The DWmegawad Club plays: Tangerine Nightmare & UAC Ultra & Realm of Shades

[tmorrow]

map06: Collapsys
zdoom2.8.1, uvmax, pistol start, no saves, first time played

A long map. Progression is mostly linear except for a couple of minor branches where you have the choice of which room to tackle next. I like the map layout and monster placement.

Rewards for secrets is a bit odd on this map. For example the invulnerability secret has no particularly dangerous traps nearby and so is largely pointless. Another example is the berserk pack secret which you find after most of the demons and spectres have already been dispensed with.

[gaspe]

MAP05: Cool level that has the same good traits of the previous maps, but it's longer and harder, and it differs from them as the locations here have their own different "flavor" but still they'r bonded by the theme of the wad. The frozen area was neat, it could heve been longer actually, and I liked the secret BFG even though it's only useful in a continuous playthrough.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP06: Collapsys

100% kills, 3/5 secrets

 

This one didn't do it for me, possibly my least favorite of the set so far. Just sorta bland, and lacks the same interesting sense of place the other maps have had. This one does do a few interesting things with height differential (didn't even realize I was fighting above the start area until I got to the yellow key) but that's about it. No real notable fights either, some of the hitscanners are placed well (such as the blue key ambush) but I agree with the chopping wood comment.

 

Also some bugs/mistakes, the hallway-over-hallway effect here didn't quite work properly, and it's possible to get stuck behind these boxes.

 

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP06 Collapsys

 

More linear things, with better layouts and such. Get ready to wait for two certain platforms to go up, and make sure that juicy yellow key is yours before taking a leave off of that area. Nothing majorly exciting at the moment. Some very good barrel placement near imps though, plus raising a low ceiling to cross across an upper walkway. Big area after that stands out due to the meat that lies within, either teleporting or just flat-out hiding. And then you get to go above that area. Gotta love pain elementals. The ending bout features good ol' Rocket Dongs apparently guarding the final trash compactor, with a way to actually make a death exit interesting.

[Crusader No Regret]

Getting into Tangerine Nightmare at last; there was a list of real life stuff I wanted to deal with before diving in.  Going for HMP continuous, saving as much as I please.

 

Map 1:  The welcome sign helps give a sense of identity.  Gameplay looks like standard blasting of lightweight oppposition with lightweight weaponry.  Then it dawns on me how little health there is.  Even one revenant missile will leave a mark; two may very well leave some on the edge of (or over it) death without the secret armor.   Go ahead and laugh; I died on my first attempt due to messing around.  I got stuck for a bit thinking i needed to find a switch to raise a lift due to the floor texturing when it was already there.  One last "boo" moment before the exit that will likely do some damage.  Outdoor areas are the most visually interesting.

 

Map 2: Cleaning out monsters in caverns to the tune of Goldeneye's Caverns track, neat.  Whereas the lava was harmless in the first map; it hurts here, starting with the small patch right by the start, ow, ow, ow.  Discovering a monster blocking line allows for some alternate tactics.  More health than the last map is a welcome sight; one can hope to recover from a stray hit or two.  Ammo felt reasonably tight even with carryover though I do exit with full shells in the end.  I didn't realize it when playing through but reading comments on the absence of hitscanners makes this map ripe for a Reality UV-Max.  Anyone care to try?

[gaspe]

MAP06: It feels less impressive than the others because it's longer and it lacks some striking locations but it plays well with the verticality. The gameplay bites also less while it offers more meat but I like it, it fit with the "big level at the end of the chapter" that is trying to be. If anything you are too well supplied with armors and ammo. I forgot to mention that the wad soundtrack is very good.

[Yugiboy85]

Right, I guess It's my turn to give the DW a go haha (implying there are any turns lol). Anyhow, sorry I'm late but, here are my thoughts on TN (for the maps I've played so far). I will be skipping map 05 for very obvious reasons although, I may give some insights on it I guess.

 

Map 01 

 

This map imediately sets the mood of the wad with the nice orange rocks and textures. It is fairly simple of course but, that is to be expected from a map 01 I guess haha. I guess the main trap will be the two revenants that come out once you grab the green key because in this map, you are pretty much stuck with the shotgun and chaingun heh. 

The only armor is within a secret, a secret I actually found quite late when playing myself but it was a cool secret nonetheless :D 

As many have pointed out, I also did not really like those platform near the end but, that's not a very big deal imo. It might be a pain for speedrunners and all but heh, that's not me lol. 

