Veinen

Really good year for black metal, quite a bit stronger than 2019 in my opinion. Deogen was my early year favorite but has been since overtaken at the top by the insanely catchy Bone Awl full length. Top 8 Bone Awl - An Obelisk Marks the Line Deogen - The Endless Black Shadows of Abyss Internal Rot - Grieving Birth Nidernes - Darkness Cenotaph Ifernach - Waqan Albionic Hermeticism / Ynkleudherhenavogyon - Swēsaz Ambos (split) Ensorcelled - The Path of the Cleric Dearth - To Crown All Befoulment And here's plenty more: https://rateyourmusic.com/list/Blood_Veinen/2020-worthwhile-releases/ Dearth - To Crown All Befoulment I feel is a big time overlooked gem since it's pretty comparable to the Black Curse album which was massively hyped (for good reason, it's a great album).

Alright, I checked out your fixed version and map01 now works. Another general bug is that the interpic has the same unknown patch format error as titlepic so prboom crashes immediately upon exit. Random thoughts and bugs: Map01: Thing 48 (Manc) seems susceptible of getting stuck on the edges of his little platform in boom. I think here you could use monster blocking lines around sector 257 to avoid this issue, as you want the Manc to stick to the center of the area. This monsters getting stuck on ledges -thing is a general "boom-ism" to be considered as it can happen pretty often if you have high & small (relative to monster size) platforms. You use a lot of floor detailing and different floor heights which causes movement to be kind of bumpy and annoying in the long run so I would perhaps suggest smoothing out some of them with the transfer height action, especially tighter areas where you also have some combat. Map02: Everything worked fine here. I like how the central area is used several times in different kind of combat scenarios. Ammo is kind of stingy and I can easily see a situation where you would run out if the AV rezzes too many enemies and you're not comfortable baiting infight and using the central area to fight the AV head on. Wouldn't mind having the SSG for the final & penultimate fights since most of the difficulty in the finale comes from lack of hiding spots rather than tough opposition. Map03: Linedef 245 tag 3 action doesn't work in prboom cl9 so you can't finish the map. Why have linedefs 130 and 132 as monster blocking? Seems it would be perfectly fine to let the monsters roam free, especially the ones stuck behind linedef 132 since the logical reaction to the trap is to run out of the room, after which the monsters pose no threat whatsoever. Map04: This is just too dark for me to enjoy. The vent sections in particular are pitch black and I have to use what little ammunition I have for illumination to get an idea what is going on. You can't see the enemies so you don't know when to dodge and when to shoot. I understand that you're probably going for a horror vibe in this map but pitch blackness is no good. The aesthetics here seem really nice though so it's a shame you can't see most of it. A slight increase in overall lighting level or having more brighter spots amidst the darkness would go a long way. I attached my FDAs, recorded with gbloom+ 2.5.1.3 complevel 9. DNF on map03 & 04. FDA_coffeebreak.zip

If you are planning this to be boom compatible, then I would very strongly advise you to test with prboom/glboom+ rather than gzdoom. As of now there are a few immediate problems when playing this with prboom+ 2.5.1.3 complevel 9. Prboom+ doesn't recognize the titlepic patch format so you can't drag&drop play the wad (I have no idea what the unknown patch format error actually means though and how to fix it...) The first map breaks at the tag 5 door/wall area as your tag 5 action in linedef 997 doesn't work currently. I think it's because linedef 995 with tag 7 action is too close (?)

Really cool mapset. The Sonic memery made me think this was going to be a joke wad of some sort but it's far from it; really fun, Scythe/TVR! -esque short maps. I like how each map has a distinct theme or an idea that the map is centered around, often direct homages to classic maps in Scythe / Doom 2 / Plutonia etc. But while the homages or parodies are very obvious, you make something of your own out of them so nothing feels like a complete rip-off of the original map. Obviously a big part of the charm here are all the small jokes you've thrown in into the maps & map names and I genuinely cracked a laugh a couple of times (The Inmost Diner, Slayer tag, monster closets in Monster Condom to name a few). Your have a pretty classic mapping style wrt visuals, simplistic but clean and polished. I was a bit worried that the set would be a bit too easy overall since I seemed to breeze through the maps, but difficulty and intensity definitely ramped up a bit in the last third. The final few maps turned mildly slaughtery but nothing too tough. In true Scythe fashion map30 is considerably longer and meatier than the rest of the set, didn't help that I found the BFG very late. Some might call the map a bit grindy but I didn't mind. So yeah, really good shit and a couple of evenings well spent with this. I recorded UV pistol start FDAs for all maps (with glboom+), which can be found in the attachment if you are interested. FDA_GGF_01-32.zip

This is a really fun map. Felt a bit like a polished Hell Revealed map with regards to gameplay (sans the slogginess) and overall style, which I definitely enjoy. The gimmick is pretty funny and well executed with sound effects and all. Combat is mostly set-pieces but they're very well crafted; each one has a different theme and requires a different approach, and each can be a little bit tricky in their way. I ended up finding 7/9 secrets, and most importantly the BFG, so I got through every encounter relatively comfortably (finished with 200/200 AND skipped the megasphere...). I can imagine the finale being very different and much harder if you don't find the BFG so I would agree with giving the player a non-secret BFG in the finale, not necessarily right away but at some point, e.g. it could be tucked away in the Cyber's alcove. Attached is my FDA, recorded with glboom+. Technically the first 30-ish seconds are not FDA as I started recording once before but forgot to add a complevel, which broke progress pretty much immediately so I had to restart with the correct complevel applied. FDA_upperdecker.zip

