The DWmegawad Club plays: Sign of Torment

[Roofi]

+++ Garrulismo

+++ Abscission

+++ Atonement

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 25: Everlasting Pain

 

This is another one of those maps with a piecemeal arena approach....and the midi suggests something even more ominous. The refrain of the Entity is probably an external refrain that's unnecessary in this case. But the beginning is a tone-setter enough - some voodoo doll takes a fair amount of damage that reduces to around 44 percent health if we're at 100. Shoot the button here to activate the lift for probably less than 2 seconds, then hop this series of floating islands to a Hexen portal that takes us to a fortress with a singular Cacodemon....but upon stepping inside we're told NOT TO KILL THE CYBERDEMON. Well, we know no one's asking when messages like these are displayed so we obey, although we end up suffering several deaths in this section because there's really no way to avoid him entirely. 

 

Most of the following ambushes are pretty weak. The one over the bridge is an easier and probably more entertaining one of the pinkies from the other map. The one with the raised surfaces, Imps, packs of Hell Knights on platforms and an Arachnotron quad in the back is probably going to sap at least some health, although our mixed HK dodging didn't help matters.

 

The standout encounter EASILY is the arena with the Spider Mastermind and the murder of Revenants so large, opening up with a rocket will guarantee your own self-implosion. I'm really not sure how this could be handled without a plasma rifle. Better yet, there's enough here that not one but TWO Spider Masterminds will likely fall to the Revenant masses. Someone's not going down so easily.

 

On the other hand, the little platform bit with Imps firing at us from long distances proves quite annoying because there's zero health here and it's basically impossible to not take at least a few hits here. There's probably some secret that we missed, but it's not like they are really obvious.

 

Anyways, once we get all six keys, we can head back downstairs, activate a crusher for the Cyberdemon, then press a switch that activates a lift sitting below the apparently murdered Icon of Sin, activating lifts leading to the exit and a few Arachnotrons existing to punish those that think they can rush around. The last map was better.

 

+++Abscission

+++ Nostalgia

+++ What Remains and Devious Deviance and In the Halls of the Goblin King

 

 

 

 

[espilka]

+++ I C H I N I C H I

[brick]

+++ Garrulismo

+++ Ichinichi

+++ 3 Heures d'Agonie

[General Roasterock]

Map 25: Everlasting Pain

 

  Actual torture. This wad can’t be smart enough to inflict the torment it implies directly on the player, it’s just dumb.

  There was no thought into putting down half of the WarioWare minigames outside of FINALLY giving some agency to the shapeless character that’s been following you around this entire time. The BFG is something you’d see most mappers play off as a joke, and yet, despite this being the first time I’ve seen this gun, it only exists as a fakeout to waste a couple seconds to those that can rewind through it, and potentially longer for everyone else. The Cyberdemon guarding all six key pathways is terrible, completely turning the maneuvering that is usually required to evade splash damage into a coin flip. Yes, another map that makes use of all six keys for no reason, forcing it to make a couple of them lame as hell like the Red Skull hallway. Restraint is completely absent, and all that’s left to appreciate are the factors about these maps that have muddled to begin with. The tiptoe of gore and chains slathered about the decoration chunk are the only things still consistent, and they’re not enough to carry. 

[Crusader No Regret]

map 21: 100% everything

 

   Now this is a horror atmosphere, thanks to the texturing and music selection.  Well, less music and more droning but it does work at creating tension.  There have been a few not-quite-whole demons strung up in the last map or two (a detai I forgot to acknowledge) but starting from this map, they're much more prominently displayed.

 

  I died several times attempting this before realizing there was an alternate path than running off a (not actually activated) jumppad into the void.  And the first time I located the intended way through the map, I ate too many revenant missiles and died from attrition.  The green armor at the start is the only one available and it's likely to get worn down before the map is over.  Was fortunate to spot the secret since scanning the automap for secret sectors wouldn

t have turned it up.  The rocket launcher within wasn't used in the map other than the secret fight itself but it does give me a chance to start putting weapon EXP on it.  Not much to say about the rest of combat, just stay alert for ambushes.

 

map 22: 100% kills, 2/3 secrets

 

   I haven't felt so much tension in a Doom map in a long time.  There are moments in the later maps that will top this but this map managed to put me on edge even when there isn't fighting going on.  Never has teleporting a pair of dead zombies gotten me to jump before.  At least once, I managed to wander into the middle of an ambush due to monsters silently warping in an area I'm passing through.

