The DWmegawad Club plays: Solar Struggle

[cannonball]

E3M7 - “Freight Terminal” by MemeMind

 

This wasn't as bad as when I played this during testing. A little bit of extra detail here and there but overall this doesn't really hit the spot for me.

The start is still rather obnoxious and the dependence on lifts throughout the map really causes the map to drag in places. There is again some fun to be had in places, the yellow key is okay I guess and the end section is easy enough to plow through. Not much else to say, the progression is a little irritating, a mix of reasonable and some poorer fights and the visuals are still a little haphazard. Probably on par with the secret map for me in terms of quality.

[Ralgor]

E3M7 - "Freight Terminal" by MemeMind
MIDI: "Freighthoppers" by Jimmy
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl3, UV, Pistol start, blind run
100% kills and secrets
Deaths: 0
Time: 26:36

 

Spoiler

The opening has requires you to lure monsters away from where you need to go to get the chaingun

This map is probably one of the easier ones in the episode, and also the worst looking. I do see the effort put into trying to create actual train cars for this "Freight Terminal", but I'm not sure that CEMENT3 was the right choice of texture. Unfortunately large parts of this level come off as kind of ugly to me, despite the lighting effects. The layout was pretty simplistic compared to other maps in this episode as well, with pretty well only ever having one way forward.

 

Spoiler

This level doesn't have much doomcute, but here is a toolbox and wrench

I wouldn't say it was a bad map though, since I did have fun playing it. It gives you a BFG and plenty of monsters to use it on, so that's a plus. Most of the fights and even the incidental combat were somewhat fun, although in most cases it was just a bit too easy. I didn't find the opening to be hard at all, it just required luring monsters around to get by them. The two secrets were pretty easy to find as well. I think this map would have been better in an earlier slot... at this point I'm kind of looking for at least a mild challenge. Still I don't want to be too hard on it, since it was actually fun. I suspect the author isn't terribly experienced at making maps, this isn't a bad outing for anyone who is still new to level design.

 

Spoiler

Cranes for loading and unloading the train cars

 

[Celestin]

E3M8: Space Elevator by muumi

Spoiler

One of my favourite mappers from PUSS IX doesn't let down. The map opens with a distant view of the titular megastructure. There is something about this sight that speaks to me. Like this feeling we are so close to our goal. Once you've done staring, turn around, head into a cave and step into a teleporter, where the real map begins.

 

The player is sent to a ring around the elevator, with only a shotgun and little ammo. The place is crawling with monsters, so it quickly turns into a scramble for more ammo and a chaingun. It helps dealing with weaker foes, but is not enough for barons. Once you've get a foothold, you can start searching for three switches that unlock the way forward. Two of them combine running over damaging floor, trying not to fall and fighting enemies that block your path, the third one is a shotgunner ambush. Each of the switches summon more monsters, including barons and their build-up can get annoying. Luckily, you can now head for the blue key, which also gives you a rocket launcher, plasma rifle, BFG and enough ammo to deal with everything. The cleanup is a bit tedious, but this is the only issue I have with the map. Once you're ready, enter a teleporter behind the blue door, unload plasma into a stationary mastermind and complete the Moon chapter.

Spoiler

Episode 3 was the best part of Solar Struggle, with many action-packed maps to choose from. I'm glad it got a worthy ending.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Celestin : images failed to load

[Capellan]

E3M8

I didn't like it.

 

 

[Book Lord]

E3M8 – Space Elevator by @muumi

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

 

Ultimate Doom WADs pose a significant challenge to any mapper with their limited bestiary, but the hardest feature to adjust to are the mandatory boss fights. At the end of episode three, you must arrange a battle against a Spider Mastermind and make it interesting, without degenerating in annoying or unfair setups. Assign the task to muumi and be amazed at how naturally he transforms a cakewalk in an endurance test, constituting an exciting finale for Moon Madness.

Spoiler

The Space Elevator was an enormous aerial tower, firstly seen from an elevated position at the start of the map, then visible in all its magnificence in the middle of a crater arena. The fleeting Spider Mastermind was spotted right when I teleported in the large open area, then mysteriously disappeared to return just before the end. The place was full of Shotgun Guys and 20% lava patches that were quite taxing for the health, which was not abundant considering the attrition I was subject to with -fast monsters. I had no time to score the easy Soul Sphere secret. Pistol starters have no choice but to run around with the shotgun, kill all the hitscanners while dodging numerous Baron and Imps projectiles, then look for the three eye switches that unlocked the progression.

Spoiler

A blind player can easily wind up in the chaingun dead end, where he will probably die to the upcoming horde without carryover heavy weapons. The -fast Sergeants coming out of the walls were totally insane, an RNG-heavy moment where survival was not under the player’s control. I died five times before I left the maze of impaled heads still on my legs. Once the eye switches had been activated, the intestine staircase to the north-western building became accessible, finally providing a rocket launcher and a plasma gun. I picked up the BK and casually pressed the switch, which was a bad idea since it revealed the Spiderdemon again.

