The DWmegawad Club plays: Abscission

[Blast_Brothers]

MAP13: Prophetic Vision

 

Quote

 

The Icon spawner is genius. You hear it and immediately you feel like you have to hurry. Your anxiety only grows as you realize it's not immediately obvious where the monsters are spawning into, making you dread the thought of facing them later. Even after you figure out how it works, you're still under pressure - the limited health and dark, confusing layout make you extremely vulnerable to surprise attacks. I got jumpscared by an archvile in the courtyard, and a few more times by pain elementals spawning in in front of me.

 

In general, Abscission has done a great job of creating a playable experience that fits with Doom II's plot - Earth under siege, devastation in "your hometown", etc - a lot better than the actual game did. It feels weirdly immersive, in its own way.

[LVENdead]

Map 13 - Prophetic Vision (UV - 66% secrets)

 

Ohhh this freaking map. I'm being completely serious when I say during my first playthrough of Abscission, that I hated this map. Okay so like, not hated as in despised. But I hated how much this map stressed me out. I hated how disorienting and mean spirited it felt. I hated how I felt like ALL I could do was barely survive by the skin of my teeth. And I mean...that's kind of the whole point of this map, isn't it?

 

This map is a phenomenal coupling of theme/premise with actual gameplay setup. The midi is such an effective blend of feverish nightmare with the droning chords, and ambient backdrop with the sounds of helicopters and gunfire that make it feel like a war is actually unfolding all around you. It saturates the map in a real sense of time and place. You smash this together with constant monsters spawning around you and set it within the crumbled walls of a blown out city, and you have a very cohesive experience that feels like an apocalyptic war ravaging earth and humanity wholesale. I've never ever been a fan of IoS maps and yet this is one of the most impressive vanilla maps I've played, and it pulls my opinion back from the brink of being perfectly unilateral.

 

This run, I actually retained a rough memory of the layout which meant I was way more easily able to keep my cool. This map has some mean gotcha moments where obstructions appear to impeded your backtracking at a few points, making you take the long way back around despite the map being more or less a circuit. Between the monsters and the walls changing, the map is attempting to swallow you up. If you don't find the secret BFG or unlock the ammo cache, you will be at the mercy of a horde that appears far larger than it actually is; which is rather moot if you don't have much supplies to fight back with. Leaving the cyberdemon alive means he's very likely to appear at an inconvenient time while you're backtracking, but if you're lucky he gets mired in the infighting. The map is small enough that the iconic hoof sound is always ever present, so even if he's not directly threatening it's hard not to find yourself stressed or mentally taxed on a blind run. This time, I managed to find the secret BFG and got a near 1 on 1 fight against the cyber in the courtyard near the blue key, which rounded almost all the edge off the rest of the map. I was able to survive this one with no saves on my first attempt of this run!

 

I've always respected this map, but after this run I honestly enjoy it quite a bit. To paraphrase HAK3180 - Doom is at its best when Doomguy has decisions to make. The pseudo-random nature of this map means there's no shortage of novel decisions that need to be made in the heat of a very intense moment. And generally speaking, maps that keep me on the edge of my seat tend to be amongst my favorite. So I mean...maybe I'm saying this map managed to win me over after all.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 13: Prophetic Visions

Crispy Doom, UV, pistol-start

 

A map that takes the basic Downtown concept and instead chooses to set it in a rubble-filled town where monsters seemingly spawn from everywhere but thankfully will only spawn in certain locations. There's plenty of monsters already around in strategic locations but maybe we shouldn't worry about them so much. What's really impressive here are the shape of the ledges and the way in which they jut out or are shaped. It's quite an efficient way of herding enemies. The Cyberdemon near the blue key is best kept alive until later. These warehouses are also quite nice, along with the (secret?) office where the BFG can be located. And that midi.....it's a little lower key than that in 09 and 10 but that percussion spells doom and sounds quite frenetic. It won't be until tomorrow that we'll see beyond the illusion I guess. No monster spawners for two maps in a row, right?

 

 

https://youtu.be/BrY0Lz2vdn0

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP13 - Prophetic Vision (???%K/100%I/0%S):

So, Given the narrative, seems like this map is just a vision of a dystopicfuture in the streets. There is for some reason, a monster spawner, constantly filling the narrow corridors with enemies. Resources are really scarce for you to face them all. I did not enjoy my stay at this level because of that, and because I was playing it, sadly, in a hurry. Still I don't think it's my cup of tea. Does not feel as good to explore as the original Downtown. The vibes of the original are still there, though. The idea is to escape the city's downtown by getting the yellow key. After getting it, the map will suddenly block some paths and change its layout so you will have to work around it a bit more to find the already known exit door. Right when you get the first key, though, a Cyberdemon will spawn. Quite tough, as you won't have that much ammo to deal with it. I've decided to skip it and proceed.

