What are you playing now?

[captain crunchy]

Ploughed through Doom the Way Id Did again. Episode 1 was dry but 2 and 3 were legit- great architecture and pacing despite the lower difficulty.

 

Currently cracking on ConC.E.R.Ned and Double Impact. In other words, anything Doom 1. I've little experience in mapping but it all makes me want to try my own UD maps.

[vdgg]

On 5/21/2016 at 2:07 AM, Paul977 said:

Played D2200EP1.WAD from Andy Olivera, quick review:

Spoiler

Map01: Ok start, quite easy but well placed chaingunners keep you on your toes. Mostly brick layout and a metal zone. I saw worse opener.

Map02: Not liked much the gameplay. A lot of fight against demons/imps and hell knights/barons for the last fight. Brown underground cave with aqueducts, not a bad layout.

Map03: First room with a cyberdemon. Died countless time in order to pass the first room but once passed the map is a fight with ssg against several knights/barons arachnotrons. Liked the area homage to Showdown from Memento Mori. The difficulty of the wad increases.

Map04: Very nice. The layout is an indoor tech base ala The Focus which at the beginning starts like a "normal" map then the difficult increases progressively. The finale is the hardest part: arch-viles, revenants packs, cyberdemon. Also there are other tricky parts during the way. Overall a nice thought map with a very good and consistent layout.

Map05: The hardest map of the set: took me 3 days to find a good strategy to max this map and when I *finally* kill everything I left the map with 4 bullets and 30 missiles..
Some infighting, some berzerk actions and ammo management is the key for finish this beast (some traps are quite deadly). The layout is marble, wood and underground cave: very nice, graphically the best of the set. I reccommend this map for people who seeks for challenging levels.

Map06: Beyond the sea. Map 28 from Hell Revealed 2 one of the harderst of the megawad, but I think map 05 is more difficult then this one.

Overall: a good, very thought (map 05 !:&%£$) wad with a classic feeling which I liked: map 04 is my favourite while the highlight of the wad is map 05. Good work

 

Finished it this week, apart from MAP06 which I save for later (I will play it in HR2, because music...). I found your old review and I have to say thay my impressions are similar to yours. MAP04/05 are much better than the first three. MAP02 has a nice theme but is teeedious. MAP03 introduces the rocket launcher, but Jim Flynn would have put 3x as many rockets and then it would be fine (how many barons with the SSG...). I enjoyed MAP04 and MAP05 a lot but I actually hesitate to recommend them as the target audience may be limited: you must like both simplistic, basic design (the mapset was released in 1998, but looks more like '95, maybe a bit better than MM/HR) and the gameplay: hard but unorthodox by today's standards. You have monsters that scream for plasma weapons which are not available in single player in any of the maps, you need to backtrack to collect the ammo, punch arch-viles/revenants, etc.

 

So, on the whole, I'm glad I played it and it does not deserve to be as forgotten as it seems, but new players: be prepared to dislike it.

[Deadwing]

I'm playing through the original plutonia and the wad still works very well. There's some stinkers in the set, but overally the experience is still very smooth. Very impressive layouts, with interesting and memorable shapes that doesn't feel dated even by nowdays. (unlike any wad from the 90's). Monster Placement is also still very good, with the usual abuse of chaingunners which isn't much of a problem once you're used with it.

[Salt-Man Z]

On 10/27/2018 at 9:22 AM, Misty said:

I'm playing Strain megawad. It's kind of love and hate relationship between this, because I'm digging music and some visuals, but gameplay and some monster/player/weapon replacements and stats are kind of meh. 

I love STRAIN, but it hasn't necessarily aged too well. I do recommend checking out the 20th anniversary tribute Return to Daro, which does a great job with the new assets.

 

2 hours ago, Deadwing said:

I'm playing through the original plutonia and the wad still works very well. There's some stinkers in the set, but overally the experience is still very smooth. Very impressive layouts, with interesting and memorable shapes that doesn't feel dated even by nowdays.