 

I also loved the ending where you fall into a dark hole. Connecting to the next map :D 

 

Having played a really old version of this map, I can tell that alot of work has been put in by franck to make it look really cool and imo, he suceeded in that aspect :D 

 

 

Map 02 

 

Let me start by saying that I love that track. First time I heard it was in bloodstain and only recently have I found out that it is actually a track from goldeneye 64. 

 

This map is really nice too imo. It loops arround itself as you go through it and, while being quite linear in terms of progression, actually makes it feel like there are more paths to chose from if that makes any sense. 

This, like the previous map (and the following map) was a map originaly made by datacore (who was the previous leader of the project) and I think wilou did a fine job in enhancing it. Not saying that the original map was bad in any way, just saying that the touches that were added in by wilou made the map much more memorable imo. This map introduces the first damaging flat of the wad and, while it may look like your standard lava at first glance, it is actually some sort of orange liquid with souls in it and, I think it looks really cool so yet again, GG franck. 

Gameplay on this map is fairly standard as far as doom maps go. This map also introduces the supershotgun which actually can be grabbed quite quickly and imo, that isn't a bad thing to me. You can also grab an RL later on that will come in handy :D 

 

I liked most of the traps in this and especially the rounded corridor with the hell knights and the vile on the other end (on UV), that was quite clever. The endind trap did take me by surprise too but, I think the two revenants at the top of the stairs (in corners) were a bit too much here. Anyhow, I really enjoyed that one. Found most (if not all) secrets. 


Map 03 

Again, this one kicks in with a really nice track. 

The map itself is also really nice looking and I believe this is the final map made originally by datacore. I believe this map actually isn't that linear as you have the choice to go to some places before others and vice/versa. The hardest trap for me was probably the one where you fight a few imps/revs and then two viles are released and a hellknight teleports in front of the door. This one took me quite some time to get out of hehe

I don't really have much more to say about this map other than I really loved the final area (with the arachnotrons and hellknights). There's just something about this area that made me say "WOW" but, then again, i expect nothing less from wilou (and franck too I believe). 

 

 

Map 04 

 

At first, I did not really like this map. It looked cool and all but, there was something about the revenants that made me think that this map was gonna be quite boring. I was wrong. 

Incidently, this map is actually my favorite of the first four. It is more open, has a cool void sky and well, the track is quite fitting imo. The map has a nice flow to it and franck has really made this map shine. This map was originally made by jambon and well, franck took over. While the initial area can be quite offputting, the map itself is actually pretty cool in terms of gameplay. It has quite the amount of rockets and the traps are not so hard to beat. The one that might be considered hard is the one with the mancubus on a platform, a few revs and yet again, an archvile (the one where you have to shoot a switch to get out of). The secrets are quite cool to find too (I liked the berserk one) and also, I really liked the optional "labyrinth" that leads you to a soulsphere, that was a really cool touch imo. 

There, not much else to say either about this map tbh. 


Map 05 

 

Hah, it's that map heh. As stated above, I'm not gonna review this map per say as I'm obviously biased towards it xD (I made it) but, I think I might give you a bit of insight on how this map came to FRUITion (forgive the bad pun here...). 

I actually joined TN quite late, in 2017. The project was ongoing since 2015 I think (or maybe before). It went through a drastic change at some point (franck took over) and it had some kickass new textures made for it. This is what triggered my interest in joining and thus, this map was made. This map was started not very long after my big map was released (travmoon) and thus, I kinda wanted a little breather from it (hence why it is quite small compared to what I usually make i guess). I honestly didn't really have any set ideas so, I just went with the flow and as I made rooms and stuff, the map kinda shaped itself. I also kinda always wanted to make a map with some fortress like structure (even though, it's not a big fortress) in the middle of rocky foundations. 

 

Gameplay wise, I didn't really want to make something that complex so, I just made a few main traps that came out of my head and well, i thought they ended up beeing quite cool i guess. YES, I fail at the red skull trap also but, that mainly is because I suck at doom so yeah, I admit it haha... 

I also wanted to make a map that kinda loops arround itself and btw, the way the exit is revealed was always the plan from the start ;) 

 

I'm aware that the cyberdemon is completely useless but, my guess was that people would fall down and fight him with the PG heh. Oh well, I'll be more "careful" next time :p 

 

The name of the map obviously comes from the liquid used. This, while being the standard doom 2 lava flat, is used here as ,well, orange juice. And, this map is also the main reason (well one of them) as to why the standard lava in the rest of the wad is non damaging. Franck was nice enough to make an aditional animated flat for that purpose after this map was made :D 

The music was originally the one from valliant's map 03 but, I thought it didn't really fit the theme very well so I changed it to "astral dreadnought" later on in development. 

