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Title : MAZEe2m1.WAD
Author : Larry H.
Email Address : lawrence@geoworks.com
Description : You must solve three famous mazes to escape.
For more information about each maze, read on.
Additional Credits to : Ron Braunstein had good ideas for ambushes.
Paul DuBois had an idea that became the best secret.
Jimmy Lefkowitz had an Atari 800 and Ms. Pac-Man.
Many damfine testers.
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* Play Information *
Episode and Level # : E2M1
Single Player : Yes
Cooperative 2-4 Player : No (I.e. yes, but untested.)
Deathmatch 2-4 Player : No (I.e. yes, but untested.)
Difficulty Settings : Yes
New Sounds : No
New Graphics : No
Demos Replaced : None
Par Time : 4:00
* Construction *
Base : New level from scratch
Build Time : A month's worth of copious free time
Editor(s) used : DEU
Known Bugs : "Power Pills" in Pac-man maze occasionally
don't draw. Suggested workaround: Ignore them.
This level is more difficult than the original
E2M1; it is assumed that anyone taking the time
to play custom WADs is experienced. Suggested
workaround: Start an easier difficulty level
than you're used to. Work your way up.
* Copyright / Permissions / Begging for goodies *
Authors may use this level as a base to build additional levels.
You MAY distribute this WAD, provided you include this file, with
no modifications. You may distribute this file in any electronic
format as long as this text file, unaltered, accompanies the WAD.
If you enjoyed this level and have access to e-mail, please send
me (lawrence@geoworks.com) an ASCII text file containing some amusing
writing. Your favorite Dave Barry article, excerpts from Miss Manners,
that funny anecdote your friend e-mailed you about. I'm always looking
for interesting text to feed to my Markov chain program.
* Where to get this WAD *
* Maze Information *
Maze 1: Pac-Man maze
This Pac-Man maze is in fact a maze taken from Atari's Ms. Pac-Man game.
It is like Pac-Man in many ways. Most of the time you gobble dots.
Close to each corner of the maze, there is a "power pill" that will
give you the power to beat up on the ghosts that heretofore were chasing
you. And if you find yourself trapped between two ghosts, you'll probably
die. Every power pill lies on a trip-wire that lets loose more ghosts.
So be careful.
Maze 2: "Classical" layout Minotaur maze
"Androgeus having been treacherously murdered in the confines of Attica,
not only Minos, his father, put the Athenians to extreme distress by a
perpetual war, but the gods also laid waste their country; ...famine and
pestilence...their rivers were dried up. Being told by the oracle that,
if they appeased and reconciled Minos, the anger of the gods would cease
...and with much supplication were at last reconciled, entering into an
agreement to send to Crete every nine years a tribute of seven young
men and as many virgins; and the most poetical story adds, that the
Minotaur destroyed them, or that, wandering in the labyrinth, and finding no
possible means of getting out, then miserably ended their lives there..."
--_Lives_ ("Theseus), Plutarch (translated b. Dryden)
"It will be noticed that when once the labyrinth pattern has been
definitely conventionalised it remains very constant in principle,
whether its general conformation be rectangular or circular. Starting
from the exterior, the "path" runs inwards a short distance, turns so
as to run parallel with the outer wall until nearly a full circuit has
been completed,... and so on until it finally comes to a stop in a blind
end, having traversed all of the space within the outer walls without
covering any part twice and without forming any branches or loops...
A labyrinth of precisely this type was discovered traced on the surface
of a crimson-painted piller in the peristyle of the building known as
the house of Lucretius, in the excavated portion of Pompeii. It was
evidently scratched with a nail or stylus by some idler of 2000 years
ago... and is accompanied by the words 'LABYRINTHUS. HIC HABITAT
MINOTAURUS'..."
--_Mazes_and_Labyrinths_, Matthews
The map of this maze is based upon what is known as the "Classical"
model, a maze that appears in design motifs of many cultures. I have
introduced a variation to the layout as suggested by a recreational
topology book called _Stretching_a_Point_; I also introduced the
third dimension to the maze. Note that while Plutarch says that fourteen
youths were sacrificed to the minotaur each year, other sources put the
figure at seven; I trusted these sources, and only seven corpses appear in
the area to start; there will no doubt be more by the time you're finished.
