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dobu gabu maru

The DWmegawad Club plays: Japanese Community Project

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Cynical said:

Map 05 bug -- it's possible to fall and get stuck here:



lol that happened to me exactly in the same place.

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MAP06: Riminshi Valley

A beautifully crafted little map which reminds me a little of the BTSX2 map "A Blue Shadow". The delightful, atmospheric locale is an exercise in nonlinearity, with a number of possible ways to begin the map. The famous "sense of place" is very strong here, especially since every separate location has its own, characteristic design. Nevertheless, most of the level feels rather small and cramped -- an atmospheric map like that would definitely benefit from some more open vistas to show off the beauty of the titular valley; in fact, the blue key cavern is one of the more memorable parts of the level due to its size and how it vanishes into darkness, creating an illusion it is infinite. The two arch-viles which spawn after you nab the key can thankfully be killed easily from the ditch surrounding the key, but if you don't, they'll probably end up teleporting out into the level at large and make your life a nightmare.

In terms of difficulty, this can be a challenging map, especially since ammo is rather begrudgingly spared. In fact, when picking up the blue key unleashes the revenant crowd to roam the level freely, I was almost entirely out of ammunition; I can only wonder if my solution -- isolating the skeletons and berserking them one by one -- was the one meant by the author. Some of the puzzles can stump the player a bit; I wasn't apparently the only one one to get confused by the lion switch hidden among the rock pillars, and the blue switch is so hard to see that I'd never have noticed it if it weren't for ZDoom's color-coded automap feature.

MAP07: Confused Arena

Yup, a Dead Simple re-hash again. This time, an additional monster potpourri has been sandwiched in-between the Mancubus and Arachnotron waves; there's also a harmless Revenant coda. Killing the Mancubi in the beginning can be a bit of a chore; I've achieved good results by using the plasma-gun column as a shield from the roving fatties, though it's never occurred to me to seek shelter inside the building. The subsequent monster crowd is jolly good fun, but if you're not careful you can find yourself trapped inside the building by revenants and killed quickly. It pays to be careful about where you stand when slaying the last Mancubus. Finally there's the Arachnotron wave, which however shouldn't give you any problems, as there's more than ample cover from the spiders.

The last wave, though, is less of a grand finale and more of an afterthought. The manic teleporting arch-vile ends up being completely useless - it hasn't attacked me even once. I think it'd be better to beef up this final revenant crowd, since they can be taken out way too easily, what with the ample cover offered by the newly-opened side passages. On the other hand, there's something satisfying in easily disposing of the boneheads who possibly gave you so much grief earlier, so maybe this battle isn't so disappointing after all.

Demon of the Well said:

I also didn't care for the way the arch-vile was used ... I'd rather have seen him (maybe even two or more of him, at that) simply deployed on the ground along with the revenants, reckon you'd get a lot more bang for the buck that way.


I assume he couldn't be allowed on the ground because he'd then proceed to resurrect Mancubuses and Arachnotrons, wreaking merry hell on the map progression.

MAP08: 54-Pit

The adorable Engrish comic page on the automap put a smile on my face, though I was a little miffed I'd be denied a view of the level in favor of a comic book. Then I found out the comic book was the level, and this was just one of the many delightful attractions Toooooasty put into the map.

The very beginning has you suddenly stumble into an imp horde, which will likely have you scrambling in panic towards an inviting nearby elevator, only to find out it is already occupied and sports creepy flashing lights (oddly, off the top of my head I can't recall ever seeing lifts with flashing lights in any other Doom map anywhere.) Then you find yourself making your way through a beautifully detailed ruined complex -- I love the room with the rings going up and down -- most notably that crowd-pleaser, a Silent Hill-style haunted bathroom with monsters (sort of) coming out of the mirror. The level reminded me a lot of something by B.P.R.D. with how unusual it all feels. Other memorable bits include the giant Hell eye which surreptitiously opens in the main yard to let in some skull-spitters, and the final "creepy bone" room which sure gave a bit of a scare.

