The DWmegawad Club plays: 50 Shades of Graytall & Erkattäññe

[baja blast rd.]

Map 02 -- The Scorpion - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets
The BGM here is utterly intolerable. I couldn't stand more than 45 seconds or so before typing "IDMUS 12", something I'll end up doing more than once before all is said and done, I reckon.

Map 03 -- The Islet - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets
Ugh. IDMUS 21. Also, alternate title suggestion: "The Amoeba."

Eager to read map 04's comments. :D

[dobu gabu maru]

^ Yup, the music is really "kinda like it" or "outright hate it". I bet Demon is missing when the lovable tune from 50 Shades' MAP16 was the worst he had heard :P

MAP08: Ahhh I’m so torn on this one! An underground nukage city is a spectacular idea, and getting some archvile action into the wad is great, but there are some design decisions that are troublesome. The impassable window overlooking the invul secret is perhaps the most frustrating, as I tried half a dozen times to jump to it since I needed it dearly. I was forced down to 1% twice in the map which was fun, but I think the AV BFG pit is pretty dumb, considering if he teleports away you have a low chance to survive, and after grabbing the YK you have no cover which means you have to react fast or die there too. These are minor problems that get accentuated as the gameplay becomes more demanding, which is the case in this nukage gauntlet.

On the other hand, it’s a cool map. Good flow, a solemn intro, verticality, and dirty monster placement make this a really active map where you’re always stressed about when you’re supposed to grab your next radsuit. I also like having meatier enemies to battle as it forces the player to run around and explore for ammo/weapons more, rather than camp doorways. I have to admit it’s a really clever map, but perhaps it just bites too hard to be a level I'd wanna take home.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP08: Peri Physeos
100% kills, 3/6 secrets

Another large, open chambered level with lots of sludge. There's plenty of radsuits, mind, so the sludge actually isn't a big deal. The real problem is the overuse of blind drops/lifts, especially some very narrow ones that don't give the player much to work with - lots of foreknowledge (or reloading) needed here. I agree with Dobu that the AVs in the middle of the map are used pretty poorly, first with the one at the bottom of the blind drop, and then another ambush with no cover but pinkies to shield the AV. It took me quite while to find the blue key (I didn't realize a switch raised a bridge to it), in fact I actually found it after I had bypassed the blue door by jumping in the window. Kinda weird that was left open for a jump but the invuln sphere, which seems practically begging to be jumped to, is blocked off with a big illogical impassible line.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 04 -- Urinals - 100% Kills / 83% Secrets
Yeah.....no. IDMUS 13.

Presumably named for the surreal (unisex?) bathroom locked with the red keycard, map 04 features a flooded central hub branching out (literally and figuratively) into spatially large but generally very short side areas, with each successive zone containing the key to unlock the next. While on the automap the layout has just the same blobby, bio-organic "cyst" look that the previous three maps also all shared, the hubspoke convention means it flows a bit differently, trading the complex 'track' aspect for a more straightforward room by room flow, with less obvious visual interconnectivity and thus much less of a sniping-focused flavor to exchanges between monsters and the player, though there are at least a couple of spots where this is still a thing (looking into the BK area from the secret blursphere ledge, looking down into the monster-choked southern pool area from the buckshot-ambush tower). The more sectioned-off nature of the layout means that there's less of the 'wandering monster' effect at work here than in previous maps, and somewhat of a lower ratio of purely incidental combat in general, with what feels like a majority of the population doled out in hearty clots, either repopulating the little hub while you're off somewhere else or in the form of large (but generally ungainly and ineffective) ambush forces near keycards.

Despite feeling a bit bloodier (probably because most of the killing happens in pulses rather than in a steady trickle) than previous maps, in a way it also seemed less dangerous to me; healing items seemed a little more commonplace (or maybe I just didn't get hit as much this time), and combinations of large spaces and natural chokepoints make most of the enemy attacks easily manageable. Hell knights and cacodemons both make their mapset debut here, but given the easy availability of heavy firepower (SSG, RL, and PG are all found out in the open, free for the taking) their presence barely even registers. This is counterbalanced somewhat by more of a focus on designed encounters and proper traps than previous maps have shown, with the nastiest being the shameless cheapshot with the 4 shotgunners that awaits you upon teleporting into the metal tower near the YK (a combination of immediately finding the blursphere secret and some pure dumb luck being your only realistic hope of avoiding significant damage in this scenario) and the seedy dogpile in the WC, though you'd have to be pretty naive not to see the latter coming, I suppose. Not particularly threatening, but I actually liked the pincer setup with cacos and pinkies outside the exit the most, it feels right cinematically even if it's not terribly pressuring. I also love a good excuse to punch some pigs, of course.

