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    The /newstuff Chronicles #127


    deathz0r

    Unfortunately this is a last minute job (due to real life situations), however I'll try my hardest to give you some decent reviews. Luckily for me, there's only seven new wads to go through (I refuse to touch re-released wads now), four of which are deathmatch. Yay for deathmatch! Still, go click on that (more) button now, or I shall do something very horrible to you, like uhh... make a negative review of a map that you made.

    • Big Crappy Shit Megawad - Smoking Joe
      444kb - Doom2.exe - SP
      What better way to kick off a week, than with a joke megawad! If this was released before 1337.wad, it would of been the funniest thing ever. Unfortunately Smoking Joe, you're about 9 months too late.
    • ma_desolate - Ed C.
      2877kb - ZDoom 2.0 b46 - DM
      Oh man, this map is definitely something I wanted to see in the ZDaemon contest. This level oozes out atmosphere, and can easily fit at least 6 players in it. The gameplay is very smooth, but it seems to have a fair amount of camping spots though. This is a E1-inspired map, and it definitely proves that it is with such incredible amount of work that was put into it. Even the lift near the chainsaw is great to look at. If you were looking for a good DM map this week, look no further, since this is the jackpot. The only problem I have with it is the MP3 in it, making it quite a big size for what it's worth.

    • metaldm (untitled, gave it a name) - metal and boris_
      44kb - MIDI-supporting Port - DM
      I remember playing this when Lyfe first put up the GetSomeWhere.Net servers, when it was in knortdm.wad. This is map05 from the wad, and it's my second favourite out of the original wad. It's great for 1-on-1 or three players, possibly four. It has a great atmosphere, like some courtyard or something. The only thing I hate about this level is that it is lacking an exit, which is a bit of a worry for ports that do not have the fraglimit feature. Other than that, it's an outstanding level that deserves a lot of attention in the ZDaemon community, and also here.

    • NBOD DM 3: Digital Science - Dennis "Exl" Meuwissen
      157kb - Legacy - DM
      This level displays my number one pet peeve in deathmatch maps - symmetrical maps. I loathe them really badly (see earlier /newstuffs for further details), but I guess I'll try to be fair this time around.

      In a nutshell, it sucks. The flowness of the level is very dull and somewhat borderline, and the texturing is so-so. The really annoying thing about this is that it has no music! Argh! You can't have a good deathmatch experience without some MIDI playing in the background. Without one, it just doesn't give you that weird adrenaline rush. Back to the map, it has some rather annoying ambient sounds (stolen from Star Wars, i think), and the useless amount of of 3D floors makes me go insane. There is a few decent detailed parts, but the intense amount of symmetry makes me cry. Another thing I hate about the map is those doors that lead underneath the main area. I have no 100% clue on how to open them. Deathmatch maps aren't about doors which require a bit of brain power to open, it's about slaughtering the hell out of your friends. Thumbs down, but that death sequence that you'll see in the level is quite a nice feature.

    • Steeple Chase V1.1 - M.Eyre
      1216kb - Enhanced Heretic Port - SP
      This week's heretic wad is by far the best SP wad this week. It features a great dark and eerie type of atmosphere, although there wasn't many surprises that I really noticed, excluding the start of the level. Even though it was lagging quite a bit on my computer (which is a very low-end computer if you compare it to what is around today), it is a very interesting level. Since I was running on limited time, I wasn't able to go through the entire level, but this is definitely the winning wad this week. Download it now.

    • The Duel - DarkWolf
      28kb - Legacy - SP
      Oh man, this has to be the best single level Legacy wad that I've ever seen. It has that strong Golden Axe-like gameplay flow in it, and it provides hours of fun by trying to gain the highest score possible. For those who haven't played Golden Axe, it was a side-scrolling beat 'em up game released on the Sega Genesis and other platforms. You control this guy, and you beat up angry dwarves and other mean bastards. Anyway, you're in a symmetrical arena, where enemies fly out of doors that are high enough to be inaccessible. You have to kill them all with limited ammo, and wait for the next wave to appear. You gain minor bonuses between waves, just so you don't end up using your fists against demons and whatnot. If it wasn't for Steeple, this would get the "SP wad of the week" award.

