The DWmegawad Club plays: Abscission

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP18 - Elder Shrine (100%K/98%I/50%S):

A simple map with an arena at the end and some additional optional areas, I'd suggest you to do those next to the wooden area with pillars, behind the wooden doors. Those will hold all the weapons you will need for the final arena, but first, some simple tasks to get some keys. I felt this map was kind of a filler, and not that interesting to me. Also, I had to go back to those additional areas because I forgot to get the stuff inside it, as trying to stand for more time without weapons and bullets in the last area was impossible for me. Once I found the BFG, the fight was over (It kinda was before as enemies kept infighting while I wasn't there). Thanks god there is a TP to the starting area so I can exit the fight at any moment. It kind off breaks it, though.

Order of preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP10
MAP12
MAP16
MAP17
MAP14

MAP03
MAP06
MAP11
MAP15
MAP08
MAP04
MAP05
MAP09

MAP02
MAP18
MAP13
MAP01
MAP07
MAP31

MAP32 (Unrated)

 

 

[Cutman 999]

MAP16 - “Cold Ascent” (Pistol started, saveless, 98% Kills, 83% Items, 0% Secrets)

 

People tend to glorify suburbs as "the combat centric map" of doom 2, thank god snax listened to those guys, because this map is freaking awesome.

 

It is basically a small hub that can be opened into different ambushes, standard practice for these kinds of maps, but "cold ascent" builds up in a very great way. The first encounters are close spaces with imps, maybe a turret enemy or 2 until you get the blue key, then briefly becomes calm, no enemies, just building your anticipation for more. Then, you get the red key and have to rush for the soulsphere or you just get recked by the pinkies and revs in such close space without the plasma you can get later in the map, you just rush and kill everything before they turn you into mush, then you open the red door with a plasma and megasphere inside, you know something bad is going to happen. Then, the map bursts into a reprisal of that famous suburbs' ambush, this time with limited space and like 90-something enemies, if you grabbed the invulm early, you are dead meat.

 

I'm thankful this is not trying to be just another suburbs, and took that feeling everyone had about it to make possibly the best map in the set until now, I'm a sucker for these kinds of things in doom, so maybe my praising is a bit biased, but I love this map, possibly one of those I'll replay some other time.

 

9/10

 

MAP17 - “Predation” (Pistol started, used saves, 95% Kills, 96% Items, 0% Secrets)

 

Another map I love, centered around map15's cyberdemon chasing gimmick but in a more combat oriented way, you have to choose between 4 pathways to progress, and each path is interconnected, altough you'll prefer to get the megaarmor first from the lower right just to have better chances of survival againts hitscanners and spectres.

 

The map is tense from the word go, despite some areas looking rather mild, a cyber can change a lot by itself, and makes a fantastic job of inducing agency to the map. Damn, now that I think about, maybe tension is the strongest aspect of this megawad in general.

 

Only complaints from me are that I don't like spectres in overly dark areas just being placed to chip and block the player with very little control to get out of that situation, specially since there's not ssg outside of secrets, and finishing off the cyber can be kind of grindy, since you just have 80 cells and like a pea shooter and a regular shotgun with ya' in that situation.

 

Regardless, great map.

 

8/10

 

MAP18 - “Elder Shrine” (Pistol started, saveless, 100% Kills, 91% Items, 50% Secrets)

 

I always confuse whetever coughtyard was before citadel or the other way around, I haven't notice it was a coughtyard reimagening sub room with the shotgunners and spectres.

 

Most of the map is searching for resources, similar to its original counterpart, you don't want to tackle that exit with a miserable regular shotgun after all. Has entertaining despite not being anything special, although I felt the game play was very similar to what the actual og doom 2 map had to present, so I won't call it superior to it nor anything. Bruh, not much to say.

 

7/10

[Roofi]

Map 18 "Elder Shrine"

 

 

"The Courtyard" is to me one of the most relaxing hell-themed Doom 2 map, primarly because of the midi but also due to the large space provided that gives a lot of freedom for movements. Here, "Elder Shrine" gave me the opposite feeling. The more confined spaces and the grimy midi make me asphixiate and one of the most notable thing to note here are the troops of demons that present a real danger here. Killing them on continous mode was a piece of cake , but damn, they almost chew me to death because my poor single-barreled shotgun shows few resistance against them (and I don't even imagine on Nightmare mode...)

 

The circular shrine has a bit the apperance of a courtyard regarding its size and the many goodies lying here, but the surrounding damaging liquid removes any desire to walk around it and makes the pedestal much less inviting as if the latter were used for incantations or other demonic sorcery. Moreover "Elder Shrine" acts a bit as a boss map or a conclusion map for the episode, as your ultimate goal consists to survive in this improvised arena against monsters coming from all directions. Getting the BFG is really helpful, I strongly advise lookin for it before engaging the last combat.

 

Overall, I don't know if I still prefer "The Courtyard" over "Elder Shrine" but this map enters totally into the spirit of Abscission and it's impossible for me to not like it. In particular, this map brings out the mystic aspect. I think "Elder Shrine" would make a better conclusion to this episode than “To Hieron” but we'll see when the time comes.

 

Sidenote, I really like how the sky texture is repurposed in order to imitate a kind of flowing magma texture. Very surreal !

 

Grade : B (14/20)

 

 

 

[cannonball]

MAP16 - “Cold Ascent”

I think I made a few mistakes here before I had to leave during the final wave because I ran out of ammo. Part of me is rather lukewarm to the combat elements of this map that tries to imitate "Suburbs" level of carnage but with a more constrictive layout. Overall I would rate this below Suburbs but would still count this as a solid map. I like the visuals and the build up in intensity.

