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elic

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Posts posted by elic

  1. Posted · Edited by elic

    Minor nitpack:

     

    Compare my original submitted version of a section of map05 to the version in the latest beta.
     

    The water outside the cave the player is in is a darker shade than the water inside the cave, which kind of messes with the shadow effect being done with the rock pillars. Should hopefully be simple to up the brightness of the outside water in this one area.

     

    @june gloom Been enjoying your reviews but RE Map24:

    Quote

    What this boils down to is it pretty much requires trial-and-error gameplay with slowly learning the map and figuring out the minimum amount of steps required to get the blue key and get out.

    I had the same experience as this when playing the map, but I consider this description to be a total positive! I found it very cool being encouraged to gain a good understanding of the level, and the time pressure of the rad suits pushed me into a different play style than I'm used to, probably more a speedrunner mindset. Because the map is pretty open ended I found it fun having to map out my route and get a sense of the different encounters far more than I normally. Guess I'd consider this a way more successful version of whatever was trying to be done in Scythe Map28. But I generally like any level the messes with the conceptions of what's considered normal for a Doom map.

    5

  2. Posted · Edited by elic

    So I'm experiencing a strange issue on map03. Like @TheCyberDruid I'm stuck after clearing the first courtyard area. The way forward is blocked by a closed door with the YELLITE1 texture (sector 79). Investigating with UDB reveals that linedefs 142, 430, 911 and 916 are all supposed to open this door with action 109 (W1 Door Open Stay (fast)) but when I walk over these lines nothing happens. Interestingly if I change the action on these to 2 (W1 Door Open Stay) the door opens when I walk over the lines. Not sure what could be causing this. I'm playing on dsda-doom-0.21.3, complevel 2.

    EDIT: never mind this is just due to me accidentally playing on complevel 0 instead of 2 🤦‍♂️ please ignore...

     

    Another issue I've had is that the custom sounds are significantly louder than the default sounds already in the game. I had to lower the volume of all sounds because of the volume of the custom ones. Not sure if anyone else experienced this.


    Besides that I've been really enjoying these levels! Very unique visual style, great use of lighting, and tons of excellently placed barrels.

     

    2

  3. Posted

    40 minutes ago, Fireseth said:

    Yes. In response to Bridgeburner asking, "So it will be a full 32?", John Romero responded with a "Yeah."

    Have the time stamp of this? I remember listening to that interview a while ago and feeling like something was off about Romero’s response there, like he didn’t fully understand the question or wasn’t sure yet how big the project would be.

     

    I just think we should hold off on expecting this project from being 32 maps until we get a more clear confirmation.

    0

  4. Posted

    11 hours ago, Fireseth said:

    So, John Romero is working on two separate Doom projects!


    SIGIL II - 9 levels, presumably for DOOM 1 since it'll be releasing on its thirtieth birthday.

    Untitled Megawad - 32 levels, confirmed to be for DOOM 2, releasing after SIGIL II. This project was previously referred to as SIGIL II by John Romero but I'm assuming that's no longer the case. Sources: Bridgeburner Interview with John Romero and this Tweet.


    Has Romero actually confirmed that the Doom 2 project will be 32 levels? I feel if that was the case he would have made it clear in the reply tweet.

    1

  5. Posted ·

    Pretty fun stuff. Highlights include the graffiti in map01, unexpected cave trek in map03, and the entirety of map05. Would personally have preferred maybe a more exploration-heavy map to break up the solidly action-oriented style of everything here (all the levels seemed to have pretty similar combat style), but besides that this was very solid

    1

  7. Posted

    Pretty much in agreement with Mt Pain here. I played to about map10 or so on the switch version around when it came out and was not very impressed. Just found the levels to be really bland. I feel the atmosphere would have been a lot stronger if the monsters and everything were new to me, but being pretty familiar with Doom's combat the pretty standard monster placement wasn't really able to scare me or anything.