Sadly, this hellish nightmare did not impress me as much as it should, but it may have its value in story-telling. Also, I usually get annoyed when a monster spawner kicks in at a non-MAP30 slot, as it triggers my completionist OCD, by not being able to kill all the demons in the map. Not that I'm going for 100% though, as I'm already having problems finding those secrets. Someone said some days ago those would start getting easier to find after MAP05 or so, but I'm not seeing any difference with them.

Order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP10
MAP12

MAP03
MAP06
MAP11
MAP08
MAP04
MAP05
MAP09

MAP02
MAP13
MAP01
MAP07

 

Edited July 13 by DJVCardMaster

[Roofi]

Map 13 : Prophetic Visions

 

 

Prophetic Visions resemble to a perfect blend between Silent Hill and Doom. The idea of being stuck in a city, constantly harassed by small group of enemies and of course, starving with resources without knowing to go, remind of the time I played the first SH on the PS1 years ago.

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

I appreciate how Abscission makes me dig up fond memories I had playing old games, but Snax clearly goes off the beaten track by putting in a spawner and offering Tyson-oriented gameplay, especially if you can't figure out how to unlock ammo reserves. Obtaining all those boxes of shells and bullets isn't required but is definitely life-changing. However, Snax has made sure that you're always in the hurry, so it's not easy to think in this map. The particularly open layout makes it easy for monsters to move around, and the scarcity of resources doesn't encourage camping.

 

The spawner serves more to frighten the player than to present any real difficulty, given that few monsters actually appear. Nevertheless, the constant noise of the spawner clearly indicates that you are an intruder and that the IOS is determined to destroy you.

 

There is a cyberdemon in this map but I tend to think the real enemies in this map are the arachnotrons and lost souls as they quickly devour space and the lack of armor make their attack quickly deadly.

 

I will not hide the fact this map frustrated me a bit, it's perhaps the hardest of the set at this point, but the survival-horror aspect is so well done. The music, aesthetics and fast-paced gameplay immerse us in a nightmare from which we are desperate to escape. And the bloody font for the map title sets a special tone for this map. "Prophetic Visions" won't be the map I'd like to revisit, but it demonstrates the excellence of Abscission's ambience.

 

Grade : A- (16/20)

 

 

 

[cannonball]

MAP13 - “Prophetic Vision”

 

The immediate berserk is definitely giving a massive hint of what you are about to endure. It is worth noting that the mechanism that shrinks the number of monsters released by the monster spawner can create some amusing results, in my run I was pursued by a ghost arachnotron.

I think this map sits probably on the wrong side of the line in regards to being either survival horror or just frustrating. I think the biggest issue is the lack of armour that can be easily found. This means that you can lose a lot of health quickly and never recover.

Overall this is an interesting idea for a map, but the execution doesn't quite match the last few maps.

[Cutman 999]

MAP13 - “Prophetic Vision” (Pistol started, used saves, ???% Kills, 100% Items, 66% Secrets)

 

Yeah, I don't like this at all.

 

The original downtown had a progression problem of not signalizing the way forward properly to the point of getting confusing and disorienting, with solutions to that ending up in memes like the arrow on the floor. This map doesn't have the exact same issue, but is misleading where you actually have to go, since you have some alternate pathways to go, leading you to miss the intended way and get punished by it, the best example being that cyber demon which could chase you all throughout the map if you raised its platform by accident.

 

That combined with a monster spawner that can easily balloon the kill count to the mid 200's, no armor, limited health and ammo; the last which you can get stashes of them in secrets you can even find by sheer accident like I did with the bfg; limited space to move around which forces you to take even more damage you aren't even capable of taking, and makes for a bad experience I didn't even bother to complete saveless. Worse than the original downtown.

 

2/10

[DavitW]

MAP12: Outer Plane
Have to say, first impressions made this map feels like it falls into the filler category. The kind you forget about right after playing besides a few parts. Looking back on it though, this is actually a pretty good map. The whole gimmick with the Icon of Sin is kind of cool, but doesn't add much more to the experience than regular switches or keys would. One of the switches to unlock the exit is a handout, but the others are challenges that follow a similar form; close quarters fights with a veriety of enemies. The Imp one has crushers oblivious players may stumble into, the one with all the Mancubi makes for good infighting, and the one with Cacodemons has the added danger off trying not to fall off the platform. The Spider Mastermind is almost completely meaningless unless you go out of your way to fight it early on.

 

MAP13: Prophetic Vision
If you were relieved we didn't have to fight the Icon of Sin last time, I have some bad news; we still have to deal with his monster cubes. Taking it slow and steady is still probably the best approach. Rushing forward can easily lead to taking damage, and the seemingly complete lack of armor and relatively sparse health pickups leaves little room for mistakes. The combat is like a big workout for the SSG. Finding the two secrets with the full supply of shotgun shells and numerous boxes of bullets will definitely make your life a lot easier. Maybe even necessary? No surprise they're both unlocked by tiny switches found nearby. Storywise, I guess we're supposed to be inside the icon's brain where we're getting the titular vision of a ruined city? This is the kind of symbolism that's completely lost on me until somebody else points it out.