    • Undying Revised - Daniel "Doomer34" Carroll
      23kb - Legacy - DM
      For those who played the original Undying, it's exactly the same thing, except it's been retextured and some more sectors have been added. Other than that, it's exactly what I said last time. Avoid it again.

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    Just though I'd mention that the information about steeple.wad on
    IDgames, is incorrect. The Data showen is from the V1.0 readme (now completely incorrect). Though the download link leads to V1.1 with an updated readme and wad

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    sargebaldy said:

    so this is officially a monday thing now, right?

    Actually, stupidity on my behalf.

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    The Shinjo said:

    Just though I'd mention that the information about steeple.wad on
    IDgames, is incorrect. The Data showen is from the V1.0 readme (now completely incorrect). Though the download link leads to V1.1 with an updated readme and wad

    Even after I asked Cyb to update the /idgames listing, it still didn't update the information. Then again, Ty didn't replace the old text file with ctfz0r1.txt.

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    deathz0r said:

    This week's heretic wad is by far the best SP wad this week. It features a great dark and eerie type of atmosphere, although there wasn't many surprises that I really noticed, excluding the start of the level. Even though it was lagging quite a bit on my computer (which is a very low-end computer if you compare it to what is around today), it is a very interesting level. Since I was running on limited time, I wasn't able to go through the entire level, but this is definitely the winning wad this week. Download it now.
    [/list]

    strange enough as it is to say it, i think you overrated this one. i noticed HOM 2 minutes into it, and at several points the nodes were so bad they eat away chunks of the level. the atmosphere would be pretty good if it weren't for the constant annoying stream of monsters that make you want to rip out your hair. it's never a good sign when you can see 4 kinds of monsters on the screen at once, and i think there's times here you can see more like 6 or 7. it also starts off way too difficult to scare you at any later point. the actual level design is pretty nice though, so kudos to the authour on that.

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    Just uploaded V1.11 of Steeple.wad to the archives. It's currently in Incoming, but once added to the archives, the link at the top of the page should go to it instead of the old version (V1.1)

    It has the following changes.

    1.Added skill levels.
    The monster count currently stands at this
    Skill 1+2: 150
    Skill 3: 194
    Skill 4+5: 231
    The ammo has also been tweaked so that there is slightly less on the lower skills

    2.Hid a few of the traps and such throughout the level a bit better, most nocticibly I forgot to hide them on the Automap

    3.Also done a bit of tidying up around the level

    Yeh the nodes are pretty bad at a couple of parts running the level in Zdoom, But they aren't there when running it under Legacy or Jheretic(If you let it build the nodes at startup).

    Thanks for the feedback

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    Maybe Deathz0r was refering to wads that were released sometime ago, and have only been put in the Archives recently or into newstuff again, without any changes.

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    Wow. I really like the reviews this week. Sargebaldy's take on the heretic wad made me even more curious about it. Don't you love diversity?

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    The Shinjo said:

    Just though I'd mention that the information about steeple.wad on
    IDgames, is incorrect. The Data showen is from the V1.0 readme (now completely incorrect). Though the download link leads to V1.1 with an updated readme and wad


    The same thing happened to my Tower of WAR Demo. Version 2.0 is up but the data on the page is from 1.0.

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    Hmm...good looking reviews. Lol, and that "Big Crappy Shit Megawad" looks like the same kind of wad as the ones in the last /newstuff that you made, deathz0r :) (Man, I have to play them sometime..)

    Oh, and btw, where can I get 1337.wad? I think I'd like it, since it seems funnier than BCSM.

