[RELEASE] Plutonia 1024

[Breezeep]

by the way, here's a teaser for a possible map11:

[Count651]

Looks nice breezeep, I love wooden/library maps.

[Breezeep]

Thanks, I got inspired by Plutonia Revisited's Map 11 (will you be my NME?)

[Fellowzdoomer]

Map looks promising!

[Obsidian]

BOOKS I LOVE BOOKS

Ahem. Nice stuff so far.

[Gothic]

That's one sexy screenshot, it will be an Archvile map, or just a normal map? Because of map11 slot.
And NoisyVelvet's map, it also looks damn good, but you should put mid textures in some impassible lines like this one:
http://i.imgur.com/SyLCCFe.png
Because people may think that you can go through them.

[Fellowzdoomer]

Obsidian said:

BOOKS I LOVE BOOKS

O.o Uhh...um...Okay...? o.O

[Obsidian]

Fellowzdoomer said:

O.o Uhh...um...Okay...? o.O

The screenshots in here should probably tell you how much I like books. Library maps really are the best.

[joe-ilya]

Breezeep said:

You need to calm down. He only has an Android phone (for now)

But why is he still trying? He's been mapping on an android for a year, yet he tells his time is close to get a PC. I mean, he could take a break, doom won't run away.

Is anyone's working on a city/town map? Plutonia has quite a few of those.

[Guest]

Just posting to say I started my map for this tonight. Woohoo.

So long since I started a map from scratch. Possibly several years.

Was actually almost scary to stare at the black void with the blue checkered lines all over it.

[Fellowzdoomer]

If anyone wants to try MAP32, they can go for it. (Pun intended xD

Joe, there was no need to act the way you did. You could have said that.

[Captain Toenail]

NoisyVelvet: Very clever, confusing and challenging map.

However I feel you need a lot more health and ammo in there. I ended up trying to blast the skull switches with rockets as I had run out of everything else. The pinkies in the slime kept snagging the autoaim resulting in me firing rockets at the floor and killing myself, over and over. Also a pinky demon managed to get wedged stuck on the starting pad.

You could use those mid-texture railings to make the playing area boundary more obvious. There are some areas where it isn't clear.

Also I could not finish the map, I just didn't know how to proceed. I must have missed a switch somewhere.

Otherwise very cool map indeed.

[40oz]

Reviews here! Sorry if anyone has been anxiously awaiting a review and you haven't gotten it. I put a bunch of wads in my 'to review' PL1024 folder and I reviewed them in no particular order until I ran out of time. Please be patient with me!

A.Gamma

Waltz of the Demons! Nice music! In regards to the Barons of Hell that teleport in on Easy and Medium, They seem to come in at their leisure (I think because of the direction the player is in relation to where they need to go) instead of a bit more instantaneously. I looked at the map and decided make the north line of each of the squares they are standing on do the same action as the above teleporting line does, and they all seemed to teleport almost in perfectly synchronized fashion with each other. Normally I wouldn't be so crucial about something that seems to pedantic, but it sticks out in an otherwise beautifully designed map with many surprise traps. I also just noticed a stimpack sitting right on top of a medikit on HMP. Since these adjustments are so minor and barely worth your time, I'm just going to go ahead and OK it with those things fixed myself. Great Job!

gothic

Cybercage: Nice map! Navigation is a little bit tricky. I wanted to say because the main area is completely symmetrical, but that's not true, as I observed the four main buildings, I could see that each had subtle differences in how they are decorated from the exterior. I think you could identify each building a little bit better by maybe using a different door texture on the front of each of the buildings. Alternatively, if you prefer the same SPCDOORs on the front for all of them, you could maybe create a "doorframe" bordering the door with a different style texture, like marble, SP_HOT, flesh, gray stone, etc., so the player can quickly see if that's a building he has already been in, just by looking at the front door.

I don't know if the intention for some of these puzzles were to be difficult, but a few of them were difficult for the wrong reasons. In the South building, you hit two switches in close succession to reveal the shoot switch. It took me about two and a half minutes to understand that that's what the puzzle was. Generally in making puzzles, you want the player to spend the most time performing the required complicated task, not necessarily trying to detect what the objective of the puzzle is. A few factors I think are contributing to the misunderstanding of the puzzle:

1. The wall that opens up revealing the switch is behind a set of bars that's not very clear to see past. Try using the other MIDGRATE texture where the bars are more spaced out so the player can more clearly see into the location he's expected to look in.