 

MAP14: Oasis
There are a few visual similarities to the Inmost Dens, but the gameplay is a different experience. Never been a big fan of ambushes that surround you with hitscanners. It's basically guaranteed damage with little skill involved besides running into a corner as fast as possible. It's also basically guaranteed death if a player wanders in with 1% health. You obviously can't account for every situation a player might find themselves in, but it definitely feels like a cheap shot to me as an attempt to bring a bit of challenge to this easy map. It's a fine map otherwise. The music definitely makes thing a bit melancholy.

 

ab12-14.zip

[Snaxalotl]

Map13: "Prophetic Vision"

I would like to start off by saying "I regret nothing :>"

I fully understand how easy it is to hate this map and why it wouldn't fit the interests of quite a few players. That being said I'm genuinely surprised how many positive comments have been made for this map today.

Everything in this map is designed to stress the player out. Icon of sin, haunting midi, scarce ammo, and getting blocked from the exit when you think it's finally over. However, a lot of it turns out to be an illusion. The icon of sin's spawn rate has been reduced to about 1 monster every 20-40 seconds which is much lower than the standard, yet the sound plays every few seconds giving a much scarier impression initially. The combat on its own isn't even that difficult, I was shocked at how my playtesters struggled with this map so much... Which it turns out that it became so stressful that navigation and relatively straightforward combat got much more difficult under such pressure. The whole map is screaming at you to get out as fast as you possibly can, yet staying calm and taking it slow turns out to be the better solution.

This is one of my favorite maps in the wad because its pure suffering up until the curtain gets pulled and the illusion is destroyed. Its difficulty built on stress rather than providing a straight up challenge, and I hope more people explore tactics like the ones displayed here. I think its a trick best used in moderation however, and I don't intend to bombard the player with something so harsh on a regular basis.

[RHhe82]

6 hours ago, cannonball said:

It is worth noting that the mechanism that shrinks the number of monsters released by the monster spawner can create some amusing results, in my run I was pursued by a ghost arachnotron.

 

Actually, a similar thing happened to me, I just totally forgot about it -- but right before I found myself in the clear (having all kills etc.) I thought I saw a pinky clip a wall, and I was thinking did I see any archviles, I sure didn't remember any... But because I was already on my way out, I didn't even stop to see if it really was a ghost, and it still didn't occur to me as to how the spawner-dampener effect had been accomplished. Oh well.

 

* * *

 

MAP14: Oasis. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.5. K: 102/102, S: 1/1, I: 1/1. Comp. time 11:55

 

Inmost Dens by the night. This one was hard to get excited about. I'd almost go as far as to say I like the original better. Not that there is anything particularly wrong with Oasis, but the it just feels less exciting and less challenging with what we've come across thus far, and despite the plutonian archvile who keeps on resurrecting one pesky revenant (thankfully only for a while, until you get the blue key), it's even easier than Inmost Dens. The visual ambience is great, though; the dark red sky. It really feels like night, which brings an eerie feel to it.

[veevil]

MAP14: Oasis
(UV, pistol start, K: 100% / S: 100%, Woof!, complevel 2)

 

A step back down in difficulty and a step backwards in time - yep, it's The Inmost Dens all right. More atmospheric than the original, but the problem is the same as in MAP05: sticking too close to the source material. Feels a bit fillerish now that Abscission has really started to hit its stride, but serves as a wind-down after the stressful MAP13.

 

I had a chuckle when I realized I'd made the same mistake as last time and forgotten that you could grab the RL by just pressing use on the platform. Didn't really need it, though, because maybeeee you're gonna be the one that saves meeee and after aaaall you're my wonderwaaaall
(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Edited July 14 by veevil

[Celestin]

MAP14: Oasis

 

Aptly named, as this feel a bit like a break. The difficulty is dialed down somewhat and paired with a melancholic midi, this gives Oasis a calming atmosphere. That is, until you cross the red door and are instantly teleported into a courtyard surounded by chaingunners. This one was nasty, like pulling the rug from under the player's feet.

 

Besides this one fight, there isn't much challenge here, the archvile rushing at you shouldn't be a surprise considering what map this is based on, though using him to revive revenant and imp snipers was an interesting choice.

 

Oasis is a fine map, with mostly relaxing atmosphere and visually pleasent take on The Inmost Den's artstyle.

[Blast_Brothers]

MAP14: Oasis

 

Quote

 

Despite being harder than a few other maps in this set, this feels like a respite from the chaos of the last map. Comes off very differently compared to the original Inmost Dens. I like it.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP14 - Oasis (100%K/I/S):

The Inmost Dens clone of Abscission is more of a spooky fortress, which atmosphere gets sustained by the really dim levels of light used here. It has a really nice atmosphere, but most of the time you won't be seeing much of anything. The map is fun as usual with the MAP14 clones, but the mood it gives is the best aspect of the level. Just as MAP12, but without any build-ups. Just a solid adventure map. Another thing is that it felt quite lack-luster in the exploration part, as it holded many spots where you could hide secrets or additional paths, but Snaxolotl decided not to add those. It was also somewhat of a breather map compared to the previous entries. So it's welcome.

