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The DWmegawad Club plays: The Darkening, The Darkening 2, & Crusades

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MAP11 - “Stone Tyrant” by Adam Windsor
Well, I can go with what Capellan said (good to be objective about your own maps, btw). I think this map seems to have the opposite quality of Map 10, in that rather than being compact, it is a great deal more spacious relative to monster population. There's a lot less in the way of surprises and ambushes - once you clear out the initial area (or at least the hitscanners) then there's relatively little in the way of monsters or gameplay to sustain you all the way to the exit. I think maps 09 and 10 did a much better job of maintaining a good drip-feed of enemies to dispatch. Probably a teleport in to the main area after picking up the red key would likely have been good, although arguably that would be a symptom of playing the wad today rather than upon release (after all, it worked in Requiem Map11 :) ). The layout also is extremely simple too; allowing for the fact that it has been scaled up to have a large central space then we essentially have a hub with a pair of brief spurs. The previous map particularly managed to feel more complex in terms of layout in spite of being much smaller.

 

I suppose ultimately what I need to acknowledge is that this is essentially a boss map from '98 and therefore the main focus had to be a cyberdemon fight. With this in mind, I'm cool with the (cliché nowadays) free megasphere before 'the ultimate final battle' against a single cyb in acres of space. Yet I'd still wonder given that we cheerily had a spider mastermind as early as map04 (which turned out to be quite a tense and fight!) if we couldn't have had a little more to this. Appearance wise it looks ok though I guess. All in all, a slightly flat but ok end to a rather variable quality episode.

 

Overall thoughts on The Darkening

So yeah, the darkening has been a bit of a let down for me. It seems to have become well known more for the aesthetic and artistic direction than the gameplay, although at the time it doubtless would have been considered more than adequate in that department. The elements of detail in several of the maps were ahead of their time and of course quake was very recent then too. I probably enjoyed Maps 2, 4, 9 and 10 most, with those by Travers Dunne being my favourites closely followed by some (but not all) of Jan's. I felt Nick Baker and John Bye's maps were weaker (although NiGHTMARE's weren't particularly bad, just a bit flat and short usually. Fortunately for me it looks John Bye didn't participate (or had retired from Doom?) by the time the next episode was produced, so we'll see how I find that.

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MAP11: Stone Tyrant

 

I have memories of getting kicked around pretty hard when I first played this WAD a number of years ago, and for its era I'd say that the boss fight is an interesting one, since both the Cyberdemon and the player have ample room to move around, and the player's got the option, if pressed toward the western end of the hall, of climbing up to the balconies that overlook the arena and dropping back down into the fray further to the east.  I like the presence of elevated platforms in that hall to foreshadow the need to dash across a gap to reach the red key, and the use of a steady drip-feet of individual rockets to hint at the presence of a launcher that, while not concealed behind a secret door, seems pretty readily missed by a more goal-oriented or less attentive player.  Mostly, though, this isn't a map that's large or long enough to have much to talk about beyond the way its individual elements factor into that final confrontation.

 

Overall Thoughts

 

As mentioned I've played this one before, though enough time has passed that only MAP01, MAP04, and MAP11 stirred much in the way of recognition in me.  The WAD does has its share of forgettable levels, and I think in trying to deliver stylistic consistency from level to level in terms of overall aesthetic, texture usage, and Quake callbacks, it suffers more than most WADs from the very noticeably different mapping styles of its contributors.  That said, my fondness for this wad isn't just nostalgia, there's some solid and enjoyable gameplay to be found here and I'm comfortable in saying that there are more good levels than bad included.

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2 hours ago, Sui Generis said:

MAP11 - “Stone Tyrant” by Adam Windsor
(good to be objective about your own maps, btw)

 

One reason I'm glad we are unlikely to do Demonfear for the club is how many maps there'd be where my commentary was "well, this kinda sucks" :)

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MAP04 - “Relentless” by Travers Dunne

 

it would really suck if i didn't get to play doom on this day, right?

 

so this map is more airy, especially compared to the corridor-heavy map03, with large open spaces and height variation, a welcome change. color-wise it's worse, even more brown. gameplay... well the archie at the start is certainly a nasty surprise if you don't know the map, he can be taken down quickly with the plasma rifle but you have to attack him at once or the ammo won't last. the rest is a mix of rabble with the occasional baron thrown in. the start is frustrating though, because after dispatching the archvile you're stuck with the shotty and have to the obvious secret with the ssg, past all the meat standing in your way, and once you have that ssg it's mostly a stroll. 

