Abyssal Speedmapping Sessions: Session 10

Ah, speedmapping. We all love it, we all hate it. An art as old as the history of WADs itself, and one that has proven to bring with it both the worst mappers in history and the best. It's a difficult technique to acquire, but one that with time and practice can yield fantastic results. The very idea of limiting ourselves to a certain set time can be detrimental at worst, but at best, when we give the tools to an artist looking for a challenge, masterful work can result. Here we have a group of illustrious intellectuals who have come together to form a cooperation that is as unique as it is discordant. One where love and hate mix to enjoy one single thing: creating maps. Abyssal Speedmapping Sessions is all about speed, asses and Alfonzo. So, let's dive into this hole and see how deep it goes.

After a somewhat long break from the first sessions, I suddenly had the urge to return to this iconic series that from time to time hides more than a few gems, or a total disaster. Luckily, session #10 seems to be a good balance between shitposting and good map design. Very entertaining maps, indeed! Mappers had the option to choose 3 textures from: Erratic Texture Pack 1, DrDoctor Texture Pack and Marcaek's Super Special FIREBLU Ensemble! So most of the maps are quite simple to look at but contain enough touches to establish a good visual rhythm. Considering there are no stock textures, that alone gives it some appeal. Especially striking are the fireblu textures, which create a rather techy atmosphere that reminds me of the original Tron movie. A certain visual touch, from a couple of colors that manage to create enough depth to establish a sense of place. Not all maps are entirely blue with red, and there are a few surprises that turn the color around and bring attractive designs. Quake-inspired maps and some that look like sapphires to boot. Undoubtedly, even if most of the maps have a rather simple and plain layout, no map is truly ugly and some even stand out for having a solid visual quality.

The sessions stand out for being crazy gameplay as well. It's often hard to balance something if you have a time limit, especially if it's only two hours, but the guys here know what they're doing... mostly. Most of the maps throw you right into the action, trying to create a tactical feeling that tells you how to move and at the same time how to fight. The maps aren't fucking difficult but maintain a solid and balanced challenge that welcomes all types of players, in my opinion. While certain combat can feel a bit simple at times, overall, each map brings something different to the table and creates a nice variety of treats to try.