The DWmegawad Club plays: Sunder & Countdown to Extinction

[Obsidian]

dobu gabu maru said:

But how can you use the name "Demanufacture" but fail to use a Fear Factory midi? Shame, 0/10.

I'm saving the Scumgrief MIDI I found for a different map. :P

[Demon of the Well]

Map 11 -- The Vortex
Another rocket map, but this one throws in some perfunctory chainsaw action at the start (most people will probably only use it on the specters, I decided to use it on the imps in the imp/arach wave as well). Not much to look at, but the concept is sound, and together with map 10 before it it represents the most interesting the gameplay has been up to this point.

Map 12 -- Wayward
Huh, Crash Bandicoot music. From that one level involving climbing up the side of a tower in the rain, if I'm not mistaken. Weird. Anyway, apart from maybe the vague 'you move upwards over various rocks' things, there doesn't appear to be any particular concept at work here, and so again this feels very fragmentary. I guess the arch-vile is the main fight, it's no sweat if you exploit his hair-trigger temper.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP13 Sanctuary

Hmm, surrounding tactics and getting cornered seem to be the main game. I guess the spectres were easy though. Oh, and FINALLY I GET A SUPER SHOTGUN (in a secret).

MAP14 Black Books

This was...easy actually. Another library map, filled to the brim with shells and another SSG. This also means the bigger monsters and the archviles (gotta understand Obsidian's apparent love for these things) also will make more frequent appearances. But it's easy due to the cover presented by these books, and even the painelementals won't be a problem. I guess the archie duo at the end could be a clincher if one decided to run for the exit, only to get into a frying pan of fire. Not me, I took it slow. The only problem there was the consistent resurrection of revenants, whom waste my precious shells. -_-

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP13: Sanctuary
Mostly harmless, barring the archie at the end. I just ran back to the stairs and picked him off from under cover of the stairwell. I wasn't quite sure of the point of the lift over the stair, unless that had something to do with the secret door I couldn't figure out how to open...

MAP14: Black Books
I liked this one. It wasn't actually too hard, but I was already low on health (again) and died a number times. The double archvile ambush at the end, the only way I could beat it was by rushing the teleporter and telefragging the ground-level archie—a solution I stumbled on entirely by accident.

[Obsidian]

MAP13: This was one of the later maps I made for CtE and I kind of regressed into library mode by accident while making it: I like libraries, so what? :P Not the best one I made, but still passable.

MAP14: Ah, MAP14: this was the second map I made for CtE, back when I didn't know CtE was going to exist, heh. I admit that the end bit with the 2 Archies could have been done better, but hey, 1-hour speedmap folks. :P Also Mark Klem makes excellent music.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP13: Sanctuary
100% kills | 1/1 secret | 3:19

A nice little wooden facade leads into a small little library. No 3D bridge this time around, instead the much simpler "column ascends to form a bridge for the player" is at work. The "catacomb" area is a bit strange but nothing tough. I really let the AV work me over, even letting him get to resurrect the revenant, which was a mistake. Would've been a lot easier had I found the SSG before finishing the map, alas.

MAP14: Black Books
100% kills | 3:25

And finally we get a map that starts kicking up the action. No more of the single shotgun/chaingun baby play, here it's run straight for the double-barrelled beauty and with plenty of revenants and AVs to play with. The close quarters make this map especially dangerous, as it's quite easy to get cornered by imps/revenants/AVs, meaning lots of reloading - but for a short map, that's fine. The PE fight is a good ambush without being laughably easy or incredibly frustrating as PE uses can be. The trap after the red door is a good one, I was thinking "why on earth would he teleport the Viles behind me?" only to have the gotcha moment. The last battle can be easy or impossibly difficult depending on whether the floor AV ends up behind the pillars that block your escape, if he ends up in the main area you're probably dead (especially if he gets to resurrect both revenants - not enough ammo on the map). But getting him trapped on the other side of the pillars made things a lot easier. And I'm always a sucker for the library theme, one of my favorite textures.