As expected, there are several tricky secrets to find, but most of them seem a bit more obvious than in previous maps--stuff you'll find more by being thorough than by having to really puzzle anything out--with the exception being the computer area map clearly visible in a side yard off the BK room. I could see on the automap exactly how I was supposed to get out there, but couldn't figure out how to get the western lift-sector with the chaingunner atop it to move, try as I might. Maybe another blind walkover trigger somewhere, ala that which allows access to the berserk pack off of the southern pool?

Aesthetically the general trend continues, with the map distinguishing itself based on its functionally overscaled outdoor areas in contrast to the more sinewy, low-ceilinged hubspoke. Lighting choices continue to be simple but sensible; texture alignment's not particularly poor relative to everything else we've seen thus far, although there do seem to be a larger number of grody-looking texture transitions here than in previous maps. Despite its generally abstract and wholly narrative-free nature and fairly straightforward gameplay, I get the sense that the map's got some untapped atmospheric potential to it; the first couple of minutes being monster-free (including a pronounced 'entrance' sequence featuring an unpopulated area you never return to) plays into this, and the stark simplicity of some of the outer areas has a certain vague air of desolation to it, ala the empty 'zerk yard's look at the side of the 'aquaduct' the player traverses en route to the exit. The feeling is nebulous enough that the impression might be accidental rather than by design, though, especially considering the nature of the default BGM selection....

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP08: Peri Physeos

Another level that's open in practical terms, though not so much in feel; the ceilings throughout are almost crushing in their cavernous fight, adding to rather than detracting from the suffocating atmosphere as you scrimble back and forth over pools and canals of noxious goo. The arch-vile makes his first appearance here, a little ahead of his IWAD counterpart, which I suppose means we'll be seeing the cyberdemon, spider mastermind, and Icon of Sin as the new faces for the final triptych of levels coming up. There are more heavy hitters present here, we've largely moved away from the extensive, free-roaming threats of earlier levels toward a map that has its denizens tucked away exactly where it wants them for efficient murder, aside from the various spectres who delight in rendering rocket fire against their less-mobile comrades a risky proposition.

[scifista42]

MAP07 - "The Fountain"

Yet another map that's different than the previous ones, yet provides the same design and gameplay (and even visual) qualities that make me happy to play it. The final battle was well made IMO, really fitting to the rest of this wad, as well as entertaining by having to dodge lots of fireballs. Fun all along, got 100% secrets again, good map.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP08 Peri Physeos

nukage takes center role in this map. first things first, get in the middle, to meet my first archie of Erkattanne who proceeds the route of teleporting away, but not after I get two secrets. after that, lots of running around nukage tunnels killing all the enemies before realizing what I should do next, also getting those secrets, which are the "race against the lift" ones. With the radsuits provided I'm really not in a lot of danger. The yellow key trap sucks though (at least give me cover for an archie, I don't care if I'm that well-equipped for it I still want cover).

[scifista42]

MAP08 - "Peri Physeos"

Hmm, the prevalent long narrow corridors, as well as darkness, and weirdly random monster placement, didn't make me happy about this map. Damaging floors themselves weren't a problem in my view, though. Still, I consider this map inferior to the others. I didn't bother with searching for secrets this time, so I've got only 2 ones which I randomly stumbled across. I have finished the map without the blue key, as I jumped into a window behind the blue door from a secret - not sure if this was intended to be possible, but I liked being able to do it anyway.

[gaspe]

MAP09 - Abudhnas

Kills: 100% | Items: 89% | Secrets: 100%

This was pretty unique. An underground complex where the areas are connected mostly by very deep pits. It felt like the gimmick of the map, and with the big size of some areas it makes you feel very little in these vast places. The 2 areas with the view of the sky were a nice touch. The gameplay felt allright. Cool fitting music. There's also the possibility of taking a big shortcut, you have to pass beyond the spidermastermind without a plasmagun/bfg, but it's manageable.

[Pirx]

what have i done, scribbled some notes on a sheet of paper and forgot to post. lol.



MAP13 - “Everlasting Fireblu” by 4shockblast

entertaining map with a good ambush at the blue key, when the place suddenly is full of pinkies and an archvile farther away. continue to a group of pillars, cross them to take out another vile who raises his wall of flesh in front of him, and when you return, a third one with a mob of skeletons waits at the pillars. make sure you have the bfg already when the fun in the couryard starts: a cyber and a group of revs, who hit him and make him easy to shoot cheaply.



MAP14 - “Astral Nausea” by dobu gabu maru

you start in an astral mist, with only some red pillars for orientation, and make it through four consecutive arenas, which are completely flat and float in the sky. the first 3 are manageable with some infighting, i got really lucky in the third one and most of the baddies killed each other. however the last arena had invisible walls i got stuck on, enough to eat buckets of plasma from arachnotrons placed all over the map. the solution was to respond in kind. beautiful music by the way.



