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Map25 - “Heat Miser” by Steve Duff Well, right out of the gate every monster in the bestiary seems to be on hand in a cacophony of noise and madness. Armed with a Rocketlauncher and a dropped Shotgun or Chaingun, I spend several deaths trying to figure out where in the hell to go and what in the hell to do. Try after try leads to fatigue. This is the sort of opening madness that in my opinion demands a Megasphere or something. It's just preposterous, and not even slightly fun. I don't feel like I'm figuring out a puzzle because I don't feel like there is any intended solution. Just rely on the luck of infighting and hope your path doesn't get blocked by monsters or projectiles. Eventually I find out that up by the Mancubus, once one runs partway along the walkway, the door opens up revealing an Archvile has a Soulsphere and Megaarmor just inside it. In the chaos, this is practically hidden yet clearly essential. So it feels like trolling, almost. I hide in there a while hoping for infighting, then using a savestate make several attempts at darting around all the Mancubus to get to the equally essential SSG. This feels like a map that demands savescumming. Now I need to hope I can pick off the Archvile without getting blown apart by either Cyberdemon, and as usual try as much as possible to rely on the luck provided by potential infighting. Once one finally gets this area cleaned out enough, only the Cybers and Mancubus will remain as immediate threats. This is a double edged sword of course as the Cybers are no longer killing other riffraff and actively targeting you. Rocket the Mancubus and eventually you find there's a switch up there near where the SSG was. Several more runs around the circle I figure out what the switch did, open a small opening near the switch in the wall allowing passage to the other half of the map. Run around hoping to not run directly into a Cyber rocket, hit a couple switches and a whole new hell descends upon you. The Cacoswarm to end all Cacoswarms comes pouring in through the window. I basically find myself running laps around the map in a complete panic, there seems to be a Cyber everywhere I look (4 of them now) and I once again am at the mercy of the almighty infight. This is a map that must be immensely unforgiving to those purists keeping infinitely tall objects, as the swarm can easily force the player into a no win situation if you're unable to run under it. I'm absolutely loaded with Cells by now but every time I make a running charge at the Plasmarifle I seem to miss. Precious few attempts feel alotted before the swarm gets too close. Thanks to savescumming I'm finally able to get it before the swarm forbids it. I'll say this for the swarm, they seem to be taking out the Cybers for me. I'm certainly counting on it, at any rate. Finally the swarm has migrated to the half I'm on, and I successfully dart across the former Mancubus walkway back to the other side for some breathing room. At risk of sounding redundant, savescumming is essentially required in this map, it feels like. Anyway, now that I'm on the damagefloor side I dart for the Blue Key, wait for the swarm to close in some, then dart to the other side and finally I can Exit. I can't tell if this map is brilliant or insane, and I suppose that's at the very least an entertaining mix. It certainly forced me to play in a way unusual for me, keeping in constant motion and racing around the map like a, well, racer. I strongly question its completeability for the more purist players, but I suppose that will be for them to share and me to peruse.

Map24 - “Canyon Village” by joe-ilya I gotted my palsma rifle and blew up the wall. Basically this map is nothing but plowing through meat. I sort of liked the off-kilter architecture and layout. The gameplay was mindless.

Map23 - “Abandon All Hope” by Phobus I like the early focus on Rocket play. Always fun. After trying to take on the Yellow Skull fight a few times from the I suppose intended vantage point, I opted for a grab and dash approach and just avoided fighting all of the monsters aside from the Archvile. Just did not care for that fight at the top of the stairs. One annoyance that I'm seeing alot in this map is projectiles comes through midtex of various types. Basically having that reduced dodge time is frustrating. Just prior to the Yellow Door I notice an 'x' on the wall and get a chance to kill myself an annoying Archvile and pick up a Backpack and some Cells. Eventually I find myself hitting that one 'early access' switch people mentioned the legitimate way. Getting a bit tired of the 'reveal or port in an Archvile to create an encounter' situation. That card is just being played too many times in a row IMO. I also finally kill all those guys I avoided earlier and find a walkthrough wall to a Soulsphere. Anyway, I so I hit the switch and a wall falls. I manage to take out the Cybers with only a couple safety saves (I'm terrible against them) and rather than bother with the final fight I just dart for the Exit. Okay-ish map I guess; midtex kept getting in the way (or rather, not getting in the way) and the Archviles got pretty tiring. I probably would've tried fighting the final fight if not for the Archvile; I just had had enough of them and said screw it.

