The DWmegawad Club plays: Hellbound

[Spectre01]

MAP12 - Power Station - Difficulty: Medium

"You made it to the UAC base. This part seems to be a power station, you'll probably need to bring it on-line to go any deeper. You smell the foul stench of demon infestation lingering in the air, so you prepare for a thorough cleansing. Structural damage seems to be minimal on this part, but you wonder about the deeper sectors."

The first map that I'd consider huge as it took me nearly 50 minutes to clear and I've played it at least twice before. This sets a standard for what's to come as the maps in E2 and E3 become larger, more varied and ambitious in their design. If we simplify it down, Hellbound follows a rather common episodic pattern of techbase->corrupted techbase->hell that the very first Doom popularized. Whereas before we've seen structural damage and vegetation taking over with slight glimpses of something more sinister, the Evil Eye teleports and Hell-Trips, this map shows clear evidence of Hell merging with our reality. Rather than going fire and brimstone, Z86 goes for a more Doom 3 direction with fleshy growth consuming parts of the base. The enemy roster is also complete with the Archvile making his grand entrance. The 2nd one right behind the door can be a tricky bastard to avoid getting zapped by.

We also get a glimpse of the new orange sky in the great looking hub room of the map. We'll get a closer look at it in map14 though. ;) Aside from the corruption, what makes this map stand out from the previous tech levels is the mastodonian macro-architecture with some huge rooms with large ceiling heights. You get a glimpse of that here and there but Z86 really goes all out with the overwhelmingly large and complex reactor area. The scale is truly impressive and the multi-tiered nature, platforms to jump over and enemies positioned all over the place creates an interesting experience. Making good use of the automap is key here to not get stuck in a navigational, flashing light nightmare.

The visuals are top-notch as always and the reactor itself looks great. Anyways, lots of cool stuff in this map and a good start to Part 2 of Hellbound.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP12: Power Station

Big and sprawling, but I think this one suffers a bit from being filled with too many identical corridors, and the multi-level disco maze past the yellow door felt, to me, over-large and over-long. There are nuggets of dramatic, cinematic brilliance buried in the level; we've had hints and Hell-trips before, but this is the first time we've seen large-scale corruption of the physical world, with machinery and concrete transmuted to flesh and bone, vents spewing blood or oozing viscera... it's a gruesome and disorienting delight, and a welcome distraction from the corridor mazes that fill the map's real estate. The chain-linked sequence of teleporters that open up once you've got the blue key in hand is likewise a nice touch to minimise the backtracking necessary.

[Spectre01]

Demtor said:

Bug found!? What happened to the sky on this map? For the first time we get a change from the cloudy grey night sky and it's a broken Doom 2 rehash? Ah well.

That's not the correct sky for some reason. It should be a yellow/orange looking one and not the Doom 2 version. By the way, which settings are you using to get that blue glow from the water texture on the adjacent walls like in your map10 shots?

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP12 Power Station

Alright here's the first REALLY big level. The other one's before this could technically be speedrunned without too much difficulty if you figure out everything that goes on. This one takes a long time no matter how much I memorize it. Glad to have the weapons at the beginning, and the solid dark atmosphere helps out, along with the details.

First order of business seems to be the red key. The locked room its in involves, I think, two switches, one on the ground floor outside the room and one in an adjacent room to the terrace, where a blue switch and apparently the yellow key. After picking up the red key, I aim for the yellow next. Doing that involves going through a red door on ground floor near where the red key was. Before doing that, I hit an invulnerability secret somewhere, and then moving through a back alley. I meet what seems to be the first arch-vile so far here, and then climb through more hellish tunnels in a back alley leading back to that control room where I can now get the yellow key.

Those hallways I've been going through just to get around the level are detailed nicely, but rather repetitive with the doors and lifts being used just to figure my way around the power station. But that won't compare to the clusterfuck behind the yellow door. It's a huge segment with several walkways all connecting each other in various ways, some requiring lifts to reach and jumps to get across. The glowing walkways are cool but it's full of twisting turns and the occasional enemy to get lost fighting with. The way to go involves getting that final blue key, and that means reaching the very top, getting through some crushers, and apparently opening up some reactor of sorts. And then getting the key.

Not really obvious what to do next though. I went for that one control room with the blue switch earlier, fighting some new compartment monsters along the way, and then using the switch, as well as the teleporter nearby. Believe it or not, this is the short path to the exit, but the other hall before that which you're supposed to go beforehand is locked, the switch is in a side room in that particular hall, and there's even another monster closet which I believe is opened after hitting the blue switch. Thank goodness for that teleporter though, it saved me quite a lot of backtracking, although the level itself was quite heavy on the backtracking. An enduring map for sure.