 

This map took about 3 to 5 months to complete I think. I didn't really keep track but, I know it took less time than travmoon for sure :D 

 

So yeah, sorry for the long wall of text but here you have it :D 

 

 

I'll write about the next maps later on, I need to get going. 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 16, 2018 by Yugiboy85

[Roofi]

Map 07 : Haymaker (UAC Ultra)

 

 

Difficulty : Medium

 

Well , it seems to be a traditionnal map 07's battle in a red crater , or almost. In fact , the first thing to note is the order of monsters encounters which is reversed. The arena is circular as you can see , the level design forces the player to stay at the center to kill the spiders. Once he killed them all , a little rock rises and allow him to access the upper area . The mancubus' fight is slighlty harder but there is more space to dodge the projectiles.

 

The traditionnally used monsters are now all dead so you think you have finished with this little fun map. However an another wall lowers and reveal two custom baddies ! Indeed , Haymaker is the name of the new monster . The last fight proves to be a bit tough but those monsters are actually just upgraded mancubus : they have more health , they fire the same projectile but 3 instead of 2 and they can charge into you. They could perfectly fit in a Heretic wad because of their appearance , but I'm a bit sceptical for a futuristic themed wad. But whatever , a nice little not so random map 07.

 

[tmorrow]

map07: Haymaker
zdoom2.8.1, uvmax, pistol start, no saves, first time played

A small arena survival map in the map07 tradition, some arachnotrons and mancubi but then for something completely different, the introduction of our first new monster the Haymaker, the wolfensteinss replacement. The second new monster doesn't appear until map11.

We are treated with double the fun because 2 Haymaker's are released. This foe skates along the floor with a large hammer which it uses to spit out mancubus like fire but 3 at at a time rather than 2 (as Roofi notes above). With 2500 hit points you will need to lob several rockets to bring them down.

[gaspe]

MAP07: A straightforward Dead Simple clone, it was short and it introduces a custom enemy. The only thing that bothered me is that it keeps the iwad track. It's well linked with the previous level and create a good sense of connection story-wise, after you jumped into the trash compactor pit you find yourself in this cavern and it looks like we are going even deeper in the next map.

[Pirx]

38 minutes ago, gaspe said:

MAP07: A straightforward Dead Simple clone, it was short and it introduces a custom enemy. The only thing that bothered me is that it keeps the iwad track. It's well linked with the previous level and create a good sense of connection story-wise, after you jumped into the trash compactor pit you find yourself in this cavern and it looks like we are going even deeper in the next map.

 

indeed a nice sequel, albeit a bit simple: circle, shoot, get out, get cover in a hole, shoot the mancs. and then those 2 medieval cows, i don't know, i find their animation strange when they slide around. actually they slid around a lot behind the boxes left and right of the gate they come out of, so i could lob rockets at them while barely dodging. so, bonus point for bringing a custom enemy to a standard map clone, but he feels out of place indeed.

 

[Magnusblitz]

MAP07: Haymaker

100% kills, no map secrets

 

A Dead Simple clone in 2010? Shameful... hey what are those things?

 

So yeah, the only really interesting thing about this one is the custom enemy, which sprite-wise seems to be a fusion of cyberdemon and Heretic/Hexen's maulotaur; gameplay-wise they slide around and fire three Mancubus bolts. I think it looks kinda silly gliding around the way they do, but it's not a bad enemy on the whole. I don't know if this is the most effective introduction, since the map design had me looking at the door on the opposite end of the arena and they just sorta snuck up on me, instead of a proper 'oh shit' moment. Looks like they have 2500 hit points, just below a SMM.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP07 Haymaker

 

I've grown to hate IWAD music, but strangely enough, NOT Dead Simple remakes. It's Hellscape, arachnotrons first, then mancubi. And the haymaker, a remade Maulotaur that just happens to fire my least favorite projectile in the game. Also where's my BFG if you say that my equipment is around me? At least this map plays fair for a forced pistol start, UNLIKE SOME OTHER LEVELS.

[Spectre01]

Got sidetracked a bit but managed to finish Tangerine Nightmare at least.

 

MAP09 - “Credits” by JCD, Roofi

Nice credits map with a pleasant midi. Was able to find the two torch secrets quite easily.