Map22 - “Puff” by archi It's a slaughtermap with lots of right angled grey walls. I don't care for slaughtermaps. I also don't care for stacking the Cellpacks on top of eachother. And then layering a Megasphere on top of some of the Cellpacks.

Map21 - “Aberinkula” by Tourniquet Visuals in this are really nice. I like the Revenants and company lowering down as if on ropes. The structure and layout continues to be really nice, striking even. A logical subtitle for this wad might be "Imps will kill you". That was one hell of an Imp spawn in swarm. The Archvile fight for the Yellow Skull was pretty tough. After some more navigating of the map I'm facing down a Caco swarm followed by more Imps and Demons; it's pretty crowded. And it just keeps coming. Then wave of Hellknights with Barons, wave of Revenants... I'm too tired from moving for this shit and when the Hellknights start pouring in I just godmode it. It's preposterous to have this prolonged fight in this small room. Not my idea of gameplay. Finally getting the Red Skull, I kill off a couple Revs and take on the Cyber. I have to say, this map really had me for the majority of the playtime. Just that one absurd, underline absurd port in fight with wave after wave in the tiniest of rooms really turned me off and dragged this map back from being one of the more memorably better ones of the set into being a middle of the road affair.

I guess that means it's fine on your end? On my end it says lines 0 through 4, 10, 27, 853, 1501, 1531, 2534, 2599, 2608, 2817, 2965, 3277, and 3696 all lack front sector, front side, and front sidedefs. It says 'you need to fix these lines to play this map'.

I was going to get a head start on Map20 seeing as I'm moving over the next couple days, but the map is unplayable in the version linked in the OP. I'm using Zandro but I doubt that's the issue. Anyone else having similar issues, or are we skipping this one, or what? Is there a fixed version that can be linked here in the thread?

Map19 - “The Axe Murderer’s Domain” by Chris Hansen By virtue of not being the previous map, I find myself being satisfied already right off the bat. Grab a Chaingun and snipe a bunch of Imps; the place looks pretty nice btw. Navigate the complex, pick up an SSG. The Blue Key fight can get pretty nasty, but i had luck focusing down the Archvile right away then cleaning up the rest. Eventually I end up in a library and find a hidden switch that opens a teleport. Funny enough, if you haven't killed the Manc yet (which I'm waiting on a RL for) you can easily port yourself into getting killed by his fire at the Soulsphere, without having picked up the item yet. This comically happened to me many, many times. Anyway, with that successfully managed and out of the way, I proceed through the next door and get ambushed by Revs. The bridge that the Arachnotron spawned next to can really interfere with the Chaingunners that eventually appear up in those alcoves. The fences also really prevent the PE that comes from being very effective, as the Lost Souls just get stopped and cannot attack. Red Skull in hand, I Exit. I found myself really wanting the Rocketlauncher for the whole map, and was kind of disappointed it never made a non-secret appearance. The only secret I did get was the Soulsphere, so I dunno if it even shows up at all. Taking out those two high up Hellknights and the Mancubus without the RL is a bit of a chore. Decent map.