[gaspe]

MAP11: a really cool adventure in tech-bases built in the titural canyon. Lot's of cool scenery also, the dam is worth to note for sure. There's also the introduction of the rail system in this map and the cyberdemon make its first appereance in the wad. The monster count was more right for the map, with less monsters but used in a more engaging way. I have to note that so far the secrets were all... stupid. I don't know what term to use but pretty much they are all alcoves hidden behind random walls, and this doesn't go very well with the detailing style that this wad adopts. I hope to see more variety and that pistol starting won't become unbearable because of this. Back about the map, it was a great conclusion to the episode. For what I remember the next few levels (with this one) are the part I liked the most of Hellbound.

[Demtor]

rileymartin said:

That's not the correct sky for some reason. It should be a yellow/orange looking one and not the Doom 2 version.

Figured it out, thanks. It was the Doom 2 Minor Sprite Fixing Project - v1.8 Beta 1 Release mod that I had experimented with. Going to have to ditch it. That sky make things look so much better. Really glad we moved on to something different finally.

rileymartin said:

By the way, which settings are you using to get that blue glow from the water texture on the adjacent walls like in your map10 shots?

I grabbed it from this collection of modifications. It's called, "(Z)-All_LiquidsGlow.pk3" from the SmoothLiquids folder and it ended up being the only one I really used from there. Also looks like there is a forum thread here for similar stuff as well. It doesn't seem to work on everything but when it does work, it's pretty damn cool.

I'm still trying to settle on which visual mods I prefer and am constantly trying new ones. I find that I say 'no' to a lot of them.

[DAZZER]

MAP10: Cistern
Difficulty - UV
Time - 20:27

This Map has beautiful kinda "exotic" Rooms with the vines hanging from the celling and little watterfalls right next to it :D but on the other Hand that gigantic Round Room was very ugly for me... I just felt like the creator hadnt the motivation to decorate it. Also there were a little bit too much chaingunners in that Map for my taste :P In the whole WAD are pretty much hitscanners ^^ but its fun to blaze with the chaingun through it :D So maybe this is not the best Map in the Wad but its still a good one :)

[gaspe]

MAP12: It's really odd to hear the silly track of TNT MAP07 which makes this map to clash with the mood that was set so far. Visually was really good, albeit it's plenty of copy pasted stuff like the corridors with the silver pillars and the maze, those gave the place a more cohesive feel with the recurring elements. As usual of this wad so far the gameplay was allright, if unremarkable (except for the first appereance of the Arch-vile). The weapon progression was bullshit, there's no point in giving the SSG and the PR so late, they could have been replaced with many more rockets to use instead. I liked the big maze after the yellow key door, it was an interesting place. All in all it's a nice level.

[Pirx]

MAP11 - “Venom Canyon”

definitely some sense of grandeur and adventure here. the water / waste treatment facility opens into a canyon that reminded me heavily of the original half-life, even without the text file stating the source of inspiration. i think demon and organ grinder have explained already very detailed why this adventure works so well: you can always find an alternative route when the one you are following is blocked. and the author has put a lot of narrative detail in these various routes, if we take a look at the destroyed tram, the railway entering the complex, or the rocky path there. the nukage areas are damaging and can wear one down quickly. the twin cyber guards at the exit should not be a problem since there's plenty of space for dodging, actually i thought that the wall behind them is the gate i have to open by flipping the switch upstairs, and exited surprisingly.



MAP12 - “Power Station”

the adventure continues here through a power station you have to get working again. it's pretty dim in there at the beginning, obviously, and gets lit later as you restore power. and then you see that the whole thing is pretty huge. the use of door textures together with large blocky shapes and walkways reminds a bit of the chasm, but fortunately without any damaging floors. and although blocky, rectagular shapes predominate, z86 did an admirable job of keeping something like simple hallways interesting through the use of lighting and details, such as support beams, lights etc. took me a while to complete due to its labyrinthine nature. meet archviles here for the first time in the map pack. they're without support so not very threatening though.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP03: Testing Chambers
100% kills, 0/4 secrets

Out of the brown city and into a UAC testing facility, where as usual they're up to nefarious deeds. This level is mostly understated techbase (grey cement and tech bits) but I was definitely glad to have a break from the brown. I found this map rather tough at the start, as health was pretty scant until about the blue key, and I was playing pistol start so I had to stick to the single shotty and chaingun for most of the map. I ran around so frantically for parts of it I never even noticed picking up the yellow key (in the cargo area I assume?) There are some nice bits here and there I liked - the imp ambush near the start is a good moment, and I always like seeing levels use the lite-amp goggles well. The end fight is pretty wimpy though, especially given the ordinance provided and the large chamber. Didn't find any secrets except the odd Hitler shrine (which isn't an official one).

[Suitepee]

https://www.twitch.tv/johnsuitepee/v/100707414 = part 4 of my playthrough, covering maps 19-24. (UV, continuous)

Hell is an interestingly varied place when detailed right....

Map 19's "E2 tribute" was as much appreciated as the previous map's E1 one. (I liked them both) I'm not exactly sure if I was meant to die at the end though, or whether deliberately starting the next map on low health was intended, but whatever.
Map 20's "trenches" were briefly amusing, and made for a tough start. Rest of the map was alright though, and I liked the reveal of the hell fort.