The red key room surprised me with how bare-bones it looked. Almost, I expected that the walls would fall away or something else equally interesting would happen, but no. It's not ugly, but it's in stark contrast to the rest of the map.

That the final switch is, in fact, the exit switch, is rather surprising and a bit too untelegraphed; I was a bit dismayed to leave the map before exploring the rest of the level. I even ended up replaying it from the beginning just to get my hands on the yellow key and see all the nifty side-areas, though in the end I only managed to get three out of four secrets.

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MAP09 - The Three World
ZDoom, UV - Pistol Start, KIS(%): 100/100/100

In community project, it is totally possible to have quality differences between levels, since participants have their own level designing methods and skills. This one is a simple and basic one, and it's like the author had just started to design Doom levels. So yes, you'll see anything that you can expect from the beginner. Highly linear layout, simple architectural designs with not much height differences and questionable texture placements, uninspired monster placements, etc. One thing I want to mention is the crusher in the yellow key room(where you need a blue key to open) was just annoying. The crusher will be triggered after you find a secret, and it'll be stopped if you step forward. That being said the crusher will interrupt your way, depending on the moment you step forward. There's really nothing much to say about this level, but I can take it as a break time.

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09 - demo. This was one of the maps that I downloaded back when I discovered this project. Hello Tricks & Traps! I'm a big fan of Doom 2 Map08 so I'm glad to see something similar. I think there is good potential for interesting gameplay, but the level is so generous with health and ammo that it makes most fights rather trivial even on Ultra Violence. So maybe that could be improved. Otherwise a cute little map with eclectic visuals. I guess ホッピシ is the sound that revenants make when they punch you? :)) That's pretty funny.

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Map09
Alas, this map feels very much like a novice effort: blatant hub spoke progression, lots of boxy rooms with bland texturing, every wing in its own near monotextured theme, very straightforward open door shoot monsters pick up goodies gameplay. Then there’s the use of a single baron as an adversary (yawn) or the helpless arachnotrons in the mama spider room (and boss lady herself is very easy to camp, even if you don’t find the invuln in the room).

On the plus side, I leave the level at 200/200 and with plenty of ammo, thanks to the way powerups, shells and bullets are strewn around the level like confetti.

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MAP09 : The Three World by Tyousen121

Demo here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8LDQijJesw

This one feels like it came straight out of the 90s, and not in a good way. It’s a bunch of square and rectangular rooms, with nothing but stock textures pasted all over them with little rhyme or reason. Meanwhile, the encounters oscillate from mostly toothless to so overwhelming they’re barely even fair, with very little in between. I suppose the lowering bookcases are kind of cool, but that’s not exactly a novel trick. As for the finale… I don’t even know what to say about that. Last but not least, and as I found out during my demo recording, there are two different ways of exiting the level for no apparent reason (both are located in the same room and both lead to MAP10, but one is a switch and the other a telepad).

Seriously, this map feels like it would have been rejected from the first Memento Mori. Quite a sharp turn from the quality of the previous stuff… to be honest, I feel like it should be removed altogether and replaced with a completely new one.

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MAP09 - “The Three World” by Tyousen121

a tricks and traps inspired map, apparently. some underdetailed, mostly flat architecture. all locked doors are accessible from a central room, retrieve one key and open the next door. first, there's a shotgun and a backpack to get from some imps behind a wooden door. continue, sawing some demons (dull, as they are in a row in front of your saw), watching not to fall from the roof... which i did, landing on top of a bfg. the yellow key unlocks some cacos and revenants, which are easily rocketed if you don't let them come too close. the final room is the one from d2m08 with a cyber vs a group of barons.