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    The Shinjo said:

    Maybe Deathz0r was refering to wads that were released sometime ago, and have only been put in the Archives recently or into newstuff again, without any changes.

    Yeah, I was.

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    Liam said, about Steeple Chase:
    Heretic map ahoy! That wascally wizad D'Sparil always seems to be a step ahead of you; after being banished to the outlands for however long you were banished to the outlands (I don't know, Heretic 2 was really lame) you come face to face with the Serpent Rider at the bottom of a gigantic tower only to find that he has harnessed the ancient power of 'teleport linedefs' to jump all the way to the top. You know what you have to do. Steeple Chase replaces E2M7 of Heretic. The 'going up' gameplay here reminds me vaguely of Doom 2 Map29. Of course this is several times more challenging than Doom 2 Map29, there's quite the army to deal with here and disciples can get particularly annoying given the amount of space they have to fly around undetected. This is a nocturnal map and there isn't much in the way of lighting so many of the visuals are shrouded in black but what you can see of it is satisfying if a bit square. For Heretic fans this is a definite worthy download. Requires advanced Heretic port and sinful.wad. Must be played with jumping enabled.


    taken from t/nc 94 out of me personal archives, back in the day where there was a single, talented (YES) reviewer WHO FINISHED MAPS BEFORE HE REVIEWED THEM instead of three people playing hot potato with reviewing priveleges

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    Damn, ma_desolate is pretty tight! GJ! When the next ver of ST is done, we'll have to put it up on a server and try it out.

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    Liam the Bard said:

    back in the day where there was a single, talented (YES) reviewer WHO FINISHED MAPS BEFORE HE REVIEWED THEM

    Too bad that you're horrible at FINISHING MAPS THAT YOU MADE.

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    deathz0r said:

    Too bad that you're horrible at FINISHING MAPS THAT YOU MADE.


    OH SNAP!

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    Liam the Bard said:

    back in the day where there was a single, talented (YES) reviewer WHO FINISHED MAPS BEFORE HE REVIEWED THEM


    So that's why there were still newstuff flamewars back then....

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    Linguica said:

    fp! props to all logged in trolls!

    First person to beat ling next week wins a cookie.

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    Liam the Bard said:

    taken from t/nc 94 out of me personal archives, back in the day where there was a single, talented (YES) reviewer WHO FINISHED MAPS BEFORE HE REVIEWED THEM instead of three people playing hot potato with reviewing priveleges


    I suppose you liked it better back when the reviewer was required to have no job or life off the internet.

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    Just played through "The Duel". The last wave took me completely by surprise. Though I think the chaingun should have been available at the start like the shotgun, or at least a bit earlier. Other than that, a good level.

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    [stupidquestion]
    Can ZDoom play Heretic or do I need a Heretic port? If so, which one's most like ZDoom?
    [/stupidquestion]

    pritch said:

    First person to beat ling next week wins a cookie.


    Hmm. I'd give it a shot, but is it really that big a deal?

    I mean, what kind of cookie are we talking about here? :P

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    Liam the Bard said:

    taken from t/nc 94 out of me personal archives, back in the day where there was a single, talented (YES) reviewer WHO FINISHED MAPS BEFORE HE REVIEWED THEM instead of three people playing hot potato with reviewing priveleges


    I disagree

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    pritch said:

    First person to beat ling next week wins a cookie.


    If it's on a sunday, I'm goin for it.

    /me buys more cheetos and coffee

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    Zdoom Can play Heretic levels as long as the Heretic.wad is in the same folder as Zdoom. Though Legacy and Jheretic both seem to produce less bad nodes on levels than Zdoom. Maybe should have mentioned that in the readme for my wad. Ah well

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    I've always found ZDoom (latest 2.0 beta) to be better at Heretic than Legacy, as none of the regular cheats work in Legacy and it crashes in the usual way (on my machine, anyway). And JHeretic doesn't show manikins (neither does Legacy) whereas ZDoom is fine with them.

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