ironicmoustache

@Summer Deep according to the _MAPS text file in the zip, MAP03 is built from the inaccessible areas of one of Phobus' previous maps, which in turn serves as "a backdrop" to this one. So just a bit of extra fleshing out of the world, I'd guess. Since it's already the third where I am, have my thoughts on said map: MAP03 (Crispy/UV/continuous): Chaingunners and arachnotrons, nice. The secret was a bit underwhelming in both content (definitely great for pistol starts, but Phobus encouraged continuous play and I decided to go along with that, so...) and ease of discovery, but I guess it makes some sense given the gloominess of the opening section and how the lit-up door is designed to draw the player's attention. I liked the presence of the inaccessible outside area and second exit door near the final chaingunners, made it feel like the level exists in a bigger world. Did make wonder the same thing as Summer Deep for a while, though! The room with the crates and imps up on the high ledge was probably my favourite, but I also liked going through the corridor towards the end and having walls open up once you reach what seems like a dead end. Nice touch. Not a spectacular level or anything, but the combat is fun and the map definitely has a flow to it.

MAP02 (Crispy/UV/continuous): A bit more interesting. I liked the yellow and red key room. Reasonably fun combat encounter and I liked both the process of lowering the platforms and having to go into the small cubbies to actually open the doors. Nothing spectacular, but fun. Wasn’t entirely sure what was going on with the raising platform for the blue key, but in retrospect, it was probably the first hint of the platform raising/lowering puzzle dynamics that would feature more in later maps. Saw the platform rise and honestly am not sure whether I lowered it by doing something or whether it was designed to do that. Probably the former, but can't recall since I've played a ways ahead now.

MAP01 music is Thin Lizzy's "The Boys Are Back in Town" in case anyone is wondering. It does possibly make some sense thematically since the player is (back) in town and blood will indeed spill. But I imagine that little touch would be lost on anyone who doesn't recognise the song. Hell, I "got" it and still am not sure if it's all that great a choice for a Doom level, but hey.

Crispy Doom, UV continuous, saves. MAP01: Nothing too special, but has some Doomcute going for it. Does what it needs to do as an opening map I suppose. Not sure whether I like the choice of MIDI (good song though, just not sure it works for a Doom level), nor the invisible impassable lines.

Recently finished: Deathless – Great, great WAD. Quick maps, very fun, great flow and zero slog or grind. Jimmy mentioned that it was balanced for continuous play in the thread but I played with pistol starts and didn't have any issues. Made some of the openings more fun, too. E3 was probably my favourite. Loved the take on the E3M8 archetype, especially Double Impact – I enjoyed most of it. Didn't play the secret level as I couldn't find the E1M3 blue key and since so much of the level leads up to the secret exit I decided to revisit it sometime in the future and "earn" the secret level instead of just warping to it (as I sometimes do). Pretty challenging WAD, with hitscanner attrition being real thing. Some occasional bullshit that frustrated me a bit, but those moments were outweighed, I felt, by the constant butt-clench and high tension play. Don't think I would have appreciated it as much if I was playing saveless, but hey. E1M8 felt like more than a bit of bullshit but I figured it out after a few tries. Up next: Almost definitely going to be playing the WAD chosen for next month's DMWC, not sure what else I'm going to be playing anything else alongside it.

Recently finished: PATHOGEN – Fun fun fun. Solid E1 replacement with a couple of highlight levels and a high standard throughout. Remarkably good for a speedmapped set of maps. Somewhat suitably, "crunchy" is a word that came to mind playing the WAD. Not too difficult, but it also avoids ever feeling like a slog or a trivial exercise in blasting imps/pinkies/etc in a corridor. Was great to play this right after BACULUS. SIGIL – Some top-notch aesthetics here. Some great moments too, like E5M5 and the castle/teleporting sequence in E5M6. Does get bogged down by having to plink away at cacos and barons with the shotgun from time to time, but still pretty fun overall. Infernovasion – The author wanted to make an atmospheric WAD and I think they succeeded. Great detailing, use of light/dark, and perfect music choices. Maybe a bit too much teleporting in of monsters and super-tight traps, but still fun. This and PATHOGEN are kind of polar opposites in terms of Ultimate Doom philosophy, I'd say. Currently playing: Deathless – I've been sitting on this for a while but was reminded of it when I saw that there was a new version out. Just finished E2 and it's real good so far. I really liked E2M7, and both of the episode enders so far have been interesting and fun (and, you know, actually somewhat challenging) twists on the Doom originals. Bite-sized, blazing-fast fun, not too hard but also not trivial either. I can see why it's gotten so much praise and was made into an official add-on.