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map09 - demo here

+ nice 90s atmosphere/style
+ cyber & baron infighting is fun
+ BFG secret is cool

- some texturing is... odd to say the least
- if you use your BFG cells up early the cyber kill is quite boring
- re-used IWAD midi is sad

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JudgeDeadd said:

I assume he couldn't be allowed on the ground because he'd then proceed to resurrect Mancubuses and Arachnotrons, wreaking merry hell on the map progression.

You're quite right, of course, that nasty little eventuality totally slipped my mind. Can't have your cake and eat it too with arch-viles in traditional Dead Simple setups, I suppose....

Map 08 -- 54-Pit - 101% Kills / 100% Secrets - FDA
Please pardon the 'intermission' in the demo around 8:40 or so. This was when I opened the automap for the first time. ;)

Instantly recognizable as a toooooasty map from the first 15 seconds alone, it seems that the unusual and memorable character of map 05 was not simply a fluke. Novel automap easter egg/gimmick aside, the build plan and graphical style here are both quite similar to the aforementioned map--again, the overall layout seems to be a simple rectangular plot brim-filled with tightly-packed construction (though I suppose there's a small widget sticking off of the box here and there), and a rich variety of texture assets and fine-grain sector detailing are used to craft a visual presentation that is at once manically elaborate and yet aesthetically quite coherent, this time depicting an eerie haunted mine or industrial yard of some sort, concealing terrible secrets both supernatural and sci-fi.

Two maps down, it is easily the aesthetic sensibility that I'm finding to be the most fascinating/compelling aspect of tooooasty's mapping; getting down to brass tacks, "54-Pit" is really just a spin on the orthodox industrial techbase theme, but the author's ability to create a sense of nuanced location--nuanced enough that one could feasibly see it as host to its own detailed 'lore'--is something special, I think. It's not just a function of sharp visual presentation, or indeed the fact that the author has chosen to work in and found success with a visual idiom that tends to be rather risky/difficult to pull off in idtech1 (i.e. lots of fine-grain, highly representational sector-puddle detailing), but also owing to the imagination and ingenuity displayed in marrying the implicit story of the location with the gameplay. The decommissioning of the mysterious experiment in creating undead supersoldiers is perhaps the most obvious example given that it's the subject of the whimsical automap-manga, but I was particularly enamored with the little "haunted restroom" setpiece (incidentally, the switch-based exit there seems like it's a feature rather than a bug to me, and a charming and innovative one at that) and some of the environmental shifts that occur elsewhere afterwards. Little interactive curios like this, though of course largely cosmetic in nature, can be surprisingly effective for involving the player in the process of clearing a level, particularly in concert with tooooasty's penchant for one-off 'vignette' detailing, and particularly where the actual gameplay is rather simple.

On that note, while I've no hesitation in saying that on the whole I enjoyed my trip through "54-pit" for the above reasons, I also have to say that I definitely didn't enjoy it as much as "Woodexial", simply because the combat element here is more abjectly kid-glovesy in pitch. Again, weak enemies in clusters are the order of the day, but those clusters here are smaller, and in the absence of the offbeat chaingun-centric angle from map 05, and a somewhat reduced sense of non-linearity in comparison to the same, the action never feels like it gets above a gentle trot here (though like a number of other Club players, I have to admit it took me a few moments to realize that the legion of revenants is not actually a threat, so credit to tooooasty for the way their appearance scene is 'directed', I suppose). There are some worthy compensating virtues at work, ala the optional YK epilogue in the super-haunted sorting/packing room, but the ultimate impression is of a fascinating setting that is somewhat shallow in practice. Again, I did find much to like here in other arenas of consideration, but I certainly hope tooooasty sees to fit to turn up the heat more in his later maps.

Map 09 -- The Three World - 101% Kills / 100% Secrets - FDA
This would appear to be the work of a beginner. The effort seems earnest (concourse is clean such as it is, everything is functional/working properly, etc.), and so it's difficult to feel any real antipathy towards it, but I reckon there's no use in trying to downplay that it's easily the weakest entry in the set to this point, fielding the barest sort of hubspoke progression, extremely basic architectural design, a nigh total absence of aesthetic flourish (lighting and theming and such), and an extremely simplistic approach to gameplay which would seem almost completely directionless and unpaced were it not for the presumably intentional allusions to map 08 of the IWAD.