 

 

MAP05 - “Hand of Doom” by Jan Van der Veken

 

i remembered this one well because of its looks, dimly lit rooms joined by galleries with pillars and assorted lighting, mossy bricks and nukage outside. my beef however was the gameplay, i'm not really into hunting imps with the shotgun, while hitscanners plink from the gallery at me, the courtyard with the barred teleport being the most egregious example. i also ran out of shells here, only to find the next shell box sandwiched between imps and a pinkie... while i'm a proponent of pistol starting, this doesn't hold true when i'm a week behind anyway, so i loaded my game at the exit of the last map and breezed through this one.

 

 

MAP06 - “The Mines of Death” by Nick Baker

 

a basic mines map, i can't add much here because there's nothing remarkable to this map, except the music. the mines are excessively dark, and the megasphere is given only near the exit - at least it will fuel my rage further on  ;)

 


MAP07 - “Dead Simple II” by Nick Baker

 

the old dead simple formula with some added beasties in between. i had some issues with this map: first, some spectres simply became invulnerable - even to rockets. gzdoom here with smooth doom. no idea what caused it. secondly, some mancs failed to teleport, and apparently the switches at the first arachnotrons didn't appear because of this either. anyway i searched the map to no avail because of this. it looks much like a regular base, rather than the brown brick aesthetics used until now.

 

 

MAP08 - “Discordia” by John Bye

 

another base, this time in the darker texturing that gave the darkening its name, i guess, but far too linear and corridor-crawl-heavy, with monsters attacking the player frontally in most cases. 

 

 

MAP09 - “Military Complex” by Jan Van der Veken

 

that was a surprising switch to the e1 theme, with a fast gameplay, you get attacked right from the start, then the zombie horde warps in. the doom2 monsters are sparingly used and complement the e1 roster well. really fun map.
 

 

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MAP10: Underearth (Outpost)

100% kills, 0/1 secret

 

A nice little underground base, and I'll agree with OrganGrinder's assessment that this one has a good sense of place, nailing the 'subterranean base' feel, despite the obvious Quake aesthetic. I really like that dimly-lit hallway stuffed with crates that connects the two halves of the map. Combat is a bit interesting, the first fight actually provides you with easy cover (the bars protect you quite well from the cacos and pain elementals) but the later ones will often create some uncomfortable experiences with having limited space to move but not wanting to move and release more monsters (releasing that AV by mistake the first time really cost me). Unfortunately the completely unmarked and abruptly-arriving exit was a bit of a mood killer, and it looks like the only secret is the top of an unreachable computer console, so this map is not without blemish. The music track reminds me of Duke3d, which both helps create an interesting theme, but also gives me some odd nostalgia-induced cognitive dissonance.

 

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MAP09 - “Military Complex” by Jan Van der Veken

Yeah, not a big fan of this one. The only weapons I've managed to find were the Shotgun, Chaingun, and Rocket Launcher; which made for a lot of boring sessions of shotgunning Spectres, Barons and Cacodemons. Barons were particularly used quite liberally after the red door, and it boggles the mind as to why the author didn't include cell weapons or at the very least an SSG. And I mean in regular progression, not some super secret wallhump. This map does manage to stand out due to relying on lock-in traps, which wasn't really a thing before.

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MAP10 - “Under Earth” by Travers Dunne

Some cool height variation here, which doesn't always mesh well with infinite height, and more attention to detailing. I managed to get stuck between some boxes and couldn't reproduce how I did that after noclipping out. Must've been an accidental glide or something. But yeah, after the opener, the more liberal resources make this map more enjoyable than just Chaingun-tapping or shotgunning everything.

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MAP11 - “Stone Tyrant” by Adam Windsor

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An alright finale, culminating in an expected Cyberdemon boss fight. I missed the Rocket Launcher up the tiny lift, but the SSG did the job just fine. Rather underwhelming combat and enemy selection leading up to the Cyberdemon. With 52 monsters, you can't be wasting it on junk enemies that pose little to no threat. Why am I still shooting mostly Zombiemen, other dudes, and Imps in the finale?

