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dobu gabu maru

The DWmegawad Club plays: Reverie

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5 hours ago, galileo31dos01 said:

I'll also take the opportunity to help with the secret-hunt (NuMetalManiak, hi) in spoilers, since I recall having serious troubles to find them. 

I actually did all of these on Doomwiki already. Four months ago, in fact. No real differences from my last playthrough, will go in ITYTD without a HUD. I actually like Doom Core and Eternally Yours a lot more than this.

 

MAP01 Stratos Gate

 

Goes by quickly, like any other Entryway homage-map. Zombiemen, imps, yeah. But there's nothing, NOTHING, wrong with an intro like this. Only if you want a shotgun, you have to beat the clock, because it will be permanently sealed off after awhile. The armor room is the key to that.

 

MAP02 Soldier's Stand

 

Why can't we have harder endings than beginnings nowadays? It would make the maps a whole lot more menacing. Lovely drop-down at the start, hitscanners you can't disco from. And then the rest is a bit lackluster, water + platforming really don't have much. I like how there's the big open space and you just look at it through the window, while most of the action is either on that exit island or the entire base area to the south. The real Reverie levels really begin around MAP04.

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so it's reverie. i started playing it last year already (heh) and got to map10 already. now i'm happier with it than with my original choice of TTP, as i didn't remember that it well, but definitely didn't feel like shotgunning barons again. the classic 90s wads feel is welcome. good to have the author here too for some comments. 

 

i'm playing from pistol start on uv in gzdoom with smooth and other cosmetics.

 


MAP01 - “Stratos Gate”

 

a bigger entryway, basically. it also has a somewhat bigger staff than the original, including chaingunners, and a bunch of sergeants with their back at you at the start.  this sounds like a slower, "tactical" gameplay to be safe, right? that's how i played it first. hid behind the pillar left of the building, shot the sergeants easily with the pistol, grabbed a shotgun, entered and shot the chaingunners.

 

now there's this timed secret. it changes how the map plays: run past the sergeants and all enemies in the main hall, get to the room with the green armor where said secret opens. grab the shotgun, get the berserk from the other secret (they're both in this room) and proceed killing the sergeants following you, they're needed for some ammo. also beat up the pinkies, imps and other humans. you see, making use of this timed secret improved the game considerably. and without the timer there's little reason to rush it if you're not a speedrunner. the only problem is that those timed secrets are not intuitive and there's no way of knowing about them when you play a map for the first time, you end up pushing walls a lot. but they really help when you know them.

 

good thing to have a berserk, as the caco on the console agrees. these attempts at some technical realism and the music reminded me of tnt map01, where you're also punching stuff.

 

i don't get it what kmxexii means in his review, " It's also the one that won a Cacoward (as well as the coveted Brandon D. Lade award, courtesy of Doomworld forum superstar Gez)". wasn't brandon that guy who played only top-rated wads?

 

 

 

 

MAP02 - “Soldier’s Stand”

 

welcome can be rough if you don't move quickly. it's another doom2 techbase, but the room with the sergeants on pillars where you can shoot the blinking panel and get a blue armor is taken from plutonia (where it had revenants instead). it's a small map and flows well, it's done quick with only shotgun and chaingun. i would have liked a berserk again for those pinkies. showing where to go with arrows on the floor is a bit weird, but probably intended for the oldschool feel. the lift at the crates would have been a bit obscure without the arrows. 

 

as for the monolith at the end, are the imps then the apes? good i didn't give them time to evolve...

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Oh yeah I've actually been wanting to play this so maybe this month I won't lose interest after like 4 days!

Crispy Doom - UV pistol starts - Saves (none used)

 

Map01 "Stratos Gate"

A short punchy map in the Doom II techbase style, which has rather strong echoes of both Doom II Map01 and TNT Map01. The start can be a bit iffy with the shotgunners there but it's at the very beginning of the level so if I get hurt too badly I can just start over. There are quite a few secrets packed into this map, one of which uses the 30-second closing door. It's rather irritating to have a secret that you can miss permanently. Other than that, this level was a great opener.