 

  Did try to go saveless a few times but gave up on that.  One reason is a secret which involves using a jumppad at an unconventional angle where messing up means plunging into the deadly void so having a safety save before trying is welcome for sanity.  But the main reason to use saves is a number of tricky combat setups.  Getting the rocket launcher involves an ambush of archvile and Undead Hunters where it's easy to end up getting filled with lead.  Coming back from the white keycard, an ambush with many Undead Hunters was even more trying given how I was low on armor and it was between me and any green armor on the map (and it's a lock-in so running past was not permitted).  The exit became accessible at a time I was around 60% kills and I was somewhat tempted to simply bail but chose to go through the unexplored portion of the map, filled with more trying resistance.  Right upon entering, there's an ambush with the speedy red demons and some hitscan support so gonna take a few hits.  The ambush at the red key itself is a tough one but I was able to handle it with executing arachnotrons first, which let me handle the hellknights at my leisure.  Getting locked in a room with three mancubi at uncomfortabe angles tested me more.  This one I didn't perform really well at even with a buffed rocket launcher and was mostly saved by ZDoom physics (projectiles impacting on decorations).  The white key gaurdians were a tricky bunch, though felt fair.  And of course, the monsters aren't letting me leave without another brawl.

 

  All this was done without SSG and its absence I felt.  There is a hidden SSG but I didn't find it until the map was over.  And I somehow forgot to pick it up when I was running around to top off going into the next map.

[Celestin]

MAP26: Hopeless

 

Here's another hub-based map, except the hub here is a series of dark caves that refill with monsters when backtracking. The black key is in a creepy building that looks like a school (I think). I like this part because you aren't being attacked by anything and just waiting what's going to happen. It's only on your way back when a spiderdemon appears, which can be easily made infighting with a group of revenants.

 

The white key requires you to fight several waves of monster in a large, dark cave. I'm not a fan of this one, luckily the red key route is better. The jumping puzzle was weird at first, because teleport destinations are on lifts, so you had to time your jumps. But the battle in a floating fort against three cyberdemons, archviles and other foes? That was great, probably one of the better setpieces of the entire wad.

 

I think it's one of the better maps of the episode, but at the same time, the reliance on hub-based design of the wad is really getting stale.

 

+++ Nostalgia

+++ Good Morning Phobos

+++ Ichinichi

[_goofyguy]

MAP23 - Die Alone
guys i think the game doesnt like us anymore
God the difficulty spike hits hard here. An archvile ambushes you at the black skull with imps - an ARCHVILLE, gets lumped in with LOW CLASS MONSTERS - every fucking monster under the sun comes out to get you, a fake secret, and also just a message that tells you to 'fucking die.' Very cool, game. The word die is plastered fucking EVERYWHERE as well. At least we get the super shotgun and God's flyspray, the super shotgun, to help us out, right?
Right??
MAP24 - Save My Life

what is that wailing
Early on, theres a jumpscare with two cyberdemons that turns into a pesudo minigame where you have to dodge rockets and shoot two targets beside you to get out, which i thought was really well done and it did in fact make me jump. Otherwise, difficult as hell, the music's, well, terrifying, the aesthetics literally tell me to commit wall street investor, everythings edgy as hell and it somehow works. "It won't get better"? Fine by me. I'm enjoying it already/
Also the spider mastermind gets fucking crushed again hahahahahahahahaha
MAP25 - Everlasting Pain

"You are alive because we let you"? Sounds like copium to me. Also, who's we?
"We forbid you to kill the cyberdemon"? Yeah, right, like I wouldn't- oh.
Yeah, anyway. There are quite a few puzzles that focus on pressing one button then running to some platform before it rises up again, which are mediocre. The ICON OF SIN shows up, and it's dead, and 'they' killed it. The jbait with the bfg, the millions of revenants, everything's out to kill you here. Terrifying. 
On a side note: If the ICON OF SIN is dead, who's gonna be the final boss?

[espilka]

MAP25 Everlasting Pain - K: 97% / S: 33% (HMP, continuous)

 

Tricks and Traps?  Beautiful map, that i found playes actually quite beautifully.  i was afraid of the central Cyberdemon, he got me ten times on my maiden run, but only once or twice now - the trick is in the timing of your run past his sorry ass.  The area i did last was the slaughter-scene with Imps, Manx, Arax and Hell Knights, and it did look nigh impossible on first sight - i don't remember how much i suffered there before, but in fact, once again, after figuring out what to do, which is the hardest part, execution of a plan wasn't at all that difficult.  Focus on Hell Knights and just try avoid the Imps or kill them on the side.  The fight against Revs and Spidermama was actually fun, must have done a hundred rounds on them.  The black cave system was killer, but again, that's just par for the course.  One i survived without a single death was of course the bridge with Barons and some peasants - easy but very nice surprise as that.

