Thy flesh turned into a draft-excluder (ep4 replacement) - On IDgames

[cannonball]

I think that bug is to do with the sector height, I have reduced it to 72 so this should fix this problem.

I can certainly move the radsuit on E4M7 to the yk room. I have also added an extra suit in the secret in that area.
I shall watch the demos a little later, alas I have to clean the flat first :P

[scifista42]

cannonball said:

I think that bug is to do with the sector height, I have reduced it to 72 so this should fix this problem.

I thought that unpegging and Y-offset also must have taken a role, otherwise the bug would look different. Wasn't it the case?

[cannonball]

scifista42 said:

I thought that unpegging and Y-offset also must have taken a role, otherwise the bug would look different. Wasn't it the case?

Ah yes I also moved the y-offset to zero as well.

[scifista42]

E4M4

I already reported the start door being misaligned, now I only add that a silver switch behind red door has the same problem. ;)

An E4-styled sprawling and highly interconnected techbase? Oh yeah! I'm impressed by that elaborate yet understandable structure, all the non-orthogonal angles and elegant visuals, light work and everything. I like how techbase textures blend with marble, it doesn't feel out of place at all. Also, the vines behind windows are a great and well done idea.

Gameplay consists of consequently encountered "semi-setpieces", not really setpieces for most of the time, but I felt how enemies between areas were differentiated. All in all it played well. It actually reminded me of playing your bright city maps ala Sparta.wad MAP19 or early D2INO MAP15, but here's even less orthogonality and generally better design, same fun, and it wasn't even too difficult. I enjoy exploring nice environments such as this one, with an occasional little challenge on my way, so you did a good job.

[scifista42]

E4M5 - A great successor to the previous map, and I've enjoyed it as much. The colour theme, lighting and architecture were as beautiful, and gameplay as pleasant and exploratory as before - and still fresh (nice glowing effects etc.). I've only missed 1 secret (as I did in E4M4 too, by the way). Final fight was also similar, slightly better if you asked me, yet still easy to outmaneuver everything, let monsters kill each other and then just clean up. I've exited the map without a rocket launcher, even (playing from pistol start). And yet again, there were bugged silver switches.

I can't (constructively) criticize these maps because they just seem excellent to me. :D

[cannonball]

^Glad you are still enjoying this. I have made one change to E4M5, but it should only really effect speedrunning the map as rushing the start results in monsters piling up behind the red doors, so I constructed a new route from the rocket launcher room which should alleviate this issue. Apart from that it is a few extra details in the maps Hope you find E4M6/7/8 to your liking.

[tourniquet]

A few more maxes for E4M3-E4M5, E4M7 and E4M9.

I like the changes in E4M7, the final Cybie trio is still a tough one but at least it's a lot spacier then before.
One last thing i would recommend is moving the green armor from the final area to the secret BSK sidearea.
This way armor would be fairly distributed throughout the whole map.

[scifista42]

E4M6 - Map continues in the same vein as the previous ones, similarly beautiful with similar gameplay, yet seems even a little more epic! In addition, there was a fresh idea of Cyberdemon challenges along the way. I LIKED that they were there, though I actually cheated ("resurrected" myself) while getting around most of them - you know, I fail too often. The map featured a platforming part, which I wouldn't mind if there weren't Cyberdemons, with them it turned out rather frustrating and I nocliped. Again, it's just my unskilled-ness, and I principially have nothing against such challenges, I like when not an entire map is about trivial shooting. Your maps aren't, though; as I said before, the difficulty always keeps me entertained.

Neat trick how the Cyberdemons eventually teleported to the final area and activated the tag special upon death - I mean, good setup to use the tag. But gameplay of the final arena itself was the weakest point of the whole map. Just sniping Cyberdemons on very high pedestals... This could have been done better. Otherwise - superb. :)

[Steve D]

scifista42 said:

E4M6 - I actually cheated ("resurrected" myself) while getting around most of them - you know, I fail too often.

I was waiting for you to get to this. I died 62 times in this map thanks to those Cybies, and being the masochist I am, I naturally loved it! ;D Fuckin' awesome map. The final fight, as you said, was a bit relaxing, though, at least by comparison to the rest of this nightmare.

You should enjoy M8 as well, it's a nice, peaceful map. ;)

[paymentplan]

God damn these are some fun maps. Finally got around to sneaking through E4M2, great aesthetics on this one. The cyberdemon is fun to dodge but also fun to use as a weapon while moving around through the level. Some really good baron fights.

E4M3 felt a little scattered to me, kind of hard to figure out where I needed to go next. Some of the progression necessary areas felt like optional areas and vice versa.

E4M4 is a goddamned masterpiece. The theme of the secrets being activated with hidden switches brought a fun 'spot the switch' element to the map. Not a single dull fight throughout this whole thing. Very good demon usage to make using the rocket launcher a risky endeavor. Again, the layout and details look great.