 

MAP10 - “Umbreion Nils” by [WH]-Wilou84

Very difficult map for which I caved in and used saves compared to the rest of the wad. I was planning on doing a casual max, but it seems like I'm late to the party there. It's a bold design choice to only provide the player with the SSG and RL; and I would've definitely preferred having a Plasma Rifle as well. The crescent fight goes on for a bit too long as far as holding down M1 on the RL goes and, amusingly enough, the pile on Pinkie corpses did a good job of obscuring incoming Manc fireballs and Rev rockets. The finale is more to my liking and, with some good Cyber RNG, it's possible to camp the room with the Soulsphere while stalling the Cacos at the entrance with rockets or the SSG; until the Cybers die or do most of the cleaning. Also, the first minute of the midi is amazing compared to the following 4 of chugging brocore riffs.

 

Final Thoughts

Good wad, with a highly distinct and recognizable visual theme. A slightly mixed bag, but such is the case with nearly every community project.

Overall score: 3/5

 

Hits: maps 06 and 07

Misses: maps 04 and 05

[Catpho]

Darn,im really slacking off uac ultra :P

MAP02 - “UAC in Exile”

Nice warehouse map,although not as beautiful as map01 mainly cause there are no striking views to the surface of Mars :(

Still,texutre pack is used very well.Gameplay is tougher than map01,especially when you reach the crates.Also,dem barrels.

Some screenies:

nice red key area

Foreboding-ness

 

[Poncho]

Since I've gone through all of Tangerine Nightmare (in a continuous run), here's my little review.

 

Map01: Sombre Venue (by FranckFRAG and Datacore)

A nice little opener. The music track is fitting, the design really sets the standard for the rest of the WAD, and the monster placement is pretty good.

 

Map02: Molten Desolation (by [WH]Wilou84 and Datacore)

The second map is more cavernous, with a sort of temple built into the rock. I like the use of the "Caverns" theme from Goldeneye (at least, I think that's the track). Anyway, there are quite a few Arch-Viles in the level, but none are really that bad. It's really the Revenants that are the difficult spot. Liking the fact that the Backpack is given early on (of course, you can withhold backpacks and I won't mind; it's just that I prefer them early). All-in-all, a good level.

 

Map03: Rain of Embers (by FranckFRAG, [WH]Wilou84 and Datacore)

A trio effort by the so-far-seen mappers. The difficulty has bumped up yet again in this shrine-like stage. However, it's never frustrating, since the enemies are typically placed in a way that means they can be killed (or, if you want, avoided) in simple ways. Like the last level, there are a few Arch-Viles, but from what I remember, they mostly revive fallen enemies. Not too shabby.

 

Map04: Bile Noire (by FranckFRAG and Jambon)

The first level that kinda sucks, honestly. It's one of those "not-a-lot-of-cover-run-at-all-times" sort of maps, and it really stays true to that description. This can get pretty agitating at times, what with the numerous Arch-Viles, dozens of Revenants and hordes of Cacodemons and Pain Elementals. It feels that the start doesn't give you many rockets (there are plenty in the map, but a few at the beginning would've certainly helped). The cramped room with a Mancubus overlooking you on a crate, with two Revenants and an Arch-Vile waiting around the corner can kiss my arse. Overall, not my cup of tea.

 

Map05: Orange Juice (by Yugiboy85)

Ah, Yugiboy. I remember his epic map Travelling to the Moon. And it WAS epic. Which is such a shame, since I have a lot more to say negatively about this map than positively. First of all, it's MUCH too cramped, and that becomes very apparent during the Pain-Elemental/Imp/Chaingunner fight. Then we've got small areas where we must fight Mancubi and Arachnotrons. Then, to top it off, a fight with a bunch of monsters, including an Arch-Vile constantly reviving shit you've already killed. Oh yeah, and then there's a Cyberdemon. In a small area, no less. Not fun. Finally, this is just a nitpick: the music track is "Astral Dreadnought" by Jimmy. However, it's the Valiant remix, not the Plutonia 2 original.

 

Map06: The Forgotten Land (by JC Dorne)

Perhaps my favourite map from the WAD. The pacing is good, the traps are sudden yet based around reaction (not luck), and the gameplay is good. I'd say this is easier than the two previous maps, which is actually quite nice. The final room is easier than I imagined when I first played. Great stuff.