 

Yeah, i was in fact afraid of this whole map by what i remembered, but managed it without excessive deaths in under 40 minutes.  Got one nifty secret along the way, that basically allowed me to avoid returning by the Cyberdemon.  It was nice to have a simpler progression for a change, while still keeping it meaningful and not perfunctory - those lift-runs must be timed to within two tenths of a second!  And i know there's at least one map coming up where the progression nearly did me in years ago. The last Arachnotrons managed to get me once, too :P

Edited October 26, 2023 by espilka

[General Roasterock]

Map 26: Hopeless

 

  It took eighteen maps, but the “it moves” section is an interesting use of the jumppads. It makes good use of the scale of the world for what you have to observe to move forward, doesn’t give the pads incredibly tight timing and movement thresholds, and adds to the vastness of the world by making you feel so small amongst such long distances being traveled. Plus it led to a pretty good multi-staged fight. Even the environments are starting to stick out. Seeing the rudimentary classroom, assumed to be absolved by this dimension, was entirely unexpected and a bit grim in a way the wad hadn’t tackled up to that point. I’m also finding myself to be better acquainted with the maps that give longer periods of time to let the atmosphere drip in before starting to put hitscanners behind rocks and stuff, and the buildup to that first Mastermind was good for that.

[Pechudin]

MAP26: Hopeless (UV, PS, Saves; Yes)

Yes, I am sequence breaking a bit, I don't want to play MAP25 at the moment - I recall it being a huge pain ... everlasting pain.

 

Anyhow, this is a long map. It starts without monsters in sight for the good first 10 minutes or so you will spend crawling, creeping forward in the dark tunnels that you just know will be repopulated later. Then a creepy base with some doctor's quarters and vivisection tables and a dusty old classroom. I loved the small chairs and the blood-stained blackboard. I wish there was more of this environmental storytelling. Just where we are that Hell (is this even Hell?) managed to envelop an entire base with a classroom? Is the Plasma Gun in the classroom a symbol for school shootigns? Probably going too far.

 

The tunnels were probably the most boring part of the map. The tension really breaks when you have the absolute powerhpuse that is the Dark Plasma gun. I just have to - HAVE TO - admire the raw power it affords to the player. Unfortunately it also breaks the horror, knowing you can smoke any enemy in mere seconds. The large open space with the addition of the new timed jump-gates is probably the best part of the map. The gates themselves are a fun mechanic that require some awareness on the side of the player (even if I manage to hit the side bars often) and culminate in a fun fight with some perched Cybies, Revs, HKs, a SMM in the center (which means that the SMM does not infight with the Cybers easily) and an assortment of mobs on the floor which do not pose much of a hazard (unless a Red Demon blovks you for juuuuuust enough for you to catch a rocket - ouch), until the AVs spawn in, that is. Thankfully there is enough health in the arena to tank a couple of AV hits.

 

Finally - I'd have to commend the achitecture - not that it's much different to what it usually is, but the scale and the meshing of atmosphere (MIDI, darkness) really makes you feel like you are exploring an eldritch (hey, I get to use the word @espilka) place, an unwelcoming place. Well, until you get the DPG of course (that reminds me - BFG is still nowhere to be found). The Entity continues with its doomer taunts I guess, but I am not reading any further lore into them.

 

Verdict - a good map with some nice combat, a good use of jumppads, but whose best asset it the oozing atmosphere. Just don't get the secret Light Visor - it completely butchers the aesthetics.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 26: Hopeless

 

I wasn't terribly concerned with taking notes so don't expect a complete breakdown of this map. What's important to note is that once again, keys can be approached in any order. The atmosphere must also be noted. Seems like we're being pushed towards a sort of acceptance at our current situation with the ambient music sounding even more pitiless than usual. It's like, maybe the demons have been defeated and have only been resurrected as ghosts but perhaps this is a metaphorical sign of where doomguy's quest inevitably ends up.

 

Take for example, the twisting caves tying together each area of the map. Their purpose in serving atmosphere is quite strong at first and indeed, the particular darkness in one tunnel is suggestive of something dangerous approaching. Later, it does get a bit annoying when we want to finish the map because this might have taken the longest of any so far! There was also something else really creepy I can't remember right now in one of the void vistas.

 

Anyway, the black key is located in what suspiciously appears to be a classroom. At this point, no one had been encountered but upon leaving, we encounter a Spider Mastermind! Don't think we can take her out before some Revenants teleport in to annoy the ever-loving shit out of us.

 

At this point, the caves will become populated with enemies, some of them being transparent Imps though not as many as you might think. It's not necessary as it turns out.

 

The red key is then located in a vast gothic fortress, of the type that's been seen in many video games, a few Cyberdemons, Mastermind in the middle and quite a few other enemies too! But when we return, we find that in addition to the Mastermind getting replaced, there's also two Arch-viles, along with several Mauler Demons!