MAP15 - “The Serpentine Lemniscate” by Xaser

gigantic towers in the night, with lights flashing on them. unfortunately, my gameplay experience didn't match the impressive view: first i jumped into the inner area with the chaingunners and needed ages to get back from that darkness and to the stairs, and then, i mostly shot lots of enemies on these stairs. a sacrifice one has to make for such impressive views, i guess.



MAP16 - “Mr. Graytall” by TimeofDeath

ah, a ToD map, should have guessed that. one of his structures reminiscent of industrial ruins, large halls of concrete and such. with a strict ammo balance. you absolutely need to be proficient at 2-shotting cybers here. the corridor with the bulk cells placed on the walls spits out about 5 of them. frankly, i found them much less of a problem than the revenant/archvile/chaingunner gangbang at the red key, where i stirred up all at once, plus a cyber who blocked the exit to the corridor, with predictable results. well, ToD's demo shows how it's done so you don't run into the whole mob. i survived the yellow key fight by sheer luck, charging them with the bfg. overall i found this map enjoyable, both the design and the difficulty, requiring precise play. the music has mixed echoes i see, for me it was jokewad-like enough to type "idmus14",



MAP17 - “THE END” by Marcaek

a credits map, cool! really well done 3d impression, kind of an exhibition where the map screenshots are immediately recognizable.



MAP18 - “Killer Color Blindness” by Argentum

didn't expect this one after the credits map. it's reminiscent of hell revealed in its blocky style, like made of concrete slabs, and the rott music certainly helps. also, fights on the heavy side, although there's plenty of rockets so you don't run out of arguments.


that's it, really nice exampple of a megawad that didn't stretch its graytallness over full 32 maps just for the sake of it. there's plenty of variation in gameplay, from killing zombies (1, 4) to exploring (6, 10) to precise fighting (12, 16) to slaughter (9, 11) so i didn't even care about the deliberate choice of doom's worst textures. on the contrary, it's amazing what good maps have been made, and even how well these textures have been put to use, see noisyvelvet's hall of mirrors or ribbiks' candles.

not a single map i didn't like, these stood out for me:
MAP06 - "Count Trakula’s Castle” by NoisyVelvet
MAP10 - "Big Dwayne’s Orbital Concrete and Propane Emporium” by Mechadon
MAP12 - “The Cake Way” by Ribbiks
MAP16 - “Mr. Graytall” by TimeofDeath
- i guess the first two in the exploration category and the last two in the orchestrated fights department.

[Pirx]

ok, i vote for hell revealed, as i did last month.

now on to erkatanne.


MAP01 - "First Matters"

easy doom2 base map with some zombies and imps, certainly a change of pace from the previous maps. finding secrets and even simply the way through it was the hardest part, seems to be a trait of this wad, from what i see in the next maps, all very interconnected with an oldschool look.

speaking of the music, i don't share the author's taste for cheerful chipmunk tunes. found myself idmus-ing most maps.



MAP02 - "The Scorpion

same as before, with some secrets and quick platforming. went humping the walls where i thought i'd find secrets but there were just some misalignments. first fucking chaingunners here.



MAP03 - "The Islet"

a dark metallic base in the center, cleverly interconnected, with an exterior ring of damaging mud and some rooms to the outside. fucking chaingunners. good i use gzdoom so i see their eyes glowing and don't autoaim. life's not fair.



MAP04 - "Urinals"

another staple of doom mapping... and it's full of fucking chaingunners, plus pinkies to get in the way. said urinals are at the center of a hubspoke where you return to enter the next locked door, but luckily there's some open spaces where cacos and knights join the mix, plus barrels for more fun.



MAP05 - "Camara Obscura"

it's mostly big, dark caverns, little health and ammo, and fucking chaingunners hidden everywhere on high ledges, behind grates, torches, whatever. they cheese you after you run into bigger monsters, looking for a bit of ammo. meh. i'll try it again tomorrow, i'm tired and out of berserk now.

[Salt-Man Z]

MAP04: Urinals
19:53 | 100% everything

That music is so upbeat and...charming—but I confess it began to grate after 10 minutes or so. :) The geometry on show here is some of the weirdest yet, but I really dug how everything kind of fit together. The secret area with the berserk pack in particular really caught my eye, it being the second-to-last thing I did in the level, after getting a first glimpse of the pack, and indeed, the entire section, out a window. (The green armor secret was the last thing I did.)

[Demon of the Well]

Map 05 -- Camara Obscura - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets
....aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaand IDMUS 20.