Yes! It's the architecture in Plutonia that always stuck with me. (Never noticed the difficulty until I joined the Doom community, as I had always played with saves on HNTR/HMP.) The opening arches of MAP10, the canal in MAP26, the entire city of MAP29, etc. Just so many highly memorable bits.

[Summer Deep]

Went back to TNT Resistance to try the second map. OMG, talk about a 'step up in difficulty'! Archviles already on the scene, in a cramped area with half a dozen Barons, or teleporting right behind the player, etc. I've switched to HMP and am now using Nevander's Doom64 Extended weapons mod, of which I've had a good experience previously, so hopefully it's game on again. Still bloody tough stuff though...

[vdgg]

Helios 2. 3 levels, MAP06-08. Not recommended! Now, this is barons, barons and more barons in corridors. And a single shotgun (there's a secret SSG also which I found after finishing the first map). Visuals are nice, maybe even cleaner then darken (more or less the same era). But gameplay... no! And this is from the mapper who later would create fantastic The Spire...

[LuciferSam86]

Right now I'm playing TNT Revilution with the gameplay mod "Final Doomed" with the Ancient Aliens weapons at the easiest skill. That's pretty nice. 

[seed]

I'm finally done with Sunder, and the next on my list is magnolia.wad.

 

Good job Sunder, your final map managed to make me call my quits (there's a first time for everything eh?) It seemed interesting, but I deemed it unworthy of my time, tedious levels are off the charts.

[galileo31dos01]

Because nothing comes to my mind to write 7 different reviews, I'll have to move on and keep playing so next is Return to Daro with crispy, a short tribute mapset to STRAIN. 

[galileo31dos01]

Finnished RTD yesterday as it was real short. Highly recommended though, not only for STRAIN fans but for casual fun puzzles and easy-medium combat. 

 

Now I'm about to retry Italo Doom seriously... not that seriously though, but there's no choice other than UV or burst. Really hope it doesn't turn unbearable after dying a million times. 

 

EDIT: OK, changed my mind, apparently not prepared for that level of ridiculousness. Better go through Based by Pinchy and leave italo for another year, after Sunlust/Combat Shock that is.

Edited November 11, 2018 by galileo31dos01

[Terminus]

Almost done with Golden Souls 2. Man this wad is a whole lot of fun!

Afterwards I think I'll catch up with stuff like ASS 40, Deathless, Djinn or Exomoon.

[seed]

Magnolia.

 

I liked the idea of the second map, but damn am I slow (or bad) at dodging plasma canons :v . I wish the first map could be completed without previous knowledge though, I had to look up some walkthrough videos to find some of the keys but I gave up after I realized I missed something somewhere since I failed to reach 2 keys. Shame.

[captain crunchy]

Incineration, Paul Corfiatis' E3 replacement. Does a great job capturing that freaky, unnatural vibe that Inferno always had while turning it up a notch or two. I like the intuitive way he sets up his secrets- it's based on being observant to your environment more than just humping the right wall.

 

After that, might just grit my teeth and try to finally beat No End In Sight.

[Gideon020]

Using a Doomwiki guide to find 100% secrets on Whispers Of Satan using the Arachnocide Weapons Only pack, Project Babel Monsters, and Universal Monster AI for the hell of it.

[galileo31dos01]

Recently finnished Based today. Great in atmosphere, realistic design, impressive visuals and such a beautiful night sky, like playing TNT again but on a higher quality. Lots of funny easter eggs too. The monster count was very light for such open layouts, and all cool in situational combat, but quickly grew into a type of teleporting ambush that felt abused, to the point the latter maps only used that gimmick. I wasn't keen of random hitscanners in the back or hell knights suddenly appearing in my spot causing instant damage, which honestly felt cheap since for some reason monsters attack immediately when they teleport, and that's like messing with one's reflexes. Some forced retreating multiple times, specially in map 10, if nothing was blocking the way out. On the other side, I did enjoy some examples like the imps/demons horde in map 04 and the sandbox nature of map 11, where finding weapons lead to a total crossfire in the open. The many hordes of zombiemen stood out as the author's trademark. Recommended on continuous for an charming sort of adventure experience, or pistol starts since those are implemented too, albeit with a main focus on the single barreled and powered chaingun, if that isn't your thing. 