 

MAP17 - “Predation”

The gimmick involving the cyberdemon is really well done, though again this map as a result feels rather constrictive in terms of combat due to preventing the player from taking out the cyber. The map is a three key hunt feels a little maze-like, but overall it isn't too hard to navigate.

This was very solid, though not my favourite map so far.

[Blast_Brothers]

MAP18: Elder Shrine

 

Quote

 

The ratio of Hell to Earth is sliding in the "Hell" direction. At this point the little pockets of man-made architecture feel unsettling - small reminders of what Earth once was.

 

This map is a masterclass in denying you the freedom to move. Doomguy's legs are his greatest asset, but here there's always a monster or nukage pit in your path. Results in some tough, but very well-tuned, combat.

[Celestin]

MAP19: Phosphene

 

The Citadel is one of my bottom three maps of Doom 2 (together with Downtown and Barrels o' Fun), so you can only improve from this point.

 

Early on you get a berserk pack and the map is overflowing with imps and pinkies to punch, with shotgun being used to dispatch snipers of tougher demons. Not that the map lacks ammo, just melee combat seem the most viable (and satisfying) option. One thing you don't want to punch is the cyberdemon at the end, he does take care of the monsters appearing and dies to SSG.

 

Phosphene is a fun map by itself, but the visuals are one aspect I especially like here. Yes, it's a lot of concrete, but the map does a great job at applying additional textures (like slimefalls) to break monotony that plagued The Citadel, there's a lot of care put in the design and the view outside is truly stunning. This is one thing Abscission excels at, creating impressive sights beyond the playing field that add a ton of atmosphere to the maps.

[LVENdead]

Map 17 - Predation (UV 96% kills - 50% secrets)

 

This map is horror done right. The most crucial element of good horror gaming imo is the mental game. That is to say, keeping a grip on your fear or anxiety so it doesn't compromise your skill should be paramount to staying alive. As the cyberdemon chases you through this map, his hoofs become this ever ticking countdown to death (har fucking har), underpinning every encounter with a sense of urgency lest he catches up and snuffs you out. The encounters themselves are pretty well designed, structuring around needing to carve a path through precarious areas (either narrow passageways or along precipices) while underpowered, forcing you to focus on your footwork, target prioritization, and kiting monsters to open up paths and keep pushing. All the while the cyberdemon stomps around behind you, making quick work of most infighting he gets himself involved in.

 

I was super fortunate during this run that the cyberdemon got himself stuck in a U-shaped corner of the dark outdoor rocky area. This allowed me to get the last key and completely clean a path to the exit without him pressuring me, and it wasn't until I went back and coaxed him out did he then follow me back to the hub. Typically though, the teleports are well placed to allow him to zip around the map as he pleases, meaning he's never too far behind you.

 

The Tenements homage (red key area) is incredibly on the nose and maybe a bit perfunctory at this point. Other elements of the map's visuals do borrow from the parent Doom 2 map, but this one is so overt compared to them that it's almost too obvious. Otherwise, the map manages to strongly assert its own identity. This map might not be my favorite purely because I don't like being stressed out for an entire map, but I think it's one of the best maps in the WAD overall.

 

Map 18 - Elder Shrine (UV 100%)

 

Is it me or does anyone else hear Aubrey Hodges in this map's midi? I swear I hear a mix of Altar of Pain and Watch Your Step in this one, it's truly unsettling. In previous maps, you saw Earth-like locations with bits of hell mixed in. This one, it's the other way around; hell with bits of earth mixed in, the vestiges of a dying world that haven't been subsumed yet. It feels like we're getting close to the point of no return. Mix all this together and add a title like "Elder Shrine" on top, and this map has an interesting sense of gravitas to it.

 

Starting the map with a little pinky ambush that you HAVE to escape from is a nice little gotcha moment. The next few minutes are some standard run and gun to the rhythm of the pump action. The pillar room, which is one of the stronger references to The Courtyard is outright dangerous if you aren't good at weaving through traffic and kiting demon hordes. The pinkies have a way of cutting you off as you cut through the pillars to shake pursuers behind you, meaning you can get cornered very easily if you're not careful. But for my money, the most dangerous room is probably the berserk room, to a blind run. Stumbling your way through it could have you surrounded by pinkies, or stirring up an absolute hive of shotgunners that'll chop you down like dry grass. The second most dangerous is the cacodemon ambush, where you could OSTENSIBLY find your way there without either the plasma gun or the secret BFG, which is assuredly a death sentence.

 

I really like the finale as well. There's something cool about stepping blindly into a teleporter and then traveling down on a tall lift back to an area you've already been, with monsters filling into the arena as you hit the ground. The fight is chaotic but not unmanageable; if you have the health you can trade it for a bit of chip damage in the nukage to avoid getting boxed in. Infighting takes care of a lot of the chaff, and the BFG cleans up the rest.

 

This map always felt like mini-boss / checkpoint type of map to me. It's got a bit of a slow start, but an exciting finish, and I like it quite a bit.

[RHhe82]

MAP19: Phosphene. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.5. K: 190/190, S: 3/3, I: 45/45. Comp. time 21:03

 

In the gameplay department I wasn't vibing with this one, either. We get to survive with pistol and shotgun for so long (although we *do* get the berserk from the get-go, which is nice). There are some obnoxious elements at play, like the timed switch puzzle, which was also a point when I was a little lost on just what I was supposed to do next. (This is also a matter of taste: I'm not a fan of timed switch puzzles in general: I liked Moonblood megawad, but it had numerous timed switch puzzles which made me furious). Luckily, it's not that tightly wound, but still.