    4

  8. Posted

    One final batch of feedback:

     

    All levels played on DSDA-Doom complevel 4 UV with limited saves from a pistol start

    • MAP24
      • Super fun damaging floor gimmick here. I kinda feel that damaging floors as a gameplay mechanic only rarely are used to their full potential despite being super common in general. Having the pressure of a challengingly low amount of radsuits is a great way to shake up Doom’s gameplay. This map compares interestingly to the other mostly-damaging-floor-map I can think of – Skagway from UAC Ultra. While that map is a straightforward gauntlet, this one is really more of a puzzle box, with each of my attempts gradually getting me closer to unlocking an optimal route. Had a great time challenging myself (and succeeding) to do the map saveless, which played well with its puzzly nature.
    • MAP25
      • Yet another gloomly techbase map, with more laid back combat once again providing a great contrast to the previous level. A bit less distinctive than some of these other maps but still really enjoyable overall. The whole thing is oozing with atmosphere
      • Cool double switch motif. The alignment on this pair looks off tho
    • MAP26
      • :(
    • MAP27
      • One of my favorites of the wad. While the “2 versions of same map” gimmick isn’t totally original (I was going make a comment about how this might have been influenced by NEIS E4M2 until I realized there’s a much more obvious inspiration) I think this is the most successful attempt at it that I’ve played, with tons of cool connections between the 2 halves. The concept wasn’t totally obvious to me at first, but then I picked up the computer map, noticed the similarities between the 2 map halves, and then everything began to fit into place. Besides the overall concept I had a great time with the combat here, with it consistently putting up a challenge but never really being overwhelming, and loaded with nice set pieces
      • One of the best uses I’ve seen of the mordeth bridge effect here. This whole area around the raising water pool was one of my favorite sequences of the wad actually
      • More automap weirdness here with some random stray non-hidden lines showing up on it (after the computer area map is picked up IIRC). These have been common enough in the wad by this point that I recommend someone just going through and idbeholda-ing at the start of each map…
    • MAP28
      • Relatively low monster count, but I found this to be one of the wad’s hardest maps. A strong sense of tension runs throughout the map, with a tight health and ammo balance being complemented by level geometry that maximizes the danger of each enemy. Gameplay kinda reminded me of Dark Souls of all things. Probably my least favorite of this batch of maps (just found the start sequence a little annoying I guess), but, like, still really good
      • The double key setup of MAP10 is reused – also loving this wad’s commitment to optional areas
    • MAP29
      • A surprisingly straightforward and easy start here compared to the other Tarnsman maps in the wad, but the gameplay gradually ramps up here until it culminates in possibly the wad’s hardest sequence following the blue door. An excellent penultimate level for the wad, with some clear Evilution homages but still a unique identity.
      • FWIW I had pretty bad ammo problems in the big spider fight. If the archvile encounters precding it go poorly and they resurrect the Mancubuses you can get locked out of having enough to really deal with it. Besides this I really enjoyed this whole section, especially the use of crushers
    • MAP30
      • lol well this is something. A pretty cool map, not my favorite of the wad, but clearly an achievement in vanilla hackery and in-level storytelling, and overall a fitting ending
      • I think the story aspect of the map is its biggest strength, and at some points I feel the combat got in the way of it. I guess I wasn’t a big fan some of the gameplay here, finding it often more annoying really than challenging (the big ambush in the dark in the blood stream is an example of this). YMMV but I think the map would have been improved if the difficultly was toned down to allow the level’s atmosphere and narrative to remain more clearly in focus. Just because it's the final map doesn't mean it needs to be one of the hardest, and MAP29 already provided an excellent climax to the wad's gameplay challenge
      • Gotta love a good Team TNT logo sighting
      • Not a bug, but just wanted share the tragedy of this lost soul getting stuck in the void 😢
      • Great music here, kinda similar to the Doom 2 MAP30 midi actually. Wish more wads had ambient-leaning music like this
      • I found lupinx-Kassman’s plot synopsis post to be really helpful in actually explaining the story. While originally playing the level I thought the premise was doomguy getting shrunken down and Fantastic Voyage-ing it through some normal-sized person or demon’s body, which meant the final reveal was something of a… headscratcher (sorry). While I’m not opposed to ambiguous stories in general, I think have some of these plot details be made more clear could really enhance the experience of playing this map for the first time

