The DWmegawad Club plays: Eviternity

[TollyCastle]

 

Map01: A small medieval outpost with a twisty but linear layout. The gameplay here is standard fare for a map01, with imps, former humans and a few pinkies. The texture choice is great, with brown marble slabs, black and green masonry and chunky wooden supports.

Map02: Some nice twisting caves with structures embedded into the cave walls. The gameplay ramps up quite nicely, with the introduction of hell knights and cacodemons. There is also a berserk pack which I have not figured out how to get, thus it tantalizes me atop its pedestal, tempting me from afar. Also the visuals were great and stuff.

[Salt-Man Z]

2 hours ago, Ecafr8708 said:

While putting in an actual post I realized I don't pay enough attention to do even a single post on MAP01. Therefore, I probably won't detail my experience with this mapset. Still might play and talk though.

The only "rules" in this Club are when to talk about each map, and how to vote for next month's WAD. Otherwise, however much you want to participate and what form that takes are totally up to you!

Edited March 1, 2019 by Salt-Man Z

[tmorrow]

chapter: Archaic, map03: Drain, by Dragonfly
uvmax, 100% k/i/s obtained

Down the drain we go to a surprisingly versatile map with a high degree of non linearity. I played the map a few times and enjoyed using alternative routes for a new experience each time. We are introduced to some of the tier2 enemies in the mancubus, hellknight and revenant and fortunately a plasma rifle has been generously provided to simplify those encounters. We also get to meet the health reduced lost soul that goes down to a single well placed shotgun blast. Our marine approves and sanctions this improvement although I believe he is drafting up an extensive report, protesting some of the up and coming monster changes. The 3 secrets provide an early super shotgun, backpack and a soulsphere.

[Tristan]

MAP03: Drain - Dragonfly

6:11, 100% kills, 67% secrets

 

From the caverns of MAP02, we go back into a small fortress. The number of times I've played this level and I managed to forget about the backpack secret. By the time I remembered, I was shit out of luck, oops. Oh well, it's only a backpack. This used to be a soulsphere or megaarmor if I remember correctly, but it was changed before RC1. You also used to be able to grab it with SR50 though I'm not sure if that's still possible, don't have my controls set up properly to check it. Funnily enough it was the soulsphere I struggled to figure out during testing, and in the post-RC1 phase I thought I was going crazy when I couldn't find the third secret, only to discover that the third secret was in fact a new addition and contained an SSG which I think was a wise move as we're really starting to encounter more mid-tiers at this point, with mancubi being thrown in alongside the knights and cacos, and there's a couple of revenants showing up too. There's some non-linearity on display here, by which I mean you can take out the north half in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction, although unless you actually enjoy single-shotgunning midtiers you're going to want to go and get the plasma gun from the start, which is up in the north-west corner.

 

You get some cool transformation work going on here, and it's certainly not the last you'll see of that in this WAD - in this case a lot of the architecture collapses into the bed of water in the map's centre, which also reveals the exit. Fun stuff all round.

 

I'll be back on Monday for write-ups on MAP04, 05, and the first custom monster :O

[Roofi]

I think I will participate this month but in my own way. I will not replay the maps nor posting  real reviews about them , but just leave some little comments about the layouts of the levels :).

 

Map 01 : Inauguration

 

 

A small introduction map marked by a large curved passage. You can see to the right a big room with a very detailed ceiling compared to rest. The first map doesn't offer a lot of exploration because of it's size but isn't narrow at all.

 

Map 02 : Subterrean

 

 

As the title said , the level takes place in a subterrean cave. You can expect a lot of exploration in natural landscapes contrarywise to the first level (Just see all the misshapen sectors to make rocky areas). However , Dragonfly built a small temple carved in the rock to the north in order to add some variety. The layout is also more complex so that the player is more likely to get lost.

Edited March 2, 2019 by Roofi

[Magnusblitz]

MAP01: Inauguration

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

First thing that strikes is what Ill call the 'production value' - lots of bits that don't affect gameplay but certainly make everything feel more professional and upscale than your typical Doom level set. The full 360 sky with the moon, the rain drops, map name at the start, etc. I really like the light emitting from the portal behind you, it's a great subtle cue and I think having the player turn around to see the portal works great. I also don't think I spied a single IWAD texture in the level, so it definitely has its own feel on that alone. The custom color scheme helps too, with the grey-er blue.

