The DWmegawad Club plays: Disjunction & Scythe X & Counterattack

[FrancisT218]

Level 3 is a medium to large purely metal base until you have both the blue and red keys, after which the final fights are in a tech section. It's basically your choice what order to get the keys in and to some extent even what route to take, but you want to be reasonably quick in finding the weapons and some decent qmmo. The last fight has a Mastermind, lots of Hell Knights, and Archviles on an elevated platform above.

 

 

[Dragonsbrethren]

I'm starting to think Disjointed isn't for me, I didn't really enjoy levels 2 or 3. Level 2 was very stingy with health and armor, which gave me the feeling that I couldn't recover from any encounter going poorly and resulted in me using more saves than I really like to. Level 3 was just very unintuitive to me, even when I knew where I wanted to go, I couldn't remember how to get there. Most of the map blended together, and it felt like a giant switch hunt where I wasn't sure what half the switches I threw even did. The end section was definitely the best part of the map.

 

I really liked the visuals I saw at the start of level 4, though, so I'm going to stick with it.

[DavitW]

MAP02: Lambda Base

This map takes place on some sort of ocean base, another style of map you don't seen done too often. While once again the maps pretty big there's not a lot lot too it. It didn't feel we got to explore the whole base with this one. There were a few challenging moments here, mainly once you entered the base itself but the Revanants and archvile placed in good sniping positions outside can be a pain in the ass aswell.

 

MAP03: Neural Nest

Starting off I really didn't dig this one at all, from a pistol start this definitely wasn't as balanced as well as the previous maps. There's 2 different paths you can take to get the blue and red keys so you can exit this level. I went down the left path first although the right path may be preferable as the Rocket Launcher and SSG are down there. Once the ammo situation finally resolved itself I did enjoy the later parts of the map without having to get the monsters to infight eachother. The finales a big showdown with a horde of enemies and a Spider Mastermind, Along with 2 archviles to finish it off. Not too challenging but still enjoyable.

[rehelekretep]

13 hours ago, Dragonsbrethren said:

I'm starting to think Disjointed isn't for me, I didn't really enjoy levels 2 or 3. Level 2 was very stingy with health and armor, which gave me the feeling that I couldn't recover from any encounter going poorly and resulted in me using more saves than I really like to. Level 3 was just very unintuitive to me, even when I knew where I wanted to go, I couldn't remember how to get there. Most of the map blended together, and it felt like a giant switch hunt where I wasn't sure what half the switches I threw even did. The end section was definitely the best part of the map.

 

I really liked the visuals I saw at the start of level 4, though, so I'm going to stick with it.

as far as i can tell (im up to map06) it gets better as the set goes on so stick with it ;)

[rehelekretep]

map05 fda

glboom+ / uv / pistol start

library! this is a cool, convoluted map. 12 secrets but even with 1 given to you at the start i had no chance finding them all. the fights in this are pretty cool, lots of opportunities for infighting. the end fight can be mercilessly cheesed if you hold off firing at anything while the two 'wings' of the area kill themselves, leaving the cyber to infight with his baron buddies and then you can mop up. i think this is my favourite so far, this mapset is getting better as it progresses so im excited to play m06.

Edited August 5, 2018 by rehelekretep

[floatRand]

Map12 "Felt" UV - 100% kills, 12/12 secrets

 

My first map! Well, my first released map. I had fiddled with the editor a bit before, so I wasn't completely newbie, but I hadn't really released anything playable. 

Originally for DUMP 3, but was included into Disjunction like all DUMP 3 maps I made. And you can see it is bit rough in places and simplistic in some cases. 

The original concept was "a magical library, cramped with secret tunnels, passages and rooms, with green as colour theme". The name 'Felt' does refer to the fabric of pool table - and in a way it is also a Homestuck reference, but not intended one. Getting first secret by just entering map is bit thematical tidbit, sorta signaling that the whole library is a secret area in a way. You enter a map via rather cramped elevator - showing my fetish for cinematic starts and ends. 