    Overall pretty awesome wad, totally worth the wait, and shaping up to be one of my favorites. Really loved how much variety there was, with nearly every map feeling like a unique experience dissimilar to anything else in the wad, yet with the wad being surprisingly cohesive as a whole. It was pretty interesting seeing the varying interpretations of what makes TNT maps what they are, whether it being a prevalence of doom cute, a haunting atmosphere, an intimidating sense of scale, or a blast through a brightly lit techbase. One fortunate way the wad clearly differs from Evilution is that it's final 3rd was its strongest, with a really incredible string of closing levels starting from around MAP22 and never letting up.   

    5

  9. Posted

    1 hour ago, ReaperAA said:

    Also while the final fight is definitely quite a spike in difficulty, it didn't feel all that bad if one grabs invulnerability around the time when the archviles arrive from teleports. Just BFG focus on AVs and kill most of them + the masterminds (to free more megaspheres under them) before the invul runs out and hopefully it will end out fine. I died only like a couple of times before I managed best that fight.

    FWIW I was only to get like half the AVs with the invuln each time, and afterward just got swarmed by the remaining ones. I'm personally not that great at using the BFG though so that could have been part of why it was so tough for me.

    0

  10. Posted ·

    More map-specific feedback. Except for MAP22 and MAP23 these were all played on the 1st beta release, so sorry if any of the comments are outdated

     

    Spoiler

    All levels played from a pistol start on DSDA-Doom complevel 4 UV with limited saves

