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Moustachio

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Posts posted by Moustachio

  6. Posted · Edited by Moustachio

    Well, April 8th has now officially passed everywhere on Earth. The end of the beta phase is over, but that doesn't mean submissions are closed. The remaining mappers can still submit their maps until RC2 is released one month from now on May 9, 2024. I won't accept any new sign-ons as of today, so any empty slots will remain empty after the 8th of May.

     

    In the meantime, here's Release Candidate 1: embryo_rc1.zip

     

    I'm kindly asking mappers to please check that I've compiled the latest version of their map along with the proper skies and midi.

     

    For feedback, tag the map author and provide them with a summary of any bugs. Be sure to mention whether or not you had fun playing the level and why that is! Please, use the map's title in your feedback instead of its number to avoid any confusion during the RC1 testing phase.

     

    Map authors will have until the pre-release deadline on June 8, 2024 to make changes their maps.

     

    So to recap, here's the overall timeline until idgames:

    • May 8, 2024 — Deadline for submissions; RC2 compilation.
    • June 8, 2024 — Deadline for edits of already submitted maps; start of pre-release testing phase.
    • June 15, 2024 — Submission to /idgames archive.

     

    And a friendly ping to those who are still able to finish and submit their maps:

    @IvanDobsky

    @yourlocalchef

    @Philnemba

    @PRO-RC

    @spineapple tea

    @russin

    @macro

    @SharkyChip

    @Jakub Majewski

    @Alaxzandarz

    @Hydrus

    @Large Cat

    @LoatharMDPhD

    11

  15. Posted

    @signaturereverie I tried my best to get V2 into a single-segment demo, but no luck today. I still want to give feedback on the map as a whole, however, since I have played the whole thing. I think this is a very unique and beautiful map. It feels more like an experience than a game level, but I mean that in the best way possible. I also think that its greatest strengths (the atmosphere and visual design) are also its greatest weaknesses. But I don't think this hinders the design. It's more that the whole point of the map is to be a bit obtuse. Finding where to go next frankly seems like an appropriate challenge given the strange alien space. For how out-there it is from an architectural standpoint, it does have a well-executed map flow. You just gotta spend some time with it to unravel that flow. For that reason, I think it would be worth thinking about putting this in either the MAP31 or 32 slot.

     

    Gameplay wise, there's a fair number of challenging fights that are all well designed, especially in V2. None of them feel impossible or out-of-place. They all use the strange architecture to their advantages, often forcing me to duck into strange crevasses and learn the optimal routes to clear each encounter. The way the map constantly shape-shifted added to the excitement of combat as well.

     

    So I really like this map. It's frustrating in a good way, and I think it deserves to have a spot in the main lineup. That being said, I could also free up the 14 spot for another mapper and move this into one of the secret slots. What do you think, reverie? Or if anyone else has thoughts on this, feel free to share.

    1

  16. Posted

    @ViolentBeetle I don't mind trippy effects as long as you only see them on death. Here are some demos for MAP25: Demos

     

    All but the last demo end in death, and the first two were mistakenly played on -cl 2. The last demo is really what you want though.

     

    I really liked this level, it was a nice burst of action. The lava pit in the middle made navigation very tricky at first, but unlocking more parts of the map and gaining more footing felt really good. The climax with the hell knight swarm mixed with the AV resurrecting the other half of the map was really fun. Visually, the map was very nice to look at as well. Great use of stock textures and custom sky, and I like the lava base theme. It's a little on the easy side for this half of the wad, especially compared to the other submissions we've had so far, but I really don't see having some breather maps as a problem.

     

    @Makedounia MAP10 demos: Demos

     

    Same deal, the last demo is the full run, with all the others being failed attempts.

     

    This map was a lot of fun to grind through. Easily the most challenging part was the slime room with the arachnotron, hell knights, cacodemons, an imp swarm, and an AV that teleports in. It doesn't feel cheap to the point that I feel I need to rely on luck. In fact, it's a lot of fun, but it does have a very narrow margin for error. The rest of the level is really a power trip, with the last room becoming a bit of a slaughterfest. It was fun to dish out some damage after having been without a rocket launcher or plasma gun the whole map. And the final fight with the imp swarm racing down the slimefalls as a cyberdemon pressures you on the other end of the warehouse was a great closer. A nice rush of a level with great detail and soundtrack.

     

    It seems like this is going to go down as a tough wad overall. Which leads me into...