The best things I can say for it is that the item balance presents something playable (if rather more generous than needed), and that some of the monster reveals, mainly in the BK 'leg', are surprisingly fierce given how Dick & Jane the level seems to be otherwise, adding a touch of interest. All told, though, I spent most of the runtime here thinking about what I was going to have for dinner (which perhaps helps to explain why it took my dumb ass so long to figure out that V-sphere secret....), as what was offered was generally too rudimentary to be engaging. I reckon there's a niche audience which will find the sort of innocent, starry-eyed naivete on display here endearing (I picked up a vague Twilight Zone vibe, come to think of it), but I reckon the author has a lot to learn yet before being able to make something that would appeal to the average Doomer-in-the-street. For my part, I reckon the best compliment I can pay it is that I actually found it more palatable than one of the (vastly more stylistically developed) levels that's on deck right now....

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MAP09: The Three World

Probably the weakest entry in the WAD so far; it's not bad, the gameplay is satisfying enough as you chew through some at-times quite meaty combat encounters, but the lack of a strong, unifying, a sense of place, or much in the way of visual flair does little to draw me in. It's technically proficient but unexciting.

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MAP09 The Three World

Incredibly easy to beat hub level here. it's not really noteworthy enough though. The health bonuses point to some secrets, including a BFG. The crushers by the yellow key are rather strange. I don't like the fact that they stop rather prematurely, I thought I was unable to reach the supplies in the revenant closets. The spiderdemon fight was pretty interesting, but the way to get the invulnerability was even more so. The cyberdemon fight is pure Tricks and Traps mantra.

The exit room is pretty strange. Why are there TWO methods of exit? There's a switch and a teleporter, is there a difference which one I should go for? I don't think there is. Also computer map behind three secrets here.

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MAP09 - UV - Pistol start - No save (finished on first try)

Weakest map of the set so far by a LONG shot. TheOrganGrinder covered most of my impressions so I'll just add a couple remarks:

- Gameplay from opening the BK door to getting the YK was the most fun to me
- Invulnerability is overkill. I took it after I got rid of the spider then rushed to the exit, not even trying to be tactical with the cyber
- There are so much cells that I used the secret BFG quite gratuitiously here

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MAP10 - The Odd Encampment
ZDoom, UV - Pistol Start, KIS(%): 100/100/100

Imagine a level with a layout from TNT:Evilution, and a difficulty from Plutonia. This is how I feel for this level. For some reason, the layout and architectural details reminded me a Evilution, although the main theme of this level is not a tech-base. And the combat is surprisingly difficult for players with blind play, thanks to the tricky chaingunners on the ledge and the unexpected monster trap, such as a horde of revenants in the tech-base building. That being said, the BFG placement was a little bit awkward, but you definitely need some big shots to survive from vicious monster traps. The red key trap was predictable, but it's still cruel to deal with arch-vile and chaingunners around at the same time. About the next trap on the balcony, just spam the rockets to monster teleporter destination. Otherwise, you'll be surrounded by hell knights with no chance. Not to mention that the last arch-vile before the exit was just damn annoying. The ammo supply is pretty much tight, and I beat the level with only 5 bullets and 8 shells left with pistol start. It's a little bit tough one for beginners.

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10 - FDA. I love it. Very interesting and unique layout, unpredictable progression, good use of high tier monsters, scary traps that are satisfying to "solve", very fitting soundtrack. Also clever room with 4 switches that you have to press without touching the lines on the floor. I couldn't figure out how to get the yellow key the indended way, so I just rocketjumped. :) I wonder what I missed. Overall I'm quite impressed, this is definitely my favorite map so far.

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Map 10 -- The Odd Encampment - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets - FDA
This one made me sweat a bit! I was pleasantly surprised.