Just finished a run-through on UV. I've grown to prefer pistol starts recently but decided to play continuous based on your recommendation. You definitely nailed the "atmospheric" bit: the levels are all suitably atmospheric with all the clever design/architectural details, great use of light/darkness, and perfectly-chosen music. Mostly enjoyed the combat too, the tight corridors and rooms certainly make for something of an exciting playthrough. Combat mostly manages to avoid feeling like the slog that Ultimate Doom can occasionally feel like for me, too. That said, there may be a bit too much teleporting in of monsters for my tastes. Not an objectively negative thing, just more personal preference really. Like previous posters, I also feel that the final exit room of M8 could've maybe offered a final sting in the tail after the blue key room—which I quite liked, by the way—drains your resources. Good fun overall though. Good job! Wouldn't mind a couple more episodes, really.

Thoroughly enjoyed the WAD. Blasted through it on UV pistol starts in one sitting, everything felt just right and it was overall a blast to play. Loved E1M9 and E1M7 particularly, but all the maps are solid and quite memorable. Great work!

There's a widescreen fix pack for VoidSW posted here, FYI: https://forums.duke4.net/topic/11211-voidsw-public-beta/ There's a new synthesis build, too: https://dukeworld.duke4.net/eduke32/synthesis/20200521-9014-d473e6028/ EDIT: There's a Shadow Warrior voxel pack for WangGDX and also some modified skyboxes in the BuildGDX Discord. Not 3D, but at least they won't cut off like the original skyboxes @hybridial

This news has made me very happy. Tried to play Classic Redux recently but it ran like a dog on my system for some reason and just felt... off. Going to spend some time trying both VoidSW and WangGDX but so far based on a quick 5 minute run around in the first level I'm kinda leaning towards WangGDX. Not based on much though, really, and 5 minutes is way too little testing to make a firm decision.

Finished Baculus just now. Levels 28 and 29 were quite tough (I ended up just running the gauntlet towards the end of 28 and finishing with 57% kills, shamefully) but I had a lot of fun with the WAD, especially the hell levels. Pretty good IoS map too, with an atmospheric start that's definitely more interesting than "hoover up weapons and ammo in a square room". Don't think I could've finished it without mid-map saves but pistol starting was really fun. Shame it seems to be stuck in RC1 limbo, though. Thinking of spending some time with Ultimate Doom WADs next. Probably will go through SIGIL and then maybe Deathless. We'll see. EDIT: Just noticed that the author of Baculus released an E1 replacement WAD earlier this year. Guess I know what I'm playing next, then.

Picked Doom up again after going through a bunch of 90s FPS during the quarantine/lockdown/etc. Went through Plutonia for the first time—for some reason I thought I'd beaten it before during my teens, but I realised I hadn't—on UV and loved almost every moment of it, hit just about the sweet spot for my skill level. I could have gone on to, say, PRCP or Plutonia 2 to continue the theme, but decided to swerve and finish up my playthrough of Baculus instead. Up to map 22 so far, and map 21 was probably one of my favourites of the lot (at least, based on my admittedly fuzzy memory of maps 1 - 15). Kinda wish I was more disciplined in my WAD consumption, either following "threads" or themes better or just being more up to date. Instead, I just bounce around and playing whatever my brain decides I should play... still haven't touched any of the 2018 or 2019 Cacoward winners beyond Demonastery (and even that was a runner up), but hey, I guess that means I won't run out of stuff to play for a while.

I second the suggestion to try PrBoom 2.5.1.7um. The most recent build that's available in the thread fixed the issues I had with choppy mouse turning in PrBoom+/GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4.