I somehow managed to witness the sight of the Cyberdemon getting stuck on map 21 (after another death exit on the map prior), and I still can't figure out how that happened. (https://www.twitch.tv/johnsuitepee/v/100708785 = highlight of said Cyber being stuck)
I really liked the voidish hell feel that maps 22-24 showed at times, and it was nice to see Hell not just all about red/orange texturing. Map 24 was particularly impressive, essentially being "Downtown" hellish style. And it was great!

Looking forward to seeing more of this Hell, although map 29 is soon on the horizon....

[Magnusblitz]

MAP04: Processing Plant
100% kills, 5/5 secrets

Not much to say about this one, pretty standard fare for this mapset so far. The start will likely get all but the most cautious players killed on pistol start. Found the SSG secret right off the bat this time, so wasn't as much of a grind as last level. The brief detour through hell was cute. Overall the amount of blockiness, hallways and blind-drop lifts are starting to grate, though.

[Spectre01]

MAP13 - Encrus Station - Difficulty: Medium

"The stench of corruption becomes ever more apparent here. Your train seems to be stopped by some hellish growth on the rail, so you need to proceed on foot. The base seems quiet, but you know they are waiting. You also learn that this sector contains experimental weapons, just the thing you need if you are going to face more hellspawn."

A direct continuation of the previous level that starts with your tram stuck due to a massive outbreak of hellish growth all over the base and the tracks. The presence of Hell is more pronounced here in the bowels of the station with green marble ruins replacing parts of the base. The gameplay is still generally chill, although one of the earlier Archvile encounters left me at 1% HP due to some sloppy play (and a Hell Knight teleporting right behind me blocking my retreat). We finally get our hands on the coveted BFG in the experimental weapons lab, but unlike the Plasma Rifle in map06, grabbing this weapon angers some Hellspawn and gives you a chance to try this new toy out right away. There is plenty of cell ammo here as well so there's no need to hold back on groups of monsters. It's especially useful in the finale which has you facing off against a Cyberdemon in a slightly tricky area with a pit to fall into and pillars to get stuck on or take splash damage. Had to settle for a 3-shot combo since he didn't feel like going down in 2.

Anyways, continuous players like myself will be happy to have that BFG until the next surprise death exit and it will definitely get a lot of use in the next map as well. No spoilers, but map14 is one of the defining Hellbound maps as far as I'm concerned and pulls out everything that's great about this wad. Oh, and I like that exit room.

Also thanks to Demtor I now have glowing liquids for maximum pimping of a 20 year old game!

[A2Rob]

Map11 - Venom Canyon
Difficulty - UV
Time - 16:03

Big ass canyon map. Seems much more "The Abyss" than Disposal Facility was. Lots of varied heights in this level alone. I found the dam sequence to look very well done in particular, and we also get to see a small tram system leading through the canyon directly into the facility lying at the end of the canyon (that helipad though). I also appreciate how easy it was to avoid the bottom waste areas of this level.

Difficulty wise, not very hard, even with some far distance hit scanner enemies perched in the canyons. The little caco / pain elemental swarm at the top of the dam is easy to walk into though. The twin cyber demons at the end is nice and open, so fighting them isn't too uncomfortable.

Map12 - Power Station
Difficulty - UV
Time - 22:51

One of the bigger tech-bases to be found in this wad, Power Station certainly is an odd beast. Not very different as far as tech-bases go, though this level does have two different visual charms going for it. One is the gradual fusion of flesh and metal found further in the facility, and the other is generator, which is needed to "activate" the power to the rest of the facility. I thought this detail was really neat, and you even get to board a tram at the end once the power is on, a nice segway into the next level. The area through the yellow door is a bit of eyesore though, probably because of the author's use of the glowing sector in this instance.

There's plenty of baddies to shoot here, though none of the sections are very straining. The large glowing room in the later half is slightly annoying because of its three tiered floors, which made fighting enemies from down below annoying and tedious. Having to run through the small gaps at the top floor while dodging enemy fire added a nice bit difficulty to the map.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 13 -- Encrus Station - 99% Kills / 100% Secrets
I give the pun about, oh......2/10, let's say.