 

Final Thoughts

I didn't really enjoy this wad; compared to the IWADs or other 90's PWADs that I've played. The visuals were 90% brown brick/rock. Pistol Start balance sucked. And the gameplay/map progression was mostly uninteresting. I'll keep the negativity to a minimum so - overall score: 1/5.

 

Top maps: 04, 10

No thanks: 05, 06

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MAP08 Discordia

 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled levelset map of hitscanner soul-sucking.

 

John Bye, maker of MAP03, clearly authored this one, due to the cramped spaces and hitscanners, which thankfully are weak enough to get through. The map is probably the longest-lasting level in the whole set though, due to having to crowd control them and a ton of other monsters, plus a few hard-to-reach secrets. Don't ever forget to use computer terminals here either, since many places are locked by these things. The cargo room is an easy standout, no less than three arch-viles, tons of meat shield demons, and then there's the matter of just entering the room itself which is a huge pain. You can sail through the rest of the map fine enough, just watch for the hitscanners, especially the chaingunner pincer.

 

MAP09 Military Complex

 

Yes, I like seeing an exit at the start, plus a secret at the start which coincidentally makes it the final secret I find. More of an open map, but still manages to be quite heavy. Got the KDITD feel too, okay. Hardest part was dealing with those eight barons, and the nasty blue key trap. Same ol' same ol' otherwise, although there are quite a few missable monsters and a hidden SSG to find in the nukage area.

 

MAP10 Under Earth

 

One slow, but still linear and short crawl up an underground area. Travers' style amazes me in a number of ways, you see detailed levels like this and the one from before, and then he does maps like the ones in Switcheroom which are completely different in design. Whatever. Pretty standard for a linear map, got the cacodemons coming in from the north side of the larger cave, and the Gotcha! like exit room.

 

MAP11 Stone Tyrant

 

Adam doing the traditional short map, except a boss map with a rather nasty warm-up wagon at the start. Clearing them out and the side areas somehow is more interesting than taking down Ol' Rocket Dongs. Might as well plasma gun him, since there's no BFG in sight the entire way. Twas a fine end.

 

Final: I don't care if it's brown I'll still replay it.

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MAP10: It's very linear but the design of the place was very well done, and it particular the cave with the grass was a delight to see in this wad. It takes a bit to pick up, there's a slow start with only the SG, and the plasmagun thing was rather awkward. The exit comes all of sudden and it was weird, I felt that the map was going to continue.

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MAP09 - “Military Complex” by Jan Van der Veken

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/saves

 

Appropriate Doom 1 music here as this felt very much in line with an episode of some sort, minus the couple of spiders and CG’ers of course. Speaking of... hell of a dirty start. “EH!? Oh shit.” At least this map had some armor in it after the first zombie onslaught. That same ceiling decoration is used through this map. It’s good looking enough to not distract with the copy/paste aspect of it.

 

Getting each of the keys had their own unique hurdle to them. I liked the BK probably the best because it was a total surprise when the wall dropped to show the inside area while I was scrambling for more ammo as there were all of the Barons running around. With so many and very little ammo (even with the secret RL) to deal with all of them, you’re bound to skip a few and move on which leads you to being stuck inside with a lot of space eating demons and then caco’s teleport in to bring in the pain as you hear the barons right outside the walls while you frantically flail away hoping they can’t get in. A very intense moment there. By design I’m sure. Well done.

 

One small touch at the end I really enjoyed was the exit switch forming together into place. I think the sides came up from the floor and the center piece dropped down from the ceiling. Very, very cool. Don’t think I’ve seen that before.

 

 

 

 

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MAP10 - “Under Earth” by Travers Dunne

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/saves

 

Pretty cool underground base with nice texture usage. I appreciated the extra effort on the ceiling to put a little detail on it and close it’s lip coming in from the outside edge instead of just have the walls go straight up into nothing. Brings in the feeling of being underneath something somewhere. Nice touch.

 

For once I enjoyed the use of boxes as sort of a scrambled mess used to connect sections of the base conceptually.

 

The beginning crowd after the first switch up top was quite a challenge with the limited ammo.

 

I really enjoyed finding the wall cave in behind me and open up to a whole new section complete with a Quake feeling floor light and mossy ground cavern. The deaf cacodemons were placed excellently as well. They see you at just the right moment and come down to make things more difficult, nicely done.

