Eagle Speedmapping Session 1 - Rough Beginning

A set of 3-hour speedmaps, revolving around a common volcano theme. They are all quite friendly for first-time playthroughs, so you should be able to hop right in.

MAP01: Do I Look Like I Know What A Volcano Looks Like? — A bite-sized map with just a handful of enemies. Press a few switches and you're set. The visuals are very polished.

MAP02: Speedmap #04 — A trip through dank caverns. Again very nice visuals, and a good music track that I haven't heard anywhere else.

MAP03: It Blows (The Volcano, I Mean) — One of the more atmospheric maps. It starts in moodily lit vine-overgrown corridors, then leads you to the edge of a volcano, complete with a breathtaking vista. The ending feels a bit awkward if you've run out of rockets but a secret megasphere can even the odds. This might be my favorite in the set.

MAP04: Tectonic Arachnotronic — The weakest of all maps. It has you climbing a truly humongous mountain on your way to the exit at the summit (reminds me of the classic earth.wad a bit). There is little excitement here, you simply hold down the run key for a few minutes until you reach the end. The monsters are so sparse you'll likely want to run past them all. The few arachnotrons and mancubuses at the end are hardly a payoff either. Don't go the wrong way or you'll waste a minute running around the entire mountain to get back.

MAP05: They Called Him Lava Man — Starts with you surrounded by enemies in a lava field, then you infiltrate a small base until finally unlocking the grand finale; all this set to comfy Donkey Kong Country music. The beginning is quite hectic, at least until you realize it pays off more to run into the building right off the bat. The ending is a little disappointing since there's nothing stopping you from ignoring all enemies and making a beeline to the exit. A cool little map, but I wish it had more of an incentive to face the hordes head-on instead of cheesing them from a safe spot.

MAP06: Center of Chaos — Has a troublesome opening where you're always under fire with barely any weaponry to your name, unless you go out of your way to collect some. Avoiding the copious missiles and hiding behind crates is a pretty cool experience. The abrupt ending is likely to kick your ass the first time, but once you figure out how to approach it, it's really fun (I almost wish there were more enemies to fight in the lava cavern.)

Overall, this is easily one of the better speed mapsets I've ever played. The choice of music is consistently great and especially the first few maps are polished technically (although not devoid of bugs — you can get stuck in a pit on map02). Recommended for everyone.

[Originally written Dec 2018 for The /newstuff Chronicles]

Some maps do in 2 hours what I could barely do in a week. The 4th map is akin to something I might make if I made large levels.

MAP01 - MAP03 - 4*

MAP04 - MAP05 - 1*

MAP06 - 2*

Verdict: 2*

Maybe subsequent speedmapping sessions will produce better results?

The first half is good, then it gets worse. MAP04 was so bad that it was almost funny.

2,5 is approximately 3.