2. The wall that opens up revealing the switch is animating fire, which doesn't really imply that it is a door or hatch that is going to reveal something later. If it used a door or support texture that was different than the rest of the wall, the player might know to look there.

3. The decorative green torches are blocking the direct line of sight between both switches and the shoot switch. Maybe they could be lowered or replaced with candles.

In the North Building, I was hesitant to circlestrafe around the monsters because I couldn't tell if the blood was going to damage me. Perhaps changing the blood to a universally safe liquid like FWATERx or some other type of floor would make that part less tricky in an unfair way.

Some consistency with the switch textures might do a better job at hinting at what they are doing. Currently there is a very wide variety of switch textures being used that all do different things, that aren't always clear what they do. Perhaps if you limit yourself to one type of switch texture for every switch per building (to indicate that they are part of the puzzle that takes place in that building) and each 'final switch' in each building (the ones that lower the baron faces in the first room) a common switch, such as a lion head switch, that would indicate that it's the last part of the puzzle for that particular building, and the player can move on to fighting the cyberdemon and progressing into the next building.

I hope this all makes sense. I personally am in love with some of the traps you got in here, especially the "fake exit" although the alarming sound of the Spider Mastermind in the very beginning gives it away. There might be a way to keep the Mastermind dormant until the very end. I'm thinking of possibly using the eyes that pop up behind the exit sign as a solid middle texture, with a tiny tunnel behind it where the mastermind could see you from and then step into a teleport into the middle, but I'll have to look over the map in an editor to see if that's something that is feasible.

Cool map though, you can definitely make this work :D

Ed

Beautiful! Very good looking map and intense gameplay up front! The challenge in this map certainly lives up to its name, but I think there are some things I want to mention. I don't really have a word for it, and I'm not sure how closely you were monitoring the thread when Phobus released the first version of his map - Bloodlust, but there's a similar thing happening in your map that I'll just describe again as it pertains to your map.

The beginning kicks off really well with an initial adrenaline rush that really screams the maps name, but it seems to dissipate by the time you reach the first switch. As you kill many of the monsters in the beginning, the following traps don't feel as dangerous unless you blatantly ignore many of the sniping monsters perched on distant ledges. In general, the challenge gets incremently smaller as the player kills more monsters, and by natural progression, you want to give the player a greater challenge as they move onward. The traps, while very nice, don't really top the initial startup of the map, making the difficulty curve go backwards. I think this poses an issue that I think can be solved in one of two ways:

1. You can soften the beginning by putting some of the main damage dealers, (like sniping imps and chaingun guys) in sunken floors or swap them with teleport destinations, saved for traps later on,

2. You could leave them where they are and amplify the traps in subsequent parts of the map to preserve the same intensity as the beginning throughout the course of your map (I'm leaning towards this one, personally!)

If #2, there are two floor raise switch presses that seem like pretty awesome opportunities for ambushes that I think could be filled in. I really like when you cross over the raised floor over to the red key switch, and the revenants and demons pop in. I think you could also summon in some cacodemons or a pair of pain elementals or something in the far corners for some extended length and danger to that trap. The following trap is pretty quickly expunged with rockets since all the monsters are compacted in one location, and the very last switch revealing the exit could use a climactic fight. I did die a lot in your map, but the challenge I'm facing is that there's some health packs in the beginning, but since many areas are reused, the resources are gone. I approach many traps with less than 50% health most of the time. Perhaps you could fit a secret megasphere somewhere in the map that is only accessible once you're about halfway through it, to give an allowance for error.

The techbase theme is common in a lot of user-made Plutonia maps, though much of The Plutonia Experiment is comprised of earthy rock and aged buildings. I'm seeing mostly a loose mix of Twilight Descends and The Compound. I feel either some extra skulls or marble faces or something to reference the later maps of the Plutonia universe would work wonders here, but it's great looking on its own merit.