 

Gameplay-wise it's nothing too fancy, just a good solid intro to get the blood pumping. Lots of small fry, but it is easy to take more damage than expected and be attritioned to death if you're not careful (especially if you don't get the green armor right away like me). Layout-wise you could say it's basically three trenches, but the architecture is designed in a nice way with the curves and multiple levels that helps it flow together and give it that sense of place. Like @General Roasterock I couldn't help but be reminded of Scythe 2's opening.

 

MAP02: Subterranean

100% kills, 1/1 secret

 

Playing continuous (for now, if it's better to pistol start let me know) so I can at least use that chaingun I found last map. Spelunking into caves now, but still nothing too hard, and feels more like a leisurely exploratory map (the music certainly helps give this vibe). This one has a few paths to return to earlier areas, which felt a bit strange in a way to have some optional fights with no real payoff as I had already opened up the exit. The lift nearby the hell knight switch felt out-of-place because of it is, like I broke a sequence or something and was supposed to go through the caverns (and teleporter) first to get to the switch instead of just climbing up the lift. Looking at the map in the editor seems like it might be because I backtracked after tripping the line (near the double doors that open) instead of continuing through the other door, heh.

 

[Steve D]

23 hours ago, Salt-Man Z said:

MAP02: Subterranean

Anyway, in RC1 I was never able to find the secret, which makes me sad because as a continuous player, I really want that backpack! My first time of 14:49 includes over 5 minutes of wandering around trying to figure that out, and failing. My second time, of course, is me giving up on every figuring that out.

 

You're in luck, because there's no Backpack in Map02 Final Release, they switched it for a Zerk.

Edited March 2, 2019 by Steve D

[Catpho]

Yay, Evitenrity! Heard a lot of good things about this mapset already, no surprise considering all the talented people at the helm. I'm actually on MAP14 already, anticipating a busy month for playing ahead.

Switching up my play setup this time around, with UV + Continuous + Saves only on the beginning of each levels replacing my usual UV + Pistol starts. It's inspired by the RPS article, plus it will be interesting to see how the set fairs with carry-overs.

CHAPTER I: Archaic

MAP01 - "Inauguration" by Dragonfly

Essentially one giant view with a couple of height tiers. Dragonfly's warm welcome into the world of Eviternity is quite unassuming gameplay and layout wise, with a few exciting but brief (super)pistol exchanges with packs of low level wanderers. I think death can only come for those thinking its safe to just ignore the grunts and recklessly zip through, just to get torn by the map's only teleport ambush :P I myself like how most "ambitious" modern megawads tend to not have easy peasy, "blink and you'll miss it" openers, such as the moderate length of BTSX openings or good shocks such as Ancient Aliens's starter. I think Eviternity's introduction does the short, low difficulty trope elegantly, however, thanks to the "very 3D" traversal and of course housing what is perhaps the first chapter's most striking vista: a view into the deep blue forest coupled with the bright full moon, with pillars casting shadows under the lunar shine (the whole first chapter can optionally be rain soaked too in GZDoom, which I think is a neat touch because I've always been a big fan of the rain, although please forgive me muting the music so I can turn on rain sounds, I like the melancholy it produces :)). The guard towers gives an impression that this place is a backdoor entrance of sorts into a secluded bastion, and the player is doing some Doom-y espionage i.e. killing everything that gets in the way. Decent first map!

The fast pistol sounds like a nice addition to make pistol starts cooler, though I probably won't play with it much due to being on continuous.

I'm unable to praise textures packs in detail without all the sentences sounding wonky, so ukiro will unfortunately have to settle with the shout-out of "WOW THIS LOOKS GORGEOUS".

Some screenies:

Edited March 13, 2019 by Catpho

[Salt-Man Z]

1 hour ago, Steve D said:

You're in luck, because there's no Backpack in Map02 Final Release, they switched it for a Zerk.

Ha, you're right. I had remembered hearing about its replacement, but I still had it stuck in my head as a backpack. (I was so stumped by the puzzle at this point that I didn't pay attention to the reward, I guess!)