Something I'm really noticing now is that on the automap view, pretty much all of the levels up to and including this one look very, very similar--like "blobby techno-cysts" or whatever it was I called map 04 last night--and yet they play quite differently from one another, something I feel like Monti deserves credit for, not just because it makes the game more interesting, but because it also suggests a lot of growth in his craft that has not required much adulteration of his stylistic idiosyncrasies. If any of you guys have played his first big release, called "Eviltech", I reckon you know it tended to feel like he was making the same map over and over and over again (albeit with different wallpaper and monster mixes on occasion); a marked contrast with Erkattäññe, where it seems like he's using the same small set of design precepts to make a significantly different experience at each outing. There's an alchemy to this sort of touch, where a mapset feels satisfyingly varied yet also very conceptually and thematically coherent, much easier to shoot for in principle than to achieve in actuality, and not something to be undervalued.

Anyway, this particular blobby techno-cyst is some kind of dilapidated, rusted out pumping station inexplicably (as if any explanation was really needed) surrounded by a body of lava, its strangely-angled plates and layers and partitions bathed in deep shadow. While it's hard not to notice some of the largescale misalignments where some of the broad, tall metal planes comprising the structure's innards meet one another, in general this is a level where it's much easier to gloss over the aesthetic sloppiness of earlier levels, simply because so much of the level is so damned dark, which apart from concealing your enemies from you also has the side-effect of masking visual 'imperfections.' For my part, I'm pleased as punch, and I think it's the best-looking level yet in the mapset, with the large shadowy spaces backlit by occasional brightly-illuminated sectors in the distance (e.g. the outdoor lava-field to the north, the exit podium to the south, etc.) doing a better job of realizing the sense of mood that map 04 seemed to be loosely grasping at. I reckon I would've liked to have seen a little more in the way of sharp directional lighting in this setting, and there are a couple of spots that are disarmingly hideous (e.g. the secret V-sphere's hidey-hole), but generally it's a much more personable presentation than that seen prior (or maybe I just have the atmospheric predilections of a fungus).

I managed to die once in this one, if you go the wrong way at the start there just isn't much ammo you can use (a steady trickle of rockets for the launcher you don't have notwithstanding!) and practically no healing and literally no armor and chaingunners, chaingunners everywhere, lurking under the rugs and behind the teacups and generally just everywhere you don't want them to be. Writ large it's the same game of attrition Monti has been playing for most of the mapset to this point, but here it starts to take a more diabolical turn: chaingunners in elevated positions and hidden by strange angles and/or heavy darkness needle you mercilessly any time you get too cavalier with strolling into an area, which eventually gets your dander up and goads you to focus-fire on them at earliest opportunity, which in turn tends to leave you vulnerable to a blindside salvo from complimentary snipers spitefully placed to overlook the chainers' position, ala the skeletal voyeurs who here make their mapset debut. A lot of the hardship is very route-dependent--on my second attempt I took a different path, and breezed through the level without a care--but it is nice to see that the mapset's turning up the heat a bit. One weird little quirk I noticed: Monti is incredibly stingy with healing, but he gives away radsuits like candy, there are 5 or 6 in the level and you can easily do everything you could possibly need to out in the lava using just one of them. Some might argue that a low-health/many-radsuit balance is a perfectly intuitive balance, I suppose, but it's been my experience that most mappers who don't like to give much healing also like to make damage-floor as pernicious as possible, heh.

The secret-hidery continues in its usual brainteasing vein here, which is fine by me--it seems like finding clever/elaborate secrets is one of the things I tend to enjoy most about more old-fashioned mapsets versus modern ones (e.g. recall my fawning over the secrets in Vile Flesh back when we played that)--and Monti is certainly scratching that itch for me. In point of fact, my single favorite thing about "Camara Obscura" is that, against all odds and years and years of counter-precedent in PWAD history, it manages to find a really unique and interesting way of making the light amplification goggles valuable: a number of the secrets here once again use gunswitches, but given the inky darkness and their strange positioning it's almost impossible to spot them through pure attentiveness (and they're hidden even on the computer area map, to whit); cue the fairly straightforward light amp goggle secret, which if timed well can be a pickup that cascades into several other (more valuable) ones that you'd stand very little chance of getting otherwise. That's just really cool.

[baja blast rd.]

