The /newstuff Chronicles #491

[Bloodshedder]

• Don't Be A Bitch Last Man Standing 3 - Argentum, Combinebobnt, Decay, Dusk, Grymmoire, HeavenWraith, Ivan, Keo, Mobius, Ru5tK1ng, Razgriz/S
  Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - Last Man Standing - 31.4 MB
  Reviewed by: Marcaek
  Don't Be A Bitch is (besides good real-life advice) a set of 32 maps for Zandronum's Last Man Standing gamemode made by the fine folks over at MXU (also creators of the well-received Velocity CTF and the Cacoward-winning Rage CTF, among many other projects.) The premise of LMS is, obviously, that instead of hunting for weapons and items while trying to get the most frags out of a match, players start with an assortment of weapons and have to rely on what they start with to survive. Although this version is a high-quality set as it stands, the (fairly quick) re-release of a Remastered edition with many major improvements and tweaks leaves it largely redundant, unless you want to check out which maps were replaced. Worth trying with mods if you don't want to hunt down the "vanillafying patch" for Remastered, but you'd miss out on a few great layouts if so!
  
  
• Doomkid's Duelzones! - Doomkid [Adam P.]
  Doom 2 - Limit Removing - Deathmatch - 857.07 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: antares031
  Doomkid's Duelzones! is a multiplayer wad for duel matches, and it was created by Doomkid. It contains seven deathmatch levels with some visual replacements, such as custom textures and sprites, and custom music for each level. And because some parts of MAP03, MAP06, MAP07 have visplane limitation issues, you need a limit removing source port to run every level with no problems. Every level was tested with ZDaemon 1.10b07.
  
  MAP01: Not bad as a wad opener with a simple layout: center, hall, walkway. Of course it's important to dominate the center area, but don't forget to get the soulsphere inside, and blue armor at the exit. As a duel level, this map has the proper size and layout. Although it could be better if there was a column or two in the hall, since it's a little bit open.
  
  MAP02: Middle, hall, and two yards. Again, this one is enjoyable. Don't be afraid to respawn, since most of respawn points will provide you an SSG. Keep in mind that the stairs connecting the middle to both yards are steep. So if you want to go down, I suggest you to go through the hall.
  
  MAP03: I think this map is a little bit huge for two players. It could be better if this map was smaller in size. Not to mention that the walkway is too open, and putting in some columns would be a good idea.
  
  MAP04: Some rooms connected with corridors. This one was fun to play thanks to the enjoyable layout. Not to mention that the music was just awesome; it's the remade version of the music from the original MAP04.
  
  MAP05: Two similar areas with a sunken middle. The layout seems symmetrical, although each area has their characteristics.
  
  MAP06: Two large hallways and one walkway with windows. Again, the layout itself is pretty good for a duel match, and it is fun to play. But, like MAP03, the size is a little bit large for a duel match in my opinion. That being said, you may enjoy this level even better if you add more opponents, like 3-4 players in total.
  
  MAP07: A giant arena with sunken ground. This arena seems way too open, but you can make this place a little bit cozier by activating the switch to raise some columns.
  
  Overall, despite some levels having size issues as duel levels (to my taste, one of the best duel match levels with proper size is Lazarus MAP04), every level has an enjoyable layout with proper weapon and item placements, and texture and music selections. Not to mention that you can still enjoy the levels that I mentioned with size issues with more players. Don't be tied to duel matches because of its name, and try this one with normal deathmatch. It'll be fun to play.
  
  
• Abyssal Speedmapping Sessions: Session 19 - TheMionicDonut - Project Lead 4shockblast AD_79 alterworldruler an_mutt Breezeep Walter Confalonieri
  Doom 2 - Boom Compatible - Solo Play - 1.5 MB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: Zalewa
  Well, it's another one of those!
  
  Initial installments of Abyssal Speedmapping Session produced WADs that were substandard - to put it politely - but the series has improved a lot since these times. Still, the first map leaves a really bad impression, which begs the question why it was placed in the MAP01 slot. All of the remaining maps are in complete contrast to this one and are exceptionally well made, considering that the time limit to make them was two hours. They show attention to visuals, detail, thoughtful monster placement and texture alignment. It is unbelievable.
  