    • MAP13
      • Loved the concept of these one, being basically Dead Zone but modernized and creepier. Also loved the complete disregard for typical key placement conventions, as well as the fact that 1 of a set of 3 secrets is required for progression. Was less of a fan of the combat - many of the encounters felt more jumpscare-ish than fun, but still really enjoyed the map despite this
      • Strange alignment on the door's warning stripe here
      • You get 2 armor suits in a row when entering the base here, which was kind of unnecessary
    • MAP14
      • Another awesome techbase map. Lots of creative set pieces plus a great unraveling layout. Tied with map15 as my favorite from this batch of maps
    • MAP15
      • Knew I was going to like this one once I saw the graffiti. Tons of creative stuff here
      • Pistol start was tough but nothing unreasonable - once I got a decent amount of supplies the level wasn't really that difficult, besides the frantic succession of fights in the southeast corner, which was a def highlight. 
      • I wonder if this was meant to be less of a tribute to TNT Evilution and more of a tribute to Team TNT in general. The diner is a clear Icarus reference, and the TV remote secret seemed like a homage to the Eternal Doom mansion map. Also this is maybe a stretch, but the midi seemed pretty Eternal Doom-ish
      • Pretty minor annoyance, but once you get the plasma rifle, you can get blocked by a hidden imp when trying to jump off the ledge out
      • I didn't like that the secret exit was unmarked. Seems like it'd be pretty annoying to accidentally hit the switch without wanting to leave the map
    • MAP31
      • Less of a fan of this map. Honestly I felt that the Roman theme was a missed opportunity. While the new textures (and triangular roofs!) were pretty cool, if you take them (and all the columns) away, you basically have a generically themed crypt map, which could be easily re-themed as Egyptian or something. IDK just felt like Roman theme was wasted potential, I would have preferred to see some more distinctly Roman locations like a forum, amphitheater, or villa, but instead there were just a bunch of temples and a lifetime supply of columns. This all is probably a stupid thing to complain about, but besides the theme I didn’t find any of the other aspects of the map to be that strong.
    • MAP32
      • Much better secret level IMO. Was a bit disappointed that this was yet another Egyptian level but I think the idea of fusing the Egyptian and techbase themes helped keep it interesting. The main advantage here over MAP32 for me was the combat, which included several great set pieces (a highlight being the red key area). Also another big step up in difficulty
    • MAP16
      • This one felt like a well-deserved breather after the last few maps. Well captures the eerie techbase feeling of some of the E2 Evilution maps like Crater and Steel Works
    • MAP17
      • This one was just okay. I liked the island layout but the combat when first going outside felt pretty annoying, with the use of high-pressure enemies like chaingunners and pain elementals without any armor. The map wasn’t particularly difficult compared to some of the ones before it, but I felt like the puzzleish layout would have been better complemented by more laid-backed gameplay. Felt pretty stylistically out of place too, but once again… TNT sequel.
      • The cyb was able to teleport here and get stuck. Poor dude 😥
    • MAP18
      • Another dark, relatively easy, techbase level like MAP16, but this time with an even stronger sense of atmosphere. Something about the layout here felt kind of off to me but I couldn’t really put my finger on it… I guess there wasn’t really a clear progression and I just kind of wandered around until I was able to get to the exit. This sense of aimlessness fits the map’s mood though, so maybe this isn’t that much of a bad thing, IDK. Enjoyed this overall but can’t help but feeling that it has the potential to be even better
      • Slime trail in the ceiling here
      • Some of the shorter metal fences could be walked through - not sure if these were intentional. At the very least I think this one could be made more realistic by making use of a self-referential sector
    • MAP19
      • A 900+ monster meme. It’s pretty good
      • Really like that you can skip most of the map. Besides being in line with the original Habitat, this provides an easier way out for what’s easily the most difficult non-secret map of the wad so far if the player’s not really up to it
    • MAP20
      • Ehhh actually didn't enjoy this one too much. Some of the visuals were technically impressive I guess but overall they felt maybe to abstract and random to really come together into something coherent. Didn't find the combat that enjoyable either. IDK maybe I was just in a bad mood
      • Despite all this I did really like the small closed-off section you teleport to in the east of the map behind the starting area. The visual style and architecture seemed to come together better there than in the rest of the map
      • I was able to get stuck here after teleporting back to the main area after the yellow key. This was by opening the wall to the side and hugging the bloodfall until the wall closed
      • Automap glitches
      • The midi was okay but I thought it was pretty repetitive for such a long map. ...hoping this is one of the ones Bucket tweaked for the 2nd beta
      • The fight after the fake exit seemed like a huge increase in difficulty compared to everything else so far in the wad. I gave it like 20 tries (while only dying like 2-3 times in the rest of the map) before giving up and just running for the exit... which maybe was the point? Either way I'm generally more of a fan of smoother difficulty curves so didn't like this, but YMMV
    • MAP21
      • Does TNT 2 continue the TNT tradition by shitting the bed in its final third? Based on this map, the answer is no
      • A pretty low-key level, but once again a nice breather after the previous 2 colossuses
    • MAP22
      • Yet another moody techbase, this one being another standout map of the wad so far. Lots of memorable stuff here, such as the automap wackiness near the start or the room with all doors. Really loving how so many of the maps in the wad have been tapping into creepiness of a lot of Evilution's middle levels
      • This level had another abnormally difficult closing area with it's arch-vile surprise party. Died 10+ times here after only 1 death from the rest of the map. I actually think the fight itself was great on its own, but I think a megasphere or something before it would have helped smooth out the challenge (if that's a priority)
      • This TNT sign take the award for best random detail of the wad so far
    • MAP23
      • …and the darkness of MAP22 is balanced out with something much more action-packed and bright. Pretty solid level, though not much about it really stood out to me. Favorite thing about it was probably the texturing actually, I can’t think of many maps with the same red+silver color scheme, and this map look full advantage of it with tons of blood smears on the silver walls, pools of blood on the floor, and… …a relatively high number of Cacodemons(?)

    In general these maps felt more ambitious and atmospheric than the ones from the first 12 I went over in my previous write up. Not that surprising considering the fact that they're deeper in the mapset I guess. Kinda enjoyed the first set of levels I played more, but overall still really liking the wad.

     

    3

  11. Posted ·

    Aren’t the recurring cyberdemon encounters like the main theme of the map though? At least that’s the impression I got when I played it.