As per Murphy's Law, the railtrack is blocked by more of the unknown organic mass first seen in the power station. The way forward is so clogged with the noisesome fleshy crap, in fact, that you've little choice but to get out on foot and carve a path straight through it, trying to sidestep the entire rail system in hopes of breaking free of the obstructive corruption. "Encrus Station" thus plays out primarily in a panoply of dark, dank tunnels, shafts, and maintenance corridors bedecked with the tumorous hell-growth, with one occasionally forced to travel directly through the larger masses, feeling something like a nagging stone tumbling about in Satan's gallbladder. There's a marked contrast between the orthogonal, right-angled construction of human artifice and the sinewy, amorphous contours of the fleshy segements, but moment-to-moment a lot of the differing parts of the environment seem to blend together into something of an undending corridor here, perhaps a function of being consistently stuffy, claustrophobic, and low-ceiled. While it perhaps practically goes without saying for Hellbound, most of the field is also quite dark (none moreso than the cave-in area to the southeast) with only the somewhat forlorn tram stations serving as real beacons of light, also contributing to the heavily blurred sense of distinction between areas. The most interesting bit of world-building here is rather subtle--as you make it farther and farther into the corrupted area, the fleshy growth begins to recede and give way to something more like an eldritch marble dungeon, something quite distinct from the other flashes of Hell we've seen thus far, though still quite far removed from our own reality. Or is it? Looking at the zone as a whole, the impression is that the flesh-growth seems akin to a placenta of sorts, with the eerie marble zone sheltered inside. Is part of the Hell-realm somehow being transplanted into this dimension with the fleshy matter as a medium or vessel, or are those haunted halls a twisted reflection of our own reality, emerging cursed and misshapen as from a tainted, caustic cocoon?

Tangential wanderings/wonderings of that sort aside, though, I felt that the overall presentation here wasn't as strong as much of what we've seen prior. It seems intuitive that to some degree the aforementioned blurring of boundaries was probably precisely what Z86 was hoping to capture with the setting, though in practice I felt the effect to be somewhat overstated here--for the first time during this playthrough, I had to go back and IDCLIP around in the map in order to aid my memory of its geography and goings-on while writing this. As with many previous maps, it's clear that effort has been made to lend the process of actually traversing through the map a sense of verisimilitude--i.e. you end up in all of these nasty, grody in-between places primarily because you have to repeatedly search for ways around blockages of the railtrack--though the somewhat understated presentation and downscale surroundings weakens the impact, and many progression milestones feel more like 'hit switch because video game' than is typical for this mapset. I also felt like the BFG's display room didn't really fit as part of the setting here--the crown jewel of the military's arsenal is found in a shed in the middle of a rail system....huh? Very nitpicky, that, I'm sure, but since Hellbound banks so heavily on its setting and its presentation of its world, I reckon it's more of a fair cop here than it would be in other styles of set.

Action here seemed a mite behind the curve to me, as well, chiefly a result of some heavy-handed usage of mid-tier monsters as default incidental foes (as touched upon concerning map 10 earlier) in contrast with a layout that is particularly corridor-heavy. And door-heavy, too, for that matter--unless you take considerable pains to prevent it, a lot of the fights here happen through doorways fitted with standard-behavior doors which repeatedly attempt to drift closed during gunfights, something that almost never feels good for very long. Somewhat in line with map 09, the main angle taken on stake-setting is that healing and ammo are both surprisingly very tight from pistol-start, at least until picking up the BFG about 2/3 of the way through; again, in the context of the map's structure, this design decision here tends to slow the pace, perhaps slightly too effectively. A couple of gross monster-blocking lines are also in evidence, though at this point these infractions are still relatively minor/primarily cosmetic, since they aren't interfering with encounters that could be particularly dynamic in their absence. There are more climaxes here than in previous maps, but they're all much smaller, mostly attempting to smother the indecisive or slow-reflexed with simple knockabout traps, most of which are rendered highly ineffectual by dint of the player having the BFG for most of them. Best fight in the map is actually probably the first one (which comes after a fairly effective slow/cold/silent opening sequence, incidentally), with a tricksy phasing arch-vile hoping to panic you into a rough pincers situation. The final battle with a cyberdemon, by contrast, seems more like an uninspired placeholder, especially coming as it does with no real buildup and relatively quickly on the tail of the oldschool 'showdown' introduction of that monster at the end of map 11.

One of the weaker maps in the set to this point, IMO.

[Demtor]

rileymartin said:

Also thanks to Demtor I now have glowing liquids for maximum pimping of a 20 year old game!

Haha, rock on. Glad I could help you find another one you like as the list of yours you shared a few weeks back encouraged me to hunt for some mods to use for myself. Give and get. Gotta love it.

Speaking of; I just found this smoother weapons one I REALLY like as it improves the original weapon sprite animations while maintaining the original style and timing. With this, I think I've finally settled in to a good mix! Funny enough, the credits list Z86 as having helped work on this as well.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP05: Underground
100% kills, 1/3 secrets

Visually I think this is the best map so far, love that skyline near the yellow key. The map is actually pretty fun for the most part though it bogs down quite a bit near the end with the fight leading up to the yellow door on the tracks, and then the meat corridor exit room. Just too much meat to carve through that isn't threatening since it can only come from one direction. Though to be honest, I don't think they're that bad in and of themselves, but more because they come after an already somewhat lengthy and boring quest for the yellow key. SSG is free this time around, thankfully, but never did find the RL, which might've helped when I ran out of all my shells in the tunnel (much like DotW did).