 

Intermission: What in the heck is that INTERPIC?

 

Map02 "Soldier's Stand"

Another fine and rather small techbase map, pretty similar in looks to the first map. The level itself, however, is quite different. The blue key area was probably the most interesting area of the map, with the floor and whatnot. Generally, I don't have many specific things to say about this map. It's just good.

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Now onto my second review :D :
Map02 starts out exactly where Map01 lefts off which i found to be a really cool little detail which reminded me a lot of the FPS Blood.After getting the shotgun i fought of a group of hitscanners,sadly because of the lack of shotgun ammo in the beggining i found it rather hard fighting the hitscanners without taking damage but after exploring the eastern section of the base and finding a box of shells i started having enough ammo for each encounter.The eastern section was pretty weird with it's arrows on the ground to show you the way and it's barrel combat but i enjoyed that,after going to the western section which also was full of demons to kill (just like a good section of a map should be) and using the blue key found earlier i...used a teleporter to travel to an outdoor section just to use another teleporter just to travel to a very small room to press a switch to end the map.I really disliked the part since it seemed unecesary and the outdoor enviourment lacked the great detail of the techbase part of both map01 and 02,besides those few little issues i enjoyed the map,it was a good map02 because of it's back and forth proggresion which reminded me a lot of Doom II's map02.

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MAP02: Soldier's Stand

Eternity Engine, UV-Max, Pistol Starts, Saveless

 

Opening with a collection of hitscanners, this map reminds us why these unfortunate humans are amongst the deadliest in the bestiary. Smooth and efficient progress aids the flow of this map, although a more conservative approach isn't punished. It demonstrates an effective usage of the, noticeably limited, play-space by employing some backtracking. The utilization of automap arrows is rather humorous so far, although I wouldn't be surprised if they would be used to create convoluted progression in the later maps. The blank vista staring outside, the punchy employment of barrels, and the well-hidden secrets were other memorable aspects of the map. That seamless transition between maps though...

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MAP02: Soldier's Stand

Crispy Doom, UV Pistol start

 

Simple but fun map. Standing still in the first fight gets you filled with lead, thankfully the conveniently placed barrels on left of you can be blown up quickly to clear the hallway for safe retreat. The second highlight of the level is the blue key room, rather than having a simple monster closet, the water lowers revealing the new monsters while changing your play area significantly.

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MAP02: A good old tekgreen techbase, it's small and simple but packed with many stuff you can do. The outside view and the visit at the black monolith in the crater is pretty unique.

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MAP02: Soldier's Stand
5:52 | 100% Kills | 29% Items | 0% Secrets

 

The vista out the front window was cool. Most of the normal progression feels like you're finding secrets, but nope! it's just the intended path. And the monolith at the end is pretty rad, but I was pretty disappointed to discover I couldn't backtrack to the rest of the level to find the secrets I'd missed.

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Map03 "The Cup of Wrath" [UV pistol-start] - 100% kills, 50% secret

 

Opposition toughens again, with more chaingunners and introduction of the loved mid-tier enemies; cacodemons and a hellknight. 

Actually killed me once, got perforated by chaingunners in the BK ambush, but rest of the level is smooth sailing from that point onward.

Rather linear affair with some repeating scenery, which is kinda shame since I liked the map otherwise. And ammo seemed to be bit tighter, at least for first half of the map. Thankfully you get a chainsaw to communicate with.

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MAP03

Not much impressed with this. Basically the most corridor of corridor shooters, including what appear to be be four copy/pasted "bridge" sections. Not good.