Map18 - “Black and Blue” by Marcaek .. Well I kind of like the off-beat texturing but is this map a joke? Pistol starting this thing and trying to just survive the close quarters Imps encounter required tons of save-state abuse and I only managed to escape with 1 health point. There is absolutely no health in sight save for one medikit early on that was surrounded by Shotgunners and almost all of the monster placement is very unforgiving. The map does give one health if they can survive running around a curved tunnel, but only to take it away by having an entire sqaudron of Chaingunners on high with little more than the Shotgun to take them out. Even when I kill the hitscanners I can see (with freelook thankfully) I'm still always getting pecked by ones I can't seem to locate. A merciless assault precipitates from Imps and Revenants, but the worst part by far is the hitscan fire. At least I can dodge the other crap. Oh and we've got damage floor to contend with as well, why the hell not. Continuing to save-scum, I manage to get myself a Plasmarifle and Berserk pack but the damage floor and spawn-in swarm make quick work of my health. There's a switch I hit that lowers a pointblank Chaingunner and exposes more Imps. I kill them all and take a look at my health again: 1 point. The caged Chaingunner has however done me one favor: dropped his weapon withing grabbing range. So finally armed with something better than the damn Shotgun (the Plasma runs out of ammo almost immediately), I try to figure out what the switch did. I decide to activate godmode for this part, just to figure out where to go, with intent to reload and deactivate it once I find out the path. I soon find that something deep within the damagefloor is a lift; it is literally impossible for me to reach and wait for this lift without dying. So I say fuck it and leave on the godmode till I'm on the lift. Atop that lift? About 7 close quarters Imps and an Archvile in the distance. It is impossible for me to reach the corner cover from the Archvile fire thanks to the Imps blocking me, so basically I cannot complete the map without further cheating. And I have no desire to start it over again. Marcaek is someone I've regularly engaged with on #doomtwid, he seems like a fun guy and personable. But I'm quitting this map, and honestly it feels like this wasn't properly playtested even slightly. DNF.

Map17 - “Besieged” by Obsidian So it starts off as an escape-the-room puzzle of sorts. Found some handy Blue Armor to start with, and eventually find my way to getting bumrushed by two Revenants with nothing but the Pistol. Luckily there's a Berserk up ahead so I duke it out with them in a fistfight. Soone enough thanks to typing 'centerview' I'm able to shoot the switch and punch some Lost Souls. Get the Yellow Skull and a bunch more Lost Souls & PE eventually drain my health pretty bad. When I get to the hitscanners room with the Shotgun, I decide instead to run around picking up as much health as possible before going for the weapon and cleaning house. By the time I get the Blue Key, all hell breaks loose. Really aching for health, I manage to get most of the Cacos to infight with the Mancubi. This works surprisingly well and I pick off the survivor. Through the Blue Door and I find some refreshing health, along with a hidden switch to get me the Red Skull. Back from the Red Door with my Plasmarifle, I tear through a squad of Revs. An odd scenario with Rockets and Cacos follows, after which I proceed through the wall to the outlying dirt area. Kill everything, grab the SSG, and time to take care of a couple Archviles and their resurrected friends. Time to kill a Keen and then a Mastermind. Never found one of the secrets, and one monster remained alive somewhere. I'd say overall this map was okay, it didn't particularly blow me away or bother me. I liked some of the challenge.

Map16 - “Master Plan” by SFoz911 Alright so my Master Plan in approaching this map is to not be kill by demons. I set that into motion by killing every hitscanner I see, along with a couple Revs as I proceed along the path and down a lift to where a Mancubus is conveniently just pacing back and forth. I soon take a teleport into an absolutely ruthless setup, with many mid-tier monsters all having a shot at me. Darting for the RL and frantically trying to prioritize an Arachnotron seems to pay off for me, as the other one gets to infighting with a Baron and HK. I pick everyone off and take care of the Revs that come through the door; it's time for another teleport. Get the BK, Rocket an AV and some Mancs. Backtrack through repopulation to the Blue Bars. A Manc catches me by surprise as an AV raises hell behind me; it's a pretty tough fight and I end up Chaingunning the AV to death in the panic. Hit the Skull Switch, grab the Invuln, and Rocket two more AV's up close and Exit. The Mastermind was a total non-presence that never applied pressure or hit me, and I never bothered to kill it. Otherwise map was pretty decent, good job.