     

    FWIW I never found the plasma secret and therefore never really had the ammo to kill the cyberdemon, so it was pretty threatening for the map’s entire duration, including a great exit rush to try and avoid it’s rockets at the end

    1

  13. Posted

    IIRC I was in a similar position when I played AV for the first time. Back then almost everything saveless on UV. AV was definitely a step up from Requiem on UV but a I managed to get through it. It's the type of thing that teaches you to get better though as you go along, and in general the gameplay felt much more thought out and designed for fun than Requiem. The challenge gradually ramps up over the course of wad, so by the time you get to hardest maps (25-27, plus the secret ones too maybe) it's not as bad as a jump as could have been otherwise.

     

    I recommend trying out pistol starting if you haven't before. I was pretty hesitant to try it for a while but it really adds a whole new layer of strategy to the game

     

    Also don't be as stubborn as I was back in the day and make use of saves if stuck on something for a long time 😛.  I remember Map27 being a huge pain to do saveless due to it's sheer length and linearity

    7

  14. Posted ·

    18 minutes ago, PasokonDeacon said:

    Thing is, Dean of Doom has a canonical review format vs. the more free-form discussions you see in Doomworld club threads and other topics. MtPain27 has to cover all the maps and their perceived highlights, saving deep analysis for only the most enjoyable/impressive/interesting examples. He's able to keep episodes well-paced for his audience this way, but it's not the only optimal way to create WAD reviews/essay videos. For instance, I bet you could adapt the bulk of the Roots article by @Not Jabba into a full-lengthy documentary (or episodic series), comparing notable modern releases with influences/inspirations from back then. Or how about a video series building off the Megawad/Miniwad Club threads, trading between paraphrasing commenters' thoughts on maps and the video author's own experiences?

    Definitely some good ideas here

     

    If someone want's to distinguish themselves as a video wad reviewer, I think a great way to do it would be take a more analytical approach. Something akin to Matthewmatosis (or Tim Rogers if they want to get crazy). Focus more on what goal a particular mapper was reaching for in the maps they make and in what ways the failed and succeeded to reach that goal, rather than focusing on the reviewers view of the quality of individual levels.

     

    Would love to start a series like that myself, but if I ever find the time to ramp up my involvement in the community again I'd probably just get back into mapping instead 😛

    2

  15. Posted

    Disappointed that MtPain is thinking of ending the series after only scratching the surface of the community's content - I've really gotten to enjoy his videos over the past few months. At the same time totally understand if he wants to focus on stuff other than reviews.

     

    If he does decided to throw in the towel, I'm hoping a few more people take up the mantle of video reviews. His videos have been a great showcase of the vast creativity of the world of doom modding in an entertaining form, and it'd be shame for them to stop so soon. Also while I enjoy MtPain's stuff, he definitely has some pretty specific themes in what he does and doesn't enjoy, and it'd be great to see videos from someone with a different set of preferences.

    12

  16. Posted ·

    Got around to playing the first 12 maps. So far it's unsurprisingly been really good. Incredible how much diversity there is between the levels despite almost all of them following the theme of TNT-inspired techbases... though the fact that TNT itself is pretty varied helps.

     

    Map-specific feedback:

     

    Spoiler

    All levels played on DSDA-Doom complevel 4 UV with limited saves

    • MAP01
      • Great introduction. The blue area at the start is such a cool way to start things off - some great subtle details there (e.g. the eye). I like how the concept of starting with the defeated IOS is something preserved from the cut first map of the demo I played a decade ago
      • The 2 instant moving sectors in the flesh tunnel (310 and 321) could easily be made to move silently with the same trick used for sector 83 and a few others. Think this would a simple way to improve immersion here
    • MAP02
      • Definitely one of my favorites of the first 12. The map had a really strong sense of place, maybe one of the most often overlooked aspects of TNT
      • Dumb suggestion, but wouldn't it be cool if the map on linedef 495 actually matched up to the level's geometry? (maybe pretty high effort for a single detail 😏)
    • MAP03
      • Loved the theme here
      • Seems like a step down in difficultly from the first 2 maps (once you get past the first through hallways at least) but not complaining about having a breather level early on...
    • MAP04
      • Pretty tough ending fight compared to what's come so far. Ended up just ignoring the monsters and sprinting for the exit
      • A problem with the soulsphere on the bridge being unavoidable is that the area before has a ton of health bonus. I think had something like 180% health when was forced to pick it up. Not a huge problem but still kinda annoying

    Now for my own 2 maps, both with significant changes since I last worked on them 8+ years ago. Both Tarnsman and Xaser did a great job modifying  them, and it was an awesome experience getting to play improved versions of my own stuff.

