The DWmegawad Club plays: Doom 404

dobu gabu maru · September 30, 2018

What is the DWmegawad Club?

This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

Can I join?

Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

What levels am I allowed to post about?

Up until the 14th, you can post up to today's date +1 (so on the 14th, you can post about map 15).

You can post about map 31 on the 15th, and map 32 on the 16th.

From the 17th, you can post up to today's date -1.

Do I have to post an entry every day?

Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

When do we vote on the next month’s megawad?

Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example:

+++ Ultimate Doom

Note that you can only nominate up to three separate wads for a single month, and the wads must contain at least three maps each. These are hard limits instituted for my own sanity.

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>>>DOWNLOAD DOOM 404 (RC 1) HERE<<<

Are you passionate about both short Doom maps and information technology? Well then, Doom 404 may be for you! Created by Doom vet Capellan, Doom 404 is a vanilla megawad of “short, sharp shocks”, with 404 or fewer lines per level and a theme for each map. Remember that since this mapset is still in beta, be on the lookout for bugs and errors.

Maplist:

Episode 1: Real Life

MAP01 - “Trouble Ticket”

MAP02 - “Bad Signal”

MAP03 - “PEBKAC”

MAP04 - “System Access”

MAP05 - “Server Room”

MAP06 - “Interface”

Episode 2: Virtual Life

MAP07 - “Firewall”

MAP08 - “Random Access”

MAP09 - “Hard Drive”

MAP10 - “FAT32”

MAP11 - “Infinite Loop”

MAP12 - “Machine Code”

MAP13 - “Bugged”

MAP14 - “Recycle Bin”

MAP15 - “Password Protected”

MAP31 - “Nazi Shooter!”

MAP32 - “Thule”

MAP16 - “DeFrag”

MAP17 - “CPU”

MAP18 - “Bad Sector”

MAP19 - “Crash

MAP20 - “Portal”

Episode 3: After Life

MAP21 - “Daemon”

MAP22 - “Terrorbyte”

MAP23 - “Biomatrix”

MAP24 - “Sintax”

MAP25 - “Hexadeathimal”

MAP26 - “EnCrpytion”

MAP27 - “Demesne”

MAP28 - “Icon”

MAP29 - “Hellmaker”

MAP30 - “Terminal”

BONUS CONTENT

Beta Testing Thread

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OLD THREADS

Spoiler

The DWmegawad Club Metathread

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Edited May 8, 2023 by dobu gabu maru

Capellan · September 30, 2018

1 minute ago, dobu gabu maru said:

What levels am I allowed to post about?

Whatever day of the month it is, is the upper limit for the map you can post on. So if it’s the 6th, you may discuss up to MAP06.

Strongly recommend changing this to:

Up until the 14th, you can post up to today's date +1 (so on the 14th, you can post about map 15).

You can post about map 31 on the 15th, and map 32 on the 16th.

From the 17th, you can post up to today's date -1.

Spectre01 · October 1, 2018

Alright chums, let's do this! PRBoom+ in authentically vintage 8bit software rendering, UV, pistol starts, no saves.

MAP01 - “Trouble Ticket”

This reminds me of one of the early Echelon maps that was super short and felt like a small part of a larger picture, rather than a level that exists in its own vacuum. A small atmospheric teaser, if you will. Also, that secret proved too much for me to find, so here's an FDA where I hump and shoot walls for 3:33 minutes: d404-S01-01-FDA.zip

MAP02 - “Bad Signal” FDA-Max: d404-S01-02-FDA-Max.zip

I can see why @Capellan suggested starting off with two maps, as this level is where the classic Doom gameplay starts. A techbase densely packed with Imps and Dudes, providing for some highly underrated pistol gameplay and shotgunning. Actually managed to grab all 3 secrets, which were a Medikit+2 Shells combo.

Edited October 1, 2018 by Spectre01

Hells Kitchen · October 1, 2018

I'll join aswell, GZDoom, continuous, mouselook, no saves

Map01

Intro map, setting the stage for the upcoming mission. Spent about 2 mins humping and shooting every wall, door, and computer panel in sight but no luck finding the secret.

Map02

Techbases, especially those with some E1 flavour mixed in, are one my favourite themes, so this is right up my alley. Used the pistol to kill most of the initial zombiemen to save the shells, one of them taking 4 hits. The map felt shorter than the monster count suggests. I enjoyed the gameplay, especially the barrel room and the red key. Refreshing to see something a bit more varied and action-packed than the usual "wall opens, 3 imps" upon collecting the key. Those shotgunners, especially in the other room through the window, will happily chip at you while you clean up the imps and dudes streaming in from the hallways. All 3 secrets contained the exact same items, which I found a tad amusing, but certainly useful! I got 2 of them, the outdoor one eluded me.