Map31 - “A Calm, yet Frank Discussion of Your Life Choices” by ClonedPickle Well, I'm definitely going to be looking for cinnamon to go with my applesauce. Pistol starting this map is pretty fun, get some use out of the pistol darting around a Manc to pick up some better weapons from small fry. After that with the help of a little infighting I'm on top of things and the Red Key is mine. Past the Red Door, Shotgun a couple more Mancs and Chaingun a Rev before a whole platoon of Imps and more Revs show up in a surprisingly fun encounter. Get the Yellow Skull, plow through a bunch of hitscanners and their Archvile friend, and after a few more mid tier monsters I'm face to face with the regular Exit. Looks like I'll have to go downstairs after all. What the... nothing down here but a worthless SSG. Hmm... well I find a Berserk hidden in a wall after a little more exploration, but the Secret Exit eludes me until I like others consult an editor. It's just a shame that that switch gets lowered into the ground like that, really. Had a fun time with this map. Map32 - “Aeternal” by Eternal Well. After a few attempts at figuring where I should head at Pistol start, I just run as far as I can and hope for some cover and maybe a little infighting. Soon I've got a Shotgun and killed a Revenant, but have taken heavy losses. Eventually I find a SSG, some shells, and a cellpack along with health. We're in business. I lure a Baron out of the elevator he's guarding (too short on shells) and sneak past to rise back up into part of the complex. I navigate the structure, picking off people that I can afford to, making good use of the Pistol. I have to say, so far this is the best map of the entire wad. It really does feel like storming and navigating a fortified castle complex. It's about now that I realize that hitting the elevator switch again will raise me another floor instead of lowering me to face the Baron's wrath. Yet... this opens up no new area for me. Infact I'm quite confused as where I can and should go next. Then I notice something I would probably be more prepared for if I played more Boom etc type mapsets: A switch on the floor, in the lake of the courtyard. This creates a stairway to what looks like a switch, blocked by a very troublesomely placed Baron. Because of all the crossfire and the Archvile, I have to make several charge in, fire, retreat style attacks before finally he's dispatched and I hit the switch. This Archvile is seriously getting on my nerves, what a jerk. Several more switches and navigating of projectiles and I'm watching the map change shape around me, always steps rising to the next objective. Finally I see that I can get the Yellow Skull, and I do so. Oh no, Cacos! My precious ammo! Honestly it's not that low anymore, but I still feel that mentality. A well balanced and immersive map can really do that to you. Soon I'm storming a library and come face to face with another Archvile and some Barons. Now this is just cruel. If only I'd figured out how to get that Rocket Launcher earlier. I have no idea how I survive this fight, and soon Caco's and PE port in and I'm down to nothing but Chaingun. Starting to really wish this map had a nonsecret Berserk or Chainsaw. No matter, for now a Plasmarifle is mine. I plow my way over to the Red Door and another Archvile has come to wreck my day. Thankfully this door shuts behind me as I get the Blue Key. Plasma away the Archie and soon I strafe run my way to the Rocketlauncher secret, finally. .. 46 Rockets? Wow I was really racking them up. Time to kill everything. After that, I'm through the Blue Door and it's time for the final showdowns. Megasphere is just out of reach, so have to deftly dodge and Rocket my way to clearing the room. Now I'm completely loaded with ammo too. Unfortunately I'm going to need it because this next fight with the Cyber and several cronies in alcoves is absolutely insane. The terrain does me no favors here, all the ups and downs combined with presence of some damage floor keeps one unnerved as they dodge the rockets. I tried my best to focus down the Chaingunners and Revenants first, then worked on the Cyber and Hellknights in tandem. Finally, thankfully, the Cyber dies and the map is over. Great map, very tough one too. I doubt this will be knocked from my current slotting as Best Map in the Wad.

Map15 - “Titan Mining Complex” by Walter Confalonieri Starting right off I like the view out the window, interesting area. Not such a fan of the columns of Lost Souls that I op to run through and deal with from within the forward rooms. Go through some decent looking interiors rooms, get a Backpack, and... hear a Cyber wakeup, oh joy. It's kind of nice seeing all the idle monsters through windows as one proceeds through the map. Hit a switch, plow back through a somewhat annoying Baron, and it's off to get the Blue Key. Not being able to shoot through the fence here at the Blue Key area kind of sucks, but I suppose the intention is to do no fighting while in there anyway. It's a pretty hectic fight out here, I kind of like it. Backtrack to the start for the Blue Door and Rocket an Archie. Get the Red Key and it's actually a decent hallway fight with an Archie and some hitscanners that follows. It's back out to the courtyard and right about now not being able to shoot through that fence is starting to really bother me. Anyway, it's a decent fight again and I manage to survive somehow. The next combat through the Red Door is also pretty good, though the squadron of Hellknights with their Baron felt like a 'hallway with health' that I had to endure plowing through. Worse yet is the placement of the Cyber, which I really didn't feel like corner camping for five minutes so I just darted around him to the Exit. Except... that's not the Exit I'm looking for! Okay, so reload and dart in and out of there to search for the Secret Exit and soon it's found.