    • MAP05
      • The secret lift in the darkened pit secret (sector 123) has a texture that doesn't tile well when the lift is lowered. Could be made less bad by adding another sector in front of the lift with the same tag having only one repetition of the texture (ZTFADE7) and changing the lift's texture to something that tiles better
      • The arachnotrons on the rocks in the main outdoor area can be pretty annoying to kill if you run out of rockets. Maybe put a few boxes right in front of them to minimize the chances of this happening?
      • The sound of the walkover actions causing sector 907 to lower could be misconceived as something related to a secret (such as the nearby locked door sector 589). The sector movement could be made silent to prevent players wasting their time here while secret hunting
      • Is there any real hint to sector 678 being lowerable? Totally forgot what the idea was here
      • Stray non-hidden automap line in the top left here
      • Still not a fan of the barrel trap. Out of curiosity I checked the last version of the map I worked on and I think the idea was it to be more of a fake out jump scare, with the crushers lowering but not actually detonating the barrels... maybe? honestly I forget.

        My main problem with the trap is that it's possible for the player to die without warning if they trigger the linedef causing the crushers to lower but wait a bit before going down the lift. If they then go down the lift once the barrels are about to explode they'll die without any way for them to be aware of the danger beforehand. Just really frustrating IMO. Not sure how this issue could be avoided without getting rid of the trap entirely.
      • The silver towers can be cut off by the sky from the right angles here
      • The lighting style in the new yellow key outdoor area felt kind of off. The other outdoor areas in the map made heavy use of shadows, while the lighting here felt pretty flat. I think the area could look better if similar shadows were added, or maybe just more contrast in the light values if visplanes are an issue
    • MAP06
      • Another relatively easy map, which is totally fine considering it's more atmospheric in style. Still though I felt there too much ammo and health in the map - I was over 100% health for most of my playthrough and basically swimming in ammo. I think reducing the amount of ammo, health, and armor could put more pressure on the player (thereby accentuating the map's creepy/haunting atmosphere) without making the map necessarily harder.
      • 2 armor powerups in a row here. Guessing this is a mistake?
      • There's a magic floating stimpack here

    Back to the non-me maps:

    • MAP07
      • Really fun relatively short map. Distinctly valkiriforce yet still fits in with everything else. Great use of the map07 tags
    • MAP08
      • Another favorite so far. Great gimmick of only using low health enemies for most of the map, I was definitely feeling the stronghold vibes
    • MAP09
      • My least favorite map in the set so far. Still a good level, just didn't really enjoy it as much as the others - didn't really feel particularly TNTish to me and the layout felt haphazard I guess. Great gimmick with the cybs showing up at awkward times though

    • MAP10

    • MAP11

      • Less good than the first valkiriforce map IMO, though I really liked the traps in the techbase section towards the end.

      • Some of the caves felt pretty barebones to me. I guess this isn’t a problem in a tribute to a 25-year-old wad, but these did seem pretty off to me considering the modern visuals of the rest of the wad so far, idk

      • The missing-texture flood-fill effect can be used on the ceiling here to hide the lighting on it, which would get rid off the noticeable lighting cutoff and make the area look better IMO

    • MAP12

     

    3

  20. Posted

    Congrats on the release everyone!

     

    I was in high school when I basically left the project by disappearing from the community, so it's pretty wild getting to see this released 8 years later.

     

    I also apologize for high school me's rants (preserved in the old thread) about the 2014 change in project direction. 🙄 In retrospect it was definitely for the better that the whole project was revamped.

     

    I've taken a few peeks at the in-development project in the past (shhh don't tell anyone but I still have access to the team dropbox) but I'm really looking forward to playing this for real for the first time!

