die yet, kind of drab looking but with interesting windows and viewports generally, I have the feeling the mapper will hone their craft as they go. 

E2M2

Talking about the 90s and gamma. Total darkness trope is what it is, at least the blue armor is good cherry on the stick but this would be a place I would reconsider playing this mapset depending on mood. I'm coming in stacked from map 1 as well, so on pistol start this would be more dissuading. Next come the flickering lights, quite a classic doom headache. I leave monsters behind just to get out of flickerspace and only reluctantly return later to clean up. On my way out there's total monster congestion at the bottleneck which looks amusing and is novel in the mindset of its era.

The texturing remains protomorphic, the shapes become a bit more ambitious and the encounters a bit ordered. The later-accessible-outside-area trope is played back to back to back, but it's hard to fault the mapper, it's satisfying. I reach exit but decide as with map01 to do the secrets detour to stack up for 03. Having found all of them on the start I am emboldened that perhaps the mapper is sensible with them. For my curiosity I am rewarded with a visit from the Bruiser Bros, behind which we get a chaingun and another backpack. As far as noble shotgun grind goes, I am sure this is just the start.

Another early automap double secret hint tells me I will be well rewarded for playing with the map open 50% of the time, which you can take either way. Regardless, I now have a chainsaw and buyer's remorse. 

Generally this was on par with map1, the experience marked by super dark rooms that I don't think most players enjoy and I am not the exception. Noticing some trends of optional areas/fights, nested secrets, automap hints for secrets and secrets near entry. Getting to know the mapper little by little, what they consider fair and how in their minds they expected the player to play these. Haven't died yet, continuous seems like a good idea for how to experience this, anyhow.

E2M3

Even the first room coming in with a pistol would be a quite more annoying affair. Texture and space feels more ordered and hierarchical, meant to actually move doomguy around... mostly. There's still some tight fits. Noticing early secret trope pays off by checking automap for a RL that I actually do get to panic use later on. There's some odd volcanic scrolling texture choices, some turreted cacos that are quite a bad enemy for that role slowing things down. Then comes a pretty unexciting shotgun pinky maze which was probably not a good idea the very first time someone made one of those, to be honest. But then again, every time someone makes a maze with pinkies in it and gives you a shotgun they're doing it for the first time for themselves as well so I understand. But if you just have this hobby of building 64 wide corridor mazes with pinkies... then you have quite peculiar tastes and I would like to talk to you more, actually.

Ok the 4 caco pincher almost gets me, I get an adrenaline rush and it takes me a moment to cool off. Doom II Hell on Earth is an amazing, endlessly deep, classic game. Ultimate Doom is still pretty good! Then there is a straight up teleporter pad into a half room point blank ambush which you can feel before you step on it just by doom genes, I don't know. I will read up to see how the pistol start friends felt about that moment after I submit this. I am now imagining the 360 room ambushes filled with barons. That and lots of hurtfloor. What else are you gonna do in doom 1? Anyway, continuous players will be stacked to get through regardless, just don't be holding RL.

I go back after finding the exit to do the secret hunt and get rewarded with some armor and ammo for my trouble, yet I think I also find some inaccessible enemies. I'll check above to see how others fared with that part of the map. I take my exit leaving some enemies alive, still haven't gotten bopped, though that caco encounter was sweaty.

Having a bit more fun towards the end, this isn't a bad set. Video of the blind run so far.

Edited by Helm

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#KILL - E2M3

 

417px-Number_One_Kill_E2M3_map.png

 

Grabbing the hidden RL at the start will help reducing the grind of the blue key's trap but as the previous map, the chaingun is obtained to late to be useful unless you're doing an UV-max of this map, so get your shotgun ready and be patient!

 

It's another unchallenging dull map but its short lenght prevents it from being a chore. Also, I don't have to torture myself with the intermission music for too long, which I think is one of the worst stock music in Ultimate Doom to use in a level.

 

E2M3 has no place that stand out , so I consider it as a kind of filler map. It's not as obnoxious than E2M2 but not as punchy as E2M1 either.

 

Grade : B-

 

 

 

Edited by Roofi

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