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Bloodshedder

The /newstuff Chronicles #454

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  • 40oz showdown. - David "Springy" Spring
    Doom 2 - CTF Support - CTF - 644586 bytes
    Reviewed by: doomguy93
    40oz showdown "40map1.wad" created by the one and only Sir David Spring (AKA: Springy), is a one-level wad for capture the flag gameplay. The map is medium sized and very symmetrical, which is pretty much crucial to implement when making CTF maps. The usual red and blue wall textures are present too.

    Well there really isn't that much more to say about this wad because I haven't played it online yet. Don't bother playing with bots because they never score when they take an enemy flag.

    Overall, download it and give it a play online. :)

  • Chaos, Uprising - Richard Smith Long
    Heretic - ZDoom Compatible - Solo Play - 25569286 bytes - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: kmxexii
    This is a large, cool mod from RSL that takes Heretic in a bit of a different direction. You're "The Newcomer", a dude who came to the world of Parthoris expecting a peaceful retirement. It's never that easy, though - the Cult of the Serpent appears following a dire plague, and the ancient evils of D'Sparil rear their ugly heads again.

    RSL replaces every weapon in the game. The base set is more low-tech but I like the split between the crossbow and revolver (slot 2 weps), and the shotgun is really punchy. I don't like the revolver's firing delay. The other weapons are powered by various types of mana and are all pretty useful, though the Pyrokrates felt kind of clumsy to me. Each has a deadly tome effect, like that trident that borrows a bit from the arc of death, which turns into a beastly weapon. The spear (slot 4) is the de facto bread and butter weapon, though.

    Another major change is a lite-RPG styling with the introduction of spells and sigil pieces. These drop from powerful monsters (like the maulotaur replacement and cult pontiffs). The sigil is pretty simple and deadly, either chaining to enemies at rapid-fire or deploying BFG10K shots when powered up. The spells have varying utility, like charming monsters, and are tiered so that you increase your caster level via scroll drops to reach the nasty stuff, which while dangerous on its own is an absolute nightmare when amplified by the tome of power. Note - you advance through the tiers with alt-fire, so make sure it's bound.

    You also have some new items to deal with the nasties. The timebomb of the ancients is supercharged, attracting monsters to it before its devastating explosion. The morph ovum is no more, replaced with a statue of Corvus that turns you into a BEAST OF A MAN, massacring enemies up close or with rays of holy power. You're not invincible, but you get a pretty big health pool to start out with. The ring of invulnerability gets replaced by Hexen's icon, but since RSL hasn't implemented classes yet, it's pretty much the same.

    As far as monsters go, they aren't too bad, with a handful of the cast returning. Cultists crop up everywhere, wielding revolvers, arquebuses, and different levels of magic. The strongest enemies can be utter bastards, though, and a few times I found myself getting wailed on when the relatively tame Heretic enemies (like ophidians) were replaced by beefier beasts. I managed to make it through E5M1 without too much trouble, except for those iron lich replacements that spawn in jumping spiders, which was really more of a circle-kite. I hope you aren't afraid of spiders!

    RSL makes Heretic harder and adds in his own particular flavor with the RPG-lite stuff and gunpowder weapons, plus graphical enhancements like additional gore. If the original was too... underwhelming for you, fast forward to the future of Parthoris and give this a crack.

  • Robot Junkyard Workshop's Doom Pack - Nick Baker (not to be confused with the other Doom-map-making gentleman of the same name)
    Doom 2 - Limit Removing - Solo Play - 617747 bytes - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: kmxexii
    This is a pretty cool nine-map episode from another dude named Nick Baker. It's full of classic Doom II action and is pretty forgiving in the health and ammo departments, especially the latter. There's no strong sense of progression as you flip back and forth between tech and Hell, but there is a bit of a narrative as you move through this little Doom microcosm. MAP08 has a fun gimmick where you enter a large "box" structure and then from there enter a bigger pocket dimension through a few teleports to access the exit. MAP09 was a fun large base-type level that for all the ammo slung about felt threatening. If it seems like I'm glazing over the first seven maps, that's because the last two were my favorites, though there are some pointless mobs of monsters to be slaughtered. I would not mind seeing more maps from Nick "not to be confused with NiGHTMARE" Baker.