     

    Just hoping some good samaritan on the dev team had the kindness to remove my barrel trap in map05...

    16

  21. Posted

    History lesson on E3M8 and my DTWID experience:

     

    My first dtwid submission was a normal-length E3 style map which I eventually released as Castle of Fear. Honestly it's a pretty mediocre level - there's a handful of neat E3 style visuals but the combat is boring and lacks the creative energy of the original episode. In retrospect I had a pretty messed up attitude when making the map. At the time I was convinced that the original doom was highly overrated within the community compared to succeeding world of custom levels (I guess still believe this a bit, but less strongly), and designed the level as more of an experiment to match what I saw as the blandness of the original E3... really not a great set of conditions for inspired mapping. Not really sure why I decided to work on the project in the first place - guess I just couldn't ignore all the excitement buzzing from the project thread.

     

    At some point I added a spider boss arena to the E3 submission, turning it into an E3M8 contender, though I removed it before the map's idgames release (instead ending the map with a cyb fight making use of the E4M6 special sector tags). I forgot if the arena had any similarities to what became Core, but this got me interested in the challenge of creating a non-underwhelming E3M8. I then started Core with the goal of making a spider boss battle that was worthy of being Doom's final level, as well as being not completely trivial to beat with the BFG.

     

    I'd say I failed at that final point (it's definitely less BFG-cheesable than Dis, but not by a whole lot), yet I'm pretty satisfied overall with the final level. It's still pretty easy by today's standards, but I feel I succeeded in giving it more tactical depth than the original boss map. Standing on different points of the main star platform changes up the patterns of enemy fire you're exposed to, and while I can understand some finding the spider's raising and lowering cover walls being boring to wait for, I think they were a successful method of extending the fight's length. I'm particularly happy with the items under the crushers. The idea was to make going for the items a risk - is getting that blusphere worth risking getting crushed (and taking guaranteed damage from the lift platform) for?

     

    Around the time the level was accepted into the final maplist, someone (@Xaser I think?) made some modifications to my submitted version. The teleport line onto the star platform after dropping into the arena was added (for reasons unknown to me) and the whole level was retextured (my original version was mostly textured with the green marble texture Sandy loves so much). I have mixed feelings on the retexturing - the level definitely looks cooler than it originally did, but also less id-like in my eyes.

     

    Looks like level has had pretty scattershot reception here which is fine - it's been long enough since I've made it that I'm not taking any of the feedback personally and am mostly just interested in how people feel about a pretty unusual map. No apologies for making the lifts damaging though... :P

    (...don't really get why (semi) mandatory damaging floors are so controversial in the first place - they create some interesting tactical situations and this case it's not like the level is already that hard. Guess people are just convinced that hell should play fair)

     

    After completing Core I made another dtwid submission, this time an E1 level similarly boring to my first E3 submission which once again was fortunately rejected. In this case the level had an unexpectedly bright future, as I recycled it into a chunk of Interception's MAP28 where it ended up working much better as an ominous arch-vile hive.

    15

  22. Posted

    Played this over the weekend - awesome stuff! The more exploratory portions of the maps really distill what I enjoy most about Doom's gameplay - running through open layouts, weaving in and out of small-scale fights, gradually clearing the place out. I can't think of a mapset that's been so fun for me to just run around in. Definitely going to be looking out for similar stuff!

     

    There was a strong sense of gameplay consistency in these maps which I found interesting. Basically there's 2 modes of gameplay here - open exploration (aka the "incidential combat" everyone's mentioning in this thread) and choreographed arena fights - with not much in between. The levels kinda follow a strict formula, with usually 2 main objectives open at once, each composed starting out with an exploration portion and ending an arena or 2. Normally formulaicness is something I dislike, but here it worked for me, I think mostly because this methodical approach to gameplay feel is uncommon in the maps I've played, and because the formula itself is pretty good, as the arenas were a perfect complement to the exploratory portions.

