Doomworld Mega Project 2015 - Now on /idgames

[scifista42]

Doomkid said:

I know where everything in that map comes from

Great, so just tell me the list of all these places where everything in that map comes from. List just the places, not necessarily which texture comes from which one - but each single texture in the map should be present in some of the places on the list.

[Memfis]

I'm glad to finally see a release, thanks for working on this thing scifista and everyone!

[Suitepee]

Finally. Expect some livestreams of this from my good self soon enough.

[dobu gabu maru]

Thanks a lot scifista; sometimes I feel like we don't give the appropriate kudos to wad compilers/maintainers, so thanks for picking up the work that the rest of us were too lazy, apathetic, or shy to do ourselves.

[Suitepee]

https://www.twitch.tv/johnsuitepee/v/103153695 = part 1 of my playthrough. (Part A)
https://www.twitch.tv/johnsuitepee/v/103362114 = part 2. (Part A/B)
https://www.twitch.tv/johnsuitepee/v/103582921 = part 3. (Part B)
https://www.twitch.tv/johnsuitepee/v/103797898 = part 4. (Part B/C)
https://www.twitch.tv/johnsuitepee/v/104601298 = part 5. (Part C)

Overall, it seems that I've found a new dilemma in playing the Doomworld Mega Project each year.

In the previous two years I've played it (2013, 2014), the problem was finding a consistent set of playable maps amidst crap/troll maps. Now with 2015 having that mostly sorted, I've found a new problem in finding a consistent set of GOOD maps, instead finding one too many "let's try this idea" type maps with various degrees of botched execution.

I'm aware this is a lax project with lax rules, but am I alone in expecting better quality over the years, or should it be accepted that each year's iteration will always remain a "mixed bag" of the very good, the very average and the very bad/unplaytested?

Positives:

-A few good maps were found. (mainly in Boom) Dobu's map was good. Judgedeadd's map had a cool idea. An_mutt and Pinchy had good maps also. (I might be forgetting one or two names)
-Some promising newcomers. Dt_, Rook, Protester, Tomatoketchup and Raphaelmode come straight to mind, but a few others had their moments of inspiration, even if they still have a lot to learn about mapping. Nice to see the DMP continue to provide a small gateway for newbies.
-Scypek2 maps are always wackily fun.
-No real troll/outright crap maps. (arguably pcorf?)

Negatives:

-Pcorf's map. What a complete joke. Don't go back to your "old style" if that's what you used to do. I expected better from you having played a fair bit of your stuff.
-Part C (ZDoom/GZDoom) was largely disappointing. Had the most amount of bad maps, particularly from Omnistar which was another right stinker of a map. I expected better from the more advanced ZDoom stuff, and this was under-utilised massively.
-Didn't even play map 22 of Part A; didn't like the idea outright, and I rarely skip maps so....
-Not a very memorable mapset overall. A lot of average/dull maps found within; some excusable due to newbie mappers, some not.
-Botched executions of otherwise plausible ideas a bit too prevalent throughout DMP2015 imo. Schwerpunk with his terrible Cyberdemon placement on map 16. Obsidian with his awful SM placement. Pcorf, Omnistar, XLightningStormL.....
-This took 11 months into this year to be finally released on /idgames.

Here's hoping Timeofdeath perhaps instils a bit more quality into the 2016 iteration of the Doomworld Mega Project, because I'll probably be forgetting most of this one to be honest. I'm sorry if this post sounds harsh, but I expect better things from this project having found some good maps on it in the last two years......

(P.S. I feel kind of bad for cheating through the rest of Omnistar's map after the Revenant trench part, but I'm getting into the habit lately of not 'slamming my head into a wall' to persist through things I don't enjoy anymore.)

[TimeOfDeath]

Suitepee said:

I'm aware this is a lax project with lax rules, but am I alone in expecting better quality over the years, or should it be accepted that each year's iteration will always remain a "mixed bag" of the very good, the very average and the very bad/unplaytested?

The goal of these projects is to get as many mappers as possible to submit a map to a theme-less project with no quality control where nobody gets rejected. So it's basically just like pressing the "random" button on /idgames and playing whatever comes up.

Thanks scifista for running the 2015 project!

[Suitepee]

TimeOfDeath said:

The goal of these projects is to get as many mappers as possible to submit a map to a theme-less project with no quality control where nobody gets rejected. So it's basically just like pressing the "random" button on /idgames and playing whatever comes up.

Alrighty then, as I suspected.

In that case I shall adjust my expectations to judge individual maps only in future DMP iterations, instead of trying to gauge the project as a whole as I have been doing for the last 3 years. I hope for more GOOD maps in the 2016 iteration.

[scifista42]

The project practically works like this:

1. A random person who may or may not be a good mapper makes a map that may or may not be good, and posts it into the project thread.
2. He may or may not receive any feedback for the map, it's only up to random people who visit the thread and may or may not decide to play his map.
3. If the mapper receives feedback, he may or may not react to it, it's only up to him.
4. If he reacts to the feedback by posting an updated version of his map, the cycle repeats from point 2.
5. At the end of the year, the project manager just takes all (latest versions of) maps posted into the project thread and they (eventually) get released as they are.

[pcorf]

Suitepee said:

Negatives:

-Pcorf's map. What a complete joke. Don't go back to your "old style" if that's what

I'm aware this is a lax project with lax rules, but am I alone in expecting better quality over the years, or should it be accepted that each year's iteration will always remain a "mixed bag" of the very good, the very average and the very bad/unplaytested?

You know what, as scifista42 said. The Doomworld Mega Project is just a fun project so expect good, expect bad and expect downright strange. We're under no pressure to go perfect, we just have fun. All my previous submissions in the 2012, 2013 and 2014 projects were not exactly serious attempts, especially Memang.wad which has Cacodemons teleport in with a few bullets of health thinking oh I don't have enough ammo and then realizing you actually do in the end. My 2013 map combined some older designs into a tuned-up map. The 2014 map Gabiro is a remix of Doom E1, Fava Beans and Simply Phobos with original sections.

We all strive for perfection. But you know what, living and enjoying life is the most important thing. In the end we take in our frustration and relish the challenge ahead.

Spaceswitch is a do or die puzzle map, originally created by me way back in 1998.

Here is a play-through of Spaceswitch 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=061nAuem--U

And here is the original Spaceswitch (also included in Spaceswitch 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pm9PWNzPdE8

[princetontiger]

Props to the creators... this wad has been getting some play on Zandronum lately. Tons of fun!

[Endless]

I wish I could make maps :c