 

Map07: Goetia (by Roofi)

The adventure map of the game. This took me a good 55 minutes to complete (would've taken 45 if I had thought of breaking the planks of wood), with killing everything and finding all 11 secrets. Other than the annoying fact that you have to break the wood, and the Green Key trap (why is there an Arch-Vile when it's as tough as it is with Barons!?), the map's rather good. You can go about it at your own pace, and it's quite non-linear. Above-average.

 

Map08: Pandemonium (by FranckFRAG)

The first room is pure overkill, but I like it since it sets the tone for the upcoming slaughter. There are TONS of rockets and energy cells, but the spawn positions and enemy placements can make it tricky to traverse the mountain. This isn't actually a bad level; I do like it, but UV-Maxing it will probably be a pain because of those Imps on the building itself. But hey, I like the level. The chapel at the start looks fab and the central structure has a very nice look to it. Pretty great!

 

Map09: Credits (by JC Dorne and Roofi)

A short closing map with no enemies. I found the first secret (with the keys and the memorial), but couldn't find the other one (maybe I'm just blind). But I LOVE this credits level; the detail is fantastic and I love the way some names appear. It's so cool...

 

Map10: Umbreion Nils (by [WH]Wilou84)

Probably the worst map of the WAD. It's not got to do with the fact that there are 800 monsters, or the aesthetic design, or the secret placement; it's the lack of proper weaponry. Sure, we are given an SSG and a Rocket Launcher, but goddamn some scenarios just SCREAM for a BFG, especially the crescent area (with a billion Arch-Viles and an octodecillion Revenants and Barons). The opposite area isn't much better: Arch-Viles constantly teleport on two platforms while Mancubi and Barons tear you to shreds. It's just not a fun experience, which is a shame, considering it's the last level in the WAD.

 

Thus, overall, Tangerine Nightmare has wonderful aesthetics, a nice theme and great architecture. When it comes to the gameplay, it's more-or-less good, but there are a few duds that make it less than amazing.

 

The Enjoyable Maps: 01, 02, 03, 06, 07, 08, 09

 

The Not-So-Enjoyable Maps: 04, 05, 10

 

My final rating for Tangerine Nightmare is a 3 / 4. So yes, I recommend playing the WAD.

Edited February 18, 2018 by Poncho

[Capellan]

UACUltra MAP07

It's Dead Simple with the order of the 'trons and mancs reversed. Which is admittedly at least 25% more imaginative than the usual Dead Simple clone. Rather less advisedly, the map then gives you a maulator (or 2, on UV) to fight ... or to blithely ignore and skip to the exit, like I did.

Short and relatively harmless, I guess, with a rocky outdoor setting that's at least a change of pace visually, from all the techbases.

 

 

[dobu gabu maru]

Coming in late with the rest of my Tangerine Nightmare thoughts. Big Dump ahead:

 

MAP04: The heat gets ratcheted up a bit here as the player is assaulted from revvies right off the bat and unable to find a safe spot. There’s a lot of action in this map despite it’s diminutive size, and the fight for the green key is masterfully devious, forcing the player to retreat in order not to get swarmed. Perhaps the only problem I have is that the midi is deceptively quiet compared to the amount of chaos going on. Other than that, I liked the action and difficulty of this one, though franckFRAG’s exteriors remain the visual highlight of the set.

 

MAP05: A lovely little evil map. I’m a bit surprised to see multiple members of the club torn on it, as I don’t think it did anything offensive or stupid—my only major critique is that it could probably do without so much switch hitting (like, you get the red key, open the red key door, and hit a switch which lowers red key bars—a simple voodoo trigger for the red key bars would’ve sufficed). Of course, another thing I guess I have to keep in mind is that claustrophobic fights are my jam, so I was right at home here in this map. There’s some pretty devious fights—the red key scuffle is my favorite just because you have to watch so many angles—but I didn’t find any of them too hard, per se. Even when an AV shows his ugly mug you usually have some rockets to deal with him, or can backtrack into a safe nook to suppress the enemies from. Even the cyber can be cheesed, though it’s a helluva lot more fun fighting him down in the pit. A good map with some great lighting work too.

 

MAP06: Hey, now this was quite the bloody adventure. At first I was wondering how long this map was going to take since it was a lot of laborious base clearing, but once I got into the caves the action started to really pick up. I like the dichotomy of slowly eradicating each building of hellspawn, and then the frantic, explosive action of battling waves of demons in the cave. Unfortunately the cave kinda pushes the player to backtrack and hole up in the base to the top right, especially once the AVs make a guest appearance. It was still a neat map with a pretty interesting finale (sadly the cyber got pushed off the ledge somehow and stuck in the floor?). Great aesthetics, once again; the set feels really cohesive overall despite having so many different authors.