The easier skill levels could do with a much more dilluted monster variety, especially in the beginning. It's easier to focus on a horde of revenants at times than it is to focus on a small group of revenants with demons nipping at your sides and chaingunners sniping you from a distance. The number of monsters on tall ledges, even measly imps can be problematic at chipping away the player's health when their fireballs are hard to see unless they're far away, within the field of view (without looking up and down, I mean) so cutting down on the scattered monsters in favor of strengthening the groups that attack you right in your face (where the super shotgun is most advantageous) would be the best way to deal with skill settings in this particular map. I'd probably add a regular shotgun on skill 1 and 2 (sitting on the pedestal that the first switch raises) as a nice handout to take out any sniping monsters you leave in the map without having to awake that first pack of monsters just to get a shotgun from a shotgun guy.

Jimmy's map uses D_E3M8 for music, but I actually really like it here (particularly the feedback intro as you hit the starting switch to start the map). I might allow both maps to use the music, but keep an open mind about any other alternative tracks you might want to use. In any case, very nice work!

Captain Toenail

Fatalist: Very nicely done! The monster quantity to challenge seems just about right here for an early map. I really like how the difficulty settings make the Easy Pinkie Demons into Revenants on Hard. I don't have much to say except that the Arachnatron floors that rise when obtaining the red key are not very precarious. If you lean up against the wall they seem to continuously shoot their floor. Just to test the hypothesis, I lowered the wall about 16 units and that seemed to do the trick. I think the little lift bridge near the starting area could use a fast lift (line action 123 instead of 62), as waiting for a lift to come down is kind of a lame penalty for falling into damaging liquid. But also, I think the soulsphere secret behind the start area may be a little too generous for this type of map. You could probably leave it on easy but for medium and hard, maybe put a pair of rocket boxes or something instead :D

Z0k's map uses D_E2M1 music. Maybe consider using D_E1M4 (IDMUS04, for reference) or D_E1M9 (IDMUS05) on this map instead? Or any other track you like, I could see a lot of good stuff working with this. Nothin else to say here. Map is short and sweet and traps are well executed. Well done!

NoisyVelvet

Glad to see this project piqued your interest! Your map looks really cool! It has a nice unique ancient mayan ruins look to it. The traps were pretty nice but I had a lot of trouble completing it because I wasn't understanding the sequence in which you're supposed to shoot all the switches. On my first try, I wasn't entirely sure at first if you had intended for free mouselooking, so when I got the super shotgun, I looked at the first shoot switch I could see and immediately dropped down from the ledge shooting the switch on the right on my way down, which triggered a bunch of cacodemons to spawn in. The cacodemons flying above me from the nukage pit, coupled with the spray of the Super Shotgun caused me to hit a ton of other shoot switches by mistake, causing all kinds of traps and other inexplicable events to happen. It caused a pretty big mess and I kept dying from the combination of difficult traps, little space to move, and the nukage pit at the bottom (with only one, not-very-easy way out). I eventually kicked in IDDQD and completed the map after six minutes or so, but I still considered the map to be way too elaborate for my puny brain. Even if you were to change all the nukage into harmless water I'd still consider some parts to be too complicated for an average player and difficult for reasons that don't employ the common tactics used in traditional Plutonia Experiment gunplay. I like the looks of your map and can obviously tell you're a pretty intelligent person to design something this convoluted, but I'd think you'd have much better luck if you created a map with fewer shoot switches (these can be erroneous in certain conditions) and other puzzles dumbed down a lot. I hope you stick around to make more maps though!

[Gothic]

Thanks for the tips, 40oz, I'll see what I can do.

Also, we already have 30 maps done and 4 in progress, I hope this isn't going to suddenly stop at the very end like Switcheroom did.

[Breezeep]

30 maps already? shit, I hope there's enough room for a map11.

[Surreily]

Alright, I've finished messing around with Rook's map, and here's what I've got: http://www.mediafire.com/download/v9os776abl3phx8/pl1024-rook.wad. I think that the name Rook gave this map, Green Destiny, is a very appropriate name for this one.