Map08: "Peri Physeos"

Odd map. More radsuit surplus, and I'd say that many of the setups really could benefit from stingier radsuit usage (particularly those with PEs), but then again, I got lost because the layout was confusing, so whatever. There are two notable AV setups. One of them -- the classic AV+spectre combo -- is good. It might have been even stronger if the rocket launcher were the only weapon available. The other is, frankly, terrible: the YK vile+demons setup is basically trivial with preknowledge, but unless you start firing the BFG as the floor is descending to poke a hole in the demon wall, the vile can get a shot off before you can even touch him! Even if you have the BFG out and ready, as I did! That part could have used better testing. The teleporter leading to that area is guarded by a lone vile, who, during my playthrough, decided to hop the portal and then blast me upon teleportation before I could even get off a BFG shot. That's what monster blocking lines are for, to preclude nonsense like that.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 06 -- Dead Signal - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets
Around the world around the woooooorld, around the world around the wooooorld, around the world around the wooooorld, around the world around thOkay fuck this. IDMUS 17.

Must admit, this one blew by me pretty quickly (perhaps because all of the secrets came really easily this time), and didn't really leave as much of an impression as a number of the other maps. The angle here is little nukage mazes feeding into claustrophobic monster dens stuffed with cretins of all shapes and sizes, and yes, chaingunners behind screens who peck at your flanks at inopportune moments, although they're not so bad in this one unless you laze about in the big sifting-pool area on the west side for too long. Watch out for barrels, though...didn't happen to me, but I'm pretty sure Nick was aiming for a scenario where zombies firing from across the way might set off a tactically useless (to you, anyway) barrel and blow your ass sky-high. The other notable aspect is the trick with monsters in the early areas repeatedly teleporting behind you, put me in mind of "Shotgun Blues" by PCorf from 2002:ADO, although here it's usually not hitscanners pulling the stunt and so it's generally not as much of a concern. I would say that this level's not nearly as toothy as map 05; again, there's not a whole lot of healing to go around, but you're generally much better armed throughout (odd that you receive so many more rockets in this one, where the tight confines make the weapon a less attractive proposition without the benefit of foreknowledge), and most of the actual attrition factor is pretty heavily frontloaded between the early backstabbers and the chaingun nests in and around the western pools. Again, no issue at all with radsuit availability, you should once again have far more than you need. I went down to 50% or health or so pretty quickly in the opening 3-4 minutes, but then found the soulsphere secret at earliest opportunity and never ended up dipping below the 100% line for the rest of the outing (helped along by the occasional potion infusion, I'm sure), if that's any indication of the curve here.

Expected misalignment deal aside, it's a fairly makework presentation on the visual side, perhaps seems a little less thematically striking because the texture combos are pretty conventional for a poison-processing setting (concrete, composite, bits of tech and industrial stuff, etc.). The layout is again fairly complex--lots of up/down traversal in the networks of nukage tunnels for a pronounced 3D traversal element--but wrought in such a way that there's not a whole lot of pronounced spectacle to the proceedings, since you're spending most of your time in narrow tunnels. Needs must, I suppose.

Shame on you if you don't at least find the berserk secret, weird that something as largely inconsequential as that was the thing that Monti clearly wanted everyone to toy around with and find.

Map 07 -- The Fountain - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets
Hey.....I actually kind of like the music selection this time! :) It was bound to happen eventually, I suppose.

Is this a Montian take on "Downtown?" It's a little big sandbox (big physically, little in scope) where the objective is to explore the various Picasso-esque building-things in search of switches which will raise the water level in the titular Fountain, allowing you to start up the climactic battle, which is (perhaps unsurprisingly) a manco + tron duplex-waves setup, which operates more on overwhelming numbers of beasties trying to overrun your position than on the heavy crossfire angle that traditional Dead Simple arrangements tend to favor. While it's quite a short level (somewhat masked by the generous scale of most of architecture), the ability to tear around more or less freely is a nice change of pace from the more confined/convoluted track-based traversal of several previous maps, and there's not nearly as much of an attrition factor as map 05 levied, both because hitscanners (and chaingunners in particular) have been reigned in a bit (only one withering chaingunner pillbox this time) and because healing seems a little easier to come by, particularly if you find some secrets, which can net you a soulsphere and not one but TWO berserk packs. Exploration is pretty rote--I believe the most involved bit of progression is simply that the northwestern building has to be entered by jumping into it from its neighbor--but not something to necessarily take lightly, since entering the last battle without a healthy stock of weaponry/ammo could potentially pose a significant problem. Possible route-related snafus aside, I reckon it's a pretty empowering setup relative to its predecessors, which more actively encourages loose/aggressive play for most of the runtime, although Monti's biggest dick move in the southeastern oozefall-corridor tries its damnedest to trick you into getting in over your head via overconfidence.