Map14 - “Emerald Gardens” by Breezeep Well I'm late to this one, the symmetry has all been spoiled for me in the comments so that just makes it all the more apparent. I chose the left path first, doubtful that it makes much difference. Did run into some trouble with about 5 or 6 Chaingunners I had to take down, though their infighting and the presence of a narrow pillar kept things to my advantage. Get an SSG, kill some Demons, a Caco, and Revs. Get the Red Key, through the Red Door, and it's an Imp Ambush. ... An Imp ambush? Really? You just had me face down 4 Revanents and now it's time to break out the 4 Imps super team. I'm kind of at a loss there. But there is next an Archie at the start, so we're not completely off the rails yet. It's actually a pretty decent encounter if one doesn't door camp and instead darts back down the hole for cover to have to loop back around as he keeps resurrecting things. So, now it's on to the right hole. Chaingunners and a pole again, this time I get a RL and some HK's, a Baron, and Mancs. Blue Key and soon enough I have a couple more HK's to get through, and well it's an Archie at the start again. This time I don't even have to run from him, now to see what these Key switches do... Hmm, just some more spawn-ins of small fry at the start. The Exit is guarded by another Archvile. This map was just kind of plain and boring, I'm sorry to say. It's just best to stay away from symmetry, really. Gameplay suffers and it can feel tedious. If this map is Harvey Dent, Breezeep ought to consider turning it into Two-Face. Make the gameplay, texturing, and layout more radically different on one of the sides and take away the choice at the start so that the second side can be truly tough, maybe even downright evil.

Map13 - “Death Dungeon” by pcorf As others have been saying, this definitely starts off fast and furious. I opted for that old standby, the circle strafe, to get rid of the opening Cacos and their Revenant friend. I'm a bit iffy on the blocklined Hellknights stuck next to the Yellow Door; they seem a little helpless, but I wouldn't know what to suggest. I just took the ammo in front of them and ran for now. Up the stairs and through a crowd of Chaingunners and across a bridge of pillars, I got surprised by a couple Revs that seemed to come out of nowhere then got the Blue Skull. Was almost disappointed to so immediately afterwards get the Yellow Skull, with a fairly easy fight of 1 Mancubus and some riffraff. Maybe make it 2 Mancubus on UV? There's room in that monster closet for more baddies too. This is followed by an even more tepid spawn-in encounter when one hits the switch in the closet; I feel this could have been tougher as well. Through the Yellow Door and it's time for another Manc and some surprisingly effective Demons, followed by Cacos and a PE. As one heads up the stairs to the Red Key, Imps spawn in; they got some hits on me but it was a drop in the bucket, maybe an Archvile would have been better (there's plenty of pillars and corpses in here now). Anyway it's back across the pillars to the Red Door, where a Hellknight and some Imps along with a cramped-no-room Mancubus are crowded at the door to try and stop me from Exiting; they're not up to the task of even being a challenge. An Archvile gives a fun brief encounter just prior to the Exit. Didn't find any secrets, didn't look very hard though. There's some really nice visuals and texturing going on here, I kind of wish the map was harder on UV though beyond the start.