I reckon antares031 was right on the money with his assessment that what we see here feels like some sort of feral Evilution/Plutonia hybrid. The layout is a sprawl of open yards and spacious rooms with much more finely-scaled and tightly packed chunks of construction, wedged in between them, making for a more or less linear journey that feels like something more involved than it really is by dint of the way it pragmatically knots around on itself at a few points, most notably its reuse of the entry area for the final segment. While progression is framed by key-locked doors and shutters in the three big areas (wooden entry area, large stone room with marble daises to the west, open yard to the north), most of the meat of the gameplay is found in the smaller areas, each having its own particular idea at play, which does indeed make the overall flow feel rather "TNT", particularly with the more involved concepts. Visually, on the other hand, the larger areas of the map are all clothed in a Plutonian ensemble of wood, stone, and grass, with a handful of shiny silver tech installations and a selection from the Evilution soundtrack to mix things up a bit and complete the Final Doom mashup theme (I've never cared for this track, incidentally, but it did seem to fit the level well and so refrained from IDMUSing). It is perhaps not always the most visually elegant presentation in the world (especially not when compared against the maps by Tooooasty or its heavily stylized followup in map 11), with a somewhat stark overall aesthetic and only occasional attention paid to niceties such as lighting and the like, but I think the interest of its mashup theme carries it well enough, making for a respectable 'classic' impression.

The most surprising aspect, however, must be the gameplay. Up to this point, JPCP has tended to be on the easier side by modern standards, but there's some pretty rough stuff lurking around in "The Odd Encampment", courtesy of the decidedly Plutonian cast to the regimental composition of its infernal occupants in contrast with a number of pressing close quarters traps which WILL unceremoniously end you if you don't get your shit together in a hurry when they spring, something which really becomes apparent for the first time when 16 revenants are unapologetically dumped into the small, cluttered space on the far side of the northeastern tech station, explaining both the hastily constructed barricade near its entrance and the incredibly casual placement of the BFG 9000 off in a quiet corner of the grassy yard a short few minutes earlier. It doesn't really let up from there, and I was genuinely certain I was going to suffer my first death of the playthrough in the clever 'balcony' fight opening access to the YK (which really looks like someone who sucks less than me could SR50 to it from the outset, incidentally), only narrowly pulled out the win there. There's some vindication for the value of the dinky little secrets that seem to characterize a number of the maps in this set, incidentally--the 40 cells I got from the one little secret equal one extra BFG shot, and it was absolutely that single shot which swung things in my favor. I also quite liked the monster usage in the final proper fight upon returning to the wooden entry area, which the arch-vile providing an exciting complication to what would otherwise be a fairly standard brawl. As a generality, these heavier fights also contrast nicely with the TNT-style switch/movement puzzle concepts that feature in a number of the side areas, the most involved being the motion sensor security web designed to prevent unsavory elements from burgling the red keycard.

Lots of personality here, cool map.

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MAP09 - “The Three World” by Tyousen121

Bit of a tricks and traps tribute I guess, feels very old school after the previous one, but its functional at least. Confused me for ages until I realised that the walls next to the doors were also doors.

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MAP08 - “54-pit” by Toooooasty - UVMax on second try

Wow, there's a lot of stuff going on. Yet another gimmicky automap from Toooooasty with a sweet manga strip which was integral part of the map "story" as you actually get into a revenant lab and free all of them up... I was actually expecting fighting them at some point in the optional yellow zone (it seems the color yellow and optional secrets are closely tied in this mapset since MAP06). I didn't find the combat aspect too easy or too hard, just well balanced to my tastes.

Very sweet stuff, a lil less puzzly oriented than MAP05, the BGM certainly adds to the atmosphere. One of the mapset highlights for sure!