[Salt-Man Z]

How do we do the secret maps? Is tomorrow supposed to be maps 15-31, and the day after that 32-16? Or is it just 15-16 plus secret maps (if you found 'em) all together?

[Magnusblitz]

Working backwards from May 31, there's enough days to do two maps on each day, so I'd say tomorrow should be 15-31, then 32-16. The secret exits are really easy to find, too (I actually found both before the regular exit, heh).

[Salt-Man Z]

Yeah, 32/2 = 16, plus Sunder's 14 is 30. I've got my write-ups saved on my thumb drive either way. (I also found the secret exits before the regular ones.)

[plums]

Demon of the Well said:

Another rocket map, but this one throws in some perfunctory chainsaw action at the start (most people will probably only use it on the specters, I decided to use it on the imps in the imp/arach wave as well).

I saw that, wasn't sure if you were doing it to add some variety/challenge, or you're just more of a miser on ammo than I am, heh.

CtE MAP13: Fun little jaunt, lots of ambushes for such a small space. The AV behind the end door is a nice atmospheric touch, since you're never quite sure when he's going to pop out. Yes, there is finally a SSG available. Also a nice little descent into the library section.

CtE MAP14: Pretty easy map if you've got your arsenal from before, quite devious from pistol start. This map rewards bravery, especially the ambush at the end.


Sunder MAP07: All right, my endurance is starting to wane a bit. Huge monster-count maps aren't always my thing, and it looks like that might be the type of map from here on out. I perked up a bit when I got the BFG, but Sunder certainly isn't a wad to give you one of those "just because." So, lots and lots of hordes. While I certainly died a fair number of times, the only fight I found really hard was the last one, as the enemies just seemed to clog up all the available space to run, despite being such a large arena. Eventually I made it by hiding behind the cyberdemons near the soulsphere, and getting them to deal with the approaching hordes for a while.

Visually, this is a mixed bag for me, as the texture set and colour scheme is pretty similar to the last map, and it's a bit standard. The architecture is interesting, and the red crosses everywhere make it stand out a bit more. Attempting to make a map without teleport traps was an interesting idea, but I noticed it far less than I thought I would -- there's no shortage of enemies here.

Sunder MAP08: Visually this is my favourite level so far, I love the mix of textures and the pale wall theme mixed with all the blood and tech bits. The geometric strangeness goes up a notch too, perhaps because so much of the map is done on a 45 degree angle. Unfortunately that also means that a lot of the walls aren't in cardinal directions, meaning Doomguy can get caught quite a lot trying to run up against a wall to squeeze past an enemy.

Gameplay-wise I enjoyed it, but I really do prefer the smaller-scale battles. As is common to most of Sunder's maps, the encounters are really segmented, and surviving the start is often the hardest part. Here though, being able to run around the whole map is quite useful at times, especially when that huge cacodemon swarm comes at you. The last fight was quite difficult, and took me a while to suss out how to survive at all. It looks symmetrical at first glance, but that one side having an open wall ends up making a huge difference.

Also, corpses everywhere! Gets really hard to see in some places. This is also the first map where Doom's auto-aiming really had me frustrated, as I constantly blew my feet off with the rocket launcher as it decided to fire at a steeper angle than I wanted.

[dobu gabu maru]

Salt-Man Z said:

How do we do the secret maps? Is tomorrow supposed to be maps 15-31, and the day after that 32-16? Or is it just 15-16 plus secret maps (if you found 'em) all together?

Our methodology regarding secret maps has always been pretty poor, meaning that they're done on the same day as MAP15. Magnusblitz's suggestion works fine though since May does go up to 31.

MAP11: While Demon chose to use the melee gas guzzler, I pulled a mouldy and just hit all the switches at once and circle strafed until the madness settled down. It was pretty easy that way since the barons soaked up a couple hits and then would proceed to bash them into a pulp. It's an okay map, though not really demanding.

MAP12: Nice, quaint level. The AV encounter is my favorite fight thus far in the wad, as you anxiously deal with him and his horde inside Hell's pitiful rendition of Stonehenge. There's a nice bit of platforming after that, but the encounter definitely remains the most memorable.