     

    @signaturereverie I promise I will try and get MAP14 into an FDA, but I do think that the very start of the level is a bit too luck-based to reliably come out on top each time. At least, not without taking a huge damage hit from the get go. It is honestly a very tough map compared to the slots around it. It might be one of the toughest maps in the whole wad. That final fight in the little damaging water room is an absolute nightmare that I was only able to beat by abusing DSDA's rewind feature. I have no clue how I'm going to do that single-segment. Here are all the demos I have so far: Demos

    5

  18. Posted

    @Arno

    Alright, here's a demo for MAP04: arno-m04-falcit-moust.lmp

     

    This map was gorgeously designed. I liked how the bumpy terrain in some of the outside sections contrasted the smooth flooring on the inside. It never got annoying, it just made fighting out there just a little more interesting. I liked the layout of the castle, with the multiple tiers. And the pace of the map was pretty good, kept me engaged the whole time. I think my only complaints are that some secrets involve having to backtrack to make multiple jumps from the same point. Other than that, I thought this one was solid, and I had a lot of fun playing it and immersing myself in it.

     

    Review of MAP14 later. We'll see if I can get an FDA of it, it's a doozy.

    1

  20. Posted ·

    23 minutes ago, DNSKILL5 said:

    I do like TNT, there’s definitely memorable maps and moments for me as a whole, but there’s a lot of other megaWADs of that era that could’ve taken its place in Final Doom that would’ve paired far better alongside Plutonia. 

    It begs the question of why exactly id decided to buy out TNT specifically if other, more impressive wads were right around the corner.

    1

  21. Posted · Edited by Moustachio

    I actually have the very first Doom maps I ever mapped. This was circa 2009, I was probably around 12 years old at the time. I tried to make a mountain base for tnt.wad that descended into the sewers. The first room is a long prison hallway where you can feel free to "explore" each and every single little cell. And half of the doors are unmarked yellow key doors for whatever reason.

     

    tbFmumL.png

     

    The next few maps go on from there, until a dead end is finally reached at some point. It is one of the wads of all time.

    4

  22. Posted ·

    Speaking from the experience of someone who got into the Call of Duty campaigns as they exploded in popularity: I found them pretty engaging at the time. I would describe them more as playable war/spy thrillers than an intricate gameplay experience. A lot of the gameplay is peeking out from behind cover and popping shots at fairly weak enemies. Once the enemies are cleared you move forward. Occasionally, you participate in some sort of minigame or quick-time event, maybe there's an extra strong armored enemy here or there, but you're mostly playing pretend military man while hardly being at risk of dying. Even on the veteran difficulty settings, you could just wait behind cover for your health to fully regenerate.

     

    For me, the main hook (aside from pvp) was the overall campaign experience. I was in middle school, and I had only ever been exposed to 6th gen consoles (PS2, Gamecube, etc.), so the leap in graphical fidelity and story telling blew my mind. I do think some of the stories they tell still hold up, but I think any enjoyment one could get out of those games will come from how immersed they feel in the experience of it. You blast some soldiers and are rewarded with some good ol' first-person spectacle. By the third Modern Warfare, the formula got pretty stale, and all the tropes had been played out by that point. I mean if you played a drinking game solely based on how many times your helicopter/rover/etc. gets destroyed and you wake up from the wreckage in a haze, you'd be dead by the end of the first MW.

     

    Looking back, the level design is a little bit less linear than some give it credit for. Modern Warfare 2's second mission is a fairly open snow base that gives you some freedom in how to approach it. There are some hidden collectables and side paths here or there too. That being said, it is a far cry from the more open, maze-like shooters of the early-mid nineties. I would even consider some of the locked down arenas from 2016 or Eternal to be more open spatially.

     

    Just my quick thoughts looking back, but I say you could probably get the gist of these campaigns from looking up some footage on youtube. My personal favorite is Call of Duty: Black Ops.

     

    And about Halo: it did start a lot of the console-oriented trends that helped to guide the later military-shooter craze, but it feels wildly different in my opinion. Halo is more centered around large, open maps with vehicles, NPC allies, and unique enemies. You're not hiding behind cover a lot, you're not aiming down sights to lock on to enemies, and you're not watching as many first-person cutscenes. You do have a two weapon limit, but each weapon feels more unique and has varied utility. For example, you'll have to decide whether you want to keep your RPG launcher (higher power, less ammo) or switch it out for a plasma weapon (can take down enemy shields faster than bullets/rockets but are more common). The first Halo (& Reach) even use medkits for health, with a regenerating layer of armor to keep you from getting stuck in an unbeatable scenario. I agree with @Kinsie that the Master Chief Collection is probably the best bang for your buck. But I don't think they feel as locked down as the narrative-focused Call of Duty campaigns.

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