  • Blood Thirst - Captain Toenail
    Doom 2 - Vanilla - Deathmatch - 68374 bytes - (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: joepallai
    Blood Thirst by Captain Toenail is a visually impressive Deathmatch map with excellent flow, good item placement, and a catchy song to frag your friends to while inside this gore-soaked arena. Well worth the download.

  • Rock It! Electronic Edition - Mr. Chris
    Doom/Doom 2 - Vanilla - N/A - 322290 bytes - (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: walter confalonieri
    Another music wad from our formerly known Mr. Chris (I don't remember his new username here in Doomworld now) is a variant version of the "Rock It!" series, this time using electronic music genre instead of hard rock / metal.

    Some tunes are relaxing but also ominous, like MAP01, and some others are pretty fast and hard.

    However, it is a very cool music compilation, play it with your favorite wads of choice or also with your doom iwads, if you like (also if you don't) this is a must have!

  • LaboUAC - jameson2_fr
    Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - Solo Play - 5152553 bytes - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: kmxexii
    This is a huge level with lots of 3D architecture that plays in the map01 slot. By the time I was done, I'd clocked in at just about two hours played, not counting deaths, just to give you an idea. It's kind of the GZDoom equivalent of a realistic office level, with all the banalities. There are a few surreal twists, mainly in the huge, open atrium with the layered 3D bridges and crumbled but not sunken walkway that opens the map. The whole run is a bear to clear, and you might get stuck trying to remember where certain key doors are or where various switch puzzles lead to, since the 3D architecture is actually fairly well-layered. I got stalled around the final stretch when I failed to notice an open floor tile in the cubicle area I had activated elsewhere that led to the last major area.

    Combat is mostly what you'd expect from a semi-realistic level, with a lot of claustrophobic fighting with the occasional open area where, due to balconies and the like, you're avoiding bullets and lots of fireballs. There are plenty of R667 monsters, some of which are one-offs tailored to their appearances as part of the lab facilities. I kind of liked the madcap tech silo room with all the super-powered enemies, which is actually made dangerous through a drip feed of plasma troopers. It's mostly about blowing away tons of monsters with the SSG, though, and the occasional horde of super-fast spiders. It's just not very distinguished, same as the actual level architecture, though I did like some of the futuristic tech like the computer banks. Something other than D_RUNNIN might have helped, too.

    The real mystery was why the facility had brown, cracked rock for most of its office walls, with light strips dividing the top and bottom, to me a dubious aesthetic. About halfway through, jameson surprised me with an under construction wing of the lab, complete with open boxes with brown rock tiles, which was in the process of being layered over the more sensible (by contrast) steel walls. I laughed a good bit.

  • Styx Deathmatch 02 - Richard "Styx" Jaspars
    Doom 2 - Vanilla - Deathmatch - 21487 bytes - (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: dew
    Richard "Styx" Jaspers was a prolific DM mapper back in the late 90's and early 00's when he kept slowly inflating his Styx and Paranoid series of small(ish) 1on1 maps. Then in 2006 he released StyxDM01 and poof, he was gone. It's certainly a shame, because he could've continued developing his mapping skills and exploring his fairly unique layout tropes. StyxDM01 was pretty good, you know. It wasn't a notorious top10 of all time DM project, and even your usual average, well-educated, mild-mannered gentleman of the DM scene might have a problem recalling it on the spot, but this 4-map set had some good ideas going, and the first two maps were recognized by getting featured in many a tournament or duel map compilation.

    Why am I making you sit through this history lesson when you could be playing [prefix]ball with your friends outside? Well, Styx obviously popped back into existence out of thin air, holding a new DM map in his hand! Thank you, quantum physics. Is the comeback after 7+ years worth it? Weeeeell... fuck yeah!