 

But yeah. Layout-wise, it is linear until you get the red key, after which you can go do the big library-section or the darker tunnels section. Frankly, both are very viable routes, but the darker tunnels has the benefit that you can actually get into parts of the library-section and grab the plasma-gun from there. The library-section does not have the same luxury, so it might be more difficult route. One common feedback was that the map was claustrophobic - and it is, and kinda ill-suited for using rocket launcher. That is why map02's design starts with such open section with rocket launcher.

The finale is a very simple slaughter-scenario with BFG. It is really easy due to infighting and my inexperience, but hey, it is some fun just sowing chaos like that. 

 

Music track is from Aria of Sorrow, "Top Floor". I think it just fit really neatly into the elevator descending into the start.

 

Although I personally loved idea of secrets, in retrospect... too much is too much. Cute as an idea, especially for an exploratory map, but it does place baggage onto player of "I have to find all these secrets aaaaaHHHHH" - more amplified if you are trying to do UV-max, when you have to keep list of all secrets and routing them. I guess it can be fun, but probably isn't. 

 

... And for the secrets themselves.

Spoiler

1. idclev05

2. In the section with waterfall and chaingunners, go through the waterfall to be afllicted with a blur-sphere.

3. In the room past that, there is a timed door at end of the room revealing a backbag. 

4. After lift, you can find a hidden shootable switch that opens a small room with berserker pack and blue armor.

???. In room with baron, you can use the left wall to open a secret path. This is unmarked secret passage, shh!

5. In dark section, you can find a switch in the closet where hell knights were. This opens a door in section with revenants revealing a green armor and switch to open passage to the library-section, however...

6. In the passage from room with mancubus/arachnotron, a bookcase is opened when you walk through the red door.

7. If you look the room in ambush closet where mancubus was, you can find that previous switch also reveals another! It opens a door in the secret room where green armor was, leading you to an relaxing study.

8. And in relaxing study you can find a hidden shootable switch near the left switch! However, you will not get your reward until bit later...

???. After YK, you can find a switch in wall in the ambush-closet that opens passage to player start. Another unmarked, shhh!

9. In west side of library-section, you can find a small switch in the north corner of the room. This opens a path to a soul sphere. 

10. Meanwhile on the same side, but south, you can find the bookcases that are lowered by a switch. However, there is an invisible switch where the hell knight was, revealing a hidden berserk pack in a wall.

...8. And after entering one of the green teleporters, if you did step 7, you'll find a room with a megasphere and cell ammo. 

11. In BK encounter room, touch the northern bookcase. It will open a path to the blue armour in previous room.

12. Final one, in final encounter. The SE pillar in the middle of the cross has a switch behind it, revealing a megasphere in west waterfall.

 

Whew, some of these are obtuse as hell and annoying.

Edited August 5, 2018 by floatRand

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

Disjunction05-AC

PRBoom+ 2.5.1.5, complevel 17, UV, pistol start

Between working on Solaris and another project which I'm a guest mapper for, recording these FDA's is remarkably difficult.

 

Now we see a setting of a giant library. I figure Obsidian would probably very much like this map.

I got a Maskim Xul vibe from this one, with the tight combat and the plentiful secrets in a gargantuan library.

It's a three skull hunt, so we'll be here for a while.

There is some nonlinearity here, and there are multiple ways to tackle each area, though there tends to be one that stands out as the strongest.

A green variant of COMPBLUE also dominates the map, contrasting the wood and panel, but adding some much needed character to a rather monotonous theme.

Most of the fights are against a handful of monsters in tight spots, but the final fight definitely stands out as being slaughter-ish, but is rather easy all the same.

The fights are good, but they do become somewhat predictable at a certain point and it s reasonable to expect a trap in an remotely large room.

I only found a handful of secrets, but they require some rather alien logic to work out sometimes, which is likely why I was able to work them out like I did.

 

TL;DR: A map similar to Maskim Xul in its fights, aesthetic, and secrets, and while it holds attention, it drones on just a tad too long.

[Pirx]

i'm not happy that i be away again right when we get to counterattack, which is the wad that interest me most of this month's triple. at least, my backlog is successfully growing with every month  :p

so, without further ado, on to disjunction

 

MAP01 - "Leaden Skies"

 

didn't many say that they like the sky already? the map feels oldschool due its large, sparsely populated spaces without heavy resistance. a mountain base with plenty of fodder to blow up and shoot to pieces (even more hilariously as i loaded this map with the universal gibs mod). an archie at the end, relaxing gameplay overall.