Map12 - “Compound Invasion” by z0k Starting right off, the Chaingunners at their perches are kind of annoying, I imagine they're worse for those that don't use freelook. The Archie is more tolerable, you have time to frantically search for cover when he targets you. Anyway I sneak up some steps to see I might be able to grab the Blue Key, but a door slams shut and it's time to get Chaingunned from behind. None of that bothers me, but what does bother me is the blocking lines to the left and right up there where it looks like you should be able to go. It makes even less sense when I find that navigating around on the ground I can get to the other side of the poles barrier there no problem; unless there's something I'm missing, these block lines should really go. Proceed to wander around the ground level of the exterior until I come to both an SSG, a lift and hit a nearby a switch. It opens a door to a teleporter, proceed along a few steps to open the door to the Blue Key again (I wonder if what this switch does is at all apparant if you haven't already gone for the Blue Key?). Backtrack to the Blue Key, then backtrack to the lift near the first switch, killing a bunch of riffraff along the way. Up here I finally pick off that pesky Archvile and continue to get frustrated by block lines. Go through a door, get a Backpack, kill more small fry, and get the Yellow Key and a Rocketlauncher. Hitscanners, Imps, Knights and a Baron port in to cause trouble, and the poles barrier continues to completely mystify me as to its purpose. One can sneak around to both sides easily enough, all it does is confuse gameplay and the player. Head back up to where the Blue Key was to hit a Yellow Switch; it's here I notice the lack of pegging on some monster closet doors. The port in squad from hitting the switch is especially obnoxious thanks to two PE's, one of whom I focus down with Chaingun fire while the other floods the place with Lost Souls. I run this fight a few times before I finally kill both of them without getting pecked to death by Souls and Caco fire. I clear out the rest and wonder what that Yellow Switch even did. I backtrack looking for what to do and find a door near the lift that I hadn't tried before; seems I actually found the way to proceed. Get the Red Key and hit a random wall to open up access to a teleport outside that nets me the secret BFG and a Megasphere. Anyway after that backtrack to the Red Switch (sensing a pattern?). Clear out all sorts of meat that ports in on the ground floor, including a squadron of annoying Spectres. Rocket some Revenants and explore the other half of the map, now accessible since concrete walls lowered. Up a lift, hit more switches and more monsters port in. This time another two PE's are included as well as a handful of Revenants. Oh and that frustrating poles barrier is finally down, happy day! Now more switch/lift/switch parlay yet again until another teleport-in party happens, this time with a pair of Archviles. I'm stuck fighting half of this one from a lift because of monsters crowding it, but eventually they're all gone. Without the BFG this fight would have been very annoying and difficult. The unavoidable Berserk placement right before the Exit is just ugh. This map completely irritated me. It was long and repetitive and I can only imagine the frustrations it would cause without freelook or the secret BFG or savestates. I suppose other than that it is an effective map, it feels like a well used space economically, and it doesn't look bad either. Those blocklines should probably be replaced with tall sectors that block the player or something. Furthermore I defy anyone to explain to me how that barrier of poles serves any purpose whatsoever.

Map11 - “Escape” by Jaws in Space I kind of like the sparce grey texturing and rocky intricate landscape here. Not always cramped or open, usually some mixture of the two which felt interesting. Surprised to see an Archvile so early, I flee around the corner to fight my way to a SSG and head back to finish him off. After Chaingun sniping a Revenant I get back to exploring. Find a teleporter and wow does this put one in the thick of things. Took a few tries to figure out what on earth I could get away with post-teleport. Take out the Arachnotron. Start picking off the Revenants, proceed to plow my way through meat to the Red Key. Repopulation time! I opt to dive down and take the teleport back up, hoping for some infighting. Past the Red Bars I get shot to shit by hitscanners but manage to survive. Clear out everything that had ported in and dart up some stairs to find popup Revs. Avoiding the Blue Key I dart over the side to get the solitary Secret of the map, a Rocketlauncher. Starting to definitely feel the health crunch of this map. With so many new waves of monsters porting in over and over, a shame no new health is becoming available. Pick up the cells and BFG and finally get the Blue Key. A wall instant lowers revealing an Archie and all sorts of friends, but I figure I can just go for the Exit and do so with no danger. Returning to a previous save though to actually kill everybody, BFG'ing a bunch of the flying guys and Chaingun sniping the remaining PE, followed by cleanup duty. Then it's time to Rocket the Archvile and his Revenant buddies. Bug: An Arachnotron never left its closet; fifth closet down from the top. I'd say this map was a challenging fun time. Could use some closet opening up at some point that has some replenishing health maybe, or just put more past the Red Bars so that would function as the go-to place.