Spoiler

While the deadliest -fast hitscanner dispensed attrition damage in every direction, I struggled against legions of Barons and Cacodemons around the Space Elevator, shooting with the BFG, and hoping for the better. I died a couple of times before learning where to hide from her majesty, and when everyone else lay dead I entered the teleporter beyond the blue door to confront her. The Spiderdemon is not an enemy that can provide a challenge in normal situations, and my careless behaviour complicated the finale with -fast monsters. Muumi devised an interesting scenario to confront her, but as typical for his maps, foreknowledge was required to avoid fatal mistakes and they will inevitably sour the blind attempts. Once you get a grip on the required process, it is an extraordinary boss map.

[RHhe82]

E3M8: Space Elevator. Played on DSDA v0.25.6, UV, PS. 148/148 K, 1/1 S, 27/30 I. Comp. time 11:45

 

For some reason, I was expecting another moonbase, because I was sure there would be one particular in the third episode. And yet I was struck with conflicting memories, that map wouldn't fit with the circular arena that I on the other hand remembered fairly well; for being difficult, for ammo scarcity. I was preparing for the worst.

 

Indeed, later research proved the conflicting memory was from a E4 map, so that's for that. As for the Space Elevator, as far as SMM encounters go, this is a great implementation of that: put the SMM as a turret where you can't (initially, in practice) hurt it, but it constantly poses a threat as a long range turret. I suppose infighting could demolish it, but at least I couldn't pull that off. Not enough health around.

 

Visually I love this level; the crater area (?) looks great, especially the elevator contraption the spidey is guarding. You can't fool around too much, and yet the map doesn't punish you with scarce resource, as my memories indicated falsely.

 

Worthy ending for the episode. SMM showdowns can easily feel letdowns or frustrating experiences, but this is one way of doing it engagingly.

[Ralgor]

E3M8 - "Space Elevator" by muumi
MIDI: "Escaping the Mechanism" by Jimmy
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl3, UV, Pistol start, blind run
100% kills and secrets
Deaths: 0
Time: 12:54

The episode 3 closer is much more of a boss map than E2M8 was. You start out in a quiet area with a nice view of the space elevator. The effect here is pretty nice, since the elevator is small and close, but it feels like it's large and far away. There is still some work for you to do before you can engage the spider-momma, but you do it under her watchful eye at nearly all times. The arena itself starts flooded with enemies, and you have just a shotgun and a few shells to make do. The initial challenge then is just to dodge enemy attacks while killing shotgunners and grabbing their ammo. The level slowly serves you better weapons, and before too long you have the BFG and can really start to clean up.

 

Spoiler

Your view of the lunar space elevator

Every time you hit another switch or grab a key, more enemies flood the central area. Trying to dodge them while not stepping in lava can be difficult, but there are places where it almost forces you to wade through lava. I find that a bit annoying.  It's not really a big deal though because there is a ton of health in this map. And you'll need it since you'll get pelted by either shotgunners on the ground or the SMM on the central pillar. You might think you can induce some nice infighting here, and you can, but the SMM is somewhat resistant to fighting with the army down below. The monsters tend to hide behind pillars instead of attacking her. I'm not sure if that was intentional or not, but it makes the level way more fun.

 

Spoiler

The spider mastermind on her perch

After acquiring the blue key, you head through a teleporter and are placed on a perch up above the arena. From here you can spam BFG at the SMM until she dies. Doing this with any of the monsters down below left alive is probably not a good idea, so you really need to clean up before jumping in. The fight itself is pretty easy, although you could be knocked off by the SMM if you're unlucky.

 

Spoiler

This was a very fun end of the episode. It makes great use of the mastermind, who is usually hard to use effectively. The combat is fun, and it looks pretty good. Especially that view of the space elevator from the beginning of the level.

[cannonball]

E3M8 - “Space Elevator” by muumi

 

One attempt and victory. This isn't a bad effort for staging the Mastermind boss fight. The initial scene looking over the tower is a nice touch and the arena itself is not too shabby either. Now you need to hit a few flesh switches to allow access to the plasma gun and rocket launcher, from there you can pick up the blue key and some extra supplies (Including the BFG) and take on the beefier monsters. I have to admit that the size of the arena (Which in turn prevents the player from directly confronting the Mastermind) does mean that the player will have plenty of space (Probably too much) to move around and avoid everything, there is sufficient cover too from the Mastermind when she reappears. I was able to quickly clump all of the monsters together to swiftly dispatch them and then use the final two cell packs to hose down the Mastermind from the platform and win.

Overall, this was a decent effort with decent presentation, that said the map is a little slow in terms of cleanup and as I survived first attempt, this is perhaps a little on the easy side. 