MAP13: Another nice AV encounter here too, though a touch easier since he can get stuck in loops rezzing feeble zombies. This map has a bit more meat to it with hidden compartments and some tricky traps. One of the best holistically I think, though I am always partial to library areas.

MAP14: I feel like I'm a broken record but there's some good AV usage here as well. The books wind being doused in more red than black by the time the carnage is finished, and though I kind of wish there was a little more treachery to the map (the revs are deaf so they don't backup the AV, while one of the last AVs for me got caught between the bars and the stairs and was thus quite ineffective), it was still a blast. Really nice stretch of maps you have going here Obsidian, I hope it keeps up.

[Demon of the Well]

I just plain like chainsawing imps, almost as much as I like punching them.

Map 13 -- Sanctuary
Thus begins the little block of 'mansion/library' maps, which I personally feel to be the strongest stretch in the WAD (although the theme returns once in E3). 'Sanctuary' is a very brief map even by the standards of this mapset, and hinges pretty much entirely on claustrophobia in its few battles. While I've spoken somewhat favorably of maps 10 and 11, I feel like the point-blank closet trap that springs when one initially runs up against the red door was probably the first time I was really awake while playing this. The arch-vile is probably slightly more of a concern if you don't find the secret SSG, but since the map's so tiny you'd have to be playing without sound or something (which some folks actually do, granted) in order to miss hearing its closet open up, so I imagine most players will have it when they face him and his pet ninjapigs.

Map 14 -- Black Books
Dig that opening scenario, where you have to shoulder your way past the vile and his imp attendants so you can nab your boomstick, which likely results in the revenants crashing the party as well. The final battle is sound in theory, but I think it would've profited from some tweaked execution, mainly just making it so that the two later viles appear in the library after the player has already been sealed inside (perhaps by springing them via a trigger right in front of the one-time teleporter snare or the like); I saw the one guy teleport and so went back to clean his clock before hitting that snare and thus actually being stuck inside the earlier room, and I'll bet this'll happen to lots of other folks, too. Sort of anticlimactic when you do hit the snare afterwards and get locked into a room where everything's already dead. Still, one of the better maps in the set, regardless.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP15 Blackened Books

Well that's an original title. Pretty much a direct sequel to MAP14, big monsters, big two-barrel shotgun kills. And hey, it's that barrel trick that I had previously used in NOVA implemented here. Toughest fight for me was the two archies behind the normal exit, but for some reason, it could be skipped for the secret exit (?)

MAP31 Radiation

Well I don't like it much. It's very Plutonia-ish which I've grown to loathe. It's got that wrongly looped ED track and isn't really too noticable or interesting until you unleash the cyberdemon, then it's just claustrophobic running around. He guarded a plasma gun, but I had to hide from him in the hallway, where thankfully a monster-blocking line prevented me from being ultimately cornered. Too bad the bastard just won't let me get out. On the other hand, the entire level can be skipped by pressing the face, releasing the archie, and leaving. Either this is an oversight, or Obsidian is just egging us to keep going through the secret maps, considering both normal exits seem tougher to reach than the secret ones.

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP15: Blackened Books
So, yeah, remember how I said MAP14 wasn't too hard? I forgot that I exited with only 7 health. That meant I had to be super careful starting this map. Something like the first five times I finished off the revenant swarm, a rocket got me at the last second. But cautiousness and ducking around corners (and the SSG) helped me through. I found the secret exit before I found the regular one; when I went back and discovered that the regular exit released two archviles, I said "Screw this" and just went for the secret.

MAP31: Radiation
This one was pretty fun. I found the secret exit right away, but explored everything before exiting. Didn't even bother with the cyberdemon, though, man. Just grabbed the plasma gun and ran for that crate.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP15: Blackened Books
93% kills | 1/1 secret | 2:43

Still sticking with the library theme. Not as hard as the other maps, as the SSG is provided at the start, and a lot of the monsters aren't a huge threat (pinkie demons, or the mancubus perched on his column). Of course, I also skipped the two AVs at the end and just went straight for the much easier secret exit. Interesting concept with the "exploding" section, not sure one hour is enough to really see that through, but it's not a bad attempt considering.