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

MAP10
MAP12
MAP14

MAP03
MAP06
MAP11
MAP08
MAP04
MAP05
MAP09

MAP02
MAP13
MAP01
MAP07

 

[Cutman 999]

MAP14 - “Oasis” (Pistol started, saveless, 100% Kills, 0% Items, 0% Secrets)

 

Reminds me more of plutonia's neurosphere than the inmost dens, but whatever.

 

With the midi I feel this is a break map, the traps are less tense than the first 7 maps of the set, and that midi feels very relaxing to listen. Combined with the hitscanner based combat of the original, it accomplished this purpose, it was fun to play this for a little bit of time. 

 

It would have been interested that it wasn't so faithful to the original, the progression is even the exact same, but still is not bad nor anything.

 

7/10

[RICHIE B]

Alright, I'm in.

 

This reminds me very much of John Bye's Talosian Incident. Something about the music and atmosphere I think.

 

So, they're kinda like the Doom II maps. Up to Map 9 now. Died about 12 times I think, playing continuous. UV max obvs.

 

Is it me or do the enemies seem super aggressive? Maybe I'm just having totally bad luck with RNG, but I keep chipping enemies with a shotgun, only chips them not kills them, consistenly, then they quickly blast chunks out of me, and mostly accurately even from far away including instantly when they see me. And a Hell Knight in that Crusher zone was throwing stuff at me nonstop.

 

Couldn't figure out the soulsphere secret in the main room in the Tricks and Traps map.

Edited July 14 by RICHIE B

[Magnusblitz]

MAP13: P̸̳̲̏̃͘͜ř̴̯͕͚̥̖́̿̀͝o̷͎̓͂̀͂p̸̛͖̑̂̌͘h̴̤̺͕̆̀e̶̗̖̟̠͂͠͠t̵̡̹͇̤̻͌̀͌̌ī̷̮̪ç̷̯̙̗̀͒̏͘ ̸̮͍̾͊̇V̷̤̿͂̈́i̷͖̒͗̒͆s̷̮̒̆í̷̢̮̮͌́o̵̱̗̤̓̈́̇͊͠n̶͎̪̩͌̑̊̀̒

92% kills, 2/3 secrets

 

This one definitely felt frustrating at first, but as the map played out and it became clear the Icon was a bit of a trick designed to stress the player out, I came to appreciate it more... though more in the sense of being an interesting design rather than a fun one to play. Right from the get-go was a bad impression as I died several times trying to figure out where to go before finally finding the small alley leading to the SSG and first switch. The rest of the map continued to have a lot of maze-like qualities with a confusing layout, "what did that do" switches and dead ends, and all of this was still frustrating even after realizing the Icon spawning was more for show. The final stress bit comes after picking up the yellow exit key, with a bunch of walls moving into position to seal things off and force the player to find another way back.

 

So, I definitely can admire the steps taken here to create stress from sources other than monsters/combat, but I agree with @cannonball that it's a hard balance to strike and it might unfortunately fall towards the frustrating side. I also agree that I think the lack of armor (and some health) is a big culprit. Personally I don't even bother to use the berserk fist without armor, and it's really easy to get chipped down even when you have an idea of where to go.

 

MAP14: Oasis

100% kills, 1/1 secret

 

Seems like this one is a bit of a breather after last map, but still plenty of danger here with lots of snipers (including a revenant that gets resurrected by an AV, hate that) and one particularly mean blind teleport ambush. The night setting looks nice, but I agree this one felt a bit too close to the original in some respects, and yet also lacking some of the interesting parkour the other had. Also the book textures are a curious choice for those columns.

[LVENdead]

Map 14 - Oasis (UV - 100%)

 

This is the map you want after map 13. It's ALMOST peaceful, which is the closet thing you'll get to respite in Abscission. It wears its Inmost Dens inspiration much more readily on its sleeve; truthfully I'm kind of mixed about this. There are VERY few maps that allow themselves to be compared to Inmost Dens which come out on top. On the other hand, I like the mood that meshing the American McGee classic's visuals together with the night sky and somber midi creates. Looking at this map more objectively, it's more or less "fine" in my book, and the best thing it has going for it is how it helps to punctuate Map 13. Subjectively, I happen to like it quite a bit. It's almost like...filler that manages to stand out, even though I don't truly feel like it's actual filler.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 14: Oasis

Crispy Doom, UV,  pistol-start

 