As far as aesthetics go, let's not beat around the bush this time, this one's pretty damned ugly. Not quite fugly--to reach that level you generally have to completely eschew lighting contrasts at the very least--but definitely ugly, with rampant misalignment as far as the eye can see. The idea of having each individual building bear its own unique texture scheme is a pretty credible representation of 'city'-type levels from the era of PWADing Monti is seeking to invoke in Erkattäññe; it does generally lead to a lot of visual noisiness, but it's something I'm old enough to be pretty well acclimated to, so it doesn't really bother me per se. I also enjoy the generally spacious (sometimes unnecessarily so) sense of scale, an aspect typical of older WADs, but nevertheless the visuals in "The Fountain" bothered me. I guess I'm still stuck on the impression that the aesthetic roughness of the set seems exaggerated to the point of distraction in several places, and this is certainly one of those places.....it just seems insincere, artificial. Unbelievable. Immersion-breaking in a temporal sense, if you will!

Ugly or not, though, the level's fun to play, which is of course the most important thing, he's certainly done a good solid job of keeping the mapset feeling fresh up to this point.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP09: Abudhnas

This level's defining feature is its use of enormous vertical drops (and, at one point, an equally enormous lift used to ascend) giving a sense that the player is charting the depths of some unfathomable, Stygian abyss of darkness and slime. Not that its horizontal spaces are any more modest; for the most part, aside from the occasional knot of tunnels the monsters are given a broad playing field to hose down with plasma or fill with marine-seeking fireballs. Balconies overlook a central core but cheekily teleport the player away, keeping the goal always just out of reach until the concluding battle with a spider mastermind (and a coda line of shambling undead, just in case you thought you were done).

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP09 Abudhnas

The most memorable level in Erkattanne for me, because drops. Lots of them. if you turn on falling damage you are an idiot. these sure get fun, although combat really doesn't offer much. the level really stalls at that one lift though, taking about as much time as I've got for the invulnerability I found on a nearby secret just to get all the way down. and going up takes about as much time as I've got when I got a light visor in an earlier secret. And a troll vile comes in without my knowledge and no cover. AGAIN. quite the trip when I make my way to the keys, looping my way to the center and then immediately returning outward. when I finally reach the center, it's a duel versus a spiderdemon and a few exit lackeys before I finally leave the land of vertigo.

[scifista42]

MAP09 - "Abudhnas"

When writing about the previous map, I forgot to mention that I didn't like how much time I had to spend on lifts, waiting for them to go down and then go up. Now I had to spend even more time falling or riding lifts than ever. The super-tall Archvile lift was so terrible that I used IDCLIP whenever I was passing through it again. The sheer overscaled areas and heights were surreally impressively for sure, but the slowdowns got annoying, and the heights also made me feel bad about such mistreatment of the engine's limits, even though I didn't experience Moiré_error in Zandronum, I remembered it being an issue in PrBoom-plus when I've played the mapset some time ago. Anyway, the map's idea was fine (if only the height drops were less extreme) and the map itself wasn't bad. I've found all secrets this time again.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP09: Abudhnas
100% kills, 4/6 secrets

Height Difference: The Map

At first glance this map looks like it'll be a lot like MAP05, and it certainly starts out similarly (large circular rooms with snipers up high) but thankfully, after the first agonizingly long elevator (made even more agonizingly long by needing to spend all that time dodging missiles from revenants perched in very difficult-to-shoot spots) it turns more into a linear assault through areas all wound around one central end space, somewhat similar to some of the earlier maps, though writ much more large. Still a lot of falling, though.

There's a few spots that stood out here and there... I like the monster-teleport on the staircase in one area (as a way of punishing the player for trying to abuse the choke point), and the soulsphere secret is one of the better gun trigger secrets in the set (since you can just barely see both the goal and the mechanism if you really pay attention). Unfortunately there's also some annoying bits, such as the super long elevator/drops, more annoying AV usage, and annoying PE placement (giant pits aren't dangerous, just annoying). Oh, and a spot of non-texture alignment that has me convinced it wasn't that Monti couldn't be bothered, but actually chose to do it on purpose to send a message.

[Naan]

MAP07 - "The Fountain" - UVMax on second try

Oh, welcome back, GREYTALL. Can't we said we missed you? :D

Very open and non-linear map, and last two fights were actually challenging, though getting the megasphere secret makes them a lot more forgiving. Smart secrets as always, though they become more and more easier to find mostly due to the fact we're getting used of the different tricks used by Monti.

I liked the end twist, I almost feared I couldn't backtrack to the secrets I missed by the end. I liked less the first ooze section that felt very (very) empty, and the aesthetics and texturing that feel pretty much rushed, more than other maps.


lol@DotW hating on Daft Punk. :D

[Demon of the Well]

Map 08 -- Peri Physeos - 100% Kills / 83% Secrets
...and back on form with another big whiff in the BGM department. Ah, well, 07's track was nice while it lasted. IDMUS 18!