 

And the final fight: supershotgunning and rocket launching against the cyberdemon, which you practically have to kill, because the stair-raising switch is another obnoxious design. Now, I get why it's the way it is: if it was just one switch, it'd be too easy to just leave. Personally, I would have much preferred a simple switch that lowers a platform that takes something like a minute or two to lower, during which you need to survive against the cyber. Of course, there is one problem there, too: you run the risk of having to wait for it until it lowers, and you might have had killed the enemies already before flicking it -- so there is a definite upside to the present design choice. Maybe have a switch that both unleashes the enemies and starts the slow process of revealing the switch that builds stairs... although I'm not sure how easily that's accomplished in vanilla.

 

Enough with negatives, they made it sound like I didn't like the map when in fact I actually did: what counters the gameplay department is the architecture and visual design: map looked great, especially the outer areas and some of the arenas, like the one where you get the first rocket launcher. Already the beginning area and the entrance to the not-Citadel looks fantastic.

 

It's a solid map, certainly improves upon the original (which ain't exactly my favourite of Doom 2, far from it), but some personal issues (not so much the darkness this time tho!) keeps Phosphene from being a top map in the set for me.

[Tiramisu]

Oh darn, how did I miss the club playing this one, I was really looking forward to it last year! Oh well, hope you guys are having fun, I'll probably join in next month depending on what's being played because I really miss writing & reading those reviews at this point lol

[Pseudonaut]

I'm awfully late, but I've recorded some FDAs for the first 11 maps. Except I'd already played maps 1-4 before deciding to record these, so those aren't really FDAs (tbh, the map01 demo is a speedrun that I threw a few attempts at).

 

ab01-11FDAs-pseudonaut.zip

 

I'll comment on some maps, but not all.

 

Map06 was the first map that killed me, and I thought it was more compelling than the previous ones. Perhaps you could say this is where Abscission really starts. The first area is excellent, really lights a fire under your ass with those pillars obstructing your space and vision, and all those enemies chasing you.

 

Map07 killed me a whopping four times, a lot for such a short map. It's the most deadly map I've played in this set so far, owing to the situation: the player is fired upon by several of the usual Dead Simple inhabitants right away, from many directions at once, scrambling for weapons and ammo while health is hard to come by. Despite its lethality, I don't think this is one of the stronger maps.

 

Map08, the pinky trap brought me within micrometers of death. What a struggle!

 

Map10, I instantly recognized the motif of the Spirit Temple music from Ocarina of Time. The use of a roaming cyberdemon is fantastic here.

 

Map11 is fine, but I think the strategy of moving back and forth while waiting for infighting is a bit too viable here. I'm not sure exactly what triggers the archvile's appearance, but I avoided it for a long time, and probably could have easily killed the cyberdemon first if I had foreknowledge. Really cool visuals, definitely reminds me of something Benjogami would do, as others have pointed out.

 

I may not stick to the FDA format if these maps get much harder.

[veevil]

Man, this month's really not leaving me with a lot of time to write these, but I'll try to not fall too far behind.

 

 

MAP16: Cold Ascent

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

 

A compact and nicely built combat arena set in a high-rise in the middle of a corrupted city. The map starts cramped and tense and doesn't stop, because space is at a premium throughout. Better know how to avoid getting backed into a corner.

 

It somehow always manages to surprise me how many monsters warp in for the final shindig, clogging every pathway until there's no room left to do anything except eat an arch-vile blast or your own rocket. It can be a real problem if you waste the invuln sphere, but savvy players know better. Still managed to die there once due to the opposite problem - put off getting the invuln too long and couldn't cut through the horde to get it anymore.

 

I like this map. It's respectably merciless and gets a lot of mileage out of a very small footprint.

 

 

MAP17: Predation

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

 

Snax sure loves her roaming cyberdemons, doesn't she? By my count, MAP17 is the third map in the lineup where one plays a major role, and the most elaborate of the bunch. Also one of the meaner maps in the regular progression, I reckon.

 

Right at the start, you're given your problem description (a nice view of the cyberdemon's butt) and a choice of four paths to traverse. The paths are not equal in difficulty, so especially for pistol starters beating the map involves a fair amount of trial and error in order to find the point of least resistance. The cyberdemon follows you the whole way through this process, too, through a teleport setup that is above my pay grade to understand. It's all very impressive stuff, but perhaps a bit difficult to appreciate if you get cornered by the cybie or slowly chipped to death by the rest of the crew - medical supplies aren't abundant, so you really can't afford recklessness. Once you finally scrape together enough ammo to beat the bull, you'll still need to find a good spot to fight him: my choice is the bridge in the Tenements-referencing green slime room, since he can't follow you there and the secret megasphere really helps.

 

Minor detail: I loved the very start of the map, shows what an effect something as simple as changing the player spawn orientation can have. Yeah, that switch in front of you doesn't work, so why not give it a whack an see what happens?

 

 

MAP18: Elder Shrine

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

 

Abscission goes Classic Marble Hell. Kind of, since there's a lot of concrete and tech in there as well. Echoes from the source material ring clearer in this map than most of the surrounding ones, with the maze section and the teleport cacodemon ambush particularly standing out as homages to The Courtyard. Gameplay wise, the map keeps a good rhythm going, but slightly front-loads the difficulty. The tensest encounter in the map is at the start: the eastern pillar room elevates the humble pinky demon to a real threat by giving you nothing but the standard shotgun to deal with a herd of them. After getting the plasma from the maze east of that, you're pretty much unstoppable.