 

That wasn't as hard as the series of fights around the white key though. Rockets are really quite limited on this map, and it's thusly necessary to lean heavily on our plasma stores. While the chaingunners and Mauler Demons go down easily enough, the presence of the Mancubi and Arachnotrons complicates things greatly. Try harder than we did to spark infighting. What's more, when the way to the white key is finally unlocked, FOUR Arch-viles teleport in, along with some more Mauler Demons and possibly an extra enemy or two. Open up with plasma and when it's safe, use the rockets.

 

It's certainly not ogre after that. A grand total of two Arch-viles will attack on our way back through the tunnels (and one can even strike us through the door!) and transparent Imps mock our attempts to escape.....or not since they're dead, but there's nowhere to go from here. Who cares, this gets a vote for best map!

 

 

[DJVCardMaster]

+++ Abscission

[Celestin]

MAP27: Black is the Soul

 

Teleport ambush: the map. Some of them are cool, like the red key fight. You enter a dark arena, pick up light amplification visor sitting in the middle and several waves of monsters start to appear. I had a BFG at that point (available on the white key platform and requiring you to kill a cyberdemon up-close), which made it entertaining. Another good fight was a cramped platform on the way to the exit, which is, again, a BFG spam. By contrast, the black key route confused me for a while, because you need to drop down on platforms that are below your eye level, something I've always seen as a low blow in a game where you can't look down. The fights here are the weakest of the map, just some incidental stuff.

 

The ending reuses rooms from a previous map, I'm sure about this, but which one, I can't tell. That's actually is a great illustration of an issue I have with Sign of Torment: it sticks religiously to a single theme throughout an episode and because many maps play very similarly, it all blends into a single blur of three-way hubs, erratic pacing and overuse of Boom mechanics. In Black is the Soul, this reached a point where I can't put a name to a map I've played only a couple of days earlier.

[Crusader No Regret]

map 23: 100% everything

 

  Maybe I could have killed everything at the start as I did carry over a full stock 50 rockets.  But I chose to play along as if it was a pistol start.  Booked it for the teleport (not necessary to go full speed) and thrown right into another arena with me in the middle and arachnotrons and later mancubi taking shots from the side.  Acid upgrade and a Damage upgrade on my rocket launcher made this a bit easier as I can generally nails 'trons in two shots and mancubi in 3.  Took a few lumps due to sloppy dodging but whatever.

 

  Whatever entity is leaving the text around is going for blunt.  Thing is, seeing DIE plastered everywhere had me soon become used to it and I mostly tuned it out after a minute or two.  I found the secret plasma gun before I found the "secret" so I ended up not falling for the trap (other than saving beforehand and trying just to see what would happen)  One encounter going for the white key was semi-tricky though only because I insisted on trying to get cacos to inifight the blocking mancubus.  Archvile could have been worse but a Rapid Fire boosted rocket launcher barrage took it (and some of its support) out before it could complicate things.  Cyber on the islands was cool.  Baited it into taking out other monsters in the area before doing the jumppad hopping to telefrag it.  Unless the cyber fires immediately after landing from a jump, there's ample time to line up the next jump so taking it steady will prevail.

 

  Coming back around to the mob of screaming skeletons one ran from at the beginning is a fitting way to close out the map.  It is somewhat tricky to win through infights as revenants sometimes slip past the infighting mob to pursue.  Had a funny moment in my successful go where the first cyber came out on top on the brink of defeat and went down in 2 plasma gun shots.  Shooting down the other cyber gives weapon EXP to the plasma gun for which I take Bouncy Shots (shots reflect off terrain up to twice or until they hit a monster, probably never going to be relevant) and the first level of lightning upgrade.

Edited October 28, 2023 by Crusader No Regret

[_goofyguy]

MAP26 - Hopeless 

This starting room, where have I seen it before...?

Now, most of the level is pretty standard stuff for this episode: an (un)healthy dose of archviles, teleporting ambush shenanigans, jump pads, terrifying music, the like. But, for the first half of the level, it's... different. There's absolutely no monsters up until you get the black skull key. That's not supposed to happen, right? This is DOOM. This is dashing from room to room, shoving lead in demon's faces for fun. Take the monsters away, and it gets... a little scary. There's something genuinely horrifying about having just nothing there with you, and that scared me more than any archvile. Of course, once you get the black skull it mostly returns to normal, but that sense of being alone, that was massively under-utilized. Maybe I'm looking too deep into this, but who cares.
This is probably my new favorite map, not because it's fun, but because it actually felt terrifying to me. 
Also, yeah, I'm not voting for the next WAD. I want to experience new WADs, not the same old stuff (no offense to those ones of course).

[Pechudin]

MAP27: Black is the Soul (UV, PS, Saves: Yes)

200 monsters may imply a long map but this one goes by pretty fast, courtesy of the map's two large staggered-teleport traps. I prefer going for the PG and BFG first before tackling the RSK fight. Entering one of the teleporters in the BFG room transports you to one of two fights - and each side activates a jumppad to the white gate. Unfortunately, the machine that powers the jumppad is on the other side of the fence, so in any case you will have to visit both sides. I confidently marched off into the black below after activating a machine, thinking the machine activates a jumppad on the SAME side. This is dickish design.

