ironicmoustache

I really enjoyed watching Jimmy play this on his stream. It's a great-looking map for sure. Will give this a whirl soon!

Popping in to second the Japanese Community Project recommendation. While it's been a while since my first playthrough of Plutonia, I've been playing through JCP and it does feel like a logical progression from Plutonia difficulty-wise without immediately jumping into back-end-of-Scythe levels of monster density. It's perhaps quite a departure from the tone and ethos of Plutonia, what with the playfulness of the whole experience (MAP11 is... special), but it's an outstanding, clever set of maps that's well worth playing. Really charming.

I've never liked Heretic. But I've also never played it with Wayfarer's Tome. So, what the hell, let's give it another go and see if I can actually finish it. GZDoom, UV, wand starts. E1M1 - The Docks Romero did a lot of things right. One of them was giving you a quick shotgun on E1M1 (on UV at least). Heretic doesn't do that. A lot of Heretic's E1M1 is spent holding down fire and slowly grinding through filler enemies. WT helps a bit, but the Elven Wand is still not an enjoyable weapon to use. Getting the Ethereal Crossbow secret makes the final bit of the level more enjoyable, especially when WT makes it feel like an actual shotgun equivalent. Still, the fact that it's possible to miss it entirely is... dumb. The map itself is fine, I guess, and I appreciate that the central watery courtyard would probably have felt quite special in 1994. Decent, if slightly dull, start. Liking the buffed Crossbow though. This might actually make E1... fun?

Props for the Morbid Angel reference!

Great, thanks for the info @WH-Wilou84!

I went back and ground my way through MAP29 on UV; still died more times than anybody reasonably should at the start to Cyberdemon rockets from behind followed by a homing Revenant missile, but whatever. The final room was definitely crazier, but having everything in plain sight meant it felt less frustrating than the opening, even if it was technically harder. Crispy, UV, pistol start. MAP30 - Celui-Qui-Voit-Les-Mondes Quite a map, this. I chose to tackle the sections starting from the switch. So possibly the reverse order intended, but I don’t know. Section 1 - I’m presuming this is JC’s section, as the marble-heavy texturing does bring to mind Vanguard MAP01. A lot of heavy resistance here, but the encounters are mostly straightforward. No real need for 360-degree spatial awareness as the fights generally come at you from straight ahead. The big battle was hairy but relatively merciful; supplies are plentiful throughout the map so you can save the Megasphere for later, and there’s enough distance to utilise rockets to chunk down the onrushing enemies and some of the Cacos. The final room was hairy but nothing out of the ordinary. Good start. Section 2 - Unsure whose section this is, but the first big fight kicked my ass more than a few times. Dispatch two AVs, trigger some infighting between the Cyberdemon and the Baron + HK mass, hope you don’t get blocked, dip in for a Soulsphere before running across to the other side of the map to grind enemies down with rockets. Fun, if quite tiring to get right. The rest of the map went relatively smoothly. Sure, the encounters were just as bruising, but there was generally enough room to manoeuvre and/or just spam rockets downrange, like with that nasty switch trap. Short, sweet, and with enough teeth to rip you a new arsehole: very likely my favourite of the sections. Section 3 - Definitely franckFRAG’s contribution. Despite trying to make it harder than MAP29, it’s not all that hard… after a few tries at that first room with the four (or was it five?) AVs and Cyberdemon. The Invulnerability Sphere in the second half of the map gives the player enough time to carve a path through the monster clusterfuck towards the back of the area. After that, it’s a matter of carefully placed rockets, some monster surfing, and periodically scooping up one of the many, many Megaspheres. Maybe I got lucky with monster movement, but I’ll take it. I really disliked the AVs guarding the exit teleporter. They felt like a tedious waste of ammo more than a challenge. I can see using the AVs as a way to drain the player’s supplies, but cells and rockets are plentiful in the arena, so it’s easy to get back up to 100/600 (or very close to it). Section 4 - Roofi’s, I presume. It’s relatively low-key (but then, anything would feel low-key after franckFRAG’s slaughter-fest) but still packs a few punches for the careless player. I appreciated the Rad Suit angle and enjoyed trying to get through the crushers as quickly as possible to maximise my time with the powerups. I, for some godforsaken reason, had more trouble with Roofi’s final fight than franckFRAG’s. It’s probably got something to do with actually having open space to run into Revenant rockets and get blasted by AV attacks, haha. Section 5 - Moody stone and lava section, probably meant to be played first as there’s not much to it beyond that annoying final Rev + Cyberdemon corridor; I’d run out of cells and rockets by then, so it was a real grind. Probably the only time I felt a bit of frustration creeping in going through the sections. The two bog-standard solo Cyberdemon encounters before that were particularly dull. IoS section - I tapped out. Well beyond my capabilities on UV. I checked it out on HMP, and, well, it was, conversely, a bit easy with the Invulnerability Sphere and much-reduced enemy count. Progression is fine, if slightly obtuse. It's a logical end to the WAD, and I appreciated the fleshy twist to exposing the IoS, but the enemies... phew. Not for me, at least not on UV. Most of it is one of the best MAP30 experiences I’ve had. Each path is enjoyable, unique, and satisfyingly challenging. The final room left a sour taste in my mouth on UV, but that’s entirely on me. I don’t think I’m going to try the alternate MAP30. --- As for 180MPV itself, it definitely stands out amongst the WADs I’ve played as an exceptionally high-quality offering. With only a few duff maps—and even then, they were dull rather than outright bad—and a whole lot of bruising, manic fun, I enjoyed almost all of my time with it. It's undoubtedly a bit above my skill level here and there, but that’s nothing to do with the WAD and entirely on me.