 

The end with the AV was pretty cool. I always get a kick out of a perfectly placed AV. This one had a small angle of cover from every angle that makes you have to move constantly. Clearing out the enemies before getting after him was made easier with the secret PG thankfully. Appreciated that. VERY Quake-esque with the teleport back to the base after finding the secret.

 

 

 

 

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MAP11 - “Stone Tyrant” by Adam Windsor

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/saves

 

Well that was kind of fun. Grab a shotgun and get to work! I’m glad it wasn’t a simple E2M8 Cyberdemon battle finale. This had a little curve ball to it with the exit being blocked by a baron, RL ammo being limited and underneath the cow himselve while the space in which you fight in is fairly limited having only a few pillars for cover. Good stuff.

 

The stuff leading up to that point was mild but engaging. I enjoyed the baron guarding the RK in the little gated steps leading outside. Some nice detailing touches through out to keep things visually appealing and help take your mind off of the brown. This wad sure liked it’s brown. "BROOOOWWWWN. All day ev’r day!"

 

 

 

Final thoughts

While not bad or awful, by any means, it's not exactly great or stunning either. It's age shows badly from time to time but overall a good mix of competently made maps with a few brighter spots mixed in. I wouldn't recommend it, but I wouldn't stop anyone from playing it. 3/5

 

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PrBoom+, HMP, Continuous, Frequent Saves, No Music. I played this WAD when it first came out, and then at least once again later, so I have much more concrete (heh) memories of its overall style and gameplay than I do the first.

 

MAP01

Not your usual map01. Ola's offering has a lot more real estate than the norm, and employs all three keys. Which may be one more than it really needed, to be honest.

 

It's not a map to hold your hand in terms of the monsters, either. Ammo is tight overall, and in the opening section you're frankly much better off ignoring the imps until you've been inside the base and geared up a little.

 

Conversely, Ola does do a pretty good job of giving you non-verbal instructions on how to find the keys. Old Yellow is concealed behind a crate at first, but plainly visible once you get to a more distant walkway. "Look behind crates" is the message here, and it's one to which you really better listen.

 

The map looks great, though if I recall correctly this is the tech-basiest level set this side of BTSX E1, so you may get tired of the Quake 2-esque corridors and rooms by the time we are done.

 

The double-switch exit with caco is probably the only real bum note in this map, for my tastes. It's an exercise in tediously pistol-whipping the old flying tomato monster through the briefly appearing gaps, while it harmlessly spits fireballs into the remaining parts of the barrier.

 

 

 

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01 - I have fantastic memories of playing this for the first time. The visuals were so unique and impressive, the non-traditional music caught my attention immediately, and I really liked the feeling of exploring this place and performing tricky jumps. Nowadays I guess it seems kinda empty and non-exciting when it comes to the actual gameplay, but it's still a good intro.

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MAP11: Stone Tyrant

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

A cyber battle with a bit of regular map beforehand as an appetizer; I agree with NMM that I found the prelude (or at least, the opening room... the side areas are nothings) more interesting than the actual cyberdemon battle, which is basically just in a big box. Or if you wanna be a jerk, abuse the ledges on the side. I actually got a bit annoyed at missing the RL until after killing the cyber and going back due to the non-standard lift texture, but I guess I can't blame the map too much, there's even a hell knight up there to call attention.

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Here we go, on to The Darkening: Episode 2.  ZDoom, Hurt Me Plenty, continuous play with saves.

 

MAP01: Outpost Mortem

 

Well, as far as MAP01 offerings go, this is pretty big, involved, and fierce, isn't it?  And almost right from the start you know you're in for a treat, as the low-key start point gives way to an impressive vista of a looming base of poured concrete and dark metal, shoved impersonally and brutally into the arid, rocky fabric of the surrounding canyon.  Though I find myself in agreement with @Capellan's "one key too many" observation; it's possible to grab the blue key with a little bit of gymnastic manoeuvring around some crates and along the rim of a steel crucible, bypassing the need for the yellow key entirely, unless I've missed a hidden trigger somewhere that renders the yellow key strictly necessary for progression.  The size of the initial imp swarm that confronts the player as they descend into the canyon and approach the base is nicely tailored, communicating a sense that this is an enemy too strong and too numerous to face immediately without being excessive and overwhelming; and it's satisfying to come back to that layer, shotgun in hand and berserker drugs coursing through your veins, to reduce the chattering legion to shot-holed corpses and mush.  I also liked the understated bit of illusionistic design with the craters, conveyor belt, and control room in the northern part of the map; the engine doesn't support horizontally moving a crate, but it's an action that's nicely and neatly implied through the effective use of a perfectly ordinary switch action.  Overall this is a solidly realised map with evident care, thought, and ingenuity put into it that I found simply a joy to play.