MAP31: Radiation
100% kills | 2/2 secrets | 3:51

Plutonia map, huh? I obviously see the texture resemblance, though I don't know enough to say if it would cut it as a mini "Plutonia the Way Id Did" map. Plutonia was never really my thing, but it's fine. The best part is finally getting a Cyberdemon battle, though again the secret exit is easier to find and reach than the normal one.

[Obsidian]

MAP15: This one would have to be one of my favourite maps, but it's also one of the ones I couldn't quite manage to beat. *Sheepish grin* Like I said in the original thread, this map I made while at my mate's radio show: the heaviness of the music may have seeped into the gameplay, heh.

Getsu Fune said:

And hey, it's that barrel trick that I had previously used in NOVA implemented here.

Aww, I thought I discovered that trick. :( I used it a decent bit more in my map Trinitrotoluene as well, if anyone's interested.

MAP31: This map was the product of another Skype session with General Rainbow Bacon: at the time he was making one-hour maps for Plutonia and he suggested that I make one. I tried focusing less on detail and more on action with this map and I think I succeeded.

[plums]

CtE MAP15: The library continues! Probably the most deliberate attempt at continuity in the wad. It feels and plays differently than the last one, though. Yes the hardest fight can be avoided entirely, which is a bit odd, but oh well. The whole bookcase lowering at the start is nice and unexpected, and the explosions are a cool effect, no matter who came up with them :P And speaking of which...

Bugfixer Trivia: This fuckin' map! Most of the bugs in CtE were pretty easy to identify and solve. Here though, nothing was working right on complevel 2 at all and I couldn't figure out why. The bookcase floor didn't lower at all, it just got stuck making a moving-sector sound, and even noclipping past that other stuff wasn't working at all.

The solution, as it turns out, was in those exploding barrel sectors. If they aren't at least 42 units high, for some reason it affects lots of other things on the map. It took me a while to figure this out, and I still have literally no idea why that is the case.

This problem did come up a bit again in Trinitrotoluene, where the 3D bridges were being crazy. Keep this in mind for the future Obsidian! :p

CtE MAP31: A fun Plutonia-ish map. It is weird that you can skip the map entirely by going to the secret exit, and also a shame since there's some cool stuff in here. Did you notice how you get the red key? Nice touch. From pistol start I find it's best to go straight after the shotgun guys and avoid the revenant ambush until later, maybe get them fighting the hell knights. Also lol at the secret level text leading to this map.

[NuMetalManiak]

Obsidian said:

Aww, I thought I discovered that trick. :( I used it a decent bit more in my map Trinitrotoluene as well, if anyone's interested.

truth be told, I'm probably not the first to use the "barrel in dummy sector blow up" trick either. I remember CC4 MAP24 (which was inspiration for my NOVA map BTW) had it too.

[Obsidian]

Getsu Fune said:

truth be told, I'm probably not the first to use the "barrel in dummy sector blow up" trick either. I remember CC4 MAP24 (which was inspiration for my NOVA map BTW) had it too.

The trick I did was to use "Floor Raise to 8 Below Lowest Ceiling (Crushes)": you can make sectors instantly lower as well as crushing barrels so it looks like you blew a hole in the wall.

[NuMetalManiak]

the trick I used (since I was a newb at the time) was, I believe, W1 Crusher Slow or something like that. in MAP22 of NOVA, it still produces an explosion effect if I remember.

MAP32 Rippler

Gimmicky bonus map. I don't think it's possible to get everything, so what matters most to me are the rocket launcher, berserk, ammo, and megasphere (the secret). Took several tries. At least I can go back and kill the enemies I passed earlier. The next area will probably make Ribbiks proud, lotsa neat water and simple slaughter, where infighting between revenants and spiderdemon is decisive. When that's done, there's a choice of two exits, guarded by an archie. Let's just say follow the arrows on the map for that.

Oh and the music is the Descent briefing music. Thought I'd say that.