The playable area has been kept nearly exactly the same, but some monsters will teleport in at certain points. There's a neat silhouette effect I am using with some of the monsters, but I am not sure if this 'special' sky should be kept or changed back to the default white sky.

The ammo here might be a bit tight, please let me know if there isn't enough! Of course, any feedback at all is valuable.

Thank you, Rook, for creating an awesome map! I hope I did an alright job revamping it!

[NuMetalManiak]

Green Destiny

more comfortable on the outset than Rook's original. I like. having windows open and monsters teleport after the mancubi died certainly added flair, as well as the outside detail. the new archie adds things up after the arachnotrons. I really liked what you did for this map! although getting all six keys right away was quite silly, this was a nice map and I enjoyed it, gets an OK from me!

[Obsidian]

Breezeep said:

30 maps already? shit, I hope there's enough room for a map11.

You and me both.

[Captain Toenail]

Ok, Fatalist has been updated to V2.

Download: http://www.mediafire.com/download/d3v6ph29q64m8e6/pl1024-CaptainToenail_Map2_V2b.zip

Changes:
-Adjusted the Arachnotron platforms
-Changed the soulsphere secret into a berserk/healthpack
-Changed the berserk secret into some ammo and health. Also altered the crates here a bit
-Changed the starting area windows slightly
-Added some eye-candy outside the map
-Changed the music

[SleepyVelvet]

-regarding Jungle Juice

Thanks for all the feedback! I can see why my map is too switch-hunt and trap heavy to fit in with the other maps. I was also evil to place the progression-mandatory switches in unobvious spots compared to the trap switches which were all in the open. There are actually two switches for each "floor" of the map that let you access that "floor" and no switches require free-look or midair shooting, but they are still pretty hidden and involve a bit of looking around. Also, there is only one switch that leads to the exit though, I may fix that.

I definitely need to establish the switch hunting gimmick probably right at the start of the level, with a lowering cubicle with a slit in one of the sides looking out to a switch.

I also could probably make the trap-ambushes more forgiving, atleast on lower difficulties, because it's hard to focus on switch hunts when monsters are pressuring you. A couple of the switches need to become more crossfire resistant too.

All the other things people said were quite helpful too and will take note of them when I fix up the map; I found two more places that a second teleporter could go that don't interfere with the map jumping. Also, midtexture guard-rails are a good solution to the awkward unpassable border. It needs more ammo and health too.

I will probably give this map a separate release because I understand that its gameplay might not fit in with the rest of Plutinya.

[Walter confetti]

WIP for map02 (maybe)

[Ed]

I agree, it does come in like a lion and goes out like a lamb. I'll work in some more action / file through some of the default tracks and see if there's anything that fits.

[SickadtSteve]

walter confalonieri

Looks good, can't wait.

[Surreily]

Getsu Fune said:

...although getting all six keys right away was quite silly, this was a nice map and I enjoyed it, gets an OK from me!

Thanks for the feedback! The reason I put in the six keys around the arena was to force the player to spend at least a few seconds with the arch-vile.

[Marcaek]

http://speedy.sh/P75mD/pl1024-marcaek.wad

A map! It can go anywhere it feels right if you have a spare slot, and I don't really mind it using any midi but can't really decide on one myself. Feel free to make recommendations there.

[Walter confetti]

FullMoonDog said:

walter confalonieri

Looks good, can't wait.

Thanks...

[joe-ilya]

If the wad will be finished in the 11th, that would be cool because the wad be like finished in a month.

[SickadtSteve]

Marcaek said:

http://speedy.sh/P75mD/pl1024-marcaek.wad

A map! It can go anywhere it feels right if you have a spare slot, and I don't really mind it using any midi but can't really decide on one myself. Feel free to make recommendations there.

It's a really fun and challenging map and I think this midi is actually pretty good for this map for some reason.

[Fellowzdoomer]

joe-ilya said:

If the wad will be finished in the 11th, that would be cool because the wad be like finished in a month.

Yeah, a megawad in a month---oh shizz, that's in 5days!

[Breezeep]

I recently scrapped my map because I realized that the layout wasn't going to be good enough and I was out of ideas for it. so if anyone wants to have a look at it, it can be found here.