Crispy, HMP, pistol start. MAP29 - Xanthophobie Yep, HMP. After a not-insignificant number of attempts at the first area without figuring out how to tackle it—and with Wilou's comments about the final fight fresh in my mind— I tapped out and dropped down to HMP. Getting through the WAD is more important than any silly pride about completing every map on UV. The first area was a bit too easy on HMP, to be honest, but the rest of the map had more than enough about it to kick my ass more than once. The Revenant room was surprisingly difficult to overcome cleanly, and that final room was a doozy. It's very doable with the aid of the Invulnerability Spheres and a lot of running around scared shitless, but that was definitely the craziest fight of the WAD so far. Undoubtedly a bit too much for me on UV; I've come to realise that my skill level is somewhere in that unfortunate no-man's-land between the two difficulties on maps like these. But hey, I guess I could always try to get better. It's definitely not my kind of map, but I appreciate its place in 180MPV's bloody-minded progression towards its finale. Gonna throw in a vote for +++Doom 2 In Spain Only for next month's DWMC.

Crispy, UV, pistol start. MAP28 - Inhumation Phew, that was quite an experience. Slaughter isn't a style I go in for all that often, so I'm definitely not the target audience for this map. That said, I enjoyed myself overall. The opening outdoor section with its eminently SSG-able mass of low-tier enemies and ever-present AV + Revenant danger was a great start. But the map's highlights for me were the two key teleport rooms. I especially liked the room leading to the BK teleporter, which I cleared out initially by running laps around the central pillars while indulging in some ever-satisfying Plasma Rifle and SSG mania. The slight safe space that was the Manc ledge was welcome, especially after the enemy refresh. Not quite as safe as MAP26's Arachnotron cubby, but still better than trying to survive amidst the teeming mass of HKs and Imps, haha. The other room was a bit more "vanilla", although the lack of a hiding place made it all the more intense. I thought the AVs behind the Pinky horde were a nice touch, as it stops a player from using them as meat shields. The enemy refresh after the second switch was a bit kinder than the other room, which elicited an audible sigh of relief from yours truly. I didn't even bother taking care of the enemies teleport in after the first key and just ran back to the safety of one of the lift rooms. I also missed the BK the first time around, so I had to do a manic (and save-scummed, although I only loaded once, promise!) run through the horde back to get it from the RK before heading back to open up the exit. The areas to the edge of the map were thankfully devoid of enemies, so nothing was stopping me from dropping down and running to safety. I don't think I'll ever be the type to try and 100% maps like these, but they do offer bursts of fun in between feeling battered and bruised. Dreading the final two maps now...