[Demtor]

MAP13 - “Encrus Station”
gzDoom - UV – Continuous

Well now. A dark, calm and creepy map with lots of weird hellish visions on display with pieces of tech mixed in. I caught this disturbing visual going up the long elevator after the hades gallery. Really, really great stuff.

I enjoyed the slight diversion from all of the hellgrowth to the cave system which leads to a more preserved electronic area. Would've been better if it were longer.

The BFG pickup ambush was a complete let down. The lights dropped early because I stepped over a line somewhere but nothing else happened. So I leisurely grab the BFG, run for the light out front and camp the doorway. Knew it was coming and it wasn't worth using the BFG on at all. Lot of build up to that weapon reveal and it kind of fell flat for me. Kind of like this whole map. Lots of build up, cool visuals and then not much pay off.

Take for instance, the final fight with the cyberdemon. The imps and HK's are just kind of standing around and there really isn't much room for him to move so he really isn't that big of a threat. I loved the look of the area though with the brain column at the center with lava but he gets stuck a lot over there.

Ah well. I liked all of the cool bits but am looking forward to a fresh level next map as this felt like a smaller continuation from the previous with what was leftover and didn't make the cut.

[cannonball]

MAP09 - “Disposal Facility”
Most of the issues I had here were being tired and missing a key weapon or objective and then paying the price by having to play slowly or got lost. Overall this was pretty decent, the lost soul fest in the hell trip certainly makes life a little hectic. Those imps in the cages were a pain though. The difficulty is still rather easy, in fact this was easier than the last few in my opinion.

MAP10 - “Cistern
This one ups the ante a bit in places, the fight around the central area was really fun, but here there are several instances of poor monster placement, there are several walls on demons/spectres which simply eat up ammo with no positive to back up their existence, the same goes for the over-use of nobles here, again used more like useless meat shields than serving any other purpose. A shame really as there is good stuff in here in places and the map is a visual treat.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP13 Encrus Station

Taking the train out leads into a more transformed base, with more hellish architecture invading the regular underground base layout. The first arch-vile of the level can be quite a nasty surprise, and the spinal doors can be tricky at times. Like when I open what seems to be a half-door for it not to open all the way BUT the spinal door opens. Weird stuff, as if the crates in the skin textures was enough to prove that. And yet despite all this, the map is linear throughout. The yellow key is used for opening up the hangar doors where the first arch-vile was, revealing another one and some more ways to go.

The areas to the southeast where the blue key is aren't all that bad. I found the light visor here to be quite helpful, for instance, and it looks like some sort of inverted tram track. Quite a few enemies to slay here. Moving on, the wad's first BFG is in a rather obvious trap, as is a health bonus behind it. Some more trudging along and then there's these bars that open up as soon as I near them. Not the fondest for these kinds of things since usually they are opened from a switch instead of opening on approach. But hey, a red key is nice. The final big room is a 30-second wait for the exit, fighting a cyber and a few other enemies. The cyber is replaced with two barons for this setting.

[gaspe]

MAP13: The route of the rail is blocked by some flesh growth that it seems that it's taking over all the base, so here we have to proceed on foot for a while. The map has a linear progression with changing from normal techbase areas, to the ones that start to get corrupted by hell, and later to some fleshy/hellish areas too. I liked how you keep to get back to the rail like you are also trying to follow it's route. It looks like the map demands to have a slower approach on playing it with all of its choke points in doorways and the corridors. The atmosphere stays really solid, the gameplay was fine even though after the first big fight it doesn't do anything remarkable.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP13: Encrus Station

For me, this one is a step up in terms of design sensibilities from the preceding map; gone are the sprawling disco maze and endless homogeneous brown corridors, and instead we've got a level that's strongly broken down into distinct sections, each with its own flavour, and while the player is invited to approach one at a time in a surgical, analytical fashion. After the open spaces of MAP11 and the dominance of large, extensive playgrounds in MAP12, this is a slower-paced and more intimate offering. The path of progression weaves in and out of brown-toned railway tunnels and facilities, natural rock caverns, and more clearly high-tech areas picked out in silver and pale green, with the fleshy growths that mark demonic corruption intruding on your adventure ever more thickly until, toward the end, reality is subverted entirely and the gleaming technology of the UAC base gives way to the baroque stonework and haunted corridors of an infernal bastion, some kind of foothold or staging area for Hell's latest incursion into our world. In this context, I think Demon of the Well's notion of the fleshy growths as a profane placenta or cocoon, invoking a sense of birth or transformation, is a good one; to me, what it also called to mind was a sense of the organic matter as a collagen-like connective tissue between Hell and Earth, binding one to the other, or else scar tissue where one reality has been crudely grafted to another like an organ transplant gone horribly wrong.