This one's pretty cool. The kinda-sorta-maybe-on-purpose moody atmosphere of maps 04 and 05 is definitely present in this one, and definitely intentional, considering the quiet candlelit leadup that allows you to poke around the crumbling, strangely vertically elongated cyclopean geometry at relative leisure (lots and lots of toxin around, but again, the level is flush with radsuits to the point that you can spend more than a couple of them accomplishing absolutely nothing without serious risk of landlocking yourself) before setting off the 'obvious' red key trap to kickstart the action with the introduction of a certain vile acquaintance. Texturing's as wonky as ever, though as was the case with the somewhat thematically similar 'Camara Obscura' the issue of wanton misalignment is much less pronounced here, not only because much of the level is shrouded in gloom and the nature of the architecture as comprised of tall planes of different textures makes for a loosely credible 'shattered' look, but also because there doesn't actually seem to BE as much misalignment in the core areas of the level where you'll spend a lot of time. Anyway, as I've surely said before, I like Doom maps with layouts which feature pronounced shifts in Z-axis--something about it seems to stimulate the imagination somehow--and I like darkness and gloom, so this one's a winner with me. While most of the construction in Erkattäññe is interesting in its way, it's usually abstract/freehand to the point that it's generally evocative of nothing but a game environment as opposed to 'a place' (and again, I think Monti's heavyhanded attempts to willfully make things look ugly in the name of 'authenticity' play into this as well), but I felt like "Peri Physeos" bucked the trend, it put me in mind of the crumbling, subterranean foundations of a long-fallen city, something about The Grave of Man's Dominion or the like. And when I start thinking in heavy metal songtitles while playing Doom, I reckon a map is usually doing something right!

A relative lack of healing (and possibly ammo, depending on your route of exploration and perhaps on how you handle certain situations early on) is again the primary source of adversity as far as the gameplay goes, but here this is less on account of needling hitscan chip-damage (BK corridor guardians aside!) and simply a result of the fact that you tend to face more powerful monsters scattered about here, so even an occasional mistake can be costly. At one point I rocket-splashed myself pretty badly against a sneaky specter while aiming at a pain elemental in the distance, and so was near death for a fair few minutes, which also made the radsuit issue more of a concern than it otherwise might've been (more a psychological concern than a real and immediate one, mind you, since as aforesaid radsuits are plentiful); most of my hardship was due to my own crass mistakes, though, as the trials Monti actively plotted out for me didn't really amount to much. Arch-viles are the star of the show, appearing 3-4 times at various points, usually with a wall of demon-meat (or spectral demon-meat) to run interference while they attempt to roast you. The first fellow near the RK is easily outflanked and rocketed with the help of one of the many radsuits in the area; the two fellows involved in the YK drop/deadfall trap sequence seem like they could potentially be much more of a concern, but I happened to have the BFG (which is not hidden in a secret, easily found with reasonably thorough exploration) on me and so made short work of them. I think the guy right next to the teleporter at the bottom of the drop is supposed to teleport away to give you a chance to unsling the BFG before following him, thus setting you up to deal with the nasty deadfall trap which springs moments later as a matter of course, but I suppose it's far from a foolproof setup (e.g. you might not even have the BFG at that point, in which case the deadfall could be seriously bad news). Nevertheless, it's a lot more elegant than the cheapshot teleporter-sandwiches Nick tried a couple of times in previous maps, I think most will agree.

I didn't find most of the secrets until after I'd already essentially cleared the map in this case, although I did find the V-sphere at earliest opportunity, refraining from taking it until later (I fully agree with the others that the left-field blockline keeping you from taking a flying leap into there later on in the map was a poor design decision, incidentally). In hindsight, I think I can see how some of the secret stuff is supposed to play out: I believe the V-sphere secret is actually intended for the surprisingly hairy situation in the light amp secret, with the goggles themselves being a surprisingly potent counter to the first arch-vile and his spectral retinue. The secret I missed this time was the berserk pack; on the first play I erroneously concluded that it was a one-time deal which had to be jumped to from the deadfall platform before it falls (which is incorrect in more ways than one), but on second inspection it turns out you can port there by dropping down onto a razor-thin ledge from the first platform in the YK sequence. Sneaky!