Yeah, there are certain Inmost Dens references but they don't really add anything. What's important is that this doesn't get as sadistic as Neurosphere or the numerous Plutonia clones, instead choosing to focus on an unsettling atmosphere. But as the title and midi indicates, this is a moment of relative tranquility after the (hallucinatory?) encounter with the Icon of Sin. Rocket launcher at the beginning is supposed to lower right away but I'm dumb. Then a secret Supercharge is sitting in a corner of one of the beginning moats. Try ignoring the pillar with the Revenants and Imps initially since there seems to be a hidden Arch-vile here that only teleports out once the first key is acquired. Opposition is a little nasty in these close quarters sheds but it's also quite easy to back out. The little drain at the end is nice, but this isn't really much of a Doomcute map because really, the concept doesn't lend itself to such. Jimmy had a submission like that in PRCP, far from his first inmost dens clone

 

 

 

[Celestin]

MAP15: Collapse

 

Initially, there's no time for sightseeing, as you start the map by being chased around by a cyberdemon and blasting zombies and imps with a shotgun. That was fun, actually. Soon after the cyberdemon got lost somewhere and the map slowed down. It picked up the pace when you drop into a hole behind the yellow door, it's a solid arena fight that gives you a BFG - I saved this one to kill the cyber after returning to the main part of the level.

 

Perhaps I should have left him alive, as the finale teleports a lot of monsters around the place and he could be useful for infighting. It's an okay map overall, but I don't think it grabbed me. I like how it looks, being set in what looks like a city block swallowed by the earth. What I don't like are cryptic secrets. I feel embarrassed not realising you can just shoot the bars blocking your way to the plasma rifle and the secret exit require you to very carefully drop down from another secret. Collapse is one of the weaker maps so far, but the bar here is surprisingly high, so it's more a testament to the overall quality of the wad.

 

MAP31: Reanimator

 

Yeah, this one is too gimmicky for my taste. Reanimator is a huge mess of cyberdemons and archviles in a cavern too dark to see. A number of attempts later I managed to keep them all in the middle and make infighting, only for ghost monsters to appear. They are surprisingly capable of taking out the cyberdemons, leaving me with transluscent monsters to kill with splash damage. Then a Romero head got crushed and the map ended, leading to MAP16. I was curious about the other secret level, so I opened the editor to find an evil eye on the dark rim of the arena, which opens the secret exit when you shoot it. This one was reached after a short pacifist run.

 

I'll give Snaxalotl points for creativity, but this is hardly a map I enjoyed.

 

MAP32: Bed Of Creation

 

You've seen maps that make a deliberate use of ghost monsters (including the one before), but how about an intercept overflow bug? If you're using a ZDoom-derived port, switch to something else, otherwise MAP32 will end with a single room and you'll be left wondering why is it even here. 

 

Other than MAP01, it was the only map of Abscission I've known about before I started playing, more-or-less spoiling the whole solution. Do I feel bad about it? No, as I think I'd spent a lot of time here, trying to figure out what Snax wants me to do.

 

Shooting at a switch in front of the start will break collisions completely, allowing the player to phase through some walls. The goal is to reach the room with white pillars and collect enough archvile followers to launch you over the edge, where a death exit ends the map. If you know what to do, the map ends in seconds, but I'm not sure if I were able to solve the puzzle myself.

 

Still, this is easily the better of two secret maps, the void aesthetics left me speechless and the actual challenge is one of the most creative application of obscure bugs I've seen.

[RICHIE B]

Well I just had to cheat to find the secret level. Those are some super skinny ledges. Then I gave up and had to look up the wiki to find how to activate it.

In the original I found the secret level by accident so no probs for me back then, but was always stumped how to find Map 32 and had no idea you access it from Map 31.

 

Any ideas how to get those single shells outside across from the secret area? Are they just decorative?

 

Loved that cyberdemon in Map 10. Actually felt scary and a great twist on the hitscanner area from the original refuelling base.

 

Map 14's resurrecting revenant and friends made me sulk though - especially when a 70 damage rocket hit my foot as I was going for the exit. Hated that in Plutonia and never did learn to love it...

 

EDIT: Managed to find Map 32 while not finding Map 31, a reversal of original Doom 2 back in the day.

 

When are we allowed to talk about the secret levels? 31st and 32nd of July? :D

Edited July 15 by RICHIE B

[DavitW]

2 hours ago, RICHIE B said:

When are we allowed to talk about the secret levels? 31st and 32nd of July? :D

 

Typical procedure has been the same day as Map 15, so that's what I'm going with.

 

MAP15: Collapse
Another cat and mouse like scenario with a Cyberdemon, this time in the underground ruins of a city. Once you get the blue key, you can access the exit as well as various supply caches placed around the map. Doing so will also spawn in a massive horde of enemies. Pretty neat idea for the climactic encounter. It's good, but perhaps the Cyberdemon fights are getting a bit stale at this point. The secret exit took a while to figure out. My first theory was it had something to do with getting on those distant ledges by the red key area, but I couldn't find a way to reach them. There's even shotgun shells over there and everything. Red herring? Unintentional bit of weirdness? Something obvious I'm missing? Could be all of the above.