 

MAP03: Drain

18:25 | 100% Everything

And hey, now I got my backpack! Though holy cats, it looks like if I hadn't figured it out before the end I woulda been S.O.L., LOL. Anyway, this is a beastly little level. I didn't do much sightseeing early on because I was too busy running for my life hollering, "An SSG, an SSG, my kingdom for an SSG!" The opposition steps it up a bit, with a couple harmlessly-positioned mancs, and a couple of revvies that were pretty easy pickings coming up the stairs. The real danger was the hitscanners everywhere, including an absolute bastard of a trap via a chaingunner waiting at the top of a spiral staircase. I even heard him in time to prepare, but I underestimated the size of the spiral, and didn't turn far enough to face him. No death, but I was down to a quarter health for a bit. Thankfully I did get my SSG, though not before I'd already killed most of the HKs with the normie shotgun. I was absolutely floored when the entire stairway gave way to open up the path to the exit; I literally had to stop and look around and verify what exactly had happened. And a fun aside: I pulled out IDDT to double-check the exit switch (a habit I've gotten into to keep from hitting unmarked exit switches prematurely, since the exit action is color-coded in GZDoom) and I hilariously noticed that all of the raindrop actors show up on the automap! (Though there's clearly some scripting involved, since only the closest areas are ever active.) The secret soulsphere was the last thing I found; I probably circled the whole map twice again before I found it, but it was just a matter of not having looked everywhere. Anyway, a very fun level. It actually gave me a really strong vibe like something outta BTSX Ep2 maybe, just a very familiar feeling. And oh yeah, those new tree sprites are gorgeous.

Edited March 2, 2019 by Salt-Man Z

[Roofi]

Map 03 : Drain

 

 

A roughly speaking  square compact map with a very open progression. Nothing really memorable in this level , except the beautiful heptagonal room located in the north. I have to say that this map focuses more on height variation than exploration. There are indeed a lot of stairs and some lifts which allow to navigate fluidly. 

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP03: Drain

 

If the last level conjured memories of Hexen and its Caves of Circe map, then this level felt to me more like a Heretic map, centred as it is around a reservoir into which a multitude of waterfalls drain and around which the platforms, walkways, and overlooks of the map's secondary structures are arranged.  It's got a pretty hot start and I was not playing well, catching first a mancubus fireball to the face and then a couple of cacodemon lightning bolts to leave me dancing around at 9% health for a while; fortunately, there's enough health scattered about that mistakes of that nature are readily enough forgiven.  There's a little bit of parkour needed to reach two of the three secrets, and I suspect the backpack is rendered inaccessible if you've not grabbed it before you make your way to the exit?  For the most part, I would describe this map as feeling like a puzzle box, full of pieces to manipulate and different routes to take through what is essentially a single structure.

[VanaheimRanger]

 

[Snikle]

3 - Drain

I watched the making of this map back over the summer. Pretty cool getting to play it. Too bad I forgot where the secrets were since I watch Dragonfly make them. The map was a nice, mostly indoors structure with a dropping water level that exposes some revs and other baddies at the end. Another short map, since we’re still in the beginning of the WAD.

[Demon of the Well]

Here we are at last! I've been anticipating this for quite some time, to say the least. By and large I've attempted to remain unspoiled as regards what's in store, though given what a hit the WAD has been it's naturally been all but impossible not to hear certain things (and alluring they are), and I've certainly poured over Dragonfly's author/maptitle/song selection chart more than once. This playthrough will be using the 'final' version of PrB+ (-complevel 11), skill 4, and of course the final/idgames version of the WAD.

 

Map 01 -- Inauguration - 98% kills (d'oh) / 100% Secrets - FDA, 0 deaths (skill 4)

Forgive me for stating the obvious, but......my lack of goodness, what a stunning opening shot. It was the sky I was most immediately taken with (there is no genre of Doom-sky I like more than night-Doom-sky), but this may well be the most aesthetically beautiful example of a conventional/traditional map 01 I've seen in quite some time, perhaps "ever." The analytical/cynical part of my brain is perhaps already all too ready to be on guard against the undeniable glamours of OTEX (i.e. ready to look for construction where it seems like the textures are doing all of the heavy lifting), but this is the complete package, as attractive in its architecture and lighting (using both 'directional' and shaded styles) as in its textural skin, each element complementing the other.