 

Now, or tomorrow I'll be trying Mano Laikas with crispy. It's been a while since I touched anything by Monti, just Eviltech and nothing else, so hopefully this one will be fresh. 

[galileo31dos01]

Still going through Mano Laikas, it's been fun and a nice exercise in getting comfortable with rockets as the main ammo. However, I started to get sick of the theme after the third episode, it really felt like playing the same map over and over, just with different progression, but the monster composition doesn't get any different, very little in novelties. Currently finnished map 25 and I'm stopping here before I end up disliking the whole set, which like I said it's been enjoyable and I'm sure Monti designed the set to be kind of a meme, in aesthetics at least.

 

So I will get into Absolutely Killed at some point, for a change of pace, a Doom I episode replacement with atypical gameplay. Hopefully it'll be nice. Will get back into Mano Laikas another day.

[galileo31dos01]

Could somebody else post here? I don't want to be the only one who keeps this thread alive D:

 

Anyway, finnished Absolutely Killed yesterday, a fantastic wad anyone should try, great gimmicks and difficulty progression. Also downloaded another 12 wads to play through the next months: Combat Shock, H2H-Xmas, Quantum Strike, Realm of Chaos, ASS1, WolfenDoomed, Vanguard, The Beginning of the End 1, Xarathustra, Sunlust, Monument of Mars, and Eternally Yours.

 

Will start with the first one, though the rest in no particular order.

[Terminus]

Playing through Io Complex right now.

I highly appreciate wads that add their own custom stuff without relying on R667 things. Gameplay's a little easy and maps look very 90's-ish, but it has a charm and I'm having fun, so that's important.

 

Finished Djinn. It got progressively better and you could feel how the author was improving as each map was better than the former. It's not bug-free and there's a lot of things I'd have fixed, but it played well.

 

Deathless and ExoMoon are next on my list.

[galileo31dos01]

Recently finnished Combat Shock by dannebubinga. In reality, it was a mixed bag, mostly positive gameplay, and several less interesting touches. The first map put me into the mood, at the trap with teleporting revenants and an archvile behind, typical spicy move that always gets me the first time, and second. The second map was my favourite, I believe danne took inspiration from some Sunder map for the aesthetic side and turrets placement (incredibly savage spiderdemons that would never leave me alone). The third map had its ups and downs, with the only downside that hell knight on the lift, because sure I love unavoidable damage, while the main battles became progressively better, although I skipped the final rev/vile ambush because it wasn't any engaging to me. Finally, the fourth map could have used half of the monster count and still be slaughtery, that was too much grinding and circling around for several minutes for each set piece. I have no shame to admit I completely cheesed the final area by staying on the upper leftmost ledge and watching everything sort it out by itself, that is, until there were mainly cacodemons and some mancubi alive, because I had no armor at that point. Overall, should be a good experience to people who want to get involved into slaughter and spammaps (hey I just made a palindrome :D), and I liked the wad, but maybe not much in replay value outside of the second and third maps, imo.

 

Ok so next will be Eternally Yours, since I'm really in the mood to taste some valkiriforce maps. 

[Nine Inch Heels]

5 minutes ago, galileo31dos01 said:

CS stuff

CS is largely sunder inspired, and that also holds true for CS 2. danne also took in some of the sunder traits that I personally found a bit less charming, in particular the meaty-ness of some scenarios comes to mind. But nevertheless it's a must play for anybody who likes slaughter as a whole.

[Killer5]

Galileo demands participation.

 

Played Sunlust last night. It is a cool wad. I like all the maps equally I guess except for some cacoswarms (map20 mostly).

 

Something happened on map21 that prevented me from getting plasma so I had to deal with the final chaingunner/rev ambush with 5 rockets and chain gun. That was fun.

 

Still really like the cyb telefrag secret in map30.

[[McD] James]

I'm playing High Noon Drifter with Strange Aeons. I really love the surreal, abstract level design of Strange Aeons. It all fits together very well with HND. Impie makes some pretty damn good maps.