  The level themes that could be chosen for this WAD were "bridges", "all weapons on pedestals", and "lots of 20% damaging floors". I saw no bridges that I could remember, but the remaining two themes were present in most maps at the same time. This produced 17 maps (16 regular + MAP32) out of which I consider all but MAP16 and MAP32 as playable within realms of common sense, and all but MAP32 as playable at all.
  
  So, given that this WAD was a joint effort, I decided to play each map from a pistol start. This was a bloody stupid idea. Initial maps offer reasonable difficulty level on Ultra-Violence. MAP01 is the only one where I decided that the smartest move is to strafe around enemy projectiles and to run away instead of trying to fight all of the monsters. But in MAP08 the difficulty level is taken up a notch, and lack of initial weapons begins to hurt. There were countless situations where outcome depended on random number generator calculating monster positioning and attack rates that would allow me to survive. This, combined with other, mostly deterministic failures, led to frustration and many reloads. For MAP16 I switched to "I'm too young to die" but managed to beat it fair and square. For MAP32 I didn't even bother. IDDQD, IDKFA and IDCLIP were my friends.
  
  All in all, this is a good map set. Just don't go the same road as me; carry over your guns between the maps.
  
  
• Don't Be A Bitch Remastered - Argentum, Combinebobnt, Decay, Dusk, Grymmoire, HeavenWraith, Ivan, Jdagenet, Keo, Mobius, Razgriz,
  Doom 2 - ZDoom Compatible - Last Man Standing - 35.46 MB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: Marcaek
  (For those who haven't already read the DBAB3 review, you can safely ignore it without missing anything of importance.)
  
  Hot on the heels of DBAB3's "final" release comes this Remastering, which brings many critical tweaks to the 32-map original in efforts to make it more suitable for DM in addition to its original role as a Last Man Standing mapset. Remastered utilizes and (unless you hunt down eonitems2doom2.wad) requires Eon Weapons, which can be found on any server hosting it or Best-ever.org's WAD page.
  
  The layouts here are well connected and have good flow, which means you won't have trouble getting around, and you don't get spots where people can sit and stall games with near invincibility like you would in some older LMS mapsets. All of the maps have been thoroughly tested to iron out issues and retain only the cream of the crop. Aesthetically the maps run from the simple and spartan "Mighty sweep" or "Complexed doom" to the more detailed "Prosopopoeia" and "Beyond Omega", the avant-garde "Anubis Machine" and the breathtaking "Within the Sea of Solaris". Map sizes range from the 4-6 player arenas like "Desparate run" to the massive Solaris or "Azure Agony" which could easily handle 16 or more.
  
  There's plenty of gameplay variety here, with sprawling bases full of crates to take cover behind and dark, foggy caves to lurk in wait for your prey, or outliers like the jumpy, mazey "Forage" which is probably one of the more unique maps. Rustk1ng gives us a pair of maps that look like they came straight from Eon DM, and while they work quite well in LMS, I personally feel that "Take Two" is much more suited to Deathmatching, which you may find true for other maps in here as well. On the contrary, "Surrender to Ivan" is a LMS map to the core, and lukewarm when played in DM. Many of the maps contain obscure easter eggs that you may find either hilarious or bizarre depending on how familiar you are with the community; it's plenty of fun just trying to find them all in the middle of the action regardless.
  
  The maplist has been reshuffled since DBAB3's release to run from smallest to largest, with two of the weaker maps replaced. DBAB01 is now Fade, a compact fragging arena with two tiers and more engaging gameplay possibilities than the old DBAB01 which was functional but unimpressive, and there's no room for pretenders in this set. DBAB15 was swapped out for Clientside Orbiter, a Quake-ish map with plenty of fat, smoothly flowing passageways to facilitate the railgunning and rocketing of your opponents as you vie for control of critical powerups around the central arena, a considerable improvement over the awkward, boxy catwalks and projectile blocking fences of Blast Furnace. A new map (DBAB12: Hyperbaric) has been added as a welcome bonus with rock-solid gameplay. DBAB03 finally got a much-needed face-lift, and "Spirit Temple" had a wall knocked down by greedy grave robbers looking to steal a few frags for themselves.
  
  The modern sensibilities and high degree of polish give us a set which looks and plays fantastically. Whether or not you've read both reviews, consider this the definitive version of DBAB unless you're curious about what was replaced, not that you're missing much.
  