 

 

 

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03 - seems like an intentionally silly map made for fun. Otherwise it's hard to explain the linearity, repetition, and nonsensical demon use (they can't possibly bite you if you know where the movement buttons are). Well, I'm not against this kind of fooling around when it's done in style. Nicely busy texturing again, lovely brown+green and brown+blue combos. The blue key trap is pretty bad though. There is a a very high chance of dying if you just stay down there, whereas running away and hiding behind the nearby door pretty much guarantees survival. Poor balance there. A little stupid midi again but it fits.

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map03: The Cup of Wrath
zdoom2.8.1, uvmax, pistol start, no saves, first time played

A linear map, the only choice being how to tackle the enemies and they aren't too difficult with the provided weapons, even on uv.
 

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MAP03: The Cup of Wrath

UV/Pistol start/No saves

Deaths: 0

Spoiler

DOOM07.png.cc9084c30cf1aa01e19d2fdd4e7c484a.png

 

Not my favourite, it's very simple in general, totally linear and straightforward which isn't a style I'm very fond of. Nevertheless, two standouts are the blue key trap, in which I spammed bullets to both sides until there was nothing left alive. And the other isn't a standout per se, but I really like how the start connects with the exit of the previous map, and well some for the exit here and start of the next one, despite pistol starting I still feel a sense of continuation. Some of the monster teleports don't work quite well at least on UV, the cacos/lost souls at the last bridge teleport one by one, which is boring to kill them if you go by maxing, and also it takes some time until they all finnish teleporting in. About the secrets, well I like to talk about them so I'll keep posting directions just for fun:

 

Spoiler

1. After you take the first teleporter, open the door behind you. There're a bunch of health bonuses.

2. At the last bridge, fall off to the right side and hit a metal wall behind the teleport pad. There's a medikit.

 

I was thinking of recording demos, but I also play with a personal dehacked (it only affects one single type of monster and nothing else)... would people still watch them or something? 

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ZDoom, UV, mouselook, saves, pistol starts.

 

MAP01: Stratos Gate

95% kills, 1/2 secret

 

A homage to MAP01s of Doom II and TNT, so obvious almost not worth mentioning, but then I wouldn't have much else to say. It's decently punchy enough, though ironically I would've preferred having the berserk pack instead of the chaingun at the start to actually punch all those zombies with (not really gonna be able to chainsaw them). Also not a fan of the "gone in 30 seconds" secret, but meh, it's MAP01. What I do think would help is that if it had a more obvious opening, so a player might see it and think "okay something's not right here, how do I open this?" Upon first reading about it I thought the blood splatter might be it, since it sorta stands out.

 

MAP02: Soldier's Stand

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

I like the theme of the map here (half-underground bunker) though I was a bit disappointed we didn't get to actually go outside except for a small patch at the very end, reached by teleport (the outside is also oddly flat looking, though maybe this was due to vanilla constraints?). The black box teleporter at the end was really strange looking as well, and didn't like the one-way teleporter (even if it says EXIT on it). Arrows for mandatory progression is odd, why not just use actual switches/lifts? Blue key ambush design was a great moment though.

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MAP03: I like that the monsters at the start pop up the same way as you. The linearity and the copypasted areas drag it down but at least the other places are quite varied and the weak bestiary makes the things to flow fast.

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1 hour ago, galileo31dos01 said:

I was thinking of recording demos, but I also play with a personal dehacked (it only affects one single type of monster and nothing else)... would people still watch them or something? 

i dont think the dehacked would matter. id watch to see the secrets! :D

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After unexpectedly finishing last months playthrough I think I will try Reverie. I will play with PrBoom+, on complevel 2 (what with it being retro and all), HMP, saving freely.

 

MAP01 - “Stratos Gate”
A very imitative Doom2 map01 clone, down to the penultimate exit room being aped, the exterior secret area and a subtle spin on the optional side area and the triangular stairs. I don't mind this though, as with the first map of Doom2 being one that so many people have played so much, it is iconic, so it's inclusion in a retro wad is entirely understandable. Gameplay is mildly more difficult than the original, with the added hitscanner groups making chainsawing them without taking damage tougher.