[LadyMistDragon]

(After reading the general descriptions of the last map, I just decided that it was more important to playtest newer stuff. But anyway....)

 

E3M8: Space Elevator

by @muumi

 

Here's the sort of map that some people would dub "style over substance." Rather than going the direction of either Nefelibeta or Violent Beetle, Muumi instead presents us with this beautiful, grand arena with water that seems to be poisoned and a Spider Mastermind in the middle, though thankfullly, it's not too symmetrical and manages to be dangerous without packing every space with enemies (unlike some maps that seemingly only exist to make one fight for every second). Barons are everywhere and along the edges there are lava pools collection that are probably just like chemical wasting dumps because the moon has no lava (although it was thought that Ceres also lacked lava, not to mention an atmosphere, but I digress). The objective is to then reach two eye switches accessed by platforms, which then lower the barrier to a base over a chasm, leading to a building with rocket launcher, plasma rifle and blue key on the ledge above. Though we're not out of the woods yet: the blue key door reveals a trap of Spectres and Cacodemons that should probably be terminated with maximum prejudice (read: rocket launcher since that's the weapon for whose ammo can be wasted without regret, unlike the BFG here) The teleporter inside leads to a platform facing the Mastermind, and unfortunately, there's just not enough ammo to kill all the Barons and the Mastermind in one go. Granted, we did totally fire a stray shot earlier, otherwise, she'd've been put down with two shots after sustaining damage from the barons on the platforms that are on either side of her and a Cacodemon or two, one of which had probably drifted too far outside the arena to be hit by anything. But even so, she died in six rockets, but that was quite awkward to say the least. Still a good closer, although maybe on the weaker end of Muumi maps, including some of the speed stuff from HellYeah!

 

 

[Capellan]

E4M1

Not a fan of this, either.

 

 

[DJVCardMaster]

E3M8 - Space Elevator - Mummi (92%K/96%I/0%S):

This one is a more straight-forward approach to a boss battle, no build-up just like E1M8, not a playable level before the final action just like E2M8, this goes directly, no date, no fancy setup, just a two-part agreement between pairs on Instagram to have a night of fun. The arena is heavily, if not totally, inspired of Valiant last maps, because of those giant buildings that represent the Space Elevator, looks good, but plays...
I don't think it plays that bad, but it is quite of a mess, making me go through 20 damage lava or catwalks. There are some interesting fights, as always, but those got reduced to pieces with the use of a BFG. The spider-mastermind is nothing much of a threat where she is, and the ending is similar to throwing rockets to an icon of sin, if you have 3 BFG shots, throw them at her face and proceed with the next episode.
Works as a boss battle, but nothing more to see. 

Order of Preference:
 

Spoiler

 

E2M7

E2M3
E2M6
E3M1
E2M8
E3M6
E3M4

E2M2

E1M6
E3M2

E3M5
E3M3

E1M4

E1M2
E1M3
E2M5
E2M1
E1M8
E1M1
E3M8
E1M5
E3M7

E2M4
E3M9
E1M9

E2M9

E1M7

 

The episode never had up and downs, but it feels it never could get any better than its first map, and that's a bad thing, it finishes with the two less interesting maps of the episode, or 3, if you decide to take the secret exit. Good thing is that, it was almost always at the same level, if the first map of the episode is the best, the rest of the episode could fall down into the letdown category.

The best thing may probably be the "moon" aesthetic, said aesthetic was well implemented throughout all the 9 levels and that gives this episode quite a defined personality that will differ itself from others, more than episodes 1 and 2 could.

[finnks13]