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                                                                           The Darkening: Episode 2

 

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                              Heard this one was better. I am hoping so. 

 

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MAP01 - “Outpost Mortem” by Ola Björling

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/saves

 

This was a surprise. I did not expect to go from Quake infused Doom to something that reminded me more of Strife or something else with more of an exploratory narrative feel to it. Half-Life influence creeping in perhaps? It was 2000 when this wad came out and there are a few situations that require you to think outside of the box a little bit in order to advance.

 

It’s a very cool base you descend upon from above. Climbing down from the rocky hills is a nice touch. Great sky texture to go along with the colors used inside and out.

 

I like the use of a custom Darkening logo for switches and decorations. Anything to get away from Quake rip offs! It’s a nice looking design too. (Weird exit gimmick, that.) Intermission art uses the logo as well with a more worn look. I'm sure this wad will jump around in style, if the first was anything to go off of, but I hope the quality and uniqueness like this map stays true throughout.

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Darkening 1 MAP11: Simple but nicely detailed, the final fight with a cyberdemon is predictable but my only gripe is that the map doesn't have a very strong build-up to it. Nowadays it isn't a difficult encounter but I like the idea of still have something like this and actually I prefer this rathen than mandatory cyberdemon fights at the end of a non-ending map.

 

As a mapset I think is allright overall, some good ideas and maps here and there while other times it doesn't shine so much.

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5 hours ago, TheOrganGrinder said:

The size of the initial imp swarm that confronts the player as they descend into the canyon and approach the base is nicely tailored, communicating a sense that this is an enemy too strong and too numerous to face immediately without being excessive and overwhelming; and it's satisfying to come back to that layer, shotgun in hand and berserker drugs coursing through your veins, to reduce the chattering legion to shot-holed corpses and mush. 

Great points! I did enjoy coming back and doing just that, hahaha.

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MAP02

Another nice looking tech base.  I particularly liked the 'ladder'.  Feels rather small after the surprisingly sprawling map01, but packs a much more up tempo brigade of baddies in its halls.  I suspect a little aggression is warranted in pistol start, as you are really going to want that chaingun.

 

Health scarcity is a major component of the challenge here, and efficient handling of the hitscanners is important.  The bigger enemies later are much more easily dealt with, as the layout is relatively cover-friendly.

 

Got stuck for a minute or two with the yellow key, before I thought to just try 'using' the post on which it was placed :)

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02 - very cool/funny music and the gameplay is satisfying this time. I like how Map02 is simpler than Map01: that way it's actually exciting to encounter a super short level, whereas in the first slot it would look banal. There are some slow monster teleporters but they aren't a problem for UV-Max (which I recorded in 2014) since you want to save these enemies for later anyway. Love the strong indoor feel with only glimpses of the sky visible sometimes (often behind a vent texture). But this switch isn't animated - very bad!

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And so onwards to the Darkening Episode 2. I will continue with PRBoom+ UV continuous with saves, perhaps trying the odd map from pistol start if the experience looks to warrant it.

 

MAP01 - “Outpost Mortem” by Ola Björling
A very strange, and striking first map indeed. I think this level looks excellent even by modern standards, with it's clean texturing and use of architecture to create interest. But what really hit me about this map is just how free-flowing and open it is - the DM level inspiration clearly shows here. In some ways though I think it's possible to be too free-flowing and (dare I say it?) non-linear, if it can lead to a sense of aimlessness.

