What are you playing now?

[Summer Deep]

Playing Vile Flesh, a 32 map megawad which I was previously unaware of. Despite what the title might suggest, archviles don't seem to have had an unduly large presence so far (19 maps completed).

 

The levels are pretty big and feature some imposing, if fairly plain, structures. There are typically 150-200 monsters per map, and it can be a bit of a chore getting through them at times. Symmetry is also a major factor in level design, but I don't object to that at all in large environments, as it helps one to become more easily orientated to one's surroundings. Much of the gameplay is switch-driven, but again that's not a bad thing here as the puzzles are straightforward and enable the player to proceed in a logical and almost clinical fashion. 

 

You couldn't get a much bigger contrast between this and Fall Of Triton, the newly released PSX based megawad which I sampled a couple of days ago, and which it will probably be a relief to get back to, despite the fact that Vile Flesh is undoubtedly an interesting and worthwhile experience.

 

https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/megawads/vile

[galileo31dos01]

Yesterday I downloaded a couple of wads to keep me busy (and to stop me to bump this thread for a while). The Realm of Parthoris, which a single episode + bonus map for Heretic, using ZDoom and probably my own DECORATE for "blind experiments". The file only increases the damage by monsters' attacks, so it's a bit more dynamic I guess, plus a few quirks too. From what I've seen and heard, it should be fun, the intro and first midis are really good. 

 

On another side, started also Survive in Hell using glboom+. I've been pushing this for a long time, and now that I have it I realize it's alike Hell Revealed -.- ... Probably more enjoyable, the first two maps were already random rip-offs from HR, but they've been fairly fun. One thing I noticed was that, everytime I shoot revs with a hitscan weapon the impact "dots" are grey, like when you shoot a wall or a barrel, instead of red like normally would be. Whatever...

[Phobus]

I've been playing a map a day the last few days, leaning on ZDoom classics. ZDCMP#1 was first, which is still fantastic IMO - possibly my favourite WAD ever, due to the feel of it. Now I'm on The Ultimate Torment and Torture, which I've never played in it's entirety before. I'd played all of the individual releases and the new maps for this release, but taking it all in as a package, the additional polish, Realm667 features and cohesiveness does make for a remarkable experience. There was a time where T667 was my undisputed favourite mapper and this has reminded me why. I'm not sure who said favourite would be now, as a few people do stuff I like a lot.

 

Saying that, though, his choice to include Chaingun Majors and Rocket Zombies isn't a welcome one! The first half of episode three awaits me tomorrow, which will be another chance to get screwed over by thick fog, as I remember it! Still, with the more generous ammo provision, it's not as tough as I remember, even with the added enemy variety.

[Summer Deep]

Returned to Fall Of Triton and have very mixed feelings about this wad. One the one hand it recreates the looks, sounds and atmosphere of PSX Doom pretty well, although the rooms can be a bit boxy and the dark, creepy ambience of the original game is not as pronounced here.

 

Of more concern however is the fact that it will be far too easy for many players. I doubt whether my own ability is much above average, certainly by Doomworld members' standards, but I've now played the first fifteen levels, plus maps 31 and 32, on UV difficulty (continuous, no saves) and haven't died ONCE!!! The main issue is that the rooms and outdoor areas tend to be too large, giving the player ample space and time to take countermeasures when under attack. Typically a group of enemies enters a room at the far end and can be chaingunned, shotgunned, rocketed or whatever, before they can do much damage. Added to this is the innate lower difficulty of PSX Doom - the Revenants move around as if they have rheumatoid arthritis and the Cyberdemon in map 8 looked ripe for a hip replacement.

 

I think I'll put this on hold and get back to Vile Flesh, which was becoming seriously challenging when I left off playing it.

 

Edited March 14, 2018 by Summer Deep

[ShoDemo]

Started playing TNT again.

I dropped the no-saving challenge, because I was getting annoyed playing a big chunk of a level and being killed by a bunch of Chaingunners I didn't notice.

 

I was at MAP09 before and so far I reached MAP14 (I will be playing it some more these days).

I have to say that it is getting pretty fun again and I loved almost all of the maps I played . MAP10 was short and exciting, MAP12 had a good atmosphere AND MAP13 HAS DEATH'S BELLS! Plus a really nice outdoor area under the night sky and an unexpected Cybie.)

 

But MAP11 Storage Facility with the maze was annoying (the one where you go to take the blue key and a bunch of hitscanners, plus Revenants and an Arch-vile teleport in). I had to camp outside the building for that one, because inside I was at a constant disadvantage.