    First of all, it's just one map, and technically not even a new one. It's a "Director's Cut" of StyxDM01 map01, expanding the original layout with some additional areas. Styx is luckily more of a Michael Mann than a George Lucas, so the edits are greatly beneficial. The original was already a fun map, but it was quite microscopic, one of the smallest maps used competitively. The layout is also split into two parts by a parallel line. The middle imposes some restrictions on movement, and combined with the pocket size, it's fairly easy to hide behind a corner and guard all access routes to your section. This led to a strange bipolar gameplay that switched between furious spawnfragging and the waiting game in which the passive defender has a slight advantage.

    The DC adds a new hallway to the west and adds a connection on the eastern high platforms. Also some stairs. I can't express enough joy on how this works just right. The staring-through-corners-contest gameplay is gone, and thanks to more space on which the spawns are distributed, the spawnfragging is also less prominent. The layout navigates wonderfully; Styx sized the local elements of his architecture just right for Doom DMing, and he also excels at using verticality. It's fairly modest, but again just the right size, so it already helps with sectioning the map, introducing interesting obstacles, and hiding spots, etc. Now with improved freedom of movement! The map is still very small though, so even two hardcore pr0s furiously colliding with all the speed of two glaciers playing hide and seek will still finish a 30-frag game in under 10 minutes.

    Just telegraphically now. Visuals are austere and classic, but clean and pleasing to a deathmatcher's eyes. No brutal colours or busy visual noise. The BFG was moved from the tunnel on top of a switch-operated lift. It's less useful now, because it's harder to get, more of a bait than a prize, and you can run from it easier too. RL is also slightly less powerful, as the interconnected design limits its stopping power. I've seen it used to great effect though, so I wouldn't dismiss it. Styx recommends playing without OS limits (in the form of ZDaemon DMFlags), but also without freelook and jumping. The original actually played much better with mouselook as rockets became more interesting, but the DC seems fairly ambidextrous. Finally, there's something to bitch about : no less than three spawns are moved away from their starting SSGs for some reason I don't understand, all on the eastern elevated side. It seems like a small detail, but it's really annoying during a tight high-stake game, and it unnecessarily punishes the spawning guy. That warrants a fix, then the map can proudly sit among the best duel maps in the most competitive league map pools.

  • Industrial Suicide - Wraith
    Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - Solo Play - 277805 bytes - (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: Tuxlar
    Competent detailing and visuals. Spacious, non-linear layout that can't make up its mind. Confusing progression with lots of needless areas and annoying use of lifts. Challenge occasionally fun, occasionally boring. Some neat gimmicks. Started wandering aimlessly through silent corridors towards the end. Verdict: Worth playing if bored.

  • Rienzi (release 6) - Christopher Bazley
    Doom 2 - Boom Compatible - Solo Play - 391403 bytes - (img) (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: Tuxlar
    "Standard" competent detailing and visuals. Mostly claustrophobic, dark, atmospheric, caves with some decent hellish crap and a theme shift towards end. Recommend turning off D_RUNNIN music. Odd inescapable lava trenches and some seemingly unavoidable damage sectors. Light, semi-fun challenge throughout, albeit a tad annoyingly claustrophobic, with some mild ammo squeezes. Found no secrets. Darkness overused. Verdict: Worth playing if bored.

  • The Sewage Works (release 8) - Christopher Bazley & John Tardrew
    Doom 2 - Boom Compatible - Solo Play - 249200 bytes - (img) (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: Tuxlar
    "Standard" competent detailing and visuals, albeit a bit thematically uninteresting. "Standard" challenge, also a bit uninteresting, and a bit annoyingly claustrophobic. Lots of intricate props, rooms, dynamic lights, and "IRL" stuff modeled from sectors. With sector-drinking fountains. Layout claustrophobic and occasionally annoyingly dark, with bits of geometry to snag on. Theme change towards end. Verdict: Worth playing if bored.