 

Eviternity makes no bones about following the Scythe II model of map/theme arrangement, though it's still somewhat surprising (not unpleasantly so, mind) to see it open with a gloomy medieval/castle theme, just as Alm's masterpiece did. Versus the original, the OTEX assets lend a more subtly Celtic or Nordic flavor to the look, a little more romantic, just a little less grim, perhaps, though there's some Solomonic demonological imagery in there too. Let us not forget, of course, that Eviternity is among other things also a WAD meant to celebrate Doom's 25th birthday, and bearing this in mind the choice of a piece by Mark Klem for the music track for this 'inauguration' is just perfect, a subtle nod to some of the iconic megaWADs of yore.

 

While I wouldn't say this map really does anything in particular to subvert the usual/traditional m01 tropes--short, easy, loosely sprinkled with Hell's bottomfeeders, a simple secret or two--it is an uncommonly enjoyable example of the genre, I felt. It's a pistol-based map, and while this is always a dicey choice to some degree I think it's carried off well here, and probably would be so even without the upgraded firing speed on said weapon, if I do say so. Contrary to many m01s, you get a lot of space and open air here, and a lot of visual interconnectivity, in that the great majority of the action happens in a space that you can see in some way from most every major point on the map. This gives scope for some fun/simple handgun-based calisthenic stuff, where you can nip about and pick out zombies from different angles amid the imps and odd pinky or two, usually more fun than using the weapon to push through corridors or clear closed rooms or such. The uphshot of this is that by the time I found the chaingun I didn't have much actual ammo left for it, but no harm no foul, a good time with the pistol is of much more note than any number of chaingun-ings, after all.

 

Map 02 -- Subterranean - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets - FDA, 0 Deaths

Ooooh. That's a lovely tune, especially the intro. I keep meaning/keep forgetting to post in Dobu's "what midis would you like to hear used in maps?" thread, will certainly have to add this one to the list.

 

This is a fairly conventional caves/caverns map, with a bit of ruined temple to boot. The texture assets suit it quite well (the water flats and animated waterfall texture are standouts), though the theme is simple/understated to the point that this aspect of the design doesn't have quite the same "wow" factor as in m01; instead, what really carries the presentation is the beautiful lighting work, again contrasting gradient shading in the caves/coves with stronger directional lighting outside in the clear moonlight. Very much a presentation built on subtler beauty that many are liable not to notice, perhaps--one tiny thing, for example, that really caught my eye for whatever reason is the delicately 'curved' plate of white marble or quartz or whatever it is on the ceiling over the stairwell where the first chaingunner is met, smoothly matching the pitch of descent--but of course being able to carry this kind of look (versus something more grandiose/upscale) speaks to the texture pack's versatility, no?

 

Still very straightforward/traditional early-game fare, this, a few small/obvious traps, a lot of simple skirmishing in the caves and coves. The berserk pack debuts here as a plainly advertised secret; I opted to make heavy use of it, probably slightly past the point of good sense, though it's early days yet and so thus far I'm not really seeing (or expecting) much to check my brashness/stupidity--there'll be time for that later (or so I hope)! Some others have mentioned feeling a mite disoriented in the network of streams and tunnels, which perhaps speaks to how well the layout masks its linearity. Indeed, it is almost 100% linear--I believe literally the only point of departure from the set route is the little pool which has the switch for the berserk pack in it?--but by using different height levels of some areas and a lot of loops (versus doubling-backs) in the progression the layout creates the impression of complexity and locational depth, almost always more satisfying than a straightforward corridor-crawl or the like.

Edited March 2, 2019 by Demon of the Well

[dac]

MAP 03 – Drain

 

After two linear maps comes one that is a bit more open in structure. From a pistol start, I felt the map did everything it could to lead me toward the plasma rifle area first, with quick glimpses of hell knights and mancubi effectively “blocking” my way. I still got distracted by the soulsphere secret, got forced into fighting the entire northeastern area of the map – thank god I also found the super shotgun secret! – and wound up getting the rifle until way later when I was hunting the last switch. Which wound up being useful against the revenants and the final horde once the middle section dropped.

 

So far, secrets have been easy to find, especially the backpack in the southern section. I’m probably lucky with noticing dark areas where there should not be. As I noted, the first soulsphere secret is kind of a trap leading you into a dangerous fight if you’re not well armed. So far the mapset is still on the easy end, even with me making some poor choices.