 

MAP31: Reanimator
A lengthy elevator rides takes you down to a dark cavern while dozens of monsters get crushed in the center off screen. As the map title ever so subtely suggests, a horde of archviles is then released into the map to almost inevitably ressurect a variety of ghost monsters to piss you off. The elevator ride at the beginning is like an unskippable cutscene before a boss fight. There's also two Cyberdemons and what sounded like a John Romero head getting crushed along the way. Can't say I figured this one out so this demo with 100% kills before dying will have to do.

 

MAP32: Bed of Creation
I hope I did this one right. You activate some sort of semi no clipping mode by shooting the switch at the beginning and have to make your way through a terribly confusing maze of a level while hiding from Archviles. Honestly, I'd probably be more terrified as an archvile in this situation. A Doom guy that can hide in the goddamned walls is no joke. I've obviously heard of the ghost monster bug over the years, though I can't say I'm familiar with this apparent "All-ghosts effect". I'm not smart enough to understand how it works, but it's a pretty neat idea for a super secret level. Once again, can't say I figured this one out on my own. At least I reached the exit this time.

 

ab15.zip

ab31-32.zip

[Snaxalotl]

Map14: "Oasis"

This whole map owes its existence to "Prophetic Vision", I wanted this one to be a breeze in comparison. The midi, title, environment, and easier combat all just lend towards easing the tension and showing I'm not going to just constantly spike the difficulty upwards.

I personally don't consider it a "filler" map as I think it serves its purpose well, but I can see it getting lumped into that category as it was made to compliment 13 rather than stand out on its own.

That archvile has a semi random teleport destination for a little added replay value. And that teleport ambush was just for some extra shock value, its not something I usually like in doom maps as low health can just straight up break such an encounter. So with that all in mind I went fairly light on the hitscan and added 50 health on top of the teleport destination to make sure the player has a solid chance of surviving.

I don't have much else to say, this map served its purpose but it only plays a minor role overall.

[RHhe82]

MAP15: Collapse. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.5. K: 172/172, S: 5/5, I: 2/2. Comp. time 26:33

 

At first I didn't like Collapse. It looked as if continued the theme of MAP14, and it had a cybedemon from the get-go roaming around. But as I played it, more I came to appreciate it. The pieces of Industrial Zone can be seen, but this is a prime example of how to draw from source material but make it completely your own.

 

The ambience is eerie (if one thing, I'm growing a bit tired to constant darkness that permeates Abscission), and I love the end sequence, where the place is suddenly flooded with enemies. It's here I came to suspect I should have left the cyber alive instead of putting it down once I got the BFG and cells for it.

 

For the first time since MAP05 (I think) I had to spend some time looking for secrets. I would have wanted the backpack + plasma early on, but apparently not once did it occur to me to hit it with fists. Only at the end I was shooting at the nearby windows with the SSG and in frustration hit the metal bars as well.

*

 

MAP31: Reanimator. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.5. K: 111/111, S: 1/1, I: 1/1. Comp. time 3:47

 

At first I had a bed feeling about it: the name, the mysteriously increasing kill count point to a very AV-gimmicky map, most likely ghost monsters or God Machine -kind of affair. The latter would have been fine, but it was to be ghost monsters.

 

Fortunately the map turns out to be okay: it's a gauntlet, you only need to survive for what I'm guessing is 3 minutes from the moment you activate the switches after elevator ride. Actually, if you don't mind getting all the kills, I guess you can always finish the map, if you're patient enough to lie dead until some invisible mechanic takes care of Romero head somewhere.

 

I was happy to have gotten all the kills, and I was ready to take on MAP32... except for some reason I was too busy to even think of reaching the secret exit. My profile picture demands I really complete a map called Reanimator... And so I did. I admit, I did a little IDBEHOLDL and IDDQD to figure out the way to the secret, replayed the map. Got all the kills, and finished at 3:30.

 

*

 

MAP32: Bed of Creation. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v.0.27.5. K: 0/30, S: 1/1, I: 1/1. Comp. time 0:48 

 

I tried to play this one for a moment, but I have to admit the perceived gimmick didn't grab me. Like, at all. Almost from the get-go I was ready to call this DNF, but decided to give it one more go, and happily found my way to the hurt floor exit by accident. [Added upon posting and seeing @Celestin's post : There is an intended, arch-vile jumpy way of completing the map? :-O I sure as hell didn't figure that one out -- I just ran around, avoiding the archies and before long found a small hurt floor to grant me death]

 

I'd be amazed if there was a map that would take its place as my least favorite of Abscission after this one. To end in a positive note: I guess you could call this one artistic. At least it's very different from anything I've played, and it's commendable that Snaxalotl somehow made this function (I'm not sure if it's just a texture trick or some very advanced node builder magic [Added upon posting and seeing other people's posts: apparently intercept overflow bug), and that Snax had the good taste to put this in the super secret slot. Oh, and one more positive: both Reanimator and Bed of Creation completely dispense with the source material (as far as I know). No Wolfenstein, no SS soldiers.