Finished Memento Mori. Really enjoyable overall, definitely not on par with its sort-of successor Requiem in terms of aesthetics and concepts, and overall shows its age, but the maps mostly still play really well. Could have done without some of the switch-reveals-switch-reveals-switch that opens a door/wall/etc in a different part of the map, mind, but I guess that comes with the territory. Generally didn't feel as frustrated with level progression as often as I did when I was playing Requiem, but I may be misremembering Requiem. Decided to play Suspended in Dusk as a sort of intermission before I get onto another megaWAD (which will probably be Memento Mori 2). Played through the first level, was quite impressed with the vanilla detailing and architecture. Has quite a mood to it, too. Did not expect an Arch-vile that early on, heh.

Getting back into Doom after some time away, going through Memento Mori as I realised that I've somehow never played (all of?) it, despite having played—and mostly enjoyed—Requiem. Up to map 24 now, including both secret levels, and I've enjoyed most of my time with it. MM definitely doesn't hit the same peaks that Requiem does, but part of me feels like it's a bit more of a steady ride in terms of the overall experience and quality of the maps. I remember feeling a bit annoyed at times with level progression in some of the maps from Requiem, but that hasn't really become an issue with MM generally. Quite liked Milo Casali's sort of slaughter-lite (I say that because the player controls the pace of the level) map 23, might be time to slowly dip my toes into those waters...

I, for one, highly appreciate the map names. Interesting concept, too. Looking forward!

On vinyl, natch, because I'm one of those types.

Yep. Ghost SS, close quarters Cyberdemons, and those barrels that block you in when you teleport after getting the yellow key... Map 24 has a secret ammo cache that felt almost essential to me, but at least it was a short level and it looked quite good. I enjoyed most of the maps past 23; I didn't mind the huge city level all that much, could have maybe had one or two buildings cut out but I enjoyed it overall. Maybe a bit tight on ammo. Maps 22 and 29 were indeed real good, and I appreciated the fact that map 30 didn't have any annoying IoS gimmicks/etc (especially after having to deal with an IoS on map 23). Requiem as a whole isn't perfect, but I'm still very glad I played it. The high points on balance outweigh the low points for me. It's very much a product of its time I feel, and I can't really blame it for that. Finished up Darkening E1 yesterday. Also feels somewhat dated but still fun. Bite-sized like Revolution but definitely a bit more edge to the combat. Some nice Quake-isms all around (I do like Quake a lot). Going to get started on Darkening E2 soon.

Yeah, I wasn't sure how I felt about map 21. Some really nice elements and tricks but also quite cryptic and a bit unintuitive. I have no shame about occasionally looking up walkthroughs on the wiki for some maps, including 21. Map 23 is a bit of a doozy; I get the intention, and it's not necessarily impossibly hard, but it feels a bit, eh, nasty?

Opens perfectly fine for me with 7zip. Amazing work by the way, will be trying it out in the near future!

Finished Revolution! a couple of days back. Charming megaWAD, could have been harder but it was nice to just zone out, enjoy the scenery and blast enemies with the SSG. Now I'm on another classic WAD, Requiem. Up to Map 07 so far, really liking it. The final section of Map 05 was a bit of a pain with the barrage of sniping imps, though...

Halfway through Revolution! right now. I'm a bit of a latecomer to Doom WADs so I figured I'd try and play some of the more notable WADs released over the past 26 years to try and get some sort of general overview of where things started and how far they've come, etc. I only ever played the base IWADs when I was a kid, and most of my Doom time in between then and the past maybe 1-2 years has been just going through the base games again, so yeah. Back to Revolution: I'm enjoying it. It's not at all hard on UV, even for a mediocre Doomer like myself, but it's really quite fun. The bite-sized maps are a welcome relief coming from Evilution, and the size combined with the difficulty (or lack thereof) means that the maps so far have all been great for just keeping the move forward key pressed down and blasting things with the ever-satisfying SSG. Junk food Doom? MIDI pack is excellent.

Ah, noted. Great that you two managed to figure it out so quick. I love Crispy Doom by the way; it's become my default source port over the past few months. Great work @fabian!

Having the same issue in TNT with Crispy 5.6.1, but only when Doom Metal is loaded. Using MIDI music via VirtualMIDISynth plays the music fine.