Edited October 1, 2018 by Hells Kitchen

Magnusblitz · October 1, 2018

ZDoom 2.8.1, UV, pistol starts, saving/reloading.

MAP01: Trouble Thicket

100% kills, 1/1 secret

So, to be honest... this open left me pretty underwhelmed. And it's not because it's (almost) monsterless, I actually like monsterless scene-setter maps, but this one failed to really set any scene for me. It's just, walk in the building, walk behind the counter, go into some generic industrial building hallway and kill some zombiemen at the end. I know there's a 404 line limit so you can't get super creative with the aesthetics but, this just didn't do it for me. I suppose it sets the storyline of showing up to some nowheresville place to do your tech support, but, eh, needed something more. Maybe a small trail of blood from the computer to the blood pile in front of the exit door?

MAP02: Bad Signal

100% kills, 1/3 secrets

Thankfully, this was much better... straight into the action, old-school style. Quite a lot of enemies here for the map size, there's a lotta meat packed into those monster closests, helps keep things lively even though it's just zombies/imps at this stage. One thing that's becoming quite apparent is just how danged subtle the secrets are... while I managed to wallhump my way into the one on MAP01, and found the one here thanks to the UAC carpet (though it wasn't on the wall I was expecting, given the arrow in the logo), I couldn't for the life of me find the other two. Looking at them in the map editor, yeah, there are actually hints... but gotta look close at those textures. Can be as different as one mis-sized brick.

Bug: the trigger in the northeastern room (tag 7) that opens up the two big monster closets is actually three linedefs, and if you run over all three the northern monster closet will lower a bit into the ground revealing a HOM on the inside lip.

Capellan · October 1, 2018

17 minutes ago, Magnusblitz said:

Bug: the trigger in the northeastern room (tag 7) that opens up the two big monster closets is actually three linedefs, and if you run over all three the northern monster closet will lower a bit into the ground revealing a HOM on the inside lip.

Took me a while to replicate this as you actually have to cross tag 7, then tag 3, then tag 7 again after tag 3 has finished acting, for the bug to occur.

Anyway, simplest resolution is to texture that lower sidedef, so I have. I haven't updated the download link at this time though. I'll wait until we're at least a few more maps in before I do that.

Phobus · October 1, 2018

I guess this format works for the 31-day month quite well, although it took me a moment to reason out the rules. Anyway, I'll be playing continuously using GZDoom on Ultra-Violence. I may save a bit, when things get tough.

MAP01 - It establishes a nice clean aesthetic with plenty of Doom-y textures, but does lack punch. The secret seemed kind of pointless, as you'd need to explore the level reasonably thoroughly to find it, only to be treated to an automap. I think I'd have rather had a secret shotgun to take to the next map to give me a bit of a boost.

MAP02 - Much more like it. Same clean aesthetic using compound textures (I hope, rather than wasting valuable lines on stacking upper, middle and lower textures) to look interesting whilst still providing a reasonably-sized, functional space. I found myself taking a lot of unnecessary damage, so I'm glad it was with a forgiving set of enemies. It felt a bit like a heavily-populated E1 map, in places. I think the secrets all being the same pickups was a bit disappointing, but understandable from a balance perspective.

So far I like the music, look and size of the levels. I feel we'll be running through a whole spectrum on the way to the end, so all told it's a good start to what I think will be a good megaWAD. I think I'd have liked a different sky to start us off, would be my only issue so far. The 404 line limitation seems to be a good one - I may have to give it a go myself at some point, or something similar.

Deadwing · October 1, 2018

01: Fun little intro level, some sort of story-like one? There's not much to say here, tbh, so I kinda agree with Magnusblitz haha

TheOrganGrinder · October 1, 2018

All right, after a few months off I think it's about time for me to get back on the horse, and a WAD full of shorter maps sounds like quite the treat. ZDoom, Hurt Me Plenty, continuous play with saves.

MAP01: Trouble Ticket

Short indeed, with just a couple of zombies hanging out by the exit to provide any sense of danger here. It's very much a story-based introduction to the map rather than a challenge, as the player arrives at the UAC complex, is wordlessly waved through the reception area, and makes their way toward whatever might be next. It's about as atmospheric as can be, given its limited scope.