 

The big ending battle in the slime pool is slightly too easy to feel climactic, even without the secret BFG. Which is fairly easy to find and completely unnecessary from a difficulty standpoint, but who doesn't like a nice and easy BFG splurge every now and then?

 

 

MAP19: Phosphene

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

 

I really like how this map looks and sounds. It is dark and ominous, yes, but there is also something strangely comforting in the red of the sky and surrounding structures. The map also feels less focused on combat and more on ferreting out the way to progress, a puzzle box map of sorts. Not that there isn't combat, which again favors the good old pinky demon. Come to think of it, I like how much actual use Snax has gotten out of him. In many map sets these days, the poor guy is relegated to the role of blocking you while other demons do the work to kill you, but in Abscission you actually run the risk of getting eaten by him.

 

I recall having trouble with this map my first time through, but now I wonder what the fuss was about, because it really isn't that hard. The cyberdemon fight can kill you if you're careless, but otherwise you can coast along if you just know when to retreat to avoid getting surrounded. I will say that the secrets here are slightly excessively obscure once again - the slime tunnel blue armor secret that you open from the outside area and the grating you can just walk through to get the soulsphere and automap don't sit right with me. Though, I suppose they fit in with the puzzle-like nature of the map.

Edited July 19 by veevil

[SirPootis]

got sidetracked with things this past week, so here's my catching-up. hopefully i can keep up the rest of the month.

 

MAP12 - Outer Plane
100% K | 1/1 S | 7:00 completion time

Spoiler

After throwing yourself further into the abyss, you're faced in front of an oddly calm hub level. The four teleporters take you into interesting revamps of fights taken from 'The Factory'. I enjoyed all three of them (the fourth actually takes you straight to a switch), but the rocket launcher caco fight gave me the hardest time and was the only place I died in my attempts. The awkward shape of the platform dangling over damaging slime combined with the sheer number of cacos closing in makes for the hardest fight in the level, in my opinion. I found the best way to deal with it was to simply save it for later, once I've already gotten my hands on the BFG from the winding corridor fight.
I really like the overall aesthetic of the level, and this is where Abscission really starts taking shape. The dark lighting with lit platforms, combined with the "night sky" which switches out deep blue highlights for deep red, makes for an almost relaxing look. The drop in difficulty adds to the almost laid-back feel I have when playing this map. There's something about seeing the Icon of Sin without hearing "oremor nhoj em llik tsum uoy emag eht niw ot" that gives me a tinge of apprehension. It's a nice little moment of misdirection-by-omission that gives this map a moody cherry on top. A nice follow-up to the Sarcophagus.

 

MAP13 - P̡̤͈͢ͅ҉̨̺̮͍́͟r̶op̴̶̡̛̞͚̗̙͇̭̤͜h̀͠ȩ̴̶̞̘͖̥͖͢͢t̻ì̘̬̭̲̦͇̭̺̱͙̕͟͡͞͞c͏̧̡̢̪̗͓̠͔̀͞ͅͅ ̴̳͎̜́͜V̡̢̲̦͇i̷̢̧̢͔̬̱̠͖̫̯͝͞͠sio̱̘̖n͟

 

94% K | 3/3 S | 8:42 completion time

Spoiler

This level does not fail to ratchet up the heart rate a little bit, finally hearing the icon of sin after seeing him silent all of last level. The overall atmosphere is terrific. You're in a city actively being laid to waste by demons, and all you can do is claw your way out. I'll admit, the level starts super rough, with the beginning weapon cache and starting switch being pretty easy to miss. The arachnotrons perforated me multiple times during the first third of the level. Once I freed the cyberdemon and made a mad dash to the building with the two ammo cache secrets could I then take a second to catch my breath and really start working my way through. I do quite enjoy the interior spaces, the tiny office on your way to the bfg secret and the storage warehouse with the red key are two standouts for me. The music enhances the tension, and I didn't even notice until now, but this song actually has distant gunfire and yelling noises, which does help to make you think you're in an active warzone against hell. Admittedly, once you reach the storage warehouse, the map is pretty much de-fanged at that point, and combined with the constant monster spawning noises but no actual spawning happening, it takes you out of the experience somewhat. I will say the way Snax uses fake TP hallways with crushers to limit the actual amount of Icon spawning is clever.

 

MAP14 - Oasis
100% K | 1/1 S | 5:45 completion time

Spoiler

I always like me an Inmost Dens remake, and the name is appropriate: after the hell-slog of Prophetic Vision, Oasis is like a cool drink of water. I like the music the most in this level, it has a somber, yet hopeful tone that I really love. Overall, the level is fine. I forgot about that damn blue key door teleporter trap again, and it nearly got me. I like the efficient use of the archvile in this level, serving as an infinite-resurrecting revenant turret for the first half of the level before being put to its regular use in an Inmost Dens-style map later on. Overall, a nice quick break before getting back into the thick of it.

 

MAP15 - Collapse
100% K | 5/5 S | 11:07 completion time

Spoiler

I like this level a lot. A sunken city with a cyberdemon chasing you around, forcing you into the various abandoned buildings, finding keys to secure a way out. The blue key fight was underwhelming, although reading Snax's commentary on it I realize it's by design. It does make the final fight all the more impactful: getting the blue key gives you access to multiple supply caches, until you open one which contains the super shotgun. You grab it, and then the wall starts lowering, which if you're at all familiar with doom fight conventions, only means one thing: get ready. The final fight was pretty fun. Having the BFG does soften things a good amount, but overall having one final blowout taking place throughout the overall area almost never fails to put a smile on my face. The secret exit is a tiny bit tricky for those who aren't good at careful movement, but overall it's not hard to access. The plasma gun secret does make me feel silly, though - seeing bars like that always makes me think there's a secret switch nearby, and until I accidentally shot it sometime later did I realize I never thought to just shoot them.