I will catch up eventually, but not today :P

~~~

 

E3M5 - Helium Refinery by Captain Toenail:

15:16/0 Deaths
I feel rather conflicted. This map looks awesome, with a ton of incredibly neat little details sprinkled everywhere - I especially love the large pipes that are presumably responsible for transporting the helium around and the text on the floor of the opening room declaring that we're in "Helion Base". Unfortunately, the gameplay in the map is so incredibly bland that despite having played it pretty recently, I could not begin to tell you anything much about it. I think the little secret area that takes you to an inaccessible courtyard with a bunch of pinkies & imps was my favourite part of the map, since I love berserk combat. One little thing that annoyed me is finding some secret light-amp goggles that managed to obscure the switch required for progression, since the glow effect that was meant to guide you to it wasn't present - the danger of using the gargoyle switch textures I guess. I feel bad about having this little to say about a map that has obviously had a bunch of effort put into it's craft, but ultimately while this map is solid, it neither wowed me nor upset me, it was just another stop on the megawad bus.

[RHhe82]

E4M1: Docking Station. Played on DSDA v0.25.6, UV, PS. 199/199 K, 2/2 S, 121/123 I. Comp. time 15:34

 

I didn't realize until now that E4 opener is made by the same guy than E3 opener. There's slightly similar structure: you are lacking guns and ammo at the start, you have to run and dodge enemies until you find the equipment. In this case rocket fest ensues, because there are hordes to manhandle here.

 

For some reason I played this map several times during development, and I wonder if the difficulty was toned down for the release, or have I just gotten better - I was expecting Whispering Winds kind of difficulty spike, but it's not much harder than the hardest bits of E3. On the other hand, I roughly knew about the ambushes, and yet I was certain ammo was gonna be on premium even after obtaining the rocket launcher. I'm glad it isn't.

 

The change in scenery is striking: layout seems more convoluted and consists of floating "islands" connected by teleports. The skies are green, acidic even, the overall look is darker, more brown and red.

 

Even as I was pre-exhausted by memories of hardship, I found the map and encounters fun. Compared to E3M1, it was somehow clearer I was going to have to flee, find the weaponry and blow some steam on hordes. Don't bother with pistoling down cacodemons. While I find the visual motif of E3 more to my liking, E4 looks interesting based on this opener (and from what I remember from my last playthroughs).

Edited May 24, 2023 by RHhe82

[Book Lord]

E4M1– Docking Station by @LordEntr0py 

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

 

Once more we make the acquaintance of a new episode through one of LordEntr0py’s exceptional creations. Docking Station offered the first glimpse on ‘New Venice, a city floating in the Venusian atmosphere. Once a utopia for human elite, it became twisted by the demons into their new headquarters in this dimension’. Our Doomguy had been offered full pardon if he accepted to complete a dangerous mission on Venus, but this map wanted to set the player straight: it will be harder than the previous episodes, and by a good margin.

Spoiler

This was a level driven by rocket gameplay, designed with remarkable precision. The floating buildings looked all the same, deliberately depriving the player of reference points. The first minutes were a mad dash through unknown terraces and staircases, chased by unbeatable opposition, trying to understand where I was going and what I was looking for. The group of Cacodemons appearing by the red door was tricky to dodge, and putting my hands on the rocket launcher was a relief. I remembered this part to be difficult on normal UV; with -fast monsters it was almost insane, as they shot repeatedly from faraway positions and cut me no slack. I also found the damaging blood rivers to be a veritable thorn in the side.

Spoiler

The author made sure the challenge did not end by picking up the coveted weapon, as the skirmish by the RK, the heftier assault in the BK area, and the exit ambush were large and confusing enough to require good movement skills, retreat, and reorganisation. I remember struggling quite a bit to find the two secrets on the blind playthrough; both were accessed by looking at the automap and jumping out of a window, landing on an unseen terrace with goodies. The scenario was grandiose with those gargantuan dark shapes in the background, though the monotone colours and the dim lighting did not make it look like the prettiest place in the Solar System. Docking Station was a convincing vestige of a fallen human outpost on Venus, and a peculiar map to play, as you would expect from a meticulous mapper like LordEntr0py.

Spoiler

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Book Lord

[TJG1289]

So I haven't played anything since E2. Idk why; just haven't felt like it. Probably since I've played through this WAD before. I don't know if I'll try to catch up or not, but I will say E4M1 was the map I mentioned toward the beginning of the month that was the only one I full on remembered before replaying anything. After looking at some posts here, I definitely remember E3M1 as well, both by LordEntr0py and both are awesome. E3M1 was a fun map to explore and had a lot of fun areas with great detailing. Some really cool secrets too. E4M1 is the most memorable map to me cause of the visuals. That's just a really cool setting. Tough map too, since you are woefully underpowered at the beginning, iirc. I do remember some of the other maps I missed like Myolden's 2nd map, but not all of them just based on screenshots. At least I don't recall any of them being bad! 

[DJVCardMaster]

Episode 4:

E4M1 - Docking Station - LordEntr0py (100%K/100%I/50%S):