MAP09 - “The Three World” by Tyousen121 - UVMax on first try

I liked the map for what it was, a beginner attempts. It isn't particularly eyecandy, memorable or anything, it justs plays smoothly. The only major qualm I have here is the 3 last pointless secrets that can be completely missed.

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MAP08: 54-Pit
88% kills, 1/4 secrets

Even aside from the minimap comic, this level has a lot of merit. I love the music track, helps set the scene for the creepy, hell-overrun industrial base here, with lots of little cool details like the door opening and closing on its own. The monsters coming out of the 'haunted' bathroom mirror was a great moment, too. Like MAP05, it's a mite over-detailed (or too much texture variety) for my tastes but it does help lend a feeling of chaos to the proceedings. I'll need to go back and find the yellow key sometime.

MAP09: The Three World
100% kills, 1/8 secrets

Man, I'm getting terrible at finding these secrets...

So yeah, I suppose this is a homage/remake of Tricks and Traps, though it didn't quite occur to me until the cyberdemon/baron battle at the end. Just seen too many hub maps in my day, I suppose, and T&T's lack of theme (copied here) doesn't help. As others have said, it's probably the weakest offering so far, as it definitely feels like a very beginner map. It's not bad - there's nothing annoying about it, and everything works properly, but all the 64- and 128-grid rooms are boring, and combat is pretty boring and straightforward for the most part.

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MAP10 - “The Odd Encampment” by Yullie

i think antares hit the nail on the head with the assessment of tnt looks and plutonia difficulty. this one surprised me with some aggressive traps, like the 2 chaingunners above right at the start, the baron/revenant trap and the final archvile. the part with the mancubi is pretty simple, but keep your rockets for the archvile appearing right after. upon entering the outside area one has to dodge some arachs and revs, then kill about 15 revs at the crate barrier. a bfg shot would do half of them, i took the long road and let them pass the makeshift barrier one by one and punched them out, thinking that i'll need that ammo... the red key trap is simple and well done, however the quadruple door closed so quickly that i idclipped out of that room. yeah, good placement for the vile, when that caco swarm comes. visually the map is without too much detail, but cleanly built, and first and foremost clever and fun.

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MAP10 The Odd Encampment

Enraging map, has quite a lot of combat scenarios going on in it. The chaingunner usage here is so goddamn annoying, especially at the red key trap which adds an archvile to the middle. Can you say "Chop your health from 200 to 0 in 5 seconds?" Getting out of the actual room was really annoying too. I had to avoid lots of lines, and press switches opening doors, and those stupid lines close the damn doors. At least they're visible.

NOW WHERE DO I FREAKING GO? There's really not a whole lot of hints, especially since I found the blue key by dumb luck. There's this teleporter up in the upper left, really hard to reach (also there's a free BFG on the ground next to it), but the two switch press thing where the revenants are in the building nearby is super annoying. The siege situation that followed the teleporter was pretty cool, but honestly the music can loop once before that thing finally goes all the way down so I can pass. I guess the rest of this level from the yellow key onwards is a bit more fair, except for the archie that can attack before I can even set him free. Probably my least favorite, but when it comes to the club, anything I outright hate will be loved by most others. Oh look.

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MAP09

Wow this one was quite a map. It introduces the BFG, Cyber and MM all in one map. Hell yes, this one felt really oldschool which is nice for a change every once in a while. It sort of reminded me of Tricks and Traps in a way, with the Cyber and Baron infighting, and the overall layout. The secrets were pretty nice I accidentally found the BFG secret in the outside section as I was strafing an imp fireball I fell down. I just really like this map for some reason, it was great fun.

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MAP09: The Three World

Right after the opulent, bursting-with-detail MAP08, we get this... a very "meh" level in comparison. I almost suspects this is meant to be a Tricks'n'Traps tribute. The very beginning -- the areas behind the keyless doors -- is not that bad in terms of looks. However, for most of the map the visuals are pretty bare-bones, lighting effects are minimal, and texturing is questionable sometimes (see: the demon ledge, with a wooden floor put on top of gray STARTAN walls). The architecture is almost as flat and squarish as a Wolfenstein 3D level. The aforementioned demon ledge harbors a very poorly thought out BFG secret; indeed, it's hard NOT to stumble into it by accident!