 

(switched to dsda-doom for this and the next level)
MAP31 - R̕͏̵͟ea̵̡ǹ̛im̷̵̢̨͢a͜͝҉̶̶́t͏̨̀͜͟͝͏͜͠or̛͏
153% K | 1/1 S | 3:41 completion time

Spoiler

This one's okay. I like the idea, a massive ghost monster arena with rockets and cyberdemons, with a bunch of archviles chasing you. I found running around the outer perimeter to be the most consistent way of staying alive the longest while the cybers fight everyone. I did notice the evil eye 'secret' my first time, when I was playing in GZDoom and didn't know any better :p. Overall, an interesting idea, but I'll probably skip this level in future playthroughs.

 

MAP32 - B͠͠é̶̸́́̀͠d̛͜͡ ̀͢ǫ̶̛f̶̶̴̸̕͢͢ ̷̨̀́̕͠Cr̷̷̨͜͞͝e҉a̡͘҉̡ţ̸́҉į̷̴͟҉ǫ̵͞n̸̵̢̨̕͘͟͜͝
0% K | 1/1 S | 0:29 completion time

Spoiler

Holy moly. I can probably say this is the most interesting idea for a secret level I've ever seen. Abusing an int-overflow bug to make the player incorporeal, and throwing them into a maze filled with archviles and only just enough signposting to give the player some ideas on where to navigate, including glowing areas on the floor and bright red walls indicating passages for the player can go through. The thirty or so archviles give you the pursuit of your life, running through this completely alien realm, trying to evade the eternal flame the Pale Ones eagerly want to share with you. Runs in this level only last about a minute at most, but it feels much longer. I don't know how many attempts it took me to figure out the exit. Overall, this is probably the most interesting level idea I've seen in a long time, and while it's not gonna please everyone, it's the best kind of level to put in the super-secret spot, in my opinion.

 

(back onto GZDoom, software renderer for the rest of the wad)
MAP16 - Cold Ascent
100% K | 1/1 S | 7:43 completion time

Spoiler

I really love this one. The music, plus the interior of the starting area, leading onto the rooftops high above, I actually get a cold feeling playing this level. Just like with Collapse, the final fight utilizing almost the entire level space is really satisfying to play. This time around, the monster density and variety is amped up compared to Collapse's final bout. This time you've got mancubi and cacos clogging the middle room and pillar area, imps filling in the gaps, and two archviles adding a real zing to the engagement. This level really shows a masterclass of efficient use of space. The level isn't very big, but you move back and forth through almost the entire space multiple times, except for the starting room, the blue key cache, and the red key mini-arena. One of my favorites of the entire wad.

 

MAP17 - Predation
100% K | 2/2 S | 11:38 completion time

Spoiler

This is another one of my favorites, for almost the opposite reason as Cold Ascent. While I got a cozy feeling from Cold Ascent, Predation puts me in a constant state of apprehension. Forget fight-or-flight, we're just in flight. The cyberdemon seemingly moving through areas it shouldn't be moving through to contstantly hunt you down is executed perfectly here. It's probably the best "roaming cyberdemon hunting you down" level I've played. I really need to look at this level in Doom Builder after this, to really see how the monster-only teleports were pulled off here, because it's seamless. Everywhere you go, no matter where you go, it'll be right there with you. Maybe part of why this concept works so well here is you (almost) never see the cyberdemon actually teleport. Part of it is the architecture of the different areas. Almost all of them are nearly cramped, forcing the player to move quickly to avoid getting splattered. And since the player is always on the move from one area to the next, they never stick around to actually see the cyberdemon teleport into the next area. This level strikes a perfect balance of aesthetically pleasing, but also being so mechanically airtight, to the point where even though I'm in a tense chase, I'm still thinking "damn, how the hell did Snax pull this off so smoothly?"

 

MAP18 - Elder Shrine
98% K | 2/2 S | 9:38 completion time

Spoiler

An enjoyable rehashing of The Courtyard that replaces almost all the grass with nukage. The final fight is easily the best part: a slew of imps, cacos, hell knights, and revenants flood the main area, with a few mancubi acting as support. Aesthetically, it almost reminds me of the first few levels. Maybe that's part of why I like this level. The mega-armor secret is almost too easy to miss, as far as my nitpicks go. Overall, another solid level.

 

[Blast_Brothers]

MAP19: Phosphene

 

Quote

 

The Citadel was always funky, but I think conceptually it's one of the stronger Doom II maps. Phosphene feels just as beguiling, but in a more purposeful way. I was glad to see that the weird remote-opened door stuff was brought over.

 

I like how this WAD has charted a progression from "background city buildings" to "background abstract city buildings" to "abstract Hell buildings". Definitely feels like there's a throughline there.

 

This chapter of Abscission has definitely found its groove. The good news is that this means each map is consistently entertaining and visually striking. The bad news is that I'm running out of stuff to talk about.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 19: Phosphene

Crispy Doom, UV, pistol-start

 

What a beguiling midi! What a way to promise something better, only to dash it! This is basically similar to something like Map 17 with areas blatantly copied from the original but placed inside a map that's dramatically different. Progression here is linear, and I'm not sure what opened the Megaarmor secret in the west. My autistic brain came close to malfunctioning at a particular lift puzzle where basically 2 doors open at once, but sticking through it led to completion. The crate area proved a good test of a recently-acquired chaingun and some aggression felt asked for here, though we took a lot of damage. I swear Snaxalotl has become John Romero with the frequent Cyberdemon usage though. The area kind of stinks without a BFG but then, perhaps one's intended to infight here.