  • Medieval Castle (release 4) - Christopher Bazley
    Doom 2 - Boom Compatible - Solo Play - 93765 bytes
    Reviewed by: doomguy93
    Medieval Castle (release 4), "castle3.wad" created by Christopher Bazley is a medium sized one-map wad designed for single player and deathmatch. The text file states that it was originally made back in September 14th 2000. Basically, you are playing in a castle surrounded by a moat filled with spectre demons. Inside the castle there are lots of imps and some more powerful demons, such as cacodemons and mancubuses. I thought the gameplay was pretty solid. The weapon/item placement was well balanced throughout the map. I wasn't too keen on the texture usage though, and I highly disliked the use of the silver tech door in a medieval castle. The text file also states that it is implemented for deathmatch, though I haven't tried it yet. Based on the design of the map, I wouldn't imagine the deathmatch mode to be so great.

    Overall, a neat looking wad and well worth a download.

  • The Trials - Phil Walker
    Doom 2 - Vanilla - Solo Play - 73069 bytes - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: Tuxlar
    Lazy visuals and detailing. Has a tightrope-button puzzle surrounded by 360 imp turrets over nukage. Followed by a lengthy SHAWN2 maze, and a surprise Spectre pit that killed me because the mandatory berserk was unreachable amidst jam-packed Spectre collision boxes. Final areas were unchallenging. Verdict: Not worth playing, unless really bored.

  • I Am Very Weird - Martin & Christopher Bazley
    Ultimate Doom - Vanilla - Solo Play - 41552 bytes - (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: Canofbacon
    The title of this WAD is "I Am Very Weird." I dunno what that has to do with the WAD, but the title doesn't really matter so it's okay. The gameplay is pretty basic, and it doesn't have anything super exiting in it. I should mention that the WAD has a handful of useless teleporting which can be a little annoying. It also has some pit traps that you can't escape, which is also a bit annoying. However, from reading the textfile we can find out that the main person who made this is 7 years old, so it suppose we can let the annoying traps and teleporting slide. One or two rooms are actually pretty nicely detailed, but the rest is just basic rooms with some small details, nothing too fancy. Overall, this isn't a horrible WAD, but it's nothing too great. I recommend downloading this if you are running out of better WADs to play.

  • Sewer Control (release 3) - Martin Bazley
    Ultimate Doom - Vanilla - Solo Play - 39761 bytes - (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: Tuxlar
    Lazy visuals and detailing. Semi-claustrophic layout. Spectres trapped on mini-stairs. Uninteresting and unchallenging. Short duration. Verdict: Not worth playing, unless really bored.

  • The Catacombs (release 2) - Martin Bazley
    Ultimate Doom - Vanilla - Solo Play - 25808 bytes
    Reviewed by: doomguy93
    The Catacombs (release 2), "ccombs.wad" created by Martin Bazley, is a frustrating one map wad implemented for single player, co-op and deathmatch. From the start, the map looked poorly designed with long and dark narrow corridors. The enemies are easy to kill, but there was literally nothing fun about this wad. If this map was better detailed along with more strategically placed enemies, then maybe it would have been better. I would imagine that deathmatching with this wad wouldn't be any better than single player or co-op. Overall, the wad is NOT worth downloading. Don't waste your time.

  • Demon Asylum - Sophie Kirschner
    Doom 2 - Vanilla - Solo Play - 319812 bytes - (img) (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: Tuxlar
    Competent, "standard" visuals and details; minimal thematic diversity (hope you enjoy tan-colored everything). Non-linear layouts with lots of unneeded fluff, especially early on. Lots of semi-obvious secret areas. Too easy for my tastes, but not boring; recommend pistol starts. Verdict: Worth playing.

    Also, has a thread on the forums.

  • Sinister Halls - Five Magics
    Doom 2 - Vanilla - Solo Play - 73131 bytes - (img) (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: Tuxlar
    Minimal visual embellishment, but decent and diverse enough thematically. Virtually every line on the map is 90 degrees. Too easy for my tastes (on UV), but was not boring. Uncomplicated progression, but some backtracking appears to be needed. Early exit possible; recommend not exploiting. Verdict: Worth playing.

  • Little Evil. - Lukasxd
    Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - Solo Play - 127834 bytes - (img) (img) (img) (img)
    Reviewed by: Tuxlar
    Competent and intricate detailing. Somewhat easy, standard gameplay, albeit very short. Layout claustrophobic, with triggerables in weird shapes, sizes, and places. Appears to end after a brief "boss" battle. Verdict: Worth playing.