Map10 - “Sligeneous” by Getsu Fune I find the progression in this map questionable at best, there are certainly many different directions the player can go at times but i doubt very much that the map has been balanced to allow for them to properly function as such. Am I to take from the name that this map was originally made in Slige and then modified? Instant popup monsters room sort of bugged me, but worse there's a switch you hit that i couldn't figure out what it does other than flood the room with a few more jerks and an Arachnotron. The ammo balancing is such that I felt I had to Chainsaw the stupid thing to death. Backtracked under the uselessly unthreatening crusher and luckily got the Rev and Hellknight to infight then picked off the survivor. Get the SSG in a hitscanner filled room, hit a switch that again i have no idea what it did, come back out to face a agonizingly slow trickle in of Imps. After they finally stop, I head down a lift and killed an atrociously placed Mancubus (it kept trying to ride the lift up to face me but was too fat) then down another lift where ANOTHER Mancubus waits. This one I Chainsawed, and went ahead and sawed the Imps and PE down there as well. Oh great, now a switch I have to step into the nukeage and take damage to hit. Thanks. Thanks a whole hell of a lot. This brings in some Revenents and I dispatch them, but guess what this switch did? Say it with me now: 'I have no idea'. Head down a hallway and skip a room that goes up some steep stairs to proceed down the hall to higher stairs and SSG some Revs that walk right through the stupid wall. Thanks. At least now I get some Plasma. Finally go into the room with the unavailable Exit in it that had proven deadly to me in early runs somehow; oh look there's another switch in here. You know the drill. Clear out the lower room with Revs, PE, Manc, and a instant popup Baron. Did I mention I really dislike instant popup? At least make them come from water or something. How the hell is he rising up through the solid ground. Time to hit another switch and I guess this is just one of those maps, the kind like map02 of this wad where you have to hit about 5 things spread out just to leave. Not so fun. A couple more switches and I hear monsters in the Exit room so I guess it's time to finally leave once I've Plasmad the Archie and its friends. I just did not have fun with this map. Maybe I'm being unfair, I did enjoy some of the challenge aspects, but some of the gimmicks and the thing placements all around really rubbed me wrong. It definitely felt larger than it is. I just found 1 secret but that was enough for me.

Map09 - "Dismay" by Scypek2 This map felt really creative. Not a fan of the friction surface but it's only a brief appearance. My favorite part was probably the shooting gallery segment, and those winding stairs to the exit. A Mancubus and a Cacodemon are stuck in eachother in a closet, preventing 100% kills. (edit: now I see i've been ninja'd while playing in reporting this bug) Map was moderately fun and had some pretty cool stuff! Kind of a mishmash though. (sorry for not my usual style of write up; kind of a busy day)

Map08 - "Sheltered Outpost" by an_mutt Got some use of the pistol early on including fisting a Demon before getting the Chaingun, a Shotgun, and darting over to get a Supershotgun. Kind of a giveaway there, but I do hear an Arachnotron so there may be some need for this soon. After taking care of that and a PE it's kind of quiet again and I find a secret Map. It's about now that I wonder if I've missed something, as I can't seem to proceed in any direction available; then I notice the switch that lowers the Blue Key and feel like an idiot. Next it's a couple Revs and a.. second SSG? I guess the first one would make more sense to mark Secret, guess I'm just confused all around with regards to that one. I go on and find a hidden switch, causing two Revs to crawl out of a tunnel behind me revealing the Plasmarifle. Kill a second Arachnotron and... another Green Armor? Already? This map thinks I suck. Get the Yellow Key and-- oh, I see why now. A party has come out to wish me well. After getting my ass handed to me a few times, I finally pay my respects to the welcoming committee and get back to business. There is way more health around here than there needs to be, especially considering the presence of a Berserk pack in one of the closets. Head out into the water and... even more Medikits? This place must've been a hospital or something. After dispatching an Archvile and Revs I find even more Medikits and another Plasmarifle, and work my way back around to the Yellow Door. It's now I realize I picked up a Backpack somewhere and-- a second Backpack? And a Soulsphere. And an Invisibility. Go down a lift and the titular Mayhem ensues. I like the crushers. I finish the map, then wander around to find the third secret, a Megaarmor. Continuous players must leave this map packed to the gills. tl;dr: Prune back some of the health and powerups on UV. This is supposed to be tough and most of the encounters here manage that, but the map is too nerfed with all these goodies. Place looks pretty good, once again keeping monsters outside of where the player can go pays off. Great map.