 

 

 

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP19 - Phosphene (98%K/100%I/66%S):

Really good from start to finish, this manor in the middle of nothingness, with E3M3 aesthetics and a lot of secrets, ends up being a really fun map for exploration. Not so much in combat, though, as the last fight with the cyberdemon was quite annoying without a good ammount of ammunition, which is scarce throughout all the level. This was the hardest map yet because half of it was somewhat of a tyson level, forcing you right from start to use the berserk punch, only using ammo por snipers. I feel this map could have been even better with an open layout, as even though it doesn't look like it, it was quite linear. 

As always, great setting for this map. I liked it even though it took me seveal attempts with berserk.

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP10
MAP12
MAP19
MAP16
MAP17
MAP14

MAP03
MAP06
MAP11
MAP15
MAP08
MAP04
MAP05
MAP09

MAP02
MAP18
MAP13
MAP01
MAP07
MAP31

MAP32 (Unrated)

 

 

[Celestin]

MAP20: To Hieron

 

Like MAP11, To Hieron is a boss fight to conclude a chapter, this time taking place in an underground, underlit cave. It's a mad scramble for guns at first, while a pair of cyberdemons, a mastermind, pain elementals and an archvile wake up. A couple of minutes later and it's down to the bosses. Due to the use of damaging floors, it was a challenge to get a cyberdemon and a mastermind to infight, but with the two distracted, I two-shot a remaining cyberdemon and finished off the mastermind. It's a tricky scenario, as it's easy to catch a rocket here, but definitely a better episode closure than Sarcophagus.
 

[Snaxalotl]

Map18: "Elder Shrine"

I'm a bit mixed on this one but I generally like how it turned out. The central shrine the map surrounds is a neat aesthetic but I think I could've fleshed out the rest of the map a little bit more. It does its job as a slight break map giving the player a renewed sense of confidence after "Predation" and the final fight is meant to find a fun balance between difficult and a power trip.

Additionally as @Blast_Brothers pointed out, its showing a transition from the human industrial bases and cityscapes of earth into a more hellish direction. The transition isn't complete, but it shows that we are straying further from earthly designs.

Map19: "Phosphene"

Initially I didn't consider this one of the better maps in the wad but over time it grew on me. It's gameplay isn't like anything in the wad before it, and leans more heavily on the use of pinkies and doom 1 gameplay. I don't typically like jumbled and mixed themes in my maps but I went against my habits and did it anyway as I thought it would fit well within E2. Throughout the map the environment and texturing constantly changes as if its multiple areas mashed into one, but they meet in tasteful ways similar to a deimos style. (Also hinted at by the title as the mixed themes lightly allude to a dream like experience)

I also can't stress enough how much of a difference vistas can add to a map's experience! The massive unreachable outdoor area surrounding the map gives a much larger scale to the map (along with the midi) yet does nothing from a gameplay perspective. The map would function the same if walls were given instead of a large sea/moat but it would feel much more cramped and less interesting. I really struggled with the visplane limit with this map but the result was worth it.

This level also highlights my mindset with combat too as I don't always expect the player to clear out each room as they find it. Its often the better play to leave a few enemies and push ahead until you are more stocked up on ammo, and the early berserk helps alleviate any issues with ammo reserves. This is all supported by the lack of mid and high tier enemies as the bulk of the combat is against low tiers yet it still manages to be somewhat difficult. I love not relying on the tougher parts of the enemy roster and instead using them as support while the player mainly combats weaker opponents.

Overall I think this is a solid map and love how it deviates away from most of the other levels in the wad and finds its own groove.

Edited July 20 by Snaxalotl

[DavitW]

MAP18: Elder Shrine

Sometimes these hell maps feel for more like a medieval castle than anything else, but this one does a good job of adding that otherworldly feel to it. The lighting is very impressive at parts. The gameplay is mostly just a big buildup to the final fight at the end. You have the choice of either staying on the central platform and getting crowded by the enemies or running out into the acid for some more elbow room at the cost of taking hurt floor damage. You can actually consider the demo a bit of a blind run. All I did was look at the secrets on the wiki and went for it. Got it second try, too. First death came after getting cornered by pinkies and running out of ammo.

 

MAP19: Phospene
A lot of close quarter fights with Pinkie demons in this one. Great time to brush up on your pinkie shuffle if you're rusty. There's about three or four times in this map you're forced to drop down into an area and find yourself immediately surrounded by enemies, so you can get plenty of berserk usage out of this map. The final ambush involves fighting a Cyberdemon and whole slew of other demons in the central courtyard. The geometry here was almost certainly laid out as maliciously as possible so players would constantly find themselves getting stuck on random pillars and swallowing Cyberdemon rockets whole. There's also a needlessly long switcharoo present here. I get that it's probably there to prevent players from just running away from the Cyberdemon, but it still felt a bit silly.