 

I wonder if this is UV-Maxable and I just missed everything? I didn't come across any sort of weaponry, and if all 30 of the enemies are Archies, it's gonna take some heavy artillery.

[Celestin]

@RHhe82 like I've said earlier, I had seen footage of MAP32 before, specifically this video. It seems I've followed some speedrunner strategy rather than an intended method. I'll check the map again on 18th when I'm back from holiday.

[RHhe82]

16 minutes ago, Celestin said:

@RHhe82 like I've said earlier, I had seen footage of MAP32 before, specifically this video. It seems I've followed some speedrunner strategy rather than an intended method. I'll check the map again on 18th when I'm back from holiday.

That’s definitely a different spot than where I exited the map: it was a small piece of skybox-floor in the middle of the maze somewhere.

[veevil]

MAP15: Collapse
(UV, pistol start, K: 100% / S: 80%, Woof!, complevel 2)

 

Another map that stuck to my mind from my first playthrough, MAP15 feels like a spiritual sister to MAP13. Again we've got a cyberdemon roaming around a city block, this time buried in the cataclysm. The IoS is no longer here to crank up the panic meter, but the cyber does a good job at that by himself - I'm impressed how constrained the place feels while still giving the cyber enough space to roam around and ambush you when you least expect it. You haven't got the guns to take him on, so get moving.

 

The map would definitely be a lot more boring without the cyber. There's an interesting choice about when to bring him down: I found the secret plasma, do I use it on the cyber? OK, how about now, with the BFG? But what if I can use him against the last teleporting mob of enemies? This also gives the map a good deal of replayability: this time I decided to fry him before the final showdown, to avoid getting blasted from behind while focusing on other enemies.

 

Another thing I appreciated about the map was how the blue key opens supply caches around the map to help you deal with the final rush of enemies, which can get a bit rough even with the non-secret BFG considering the number of PEs and chaingunners in there. The secrets do verge on the excessively obscure, though, especially the plasma gun. Like, why does punching the bars work?

 

MAP31: Reanimator
(UV, pistol start, K: 163% / S: 100%, Woof!, complevel 2)

 

I remember hating this map during my first playthrough, but I've softened on it a bit since then. Still not one of my favorites, even though I somehow miraculously beat it on the first try this time with 1% health left.

 

One fight. Circular arena, 8 archviles, 2 cybers, a buch of other rabble, survive until the Romero head gets crushed and you're done. As usual, archies are problem number one, and they're in your face right from the get go. Problem number two is not the cyber-bros, but the ghost monsters the archies start producing with the central crusher. Take too long to pick off the archies or just get unlucky with monster movements, and you've got a real problem on your hands. Add to that the fact that the only weapons you get are hidden in the darkness inside the arena and that there's no health pickups after the megasphere at the start, and you've got a map that feels a bit too trollish for my tastes. The long elevator ride at the start, followed by the archie-powered panic attack at the bottom, definitely gives that impression. It builds tension the first time, but it's already boring the second time and you'll probably be seeing it a bunch of times unless you cave in and pop a save at the bottom.

 

MAP32: Bed of Creation
(UV, pistol start, K: 0% / S: 100%, Woof!, complevel 2)

 

I'm of two minds about this one. The map is enormously clever and I for one would've never thought to exploit the all ghosts glitch like this. I remember having trouble even figuring out the gimmick my first time through, since I'd disabled intercepts overflow emulation in the settings, but I really should've put two and two together after seeing the corpse pile. The map also has a very mysterious and menacing atmosphere... initially, that is.

 

Yes, unfortunately I'm not really fond of the gameplay. Run like a headless chicken, get cornered and die, repeat until you accidentally find the exit. It doesn't really feel like there's any point in planning your approach since you can't see the map and can't see what's in front of you due to the arch-vile flames, so just try to remember where you went before and try some other path next time. It crosses the line from "tense" to "frustrating" for me, and frustration is the enemy of horror. I can see it working for someone else, though.

 

Despite the fact that neither of the secret levels really grabbed me, I applaud the experimental spirit on display here. I much prefer something like this to the boring "I have some leftover maps so I guess I'll put them in the secret slots" type you sometimes see.

Edited July 15 by veevil

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 15: Collapse

 

Crispy Doom, UV, pistol-start

 

Last map seemed too tranquil. So naturally, the next one had a much higher air of danger. And that's not just because of the Cyberdemon, although you might find it advantageous to keep him alive for the final swarm at the end if nothing else. But past the shotgun, finding stronger weapons may be a bit of a challenge. Although the plasma rifle closet barely made any sense, at least all the secrets were located in fairly short order. Very nice combination of ruined city with natural landscapes btw. They seamlessly blend together and prove a great backdrop no matter what we end up facing. Enemies teleport from everywhere when the room leading to the final lift is lowered. And this took a few tries since I'm really not kidding to say that they come from everywhere. Placing the blue key in some rather suspicious caverns where the BFG also is seemingly would beggar a fight, but once again, there is nothing.....here at least. I don't really know what lowered the secret exit, but the location wasn't too hard to find at least.