If MAP12's open spaces and free-flowing monster population were intended to focus on Doom-as-action-game, then the gloomy hallways and chambers, stop-start advancement, and corrupted environment of this map are very much Doom-as-horror-game; it's certainly playing to a different set of expectations. It's a level that could probably have gone further in emphasising the contrast between the modest scale and steady pace of its techbase portions, and the utterly different environment of Hell's bulwark toward the end; the playground changes dramatically, but the pace and style of play stays largely the same, and I think that's to its detriment, robbing the closing chapters of some of their potential impact.

[cannonball]

MAP11 - “Venom Canyon”
The gameplay here takes a back seat with the immersive adventure of moving through a large canyon filled with nukage, this actually is a good thing for the gameplay as this is a lot less sloggy so you can proceed at a good pace through a map which on the face of it is pretty large. Overall I really enjoyed this one and it is pretty straightforward to navigate. Not sure about the climax, one cyber is probably enough given that two doesn't really add that much apart from wasting time. The pain elementals are liberally used in a couple of points and almost killed me, but handling them is fine with SSG/rocket launcher so it's fine. Probably the best map so far in my opinion.

MAP12 - “Power Station”
This on the other hand was probably my least favourite so far. This was a real slog to get through, the tonnes of doors and insufficient firepower for the first half of the map is a real drag. So door camping and single shotgun work for the most part here. The archviles are very obnoxiously placed too with the exception of one in the reactor with the cacos, that was pretty decent. I like the visuals when you stray away from the endless corridors, the flesh taking over the base is probably one of the best things in this wad. In the end I wish there was an ssg somewhere in this map, unless I missed it of course :P
I don't mind long maps but they need to be engaging, though to be fair this did improve from after picking up the yellow key.

[DAZZER]

MAP11: Venom Canyon
Difficulty - UV
Time - 18:08

At first I thought this Map would continue the Series of Normal UAC Base Maps. But at the End this Map turned out as one of the best until now. When I reached that big door which lead to the gigantic outdoor Canyon area i first thought im in another Level :O I loved these up and downs around the Base, the Dam you are first walking over and of course this Awesome End Fight against the 2 Cyberdemons ^^ I think with Map 07 this one is my favourite Setting until now. The Gameplay is alot against Hell Knights and Imps. And Unfortunately against Pain Elementals :( But still Awesome Level and a cool WAD so far :)

[cannonball]

MAP13 - “Encrus Station”
Wow managed to catch up in one day. I enjoyed this one, having a full arsenal at least allows the player to push forward without having to slog through a lot of mid-tier monsters in door ways. This map really pushes the hell encroaching on the human world with flesh everywhere infesting the base and surrounding tunnels, as well as this there is a marble fortress sitting underneath the tech base with signs from the offset which finally finishes inside the hell bastion itself with a series of fun encounters including a cyber with a few lighter monsters.
Overall I liked this one, whilst the atmosphere and story take centre stage, the gameplay has felt hit and miss, this one was more of a hit though.

[Demon of the Well]

^^ There's an SSG somewhere on the ground floor of the tri-level server maze in map 12, but your point stands, it shows up late enough that the level mostly goes down as a shotgun/chaingun run, with minor rocket support (and one potential V-sphere-fueled berserk pack spree). One thing I would like to see more of in Hellbound, and in many mapsets for that matter (including those with much more of a modern choreographed/setpiece flavor), is more maps with more of a laissez-faire attitude towards rockets. Common practice seems to be to balance rocket supply so that they are rare enough that they must by rights be spent in very specific ways and in very specific places, meaning that the RL often only really shines during replays or practiced runs (since it is usually not a wise choice for default exploration weapon, and since optimum rocket usage often involves pinpoint placement and timing). There's certainly something to be said for that approach, but sometimes it's fun to be able to just cut loose without worrying about budget, especially in mapsets with more casual or straightforward action, ala Hellbound.

Map 14 -- Doom District - 100% / 75% Secrets
Emerging from the sinister amorphous labyrinth which seems to be spreading like cancer beneath the city streets, here we find ourselves in the heart of what appears to be the industrial district near UAC's corporate offices (my interpretation is that this is actually more or less the same plaza we saw from a distance as early as the parkview terrace in map 05), in the midst of a full-on riot of marauding hellspawn. At this point it becomes clear (if it wasn't already) that the dark forces have gained too much ground to be routed by conventional means, and so Hellguy, like so many before him, resolves to set out for the UAC's main research site in the desert beyond the city bounds, aiming to stop the invasion at its presumed source.