 

As far as the big substantial fights go, the white gate one can be easily beaten by skirting around the edge, firing BFG shots sporadically. The Zombie/Imp/Caco7Manc fight is actually a nice fight IF not for the zombiemen. Hitscan being hitscan, it's a crapshoot if they do not whittle you down, and there is no health in the arena. If not for them, the fight would be a bit more fair since then it would be a test of finding space to squeeze rockets in, while trying to dodge Mancubus fireballs danger-close. This part is admittedly quite fun.

 

That's it. The map's end looks like the MAP24 (I think) end - we are back in the techbase at the episode's start. The Entity has not dispatched any more insightful information, mostly some emo stuff. Pretty lukewarm on this one. OH, forgot - this map has those neat translucent floors - I think this effect is also used in one of the new DBPs and KDIKDIZD.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 27: Black is the Soul

 

Hey, wanna know what's making me feel hopeless? EVERYTHING! At this point, we're mostly coming across messages nihilism, though one of them provides some contrast with the rest regarding its usage of "we." Funny that, who's corpses are scattered everywhere? I'm not sure, but this is yet another case of an open-ended sort of map. The 'ending' feels like something from map 20 with its hub-like structure. The void also seems scarier than ever.

 

But once again, cinematic encounters rule the day. Red key is located in an extremely dark room that gives us goggles when we hit the switch but we're then fighting off a wave of zombies and Cacos, then another more dangerous group of Imps I believe, then finally, a 'reprise' of the first wave with heavier-packed Cacodemons. As our one death here shows though, it's too easy to do things in the wrong order, leading to premature terminations

 

The white key is..... something accessed by heading to the side chamber of the central arena, dealing with some rather pressing ambushes for the lack if space in said chambers, then teleporting back to the center to pick up a BFG and duke it out with a Cyberdemon at close range only a fool would want to two-shot. It's not over though! Use the key to activate the jump-pads to that one island in the center, then we're instantly ambushed by some Revenants and Arachnotrons at fairly close range! We'd run out, rocket everything, then start zerking until the next wave comes in, consisting of Pain Elementals, Demons, Cacodemons, and Mancubi. Not doing so well, we just BFG'd through everything which seemed to work. It felt a little cheap, but this is a casual playthrough after all.

 

Black key proved disappointing though. An Arch-vile would've been nice at probably 1 location here, but Kain felt a little hesitant to unload here, so basically, when we reach the black key, we're attacked on both sides by zombies and a Pain Elemental. This is the only serious combat complaint we had here though. But it was too easy to not realize there were darkened platforms in this void.

 

I think this might be behind 26 but maybe not 24.

 

 

 

[General Roasterock]

Map 27: Black is the Soul

 

  A real shock to the system this one; fights, and action. The Red Skull, on top of being the best use of Light Amp I’ve seen in a good while, may be leading the pack for singular arenas in this set. The consistent waves timed with the duration of the powerup, even if they’re a bit slow for skilled players, the meat shields to protect you from the hail of zombieman bullets in the form of the Cacodemons, the final Manc wave that gives goosebumps for people like me who didn’t notice the BFG until a herd of lard was already on top of it, all of these were structured really well, orchestrated to the extent the powerup could last. I had to focus when it went out completely and I still had Mancubi blocking my gun. 

  Speaking of which, I’m pretty much shocked that this is the first time a map has really let the player let loose with a BFG. There may have been one in a secret I missed, I don’t care, and I know there’s the troll one in Everlasting Pain, but this is the first time I felt powerful instead of unbalanced. Another Cyberdemon on the Nice List in the form of the close ranged duel for the White Skull, I always love getting a two-shot off, and it’s been something I physically couldn’t do up until this point. Even beyond him, just having a BFG for what gets unleashed is such a new feeling for this wad that it acts as a rejuvenation. It was exciting.

[Celestin]

MAP28: Loneliness

 

Pretty short map, no doubt intended to push you towards the penultimate level. The kill count of 49 enemies is one of the lowest I've seen in a while, with most of them grouped in the final fight. Loneliness is a single corridor that branches of into three paths that have to be visited in a specific order. You know, a hub.

 

The white key is obtained after some jump pad shenanigans, the black key puts you in a cage surrounded by cyberdemons and have you survive until they get crushed. The red key is interesting, you have to press switches to lower the bars around it. The kicker is, each switch also spawns stuff in. One button teleports in a row of imps, other some harmless decorations and one brings in voodoo dolls, which I immediately shot and got hurt. I don't mind getting tricked like this. Between all of this, there's not much action. As in some previous maps, you walk from place to place, anticipating what would happen.