 

...Oh yeah, there were weakened lost souls too. I felt those lacked a good introduction of sorts, being mixed into a mancubus and zombies fight and dying before I had the chance to realise they were there.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP02 "Subterranean" - Joshua O'Sullivan (100% K/I/S):

First of all, and to be totally honest, the "new difficulty" of some of the lastest releases are not of my taste at all (Example: Ancient Aliens), for some reason I tend to fail over and over again while playing my best, so I think I'll have to git gud for this one.
This map has progression, that's interesting, this is always a really nice touch. Is difficult to say if this map was the better one in comparison to MAP01, both are equally good, and also, equally linear.
It's really difficult to make a cave map that works, but Joshua nailed it here, and with a lovely music.
I died 5 times here, so the difficulty ramped up a little bit (Not that little), but actually, the only deadly spots are the exit area when you first enter it, and the last fight with the cacodemons. I died trying to fight those two hell knights in the pillar room with fists, so yeah, artificial difficulty for me, so I rant about it.

MAP03 "Drain" - Joshua O'Sullivan (100%K/I/S):

Map continuity here aswell, hope if it breaks while changing of map designer in this one...
This is a lovely open map with tons of big fights here, I see you could tackle this level in many ways, breaking with the lineal-ness of the first two maps. This looks like some kind of underground shelter or...
... I don't know how would I describe this place. But by the way there is a really nice use of OTEX here, which, for some reason, makes me feel like playing Heretic/Hexen. In terms of difficulty this felt easier than the last one, specially because I could find the secret SSG. And talking about guns, giving me a free Plasma Gun at MAP03 is not seen that often, but is really fun to gun down big enemies with it without becoming a slaughtermap. Finding the SSG is not a significant change of pace here, since you can find said PG before it.

Death counter: 6

Maps in order of preference:

MAP03 (Great)
MAP01
MAP02

Still, this makes me want to play more.

Edited March 2, 2019 by DJVCardMaster

[Magnusblitz]

MAP03: Drain

100% kills, 3/3 secrets

 

I definitely agree with the Heretic vibes, though that may just be the aesthetic of a large wooden platform/dock area surrounding the watery reservoir, not sure if it's architecturally similar. I didn't realize it while playing at the time, but I think the quest is hitting the three switches in order to lower the wall chunk leading to the exit, and the design is a nice circle giving the player multiple avenues to attack it. I think this might actually be the easiest map so far, as supplies were plentiful and the monsters were placed in ways that helped the player (such as the mancubus to the right helping out with cover fire on the first ambush, or the pinkies blocking the revenants). Run around too quickly and you might get stuck and overwhelmed, but take it slowly and nothing will get too hairy. I'm liking the secrets so far too, the soulsphere 'clue' had me humping around for awhile before returning at the end to find the teleporter some ways away (but hidden in a perfectly fair way for any player who just looks around to find!)

[Tristan]

Contrary to my expectations I'm still here, so let's continue:

MAP04: Regicide - Jimmy + Dragonfly

8:44, 100% kills, 100% secrets

 

The title always makes me think of that RuneScape quest. Fortunately, the medieval castle complete with a moat is a fair bit easier to navigate than the elf lands, although it's fairly more substantial than the previous maps, I'd call it the first medium-sized map of the set, featuring some outdoor and cave scenes alongside the charging around the interior of the castle, with its memorable locations such as the yellow key's throne room, the dining room, and even the library where we're introduced to the OTEX bookcases. Quick, call Obsidian! It's also the first of the guest maps, albeit a collaboration with the fly himself. I can't remember off the top of my head how the work broke down, as I recall Jimmy whipped up the layout in about five seconds like he does - this was around the time he made Deathless, after all, but I don't know if his work went beyond the layout. One thing that certainly came from Josh in this map is that cute model of the yellow key's throne that changes when you press the switch next to it in order to signal that the key is now available - he does this on more than one occasion (edit: or does he? Doubting this now actually) in Eviternity after becoming obsessed with the idea during his Doom 64 for Doom II ironman run. We had to have an intervention and everything, it was awful...

 

The music here is Jimmy's "Ancient Sovereigns," which he wrote for one of the Phoenix Speedmusic sessions earlier last year - probably my favourite track in the first chapter though Octarine is surely a close second.