I only found one of the 2 secrets, so I think I'll have to pluralise @tmorrow's criticism of close after 30 seconds secrets. How is the player to know it's necessary to rush forward like this? What if their play style is naturally cautious? I'm not against the use per se, but I feel this kind of secret some kind of hinting that rushing to it specifically is necessary is almost like an unmarked secret - excluding of course those who naturally do rush forwards, but I see the author has already commented it was included for it's own sake more or less. Eh fair enough.

 

MAP02 - “Soldier’s Stand”
Another brief and simple map, albeit more original than Map01. The layout is constrained by the author's adherence to a linear space for the majority of the play area, yet it manages to eke a modest amount of play to say you essentially go left, then right! I appreciate the use of height variation and the timed lifts to get more out of the layout. Incidentally, it's odd how the door to those timed lifts is not set apart as a usual door texture, what with it being an essential part of the map progression?

 

The lookout over the plateau is sort of cute I guess, as are the arrows which are decidedly oldschool. I found none of the secrets unfortunately, so this augurs ill for me seeing many more of them in later maps. The shootable switch was reasonably apparent and had my suspicions but without finding access to the computer map secret I was not at the right height to hit it.

 

I'll join with @Capellan in disliking the one way teleport to the exit. Otherwise, fair enough little map.

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MAP03 The Cup of Wrath

 

One of the more straightforward maps. It's entirely linear, has a few design choices, almost all of it metal. The beginning being an exception. The half-half teleporters on that bridge area are cool, otherwise this is pretty standard.

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MAP03 - “The Cup of Wrath” 

 

indeed a very linear map with copypasted parts. the blue key ambush is its (only) highlight. now, how could i possibly call a bunch of chaingunners a highlight? because of how one can play this. if you stay down in the hole, you're pretty much dead, especially without mouselook. i ran immediately upstairs, however, expecting getting sandwiched between something like pinkies and cacos in that hole. so when the chaingunners teleported onto the ring around the shaft, i kept running into them and gunning them down. much better than staying tactically down in the hole and using mouselook to snipe at the gunners.

those pillars and the ceiling were a nice touch.

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So, Reverie! Pretty sure I played a couple maps of this a while back, and remembering it had a pretty neat classic-map theme going for it. Let's give this a go!

GZdoom pistolstarts UV without saves until I cave in w/o mouselook. 

 

MAP01: STRATOS GATE|100% KILLS|

 

A weird lil' fusion of MAP01, but the layout's reversed and... there's some other new content in there too? A little bit of sector art? Man, this map goes all over the place and it's kooky and I love it. Pretty simple stuff here, the start's pretty tough if you're not ready. All in all a pretty fun, neat opener. 

 

 

MAP02: SOLDIER'S STAND|95% KILLS|

 

This map is weird, yet memorable. There's this slight hint of puzzle gameplay and a lot of back-and-forth stuff going on here, and it's really just one of those things you're not sure if you love or hate. There's something charming about it though. Ammo is scarce unless you grab a pretty tricky shellbox and the beginning is another case of hitscanner overload, but those are the only hard parts of the map in my eyes. Also, what's up with the barrel placement? 

 

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MAP03: The Cup of Wrath

Eternity Engine, UV-Max, Pistol Starts, Saveless

 

A predominantly linear map with a consistent metal aesthetic. The opening reminded me of Evilution's attempts to capture some semblance of realism. The blue-key trap, while threatening, demands one specific approach to tackle, which can be rather problematic especially with bouncy walls. However, after the blue-key trap, the map devolves into a corridor shooter (or bridge-and-room shooter). A rather boring map that is lacking in the replayability department. The use of half teleporters is pretty interesting though...

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MAP03: Cup of Wrath

11:23 | 100% Everything

 

Yep, pretty much a linear romp. Fun, though. My time is as high as it is simply because I would go in guns blazing, take some potshots, and then backtrack to refill health and ammo. The copy/paste bridges were a little weird, but at least didn't occur enough to be tiresome. And the marked two-way teleporters are a neat thing.