 

Part of the issue for me is that depending on how a non-linear map is constructed, if you don't encounter adequate ammo or opposition balanced to your current arsenal then it rather undermines the effect of playing the level and instead makes me feel "Oops, I suppose I wasn't supposed to go this way". That shows up here with the lack of shotgun shells if you first choose to go to the left versus the (three shotgunners and ample supply of shells to the right), leaving you to wander around the loops of the base, dodging demons and pistoling some of the imps in order to conserve the inadequate shell count. It temporarily renders you more a spectator than a participant in the action as you aren't particularly endangered but equally aren't able to do much about the monsters either, and feels to my mind as a player that I've broken the map and accidentally glimpsed beyond the stage curtain. Undoubtedly there must be an element of personal preference in this, and I think there will be some who perceive what I have called here aimlessness as liberating and the inadequate supplies if you go the 'wrong' way as oppressive, against the odds ammo scrounging, (or of course I could have just gone to the bottom right sooner for the shells I guess) but that's my perspective.

 

Anyway, I don't know how I've managed to sound so negative because I like this map. I think it excels at creating interesting spaces that interact well with each other and the map is like a place rather than a disparate series of rooms as others can be. I will criticise the initial green armour secret as a bit pointless, since although I fully anticipated there to be something (Doom 2 Map01 style) somewhere on one of those unreclimbable (sorry I just used that hideous construction) ledges, I didn't immediately notice it until I had dropped down past it, leading to an immediate idclev01 restart by me. I saw no other way to get to the secret berserk than via a clumsy SR50 down the stairs which somehow worked. And I will echo Capellan on criticising the end slightly, but not so much because the caco can be cheesed with the pistol behind the bars (there are plenty of shells by that point!), more that I'm not super hot on timed switch runs.

 

Other positive points for me was the doom furniture (normally something I dislike but here I feel is used sparingly and effectively) and the conveyor belt and just general tastefulness and organic feel of the map are unique and great.  Overall I have to say sorry Jan, but this map blew your map01 from the first ep out of the water. :)

Edited by Sui Generis

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MAP02: Biotech Terror

 

Between its smale scale compared to the preceding map and the lack of secrets, this one has a sense of perhaps being only half-finished to it?  And on the other hand it's got a good, consistent level of detailing throughout, a carefully directed flow of progression, so in that sense it's clearly a completed work of perhaps limited scope.  I do think it suffers somewhat from its placement right after a level as surprisingly large, layered, and ambitious as this WAD's MAP01; it's hard not to see it as a step down in scale, complexity, and overall satisfaction.  I'll admit to not being fond of the health starvation technique in a level that's as thick with hitscanners as this one, and I don't think the layout really demands that all three keys be used as they are; in particular, the placement of the blue key within arm's reach of its corresponding switch, which opens a door that's sealed behind a false wall until you go to grab the key, feels like it's a series of unnecessary steps with a sense of false complexity to them.

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Thanks for all the kind words about E2 map01. While it's been almost half a lifetime since I made that map, some trivia/thoughts:

  • I was originally scheduled for Memento Mori 2 map01 and one of the instructions from Denis Möller was to make the very first view an impressive and memorable one (i.e. make a great first impression). I was only 16 at the time MM2 started and I caved under the pressure, failing to deliver a map. Denis instead created the 3x3 pentagram stained glass FLATs and the iconic opening vista. But Denis' advice stayed with me, so 4 years later I made my own take on this: While it starts bland, the reveal as you see the building was really meant to set the tone. I'm happy several of you still feel that that worked, so many years later.
  • Non-linearity was a huge focus for me, as my early maps had been super linear and I wanted to prove to the world I had moved on by the time this was made.
  • That all keys are present but not necessary is deliberate, like it or not: To me, it was part of giving the player something to figure out and discover.
  • Ammo starvation up front as a way to force the player to run into the buildings past monsters was also the plan. I'm surprised how much positive feedback that got in this thread!
  • The exit is not exciting and can be cheesed, yes. But it's also a map01 so I think I deliberately wanted it to be mild.
  • The deathmatch version of the map was built before it was expanded to a single player map.
  • I originally built the DM version of the map to practice achieving the sense of scale and flow Jan is such a genius at, and to test my textures for this project.
  • If I remember right, most other maps were already complete when I made this so I had a lot of inspiration from the other participants. The last map that got done was map12 though.

And that awkward kid in Sweden sure as hell didn't think he'd be sitting in Los Angeles 17 years later reading brand new playthrough review of this. Holy shit you guys.

 

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MAP01 Outpost Mortem

 

And twas a fine beginning to a set filled with new textures basically everywhere. An interesting opener, you'd wanna get that easily missable armor secret before dropping down all the way, but having to fight imps will likely delay that. With just a pistol, you can pea-shoot them or just run to the east side to pry a shotgun. There's at least two ways of reaching the yellow key.