  • Styx Deathmatch 03 - Richard "Styx" Jaspars
    Doom 2 - Vanilla - Deathmatch - 29041 bytes
    Reviewed by: doomguy93
    Styx Deathmatch 03, "styxdm03.wad" created by Richard "Styx" Jaspars, is a DM wad that consists of one nicely crafted map. The map is beautiful with hellish tan brick textures and strategically-placed items. The map also has good flow even when playing against bots. I would recommend when hosting a server to have at least 3 or 4 players, though it could possibly have around 8.

    The author should definitely look to submit this to a deathmatch megawad project.Overall, excellent wad. Download if you are an Old School DM fan like I am.

  • Bryan J's Room of DM (Conversion of BSMAZE from MapEdit on Blood) - xBRYAN2000x
    Doom 2 - Vanilla - Deathmatch - 11185 bytes
    Reviewed by: doomguy93
    Bryan J's Room of DM (Conversion of BSMAZE from MapEdit on Blood) "bjroomdm.wad" created by xBRYAN2000x, is a tiny one-map wad implemented for 1-on-1 deathmatching. I haven't played this online or with bots, but I can just say that it just isn't my style of DM. I don't particularly like tiny DM maps even if it is for a 1-on-1 duel. The map even has a BFG in the middle which is ridiculously easy to get. The textures are ugly in my opinion.

    Overall, it reminds me of a wad called "shoot.wad" which I really wasn't all that crazy about. If you like small/symmetrical 1-on-1 DM maps with easy to get weapons, then download this. If this doesn't interest you, then avoid this.

Let me guess; one of those reviewers doesn't know how to properly appreciate a WAD that you liked this week. Want to do something about it? Instead of complaining in the comment thread like you always do, perhaps you can make a difference and write some better reviews than those idiots up there. The /newstuff Review Center is the place to do so. Put that Doomworld Forums account to constructive use, because you need one to submit reviews.

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http://i.imgur.com/DYAqDrX.png

BAD NEWSTUFF DUDES

STARRING

doomguy93 as Arnold Scharzenegger
kmxexii as Kurt Russell
joepallai as Bruce Willis
walter confalonieri as Sylvester Stallone
dew as Emil Minty
Tuxlar as Dolph Lundgren
canofbacon as Rob Schneider

SEE YOU NEXT CHRONICLE

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Nice short, punchy reviews (Tuxlar's are so to-the-point they read like the notes I used to take when I did reviews), but doomguy93, why u no screenshots?!

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Tuxlar's reviews are virtually interchangeable: everything is "standard", "claustrophobic" and "dark" with a "theme change towards end". Nothing about scenario, locations, aesthetics, progression, atmosphere, secrets, item placement....

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Memfis said:

Yes, very boring\samey reviews by Tuxlar: read one = read all. :(


I used discrete-time Markov chains to model his reviews, then created this new one from my statistical model. I think the reviewing problem may finally be solved!

Non-linear layouts with bits of geometry to snag on. Somewhat easy for my tastes (hope you enjoy tan-colored everything), but not boring. Confusing progression with some mild ammo squeezes. Darkness overused. Found no secrets. Early exit possible; minimal thematic diversity (on UV), unless really bored. Final areas were unchallenging. Verdict: Worth playing, albeit a bit uninteresting.

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cs99cjb said:

Tuxlar's reviews are virtually interchangeable: everything is "standard", "claustrophobic" and "dark" with a "theme change towards end". Nothing about scenario, locations, aesthetics, progression, atmosphere, secrets, item placement....

They're not interchangeable, if you pay better attention.

My reviews are like DOS programs: They only tell you things of interest if something goes wrong, or otherwise seems worth reporting.

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Phobus said:

Nice short, punchy reviews (Tuxlar's are so to-the-point they read like the notes I used to take when I did reviews), but doomguy93, why u no screenshots?!