 

Anyways, with three keys you can start a jump pad to the exit, only to land on an invulnerability sphere in a room full of cyberdemons, archviles and revenants. This fight isn't much of a threat, but it was fun. 

[espilka]

MAP26 Hopeless - K: 100% / S: 100% (HMP, continuous)

 

The Dark-Infused Plasma Rifle really changes things.  i don't think i'd find this playable without it, or at least without a BFG9000.  So here the progression is quite complex, and i think this is the one i was bemoaning about earlier on account of my blind run experience, but i guess i'm able to be more methodical about it now, because as complex as it is - that is, it's easy to go wrong way at any point, needing to return, remember what was there and come back to it - it wasn't a problem.  i was fortunate to find the only secret, the goggles in the techbase.

 

The jump pads combined with the portals proved tricky, requiring some new learning, as i kept missing the first floating portal not realizing i was likely (really can't be too sure what happened, always finding myself drowning in sea of blood) overshooting the island behind it.  There's no point in recounting the journey through the eldritch caves, the foreboding hall with four corner-areas drenched in darkness, the eerily empty techbase.. it's exactly as fantastic as what's been before.  The arena fight was the real new thing, but such is the power of the new weapon that it went almost without incident - managed to run first time to the roaming Cyberdemon that had appeared from nowhere.  Biggest problem was returning from the RK area and confront the Arch-Viles (of which this map has a few too many, but i guess that comes with the territory - i'm quite sure this was not the case on HNTR.) 

 

i don't think i'll be able to finish this wad before the end of the month, the third episode is too exhausting for me to play every day, let alone more than one map per day, but i'll just give my concluding remarks on the appropriate day - i know that nothing forthcoming will change my opinion.

 

PS: For those for whom it will be visible, enjoy the Lunar Eclipse tonight!

[Crusader No Regret]

map 24: 100% everything

 

  Managed to forget about this map a couple of days after finishing it.  Which feels weird as it doesn't appear that forgettable.  There's more variety in the demotivational words directed at the protagonist.  The cyber duo was terrifying on first encounter and even on repeat playthroughs, being left at 1 heath is unsettling.  The atmosphere is effective enough that even teleporting in harmless decorations has the capacity to spook.  The use of bloodfalls in the library section with the plasma gun is an improvement over similar effects from episode 1 as rather than going full on infrared zone, it goes with a less obtrusive tinting effect.  Easier to see in action rather than me trying to describe it.  The pack of demons charging in assisted by conveyors was another notable scare.  Only got to squeeze of 1-2 rockets before they got close enough to risk splash damage and that was with foreknowledge.

 

  I did try to single-segment this a few times but too many tricky fights had me give up on that idea.  Black key involves an archvile (just one on HMP) and red demons that can chew up the player if the cyber blocking the exit doesn't aggro most of them.  White key is easier to handle though I did die a time or two due to revenants in cubbyholes able to attack from awkward positions.  Red key is brutal with being thrust into a welcoming committee of revenants and speedy demons.  And once those are dealt with, there's still getting jumped by a pack of archviles and a turret cyber.  The trap at the plasma rifle in the bleeding library also has teeth.  Most combat was done with rockets and plasma with only occasional use of weapons in slots 3 and 4 to pick off lone stragglers and low-tiers.

 

map 25: 100% kills, 1/3 secrets

 

  I think the start is staged to leave the player at 1% health or close to it.  Coming in on continuous (as well as two levels of Tough as Nails for 18% damage reduction) does spoil the intended effect though.  Gotta hustle to catch all those timed lifts that start things off.  And I did carelessly charge right into the crosshairs of multiple chaingunners when I could have taken them out one at a time, well placed.  There's a secret that the automap revealed but I couldn't quite make the jumps across the pillars to register.  Only got the one with the backpack.  Not sure how one would find it without visible secret sectors on the automap; with them it was hilariously simple to locate.  And yes, I did savescum to avoid picking up the megasphere.

 

  "We forbid you to kill the cyberdemon."  I took the warning as if it were genuine but I never did try to find out what happens if one does kill the cyber early.  Could it be a troll?  It uses the same white text as the "secret" from map 23 so I did later consider it maybe being intentionally misleading.  Now maybe a more skilled player can come up with a reliable means of avoiding stray rockets when entering the various doors it's guarding.  I'm not that player, instead going with the safety save and reload if I take a direct hit method.  If you're playing with a weapon mod and have access to any means of slowing or freezing the cyber, this is a good place to use them.  I had lightning inscription on my plasma gun for slow but I hadn't gotten that effect on the chaingun like I wanted.  So that was something.  Not using plasma for anything else as none is provided within any reachable area at that point.