 

Gameplay wise, this feels somewhat easier than previous maps on continuous because by this point I'm pretty well stocked, the rocket launcher is added to the arsenal here and that leaves me with everything except the BFG, and the secret megasphere pretty much allows you to run through the map without having to worry too much about your health in spite of the increasing numbers of mid-tiers in comparison to the previous maps. That secret took me a while to figure how I was supposed to do it when I first played the map, but considering the reward and the fact that its accompanying trap is pretty light I say that balances out pretty well. Arachnotrons show up here for the first time armed with a shiny new chaingun which fires a fast moving bullet projectile. Fear not, vanilla fans, this is purely a cosmetic change! There's also a couple of flame bois but you face both of them alone and in very unthreatening situations so I'm not crying just yet :^)

 

Overall this is my favourite map in the first chapter. Excellent stuff.

Edited March 3, 2019 by Eris Falling

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP04: Regicide

 

There's certainly a throne to be found in this "storming the castle" map, but the king himself appears to be absent, with not even so much as a Baron of Hell keeping his seat warm for him.  Maybe the intent is that one of the arch-viles present should fill that role, but with a handful of them present, it's hard to say which might be the king and which aren't; besides, the arch-vile has always been more of a high priest of scheming vizier sort of character than a ruler.  I'm probably reading too much into the title, which maybe is little more than an excuse to lay out the castle halls through which the player crashes.  I found myself thinking of this one initially in terms of separate chambers/encounters - the throne room, library, great hall, etc. - which gradually became less separate and more interconnected as I made my way through the map, hitting switches and opening up additional hallways, occasionally in unexpected places.  The opposition here is the heaviest we've seen so far, with the aforementioned arch-viles playing the starring role, though I found myself losing more health (as always) to revenants and sneaky hitscanners.

[tmorrow]

chapter: Archaic, map04: Regicide, by Jimmy, Dragonfly
uvmax, 100% k/i/s obtained

This collaborative effort sees our damp marine emerge from the water soaked tunnels and catch the beauty of the trees and landscape before crossing a moat and infiltrating a fortress. Naturally his way is blocked by a vast variety of monsters, including the introduction of an old favorite, the archvile. The rocket launcher is obtained at last and just in time for those nasty archviles. You have to fight your way through a library, who'd have thought reading could be so dangerous. Eventually you head back outside to find the final key to open the way to the exit, guarded of course by a couple of heavies! The 2 secrets hold a bunch of armor bonuses and a whopping big megasphere but be careful, the latter pickup does not go unchallenged!

[General Roasterock]

MAP 03: DRAIN

 

 

I do really enjoy maps where the flow seems to revolve around a central point, and with this map's point being the pool of water in the middle, navigating the edges was very satisfying. I completely forgot to mention the rain effect for GZ in my previous posts, so I'll go ahead and say that while it isn't an important addition, or even a very complicated one, it's a stamp to show the dedication that the assets' synergy require. The bricks on the walls look as if they've been saturated over the course of years, so the simplistic drizzle here is very fitting. 

I never actually noticed that the Lost souls' health had been lowered until Map 09. They're placed so far out of the way in this map, and I had to keep my attention on other bigger demons. I definitely welcome a great many of the changes that Eviternity brings to the formula.

As for the map itselfm everything is rather standard. The secrets seemed to be easier for me than the one in Map 02, which is probably just a personal thing. Everything is tight enough to fight through while also not being a corridor slough, and loose enough to manage the first Revenants of the wad. 

Did I mention the interconnected starts and exits are cool? They're cool.

[Dragonfly]

MAP03: Drain

 

Start Date: 28/07/2018

Mapper: Dragonfly :)

Music: Fluid Motion - Jimmy

 

This map was essentially a speedmap of sorts, made over the course of only 3 days, most of which was livestreamed at the time on my Twitch channel. Sadly I wasn't yet storing the VODs on my YT channel, so I don't have the videos for this one.

 

Drain essentially just... happened. I was in the right mood at the right time and just went with the flow. :) As people have mentioned, it's the first nonlinear level and also steps up both the enemies and weaponry available - it was a conscious decision to have the plasma rifle present before the SSG, and in the original RC1 iteration of this map, there wasn't the SSg secret at all. Some people love the SSG too much though so I accommodated their desires for a hefty boomstick in the form of a secret area. As mentioned in my comments for MAP02, there are some chunks of architecture directly copied from MAP02's structures, with minor alterations to make it work.