The fights are mostly trivial, especially since the two fights in the main lobby (mancubus/cacodemons/elementals, and revenants) can be cheesed by hiding in the northeast library; the arachnotrons after that are completely unchallenging. The only real interesting fight is the final cyberdemon battle. However, overall this map is a dud.

MAP10: The Odd Encampment

The first of the more merciless maps, MAP10 pulls no punches. Right away you're subject to attacks by chaingunners in very awkward (for you) positions, and while things remain pretty manageable up to and including the mancubus/revenant fight, the situation gets a lot worse once you head outside and find yourself subject to crossfire from numerous enemies all around you -- with barely any ammo provided. At least there's a berserk pack provided in the warehouse, though I admit I forgot about it entirely for most of the map, but it probably wouldn't be that helpful anyway against the more beefy customers. Several times, I managed to completely run out of ammo -- including at the huge revenant wave in the warehouse, before the red key; by some weird stroke of luck I managed to kill them all with exactly all the ammo I happened to have on my person.

A couple of fights were downright infuriating. The red key fight stands out; it's not fun to dodge a baron in the dark while an arch-vile and several chaingunners are shredding you to bits. The later standoff against a wave of demons and hell nobles coming at you down a narrow ledge is more satisfying. However, the final battle is just plain ridiculous. You find yourself boxed in by arachnotrons and cacodemons in a very tiny space -- tinier still because of a sneaky unreachable arch-vile denying you half the room. There's very little health provided, and God help you if, like me, you enter the fight with your ammunition fully depleted. After a few failed tries, I eventually ended up releasing all the monsters at once and running past the revenant guard to the exit.

All in all, while the map is difficult, it's less because of the satisfying fights, and more because ammo/health starvation forces you to get creative with your tactics. Granted, maybe that was the point, but episodes like the final battle described above sour the whole experience, as they're just plain too difficult and feel like the author's trolling you.

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MAP10: The Odd Encampment

This one's a bit of a mixed bag for me. There isn't a single strong theme at work, instead as antares031 and Demon of the Well have noted it feels a bit like a "Greatest Hits" compilation of the two halves of Final Doom, mashing disparate elements together in a way that conspires to keep the player on their toes throughout. I'd consider it a case of gameplay demands winning out over aesthetics; that gameplay represents a sharp spike in difficulty from what's come before, with a lot of tough fights and a very frugal scattering of ammunition provided to the pistol-starting player. Overall this is a solid level but not really my cup of tea in how it achives its objectives.

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MAP11 - My fav
ZDoom, UV - Pistol Start, KIS(%): 100/100/66

A colorful, juicy level with interesting concept. Maybe the name of level means the favorite food of the author. The progression is highly linear, and you'll get through those food quests in sequence. But don't worry. you can re-visit the completed section from the hub at any time. The first quest is green melon, although you can't tell that the area is based on melon(except the color) at first glance, unless you checked the automap. The combat is easy to deal, but beware the obvious trap which will cause an irreversible result. The next quest is orange-colored orange. Unlike the last section, you'll notice the shape of orange really soon. But I must say that this lift puzzle was not my taste at all. The third quest is a cacodemon, according to the automap. Maybe it's about the blue blood of cacodemon? I don't know, you tell me. Maybe the true concept is the banana, but the author wanted to create a section with blue textures. Anyway, the combat is just okay with no intriguing moments. But the puzzle with torches was just a beginner's trap to make you restart the level. The hive of arch-vile was not bad, and liked the honeycomb-based design. The red apple section was predictable. just spam some rockets to those monsters, then the apple will be detoxified from poison. The final quest is an ice cream dessert with an extremely easy question(seriously, how dare you hate cacodemons?). Then again, there's a glitch related to the punishment in ZDoom. Other than that, it's an easy puzzle which is all about colors. Overall, it's an interesting level with fine background music and memorable designs, but the combat itself was just average.

