Thelokk

Trying something alternative to the usual 'depths of Hell' IoS level. As an extra challenge, I'm also limiting myself to seven textures and five flats. We'll see how it goes.

Nothing, it's a fine movie that's great at what it does. Deniers can keep seething.

Community project map done and ready for testing. Can finally sorta move on to something else... Spoilered for massive imagedump:

No miracles saved my ass, sadly. A true testament to my... ahem, humble beginnings.

Abstract, especially if achieved through mostly / only stock textures. Bonus points if it makes vanilla engines seethe. Pretty sure nothing will ever top this one, for me at least.

30 please

Nah, map30 is fine. Claiming it then.

Then OP is not up to date. Claiming whatever Hell slot is available.

Claiming MAP26.

Realized I've been sitting on this for a while: 30mc2_thelokk_v2 Save for a damaging floor, all changes are entirely cosmetic - fixed misalignments, added decorative sectors, generally made the map a little less drab and same-y.

MAP16: Spirit World HQ by Gene Bird DSDA / HMP / 100% kills / 100% secrets What a dreadful, disgraceful map. Probably the lowest point of the megawad - yes, it's even worse than map05. "This is where Hell keeps its stuff" is the kind of conceit only a 90s mapper could find interesting. The plaza and the buildings whose exploration we have to endure are worse than some shovelware I was unfortunate enough to play; the mishmash of themes and room + corridor combinations that came afterwards were even worse. Combat is Bird's usual unorganized, 'whatever goes' soup of monsters, with little regard for synergies or planning. I actually downgraded to HMP just so I would have less stuff to kill. Sodding Death a slog? nosiree, this is a slog. EDIT: I noticed the author keeps tabs on the thread. Just to be sure, nothing personal - I'm sure you're a wonderful person and community member. But this map? Still a big fat nope.

MAP31: Ideé Fixe by Sarge Baldy DSDA / UV / 100% kills / 100% secrets Short, to the point map with a CYOA feel that I appreciated a lot. Ammo is tight, like super tight, but at least you're rewarded with the big guns... if you went the RK first, at least. I really enjoyed the cramped bony bois ambush, it was lots of fun working around the U-turn to get the AV to go front and get slaughtered by them. Very simple but effective texturing too. MAP32: Sodding Death by chopkinsca DSDA / UV / 100% kills / 100% secrets Lately I see a lot the 'magnum opus syndrome' criticism thrown at this and other maps - as if it was a bad thing. Often times, it seems to me it's just shorthand for 'mapper didn't make a cube full with enemies I can BFG down in five mins flat, and I was actually forced to find my way around instead of charging front like a bull in heat'. Well, respect, but I think there can be a bit more to Doom than that. This criticism seems all the more misplaced regarding this map. To me, it's the first map in the megawad (and, along with we know who, one of the two overall) that feels like a proper adventure: like I'm exploring a place that was there before I warped into the level, rather than just a bunch of corridors with stuff for me to kill. The architecture and texturing is top notch, if you can't appreciated the beauty of near-monochrome maps you may want to go easy on the IWADs or '2022 retro fps *snickers*' for a bit. It reminds me of MAP05, except it succeeds in all aspects that map failed at. Beautiful environment, nice boom tricks, E1 sky fits like a glove and so the MIDI. Best map in the wad so far, definitely a good tool to part the old guard from the twitchy Eternal Doom crowd.

Question: can higher difficulties also be monsterless?

I do like maps with a sense of humor but not quite jokewads. They're fun!

Map15 - City Heat by The Ultimate DooMer DSDA / UV /100% kills / 100% secrets (fml) "Mom, can I have Odyssey of Noises?" "Son, we have Odyssey of Noises at home." Odyssey of Noises at home: Let's start with revealing our biases: I H A T E city maps. I've never, ever, ever come across a city map that fully convinced me: Hell on Earth got close, but still no cake. City at the Mouth or Ire made it, but really, it barely looks like a city at all. With this out of the way, we can briefly talk about the unbearable slog that is City Heat. A painfully blocky expanse of samey textures that took me the best part of an hour to get through, mostly spent wondering why I was bothering. Everything is disadorn, drab, and looks the same, so barely halfway through I was completely lost, couldn't keep track of which switched I had already hit, and just wanted it to be over. 3D bridges looked and played like crap back then just as they do today. It's also pretty amazing how, considering the monster count, the map's structure and gimmick soon become formulaic and repetitive. There is nothing memorable about this map. It's apparent that, to some, Alm's lesson in brevity and to the point-ness went entirely their head. Unless you can manage The Mucus Flow, stay small.