 

Overall I'm pleased with how this map ended up, and I've found it fun to tackle this map in different ways by going via different paths to begin with - one notable example is how dangerous the soulsphere is to collect early compared to if you retrieve it after handling the enemies in it's vicinity first.

 

I don't have any true WIP shots on this one, but here's an editor shot from the 30th July 2018:

Edited March 3, 2019 by Dragonfly

[Dragonfly]

MAP04: Regicide

 

Start Date: 28/10/2018

Mapper: Jimmy & Dragonfly

Music: Ancient Sovereigns - Jimmy

 

It's your chance to storm the castle! This map was also a very quickly built level and a collaborative effort between myself and Jimmy. As you can see by the start date, this was created very late in Eviternity's development cycle. Jimmy was quite busy but really wanted to work on a 2nd map (his other map being MAP09). I made the initial area which connects 03 to 04, then passed it to Jimmy, who had seemingly clicked his fingers and created the base layout for the map in an instant. He was busy over the next couple of days and I had free time, so I essentially took the layout and detailed it up and filled it with gameplay before Jimmy even had a chance to get back onto this map, heh. :)

 

We discussed ideas for the map and what parts of his layout were supposed to be, and I made what I could become reality! I have to say, after Jimmy composed Ancient Sovereigns in a speedmidi session I fell in love with it and pre-emptively decided it needed to be used somewhere in Episode 1.

 

One lesser-known detail though. This map was supposed to be AD_79's map slot, but was struggling to find the time and motivation to make a map. Jimmy offered to collaborate with him but in the end, AD_79 unfortunately had to bail on the slot and pass it to myself and Jimmy due to unforeseen circumstances. That's why it was so late in the order which things were mapped.

 

Here's a few WIP shots, dating between 28th October to 3rd November 2018:

 

This is how I initially gave the map to Jimmy.

 

 

And this is how he sent it back!

 

Here's the moment I added the diorama - note the unfinished appearance of the library, this is how it was simply from when Jimmy did the layout, I added nothing but the diorama at this point.

 

 

Almost done!

 

 

 

BONUS SHOT:

 

 

It was at this point that I messed about to see what it'd look like if Eviternity MAP01 -> MAP04 were stitched together in a single map. There is a lot of overlapping lines so this isn't playable. If the engine was a full 3d-brushbased engine then it'd be fine as the overlaps are at different vertical levels. :)

Edited March 5, 2019 by Dragonfly
Added extra WIP shot we found!

[Budoka]

@an_mutt: Great stream, you play with a lot of skill comapred to other Doom streamers I've watched and it's fascinating to hear a Doom mapper's thought process in detail.

 

So. I just beat Eviternity on UV GlBoom+ -complevel 11, and had an excellent time. I'm going to keep my detailed thoughts on the Megawad to myself for now, and do the club playthrough on GzDoom so that I can perhaps comment on the differences, seeing as the one time I've loaded this in GzDoom I noticed there were some extra touches compared to the strictly MBF version. Generally speaking, I don't enjoy the ZDoom gameplay as much as the standard Doom behaviour, but considering that from my understanding this thing was playtested thoroughly with both situtations, I'm sure this will all work out.

 

 I'm staying on Ultra-Violence of course, and playing mostly continuous, but if at any point I feel like pistol starting a level that doesn't require it I will. I will also drop saves in-between fights during the longer maps, because... well, those who don't yet know will no doubt find out.

 

 Now then, let's being.

 

 MAP01: Inauguration
 --------------------------

 

 That rain effect that is exclusive to the GzDoom version compliments the mood perfectly, and somehow makes Mark Klem's "Midnight Call" fit this level a lot better. On the other hand, I have mixed feelings about the level title drops. I want to praise the idea for giving the whole experience a more refined feel, but also chastise it for ever-so-slightly diminishing the immersion factor.

 

 While I'm on the subject, the aesthetic of this entire first chapter is absolutely gorgeous. I'm severely curious about what more can be done with the OTEX texture pack if the material we see in Eviternity is the start of its history as a resource.

 

 As for the design of the level itself, well, "Inauguration" isn't one of my favorite levels in this mapset. It's well-crafted enough, but as others have already alluded, it's basically an archetype for the stock, cookie-cutter MAP01. I like it better when megawads are serious from the word "go", something both of Skillsaw's forays into  the genre are perfect examples of. Heck, I've seen people in this thread compare this to Scythe II's opener, but I have to disagree, as that map is, comparatively speaking, a lot meaner than this one.