 

MAP20: To Heiron

A big cave filled with monsters, items, and powerups. Not exactly the most sophisticated or meticulously designed map, I must say. Gameplay is just kind of running around and hope you don't die. It's hard to say what the biggest threat here is. The Cyberdemons that can take you out in one hit, the Archviles that can easily torch you if you stay out too long in the open, or the Spider mastermind... okay, it's definitely not her. I kind of get why so many players seem to dislike the Spider mastermind. The old girl just kind of stayed stuck in between the bloodfalls until everything else was dead and the only thing left to do was slowly, painfully old yeller her to death with the SSG.  After that, you have to run between some switches before taking a teleporter to the death exit. Barons occupy the areas at both the final switch and teleporter to once again presumable prevent players from just running straight to the exit.

 

ab18-20.zip

[RHhe82]

MAP20: To Hieron. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.5. K: 74/74, S: 1/1, I: 4/4. Comp. time 6:09

 

An episode ender in the vein of MAP11. I liked this one better, although the benjogamian vistas are only seen very shortly at the death exit. It's a hectic map, at first I'm a bit overwhelmed as to what to do (before I realize this is indeed an arena map). Panic keeps on until the archviles are dead.

 

I think I made a mistake on running for SMM and BFG, and wasting my BFG shots there. Instead I should have somehow made the SMM infight with riff-raff and in particular the cybies.

 

Solid map, although once again I find myself wishing for a little more of bright lights.

[veevil]

MAP20: To Hieron
(UV, pistol start, K: 100% / S: 100%, Woof!, complevel 2)

 

The boss map of the second episode, a dark (who'd a thunk it) cavern filled with damaging blood and all manner of nasties. Not a particularly elaborate or lengthy map, but effective in what it does. The meat of the challenge lies in minimizing damage while maneuvering so that your limited ammo is used effectively: you only get so many BFG shots, so you can't spray and pray or you'll be left sitting in the middle of a flock of lost souls with the cyberdemons and arch-viles.

 

I understand the reasoning behind the baron blockade on the exit switch, but it still feels clunky to run back and forth between him and the switch that opens the timed door he's hiding behind. The very end where we're returned to somewhere familiar is a great touch, though.

Edited July 20 by veevil

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 20: To Hieron

Crispy Doom, UV, pistol-start

 

Not lots to say here. An entirely open, dark and cavernous map containing quite a few nasties, it's a very nice looking place and probably better than Sarcophagus. I didn't really have the patience to handle the Cybers though. The part where I suppose we 'go to sleep' back in Sarcophagus was pretty nice. Lots of damaging floor here so we can't just run through the middle and expect to have a good time. This is also largely where the Cybers tend to hang and it might be moderately difficult to two shot them.

 

 

 

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP20 - To Hieron (100%K/50%I/0%S):

Short, straight to the point. An arena full of monsters, there is a spider mastermind and some cyberdemons, you can make them infight if you take the time, just like in the original Gotcha!, I did not, as I rushed as fast as I could to the exit after killing everything, you can rush this map easily, as only a pair of switches guarded by some barons will do the trick, while avoiding everything the enemies throw at you with a blur sphere. I suspect this would be a really fun map to speedrun.

The level, just like in MAP11, ends the episode with a death exit.

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP10
MAP12
MAP19
MAP16
MAP17
MAP14

MAP03
MAP06
MAP11
MAP15
MAP08
MAP04
MAP05
MAP20
MAP09

MAP02
MAP18
MAP13
MAP01
MAP07
MAP31

MAP32 (Unrated)

 

 

[Cutman 999]

MAP19 - “Phosphene” (Pistol started, Used saves, 98% Kills, 97% Items, 33% Secrets)

 

As an actual citadel enjoyer, I have to say this map misses the point of the og one of being a pseudo sandbox where you can play it whatever you feel like, while this is a lot more linear, but is not a bad thing by itself.

 

The actual problem I have with this map is the resource starvation, getting to a point you get a green armor and a chaingun midway into the map, and the ssg at almost the end of it. Without that cool soulsphere secret, you'll probably be capped to 50 health troughout the entirety of the map.

 

Other than that, I actually like this map, is the most "iwad-like" from an enemy placement stand, focusing a lot more on low tiers and trying to make them as dangerous as the mid guys are, just like in actual doom 2. I have to praise the visuals as well, since some of the structures seems to test how far it can go within vanilla limits, and ultimately, looks a lot better than it's inspirations, despite being faithful in the theme.

 

7/10

 

MAP20 - “To Hieron” (Pistol started, saveless, 100% Kills, 0% Items, 0% Secrets)

 

Now that I noticed, most of the problems I have with some of these maps are completely unique to one another, which is the exact same characteristic present in actual doom 2, lmao.

 

Well this map, another one of those "boss maps" but... saying is underdeveloped is an understatement. First thing you do is not knowing what is even going on while seeing legions of all the doom 2 monsters infighting each other in less than a second, then you grab the bfg and the map basically beats itself, you just need to circle strafe the arena filled with the damaging floor, 2 tap the pair of cybers, and play a reprisal of Caribbean's terrible timed door exit.

 

I actually tend to like maps with big groups of monsters surrounding the player, heck, map 16 actually had a very good large-scale fight, so I don't know why the enemy placement has zero synergy if there wasn't bad combat in the previous maps. I suppose this just falls in the usual "burnup" common in solo megawad projects.

 

3/10

[cannonball]

MAP18 - “Elder Shrine”

 

Was not a fan of the initial skirmishes where essentially you need to run from all of the pinkies, even after getting equipped this section is slow and basically ended up with me punching out goodness knows how many monsters. On the flip side one you reach the focal point of the map the gameplay improves, I really like the design and visuals if the area that makes up the final fight, the blue key  ambush remix is one that is scary but easily dispatched with the plasma gun and of course the final fight is good fun (An archvile or two could have made this more of a hurdle to clear).

Overall this one is a mixed bag but improves after the initial bad reception.