 

 

 

MAP02 - "Lambda Base"

 

i did this in a unnecessarily complicated way by insisting on punching everything in sight in the beginning. thankfully there's krypto's demo in the speedruns section. the jump over the yellow gate and to the plasma gun is crucial for having a much smoother ride. another mountain base on an island, this time more bleak and threatrning visually, and also featuring enemies with much more firepower - mancs, revs and arachnotrons.

 

 

 

MAP03 - "Neural Nest"

 

a dark base with predominantly rusty metal, reminding of quake 2. a kind of generator or computer facility. pretty labyrinthine, one has to hunt down2 keys in order to open a gate.

 

 

 

MAP04 - "Aqua Regia"

 

here we find a temple built into a large subterranean cave, very nice visuals, complete with waterfalls and tight ways above the rocks. however, the revenants perched above annoyed me to no end, as i had no rocket launcher (pistol start) and had to get close to each of them to berserk them, while that climbing in the cave left me open for attacks by the others.

[Catpho]

MAP03 - "Neural Nest"

A dark and gritty techbase with a very cool tech-flesh fusion theme. I like the motif of having wires all around the place, show that this is some kind of "mechanical brain" or at least shows this place is doing a lot of questionable science! The surrealness also pairs well with the moody lighting and the mysteries and tense music.

Quite fitting for a map with the world "neural" in it's name, this one is mostly a slow crawl through a labyrinth like layout. Pathways here are very interconnective, quite easy to get lost, but still fun to explore. Ample bloodshed here thanks to the presence of a lot of hitscanner mobs, but besides the occasional concern posed by the mid-teirs, there's never anything life-threatening. Set-pieces are not too shaby, but still should not be something to rage at. Final fight was rather tame and easily exploitable: too many camping spots and supplies.

Overall an enjoyable map, a joy to unravel without much stress.

Some screenies:

 

[DavitW]

MAP04: Aqua Regia

Here we have a map that seems to be designed for Tyson gameplay with the berserk pack available early on and little in the way of ammo or other weapon given, but with the map design itself and the enemies we're fighting it just felt like a normal map with no ammo which is of course a pain in the ass. I'd say the worst example is the vertical cave area with all the revenants and imps up along the ledges, If you run out of ammo you have to run up the tiny path and punch these guys to death so you're pretty much fucked. There's plenty of ammo towards the end of the map but at that point it's kind of useless considering the final fight is supposed to be ran from instead of fought? At least that was the Impression that I got. Still a cool looking map though.

 

MAP05:

A nice map here taking place in a demon infested library, The map's fairly large but most of the action takes place in close quarters. The maps not entirely non-linear but still relatively straight forward with a 3-key hunt so we can open up the final area. Any good library has plenty of secrets to find and this one's no exception with a total of 12 in all, I felt these secrets might break the balance a little bit as I only found 5 of them and still felt like i was swimming in health and armor. I also felt that since most of the maps brown and green it could get a little bleh after a while. The tight range here means the Rocket Launcher is particularly difficult to use so the ambushes with the monsters like revenants and archviles can be particularly dangerous. The Blue and Yellow key ambushes are probably the best examples of that so I Dropped save states before those just so It didn't take 3 days to beat the map.

[Dragonsbrethren]

I'll echo @DavitW's sentiments. I loved the visuals of both maps (Aqua Regia straddles the "overdetailed" line for me, but never crosses it), but found the gameplay wasn't to my tastes. If it weren't for the key ambushes, I'd probably write glowing praise for Felt, but those ambushes (and a few other sections I used saves to get through) were just too much for me and I still haven't finished the map. Bowing out of this one.

[rehelekretep]

map06 fda

moody and atmospheric temple complex here. the midi is great. generally some nasty traps, highlight being the end cacoswarm/cyber combo which is one of those fights where NOT shooting and staying calm helps a lot. i was convinced the last few monsters would be viles released into the halls so thats why im creeping about after i killed the cybers!

i liked the secrets in this as they were teased early and so i just wanted to find most of them even though im not very good at it.