 

  The mini-arenas for the keys are an interesting enough bunch.  Revenants and spider masterminds I felt was best handled by infight baiting and taking out the survivors afterwards.  Dead Icon of Sin was a neat moment.  I did fall for the booby-trapped BFG, oops.  That area proved frustrating because the jumppad after the trapped BFG was being finnicky for me and I kept missing the landing.  Dark cave section has many monsters hiding in the shadows but easy when taken slow.  Rocket launcher gets a workout in the other arenas, a task made significantly easier by the Exploding Death upgrade on mine.  Most combat (when I wasn't baiting infights) is handled with rockets and chaingun; this map doesn't provide that many shells.  It's different.

 

After everything is killed, only then do I pick up that megasphere to go into the next map at 200/200.

Edited October 29, 2023 by Crusader No Regret

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 28: Loneliness

 

The music might oddly enough, be at it's absolute blackest. Our essential isolation has become all too apparent as underscored by the various messages displayed here. There's even a "you are the demons"-style message that might not be addressed to us because we'd already be dead. There's also a point where we gaze upon some skyscrapers, perhaps the only memory of what existed before they came. As such, the jump pads and switches feel incredibly obligatory to avoid 'walking simulator' accusations, but perhaps this sort of thing was necessary to take some stock before the ending. And indeed, while there's a point where we have to duck around some Cyberdemons while they're murdered, (with an accompanying "you are safe now" message), the vast majority of the 49 enemy count comes not from the branching path Stonehenge structure but rather the temple-filled arena that sort of resembles the center that tosses Arch-viles and Cyberdemons at us like there's practically not tomorrow! But we get an Invulnerbility so it doesn't come across like the complete BS it actually is. No matter, the worst part was seeing a distant structure raised when the red key lift is activated. 

 

 

 

[UUN4]

MAP28: Loneliness

UV | Pistol Start | Saves used

K: 120% | I: 100% | S: 0%

With the map name in mind, I guess the low monster count and only 1 real combat encounter makes sense; this was still a relatively laidback map though and I only died on the last fight once since they give you invulnerability, extra cell ammo for the BFG, and a megasphere. The hiding-from-the-cyberdemon segment was a little fun; I died here once since I didn't see the white message. I don't really have much else to say on this map except somewhat delaying the combat encounter after getting the weapon and ammo stash (where the red key is) did kinda get me a little bit; the two invisible imps also kinda got me a little bit.

 

Map Votes

+++ Nostalgia

+++ Machete

+++ I C H I N I C H I (Ichinichi)

[Crusader No Regret]

map 26: 100% kills, 0/1 secrets

 

  Back in the start room of map 21; whatever force is behind thing in gloomsville wants to keep the protagonist there.  This map really ups the unsettling feeling from map 22 with the dark caves where enemies could be lying in wait in the shadows.  And what was that manmade facility doing in this otherwise otherworldly realm.  I was on edge exploring it uncertain as to when the monsters would break the silence.  I feel it well played that taking the first key didn't immediately spring a welcoming party, to keep up the uncertainty.  Map becomes more action-oriented as it progresses with less quiet exploration before the next encounter.  Coming in with 200/200 and toting an overpowered arsenal, was in little danger from the combat but it was engaging and that's what matters in custom maps.

 

  I was constantly failing with the jumppads before the showdown in the castle in the void.  Thought it was my choice of port throwing things off though I suppose I was just dense and didn't pick up the timing aspect.  There should be enough ammo in that arena to not require infight baiting but I did so anyway as it is more enjoyable for me.  Other than terminating any archviles and pain elementals with extreme prejudice, only needed to finish off the cybers myself.  Straightforward from here on to the exit.  Though I did return to the castle to top off.  And proceeded to fail even harder at the jumppads leading up to it, eventually resorting to -noclip out of frustration.  Heh.  Jumppad frustrations aside, this feels like one of the strongest entries in the mapset on multiple fronts.

[Celestin]

MAP29: No Gods No Masters

 

I know you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but when I saw a killcount of 1144, I knew it's going to be rough. I knew from previous maps that Kain has a tendency to create quite long stretches of map with no health pickups, expecting you to make as little mistakes as possible. Easier said then done in a slaughter map.

 

I won't talk much about the progression, because most of the fights here fall into one of three types: an advancing wall of single-species monster (sometimes reinforced by a cyberdemon or an archvile - the early fights of this type are the worst due to a lack of health) that you have to push back against, big arenas that can be circle-strafed until you win, or fights in the dark that are just bad, especially that one with arachnotrons and mancubi at the end. Also, No Gods No Masters does the whole hub-based design twice.

 

I think the only encounter I did like was the one by the black skull: a bleachers of mancubi, two pyramides with revenants, exit blocking cyberdemon with a replacement and additional blood fiends to chase you around. This feels like something from a modern challenge wad and I wish there was more fights like this in the wad.