 

MAP07: Damn, what an awesome map! It’s nonlinear and tough as nails, dropping you into a blazing hot pistol start where revvies, hitscanners, HKs, and a nasty perched AV will strip the flesh right off your bones. Even when you build up an arsenal the map stills refuses to let up, as many nasty enemy placements and traps await the player. I continue to be enamored by the “orange cavern” aesthetic, and Roofi does a really phenomenal job here. My favorite touches were the more unexpected ones, like the classical paintings hanging up on the walls and the perturbing hints given before each secret.

 

That final series of battles though—goddamn are those good. I accidentally decided to enter into it (and finish it) without the plasma gun or BFG, so it was a pretty ruthless challenge, especially since I had to snipe AVs while weaving between pinkies and cacos. The way the first wave mixes the demons and AVs together is masterful, and I appreciate that any attempt to retreat and suppress them from another room actually makes the battle harder, since you’re often at a disadvantage, whether it be the room shape, change in elevation, or a midtex getting in your way. It’s a really great fight that grants you a lot of space, and is the perfect ending to the map. Great job all around, Roofi—bravo.

 

MAP08: Amazing finale. Franck nails the ominous ambiance with a scenic opening, letting you ambush a chapel of cultists worshipping an immaculate stained glass art piece (or the plasma gun—the zombiemen did offer it a lot of cells…) The opening gets your bloodlust pumping just in time for the player to dive down into a pit and realize that they’re not just in any ol’ nightmare—they’re trapped in there with an Icon of Sin. I feel like I’m one of the rare few that really appreciates and loves the IoS mechanic, as the slow trickle of baddies adds a constant (but not overbearing) pressure to the player to finish the level at a quick pace.

 

Franck puts a pretty hot fire under the player’s butt however, as the main goal is for Doomguy to scale up a series of rocky steps, slowly releasing more (non-IoS) foes along the way. That means the faster you go through the map, the more trouble you brew up, eventually culminating in a dead end battle with revs, cybers, and all those pissed off cacos you thought were too boring to kill. There’s a delicate balance you have to strike between pushing onwards and slaying what’s behind you, one that’s thankfully buffeted by the generous goodies sprinkled about. I think the final rev wave is a touch too cruel (there’s barely any room to move up there!), but it’s a massively successful IoS map in my book. Plus the arena is downright gorgeous too, emphasizing how talented Franck is when it comes to crafting visuals (I mean hell, just look at the UI and all the new textures!)

 

MAP09: Ah, some peace and quiet… of the eerie variety. A really nice (and surprisingly elaborate) credits map here, with some cute touches on the caskets of our beloved authors. It was a relaxing lonely stroll that’s welcome, since it’s sandwiched between two of the craziest maps in the set. Speaking of…

 

MAP10: Good lord, mercy Wilou, mercy! At first I didn’t quite understand why such a seemingly reasonable map was shoved into the bonus map slot, but oh… how I learned. Honestly, 2/3rds of the map plays in suit with the rest of the set. Sure, it’s a lot more mean than the other maps (the room with the two halves is fairly aggressive until you learn to ignore the AVs and focus on the imps), but it’s not anything I would say is oppressive. And then I jumped down into the crescent room.

 

And I was oppressed.

 

Good god was this map as hard as the most difficult battles in Sunlust! I was a fool to think handing the player hundreds of rockets would make the fight a pushover, as by the time the PEs began swarming into the room I lost my foothold and was overrun with flaming skulls. When I got to the final battle the same experience awaited me, except this time in a more dense space with far more revenant rockets (and far more frequent deaths!) Wilou delivers a map that’s designed for the most precise, resolute Doomers, and I was not cut out for the battles here.

 

That said, I didn't dislike the map—I quite enjoyed it! It reminded me of the first time I played Hell Revealed and I felt thoroughly oppressed by its design, feeling like I was always on the cusp of not succeeding and having to quit. That fear had tempered over time, and only when I was stuffed into the 1st floor cyber closet in the last battle did it rear its ugly face once more, taunting me. Congrats Wilou, for filling me with so much dread and getting me to curse the fact that I didn’t keep a fresh 2nd save before the fight began. You are evil and I envy your cruelty.