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MAP03: CUP OF WRATH|93% KILLS|

 

What a weird map. Weird linear layout, weird usage of almost entirely hitscanners, weird secrets, everything just feels off.... do I like the level? Eh, I dunno. Maybe, I guess there were some fun bits to it, but it mostly just seemed to be a bunch of the same corridors and situations repeated every-so-often with small changes. The backtracking to get the key wasn't telegraphed that well and didn't seem necessary. But whatever, I'll excuse it on the sole account by that it's Reverie, and it's got this 90s-map feel to it, so I'll take it for what it is. Like Memfis said, I think this map is intentional in its design. I've seen Valkiri's other stuff and it doesn't get this cheesy.

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Map03 "Cup of Wrath"
Crispy Doom - UV Pistol Start - Saves (none used)

Another short and not too difficult techbase map, although I had a little bit of ammo trouble (nothing too serious). I liked the first view of the fort and the bridges too. The blue key room was my favorite area of the map. Man it's hard to say things about early maps.

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I'm playing on GZDoom 3.2.1 (been lazy on updating) with no vertical mouse look and the Final Doom hud (because it looks so nice). UV Fast Monsters, no mid level saves.

 

Map 01: Good intro + nods to old MAP01 stuff, very straightforward. That start is kinda tricky on fast with all the hitscanners but thankfully you start behind the shotgunners so you can get them to infight a bit.

 

Map 02: Wooo this is tight corridor stuff. In the sinking water room I ran into the trap of falling in the middle of it and then you can't actually go inbetween the pillars. The semihidden arrow pointing towards mandatory objectives were a little silly, and the bit with the lift to get to the ledges in the main area was kinda annoying if you fell off, but overall interesting level.

 

Probably gonna do map 3 later because I was giving it some attempts and it was kicking my butt and it's like 1 in the morning lol.

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Map 03 : "Cup of Wrath"

 

Reverie_MAP03_map.png

 

This map is considerably harder than the previous ones , especially at the beginning. I was lacking of ammo and health and chaingunners were more numerous to perforate you , notably at the blue key's trap. The map itself is linear , it consists of rooms interconnected with outdoors corridors. I liked the cute little "park" at the beginning with these little walls. I dig the design of each circular room. Teleporters have also an unique aesthetic : some TP are exclusively red , some are exclusively blue or they sometimes have both colors. I find it pretty cool.

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'aight, let's try this: PRBoom+, UV Pistol Starts, No Saves

 

MAP01 - “Stratos Gate”

A very unapologetic Entryway homage, starting with a bunch of Shotgunners facing away from you. I like the metal midis here so far.

 

MAP02 - “Soldier’s Stand”

There seems to be a recurring pattern of hitscanner starts. Run right or get buggered by Shotgunners. I do like the outdoor view and rocky area at the end.

 

MAP03 - “The Cup of Wrath”

You press a switch and are greeted with a bunch of hitscanners facing away from you. At least you're given the Chaingun straight away to tap them down. Ok, look: that bridge is pretty cool, but does it needed to be pasted at least 3 times here? Also, why is the Medikit secret(lol) hidden even if you have the computer map? Wasn't a huge fan of this level.

 

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MAP03: The Cup of Wrath

 

I'd like to echo @bioshockfan90's comments about so much of this level feeling weird in terms of presenting the player with something that doesn't line up with either the conventional Doom experience or the community's collective wisdom about what makes for a good layout and entertaining gameplay.  It's hard for me to form an opinion as simple as whether it's good or bad when it feels like the level is stepping quite neatly to the side of the usual standards why which I'd judge such things; and yet it's not so weird that I can point to it as a deliberately and determinedly experimental level, either.  So, I don't know; I don't have a lot to say here, except that its repetitive and linear layout does not particularly invite me to replay it.

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