MAP16 Volatile

Again with the gimmicks? This one borrows from MAP20 of Kama Sutra, although I really didn't see much of it here. Most notable case is in the largest room, where approaching the key causes barrels to spontaneously appear. Smart players can lure the hellknights/imps to the center and trigger the barrels. After the BK switch, it's another spiderdemon outing with rockets and demons. This is just a random personal opinion, but the rocket launcher seems to be a good weapon to use on the spiderdemon due to how wide he is, as opposed to the cyberdemon who is thinner and faster. Good "volatile" map regardless.

[Obsidian]

Getsu Fune said:

The next area will probably make Ribbiks proud

I cannot lie, I had him in mind when I made that section. :)

MAP32: I really quite liked this idea: I wanted to make this map feel like a bonus round similar to something you'd find in Sonic. Also I hadn't come across a map that used that as the music, so I thought "Why not?". Either way it was interesting to make, even if I did accidentally cut the power halfway through making it. X-/

MAP16: The one that started it all! I really wanted to get a feeling of danger with this map, hence the explosions and fire everywhere: maybe I should have chucked a crusher in there somewhere. All in all it's a decent little romp, I think.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP32: Rippler
61% kills | 1/1 secret | 2:02

Interesting concept, though I agree that it seems impossible to get everything (the fact that a lot of the items don't get revealed until the last second makes it especially tough). All that really matters though was the megasphere. A Ribbiks-style cover battle is next, not too tough with some infighting and the provided weaponry. This time around I noticed the minimap arrows right away, mainly because I had to use the minimap to even figure out where the switch was (hidden behind the spidermind's waterfall). Doesn't matter which exit I picked anyways though, since I'm doing pistol starts.

This map also probably has the first texture error I've noticed so far - the door that opens after the megasphere has no unpegging on it's sides. Ew! But for a bunch of one hour maps, I'm actually impressed I haven't seen more.

MAP16: Volatile
77% kills | 2:32

Hmmm, more explosions, though not really feeling it this time around. The ones on the blue key feel a bit "off" - I ran to the blue key, turned around, and then saw a barrel spawn and explode in my face. Kinda breaks the illusion. It also seems to be the only place at the explosions can damage the player, so I didn't really get the feeling of danger that Obsidian was trying for.

Combat is relegated to normal shotgun/chaingun for the most part (sigh), I ended up just running past the spidermind. Oh, and I did just punch the hapless PE to death - not a good place to use it.

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP32: Rippler
I wasn't sure what to make of the first half of this map on my first attempt. Was it going to be a "race" map like the infamous Scythe map (or that level from Dystopia 3?) Kinda, I guess, but you don't die if you don't make it, you just miss out on some goodies. I eventually managed to snag 12/19 items: a bunch of health bonuses and then the megasphere. The pitched battle with the mastermind and revvies was good; took me a couple tries to beat it. Then the archies appeared (surprise) and brutalized me. On the next attempt, I crept out carefully and was able to take them out one by one in their alcoves. The fake exit trick with the automap clue was kinda lame, though.

MAP17: Volatile
I was never quite sure what the gimmick here was. Occasionally some barrels blew up somewhere? I could hear the explosions, but never see them (although I did get hurt by one around the central pillar of the final room.) Yet another archvile at the end (this one made harmless by the tunnel) and another mastermind that I don't know how you would be able to beat from pistol start.

[plums]

Magnusblitz said:

This map also probably has the first texture error I've noticed so far - the door that opens after the megasphere has no unpegging on it's sides. Ew!

Are you sure you have the current version? I think this was fixed.

[Magnusblitz]

Hmm, you're right, downloaded the one from the first post and it fixed it.

MAP17: Cave In
100% kills | 1/1 secret | 1:22

Hmmm. Well, this map has the crushers Obsidian was thinking the last map needed, and for me at least, it certainly contributes a lot more danger to the level than the last one. But... the level ends really abruptly, even for a one-hour mapset. I couldn't believe that the imp ambush was (almost) the end.