 

Overall, Tangerine Nightmare is a surprisingly strong mapset. Some people will understandably tire of the orange & black aesthetic, but I loved it the entire time, mainly because I feel like it’s so rare we get a gothic mapset with bright textures. Like if you look at it, how often do you see caves with such bright colors emanate such a dreary mood? It’s that kind of play between the expected & the observed that tickles my fancy, and is why I could probably play a few more maps in this, theme even if there were no new textures added. Plus the set is really solid and low on faults (perhaps the early maps didn’t feel ambitious enough)—Ç'est Magnifique!

 

Favorite map: MAP07

 

Least favorite: MAP02 (still enjoyed it!)

 

I'll be playing UAC Ultra, but since I'm so far behind I'll just sum up my opinions once we finish it.

[Yugiboy85]

7 hours ago, dobu gabu maru said:

like, you get the red key, open the red key door, and hit a switch which lowers red key bars—a simple voodoo trigger for the red key bars would’ve sufficed

 

This project is limit removing though. I would, of course, had done that had it been CL9 but considering scroling floors (unless there's some way I'm unaware of) are impossible in CL2, I had to make do with that :D 

 

 

[rehelekretep]

wait - i played the whole thing -cl 9 o.O

[Yugiboy85]

3 minutes ago, rehelekretep said:

wait - i played the whole thing -cl 9 o.O

Well, while it is cl2, we recommend playing 8 in cl9. 

[Capellan]

UACUltra MAP08

We're back in familiar techbase territory here. It's a pretty straightforward switch and key hunt. Use of mancubi and 'trons remains fairly poor overall, in terms of the threat they present, though I guess that the two revealed 'trons in the blue door room are a hint that mama spider is coming, and if you left them alive – easy enough, though probably not something most first time players would do (I sure didn't) – then they could also be useful for infighting the big brain on legs.

 

For myself, I quickly realised the mastermind couldn't actually roam very far and corner camped her with the SSG. Not a very interesting encounter that way, but it means absolutely zero damage.

 

Once mama is dealt with, it's fairly easy to clear out the final area. I skipped pretty much all the end monsters – the cyber, barons and HKs – and bolted straight to the blue door and the way out. A single caco really isn't enough to hold you up for long, and cyb & co aren't anywhere near fast enough to prevent a quick egress like that.

 

 

[dobu gabu maru]

3 hours ago, Yugiboy85 said:

 

This project is limit removing though. I would, of course, had done that had it been CL9 but considering scroling floors (unless there's some way I'm unaware of) are impossible in CL2, I had to make do with that :D 

Ahhhh, interesting—would explain why the lost souls in MAP10 were giving me such a headache! Dunno why I just naturally assumed it was Boom-compat. Perhaps the alternative then is just to make a single S1 Red Key Door Open stay and have it apply to the bars.

[Demon of the Well]

Oh, shit. I think I played the whole thing on -cl 9 too, probably read the comment in the textfile about m08 only working right at that setting (and it still doesn't quite work right due to mounting spawns in congested spaces, it must be admitted) and so overgeneralized from there.

[Roofi]

 

 

 

Map 08 : Worst case scenario (UAC ultra)

 

 

 

Difficulty : Medium

 

"Worst case scenario" is the name of an album composed by dEUS , a belgium rock band. There are interesting easter eggs in this map showing that 40oz is keen of Rock !

 

Spoiler

 

On linedef 140, there is a texture on the wall with a message violently scribbled on it that reads, "Kill The Shepherd, Save the Sheep." This is a lyrical reference to the song "Magic Fingers" by the band Cursed, which is one of Jon Vail's many favorite bands, on the album Cursed III: Architects of Troubled Sleep.

Similarly, on linedefs 144, 149, and 175, there is a texture on the wall that is high up and most likely cannot be seen clearly without free look, that has a message violently scribbled on it that reads "Digital Dogs with Analog Collars." This is a song title from the band Trap Them, which is another of Jon Vail's favorite bands, on the album Sleepwell Deconstructor. The full title is "Day Seven: Digital Dogs With Analog Collars."

 

 

It's an interesting level where small rooms encircle a huge room. This level shows up to be harder than the previous despite some weak boss fights. In fact , the beginning is pretty tough because ammo have a tendency to be quite scarce. Also , we obtain the SSG tardily so that a lot of monsters must be killed with the Shotgun. An automap is generously given on the route , but pointless because the rare secrets are really easy to find.