MAP02: Bad Signal

There's a lot more to this one in terms of scale, monster count, challenge, though with the opposition limited to soldiers, sergeants, and imps, there's still a limit to the threat that can be presented. Probably the trickiest moment comes toward the start when just a little bit of gunfire is enough to wake up the greater part of the local population and send them swarming toward your position; it's not difficult to find yourself pinned in a corner or a closet with a dwindling ammo supply and an imp or three between you and the opportunity to scavenge a shotgun or some bullets for the bodies of the slain. To the extent that there are traps, they're all pretty telegraphed; tension comes not from being surprised, but from being told "Get ready!" and psyching yourself up.

HAK3180 · October 1, 2018

9 hours ago, Magnusblitz said:

MAP01: Trouble Thicket

This would be a great name for a level.

Magnusblitz · October 1, 2018

You can tell I'm not in IT if that's where my head went, heh

Spectre01 · October 2, 2018

MAP03 - “PEBKAC” FDA (misses one secret): d404-S01-03-FDA.zip

Well, we've got the SSG and some Hell Knights making an appearance. The most dangerous part is the lift going down, especially if you happen to aggro some monsters from above and potentially encounter infinite height shenanigans. Perhaps monster blocking the lift would help prevent a Pinky riding his fat ass up and down repeatedly on it. I also enjoy the occasional Chainsaw vs Demon gameplay, as the weapon is largely crap outside of that scenario.

TheOrganGrinder · October 2, 2018

MAP03: PEBKAC

Nice little looping layout with an river valley, a cavern, a couple of technological nuggets embedded in a largely natural setting; and as @Spectre01 notes the player is given the super shotgun and introduced to the Hell Knight here, a gradual ramping-up of threads and re-introduction of gameplay elements in a way that doesn't assume a player's familiarity or comfort zone but doesn't rely on their novelty either. I'll admit that I missed the secret shotgun toward the start until I was doing my end-of-level secret hunt; it's far from essential on continuous play but its discovery (or the lack thereof) would have been very impactful were I pistol starting each level.

Salt-Man Z · October 2, 2018

I did play the first 3 maps last night (HMP continuous) though I didn't get around to doing writeups yet. My biggest takeaway so far is that I'm going to really hate the secret hunting in this WAD; a lot of them so far have been of the strictly wall-humping variety, which I don't enjoy at all. (MAP01's was maybe the biggest offender, and the fact that it rewards you with a computer map is the icing on the WTF cake.)

Edited October 2, 2018 by Salt-Man Z

Magnusblitz · October 2, 2018

MAP03: PEBKAC

100% kills, 3/3 secrets

Not much to say about this one, it's a nice little looping layout and there's still a good amount of monster-to-acreage ratio (which I suspect will stay true throughout given the low line limit). As @Spectre01 says the only real dangerous part of the map is the green armor lift, everything after that is pretty much rote clearing unless you get lazy and get surrounded by hell knights at the end.

Minor aesthetic complaint: the white rock texture outside where the water meets the grass to the right isn't properly aligned and tiles wrongly there

1 hour ago, Salt-Man Z said:

I did play the first 3 maps last night (HMP continuous) though I didn't get around to doing writeups yet. My biggest takeaway so far is that I'm going to really hate the secret hunting in this WAD; a lot of them so far have been of the strictly wall-humping variety, which I don't enjoy at all. (MAP01's was maybe the biggest offender, and the fact that it rewards you with a computer map is the icing on the WTF cake.)

I had trouble finding them at first too, but after looking at the ones in MAP02 you'll find there's always a subtle hint, and once you know what to look for there's no need to wallhump, just have a keen eye. Now, maybe you hate taking time to look at the walls when you could be exploding monsters, and I know I'm playing on HD resolution in Zdoom so it might be a lot harder to see if you're playing on a different port/resolution, but no need to go around hammering your spacebar.

Secret hints so far:

MAP01: on the wall with four grey rows, the secret has a single 'brick' in the top row

MAP02: 1) the column that lets you go outside has vents on the side you can press, other sides don't; 2) UAC logo in the carpet; 3) the bricks near the red key are mis-aligned and have longer/shorter bricks than the rest of the wall

MAP03: 1) tekgreen at the start is vertically mis-aligned with the rest of the wall; 2) metal hallway has one wall with a lightning bolt; 3) monster closet that opens after yellow key has one wall a different texture than the rest

Edited October 2, 2018 by Magnusblitz

Phobus · October 2, 2018

MAP03 - This map felt more forgiving than the previous one. I say that because there were less hitscanners, less situations where you'd be attacked from somewhere unexpected and a fairly high chunk of the enemies were Demons. There's ample room to dodge, the secrets get you going with a shotgun and keep you well-supplied throughout and you've got an SSG halfway through the map. The lift with the green armour was the only rough part, as I was deliberately not picking that up with mine from the previous map mostly intact. So I had to step over an imp on the way down and did briefly get closed in, but the shotgun cleared enough imps to make life easy for me again quickly. The aforementioned SSG was more of a time-saver than a necessity, as the Demons and Hell Knights you dispatch are pretty easy to take care of with the space we have. There's a nice pace of introduction so far - I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for Revenants later...