[galileo31dos01]

So, I'm playing 3 Heures d' Agonie with crispy. Yeah, TROP and SIH are done but writing reviews consumes a lot of time, for someone isn't a native english speaker. Anyway, maps 01-03 are completed, since they were so short I didn't even need to use mid-saves. Man, I finnished the third map in the blink of an eye, 30 seconds of combat + 30 seconds to max in secrets lol.

 

 

[Summer Deep]

HOTELCAL.WAD

 

Guess what the soundtrack is? Seriously, this must be a candidate for the worst map I've ever played. 286 monsters, including 3 SMs and a Cyberdemon, no health (except right at the end), no armour, 3 keys but no doors to use them on. Still, April 1 is probably an appropriate date to play it.

[galileo31dos01]

Tomorrow I'll start Good Morning Phobos with glboom+. From what I tested it looks and feels like TNT and Icarus, which could be good, maybe my fav midi is somewhere there. 

[ShoDemo]

Finally finished TNT Evilution and I don't know how I feel about that. Obviously, it is one less iWAD, but also one great journey less. Was going to write a review in a status update, but I thought that it fits better here.

 

The atmosphere in this WAD can range from average to downright perfect at times.

The music is excellent and the tracks I love the most are Death's Bells, Legion of the Lost and More. Just place Death's Bells in any map and it becomes a masterpiece. I don't care if it is a very elaborate map or just a square with 5 Imps and a shotgun. It works everytime.

 

Maps I liked:

Spoiler

I loved many of the maps. My favourites were

MAP01 System Control (a good opener), 

MAP04 Wormhole (still stands as my favourite map),

MAP12 Crater (what a great night sky, coupled with lovely level design),

MAP13 Nukage Processing (Death's Bells and an even better outdoor area, YES PLEASE!),

MAP16 Deepest Reaches (the music does wonders on how dark and sinister the map is),

MAP17 Processing Area (fun map),

MAP18 Mill (kinda a puzzle map and it took me some time to know what to do at the final room with the big encounter or that puzzle with the 4 buttons earlier),

MAP19 Containment Area (I MEAN SHIPPING/RESPAWNING - cool outdoors with the truck near the end by the way),

MAP22 Habitat (it is a guilty pleasure of mine - it is a sewer level with all the repetitive rooms and it is filled to the brim with hitscanners, so it has all the potential to suck, but somehow I like it, mostly because I have great fun killing hitscanners with the shotgun), 

MAP26 Ballistyx (best dark atmosphere in the whole WAD and I loved the ending),

MAP29 River Styx (the theme is nice and it has Death's Bells, but there is an inconsistency with the liquids that don't harm you, even if they are lava - I guess that it would be like that if River Styx existed, but it doesn't go well with the rest of the WAD in terms of standard things) and 

MAP31 Pharaoh (Legion of the Lost, check, many Archviles to fight, check, nice Egyptian theme, check).

 

Maps I disliked:

Spoiler

I disliked

MAP08 Metal (the final area was a dick move, if I ever saw one),

MAP09 Stronghold (the hitscanners are brutal here, like in no other map of this WAD),

MAP11 Storage Facility (I wanted to puke when I played this),

MAP27 Mount Pain (SERIOUSLY OVER 300 ENEMIES IN AN iWAD??? WHY??? This map was only trouble and no fun, especially near the end with the open area and the Chaingunners that you have to kill fast, because you have no cover) and

MAP30 Last Call (cool puzzle near the beginning, but how you get to kill the Icon of Sin was one of the most infuriating things in the wad... HOW I AM I SUPPOSED TO KNOW THAT I HAVE TO SHOOT BELOW THE HUGE HOLE IN THE SKULL OF THE ICON OF SIN???).

 

The rest of the maps were ok.

 

The ending was great, with Legion of the Lost playing in the background and I had good fun with the WAD. Truth be told, I played this WAD, only for Legion of the Lost and in the end, I wasn't disappointed at all (I did the same because of Deus Ex's theme once and I ended up loving that game). I went in with good expectations and I was rewarded with even more.

 

Next is Plutonia... (this is probably going to be painful)

Edited April 5, 2018 by ShotgunDemolition

[doomchaser]

I'm playing Plutonia Revisited (at map25) , TNT Revilution (at map31) and Endpoint (at map06) by Eternal, next I'm gonna play Plutonia 2 and Good Morning Phobos!

[Addemup]

I'm playing DOOM 2 (the farthest I've gotten is MAP06).

 

I know, I know - I'm making PWADs for DOOM 2 when I haven't even completed the vanilla game.

[seed]

Starting Alien Vendetta today.

 

Yeah I'm nuts, heard this wad is difficult (read: likely beyond me) but I very much want to play this one, I've seen a few levels and it looks awesome. Can't wait to break my nerves on the way :v .