[rehelekretep]

map07 fda

wow! a complete contrast here in almost every way. cramped setpieces here with a few opportunities for some infighting. the laser/electrical pylons are a novel way to get rid of some of the fliers in the pg room - i confirmed their lethality by jumping into them :D

the secret room that i couldnt get in is a hilarious (although ridiculously well hidden) secret fight which i wasnt able to solve so i consulted the max demo by @Player177 - its worth the watch.

unfortunately you can completely cheese the last fight as the vile is deaf - this feels like one of those instances where floatRand may not have had enough familiarity with the doom engine/mapping but i might be wrong and that was intentional!

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

Disjunction07-AC

No FDA for MAP06. I got to the last point twice, but died due to not knowing what to do and I wasn't having enough fun to warrant any more attempts.

PRBoom+ 2.5.1.5, complevel 17, UV, pistol start

 

A short and sweet map, a great contrast from the maps previous, this one is definitely one I'll replay.

It's a key hunt, but an easy one with tight encounters abound.

My only consistent gripe about these maps is the bumpy floor detail. I find linedef special 242 is my best friend dealing with floor detail.

A chaingun and plasma rifle are available early and an SSG shortly after the chaingun.

The best part of this map is the combat and length, after a tiring sixth map.

I only found one secret of two, but it was certainly an interesting one.

The end fight leaves much to be desired, though having the megasphere and 200 cells from the aforementioned secret really took the challenge out.

The wad is called Disjunction, but the themes tend toward brown and grey consistently, though the wad is short enough that it can get away with a singular color theme unlike Struggle (sorry Antares).

[Player177]

   Good job with Disjunction walkthroughs!

On 8/7/2018 at 9:25 PM, rehelekretep said:

map07 fda

wow! a complete contrast here in almost every way. cramped setpieces here with a few opportunities for some infighting. the laser/electrical pylons are a novel way to get rid of some of the fliers in the pg room - i confirmed their lethality by jumping into them :D

the secret room that i couldnt get in is a hilarious (although ridiculously well hidden) secret fight which i wasnt able to solve so i consulted the max demo by @Player177 - its worth the watch.

unfortunately you can completely cheese the last fight as the vile is deaf - this feels like one of those instances where floatRand may not have had enough familiarity with the doom engine/mapping but i might be wrong and that was intentional!

   I really enjoyed playing it! Most fun to max of all! Made couple exits in a row improving time. It's not that great - must obey 2:XX!

   Gamma sector is like a last breath of fresh air in the set. Next four maps in varying degrees right until the end will be exhausting because of the all sorts of pressure on the player inherent in them. Even if you play continuously maniacally accumulating ammo from previous maps you must be ready to use up most of them in Foundry to remove some strain and most likely supplies will end very quickly in Crimson. Electron is inbetween, I had to try my luck UV maxing it. In short, without any warning you crossed the line to the next episode.

 

[Catpho]

Oh dear, why am i so sloooooooooooooooooooooooooooooowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww

MAP04 - "Aqua Regia"

If this was just an exhibition in an art museum, a definite fav for me. Some top-notched sector and texturing work here, beautifully rendering a gorgeous sunken, ruined palace. The cracked tiles, leaking water and believable natural canyon scenery are just some of the highlights. Great music choice too, albeit loops weirdly. Makes it all the more painful to say that i did not have a good time. The looks here came with a big price: creating bumpy, uncomfortable to move in floors. With dangerous perched monsters like revenants, limited ammo and awkward shooting spaces? You've got a recipe for annoying the player to no end. At least the map's climatic final fared a bit better thanks to some hefty rocket action and for having the mapset's most impressive vista so far (and a cool ending).

A shame really. The substance couldn't back the style.

Some screenies:

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

MAP08

PRBoom+ 2.5.1.5, complevel 17, UV, pistol start

I didn't finish this map because I got irritated with the setup in the brown maze section past the yellow door, where the arch viles come in with their revenant friends to end your day.

I wasn't very well excited about this map, which is why I didn't finish it even with saves.

I'll check out MAP09 a little later today.