MAP18: Steel Trap
100% kills | 2:23

So... as far as I can tell, this map requires an AV jump to complete - either across the gap (speedrunner's choice), or over the columns around the teleporter in order to hit the switches to raise the bridge. Kinda bullshit move IMO, even for a short level like this. It's fine to do for secrets, but in order to complete the level? Killing the AV first off then spending time running around like an idiot is frustrating. Especially since that's the likely first response given Obsidian's propensity to use AVs at the end of maps.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP17 Cave In

More and more gimmicks. While I didn't see the crushers coming, they helped in killing that baron of hell while I grabbed a berserk, which I used on just about everyone afterwards. There's a few more of those "barrel gimmicks" past more crushers, with a semi-final showdown with some imps in a tight steel area. Speaking of steel...

MAP18 Steel Trap

Yep, all metal textures here. Opening, okay, then a large crusher with cheese holes and some caged idiots. Then there's a red key and then the archie at the end. Really now, an archvile jump is required to beat this? Or am I missing something? Also, I knocked him off the perch on the first SSG shot, so that got both of us stuck at first.

[plums]

Countdown to Extinction
MAP32: A fun little bonus stage. Pillars with powerups emerging from the water is a nice effect, though it's a bit HOM-y if you fall into one too early. End fight isn't too hard, you can just hide behind the spiderdemon and he'll fight with the revenants quite a bit.

MAP16: The first map! This was fun and a good mix of gameplay and detail for one hour. When I first played it I kept expecting the explosions to signify something being blown open, a bit like what happened in MAP15 (even though that map didn't exist at the time). Nonetheless it's good.

MAP17: Crushers galore. Good concept, though it's a bit rough in a port without mouselook. The chaingunner ambush can be quite deadly if it catches you at the wrong moment.

MAP18: Heh, I thought this one would annoy people ;) Yes, you do need an AV jump. I find it easier to go across the gap than to get blown into the teleporter the 'proper' way, but maybe that's just me. The large crusher area is nice but it never really felt too dangerous to me, which I think is a bit of a waste.

It was very hard to get a successful pacifist run on this map. Perhaps the 2nd hardest, with only 28 being worse.

[Obsidian]

MAP17: I'll admit that this one was more of a filler map than it's own concept, but I still think I did well with it: honestly, I don't see crushers used much in maps nowdays. :/

MAP18: This was the third map I made for CtE, but it was also one of the maps I made before I knew I was mapping for CtE. :P Can you really blame me for the AV-jump? I didn't know I was angling for continuous play at the time. Heheh. Also I swiped the name from a horror movie.

[Magnusblitz]

Obsidian said:
honestly, I don't see crushers used much in maps nowdays. :/

True that. Kinda weird how things that are definitely a part of the original Doom such as crushers and barrels are almost completely unused by today's mapmakers.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 15 -- Blackened Books
Solid enough, like its fellows in the mansion/library block, but I remember thinking that this one feels like it plays a little too soft in comparison to the maps preceding it, especially with the one HK guarding the red key. However, it's worth mentioning that this impression was based off of my lone first playthrough, where I easily found the secret exit and thus didn't see the twin-vile ploy at the end, which looks like it works pretty well--one guy to push you back, another guy to make a nuisance of himself rezzing corpses in the central room, shame I didn't see it. I kind of wish the secret exit had been escapable (e.g. a teleporter in the pit) and marked (like with an exit sign), in this case.

Map 31 -- Radiation
Accidentally finished this map in 17 seconds or something like that the first time I played it. The invisible deadfall-lift from back in map 03 makes a return here, and sics some revenants on you if you spring it. I did, and so I started running around the room to evade them, saw the gargface emblem on the wooden box, thought it might be weapon secret, pressed it, juked the arch-vile thus released, and then nipped into his alcove hoping to find my reward, and I find apparently it's the secret exit. Pretty anticlimactic, enough so that I did immediately reload the map to play it all the way through. That deadfall is really the star of the map, to be honest--it can turn the revs on you before you know it's there, and then you have to remember it's there and dodge around it when you fight the cyberdemon, lest you find yourself in an untenable situation. The way the construct's put together seems to confuse the engine a little bit, incidentally--the north side of that crate seems to consistently eat monster projectiles the way the shotgun post back in map 04 ate that one rev rocket.