  
• Apokalypsis - theJF
  Ultimate Doom - Vanilla - Solo Play - 501.88 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: antares031
  Apokalypsis is a vanilla-compatible single player wad, replacing the entire episode 4 of Ultimate Doom. The wad contains 9 maps for E4, and one more secret level, E5M1. Every level was played with ZDoom 2.8.1 UV-PS.
  
  The level design fits pretty good for original vanilla Ultimate Doom. It has some variety, from linear wooden fortress to non-linear hellish dungeon. The architectural detail is simple, but acceptable for vanilla Doom. And despite the fact that the original episode 4 has a little harsh difficulty, this one has moderate difficulty for casual players. So you won't have much trouble to beat the levels even if you try them with blind UV-PS.
  
  The combat is not bad. Items and weapons are well-placed for pistol starters. About monster placement: this wad will always surprise you with constant monster closets and spectres. But, speaking of spectres, I was a little bit annoyed by the placement of numerous specters in dark areas. Plus, some levels, especially E4M5 in my experience, have a small amount of radiation suits, so make sure to use them wisely. These two problems are the only issues I had during the gameplay, though. The author did a pretty job designing non-linear levels, including the secret E5M1.
  
  This one is not a masterpiece. But it's a pretty good one for replacing E4 of Ultimate Doom, I can tell. But if you're looking for more challenging levels than original E4, this one is not for you. To me, this wad was enjoyable to beat from the start to the end.
  
  
• Binary Space Partition builder (BSP) 1.1 - Colin Reed, Dylan Cuthbert
  N/A - N/A - N/A - 69.69 KB
  Reviewed by: Gez
  The text file says it all: it's the source code of a old nodebuilder, uploaded for historic purposes. An important document for the programmers and historians in the community, but most people can safely ignore it.
  
  
• PhobosDeimos Anomaly - Phobosdeimos1 Compiled by Xaser
  Ultimate Doom - Vanilla - Solo Play - 526.83 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: antares031
  PhobosDeimos Anomaly is a vanilla-compatible single player wad for Doom. The levels are created by the late Phobosdeimos1, who passed away in 2012, for the DTWID project. Later in 2015, these levels were compiled and uploaded to /idgames by Xaser to pay tribute to our late community member. This wad contains two episodes with six levels each, twelve levels in total (E1M1-M6, E2M1-M6). Every level was played with ZDoom 2.8.1 with UV-PS.
  
  The levels have simple layouts and architectural designs from the mid-late 90's. The difficulty is not that hard, and you won't have much trouble beating levels with blind UV-PS. Monster placement is just okay, with not many vicious traps or monster closets, just "standing" monsters most of the time. I must say it's not bad, but it's not fun, either. The repetitive combat and scenery are also demerits of these levels, so some people may find this one boring to play. Still, it has a nostalgic vanilla Doom theme all over the levels.
  
  But, if these levels were intended to participate in the DTWID project, I'm sorry to say that it's not good for that project. Sadly, the layouts didn't give me any feelings of "that's how id did" through the gameplay. Certainly the texture placement reminded me of the vanilla Doom wads from mid 90's. But I can say that it's not the way id did before. Still, the author tried his best to contribute his works for the community project. Although it was not good enough, I can see his efforts throughout the levels. Rest in peace, Phobosdeimos1.
  
  
• gib - Jonathan Dowland
  Doom/Doom 2 - Vanilla - N/A - 23.58 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: JudgeDeadd
  An old 1999 mod with a .deh patch, which introduces spectacular sprays of blood into the game. They actually look quite cool, especially when you're perforating someone with a chaingun. Unfortunately some trade-offs had to be made, so Mancubuses now shoot cacodemon fireballs.
  
  Also included is green.wad, an atrociously ugly palette replacement. The reddish nukage and torches actually look nifty, but the ugly green cancer infecting pretty much every other sprite nullifies any aesthetic benefits. I agree with the author that it looks "gangrenous"; that it looks "pretty cool"? -- not so much.
  