"Doom District" seems to be widely regarded as one of Hellbound's signature maps, if indeed not the signature map. From what I've seen so far, I reckon this sentiment holds a lot of water; the map is again emblematic of many the mapset's defining strengths, as well as a number of its most persistent weaknesses. The visual presentation here, par for the course, is a striking and lovingly realized piece of a realistic cityscape that serves as an interesting backdrop for the action, credibly shaping the playspace and again doing the lion's share of the work in distinguishing the map's flow and feel from those of the earlier levels. As a layout, it's actually one of the simplest in the set thus far--a wide open J-shaped central space connecting a large split-level building to the north (the UAC corporate office, presumably) to a large-ish freight/shipping yard along the southside, with a handful of minor buildings as momentary and often optional pitstops during progression. Views here are long and complex (and so are the potential crossfires, as a result), but the most striking aspect of the presentation as a whole is its dwarfing vertical scale, emphasized early on by Hellguy riding a long access elevator from deep underground to the top of a skyscraper as entrance to the map proper (anyone else see the HOM on the lift here, BTW?), before plunging into the thick of things in the streets below. These physical qualities don't seem to actually impact the gameplay as much as one might expect (and indeed, as much as one might desire), but they certainly establish and underscore the setting with resounding success, another striking visual framing for the mass bloodletting, with the smaller/bonus areas contributing some variety to the whole while fitting in snugly with the overall setting. The use of "Into Sandy's City" along with more of the mapset's characteristically strong lighting choices (which here are fairly simple on a technical level, to whit, though no less effective for it) and a much more prominent display of the new E2 cosmic sunbleed skybox complete the impression of a desperate twilight battle in the heart of a doomed city. Shades of "Necropolis" from Dark Covenant here, certainly, though of course this is a much more modern/polished presentation.

On Ultra-violence, monstercount here is upwards of 560, decisively making this the most monster-rich level thus far. The great majority of these foes are tied to the generalized roadway area between buildings/enclosures; initial placements include a number of intuitive choices such as broods of spider-things crawling over the roadways (the big daddies/mamas primarily for emphasis/spectacle, with the groups of arachnotrons much more credible as an actual long-distance threat), cacodemons slowly boiling out of various nooks and crannies up high, and interior spaces teeming with the reanimated corpses of the city's fallen defenders. At various points during progression, fresh surges of opposition are introduced into the roadway, some of them disarmingly large, and most of them very heterogeneous in composition, making for a riotous monster-salad sort of affair. It's fairly intuitive/fun to spend much of the level progression avoiding direct combat in this area, allowing internecine conflict and general chaos to take their tolls, periodically ramping up offense oneself as new armaments are located. On that point, while the layout is as aforesaid simpler than it appears, from pistol-start there is a significant presence of the classic 'Sandybox' gameplay element of having to run around in search of armaments while hoping for the best, which can lead to a number of emergent scenarios one wouldn't likely see during a continuous playthrough. I think the placement of the RL is misjudged, myself, being gated behind at least one key-get as it is (though maybe the secret I didn't get is an earlier one?), but for the most part the level's approach of throwing hordes at you while leaving their disposal up to your personal ingenuity and discretion makes sense from a conceptual standpoint, and if orchestrated properly can be handled smoothly, stylishly, and surprisingly quickly.

Unfortunately, I felt that the level had a lot of potential that it categorically failed to realize. I've been worried about this to some degree for most of the playthrough thus far, but this is the first time the issue has really come to the fore: some badly/lazily positioned monster-blocking lines seriously hamper the level's capacity for truly freeform 'directorial' play. There's a lot of scope for having the ever-growing riot of monsters originating in the central space form a map-wide hunting party to hound you all through progression, but they are hardlocked out of certain areas by blocking lines (most notably outside the entrance of the UAC building's lobby), where they will tend to bunch up and become comically/tragically ineffectual should you try to play the map in this way. Perhaps even more baffling, the streetside edges of the taller buildings you can climb/jump around on top of also have blocking lines, preventing cacodemons from actually swarming you up there. What gives? Even more confusing (and also illustrative) is that many of these designed seals are not actually watertight--flying monsters CAN actually pursue you into the UAC building interior should they happen to path in through the small upstairs entry latch on the west side, for instance, and it's also possible for them to take an extremely circuitous path to end up above the rooftops proper. Being charitable, it's not difficult to surmise that Z86 likely installed the ground-based blocklines in order to preclude no-win scenarios (there is no rationale I can think of that explains the building-side ones, however), but as is so often the case, blocklines here are the worst choice in a sea of alternative options (one of those options including simply 'not worrying overly much if the player tries to get too cute and unwittingly fucks him/herself', to whit).

Strangely, each of the major interior spaces has one or more teleporter booths leading to other parts of the map that will have become available by the point of progression wherein the risk of drowning in a tide of monsters might become a reasonable concern, which would seem to be a designed-in gameplay solution to the aforementioned worst-case scenario, which here ends up as a largely irrelevant throwaway feature. Also telling is that, for all of the apparent nannying concern about the player unwittingly becoming trapped, the author has not really accounted for the inconveniences associated with infinitely-tall actors in an open map with a pronounced Z-axis element; this is presumably because he assumes and tacitly recommends not using this aspect of simulation (in the same way he recommends but does not demand mouselook), but I feel it remains a valid criticism in the context of other design decisions which sacrifice a lot of the map's potential fluidity and flexibility in the interest of something as dubiously valuable as Fair and Balanced Gameplay (TM).