Everything in this episode is going to feel like you are floating in mid air, and of course you are, as venusian climate is only "bearable" if you are far away from the planet's surface. That skybox makes me remember the old Interception 2 days, quite nice and nostalgic, although, venusian sky should have been a little bit more "sepia", in fact I suggested ViolentBeetle about that.
LordEntr0py should at this point be banned from further ViolentBeetle's community projects, as he always takes the spotlight, this time, again, with another banger, and again, at the first mapslot of the episode, this level slowly builds up with you having to run without guns. The cacos constantly following you from area to area makes you feel like Crash Bandicoot being followed by a temple boulder. When you get the rocket launcher it feels like a blessing, as you can start mowing down packs of imps and the flying tomatos that were bullying you before. The map constantly gets an area filled with enemies for you to kill after you do certain task, getting the red key, the blue key, and then opening the exit gates. It is actually pretty bad that a map so good is at the first slot, because, as with the previous episode, you could run the risk of having high expectations for other maps at the same level, but not finding something like that, hopefully, the episode has another one of those maps, I believe M5 is the case, but let's wait. 

Another great tone-setter for LordEntr0py.

Order of Preference:
 

Spoiler

 

E2M7
E4M1

E2M3
E2M6
E3M1
E2M8
E3M6
E3M4

E2M2

E1M6
E3M2

E3M5
E3M3

E1M4

E1M2
E1M3
E2M5
E2M1
E1M8
E1M1
E3M8
E1M5
E3M7

E2M4
E3M9
E1M9

E2M9

E1M7

 

 

[Klear]

So... hockey happened. Being Czech I'm obligated by law to watch it in a pub with a beer in my hand, and the alternating states of being drunk and being hungover are not leaving me much time to play a lot of Doom, but I'm up to E3M2 as of now, hopefully I'll be able to catch up to the rest of you before the month finishes. I'll try to upload videos of a bunch of levels tonight.

 

Anyway, seeing that the club reached the final episode, I have a question - just how much of a difficulty spike is it? I've seen it mentioned in the thread before and so far I've been enjoying my UV continuous playthrough very much, with only a few deaths spread across the levels and I've yet to get stuck on a fight. Should I go on with UV or maybe fall back to HMP? I think as long as E4 doesn't reach the difficulty of some of the very hardest maps in Mapping at Warpspeed then I should be fine playing continuous.

[RHhe82]

49 minutes ago, Klear said:

So... hockey happened. Being Czech I'm obligated by law to watch it in a pub with a beer in my hand, and the alternating states of being drunk and being hungover are not leaving me much time to play a lot of Doom, but I'm up to E3M2 as of now, hopefully I'll be able to catch up to the rest of you before the month finishes. I'll try to upload videos of a bunch of levels tonight.

 

Anyway, seeing that the club reached the final episode, I have a question - just how much of a difficulty spike is it? I've seen it mentioned in the thread before and so far I've been enjoying my UV continuous playthrough very much, with only a few deaths spread across the levels and I've yet to get stuck on a fight. Should I go on with UV or maybe fall back to HMP? I think as long as E4 doesn't reach the difficulty of some of the very hardest maps in Mapping at Warpspeed then I should be fine playing continuous.

My memories of later maps in E4 are still hazy as I’ve only played up to E4M3, but I’d say it’ll be considerably easier than the hardest tier of Warpspeed. There might be some tight ammo/health situation, but overall I’d say difficulty is closer to Sigil than Warpspeed’s tightest.

 

(And if indeed my hunch about difficulty mostly being a resource issue, continuous-UV should be a viable option).

Edited May 24, 2023 by RHhe82

[Book Lord]

32 minutes ago, Klear said:

Anyway, seeing that the club reached the final episode, I have a question - just how much of a difficulty spike is it? I've seen it mentioned in the thread before and so far I've been enjoying my UV continuous playthrough very much, with only a few deaths spread across the levels and I've yet to get stuck on a fight. Should I go on with UV or maybe fall back to HMP? I think as long as E4 doesn't reach the difficulty of some of the very hardest maps in Mapping at Warpspeed then I should be fine playing continuous.

 

It is not harder than Mapping at Warpspeed in any way. Maps in E4 tend to be long, and some of them might be challenging to play saveless or on a pistol start. Some have limited resources or tricky item placement. I completed the playthrough with -fast monsters and found no insurmountable fights, but I thoroughly know the map set and remember most secrets.

 

I think UV can be tackled by blind medium-skilled players while using saves and/or playing continuous, unless they have the time to replay a map just because they died to a crusher. I have no idea how VR may affect the experience.

[Klear]

36 minutes ago, RHhe82 said:

overall I’d say difficulty is closer to Sigil than Warpspeed’s tightest

 

33 minutes ago, Book Lord said:

I think UV can be tackled by blind medium-skilled players while using saves and/or playing continuous

 

Alright, that sounds like a pretty good fit for me difficulty-wise. Thanks!

[LadyMistDragon]

E4M1: Docking Station

by @LordEntr0py

 

When this was first loaded up, it really seemed like we were in for something special. The midi was quickly identified as a remix of "Soldier of Chaos" from TNT and really conveys the feeling of an abandoned station. It's not unlike the opening map of Xaser's The Lost Episode of Doom, but the story text at the end of the last episode told us we'd be arriving in a location like this. It's a collection of scattered locations, with industrial bathroom (white and green tiles) mixed with something industrial pierced with blood falls and blood pools everywhere that essentially exist to convey danger, as opposed to annoy every player into oblivion.

 