     

    I also noticed that the arena fights were usually much harder than the surrounding incidental combat. I probably had like ~25 deaths total in the arenas vs 1-2 outside of them. Personally I would have preferred a more consistent difficulty between these 2 types of gameplay, but I understand the appeal of the exploration portions being breathers between the arenas. The yellow key fight in map06 (the one mostly over lowered lava in a valley between the buildings) was by far the hardest fight in the wad for me, possibly because the plasma gun was intended to be used (judging by the cell supply before the fight)... ...which I didn't manage to find before I got locked into the fight sequence. I mostly enjoyed the arenas though, and it was fun seeing all the creative uses of boom conveyor scripting. The raising and sinking hex platforms at the end of map03 maybe could have been telegraphed batter, but the concept itself is one of the coolest twists I've seen in a doom fight.

     

    While the maps looked really nice, they also lacked a bit of character - all the details looked great on their own, but not many of them stuck as as particularly memorable. Overall this was fine, but I think it'd be cool to see more concrete/original themes or concepts holding the individual levels together. The best of the techbase levels for me was map05, as the giant nukage pit in the center of the map tied the whole layout together in a way missing from the other levels. Still though I liked the subtle themes shifts between the maps, with the clean high-tech of map02 contrasting with the more industrial map04 for example. Also the sudden shift to hell in the last map was an excellent way to twist things up right before the wad ended.

     

     

    3

  23. Posted ·

    I played my E1M1 again recently and I feel it can use some serious work. Felt that the gameplay was pretty sloggish and unexciting, and agree with some the previous sentiment that there isn’t enough Hangar in a map that should be ideally focused around one. Think I expressed some similar sentiment in the previous thread years back, but seems like the map is identical to as it was back then.

     

    Don’t really have the inspiration to modify it myself right now, but I encourage anyone interested to give improving, revamping, or replacing it a shot!

    1

  24. Posted

    Finished a few days ago, pretty solid wad! The new weapons were a definite highlight, and it might be hard adjusting to life without them in whatever I play next. Honestly feel that they're an improvement over the base doom arsenal - the increased firepower really improves the pace of things, and overall I found them to be more balanced (not sure if this was intentional but I loved how the flamethrowers incredible damage output was counterbalanced by the major visibility hit all the giant flames spammed across the screen caused). Also it was incredibly satisfyingly being able to (somewhat) easily take down archviles with only a pistol.

     

    Strongest map overall was easily Noiser's map16 - I just loved the map's constantly escalating battles, port-themed details, and unforgettable ship explosion. 2 other favorites were map06 and and map09, both of which were fun-filled adventures that best captured the tone the wad's (relatively) relaxed first half (also loved to see how much Moustachio has improved as a mapper since the interception 1 days). Also really enjoyed map17's looping layout (especially how the big multi-cyberdemon fight at the end reused a warped room from earlier) but I guess the more abstract visual style made it seem a bit out of place to me.

     

    Spoiler

    Separately what's up with that cyberdemon fight near the bfg in map14? Was I supposed to kill them or just run to the teleporter out of the area? Either way it seemed like a bizarrely out of place difficulty spike (even taking into account the wad's last few maps) unless I missed an invulnerability or something. Also wasn't really fan of the extended narrow zig-zag walkway before them...

     

    ...but overall enjoyed my experience, looking forward to checking out Ray Mohawk 1 (and the Rudy series too while I'm at it)

     

     

    6

  25. Posted

    Looks like I picked a good day to lurk...

     

    I could understand an argument that Hangar could do a better job at fitting it's title. I think the more abstract representation of the hangar itself is fine, but maybe having it be more of the focus of the map could be more in line with this project's goals. However, if the map needs to be replaced, it should be a decision made by the project leads, and it's kinda obnoxious to come out of nowhere with a replacement without discussing it with them first.

     

    The map could definitely use some changes - most obvious is the incredibly outdated meme in easter egg area - this should definitely be removed or replaced with something less cringey. Also now that project is limit-removing, the outdoor are could use some visual touch-ups - when designing it I had to make some major concessions to fit the vanilla limits. Don't see how its a rehash of d2ino map01 though. Besides having similar texture themes they don't have any more stylistic similarities than any other 2 random Processing maps.


    Also unironically loving the new nickname "Processing". Thanks dude

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