Map07 - "Cacomap" by Inkie A moderately fun little gimmick map. That Rocketlauncher hardly seemed worthy of Secret flagging. Unmarked Exit is a tsk tsk. Can't say much about this map. It sure is shaped like a Caco.

Map06 - "Serenity in the Air” by Memfis A tough start to this map! Took a couple tries for me to figure out what my plan of action should be. I opted to dart for the Shotgun and immediately afterwards directly for the Chaingun, killing the Shotgunner on the way over and make my stand in that cave. Head down into the water; this map seems a lot bigger than it is, and is pretty and well constructed. After heavy skirmish with Imps, Rev, and Caco, find I'm blocked for lack of Yellow Skull and head out. Find a secret Backpack (again, i question the placement of this item in any of these maps) and it's time to storm a room and face an even fiercer encounter with Revs, PE, and assorted riffraff to get the Skull. Good thing I saved enough Chaingun for that PE. So back to the Yellow Door, I get a SSG and fight some Revs. Soon though I'm face to face with 2 Archviles and they just pound me into the dirt. Several attempts before I can kill them; shame I haven't figured out the Rocket secret yet. And after much trying, it seems I never will find that secret so i completed the map. Disappointed in myself there. Final verdict: This is the strongest map in the set yet. Well done.

Map05 - "Mayhem Town” by Walter Confalonieri In the start room there's a nice broken through boarded up window and I can already tell we're on the upswing in quality, at least visually. Whoa what is this, 107 monsters and 5 secrets? Now I'm excited :3 Find a Chainsaw and mow down some chatty Zombies with it. We're in a graveyard and someone's risen or been exhumed. Navigate some buildings and lower tier monsters... darn I am just happy to be playing a decent map again. Get the Yellow Skull, and getting a lot of mileage out of this Chainsaw. Find a secret Backpack and... I keep running along the ledge here and get myself into trouble. Was able to run along the ledge until I got myself trapped behind Red Skull bars without the Red Skull yet, so might want to add a blockline to prevent that or something. Going back the intented route, get an SSG and here lies Jim Lynn. This town is great, even has a water fountain for a Devil holding a human skull. In my reload though I realize I forgot the Backpack, so going back to get that and try running along the ledge again... this time I trigger something that lowers a wall preventing being trapped behind the Red Bars like last time. Huh. Wonder why that worked this time. Continue exploring the intricate stuff, find a secret Soulsphere, open the doors to the Blue Skull room and there's some encounter that happens with more small fry but I think right about now the map could really be kicking up the difficulty in terms of the encounter. Would rather it have been higher tier monsters here, I'm loaded to the gills and not just from Secrets. Get the Red Skull immediately afterward the Blue one and... oh heck I'll open the Blue Doors why not. Doesn't seem I need to but what the hey. That sure is some odd diagonal scrolling artwork. Open a secret to get some... health bonuses? Anyway go through a Red Door and now we get a stream in of monsters that has more teeth to it. Kill an Archvile and get the last secret, a Berserk. Well this map was pretty cool! Think it could've been tougher on UV but enjoyed the combat anyway, and the layout and texturing was enjoyable. Great job and a real pick-me-up after the previous map.

SteveD: Yeah that was probably over harsh of me. I'm sure there's plenty of good stuff in this wad. Sometimes I set my snark to limiter override and look what happens. Though it had sounded like the D2TWID thread didn't get quite as many comments and participants as would be desired, part of why I decided to sign up. Should've started this a while ago.

Map04 - "Rublev1" by Rublev Well, Rublev must be really proud of this one; his name is all over it. Let's see... Ah, it's a tight network of monotextured rocky canyon. Okay. Hmm, some harmless Revanants and Archviles, such easy cover from their fire that they're useless... find a switch, find a place where you have to lower an unmarked wall... and now the final Archvile. This guy is actually placed effectively! Put a gold star on the board. Once he's dispatched, find a way to climb the absurdly convoluted rockpile to the side and make your way to the Exit he was blocking. Oh, look a HOM at the exit. How cute. Final verdict: If the Doomworld Megawad Club is in decline, I would imagine it's because crappy quality control like this is getting such a prominant spotlight. But that's just a guess, I wouldn't know. (edited to correct spelling)