In any case, the map proves to not really be a test case of ammo starvation so much as extreme weapon deprivation! After having to pistol one Imp, it'd be hoped that most players would realize when pistoling them all isn't worth the effort, not the least of reasons that clips are really quite scattered. But after a minute and a half, it becomes incredibly worrying when a weapon still hasn't been found, leading in part to our first death.

 

But it turns out before teleporting to the next station, there's a rocket launcher for the taking, lowered by two switches where the most difficult enemy skirting takes place, climbing around the outside and doing our damndest to not be blocked in by pinkies and surprisingly succeeding for the most part. When the rocket launcher is finally available, it's not like combat becomes a cakewalk, due to Cacodemons taking up the narrow spaces surrounding all the platforms here, but there's still enough room that we weren't gritting our teeth too much.

 

After these enemies and the 2 Barons or so were down, we took a series of teleporters to a section where the red key was sitting in a corner. It was only here that I realized LordEntr0py had made the map since I hadn't bothered to look before, but the extremely deadly double-pronged ambush of Pinkies and Imps that requires finger constantly down on fire is a classic tactic of his, far as that means anything.

 

At a certain point, we end up in something like a command center. More Barons await, along with Cacodemons and Imps that unfortunately can get separated sometimes, which is why we wished there was a chaingun hidden somewhere. But it's fine because there's enough rockets to kill everything and still have some left over. At the other end is the blue key, which triggers another large ambush, including Cacodemons right in front of the windows. But at least it's possible to run overundersidewaysdown and not get destroyed unlike the last one. And it seemed like a trial-and-error process to find the exact location to drop down and walk to the hidden megaarmour. The spot was questionably narrow, but no matter.

 

Then finally, head to the BK door, sitting at one end of the rocket launcher wing, which when opened, triggers an ambush that might be more dangerous than the red key one, but also, it's easier to escape due to just firing in one direction where pinkies are coming from, heading that way, and hoping we don't run out of rockets before we can go and resupply. Perhaps there's more of a method like shooting the Barons first while occasionally firing at the Cacos and Imps coming in to trap you so that rockets can be picked up, with the trouble being that we'll likely end up trapped very quickly.

 

Honestly, I'd almost say this tops the last opener, but that might just be because I'm having trouble remembering how clever the secrets were and such. It might be a simpler layout but it's no less effective, if not even more so.

 

 

Edited May 25, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[Celestin]

E4M1: Docking Station by LordEntr0py

Spoiler

Welcome to Venus, the most inhospitable place of our solar system. In true Ultimate Doom fashion, E4 represents a considerable difficulty hike and kicks off with a gimmick level (though not as obnoxious as Hell Beneath).

 

Let's get one think out of the way. I don't like how the map looks. While I can admit a lot of care and attention was put into texturing and detailing, it's just too monochrome for me. Everything blends together with the green sky, especially the opening shot. Ok, enough complaining, because outside of visuals, I like Docking Station a lot.

 

The way out of the starting room is blocked by an imp, so naturally everything will start converging towards you once you fire a shot. Including cacodemons, which has a huge advantage in this string of floating buildings. You have nothing to kill them, so just run forward, from building to building, avoiding monsters and damaging blood, until you reach a button that lowers a rocket launcher. This is the only gun in the entire map. Reaching this points took me a couple of tries, I mostly died trying to grab the launcher. The place doesn't offer a ton of space and without deliberately luring cacodemons out, you'll likely get blocked, but now you at least have a tool to start fighting back.

 

From here until the exit, the map consists of multi-direction teleport traps in tight environment, where your own rockets are as likely to kill you as enemy projectiles and claws. While not as hard as the opening dash for the rocket launcher, they were still tense and exciting.

 

After 3 relatively easy chapters, I welcome harder maps. Bring it on!

[cannonball]

E4M1 - “Docking Station” by LordEntr0py

 

This one really announces its arrival and a big step up in difficulty. It does take a little bit of time to get your bearings, but once you have the layout mapped out then it isn't too bad to navigate. The combat initially is an overwhelming romp in search of the trusty rocket launcher, beyond this there are a series of ambushes when you achieve certain objectives. I must confess that the fight at the end could have been executed better because you can easily miss a large number of monsters because of where they spawn.

Otherwise this is a very solid map, only pipped by LordEntr0py's scene setter in episode 3. 

[Celestin]

E4M2: Customs Office by Anarkzie

Spoiler

An opening shot sets the tone of this map: standing behind a queue of zombies, who patienty waits for their turn to be served by a baron receptionist. Customs Office combines extensive use of sector art and high enemy numbers to create a map that is both fun to play and hilarious with its environmental storytelling. Early on you stumble across a contraband storage, containing exotic animals in cages, dangerous chemicals and portraits of Hitler. It's a creative setpiece that made me giggle the whole time.

 