[Celestin]

MAP21: Of Flesh & Fission

 

There's this sense of grandeur in many maps of Abscission, where open spaces, hurtfloors and darkness are used to make the player feel like they only see a small fraction of a larger, inaccessible whole. Of Flesh & Fission is no different, starting on an island with ruins around you and single path forward. This place also contains a lot of medikits as a nod to Nirvana, all available in the map, if I'm not mistaken.

 

I feel like the combat takes a bit of a back seat here, both as a wind-down after the previous map and to immerse the player in this fractured world, assembled from pieces of earthly buildings that were thrown into the void. There's a ton of shotgunners and some ambushes, but the finale was a nice setpiece. Walking on narrow ledges between islands over damaging floor, dodging projectiles flying from every direction and eliminating monsters that block the way forward was and entertaining, action-heavy fight that ends the map on a high note.

[Snaxalotl]

Map20: "To Hieron"
 

The 3rd boss map in the wad, fully embracing a hell aesthetic and opting for a much more open and expansive area compared to E1's final level. Its a simple concept but abscission doesn't have any maps like this thus far, unless you count map07 with its limited roster or map11 which I'd say has a very different feel to it. I prefer when my boss maps aren't the most challenging levels in the wad and instead just increase the pacing compared to the slower/harder levels that came before.

Despite its simple looks it actually gets very close to the visplane limit, part of the reason I like smaller environments is that there is more room to add details before the game starts to break, its a simple but effective look here but the charm would be lost without the lighting effects.

I don't quite understand how the map could be labelled as having zero monster synergy as @Cutman 999 stated. Archviles and pain elementals prevent pacifism as they will constantly create more lost souls and revive enemies that succumb to infighting while hitscanners cause chip damage. In every attempt I had at getting monsters to infight each other until the map beats itself I end up hitting the lost soul limit, and getting my health drained as every dead hitscanner comes back from the dead to keep causing damage. This makes prioritizing archviles/pain elementals while avoiding hitscan attacks and the cyberdemon the main priority at first.  All of this feels like synergy to me personally, though I suppose that's subjective. I can safely say though that I didn't experience burn out when making this map, I liked how it turned out when I first made it and I still like it to this day.

[Blast_Brothers]

MAP20: To Hieron

 

Quote

 

Every once in a while, a mapset needs to remind you that it's able to kick your ass. This chaotic and dynamic single-fight map does the job nicely.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP18: Elder Shrine

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

Didn't like the first part of this one. The "oh shit run away" from the pinkies is fine, but the single shotgun/imp battle afterwards is a bit tedious, and the pinkie fight in the next room can also be frustrating. It's a good way to make pinkies actually dangerous (by limiting the player to the single shotgun, a weapon that can't kill them quick or lock them down) but it resulted in a lot of dying and reloading and ultimately fell a bit too far on the annoying side for me. Thankfully things get a lot better once the player arms up, especially the final fight in the main chamber. Here, I think the slime on the outside struck just the right balance. It also looks great, and the layout feels very elegant. Sorta got Doom 1 vibes from this one too.

 

MAP19: Phosphene

98% kills, 1/3 secrets

 

I think this one is a bit unfortunately placed as it's starting to feel a bit repetitive in a way - the first half of the map is again almost entirely single shotgun, no armor, against mostly imps and pinkies, and so combat again feels somewhat tedious and grindy. There's also another "pinkies in columns" fight, though thankfully this time the player gets the chaingun and SSG so it's a lot easier. Somewhat strangely the player is given the RL and then... another RL a couple rooms later, before the final cyberdemon fight. Very easy to get infighting going, and the columns in the southwest of the room making placing hide-and-SSG simple.

 

Architecturally, this level does what it can despite having to build off The Citadel. Actually feels like quite a mishmash in that old school way in places, but never quite clicked for me. Lots of slime trails in the final arena too. I did really like the surrounding landscape geometry though, and I think I appreciated the view from the soulsphere more than the sphere itself.

 

I will say that the combat is starting to fit the music a lot more, as forcing the player to make due with the single shotgun for awhile definitely tilts things in the monsters' advantage and requires some slower approaches, rather than the first few levels which felt rather punchy.

 

MAP20: To Hieron

83% kills, 0/1 secret

 

Big dark arena with plenty of top-tier baddies to wrangle with. Step one is figuring out where to go and what's going on; took me a try or two especially since I was spending far too much time in the damaging blood circling the map. Lots of high threat level monsters here - chaingunners, Pain Elementals, Arch-Viles, cyberdemons... Eventually I settled on my plan: grab the BFG, kill spider, hit switch, then start running from baron to baron to eventually end the level, hopefully without eating a rocket in-between. Worked after a couple tries. Decent "boss level" episode ender.

[RHhe82]

MAP21: Of Flesh & Fission. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.5. K: 123/123, S: 1/1, I: 24/24. Comp. time 14:36

 

We finally arrive in the mysterious place we've seen glimpses of before. As mysterious places go, this one far exceeds Nirvana, which I wasn't even thinking of until one time I teleported back to the starting area and paid attention to the medikits lying there only because I was at 97% health and didn't want to pick up a medikit on my way out. (And even then: I was first thinking of Mucus Flow, a map I've never attempted to play, and Nirvana only second).

 

For the first half of the map I wasn't that excited. Once we reach the part where we are ambushed by imps and two pain elementals, the map picks up good. While the Chasm-like part might not be everyone's cup of tea, the fights on top of the fleshy pillars are fun.

[Andromeda]

Is MAP20 named after this song by any chance?