Maze 3: Hedge maze: Hampton Court
"The puzzle hedge maze appears to have been the result of Dutch influence,
reaching England later in the seventeenth century. The best known British
example is the maze at Hampton Court, near London, part of the formal gardens
designed by George London and Henry Wise. Records show that the maze was
created as part of the final stage of William and Mary's remodelling of the
gardens carried out between 1689 and 1696. Its distinctive trapezoid shape
was dictated by the intersecting paths of the wilderness area. Originally
the maze was planted entirely of hornbeam, but subsequent renewal has
resulted in the present patchwork of species, now predominantly yew."
--_Mazes_, Fisher and Kingham
"Various diagrams of the maze have been published, some of them very
incorrect and therefore misleading. Our sketch was made on the spot
and represents at any rate the present (1922) disposition of the paths
and hedges. The gate almost opposite the entrance should normally be
closed. It is for the purpose of affording the gardener or attendant direct
access to the 'goal' and its approaches, or occasionally for facilitating the
release of impatient visitors; if left open it spoils the fun. The goal is
provided with two bench seats, each shaded by a leafy tree."
--_Mazes_and_Labyrinths_, Matthews
The map of the maze is taken from Matthews' 1922 sketch. The configuration
of the Hampton court maze has since changed. Note that in the original
Hampton Court maze, choosing the wrong path merely leads to a frustrating
dead end, not to a swim in the lava. Not so in this Doom version. It
should also be noted that the original Hampton Court maze is not normally
stocked with armed men and Cacodaemons.
You needn't memorize the maze to avoid being dumped in the lava; there
are signals which will warn you which path will dump you in the lava. I
leave it to you to figure out the signals.
Bibliography:
Ms. Pac-Man, Copyright 1983 Atari Corporation.
_Mazes_, Adrian Fisher and Diana Kingham. Copyright 1991 Adrian Fisher
and Diana Kingham. Shire Publications Ltd, Cromwell House, Church Street,
Princes Risborough, Buckinghamshire HP 17 9AJ, UK.
_Mazes_and_Labyrinths_, W.H. Matthews, B.Sc. Published 1922 by Longmans,
Green and Co. 39 Paternoster Row, London, E.C. 4 (New York, Toronto,
Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras).
_Great_Classical_Myths_, F.R.B. Godolphin, ed. Copyright 1964 Random House,
New York. The Plutarch quote came from here.
_Stretching_a_Point_, Mitch Struble. Copyright 1971 Westminster Press,
Philadelphia.
By D3rpyD00dlez · PostedI genuinely enjoyed this mod with its level design and music. It was challenging and interesting and it kept me playing a while after beating it to try to find anything. though I would say it was slightly repetitive and overwhelming with enemies at some moments.
By LouigiVerona · PostedWriting a review for Darkening 2 is tough. It's a beloved megawad, and for good reason. As many other reviewers have said, it is historically a very important project. It was an important megawad for me personally. I fell in love with the first level in particular. The music, the realistic architecture, so reminiscent of the video games of the 90s... It all left a lasting impression. And it was one of the most beautiful wads I've seen at the time. But I rarely played anyt
By Ofisil · PostedA competently made map, for sure, but fun? It's way too long and repetitive, with same-y combat & ambush scenarios used again and again, and with way too much enemies, and not that much of a challenge, even for me who isn't exactly fond of "SUPER HARD WAD #9263!!!!11!. You can cut the whole thing in half, and then cut THAT half in half, and it would be a better map. Is it bad? No, just a little bit above average, mostly because it drags a bit too long.
By MrSkeltal · PostedGenerally good map design, but the difficulty as is the case with pwads tends to be uneven even on HMP, especially when you mix them with what slaughtermaps tend to be (monster spam). Too many parts where, after pressing a switch, you'll spend some time killing enemies only to realise the map maker tried to get cute and spawned a bunch of hidden archviles somewhere to start reviving everyone while you were busy wasting ammo. This is especially unfun in parts with very little cover where you'll b