[galileo31dos01]

So, I won Eternally Yours this last weekend, very good set in classic valkiriforce style. Only dislike was how the final map ended, I can't stand IoS setups similar to the original and had to god mode in anger :l 

 

Also, I just finnished Vanguard by Skillsaw, an episode with 12 maps and a cute ending for giggles. It was a fun road, and nice to see some of his past projects before Valiant or Ancient Aliens. While a bit uninteresting at points, particularly map 07, it generally went on the freewheeling side. Really, I would have preferred the slaughtery maps to be less forgiving with resources, but I took the chance to be a little more aggressive than my usual and that felt good.

 

Gonna be playing WolfenDoomed by PCorf, using crispy. Just curious about it, in spite of the Wolfenstein theme which I'm not familiar with.

[galileo31dos01]

Oooookaaaay double post why nOT

 

So, I finnished WolfenDoomed yesterday. That's about everything I could take for a year, basically, no more killing groups of nazi soldiers for a loooong time. Really, if anyone is a fan of Wolfenstein, they should play this (probably advisable on continuous). For what it offered, it was a tad boring and unsuccessful in monster usage, no danger other than hitscan nazis, few hell knights to be found, one teleporting archvile which I prayed for its existence, and that's it. Overall, I valued the experience, because I can confirm Wolf3d won't ever be my thing at all.

 

Then I tackled Monuments of Mars and that was more exciting. A bunch of short-ish action maps with an excellent theme and so much gorgeous red. An important thing, anyone that wants to play this, make sure to download the latest update (April 6), as there's a bug in the last map in the previous version.

 

And currently playing Quantum Strike by Spectre01, or at least trying, first map on HMP is still mean and awkward sometimes, the geometry is getting stuck-friendly like some cases in Bloodstain, and I never dialed a wad to HNTR but if that's what I should be doing, there's always a first time. However, I dig the colorful scheme and afrits, and the setups have their cool slaughter touch.

[Terminus]

Plowing through ExoMoon right now.

At Map16, playing at UV Spicy Plutonia difficulty.

Real fun stuff, I'm usually not a big fan of non-linear maps but there's just something about this wad that keeps my interest and I can't stop exploring every corner.

 

Finished Deathless last week.

How in the hell did Jimmy make this thing in 9 days?!

Plowed through the whole thing in 4 sittings, 2 of which in one day. Great maps, nothing too challenging but ain't a piece of cake either. Very, very solid for the timeframe it was built on.

 

Next on my list:

- Bloodspeed

- Spooktober Community Project

- DyingCamel's Demons #2

- Flotsam

[galileo31dos01]

Finnished Quantum Strike yesterday, first map on HMP and the next three on HNTR. Definitely recommended if you're looking for not just slaughter but colorful abstract architecture and fitting music. The sticky geometry got irritating after a while, that combined with bumpy floors and claustrophobic setups was already hard enough, hence why I lowered skills, but fans of awkwardness might get some fun of it, or else you should really play on skill 2 for a more casual and forgiving experience. My favourite was the third map, and funny bonus content too. Good quality contents here.

 

Next is one antique megawad called Realm of Chaos which dates from 1996. Since it lacks music replacements I added them on my own. Not an easy task given that I needed to check the maps a bit in nomo with idclip to get an idea, and they look very rough and samey. 

[seed]

Currently smashing through Scythe 2.

[Salt-Man Z]

Playing through UDTWID, and it's a blast (and a beast!) Not sure it really "feels" TWID, though.

[alowe]

Taking a break after developing the Eye of Doom MEGAWAD. Must have averaged about 5 hours a day every day for a month and I need a break.

 

Tried out Hexen for the first time but for some reason it makes me travel sick. Doom doesn't have that effect on me. Was still really interesting to go through all the options that Hexen opens up in the editor like polygon objects and the direction of falling leaves. I like the ambience, just wish I could play it without puking :o(

[VanaheimRanger]

I just got to E4 of Deathless and I'm starting the Redemption Denied campaign of Doom 64 Retribution.