[dobu gabu maru]

MAP09: Hah, I love the absurdly long falling gimmick here—gives a new meaning to “verticality” in Doom maps. I liked this one mostly because it eschews hitscanners from afar (other than one part of the map) and loads the player up with rocket and cell (more my style). I think this map really hits that “weird 90s design” feel, where the difficulty comes from awkward enemy placement and trying to find munitions around the map—those chaingunners down in the dark water were the worst. Fun stuff… also cute to hear a Robert Miles midi.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP10: High Voltage

A tough and twisty map that reminds me of Doom's E1M7 and Doom 2's MAP10 in roughly equal measure. The player is free to roam a considerable portion of the map right from the start; the areas sealed behind the red and yellow doors are relatively modest in scope, the former holding a teleporter while the latter provides an opportunity to go swimming in toxic slime as you work your way towards the switch that opens the path to the exit - and reveals its cyberdemon guardian. Monster-only teleporters are repeatedly used to pen the player in when entering a new area, relocating an advancing meatshield or threat to the player's rear; I think it's a gimmick that perhaps overstays its welcome, becoming predictable and eventually generating more annoyance than excitement.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP10 High Voltage

really don't wanna talk about this level since I'm in rage mode...

screw this map. When you're as determined as me to get all nine secrets, keep damage to a minimum, and finish with a good time, you're pushing yourself. On this map I always do that, then I realize what wad this is and get turned around by layouts. and fuck that one teleporter I swear to fucking god the one that puts me in a tiny square with two arch-viles. These encounters almost make me feel I'm being trolled. Right after the enjoyable MAP09 and it's crazy jumps, I get this and it is by far my least favorite here.

[gaspe]

MAP10 - High Voltage

Kills: 100% | Items: 94% | Secrets: 88%

A really good map with a nice interconnectivity of various passages and many windows that make the map to look quite complicated. The distinct landmarks and the hub made it easy to navigate the map after you explore some areas. The teleport gimmick was nice at first, but I gets used too much imo. I missed only the secret with the googles, the trigger to get it seems just random, btw the googles are useless in the map.

[Naan]

MAP08 - "Peri Physeos" - UVMax on sixth try or so

Oh well, this map has some weird nonlinear progression. Looks pretty much like MAP05 with ooze and radsuits everywhere, the challenge being to avoid them so you don't "waste" them by accident.

It also looks like the difficulty has shifted from secret finding to actual fights, as I never backtracked for secrets while I had a hard time at least at the beginning when I completely forgot about the side rocket launcher and SSG before hoping to the red key so I was like chaingunning my way to the archvile with the chainsaw. Yeah, I can be that dumb. Then I got the same secret sequencing than DotW and never look back.

[scifista42]

MAP10 - "High Voltage"

Mostly fun gameplay, good layout and usage of damaging floors, great interconnected architecture and varied secrets, awesome music, and quirky but very well acceptable visuals as always. I didn't like the moment when I got teleported into a room with 2 Archviles and no cover, that basically required me to have preknowledge and come equipped with a BFG, unfortunately Nicolas Monti still uses this trope occasionally. Got all secrets again, although I helped myself with IDDT while aiming for the shootable switch in the start area, otherwise I couldn't even see that my shotgun pellets didn't take effect and I needed the vertical spread of SSG pellets + some luck to hit the right place.

[dobu gabu maru]

MAP10: I think the start of this map is a bit too congested for its own good and deciphering where to go next can be puzzling, but it’s another solid layout with a great focus on Doom 2’s meatier bestiary. There’s some more teleporter shenanigans going on so you have to keep an eye on your six constantly, but it’s nothing you can’t handle with rocket launcher and BFG in tow. I still don’t think traps are Monti’s forte, but I do appreciate when he pulls off some nasty surprises now and then, like with the sneaky AVs towards the end.

Also seeing how frustrated Getsu gets at locating secrets makes me glad I'm not a stickler for UVMaxing levels :P

[Magnusblitz]

MAP10: High Voltage
100% kills, 3/9 secrets

Feel like things get turned up to 11 here, as I was just constantly moving through the level and having more and more demonspawn unloaded on me. Granted, might've helped if I hadn't found the SSG so late in the game, but the lack of ammo and constant monster warp-ins really creates a feeling of attrition. There's also a lot of teleporter tricks which actually don't do much here, since the areas are so large. Oh, and I definitely hope you find the BFG in time... there's a couple of fights that can basically be summed up as "hope you had the BFG out" like a dumb blind teleport into a square with two AVs. Lighting is unfortunately pretty bland for the most part in this level.

[gaspe]

MAP11 - Erkatanne

Kills: 100% | Items: 100% | Secrets: 100%

The progression felt a bit more straightforward than the other maps, and there was the possibility to make some exploration of the places which was always rewarding. Going to "conquer" those buildings facing the courtyard was a really nice journey for a conclusive map. Though after opening the red key door the map was kinda underwhelming. Until that point the map was very good, but after it doesn't so much and imo it was really missing of something more substantial.

Overall: actually to me the premise of this wad with totally abstract maps using only stock textures wasn't really exciting, and MAP01 left me puzzled for what there would be after. But in the end it was a really enjoyable experience. The various gimmicks, design choices and the music selection made this wad quite unique. I think I will check out other wads of Nicolas Monti.