I actually did some reviews (that aren't published in this chronicle) and sent my screenshots to Bloodshedder via email. I'll make more reviews with screenshots next time.

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doomguy93 said:

I actually did some reviews (that aren't published in this chronicle) and sent my screenshots to Bloodshedder via email. I'll make more reviews with screenshots next time.

Thanks for the review anyway and I like that you were honest about not trying it out online. As for screenshots, they aren't really worth showing anyway. That reminds me, I still need to respond to the Queen's message about Knighthood. ;)

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Thank you for the nice review of my own 'Chaos, Uprising'! One of the most critical parts of this mod during the making for me was decent balance, and I'm glad to know that after a lot of tweaking it seemingly turned somehow right! :-)

In other news, yesterday I just uploaded the classes-enabled, new release of the mod (download at the usual IDGames location above should happen ASAP). Each of the new classes has quite unique traits, and hopefully should allow for some enjoyable Heretic co-op. Here' a sneak peek of the selection screens:

Newcomer (default class): http://i.imgur.com/VwTcwKG.png

Mercenary (AKA 'The Tank Brawler'): http://i.imgur.com/taFm4sQ.png

Seer (Super-agile & pacifist): http://i.imgur.com/dODnYUm.png

Warlock (Your Mighty Magician Weakling): http://i.imgur.com/MkRAxtG.png

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Springy said:

Thanks for the review anyway and I like that you were honest about not trying it out online. As for screenshots, they aren't really worth showing anyway. That reminds me, I still need to respond to the Queen's message about Knighthood. ;)


LOL you're welcome sunshine.


Anybody want to do a well detailed review of my Deathmatch Revival wad? The title says that it is 35 maps. However, the file has been updated to the special edition version which contains 40 maps and some edits on the existing maps.

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cs99cjb said:

I used discrete-time Markov chains to model his reviews, then created this new one from my statistical model. I think the reviewing problem may finally be solved!

Non-linear layouts with bits of geometry to snag on. Somewhat easy for my tastes (hope you enjoy tan-colored everything), but not boring. Confusing progression with some mild ammo squeezes. Darkness overused. Found no secrets. Early exit possible; minimal thematic diversity (on UV), unless really bored. Final areas were unchallenging. Verdict: Worth playing, albeit a bit uninteresting.


I am quoting this for the win simply because it matches completely the style of our good friend Tuxlar.

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TheCupboard said:

I am quoting this for the win simply because it matches completely the style of our good friend Tuxlar.


If we could somehow combine my TuxlarBot with David Chess's Slige and Sergey Makovkin's DoomBot then the Doom scene would basically run itself without any human intervention.

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With minimal intervention I believe this script could accurately describe the majority of new wads that are presented for review. ;)

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TheCupboard said:

With minimal intervention I believe this script could accurately describe the majority of new wads that are presented for review. ;)

Except the part where you actually play the maps and see my information is tailored and accurate.

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TheCupboard said:

With minimal intervention I believe this script could accurately describe the majority of new wads that are presented for review. ;)


with minimal intervention some other BAD DUDE could have written some reviews

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Better not write reviews at all if they all are almost identical. Ok, maybe write just one and stop at that.

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Memfis said:

Better not write reviews at all if they all are almost identical. Ok, maybe write just one and stop at that.

So, reviews should be written for people who refuse to actually read their information...?

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Memfis said:

Better not write reviews at all if they all are almost identical. Ok, maybe write just one and stop at that.

Then most people should quit writing, because they're entrenched in their own schematic ways, except with more fluff. At least this way the cookie cutter wads get processed faster than when we have to wait for all the brilliant three-page prose by the wortmeisters in steady employ of T/nC, Inc. Especially when large blocks of single maps by the same author are concerned, because reviewing that shit would get repetitive anyways. Hoping to see the Tuxdog chew through more of those monoblocks, at least till we're not down to a manageable queue and we can spend a lot of time dissecting every myhouse.wad at length.

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That's like saiyng that every director should quit after making just one movie. Tuxlar can easily write more varied and fun to read texts.

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I don't mind short reviews, but I think Tuxlar's read like a personal backlog, with the expectation we're all sharing universal standards in what we like and don't.