[Lila Feuer]

Doesn't get really hard until the last ten or so maps, it almost becomes Hell Revealed III in that regard.

[seed]

3 minutes ago, cyan0s1s said:

Doesn't get really hard until the last ten or so maps, it almost becomes Hell Revealed III in that regard.

 

On a scale from 1 to 10 how bad is that? I've only finished Scythe from the pool of (more) difficult wads so that's the only comparison I can think of.

 

Doubt I'll go with UV this time, the slaughter maps in Scythe were nuts for me since they took me by surprise, so I don't want to feel this kind of punishment on my flesh again with the same level of intensity :v .

[Lila Feuer]

I didn't actually finish AV yet, I got very far though. I just remember it turning into slaughtermap territory. So maybe anywhere from a 7 to an 8.

[seed]

15 minutes ago, cyan0s1s said:

I didn't actually finish AV yet, I got very far though. I just remember it turning into slaughtermap territory. So maybe anywhere from a 7 to an 8.

 

>slaughtermap

 

Oh fuck off and die -__- , so the final levels are going to be insane, good to know.

[Catpho]

19 minutes ago, Agent6 said:

 

>slaughtermap

 

Oh fuck off and die -__- , so the final levels are going to be insane, good to know.

But the final levels have some of AV's best (maybe except map30, that map is only good for atmosphere, and depending how much you like Hell revealed you'll either love or hate the map "Darkdome", map29, map20 and map25 are a must play, plus map24 is amazing!)

[seed]

15 minutes ago, Catpho said:

But the final levels have some of AV's best (maybe except map30, that map is only good for atmosphere, and depending how much you like Hell revealed you'll either love or hate the map "Darkdome", map29, map20 and map25 are a must play, plus map24 is amazing!)

 

Doesn't matter for me, if they're slaughter or slaughter-like in their nature, I hate this kind of maps. In fact the only way I'll ever end up playing this stuff is if that's what happens to be in a wad I want to play, like it was the case of Scythe. As I said somewhere else, they're good for watching someone else play them, but to try such levels myself, no thanks, I'll pass. I'll never understand why they even exist and people play and love them, but don't want to know either.

 

Eh, if I fail to finish AV well, shit happens I guess, if the last maps go full beast mode on me I'm not going to waste my time for nothing.

[Catpho]

2 minutes ago, Agent6 said:

 

Doesn't matter for me, if they're slaughter or slaughter-like in their nature, I hate this kind of maps. In fact the only way I'll ever end up playing this stuff is if that's what happens to be in a wad I want to play, like it was the case of Scythe. As I said somewhere else, they're good for watching someone else play them, but to try such levels myself, no thanks, I'll pass. I'll never understand why they even exist and people play and love them, but don't want to know either.

 

Eh, if I fail to finish AV well, shit happens I guess, if the last maps go full beast mode on me I'm not going to waste my time for nothing.

Map 24 and map20 are far from that i think. Map29 is slaughterish, so kind of a shame :P 

[seed]

12 minutes ago, Catpho said:

Map 24 and map20 are far from that i think. Map29 is slaughterish, so kind of a shame :P 

 

I am anxiously waiting my inevitable death xdd.

[Poncho]

The slaughtermaps in AV aren't brainless BFG spam, though. Personally, I'll never understand why people can't just wrap their heads around that. Sure, there are moments in 25, 26 and 27 where you might want to hold your finger on the mouse (or Ctrl key) with the BFG equipped, but it isn't like Betray (that's the unofficial Map33 from Doom II, by the way) and the monsters are still placed in ways that are dangerous.

 

Of course, everyone's entitled to their opinion. I just don't get why there are some individuals who pigeonhole these good slaughtermaps with the stereotypical "10000 cell packs, no-challenge-whatsoever" mindset.

 

(Also, I'm not a complete slaughtermap "lover", but if one makes you decide what weapon would be better [in some cases, NOT the BFG], has good architecture, has good pacing and gradually raises the odds, I'll happily play it).

 

 

 

Anyway, before this becomes a slaughtermap argument thread, I'm currently playing Return to Hadron E1 and training to do some demos.

[seed]

50 minutes ago, Poncho said:

The slaughtermaps in AV aren't brainless BFG spam, though. Personally, I'll never understand why people can't just wrap their heads around that. Sure, there are moments in 25, 26 and 27 where you might want to hold your finger on the mouse (or Ctrl key) with the BFG equipped, but it isn't like Betray (that's the unofficial Map33 from Doom II, by the way) and the monsters are still placed in ways that are dangerous.