I still have a few maps to get through, but this is up there with Resurgence as far as Great Wads of 2014 is concerned.

[cannonball]

I could certainly spice up the final room of E4M6 a little to make it more interesting.
Cheers paymentplan :)

[scifista42]

Finally progressed in playing this.

E4M7. Plays, looks and "shapes" well as always. This time a shorter map, but it's got some great challenges in tight spaces. All of them above my casual possibilities, of course - I died in the BK and YK setups, and I only survived the final battle thanks to rushing to the exit without firing a single shot. The former fights were pretty clever, though. I particularly see how you've taken speedrunning into account, as the powerful items / weapons are placed off the main path, and skipping monsters might lead to much harder battles later, like with the BK. I was skipping most of the monsters that I could, I admit.

I find it great that the huge BK branch (the cave) is actually a secret and completely optional.

[Degree23]

cannonball is a name I recognise from previous good maps, so giving this a play is a no-brainer! Playing on UV like I do nearly all maps.

E4M1 - Holy initial difficulty Batman! I saved the Berserk until I needed the health boost and I used the 2 Barons to basically clear everything out via infighting. I think I know where the 2 secrets are but I have no idea how to get them. I ran around for a while trying to find the way to lower the pillars (or teleport up to them) but to no avail. I died a few times on this map before getting a good start.

E4M2 - A nice initial scene rudely interrupted by a Cyberdemon roar! That instantly means you're not able to stand still for too long, though he did manage to wipe out the vast majority of enemies before I telefragged him. As long as you deal with hitscan, if you're fortunate then the Cyberdemon will wipe out nearly everything else in the area. I found 3 of the 4 secrets but I don't know what the switch hidden in one of the secrets did. Finding the Soul Sphere and Plasma Gun will no doubt make the next map a bit easier.

Overall a very challenging couple of maps and I'm expecting the same as I progress through, especially judging by the couple of other comments I've skimmed. I haven't read in depth so as not to spoil it, but I'm looking forward to playing the rest.

[scifista42]

E4M8 - Pretty epic design for a finale, I liked it. Gameplay = chaotic slaughter, surely it fits to the map and is well crafted out to be challenging, but it's not really my cup of tea and I couldn't handle it, so I was "resurrecting" myself everywhere.

Overally this was quite an awesome mapset. The initial maps served as a good intro and motivation to continue, the middle maps were my very favourites, and the late maps provided a tough challenge but didn't "drag" the game too much when I already wanted to just rush to the end. Cacoward worthy. :)

[Degree23]

E4M3 - So much incoming fire when you drop down! I was glad to have the PG from the previous map because after getting the blue key there are monsters all up in your face and it's tricky to use the RL the whole battle. I did get a little lost going to the red key as I'd come to the red door before I found it. I was surprised to not be facing more Lost Souls or Cacodemons rising out of the canyon actually.

E4M4 - Now this is just one excellent map. The layout is non-linear yet not ridiculously confusing. The major encounters are fantastic but they have made me realise how much I rely on the SSG normally! I was expecting the green floor to be damaging though I was glad it wasn't. I'm playing continuously which definitely made this level easier but you have put down appropriate weapons (RL/PG) at spots where they are needed. It feels very well balanced, but at the same time I'm not just smashing through maps because I'm coming in loaded with weapons. I was hoping to get the Spider Mastermind infighting more but there are pillars in the way and too many enemies to run around for too long, so it forces the fight more. Best map so far!

[Tristan]

Too difficult for me from E4M5 onwards, but E4M4 is pretty cool :)

[mouldy]

Finally got round to playing the last few maps. Quite a beefy challenge throughout. I think I messed up my ammo on a couple of them because I ended up having to finish off a couple of bosses with a shotgun, but I made it in the end. Last map is very suitably epic, I spent quite a while running around trying to find the red key. The only visual glitch I found was a midgrate bleeding through the floor on E4M6


Scary maps.

[kmxexii]

played the first four maps plus secret today. very cool stuff. you've come a long way since concerned e1, heh. Looking forward to the rest

[cannonball]

Cheers for the feedback everyone.
I have uploaded the wad to idgames, so here is a link to the final version before it goes on idgames.
http://www.mediafire.com/download/a4nydsfxudc71lc/draftex.zip

Enjoy.

[cannonball]

And now on IDgames
http://doomworld.com/idgames/?file=levels/doom/Ports/d-f/draftex.zip
I can finally relax and finish those maps I kind of promised to finish for various projects :P

[tourniquet]

excellent, congrats on the release....

[Steve D]

Great job, cb! I wish I could have played some of these maps again, but it's been a weird, weird month of shattered teeth, infections and then getting banged-up chasing my cat around the house. Note to all, avoid running full-out in your house in loose socks. Bad shit can happen! ;D

My compliments to everyone who managed to beat M8, especially if you did it on UV without getting killed. TBH, I'm too scared shitless to try it on UV again, so once the bandages are off I'll give it another go on HNTR, although I still expect a death count north of 20. Cannonball collected a lot of SteveD pelts in this episode, so why not feed him 30, 40 or 50 more? ;D Plus, I've never seen the new M9.

