The /newstuff Chronicles #230

Cyb Says: It's all Ralphis' fault. Feel free to call him mean names! He ruined your weekends! Here's UD (who was on time, but we were waiting for Ralphis):

Coming sooner than expected yet a week later than expected, here's another bunch of maps taken out of the bottomless pit known as newstuff. Everything is on the small side this week (well mostly), with 16 maps and two monsters. So it shouldn't take you too long then:

• Fear II - The Spawn by Matt Bollier (Fogey)
  110kb - doom2.exe - SP -
  A dark metal map that feels rather Quake-like. There's not much detail on the walls but floor/ceiling effects and lighting make up for it, with an atmosphere to match. Gameplay isn't that hard but you will be without an ssg for a bit. Recommended.
  
  
• ImpHead & UAC tank by Prokop Smetana (NeoWorm)
  172kb - ZDoom - n/a -
  A pair of monsters, one an easy-to-kill imp head on spider legs and the other a hard-to-kill tank from Atomic Duke.
  
  
• Obelisk of Blood by Prokop Smetana (NeoWorm)
  48kb - Skulltag - DM -
  A very odd deathmatch map that's set on a bunch of platforms above a sea of blood. Platforms aren't that big and are connected with springs, so expect a bit of congestion with a lot of players. There's also a lower level half-way down the columns too. Each platform has a different weapon, so plenty of choice for fighting. It makes for a weird, if a little crazy match.
  
  
• Doomgate Training Camp by Doomgater
  kb - doom2.exe - n/a -
  Put simply, a long wide room that's designed for practicing wallrunning, straferunning/jumping and rocket jumping.
  
  
• Paddock & Ship by Rand Smith
  kb - doom2.exe - DM -
  A pair of old deathmatch maps. One is a big open area with a pit and a couple of structures, the other is a ship complete with sails, a lower deck, a lifeboat and a little island. It's very sparsely detailed but the theme is there and the (green?) sea with horizon effect does create an atmosphere. However that's the best it gets, as the gamaplay is non-existant. Few weapons, some areas cut off from others (linked by weird teleports) and huge open spaces. And the first map is even worse. In short, avoid.
  
  
• RH21A by RICH HORN
  kb - doom.exe - SP -
  A small-ish E2M1 that is flat and mostly regular in shape. It has a few rooms of varying sizes, and mostly of a grey modern/tech theme. It's an old wad so the detail is bare, but the old atmosphere runs through it as it does in these wads. Gameplay-wise it's not hard except for the final battle atop a platform with two barons. As with a lot of these wads, only the nostalgia hunters will really enjoy them.
  
  
• RHE2L3 by RICH HORN
  kb - doom.exe - SP -
  A small fortress-esque map boasting a cool horizon effect using the old vanilla method. The focus here is on a spider mastermind and cyberdemon battle in the main hall, with the surrounding rooms and passages containing stuff to help you (as well as the outer area). One thing that always puzzled me about this map (it was among the first pwads I played) was the construction: two-sided lines acting as one-sided (seems to be some deu trick, as it always screwed up in wauthor). Anyway the map is short and sweet, and the battle isn't too difficult if you play it right.
  
  
• Steel Cage Match by Robert Fleming
  kb - doom2.exe - DM -
  A deathmatch map based around that old cornerstone of wrestling, the steel cage match. Trouble is, someone left the door open for you to escape and battle around the ring and the changing rooms just away from it. And indeed that's where all the weapons are apart from a rocket launcher round the back of the ring. It doesn't play as bad as you might think, and it's also a wallrunner's paradise. It does look bare though but it's worth a look with more players.
  
  
• Shadow by Alex Mayberry
  kb - doom2.exe - SP -
  An unusual map based around shadows and lighting. This includes sharp contrasts between light and dark, as well as numerous lighting effects. These are quite good, but it's a shame the gameplay doesn't match it. Seemingly random-placed powerups, big weapons at the start and too much ammo. As a result the map isn't as good as it could've been, but it's worth checking out anyway.
  
  
• Sin by Bjarne Christensen
  kb - doom2.exe - SP -
  A small crappy icon of sin map that has you climbing a series of lifts to reach the top of a semi-cirular map, where you can hit a switch or the head.
  
  
• SL-9 by Impboy4
  kb - Skulltag - SP -
  A bunch of 6 tiny tech maps for Skulltag. All the enemies are zombies, but you get no health at all throughout. Which makes it one of those quick-reaction wads if you try to play without saves and/or with fast monsters. Detail-wise there isn't that much apart from slopes. It's a short sharp blast that might be interesting if you play without saves and/or speedrun it, otherwise it probably won't appeal to non-tech map fans.