The combat consists of fighting mostly weaker monsters that appear in large numbers. Bullets and rockets are dispensed in steady quantities, so the map isn't that difficult, especially compared to the episode's opener. The big fights come at the end. A lost soul ambush in a dark room is followed by a massacre on a platform overlooking the clouds of Venus, which was my favourite encounter of the map. The exit-guarding cyberdemon is a pushover, just run past him for the plasma.

Spoiler

You might have noticed colour-coded doors throught the map or a chamber with a pitchfork symbol and three key-locked switches, all part of a way to the secret exit. Luckily, it's not hard to find. If you notice an aforementioned pitchfork symbol in a room next to the secret exit, you can open a hidden passage and take a back entrence to a nearby teleporter. A switch here lowers the blue key in a room right before the exit and with it in hand, you can open the locked doors, deal with two rather simple fights, collect the rest of the keys end exit to E4M9. I'm impressed how none of the four bonus levels was a bitch to find, while providing a healthy challenge for secret hunters.

 

I'm not familiar with other works of Anarkzie (they doesn't seem to have a Doomwiki page to help me), so I went in with zero expectations and ended up with one of the best maps of the wad.

 

E4M9: Cult Headquarters by Mystic 256

Spoiler

The secret map of Episode 4 is a quick, monster-dense battle in a floating stronghold. While the speedmap-like aesthetics are hit-or-miss (lots of right angles, a bit repetitive textures, but also interesting large-scale objects), the biggest strenght of E4M9 is its pacing (for the most part). The opening couryard is full of pinkies and turreted barons, threats that are too much for a shotgun. The way forward leads through two side arenas, both containing a new gun (rocket launcher and plasma rifle respectively), a teleport trap that requires you to use said weapon and a switch that unlocks one of pillars that block the red key. I like how this setup removes a lot of backtracking and helps providing action for the entire runtime of the map. 

 

The key opens a teleport pad to the final fight, a large circle which spawns a horde of monsters commanded by a cyberdemon. This is pretty standard stuff - infighting and plasma easily take care of this fight - but still enjoyable. Once the fight is done, you can exit. Unless, of course, you want to kill everything. The cleanup wasn't fun, especially when I ran out of cells and rockets, while a couple of barons was still alive.

 

That was a minor complaint in an otherwise solid map, providing 10 minutes of constant action.

 

+++ The Box of a Thousand Demons
+++ Tarnsman's Projectile Hell
+++ Abscission

Edited May 30, 2023 by Celestin : Changed a vote from PRCP 2 to Abscission

[Book Lord]

E4M2 – Customs Office by @Anarkzie

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

 

Big queue at the immigration office today! Customs Office is the only map from Anarkzie that I am aware of in community projects, and it began with an amusing scene that turned out deadly with -fast monsters. The whole level was positively crazy with its convoluted progression, exploding barrels, creative use of vanilla textures, and twisting paths, which were intricate enough to conceal the actual linearity, broken only by the quest for the skull keys and the secret exit.

Spoiler

The customs warehouse full of inappropriate equipment, ranging from pet Pinkies in cages to smuggled Nazi paintings, and including pallets loaded with Doom things like in Gene Bird maps, made me chuckle while mowing down hordes of zombies. Combat was often frontal and not so threatening, but not without surprises such as the Spiderdemon appearing without preambles in the baggage claim area. The -fast parameter fuelled infighting among the monsters appearing in front of me, and they largely died like flies. The Descent midi was weird and contributed along with the other features to a light-hearted atmosphere, touching the border of comedy.

Spoiler

 

 

 

Customs Office provided interesting things to see, like the scary but harmless Lost Soul trap in the control room, the hidden gory sections, and the maintenance catwalks above the clouds, which I found nicely constructed. I cleared the area from Soul Sphere secret, which gave me an invaluable vantage point against -fast opponents. The way to the exit was dotted with pop-ups, enemies emerging from guard posts, and ended with an abrupt Cyberdemon to engage with rockets.

Spoiler

If the player discovered a rather intuitive secret in a computer room, not very far from the spooky chamber with three coloured switches, the BSK would be available in the patio before the exit. A handy teleporter avoided an otherwise long backtracking and brought me back to the warehouse area. I opened the blue door and accessed a strange room divided in two parts, which contained the other two skull keys and the last enemies to kill. The coloured switches in the darkness must be flipped to reveal a rather ominous secret exit. I enjoyed the unconventional and outlandish approach to map design followed by Anarkzie; the gameplay might not be the strongest trait of his E4M2, but the exploration and secret hunting were top-notch, making his contribution to Solar Struggle a memorable experience.

Edited May 24, 2023 by Book Lord

[Poncho1]

Sorry that I've been quite absent from this. Trying to get back into my writing, so for once, I may abandon this month's WAD. Apologies.

[Book Lord]

E4M9 – Cult Headquarters by @Mystic 256

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

 

A quick & tough secret map from another obscure author, the same Mystic 256 that made MAP32 of Hellevator. The ‘mystical purple fruit raccoon’ must have a penchant for secret levels with lots of action and slaughter encounters that are not too difficult, except for the Shotgunner attrition that was quite a concern with -fast monsters. Cult Headquarters presented a strictly symmetrical layout hosting four large fights, starting with a welcome committee that a pistol starter must handle with shotgun and monster infighting.