 

Seeing the Ola in the thread waiting to see the "sequence break being required" (or whatever it's supposed to be called) comments for MAP12 (which I actually don't like for other reasons), I have to say the crates in this level were actually worse, if only slightly. At least with Toxicity you had only one room of crates to contend with. One method of reaching said yellow key was trying to inch around this diagonally-aligned crate, which for the longest time I thought was the only way to reach it. I decided to not do it in favor of a "jump from another high ledge" ordeal, which honestly I just discovered how to do now. Getting the red key is a harder part, due to how things are angled there, plus the berserk pack, I should know that since I documented it. Heck, I've done so much memorization of levels like these, analyzed all the little nooks, trying to find out what is what...

 

Oh no I've said too much. I haven't said enough.

 

Still though, the opening map here is impressive enough that it pretty much warrants the wad as a whole to be replayable.

 

MAP02 Biotech Terror

 

Small, no secrets, plenty of small enemies to take down. Would be considered a speedmap in this day and age. Look out for the blue switch near the blue key though, since that switch is a terminal texture. Also the revenants at the end.

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sQ36KkGh.png

 

MAP02 - “Biotech Terror” by Jan Van der Veken, Derek MacDonald

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/saves

 

Another solid map. I really enjoyed the pace of this one with the use of teleporting enemy nodes and small cubby ambushes from behind. Even with the optional pistol work early on. @TheOrganGrinder is correct in pointing out that it's less open and more direct approach can be a bummer coming right after Outpost Mortem, but I liked it. It provides a change of pace while keeping the quality up. The slow feed of ammo and health was perfect I thought. 

 

Nothing too crazy yet in terms of enemies which is nice given the limited arsenal. Just a healthy amount of mid tier baddies capping out with HKs and a triple offering of revs let loose before the end. A pretty well balanced affair that was challenging but fair. I also loved how the HKs teleported in a seemingly random fashion as well. Really teaches a player to fear areas they think have been cleared already, if not so much in this map then the next coming maps. Complacent play can bring green fiery surprises to the face, that's for sure.

 

Again the base design and architecture is on-point. Boy, if this kind of work holds up throughout this whole wad I will be happily impressed. I really dig this style and the looks they offer. The exit room was another good surprise. Very cool use of liquids there, in some of the other spaces and hallways. Also, of course, under that gnarly looking bridge. Lots of really interesting spaces to paint with red.

 

The music felt a little off for this one. Not sure why, it just didn't connect with me. Forgot to mention map 1's music which had a groovy drum beat to it. It helped bring in an adventurous feel which was great for a non linear exploration affair.

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8 hours ago, ukiro said:

And that awkward kid in Sweden sure as hell didn't think he'd be sitting in Los Angeles 17 years later reading brand new playthrough review of this. Holy shit you guys.

 

That's an awesome aspect of this club; giving the authors some kudos (or criticism unfortunately) decades after the fact. I'm sure it gives them a weird sense of "memory lane tripping" if you will. That is, provided they even know their work is being reviewed. Haha. Thanks for giving us your insights!

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On to The Darkening 2!

 

MAP01: Outpost Mortem

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

This is definitely a step-up from the cramped spaces of the last set, with a large vista at the start and a not-small techbase to explore. I like exploratory maps so this was right up my alley, had fun figuring out how to reach certain areas (the blue key in particular). I also liked having the non-required yellow key. The right side of the map in particular is a nice snarl of inter-connectedness. I also liked the ammo starvation element, though I spied the shells and three sergeants on the east end from outdoors, so I knew pretty much the direction to head when I got inside the base. Other than that, combat is pretty uneventful, as is typical for a MAP01, though bonus points for including the berserk pack. Only things I didn't care for was the music (or at least the part with the sharp staccatos...the rest is good), and the exit catching me by surprise, but that's my own fault for not noticing the custom EXIT sign above. Fun map all around.

 

MAP02: Biotech Terror

100% kills, no map secrets

 

Back to the super-cramped spaces, this time with the gimmick being teleporting hordes. The first one can catch a pistol starter by surprise if they're a bit too slow to run for that chaingun, the latter don't do much unless you get sloppy with one of the hell knights or revenants in close quarters. There's a few annoyingly non-obvious bits of progression like the console switch by the blue key (originally thought this was a secret) and being able to lower the yellow key pole. Speaking of secrets, another demerit for not having any. Music is annoying here too.