Capellan · October 2, 2018

I can guarantee that every secret is marked. I don't do unmarked secrets. That doesn't mean they're always going to be easy, though. :)

Pirx · October 2, 2018

first off, i like the concept of small, quick maps. hey, i might finish this wad in a month's time :p

MAP01 - “Trouble Ticket”

intro map, barely 2 zombies at the exit, meant for atmosphere. +1 @spectre01 for the comparison with echelon (the exact same picture came to my mind after playing the first few map, however i struggled with remembering the name of the wad). i left quickly without looking much for secrets.

MAP02 - “Bad Signal”

a map full of imps and zombies, with classic shotgun gameplay. i used the pistol to save shells, and going straight for the shotgunner group when the imp swarm comes out allowed me to pick up the shells needed here. easy, e1-like game, with a few barrels to blow up bad guys.

MAP03 - “PEBKAC”

funny name, isn't it. nice natural landscape with some tunnels built into the rock. we get the ssg and shoot hell knights with it. also the chainsaw vs pinkie classic, about 3 times even (at the first chainsaw pickup, in the cave and at the end again), which showed me again why the saw sucks against anything bigger than an imp.

and nice habit @Capellan to mark secrets, i really like it when i can observe my surroundings to find out secrets, as opposed to randomly hump walls.

Edited October 3, 2018 by Pirx

Spectre01 · October 3, 2018

MAP04 - “System Access” FDA (missed dudes despite finding all secrets): d404-S01-04-FDA.zip
Well, that light-amp would've been useful past the blue door and not at the start of the map! Another classic looping design where you go up and around. Nice bit of optional platforming for some secrets in the dark computer room too. Looking back with iddt, there seems to be a closet with 7 dudes that didn't activate in there.

Magnusblitz · October 3, 2018

MAP04: System Access

100% kills, 3/3 secrets

Another loop and some definitely E1-inspired architecture here (the first main room reminds me of E1M1, then the curving staircase reminding me of E1M5) which I think definitely feels similar without feeling overly homage-y or copycat. There's actually a subtle but interesting design quirk here with the green armor moving or lowering depending on which path to the blue key the player takes, something that I think most people won't even realize on one playthrough. I think the combat/layout connection does misfire a couple places though - if the player takes the high route to the blue key, and then continues down the low path out, they'll miss the big monster closet there. Also, the big spectre reveal failed as a climax for me since the player is up above and can safely plink at the enemies from above, where they pulled the switch.

Minor complaint: I think it's a little silly that the window near the SSG can be walked through, looks especially silly when monsters climb up it. I'd probably slap some impassible lines on it, or at least block monster lines, but that's just me.

Capellan · October 3, 2018

Monsters left in the northern section should eventually wander down into the end area, so I am okay with players skipping fights up there (I am OK with players skipping fights in general, TBH, if that's what they want to do).

There already was a blocking line on the SSG window, but it was only on one side. Added it to the other, as well. I want the player to be able to go through for DM purposes.

Fixed the final monster closet so it will always fire (I'm okay with players choosing to camp it by staying up high, if they want to do it that way)

Downloaded link updated with the minor tweaks to maps 03 and 04.

Phobus · October 3, 2018

MAP04 - A map that carries on in the same vein as those before, adding the chaingun, chaingunners and spectres to the mix. The balance tilting back towards hitscanners made this map quite dangerous on the attrition front, although not exactly immediately lethal. The two secrets at the end made life nice and easy, by allowing me to stay high and well-supplied to take on the final wave of spectres. I like the looping bit near the blue key, although as I didn't need the green armour pick up, the multi-storey effect was spoiled somewhat. Speaking of which, I think I messed up and left without collecting it at the end! Still, I'm sure I'll not regret that. I've still got somewhere around 70%.

As a side note, I like that the start and end of each map blends with the ones before and after it. Gives cohesion, a sense of progression and is always nice to see. I think it also encourages more interesting exit room design.