I don't actually dislike the map, contrary to the impression that all of the above blathering might give--on the contrary, I think it's visually and narratively striking and fun to play within the safer constraints of the author's intended affordances--but by the same token I can't 'unsee' that it could have been much more than it is, and I reckon it's an interesting/illustrative level to try to zero in on more critically as regards the doe-eyed shock evinced by some parties that not everyone in the community unilaterally and unquestioningly adores this mapset.

[Pirx]

MAP13 - “Encrus Station”

regarding the comments about hit and miss gameplay here, i think that was the sacrifice made for having a very atmospheric map. it's doom3-like imo, with the rail car from the previous level (nice continuity, btw!) leading into a rather dark station that starts becoming corrupted by the organic hell growth, turning the many narrow corridors here into something resembling a giant organism. and as it is with narrow corridors, pits and doors, gameplay resembles a peekaboo and methodical cleaning with the ssg in places. the fight for the bfg could also have been orchestrated better, for more emphasis.

[Spectre01]

MAP14 - Doom District - Difficulty: Hard

"You are unsure whether you found the source of the demons or just a simple invasion teleporter left around by them. You seem to emerge in a downtown area. The streets are dominated by infested military and spiders, but you are ever ready should a major wave of hellspawn head this way. A large UAC building also seems to be nearby, might be worth checking it out."

This is it boys, one of the iconic Hellbound maps. This is also one of the most impressive Downtown-esque city maps that I've seen made using vanilla resources. It's also one where mouse-look is needed to fully appreciate the design and insane verticality on display here. Nothing like starting off by diving off the roof and right int the middle of the battlefield on the streets below. That's must be some serious impact compensation that Doomguy has and I'd image he'd leave a bit of a crater after such a fall.

The main points of interest are the UAC headquarters (with some nice lamps) and the red brick industrial district, containing a warehouse and train station. The correct order of progression is to hit up the UAC building last after grabbing the blue key in the train yard but there's nothing stopping you from going into the UAC building first, unlocking the front doors and clearing most of it out.

Large hordes of Hellspawn flood the streets after grabbing the yellow and blue keys. Z86 did a good job of mixing in some hitscanners with the hordes to not make it trivial to simply run around. Pain Elementals also serve as priority targets. I don't recall finding a BFG here, and ended up missing a secret despite getting the automap, so Pistol Start masochists may have an interesting experience here. I ended up blowing all my rocket and most of the cell ammo here on continuous. There is also a rather tight balance of health and armour here and taking too much hitscanner chip damage can throw you into a bad situation.

Great to be out and about after the claustrophobic flesh-crawling in the previous level. Really impressive detailing all around here, the markings on the roads and the park were really cool, and I've always liked that midi from The Pit. The path to the exit on a high ledge above looks great too. One of the best maps in the set so far.

[gaspe]

MAP14: A rather impressive city level, the setting is really gorgeous and well detailed. By constrat the layout is a simple big area with few explorable buildings. The progression is fine, I think that the author could have gained a couple of more buildings to explore without sacrifice much from the scenery if he wanted, but the map is long enough I guess. There are even 2 spiderdemons (at least on UV) in the main street area, even though you don't have the weapons to fight them on pistol start making the arachnotrons to kill them was really fun, and with the help of a blur sphere too. I always like to see interesting spiderdemon fights. The usage of hitscanners was a bit annoying though, when I was on very low health I got often hit by someone far that I couldn't see, or like the chaingunner behind the fake walls in the northen building. The RL comes really late imo, it would have been more fun if it was swapped with the PR. The first big horde of barons and pinkies was rather boring to fight with the SSG/PR. The southern area with the blue key stands out in a bad way for how simple and uninspired it is. The train station compared to the rest looks like it was made in 10 minutes. Still a cool level though.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP14 Doom District

Holy cow this is a city map. A very well-detailed one using the stock textures. Reminds me a lot of Hellcore's Baron Streets, except this one has quite some combat in addition to the detail. But we don't see this at first, instead we get an interlude of underground, with an elevator to take us to city rooftops. Too bad this shit's bugged somehow, as it's possible to fall into the floor as it rises and then you're stuck. I recommend standing on the left side of the platform to avoid this. At the top, it looks real nice, but the combat is quite limited to hitscanners at the moment, which I try to snipe since they are everywhere and annoying. The route goes to the yellow key first, using a door opposite of where a spiderdemon is placed, and then a crate-filled section past that.

Around this time a bulk-ton of enemies teleport onto the city streets. I saved the spiderdemon so he can infight with whatever comes this way, along with everyone else. Quite a satisfying experience so far. It's hard to get everyone all at once though, since some of them like to hide. The teleporters that show up after getting the blue key are quite helpful in getting a few enemies. Then it's on to the northern reaches of the map, where surprise, another base section awaits. Just a switch press or two and then I take another tunnel out of here. But whew, a city map that is impressive in scale and manages to be quite fun. It's actually quite fun to speedrun too.