[DavitW]

MAP06: Serpent Temple

This is a switch hunt in a non-linear temple which gave me some heretic vibes. There's plenty of ways you can take on this map and of course the many traps placed in here as well, there's nothing too hard until the end but the whole map's pretty lengthy so one mistake and it's back to the beginning. The last challenge is a fight with 2 Cybers and a horde of Cacodemons spawning in, You gotta keep an eye on those cybers which is no easy task considering the dark atmosphere and many pillars they can hide behind. I tried to run for it the first few times but standing and fighting finally got me through.

 

MAP07: Gamma Sector

A small & quick map taking place in a sort of tech base. This one wastes no time getting started as you're quickly thrown into some dangerous encounters with revenants, Mancubis and Hell Knights in tight spaces. There's just enough health and ammo to get by without being too limited, and i'm sure the secrets would have helped if I found them. The final fight with the archvile is pretty easy to just ran past though.

 

 

[Catpho]

Oh, if anyone is curious, my play setup is pistol start + UV. Every map is a hot start for me :P

MAP05 - "Felt"

Ha, from the cinematic opening to the dumb but fun final, this was a blast! It's amazing how the map manages to balance fast-pace flow with limited real estate. Most of the time it's face-to-face with demons here, especially deadly during key ambushes, with most of them being sizable massacres. Depending on what route did you take, the blows from the fights might be soften a bit because the main bookcases part has a very valuable plasma rifle, makes mopping up dangerous hordes easier. The map's final battle is just dumb fun. Really, there was never a moment where i threw my hand in frustration thanks to copious amounts of supplies and goodies stuffed everywhere. Healing right when you need it! The library setting is a nice virtual battleground. There's always something magical about fighting in a place known for knowledge and peace ;) I also like the green forcefields, makes the map feel lively and vibrant. The cherry on top is the awesome soundtrack.

Very etertaining! 

...

Wait, did you say this is your first released map?

Som... some screenies (they would be better as gifs, but i had way too much trouble trying to set them up):

 

[rehelekretep]

map08 fda

map09 fda

[Player177]

Full run movie for Disjunction in an hour and a half - movieDJ.zip Had to tense up but for a good cause.

If I didn't try to survive the whole thing couple months ago there would be no chance for me to make it to the end this time. At least this is how I think remembring the past attempts. I forgot the original route and some tactics but before the start tested the last maps cause they are most problematic. In general everything is relatively safe.

[Catpho]

I'll just post this in advance: Scythe X has one of the best intermission tracks ever. The description of the following video sums is exactly my thoughts.

 

[Magnusblitz]

Boy, this month sure died quick... but I'll still try to catch up over the weekend.

 

MAP03: Neural Net

99% kills, 3/4 secrets

 

A nicely-designed grimy techbase with a good inter-connected layout. Lots of mid-tier monsters, but nothing too hard (though the lack of health coupled with some bad play on my part did keep me on my toes). Pretty standard stuff but I did like the architecture, there's some cool stuff like the staircase/bleachers reveal leading to the blue key that was pretty cool. The final arena fight is a bit underwhelming as it's too easy to get everyone to infight and there's plenty of safe spots to hide. I tend to dislike the grimy brown aesthetic but this level was fun to explore.

 

 

[DavitW]

Trying to finish Disjunction so I can start Scythe X vaguely on time. The next map looks balls hard though.

 

MAP08: Foundry

It's ugly, It's brown, it's confusing and full of enemies like Revanants and Mancubis. As you can probably figure i didn't care for this one too much, alot of this level just felt annoying to play through and there were way too many shitty traps with revanants and archviles.

 

MAP09: Electron

You know what you're in for with this map when you turn the first corner and see 2 Revanants and an Archvile, at least this map's pretty generous with the big guns and ammo which is fortunate considering this is another map full of high level enemies and some pretty dangerous traps. I liked most of the map but there were some moments i didn't care for. Such as the area with the 2 Cyber snipers which just felt annoying having to dodge their rockets after a while.

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

I decided to skip out on the remainder (MAP10 and 11) of Disjunction because around MAP08 was when I stopped having fun with it.