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MAP03

I got involved in Darkening 2 pretty late, after returning from one of my semi-regular breaks from Doom. Most of the levels were largely done by the time I even knew the project existed. I was impressed by what I saw from the map makers, and signed up to participate.

 

Neither ammo nor health starvation is likely to be a problem for anyone on this map. There are plenty of bullets and shells to pick up from the enemies, and lots of stim packs scattered around. Difficulty is pretty light all around, really. Unless you get yourself mobbed at the base of the big slow lift, you probably won't even break a sweat. Certainly 2-3 revs or a trio of HKs aren't going to present much challenge to the average modern player (though many of you may prefer to skip the tedium of dealing with the HKs, and I can't say I would blame you).

 

Even today, I am happy with the way this map looks. There are a few things I would do differently today; mostly in sprucing up the outdoor areas to have more structures of different heights; but it overall looks nice. I like the vertical lights mounted on the walls, and the various beams and columns of rusty metal. The latter are a bit reminiscent of Requiem map11's "pipes" maybe, but I like them anyway.

 

Like my MM2 map (and unlike all the Demonfear maps), this level was designed organically. I started from the mental picture of the water channels with rusty arches over them, and then just kind of fleshed things out as I went. Not sure why I decided that a bunch of slow, switch-activated lifts were a good idea, but apparently I did. I also don't remember if the key locations were inspired by having played Ola's map01 or not, but I'd say it was pretty likely, even if it wasn't conscious. The placement behind crates and being accessible by ledges are pretty similar, after all.

 

Man, I like the Darkening 2 textures. They're awesome.

 

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MAP02 - “Biotech Terror” by Jan Van der Veken, Derek MacDonald
We have some tastefully detailed corridors in this little techbase map, and as others noted, a cool ladder which I presume was made from closely stacked self-referencing sectors. Unfortunately I don't think there was a great deal else.

 

It seems like we have here the progenitor of the many copy + paste detail maps of mid-noughties, with the repeated pretty corridors, which is not an enviable accolade imo. Gameplay suffers due to the lack of variation in areas, and the map overall is brief and samey. I will have to award credit to the map for being pretty effective at wearing down my health via attrition. The revenants at the end were quite dangerous due to narrow dodging space and the small doorway to the earlier corridor making dodging and hiding difficult. Overall, although I appreciate the tasteful decor, I don't feel there's too much to this map, even allowing for it's early slot.

 

MAP03 - “Binary Compound” by Adam Windsor
This was a rather more spacious and varied level than the last one. I'm quite surprised by the nice use of curves throughout. If I recall, NiGHTMARE once said that the theme of Darkening E2 was alien techbases and the use of curves (particularly before Doom Builder and the curve linedef took) helps support this. I find the gameplay to be ok, but for the most part a bit pedestrian, with the exception of the blue key trap. I found the way of accessing the blue key to be almost a secret; finding it was satisfying too. I'm unsure if that's good design though. And the three secrets themselves are simple to find, but then sometimes easy secrets can be fun,

since the easy success is encouraging.

 

One thing I think was amiss was the lack of area re-use and  interconnection though. You just steamroll forwards through areas and each one (once cleared) can be forgotten about and becomes an irrelevance. Finally I found that music with it's rhythm changes to be slightly odd - I'm a bit unsure about that. Overall this is a moderately good level to play and certainly good in terms of looks. And yeah, I'd agree it looks like Map01 influenced the author in regards to key placement ;)

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MAP03: Binary Compound

 

Okay, first impression?  This is a pretty map, making great use of the relatively muted palette and understated presence of the Darkening 2 textures to depict a grimy industrial complex set in the middle of arid, rocky wilderness; sure, that's the theme of the WAD so far in many ways but it's really solidly realised here, will more curved surfaces and a generally more chaotic style of construction setting it apart from the more orderly base environment of MAP01.  What's interesting to me is how this map does a fair bit of stuff that, at least by community convention, isn't 'good' level design - slow elevators, a very linear progression from west to east through the structure of the map - and makes it work, coming off as satisfying and thematically consistent and providing a strong sense of steadily breaching layered defenses and working your way toward an objective.

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