  
• Curse of Blood - Mattias Johansson
  Doom 2 - PrBoom+ - Solo Play - 9.43 MB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: gaspe
  Curse of Blood is an 11 map wad, the first episode of what will be a full 32-level megawad. Every level was visually pleasing; there's a good amount of detail, and for the most part there are many colors, a bit more than what you usually see. Personally I liked it, but maybe someone will think that it may be too busy sometimes, as we also have lots of variations in the texturing, though there were some places that look bare compared to other areas. The author shows a cool style in the settings and the themes. There's a good mix of cramped and open spaces, and most of the time we have more paths to choose and optional areas to explore.
  
  There are also few changes regarding the monsters: the bosses have more health, but the most notable is the "new" Lost Soul. It's a horned version of the regular one visually, and it has more health, it's faster, and it can also shoot a fireball as a distance attack. It's a more versatile and dangerous enemy, and we will quite often Pain Elementals. [???]
  
  Just a few of the more notable things in the maps: MAP04 was a fairly little sandbox map with the nice setting of a lake. MAP06 has a cool atmosphere and a tricky start. MAP07 starts as yet another Dead Simple map, but it ended up offering something more with its exploration of buildings around the arena. In the end of MAP10 we visit a cave section with a river and some rapids too.The only drawback was that on many levels you will find yourself overstocked with ammo (even doing pistol starts), and it was detrimental to the difficulty of the encounters that are set.
  
  To say just a few words about the music (that was composed for this project), it is really good, and the tracks always fit well in their maps.
  
  Overall this is a quite solid wad that has many interesting things to offer. Worth checking it out while waiting for the (hopefully) complete megawad.
  
  
• REFILL - Memfis
  Doom 2 - Limit Removing - Solo Play - 320.76 KB - (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: JudgeDeadd
  A rather short techbase map. Health and ammo are rather sparingly placed, forcing you to manage your resources carefully, which makes the fights more interesting. Still, despite being competently made, there ultimately isn't anything very special or memorable about the map. The combat in the final areas feels a bit too easy and anticlimactic.
  
  
• Ossuary of Agony - mrthejoshmon
  Evilution - Limit Removing - Solo Play - 178.25 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: gaspe
  Ossuary of Agony is the last of three standalone maps for the TNT IWAD that mrthejoshmon released back last October. The map uses the well known Egyptian textures of TNT, though the theme isn't entirely Egyptian as some marble areas will give a more hellish look to the map. Visually the map manages to look nice and the architectural style is quite simple. The monster count is quite high on UV (over 300 monsters) but it wasn't excessively hard, and overall it flowed rather well. This is a rather solid map with a fair length for what it offers and fun gameplay.
  
  
• Steambot Impy - Parovoz
  Doom 2 - GZDoom - Solo Play - 214 KB - (img) (img) (img) (img)
  Reviewed by: gaspe
  This is a short single level wad for GZDoom which uses some of its features. The setting of the boat floating in the acid sea was quite cool. The view of the ship one the outside is nice, although it is very raw. Some of the slopes inside the ship don't seem to make sense. The most glaring issues are: the usage of stretched or shrunken textures that I must say borders on the ridiculous, and the choice of using one of the hellish rock textures as sky.
  
  The gameplay is easy but all right. It's nothing special in the inner rooms, but in the deck area it gets better.
  
  Overall it seems to be a decent effort for a first map and the theme is interesting, but the execution isn't very good.
  
  

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.

[gaspe]

Bloodshedder said:

and we will quite often Pain Elementals. [???]

LOL. I guess that I wanted to say that I have met quite often pain elementals or something similar and I forgot to put it while revising the review. I'll pay more attention next times.

[Zalewa]

antares031 said:

PhobosDeimos Anomaly is a vanilla-compatible single player wad for Doom. The levels are created by the late Phobosdeimos1, who passed away in 2012, for the DTWID project.

I wonder what will become of the Idgames archive in 100 years. Will it be elevated to the status of library of canon of Doom (or even video game) level design with prominent authors revered by the community in the same way as prominent authors of literature? Or will it fade into obscurity?

[HavoX]

I'm sure /idgames will still be around. Too bad the same can't be said about most of us, though...

Unless, UNLESS they come up with a remedy that can extend the lifespan of mankind. But that's very unlikely... but hey, you never know heh.

[mrthejoshmon]

Thanks for the reviews of my three TNT maps gaspe.

[Havoc Crow]

It's probably a bit late to point this out, but the four screenshots in the first review seem to be missing