Crispy, UV, pistol starts. MAP27 - Sable Brûlant Roofi really has a knack for designing maps that leave me feeling battered, bruised, and wrecked by the end. The sense of danger never lets up here, what with the respawning turret monsters and tricky close-quarters fighting. It was tough, but not too bad, up until the final encounter, which for some reason I really couldn't quite pull off well. Needed more retries than I'm happy with. Something about the AV threat and respawning turrets just really kicked my arse. Looking back, it shouldn't have, but oh well. Getting rid of all the AVs was the tough part, really. But after a lot of cat-and-mouse running around rocketing the AVs down, mopping up the Cyberdemons wasn't too bad. The final Cyberdemon was a bit of a surprise but there was just about enough SSG ammo to take care of it without risking rocket splash damage. I had, of course, finished my cells taking care of the HK + Baron + Rev + AV clusterfuck right before it. Another intensely memorable experience. 180MPV is definitely ending on a series of high notes.

Crispy, UV, pistol starts. MAP26 - Monument en Béton Coming from the tight, punishing slaughter encounters of MAP25, Darkwave0000's sole offering was a breath of fresh air, giving the player more than enough space in most of the encounters to run rings around the opposition. Had a few aborted attempts at tackling the opening room, but once I found my footing the map generally went quite well. The big middle encounter did me in a few times before I remembered that alerting enemies by rubbing up against them doesn't wake others up. So, ever willing to cheese a fight in order to get through unscathed, I woke a few imps up, dashed for the Arachnotron cubby, and hid in there while the enemies tore themselves to bits. Cheap? Yeah, a bit, but Darkwave could've easily blocked it off like Wilou did with the elevator switch in MAP23, so yeah. The final fight and ascent was quite a rush. I enjoyed running laps around the central structure, blasting everything in sight with the Plasma Rifle, desperately trying to get rid of the AVs at the start. The Cybers weren't really that much of a threat given how big of a target for stray projectiles they were, and the starting corridor seemed to have been designed expressly as a safe space to dodge rockets and spam them down with plasma fire. Very fun map, and surprisingly generous with movement space and supplies.

Crispy, UV, pistol starts. MAP25 - Geôle Nécrosé After the floating dreamscape of Roofi's MAP24, we're brought back down into the depths with another knock-about Wilou84 map. The dank texturing and grimy underground atmosphere really stood out for me compared to most of the other maps in this WAD. It isn't too challenging for most of the first third or so, characterised by methodical enemy clearing and some light circle-strafing in the opening room. The platforming segment is probably the hardest "enemy" there, haha. But, of course, it wouldn't be a third episode 180MPV map without an absolute clusterfuck encounter or two, and we're treated to two mighty fine ones here. I'm not necessarily the hugest fan of large-scale slaughter, but I do like these smaller bursts of slaughter in otherwise more "traditional" levels; I enjoy approaching them like at Hotline Miami level, dying and retrying until I figure out the best, most efficient path to success. Or until I get lucky. Or both. I won't lie; seeing two turret AVs in the first encounter felt like a pretty sadistic move. But after a few tries, I figured out the best way to clear out the horde, after which the room was all about careful positioning and constant awareness of Cyberdemon rockets. I appreciated the area's design, with its lack of really safe cover and how hiding from an AV blast almost invariably opens the player up to some Heresiarch projectiles. Good stuff. I really liked the Nightwatch Caco barrage. It wasn't nearly as difficult, but again, it still required a few tries to figure out the right order to do things. I rode my luck again but got through it relatively unscathed. The Heresiarch + AV final fight was weird; I don't know if it's a Crispy thing (I'd imagine not), but Heresiarchs seem not to be quite as aggressive as other monsters. I just ran back to the start of the area and took care of the AVs before shotgunning the Heresiarch down. I did it without a scratch, too, by keeping the pillar between me and it. Probably not how the fight was supposed to go, but hey. All in all, plenty of fun to be had here.