Map 32 -- Rippler
Alright, so, fresh after seeing the casually Plutonic paint job on map 31, the first thing I thought of upon being presented with the start room here is "this'll be some kind of riff on Well of Souls." How wrong I was. I hit the first switch and started circling around the central column expecting various monster-dens to be revealed as the water lowered, in so doing missing out on my chance to get any of the bonus goodies on the rocks along the path. However, being a man and a half and all (read: a reckless fool), I just dropped down the drain at the end anyway, armed to the teeth with my shotgun and six shells. That's the thing, turns out all of that stuff I missed is pretty superfluous, as the plasma rifle and rich supply of cells down in the drain are more than adequate to handle the monsters there, given a little solid footwork--I handled the revenants by chucking my pet spider into their midst, and then melted the twin viles using the pumping pistons for cover (which is a device I usually like to see, I admit). It's a cute idea, I guess, but again, the very transient nature of the map means the concept doesn't really get a chance to shine, doubly so since you can utterly fail the conceptual challenge and then still easily win the map.

Map 16 -- Volatile
Yeah, not much of note, here (again, had to watch the demo to remember this one). Apparently there's some simulated explosion/cave-in scenery or something? I was apparently daftly looking in the wrong direction every time something happened, since all I heard was some explosions and then some active crusher mechanisms in the background. Action's pretty damned dry here....not sure why I was so hesitant to fling rockets at the two packs of pinkies, it's clear almost immediately that the spider can't leave its alcove (which means it's more of a timesink than anything, incidentally, seeing as how it blocks the exit but can't do anything to you unless you let it), so it'd be easy to establish a safe firing lane. Oh, and that pain elemental placement....sorry dude, that's just flat-out poor.

Map 17 -- Cave-in
Probably the best of the maps in the little 'subterranean' block. I was amused by the crushers and so took the trouble of having the Baron in the first cave smashed into pulp; kind of makes me wish they'd been slow crushers instead, although perhaps that could be seen as too unforgiving of player error. The chaingunner nest a short ways on is actually one of the nastier traps in the WAD up to this point, although it's probably easy to run right by it if you happen to be spooked by all the crushers and explosions and whatnot (incidentally, I managed to actually notice the changes in scenery while I was playing, this time). Decent little imp fight given the small space, and then a rather perfunctory arch-vile in the exit chamber, a trick that's getting pretty predictable at this point.

Map 18 -- Steel Trap
I didn't call bullshit on the instant-death switch gimmick of map 06, and I think I can fairly say that I'm more tolerant of/open to unorthodox gameplay/progression decisions of this general type than many players seem to be. But I've gotta say, there's just no way I can stop myself from calling bullshit on the mandatory arch-vile jump here. That it's a tiny map and thus doesn't take much of your time to replay after you inevitably fuck it all up by doing what Doomguy does best and killing the big scary monster the first time you see it doesn't really excuse it, in my eyes, as it's a baldfaced waste of the player's time regardless (sort of a 'principle of the thing' deal, I guess you could say). Ditto the fact that the jump itself is piss-easy (with the sequence break jump not being much harder)....hell, it being as simple as it is arguably makes it more annoying. I think part of what sticks in my craw about mandatory vile-jumps (which are very rare outside of very specific niches and usually openly called out in textfiles where they do exist for generally good reasons) is that failure in these cases is usually final, yet not absolute. Pick the wrong switch in map 06 and BOOM!, you're a puddle of school-grade bolognese sauce; unfortunate, but at least there's an end to the matter. Here, I think I had to go willfully stand under the crusher in the red key room like an imbecile as punishment for roughing up the evil demonic necromancer that tried to kill me. Generally, if mappers want to do this kind of thing, I'd like to see them give you a second chance to catch on--you know, another vile in another pit behind the first one, something like that to sort of underscore the point that maybe they're there for a reason other than the direct threat they represent (incidentally, you'll generally not see me complain about non-mandatory vile-jumps, although I might shoot a dirty look in your direction if you hide your secret exit at the end of a long map in this way).