 

Of course, everyone's entitled to their opinion. I just don't get why there are some individuals who pigeonhole these good slaughtermaps with the stereotypical "10000 cell packs, no-challenge-whatsoever" mindset.

 

Oh I dunno, maybe because some of us don't find them enjoyable at all when played by ourselves, that could be one.

 

And I never threw all slaughtermaps in one single stereotype either, which isn't even accurate with my opinion. One can have many shapes and forms. Yet, in a nutshell, for me a slaughter map is something that at the core has a very high enemy count and is incredibly difficult, thus absolutely not friendly or welcoming for average players (like myself), in one word, hardcore stuff.

 

But I guess I'll just have to see this for myself, if and when I reach these levels, which honestly, is something I'm not looking forward to one bit.

[geo]

woops wrong thread.

[Poncho]

1 hour ago, Agent6 said:

 

Oh I dunno, maybe because some of us don't find them enjoyable at all when played by ourselves, that could be one.

 

And I never threw all slaughtermaps in one single stereotype either, which isn't even accurate with my opinion. One can have many shapes and forms. Yet, in a nutshell, for me a slaughter map is something that at the core has a very high enemy count and is incredibly difficult, thus absolutely not friendly or welcoming for average players (like myself), in one word, hardcore stuff.

 

But I guess I'll just have to see this for myself, if and when I reach these levels, which honestly, is something I'm not looking forward to one bit.

Maybe you should play Vanguard next? It has some slaughter maps, but except for 11 and 12, they're honestly not too challenging and, IMHO, friendly to the casual player. And besides, it's Skillsaw. He makes levels with "fun" more in mind than "difficulty".

 

In other words, good luck with the rest of AV!

[seed]

2 minutes ago, Poncho said:

Maybe you should play Vanguard next? It has some slaughter maps, but except for 11 and 12, they're honestly not too challenging and, IMHO, friendly to the casual player. And besides, it's Skillsaw. He makes levels with "fun" more in mind than "gameplay".

 

In other words, good luck with the rest of AV!

 

I'll see when I'm done here.

 

5 maps in, so far so good, MAP04 was the most enjoyable, it strongly reminds me of Stronghold from TNT, another favorite of mine. So much fun and delicious carnage.

 

But madness will soon commence, I watched a MAP(06?) walkthrough on uglyStru's channel and fuck, that one is very tricky since it heavily relies on infighting. Ono :v .

[Poncho]

Actually, Map10 of Vanguard might be tough for first-time players (it and Map12 are indeed slaughter, whereas 09 and 11 are semi-slaughter). What I like about the levels is that they don't bombard you with Arch-Viles. Sure, there are quite a few Revs, Cacos and Cyberdemons, but there's also a LOT of health. I think looking at speedruns (in Vanguard's case, anyway) will make the maps much easier.

 

Oh yeah, and Map13's a laugh. I love it.

[Catpho]

8 minutes ago, Agent6 said:

 

I'll see when I'm done here.

 

5 maps in, so far so good, MAP04 was the most enjoyable, it strongly reminds me of Stronghold from TNT, another favorite of mine. So much fun and delicious carnage.

 

But madness will soon commence, I watched a MAP(06?) walkthrough on uglyStru's channel and fuck, that one is very tricky since it heavily relies on infighting. Ono :v .

Heh, wish you luck. Hopefully one day you could find the fun of every doom genre ;) (The well made of each genre that is)

[seed]

2 hours ago, Catpho said:

Heh, wish you luck. Hopefully one day you could find the fun of every doom genre ;) (The well made of each genre that is)

 

I shall see when that day will come.

 

So far I finished 11 maps, Nemesis was really large and took me quite some time (44:51min more exactly). It sure confused me at first but I eventually figured it out, when it became really enjoyable. The blue water and brown caves work really well together, and that building was pretty interesting as well, particularly because there were no surprise waves of enemies, still, a Cyberdemon and Mastermind were enough anyway, not like there weren't enough hitscanners around + Hell Knights, and a surprising number of Pinkies. It was also surprising to see where all these routes you discover later on actually lead to, some of those leading back to previous areas but in rather surprising ways (would've never expected that the waterfall on the blue skull's side actually led back to a fountain of some sort behind the said building).

 

I really hope it doesn't go bullshit on me later on, because so far it's f*cking amazing and gorgeous.

[galileo31dos01]

I'm going to play Scientist 2 with crispy, a megawad from 2005. Tested the first two maps, gameplay seems to be average, hitscanners and no armor and such things, I did find a peculiar use of lost souls:

 

 

In other words, lost souls exploitation part 3.

[bioshockfan90]

my crowning achievement

 

the adventures of square E2A3 UV pistol starts with no saves in 54 minutes, this took me more than 30 tries but i finally did it