Crispy, UV, pistol starts. MAP24 - Rêve Lucide I admit, with zero shame, that this is where I start dropping more than one save a level (and actually reloading). MAP24's enemy count is significantly ramped up from Roofi's previous contributions, but I feel it shares a lot with his previous outings, especially MAP08. Like that map, MAP24 encourages a more cautious approach, and demands the player pay attention to the paths afforded to them at the start of the level. Fire a shot and you wake up a chunk of enemies that are quite a pain to dispatch with only an SSG, and it took me a small handful of deaths to figure out how best to approach it. But I figured out, eventually, that I could clear out the stairwell half-pacifist via Chaingunner infighting and a few baited Cyberdemon rockets, affording me enough corner-peeking space to open up the path to the RK area relatively easily. Said area was tough due to what felt like a notable lack of ammo, but I got through it fine with some ultra-conservative play. Progressing from the rooftop to the BK took me a lot of time, some more trial and error, and a whole lot of corner peeking, but it really made me appreciate every single inch of space I managed to claim. The Cyberdemon trap at the Rocket Launcher could've been nasty as all hell, but I got pretty lucky and wasn't immediately chunked by a rocket. Dodged the Cyber and left him hanging out in the cage. Funnily enough, the climactic fight was the easiest, given the copious amounts of infighting and RL + Plasma ammo available. It was definitely a welcome break from the attritional grind of the rest of the level, and I liked seeing the Nightwatch Cacos nuke everything in sight before succumbing to the Cybie. Definitely frustrating on occasions, but learning patterns and paths through repeated deaths made executing them (mostly) correctly all the more satisfying. Not sure if I "loved" it, but the experience of this map will definitely linger long in my memory.

Crispy, UV, pistol starts. MAP 23 - Anomalie Eternelle Oof. Now this hurt. The opening room caught me off guard before I twigged that the AV only teleported in after you crossed a linedef. Once I figured that out the rest of the map wasn't too bad, although it's certainly a significant cut above what's come before it. The real meat comes towards the end, with the massive Imp + Baron + HK fight that: a) I wasn't quite prepared for and b) grew to admire over the course of my retries, especially that lone Pain Elemental that serves enough of a nuisance to let the Imps get out of hand if you train your attention away from them for even the short moment it takes to get rid of it. I had no idea the map had a BFG until I opened up the text file to copy the level's name, or else I'd have spent more time looking on the way back to the fight (that is, before I succumbed to just reloading a save). Would probably have made this section a bit easier. The ensuing Cyberdemon clusterfuck I found a little bit less enjoyable. Even then, I have to say that I thought [WH]Wilou-84's choice to add pinkies in the room with the switch was a nice touch. The perfect enemy to accompany that Cyberdemon, and also to stop the player from just making a quick beeline for the switch. Sure, maps of this tier are slightly above my pay grade, but I appreciate all the little things that add up to create the punishment that they dish out. I lucked out on my third try by running around like a madman to draw one of the AVs out, spamming the other one down, and exiting under a hail of chaingun fire. The layout is great and while I appreciated the red-overload aesthetic choices of the previous levels, this is how I like my Hell levels to look. Brutal, but still very admirable even as it's kicking your ass.

Crispy, UV, pistol starts. MAP22 - Une Journée en Enfer For my money, "Journée" is the best of Nemo06's contributions to this WAD. The aesthetics definitely keep to the texturing and colour scheme of Datacore's previous offerings, but the gameplay is definitely a cut above Nemo06's other maps (and offers the bite I missed in Datacore's maps). Not quite as silly/mean-spirited as MAP16, not quite as obviously speedmappy as MAP18, and with a more enjoyable couple of big encounters to boot. The YK fight is straightforward but I liked it; on paper it's much like the ending of MAP18, but the enemy composition and those tempting-but-potentially-deadly hiding spots behind the two pillars managed to give it a nice balance between all-out-clusterfuck and manageable-with-circlestrafing-and-some-improvisation. I liked the exit room fight too, even if I did gladly exit the map without mopping everything up.

Crispy, UV, pistol starts. MAP21 - Canicule Datacore eases us into the third episode with another red hellscape. Canicule definitely has a bit more edge to it than his previous offering, but it's still overall a pretty easy ride. The Cyberdemon room was a bit disappointing, and the AV usage was overall pretty sub-par here. That said, I do appreciate Datacore's grasp on this particular style of hellish aesthetic. I just wish his maps had a bit more bite to them. Not the worst start to a WAD's third episode I've ever played, but another map that'll probably get lost in the shuffle after I'm done.