TheOrganGrinder · October 3, 2018

MAP04: System Access

This one's got a miniature looping layout/figure-of-eight to the north, and the player gets to have fun with the chaingun and a gaggle of chaingunners; by this point, four levels in, the WAD's own particular pacing in terms of pick-ups and monster releases is starting to become apparent (though not yet familiar). I spent a fair bit of time hunting for secrets in the northern section of the map before giving up, grabbing the light amplification visor, and heading in to take care of the western area, only to discover that the remaining two of the map's three secrets were elevated platforms within that section! Not a complaint, just something that caught me a little off-guard since on some level my baseline expectation is for secrets to be fairly evenly distributed rather than clustered together like that.

Capellan · October 3, 2018

Updated the download link again - tweaks to maps 10 and 25.

Hells Kitchen · October 3, 2018

MAP03

Hectic start here. I found this one harder and more intense than map 2. Motherfucker shotgunner blew a barrel next to me putting me down to 30% health. Then came the demon and imp onslaught with only a shotgun, shit. Thank fuck for that SSG! I could've used the chainsaw, but could've easily been swarmed by those pink coke heads with their imp and shotgunner sidekicks. Recovered to 100% via the secret, only to be killed by the HK gang as I stupidly tried to SSG them from the lift. Lol yeah.

2nd time round, got clobbered again by the imp and demon hoard, but managed to pull through. This time ran past the HKs for the yellow key and left them behind. Fun, short, action packed. Good monster usage here.

MAP04

A step down in difficulty from the last map, with the combat before the blue key door more or less all infront of you, without posing too much of a threat, chaingunners included. The released monsters after collecting the key were also all infront of you, unlike the last 2 maps. Things at the blue door step up a lil bit with chaingunners and shotgunners in the dark, although the light amp goggles were still in effect for the initial fight. Did not expect the imps up my bum at the blue door, nice touch. The final spectre fight was easily handled with the chainsaw as they funneled to the blue door, but one of the bastards still took a chunk out my ass. Staying in the room though, they could easily surround you.

Catpho · October 3, 2018

Hey there, long time no see.
Episode 1: Real Life

Spoiler

MAP01 - “Trouble Ticket”

As far as short openers go, I've seen better. A briefing too brief I guess. Cute texture usage, the cozy office is a stand out. Three zombiemen.... you know what i can't write much with this content :P
Too trivial. Next!

One nice office:

gaspe · October 3, 2018

MAP01: Short and almost monsterless intro map. Nice idea but I'll get back later with more considerations.

MAP02: Pretty good E1 inspired map wth both gameplay and to a certain extent also the visuals (is the armor room a reference to E1M1?)

MAP03: I liked the focus on demons and hell knights. This level stands out a bit with the more natural setting.

MAP04: It was less thrilling than the previous maps, still is a nice map overall. Those 2 secrets in the last room are redundant, they could be merged only to be a single one

It's early to talk about this only after 4 maps but these maps visually are allright but also underwhelming. There are some cute details here and there but it's too minimalistic overall, in particular MAP01 fails in this regard. Then things will probably change and I suppose that later there will be more complex levels, for what this limitation can allow. Almost all the secrets are marked in the same way, and that works because these are low detailed levels.

The music was good and makes you enjoy the action that goes on. Imo the title track volume can be turned down a bit D:

obake · October 3, 2018

MAP01 - Trouble Ticket

Super easy, inventive opener. Gives a taste of the structure and architecture of the wad.

MAP02 - Bad Signal

Holy moly! This is how to make battles with imps difficult! Quite a fun map, utilizing the shotgun to mow down hordes of low-tier enemies in a way that is quite challenging. Ammo was perfectly balanced. Tough, but possible.

MAP03 - PEBKAC

Another good map. Not as tough as the last, despite introducing Knights. I like the aesthetics of this map quite a bit.

Grain of Salt · October 3, 2018

11 minutes ago, obake said:

Holy moly! This is how to make battles with imps difficult!

What? When? How?

Catpho · October 3, 2018

MAP02 - “Bad Signal”

This is the "proper" introduction to 404. The shotgun takes center stage in this bloody techbase brawl, being a reliable tool to dispatch hordes of lowly mooks with ease. The amount of barrels everywhere is amusing too. The action as a whole, plus a looping and efficient space is, like many club members said, a reminiscence of carefree KDiTD-style jaunts (and one blatant E1M1 homage :P). Clean and tidy design, probably thanks to no small part of the lines restriction, and i like the minimalist approach with custom textures.

Some screenies:

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