UAC Ultra (v1.2)

"old school" wad in a technogenic style, consisting, in the words of the author, of 11,5 levels. The difficulty is moderate, the gameplay is extremely straightforward / high-speed in the run & gun style. For the most part also secrets are easy to find.

Separately I note that, perhaps, in some ways the sequel to another game, Corridor 8: Galactic Wars, can be something like that, if it released back in the day.

Settings and Features:

* GzDoom.

* Difficulty - "Ultra-Violence".

* A number of new textures. The overall range is made in dark brown tones.

* Soundtrack to match the style.

* Tune on M9 - Counteraction Terminal sounds similar to the one played during the final battle in Mortal Kombat (1995). There is also a fragment where the Cyberdemotaur is waiting for you alone. As soon as you start attacking him two masterminds will come to his aid and the passage back will be closed.

* There are no secret levels.

* Level 12, "dummy map", acts as an epilogue.

* 1 new kind of monsters.

Pros:

+ M4 - Pyrolysis.

+ M6 - Collapsys. At the end of the map a cyberdemon awaits. Those one you will meet more than once, however.

+ M7 - Haymaker. Start with a pistol, 12 enemies - spiders, mancubuses and at the end a new type of monsters - a cross between cyberdemons and minotaurs from Heretic. The result is a faster, more dangerous and slightly sturdier version of the mancubus.

+ M10 - Skagway. Major representative of the chosen style of gameplay.

+ M11 - Sick. Unusual final boss.

The only wad I seen to have 11 and a half maps

Great hard WAD, awesome visual style, nice level design and music.

"Evacuate area... "

Nah, I'd rather stay and fight, what could possibly go wrong, right? Therefore, UAC Ultra has been finished, played through GlBoom+ 2.5.1.5 on HMP difficulty. A pretty damn fun but short megawad that only gets better the more progress you make. But first, let's see what this is all about.

UAC Ultra is a 12-level megawad comprised of maps which are quite similar in terms of gameplay to the first episode of the original Doom, but later deviates a bit from the formula to do its own thing while a sense of decay haunts most of its levels. It comes with new textures, background menu, status bar, music, and one new enemy. The action takes place exclusively on techbases and different regions of Hell. It is split in 2 parts, with a suicide exit acting as an end to the first.

The first part, which does a surprisingly good job at emulating the gameplay of Knee-Deep in the Dead of the original Doom, is slow paced and places more emphasis on the atmosphere in order to allow the player to become accustomed to its style and different environments, while also encouraging exploration, but keeping the encounters and traps at a generally low level of danger. It culminates with a more challenging map that features a suicide exit. Story-wise, the player falls through a trash compactor, losing their guns in the process.

This is where things take a dramatic turn, as UAC Ultra does not present a traditional difficulty curve (the difficulty does not increase in steps). It is somewhat similar to Scythe, but not quite there. From the first moment MAP07, which marks the beginning of the second part, presents a significant ramp up in difficulty from the previous episode which culminates with a boss fight against the new enemy, one capable of firing multiple Mancubus fireballs and moving fast. It is also a nod to Doom 2's Dead Simple in terms of design and overall gameplay. From this point onward, the enemy encounters and traps become much trickier, requiring the player to pay attention to the environment at all times, as one stupid or unintentional mistake can leave them dead. High-tier monsters are also used more frequently, and the hellish portions (which present only damaging floors) present some slaughter influences in the nature of certain encounters. This episode can be summed up as being largely gameplay focused, as while the levels are still very atmospheric and their design is intriguing, they're no longer what the player should pay attention to, and it really shines with its fun traps and enemy assaults. The last map features a boss in the form of a grotesque mass of tissues and flesh who fires good amounts of Imp fireballs from its mouth, but is incapable of spawning enemies. Afterwards, the player boards a ship and finally goes home. Needless to say the second episode is my favorite, and for good reason.

The only possible problem with UAC Ultra would be the fact that the first part does not do much to remain captivating, so it's easy to get a bit bored. The levels are not exactly "beautiful" in the sense of being touched by decay, in addition to having some switches in spots that are easy to miss and thus potentially wasting some time looking around for them. And while it is entirely possible to have fun encounters while maintaining a low level of danger, it doesn't quite do that. Something that did catch my eye however, is that various parts in UAC Ultra appear to have taken inspiration from Doom 64. I'd recognize the yellow key room from Doom 64's Alpha Quadrant anywhere. 

One could say the second episode is the wake up call and the "Ultra" part fits it like a glove. So wake up, duty calls. Would recommend this to anyone looking for some fun, it's fairly short as it only took me 3 hours in my blind let's play, so it can easily be completed in one sitting.

This was pretty damn fun. Even with my usual gripes when it comes to custom levels (death exits and custom monsters) this was a blast to play from start to finish. I even loved the IoS iteration in map 11. I hope a sequel will come out (as the end text seems to suggest) but if one never does surface, this is still a great entry on its own. Bravo, 40oz and SuperJamie!

Brilliant atmosphere. The general pacing of the mapset is excellent. Absolutely recommended.

really dark, really grim, loads of fun. very replayable set. that's basically the gist of UAC Ultra, it's another one of those wads where you play Doom without a single cent of stock textures, and the feel is wonderful. the levels are actually quite simplistic and linear, but the combat works out in most cases (although I did get stuck in MAP08 when the big door didn't open for some reason). nice story and okay usage of custom monsters as well. Skagway is a worthwhile challenge of a level that must not be missed. even if you don't like the levels preceding it, you're gonna love that one. the last level is somewhat of a boss level, but it's way too easy unfortunately. still though, UAC Ultra is worth the time to play.