 

No Gods No Masters is the lowest point of the wad for me. It was clearly made as this epic conclusion, but I find it excessive in lenght, while alternating between fights that are completely brainless and frustratingly difficult.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 29: No Gods No Masters

 

I won't spend too much time on every individual situation because that would be pointless. What's important is that this is the moment where we take back our life or something.....by killing 1144 bad guys on UV! Yeah, it's a Map 29 although the signs were already there. We're provided all our weapons at the beginning and our objective is basically to get through lots of grey depressing caves to reach an arena, then a fortress. The nastiest situation, as seen in the below video is attempting to fight off a nuclear detonation of Revenants with only 30 health. There seems to be a secret nearby that provides 2 medkits which honestly wouldn't have helped  us too much because we completely bungled the fight against the Mauler Demons earlier.

 

The only situation that just plain sucked though was the last set of darkened caves where Arachnotrons and Mancubi teleport in. Killing everything requires the most tedious and annoying hollow-cramping crap that is entirely out of place with what has come before. The bit with the Hell nobles wasn't too bad, although perhaps challenge gets neutered by using the BFG here.

 

There were some really cool areas though, like the large red central arena where pressing the center switch leads to a small Caco cloud trickle which turns into a flood of other enemies including FOUR Cyberdemons! The other is the pyramid Celestin refers to, although by that point, we just wanted to finish.

 

 

 

[Pechudin]

I kind of spent my time mapping lately, so I'll probably say my piece tomorrow about the WAD as a whole and MAP30 in particular.

[Crusader No Regret]

map 27: 96% kills, 0/2 secrets

 

  Structurally similar to map 20 where one brings the keys to a central location to open up the path onward.  Much greater focus on setpiece encounters with very little incidental combat and fewer cyberdemons to slay.  It's the fights themselves I'm inclined to gab about this time.

 

Red key: Did this one first, the one with the light-amp goggles.  With no ammo provided in the lock-in arena, this lends itself to getting everything to infight.  I feel this is the easiest way to win as leaving the cacodemons alive allows them to distract the mancubi.  There is that risk of body blocking but decent crowd management and herding everything to the center minimizes that danger.  No health either but I came in with 200/200 so retries were from taking more damage than I wanted rather than outright dying.

 

White key: This one came second.  The invulnerability provided on HMP does not turn the cyber duel into a freebie as the impact from a rocket will still send one flying into the death void.  The later circular arena on this path  is still more difficult though how much varies.  If one can keep the arachnotrons herded closer to the center and quickly eliminate pain elementals before they vomit tons of skulls, it will feel easier.  But if the spiders and their fat bodies spread out, it becomes noticealby harder to stay in motion (to avoid being peppered by plasma).  I lost a lot of attempts here due to falling off the sides.

 

Black key: This one is made up of smaller fights that feel more incidental than orchestrated.  It's the smaller spaces that create any sense of difficulty here.  The dual revenants are the most intimidating of the ambushes but plasma (or the Rapid Fire SSG I was toting) take them out handily

 

The exit is located in the same lab as map 22's for that internal continuity.  And raising more questions.  I was missing 5 monsters and did make a token effort to find them but soon gave up, topped off resources, and left.

 

BFG for reals this time.  With the upgrades I earned this map, I attach more damage, two levels of lightning upgrade (slowed enemies are much easier to connect the green ball on), and a level of Rapid Fire to counteract the native slow firing speed.

[_goofyguy]

MAP27 - Black Is The Soul

Not much of anything different here. Interesting floating platforms, a massive long battle for the red skull, and the BFG returns for real this time. Many monsters get toasted, the ending area is very familiar. The end.

MAP28 - Loneliness

The theme for this level seems to be "confusion." The puzzles here are sprawling and there's really no hints at what you're doing. The level itself is almost entirely absent of monsters... well, up until the end. Before you hit the red key there's a message that reads "Humans took everything from you." like what are you talking about my dude. The coliseum with the red key is filled to the brim with ammo and things, and then when you press the button, the key comes down to you. Nothing else happens. Apart from the mass of monsters at the end of course. Quite possibly the most revenants I've seen squashed into this one area, and god is it crazy.
If this is what the third to last level is like, what will the last one be like?

MAP29 - No Gods No Masters

A massive reservoir of weapons and ammo right at the beginning?
This CANNOT be good.

Map 31 returns again in the first area, chock full of monsters. Music sounds... strangely hopeful, which is fair considering this is the penultimate level. But seriously, the creator thinks the idea of difficulty is just stuffing the level full of ten zillion monsters. At least i get the spectacle of watching a million cacodemons firing off into the sky-void-thing. This level is very long as well.

 

Anyway, tomorrow for me is the spooky day! Perfect time to review the final map of the WAD and the WAD as a whole.