I mean, if Demon Asylum has "standard" visuals... You're entitled to your opinion, but you and I obviously live on different planets. If you're just writing generic stuff to knock things out the backlog, more power to you (I don't get this obsession people have about wads sitting there for a while, but again, different planets and all that...); but if the goal is to provide information, then it would be helpful to be more descriptive so it can speak to more people than just you.

This doesn't necessarily mean "be more verbose". Look at the first /idgames comment, it's five lines long and it is IMHO a much more comprehensive overlook. I thought it was really cool how the map alternates between complete emptiness, small filler enemies and full scale ambushes. Whether you like it or not, the pacing is fairly original and it seems like the first thing you'd point out in a review.

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Phml said:

I don't mind short reviews, but I think Tuxlar's read like a personal backlog, with the expectation we're all sharing universal standards in what we like and don't.

I mean, if Demon Asylum has "standard" visuals... You're entitled to your opinion, but you and I obviously live on different planets. If you're just writing generic stuff to knock things out the backlog, more power to you (I don't get this obsession people have about wads sitting there for a while, but again, different planets and all that...); but if the goal is to provide information, then it would be helpful to be more descriptive so it can speak to more people than just you.

FYI, "Competent standard" is not the same as just "standard". Few things in the level set stand out in my memory as of this writing, except perhaps the final area (and mostly just for the "epic" battle). Otherwise, all I see is ("standard") having-fun-with-Doom Builder embellishments, personally. I would certainly not say the visuals were incompetent, though.

This doesn't necessarily mean "be more verbose". Look at the first /idgames comment, it's five lines long and it is IMHO a much more comprehensive overlook. I thought it was really cool how the map alternates between complete emptiness, small filler enemies and full scale ambushes. Whether you like it or not, the pacing is fairly original and it seems like the first thing you'd point out in a review.

Fair enough. I'm mostly only concerned with whether I think someone else should play it or not, so I include only essentials that could affect that decision. To me, saying it's "not boring" is more or less functionally the same as "Monsters were placed in good spots, though, and the empty feeling gave me a sense of tension, where I was punching, just to make sure a room was truly empty.", in that respect.

I'll try to write to sound a little less robotic, when I get to do more.

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Standard, competent standard, I didn't mean to imply you said it's poor; my point of view is rather that the level looks original.

(Don't mind me if I go on, it's not to complain about your review style but rather evangelize what I feel is a genuinely cool mapset.) ;)

Like those large areas with the computer wire thingy texture and dirt floors, which really fit nicely for some reason; or those random dead end small rooms with nothing but life/armor bonuses. Generally speaking there's all sorts of various angles in rooms that, while not exceptional in themselves, are unusual enough in their arrangements to throw me off. Likewise with the sector heights, indoor rooms feel very flat albeit not overly so while outdoor areas seem to stretch in comparison, despite not going all that high in reality.

All in all, coupled with the odd pacing it created a general impression of eeriness I don't often have in a Doom map (last one would have been Kyka's weird green/gray techbase a few years back).

For some reason it gave me a NRFTL vibe too, curious if anyone else felt this way. Not in the "this is the exact same thing", but more in that both mapsets seem to do something standard (and come to think of it I must be wrong in biting your head off about this because it is how it comes across at first) but then just enough differences show up to twist things around. Like when you go to sleep and your roommate/partner moves your stuff around just a little bit to mess with your head...

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I decided to pull my head out of my ass and review some stuff, hopefully I am not that terrible at writing reviews.

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I think I will have some "free time" in the next couple of weeks, so I may review some stuff (the last ones I intended to write were suddenly trashed by incoming work, which sucks, so I had to relinquish my claims, but I digress).

About Tuxlar's reviews, yes, they are short and could be considered "generic" or "interchangeable", but I feel the need to remind some of you that English is not the first language of a lot of people around here. Even me, being a translator, sometimes have a lot of trouble trying to express myself properly, and my posts (as I'm sure you have noticed) tend to look as if they were writen by a 10 year old with good orthography.

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