You will  meet a Spider Mastermind and a Cyberdemon , but tbh those fights are completly failed. You can cheese the SM's fight by only camping and the Cybie can be killed by just turning around him until he die. Some traps prove to be quite dangerous nevertheless , the blue key's trap surprised me a bit.

About the architecture , a lot of effort were put on the big room, it's one of my favourite place in UAC ultra , the rest looks very banal with rooms interconnected with straight corridors. It's not bad , but the only must-to-see place is the central room and nothing else.

[tmorrow]

map08: Worst Case Scenario
zdoom2.8.1, uvmax, pistol start, no saves, first time played

I like the map layout. The view through dirty glass into the main battle room near the start is the nice touch. There is limited armor so you need to be careful about not taking too much damage.

You pick up chain gun and shotgun early but you have to make them last for over half the map before you get the super shotgun. There is limited ammo if you are starting from pistol and you will want to encourage infighting where possible or use you non berserk fists (berserk only shows up near the end).

You unleash a spider mastermind and a cyberdemon towards the end. There are two ways to play it, you can "kill as they appear" or you can run the gauntlet and try to cause a big slaughter party at the end, both methods work quite well. As others have noted, this area does not turn out to be as dangerous as it could be.

[Pirx]

MAP08 - “Worst Case Scenario”

 

indeed a nice view at the start, one can take notes where the enemies are, especially the chaingunners. a good looking industrial map, but it didn't play the way i had expected. the ssg is found in a hallway pretty late in the game, so one must make his way there using only sg and cg against various middleweights. the fights against cow & spider are also not really exciting. and this although the map title sounds as if it was taken from hell revealed.

 

 

 

MAP09 - “Counteraction Terminal”

 

another opening with sg & cg. fortunately we get the ssg earlier here, before the outdoor part, the only change from the corridor-based shooting prevalent here. watch out for chaingunners, everything else poses little threat. the only surprise was the archvile when i got back from the outdoor area, he even revived that baron i shot here before. unfortunately most situations here can be solved with a healthy dose of door camping. the part with the 2 spiders is probably intended to get them to infight? since they're difficult to hit with plasma from below. the finale is underwhelming imo. first that maulotaur looks completely off with his forward sliding walk, then he and the cybs are wasted in a large empty room. luckily there's a mob of imps to catch everything thrown at me.

[NuMetalManiak]

MAP08 Worst Case Scenario

 

This is a fun massacre level. Set in what else? Another big base, but then again, this one is large and less claustrophobic than the rest. While not at first, we reach the apex of the big base where there's plenty of meat to go around. Two pads to step on for progression further south, a Quake thing of sorts. Also a secret invulnerability which helps in an inevitable battle with Chaingun Face. Nice to find a secret plasma gun, and a few zombiemen to attack with it later on. Enemies sometimes warp in to the level in various spots on their own accord, rather than in attempt to ambush.

[Crusader No Regret]

Tangerine Nightmare:

 

     Taking a moment to give a shoutout to all the graphics edits, they help give this set its sense of identity.  The computer map replacement is familiar to me from Epic 2 though I recall that came from somewhere else as well (Powerslave?)  The monsters (so far, 4 maps in) have no changes in their behavior so the tried and true tactics that work before will continue to work.  For whatever reason, I was expecting difficulty along the lines of Stardate 2X06 but it has been an accessible experience so far.  I don't really feel that all the saving I do is needed.

 

Map 3: Another rather short map to show off the new visuals.  It's rather straightforward with two main branches that can be done in either order and both must be completed to reach the exit.  The fights are trickier though ultimately not too taxing.  The archvile duo is the meanest with a high potential for things to get out of control.  My successful attempt involved blowing one away swiftly with rockets which is risky given the chance of one rushing into one's personal space.  I was fortuitous as well when the hellknight support got stuck on a doortrack.  Using rockets on the exit mancubi proved slightly trickier than expected.  They're uncomfortably close if staying on top of the stairs while fighting in the middle of the steps carries the danger of planting a rocket into the step in front of you.  I had a number of Good At Doom moment when retrying this setup.  Still haven't maxed out bullets on continuous; these have been shotgun heavy affairs so far.

[gaspe]

MAP08: Cool setting and it has its own character while keeping the same theme. The highlight is the spiderdemon that you can dedice to ski and set later a Gotcha! fight with a cyberdemon. I like the "puzzle" sequence to lower the pillars in the central room and get access to the BK area. The map is dragged down by a gameplay that it's too much a meat parade, with the SSG that comes rather late and a bit too much symmetry.