Very cool set of speedmaps you've got here! These are really quite polished for speedmaps, featuring neat interconnected layouts and a pretty unique color scheme. Gameplay is solid fast-paced fun, not too tough overall but interesting nonetheless. Map02 was my favorite out of the three (though I thoroughly enjoyed map01 and 03 as well), with the great looping layout, pressure from all the damaging floors and that nice final battle with a horde of teleporting monsters. Might be a sign that I've played too much Doom if I can read the mapper's thoughts this well, but I was pretty much expecting an Arch-Vile or some other "boss" monsters(s) to pop in at the exit door, which is why I was waiting around the area. I agree that the finale in map03 is a little weak for a climax as there's no pressure at all and the Baron is really easy to dispatch. I entertained myself with taking him down with the berserk fist but it wasn't necessary at all from ammo point of view. Overall good work! FDA_bldfndry_01-03.zip

Here's my UV FDA, recorded with glboom+. This was certainly quite a bit more difficult compared to your other recent map, and I died a couple of times early on in the map until I got the hang of things. Pretty much everything is a middleweight here so you're a bit forced to tackle the map slow and careful, especially since there's not that much space to move around. In hindsight the two caged Barons are a bit of a dick move since there's no implication that you have to kill them before you go all the way through the yellow key path (if you don't, you're dead). I'm not sure how I feel about the SMM either, the encounter is a surprise initially but if you manage to dash past her, she becomes an ammo sponge rather than any sort of a threat. Maybe a Cyber would have been more interesting to fight in that location, if you really want to have a boss monster there. I did like the hot start of the map and the ambush that springs after you press the YK button. I thought the final tele might suck but thankfully you don't drop the player to the middle of the Rev pack, which is what I feared. FDA_heresy.zip

This is a pretty decent, straightforward SSG romp. I found everything quite easy, probably somewhat because I had the right idea at the beginning (kind of implied in the map name...) and after you pick up the SSG all pressure goes away. The key pickup ambush offers some resistance but I was so stacked at that point that I didn't have to much attention there. But I mean, just based on the monster choices I feel like it wasn't even supposed to be a difficult map. Visually it's nice enough, you nail the techbase look and there's some fine detailing here and there. I agree that it does seem very flat though and the layout could have been less room-y. FDA in the attachment, recorded with glboom+. FDA_rotb.zip

This is a pretty decent map. See my FDA demo in the attachment, recorded with glboom+. Personally I found the visuals and architecture much more interesting and unique than the run-of-the-mill og Doom grey & green techbase that we already have thirteen in a dozen. Blue is hardly your typical techbase main color, invoking a feeling of being inside some machinery, surrounded by the tech. The map has a definite, coherent theme throughout with a slight shift from all tech to a slightly more corrupted tech as you progress. You do use a lot of different textures but I did not find any combinations clashing. As for architecture and detailing, I particularly liked the diamond shaped holes you use as detail in multiple occasions. There are a lot of stairs in the map and some are pretty funky but I didn't find the geometry to adversely affect the gameplay experience at all. Difficulty here is modest and I pretty much breezed through the map with very little issues. The big hordes that spawn in at certain points are the most interesting element in the gameplay but even they don't really pressure the player that much as there isn't anything to force the player to move from a safe spot that is immediately available. I think the Invuln secret is completely overkill and could be replaced by e.g. a BFG, which would make the cleanup quicker without making much difference in difficulty of the fight. Also a heads up that you can easily jump into the early Cacodemon pit (sector 29) which has no escape and no damaging floor so you're stuck there. FDA_techdif.zip

TNT: Renascence map06 UV-max in 4:59 ren06-459.zip

TNT: Renascence map05 UV-max in 4:55 ren05-455.zip

Here's my FDA, played with glboom+ cl9. Took me about 40 minutes to finish but I do explore almost everything. Had a lot of fun playing, long map but it's engaging and surprisingly not that confusing despite the sandboxy layout. You can kind of lose the sense of direction in the underground facility, which is by far the longest side path in the map, but it's nothing the automap couldn't handle. Overall difficulty felt pretty low given the abundance of healing items, but I did find 5/6 secrets which were mostly extra health. Ammo is also very abundant, in the later stages of the map I was fully stocked on shells and skipped many shellboxes, also had a lot of leftover rockets in the end. Given these and the spacious areas, I feel like perhaps the map could have been a little bit harder or meatier overall. The outdoor sandbox would have been a great opportunity to have a big monster horde spawn in (e.g. when picking up one the keys) to pressure the player a bit more. And hell, how about throw in good old Cacoswarm at some point, you can never go wrong with that! Didn't mind this visually either, it's not bad or anything just very simplistic and low-detail. I'd describe it as some kind of a Hell Revealed/Kama Sutra hybrid. As for the BFG secret, that was the only secret I missed. I tried to look for it a bit at the end of the demo but couldn't find the way. It doesn't really look like a super cryptic secret in the editor though, so I guess I was just not very observant. TLDR; nice map, good work! FDA_carbon.zip

TNT: Renascence map04 UV-max in 10:35 ren04-1035.zip

TNT: Renascence map02 UV-max in 4:58 map03 UV-max in 3:55 ren02-458.zip ren03-355.zip