I concur with all those who noted how great-looking these maps are, with cool shapes and excellent lighting. Can't wait to see what's next!

[Degree23]

E4M5: A great map overall and I really enjoyed the end fight. I thought the Spider Mastermind was going to be quite tough and then the Cyberdemon was revealed! There was just about enough space to move around the chaos that ensued.

E4M6: Holy shit! WHAT a map! The start seems innocuous enough, but when the Cyberdemon pillars lower and they teleport away, you know it's not going to be an easy map. The way the Cyberdemons are basically stalking you around the map is brilliant. The layout of the map is superb and I love the way the sections interlink. I was expecting to fight the 2 Cyberdemons I'd seen (as you only see 2 maximum at one time) at the end in the grand room that you can see from earlier in the map, so I was surprised to learn there were 4! I'm glad the BFG lowers beforehand (and isn't a secret) because it's a tough fight even with it. This is easily one of the best levels I have ever played in terms of layout, fights and ending. Absolutely outstanding.

E4M7: Yet another tough map. The final room felt a little anti-climactic, and after just going back in now I've realised why. That whole outside area, which I didn't even go through in my original playthrough, seems to be entirely optional to get the blue key which only leads to the BFG and isn't necessary to get the yellow key. It's a shame as that is an absolutely awesome area and far too good a battle to be only optional.

E4M8: Really really chaotic. I came in with pretty heavy weaponry which I used to dispatch the initial Cyberdemons. Without that, this map would have been an awful lot tougher than it was anyway. I quite liked the use of Spider Masterminds at the end of the map and the ambushes were expected given it was the final map.

Overall a top class WAD here and one I thoroughly enjoyed playing through. The only downside I found was the optional area in E4M7 which should really have been compulsory. Other than that, amazingness everywhere.

[kmxexii]

review is up, cheers. i liked this way more than concerned tho i do miss your crazy tom hall-style nonlinear base levels. thank you for not going overboard in e4m8 <3 well relatively speaking

[Krazov]

I just played first two maps. I like the aesthethics very much, too bad “Thy Flesh Consumed” stylistics aren’t very popular. I like this vast sea of blood around. And repeated ending of one level and beginning of another give episode some story flavor.

What made me laugh and caused to write here is that on Ultra-violence I killed last enemy on the map (funnily enough, it was first Baron of Hell) with my last piece of ammunition. A perfect replication of situation from original “Thy Flesh Consumed.” Later I loaded a savegame and beat it with some infighting and fisting, but first time was quite classic.

In map 2 I liked this central placed Cyberdemon. I used the bastard to kill off some other fellas. Map 2 reminds me a style of the original one. Neat.

[joe-ilya]

First there's this E4 replacement and right after that Pcorf releases an E3 replacement.
Should I do an E2 replacement? I'm good at doing maps like that.

[scifista42]

degree23 said:

E4M7: Yet another tough map. The final room felt a little anti-climactic, and after just going back in now I've realised why. That whole outside area, which I didn't even go through in my original playthrough, seems to be entirely optional to get the blue key which only leads to the BFG and isn't necessary to get the yellow key. It's a shame as that is an absolutely awesome area and far too good a battle to be only optional.

Overall a top class WAD here and one I thoroughly enjoyed playing through. The only downside I found was the optional area in E4M7 which should really have been compulsory.

What are you talking about? Optional areas are great! They raise player's freedom and allow him to choose where he wants to go and where not. Exploration can reward you, or be the reward for itself. It's most definitely not a flaw to not force the player to walk through and see everything in the map.

[Steve D]

Very well said, scifista. I agree 100%. BTW, I had a lot of fun fighting in that big outdoor area.

[Degree23]

scifista42 said:

What are you talking about?

I'm pretty sure my point was fairly well explained, but I shall try again for your sake. I have nothing against optional areas, and nowhere did I say I did, I was merely pointing out that this one was so good that I really felt it would have enhanced the map to be in the main part of the level.

[Suitepee]

http://www.twitch.tv/johnsuitepee/c/5683154 = part 1 of my playthrough, covering maps e4m1-e4m5 plus secret map e4m9. (pistol start)

So far this is squaring up to replace Double Impact as my favourite Ultimate Doom wad. The difficulty, the fun factor, the creative encounters; all so good to see in Ultimate Doom!

Only thing I can criticise here is that the ending to e4m5 felt a bit too easy, firstly allowing the player to escape back through the blue key door once the encounter was triggered, and also for just having a simple exit switch past the Cyberdemon once he shows up. In my opinion, this encounter shouldn't have allowed anyone to escape so easily from it.

Otherwise, I can definitely see why this won a Cacoward this year! Am looking forward to playing the final 3 maps tomorrow. (hopefully)