 

Scythe X

MAP01

GZDoom 1.8.2, continuous, UV, compatmode 6 [Boom (strict)]

I'm defaulting back to GZDoom so I can have my freelook without autoaim, because autoaim was driving me insane.

 

It's a tech base, but this one is green and grey, a welcome change from the rather consistent brown of Disjunction.

Short and sweet, killing monsters with the pistol dominates this one until you get the shotgun, and even then you'll still want to use your pistol with how few shells there are.

Detail is nice, but not obstructive.

The secrets are somewhat strangely hidden, but easy enough to work out with a little odd logic.

Fun little map.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP04: Aqua Regia

64% kills, 0/3 secrets

 

I'll echo the others that this one looks great (and has a great music track to set the scene) but the gameplay didn't quite do it for me, just too sparse on ammo. I think Davit said it best in that there's clearly meant to be berserk/chainsaw play here but the map doesn't feel designed for it, as there's a lot of encounters that need ammo and if you're out, tough luck. At the end I decided to just run from everything since I was ready for the end.

[Magnusblitz]

Disjunction MAP05: Felt

99% kills, 3/12 secrets

 

Another fun one to explore, these maps definitely have a good sense of place. Feels like a bit of a 'haunted' library/mansion with good use of vertical space and lots of little hidden cubbies, hallways and staircases. Pretty well-balanced too, I agree with Catpho here, there tended to be health right when I was running low and needed it (though I did screw up a bit by AV-jumping to grab the megasphere on top of the triangle switch instead of saving it for that battle when it would've been useful).

 

===

 

Gonna start playing Scythe X on time so as to not fall behind there too. I have a (overly nostalgic? it's been awhile) soft spot for Scythe, but remembered not liking Scythe 2 too much (thinking a lot of maps had potential but were held back by some fatal flaws), so let's see how X goes...

 

ScytheX MAP01: Service Entrance

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

Standard-feeling techbase opener in a tasteful grey/green combo. The Scythe series is known for starting out really easy before ramping up to crazy levels so I'm not surprised, but I do feel it would've played a lot more fun with a berserk pack from the get-go instead of needing to just plink away with the popgun for most of the map (the chainsaw at the end comes with almost nothing left to use it on).

[Aquila Chrysaetos]

MAP02

GZDoom 1.8.2, continuous, UV, Boom (strict)

 

Another short tech base, not much to say about it.

It's a quick key hunt, and if you're unaware, a crusher trap can leave you in a nasty position if you're playing continuous and don't find the berserk secret.

There's a blur sphere, green armor, and 'zerk hidden away in secrets here.

Unlike the previous map, there's enough ammo for you to use the shotgun if you're playing continuous.

[DavitW]

Here we go with Scythe X. This isn't a blind playthrough so i'll be trying to 100% these maps including items. Ultra-Violence, Pistol Starts, PrBoom+

 

MAP01: Service Entrance

A very short, compact and easy map that's good for showing off the style this wad has. There's nothing more dangerous than Imps and Shotgunners and both secrets are in similar fashion and easy to find so this was an easy map to 100%. Still worth a playthrough though.

 

MAP02: Garbage Disposal

Another small and easy map, a bit lengthier than the first and there's a bit more to it such as crushers and 2 keys to hunt down this time. There's a few more enemies here such as chaingunners and demons but nothing patricularly difficult. Once again an easy map to 100% and all 3 secrets are easy to find, mainly because the map's so small just wall humping and shooting random things will net you all 3 of them.

[Suitepee]

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/293956970 = part 1 of Disjunction, covering maps 1-7. (UV, pistol starts)

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/296925198 = part 2 of Disjunction, covering maps 8-11.

 

Bar map 9 with the 'lift circle' and having a questionable choice of Revenants for such an otherwise interesting technical fight (was forced to find the soulsphere secret to get past it!), Disjunction was pretty good.....mostly. I really liked the idea of each map having its own theme, and visually the wad was quite stunning to look at and play through. I can see why this was a Cacoward runner-up last year.

 

Alas I won't be playing Scythe X, as I have my request list to be getting on with. Still, it was fun to contribute actively towards the DWMC again!

Edited August 13, 2018 by Suitepee