 

Map 31: Reanimator

 

Sad to say I didn't really feel like playing this one or the next one. But anyway, we basically have to wait for 30 seconds on a slow-lowering lift before we can shoot a wall then immediately be confronted by 2 Arch-viles. There's some weapons but I think they're on the entirely opposite end of the map. Not sure because it's very hard to dodge all the Arch-vile in the meantime. That is such a cool structure in the middle.

 

 

Map 32: Bed of Creation

 

I don't know what's going on here but it's pretty clear a particular bug involving shooting something and causing the entire map to be transparent is utilized. Of course, there's Arch-viles. Other than that, I only know AV jumps are needed.

 

 

 

 

[Blast_Brothers]

MAP15: Collapse

 

Quote

 

When you start this map, there are two choices: get exploded by the Cyber, or get tickled to death by a million former humans. As you navigate through a sunken city, presumably to prevent your visions from coming to pass, running into countless dead ends and false starts, bouncing between demonic castles and quaint bedrooms, the demons become suspiciously easy to push through... until you get the blue key, and they're suddenly not again.

 

I was ready to be done before I remembered that there's a secret exit in here somewhere. Thankfully it wasn't too hard to find.

 

MAP31: Reanimator

MAP32: Bed of Creation

 

Quote

 

The ideal secret map: Gimmicky, weird, difficult, short. I'd argue both of these maps meet those criteria.

 

Quote

 

They feel like they work well as secret maps for this set specifically - continuing visual and thematic elements present in preceding maps, while setting them askew and cranking them up to 11.

[Roofi]

Map 14 : Oasis

 

 

After 13 maps , "Oasis" represents the first pool of hope in this ocean of dread and despair. The beautiful blue water seems to indicate that life could exist in this universe, and the brown bricks feel more welcoming than all the lifeless concrete. However, the music sounds depressing at the same time and tell me that I can't stand here for too long...

 

The combats feel more "Plutonian" than in the other maps, concretized by a rather heavy usage of hitscanners notably hitscanners and some traps that require some reflexes. Still, the ambiance absorbs the punchy combats and "Oasis" still plays and feel like a breather map. Honestly, it's the kind of map I would imagine totally devoid of monster but lot of people think it would be too boring.

 

Grade : B (14/20)

 

Map 15 : Collapse

 

 

If map 13 reminded me of Harry's misadventures in Silent Hill, map 15 brings back memories of Resident Evil 3: a city that has collapsed, with a super-powered nemesis relentlessly hunting us down, reincarnated as a cyberdemon here. The zombies aren't likely to kill you but they hinder your movements and add a lot of pressure to the map. And add to that, this map contains quite a lot of items stashes, that increase the feeling to play an old-school Resident Evil game.

 

However, contrary to map 13, "Collapse" is a lot more conventional and therefore more accessible to me. The cyberdemon doesn't present much danger as you quickly me find enough ammo to kill him and his movements remain limited. The armada of teleporting monsters near the end can present some trouble in case you didn't find the secret megasphere but opportunities to camp are plentiful here as there's no spawner. Also, you can find several blue armors that greatly reduced the challenge in the map.

 

Map 13 is still a step above, if I can compare these two city-themed maps. The rather controversial gameplay choices really reinforced the horror aspect. Here, the gameplay is closer to a classic Doom 2 map. Nevertheless, I find the use of grass texture quite interesting here, giving the map a liminal feel. It's the kind of " sweet " texture I'm not used to seeing in wads of this kind.

 

Grade : B+ (15/20)

 

Map 31 : Reanimator

 

 

As some maps such as map 08, I really like how "Reanimator"  feels like an occult ritual in a place hidden from view but I admit the combat design isn't the most fun nor creative I've found in a secret slot. I took several hours finding the Sigil-lesque shootable eye but it remains totally valid for a secret map.

 

Grade : C+ (11/20)

 

Map 32 : Bed of Creation

 

 

As map 31, "Bed of Creation" has a limited replayability but holy shit, it gets so much unsettling. "Bed of Creation" is truly a near-perfect representation of a nightmare. Complete disorientation, undefeatable monsters that chase you indefinitely and a kind of black magic that makes you pass through walls. Am I still human at this point, or just a totally astray spirit? Although I wasn't particularly amused by this map,

 

"Bed of Creation" is another work of art in the form of pure darkness, and all exe-compatible. Like, map 11, "Bed of Creation" is one of the most disturbing Doom 2 maps I've ever played and the name "Bed of Creation" makes me think I'm at the lowest point in the world, perhaps because I have the word "bedrock" in mind, which represents the lowest point in Minecraft...

 

Grade : A+ (19/20)

 

 

All the four videos are in spoiler :

 

Spoiler