Spoiler

Running around in circles, pressing the switches, and getting rid of the roaming monsters was enough to progress into the next sections, each one hosting a set piece involving either rockets or plasma. Returning to the first courtyard with heavy weapons permitted to destroy the turrets and eventually collect the RSK. Pressing the red-coded switch summoned one last teleport before sending me to a Cyberdemon arena behind the central structure. The enormous terrace was swarmed by all sorts of critters, and I must prioritise hitscanners or die from attrition.

Spoiler

The combat was nicely done, and it flew very quickly if compared to E3M9, which had been a more fulfilling experience at the price of some extra grind. BLAKWALL textures worked very well with the episode sky and the map looked good, regardless of the rather square design. There was a problem with the extra tall red bars blocking the exit, which could be seen from the first portion of the map for an odd graphic outcome. I did not remember seeing them during playtesting and they should be masked by the sky, according to the editor. I also noticed a softlock issue with the linedefs sealing the player in the rocket launcher and plasma gun wings: if you immediately step backwards, as I did once to dodge -fast fireballs, you are lifted on top of the barrier and may reach the progression switches without triggering the fights, but you get out of their compartment only with IDCLIP.

 

What the hell was this secret Cult on Venus, flaunting a trident symbol? The Disciples of D'Sparil? Cult Headquarters did not grant special rewards for continuous players unless they found the rather obscure way to access the double secret inside the twin towers. This, together with the technical problems that were left undetected by beta testing (I include myself in the reprimand), turned a rather enjoyable secret map into a slightly flawed experience. This was a shame since the concept was valid, the visuals were all right, and it only lacked a thorough quality control.

 

Votes for June 2023:

 

Want some renowned 90s stuff, not yet covered by the DWMC?

+++ Dystopia 3, Osiris, Insertion

(11+8+11 maps, the first a groundbreaking work by Adelusion and Iikka Keranen, the second is a famous TC loosely based upon the movie Stargate, the last is an episode made by Tolwyn and other authors from the Memento Mori era)

 

Want some 00s stuff?

+++ The Rebirth

(32 map megawad by Vader with a few dehacked elements)

 

Want some contemporary stuff?

You name it and I might use my third vote for it.

[Klear]

Audio synchronisation is pretty bad again, sorry. I guess I ran out of practice fixing it. But at least I'm uploading again.

 

E2M6 - “Transport Nexus” by @Jark

QuestZDoom, UV, practiced, pistol start, saves

 

Last time (oh my, was it really a week ago?) I mentioned I recorded some maps without sound, so I'm pistol starting here. But I didn't really mind because this here is my favourite map of the wad so far. I was sold as soon as I saw the lighting when you first come across the tracks. It's gorgeous! The opening section with no monsters builds up such a great atmosphere and it's probably magnified by playing in VR. I'm running through quite fast on the video, but the first time I was checking every corner, jumping at shadows, it was great.

 

Although the map isn't as packed with doomcute as some others (though it definitely has its share) and the freedom VR play gives me doesn't really shine here (though it doesn't pose any problems either), the whole vibe of the map just works for me on a deep level. I must say I did enjoy it a bit more in my blind but continuous attempt (which I managed with no deaths), as I was running rather low on ammo in places, to the point of having to poke a caco with a night stick. I'm also aware there's a few extra areas I haven't gone through present in the map. I am not going to enter a dark room with the evil red eyes watching me unless I really have to.

 

One more thought I remember from the blind run - I loved the way Barons were used. All of them were a part of a thrilling fight, even those that didn't teleport around. And those that did... well, that was something.

 

 

E2M7 - “Research Complex” by @cannonball

QuestZDoom, UV, practiced, continuous, saves

 

I didn't enjoy this map too much the first time around and I have no idea why. The beginning with a whole bunch of weak enemies just asking to be shotgunned is in theory one of my favourite gameplay situations, but for some reason it felt kinda boring? But I enjoyed it a whole lot more on my second attempt, maybe I was just having an off day the first time. It might also be that this is one of the maps where pistol starting is a lot more fun and that's essentially what I did here, since I was drained of ammo from the previous map. Uh, ignore the plasma rifle.

 

The yellow key fight killed me on my blind run, but I was ready this time. The final fight killed me multiple times the first time around, as I was figuring out which corner is the best one to get backed into. This time I realised I can easily blast my way into the exit area which makes the fight significantly easier. I still died after falling off a cliff. If there's a teleporter back up, I couldn't find it in time. Overall this is a pretty good map. Glad I was forced to go through it a second time.

 

 

Edited May 24, 2023 by Klear

[LordEntr0py]

8 hours ago, LadyMistDragon said:

It was only here that I realized LordEntr0py had made the map since I hadn't bothered to look before, but the extremely deadly double-pronged ambush of Pinkies and Imps that requires finger constantly down on fire is a classic tactic of his, far as that means anything.

😂

[Capellan]

E4M2

Nowhere near as polished as some of the other maps, but a fun romp.

 

 

 

E4M9

Not a favourite of mine.