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11 - FDA. Lovely. Good sense of what humor works in Doom and very creative overall. Ammo runs out at unexpected moments, which is interesting. I was a little afraid to kill the "do you like caco?" cacodemon, worrying that maybe it is sacred or something. I'm usually not a fan of single color rooms but this was well done. Perfect music selection too, I love that song. :)

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MAP10: The Odd Encampment
100% kills, 1/1 secret

Starts hard and gets harder, but that means beating it gave a good sense of satisfaction. The first inclination it wouldn't be easy came in the mancubus corridor, and by the time I got to the room dumping all the lost revenants from MAP08 in my lap, I knew it would be like this for the rest of the map. The red key fight is fun, though the door escape puzzle and two-switch lift puzzle after feel a bit misplaced given that the map has a lot of hard combat, not puzzles. Ammo starvation really start to dug in, I got to the yellow switch fight (cacos/arachnatrons + AV sniper) with only rockets and 40 cells left; I ended up with zeroes across the board and needing to use the fist to take out the last two revenants.

So yeah, pretty tough, but most of the fights are well-designed and I like a challenge now and again to keep things from getting too boring.

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Kira said:

That's not the female side. That's the reflection from the room you are, with monsters, because evil magic or something. When you shoot at them, you are just shooting the bathroom mirror, in short.

I am surprised the idea doesn't come across to some people. Perhaps because we all know the inside-out of Doom mapping so there's no suspension of disbelief?


I think a big reason it doesn't come across as a reflection of the bathroom that you are currently in is that you don't see your own reflection. When horror plays with mirrors it usually does so in much the same way as is done here (mirror reflects something different than reality) but often to up the creep factor it is usually showing us something about a person that we otherwise think is normal. I believe Doom3 had a scene like this where you see your face in a mirror but then the face melts into a skull and monsters attack (or something like that). This would have been a great addition to the level if the engine could do anything like that out of the box.

MAP 08: This is an absolutely beautiful level with a lot of story behind it. It is Great recovery and relaxing maze sort of level after the arena that was the last one. I especially liked how much detail went into the main areas and the hidden yellow key area. This maybe ranks on par with or a little lower than MAP06 and I’m not just saying that because it didn’t force me to fight all those revs (which I really thought it would in the yellow key area). I, for one, really like the bathroom moment even though that seems to be an unpopular opinion.

MAP 09: “Oh,” I think, “they do an outdoor maze with a lot of verticality, an arena level, an indoor maze with some back tracking and now a hub-and-spoke level.” Well I was partially right; I wasn’t expecting so many spokes. It really turns the hub-and-spoke design on its ear by having so many ins and outs. The level starts off slow with a lot of random pushing on walls but eventually picks up the pace. That said, it is sort of a let down that we get a map with so little detail right after a map with so much detail. It is also strange that this is an obvious reference to "Tricks and Traps" (MAP 08) but this is placed at 09.

MAP 10: This one is a real maze of a level often with little indication on where to go next. By the time I had gotten the yellow key I had forgotten the yellow door at the beginning (which I only maybe saw initially). The archvile teleporting around at the end is an interesting touch, but I ended up sort of cheesing him as revenge for his otherwise obnoxious position. So far I think this is the only map I've found frustrating.

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KBlaney said:

I think a big reason it doesn't come across as a reflection of the bathroom that you are currently in is that you don't see your own reflection.

Pretty good point here. And that would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to fake it with voodoo dolls and sectors shenanigans as well.

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The female side idea is ridiculous if you use your brain a little bit... Like come on, why would it be visible from the male side? xD

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kuchitsu said:

The female side idea is ridiculous if you use your brain a little bit... Like come on, why would it be visible from the male side? xD



hell screwing with men's brain, you know

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