 

 Although, one of the articles I found online about Eviternity points out how it smoothly takes the player from very easy challenge to very hard, and after finishing it I have to say there is a lot of truth to that. Well, to an extent anyway. Even the latest maps never really get, say, Going Down or Resurgence-hard.

 

 Overall, a serviceable opener, but I genuinely think it could have been a lot more than what it is without sacrificing the overall spirit of the megawad.

 

 MAP02: Subterranean
 ----------------------------

 

 I just realized GzDoom actually loads the next level illustration on the tally screen correctly, which is nice. PrBoom+ just skips it.

 

 Onto the level: now this is more like it. The fights are still easy but also slightly tricky, we get the light puzzle elements that one might expect from a standard Doom map, and I really like the back and forth progression. Speaking of the exploration side of things, the mostly low lighting contrast here does an excellent jop selling the "dark underground caverns" feel. It's also a very neat (and quite impressive) touch how the rain only falls in places where there are holes in the ceiling that let the moonlight through - with a very realistic effect, might I add.

 

 I don't have much else to say for now, these early levels are quite simple.

 

 MAP03: Drain
 -----------------------------

 

 Our first truly open-ended level is one big puzzle box, or to be precise it's some strange medieval sewer system in which you must find and activate sluice gates in ordrer to trigger a drain and unblock access to the exit. Hardly new territory for video games, but uncommon in Doom and executed quite well here. As usual for Episode 1 of this megawad, combat does its job properly and doesn't do any more than that. Overall, this is easily the best of the first three maps.

 

 Also, the continuity between maps that Dragonfly insists on works brillantly here. I thik it's interesting how we go from outside the castle walls, to the underground, the the water processing, and then to the main building, as if the entire episode is some big inflitration job. Well, as a matter of fact...

 

 MAP04: Regicide feat. Jimmy
 -----------------------------

 

 ...Perhaps even an assassination job, though I don't see who is supposed to be the "King" in this level. It could be that first Archvile near the throne room, but then... there are two more Archviles at the exit ? I guess Archviles are more like elite guards then. Is the King the Yellow Key ? (lol). ...And it seems TheOrganGrinder had the same thoughts, so I guess I'm not alone in this little extrapolation.

 

 Anyway, progression gets a little more complex in this level. First you have to pry open the heavily guarded entrance, then the game becomes a half-linear key hunt as the player visits all the gorgeous rooms such as the main hall, throne room, dinner room and library. One low point: this is the second map in a row to feature a pack of specters which is a tidbit too easy to render completely and thouroughly harmless. On the whole, this map is fairly satisfying "storm the castle" romp.

 

 This also where players can start noticing the prevalence of the Skillsaw-style triple-key exits in this megawad, which may come across as a little too on the the nose, but is also a very efficient way to structure a level.

Edited March 3, 2019 by Budoka

[Roofi]

MAP04: Regicide

 

 

 

A  memorable level due to the fact that we must explore a rather realistic castle. It's possible to see kind of drawbridges on the layout while the throne room is not that easy to locate. For gameplay reasons , the castle doesn't contain any symetrical room and everything is interconnected in order to make the navigation fluid.  There is also a good balance between exploration inside the castle and natural outdoor spaces. Judging from the layout , this map has a typical "Assault the castle" scenario because the start and the exit are both outside the building. I think our hero come here just to plunder the castle (and killing the king too but I didn't see him in my playthrough).

Edited March 3, 2019 by Roofi

[Snikle]

4 - Regicide

Alright, now we’re getting to what I came here for. This map is longer and harder than the others so far, while still being a really nice looker with some neat touches. This is also the first not-entirely-Dragonfly map, with a credit for Jimmy as well. I loved the little model of the throne room that changes when you hit the switch. Hell, the whole library looked amazing. I can’t wait to see what else OTEX can do. I enjoyed the outdoor section at the beginning, especially when the walls lowered to make way for the bunches of monsters behind them. I love larger areas with a diverse group of monsters. Infights galore. This map also introduces us to the Arch-Vile, Rocket launcher, and (finally) the SSG. Thank God for that. The only detriment to the previous levels was the amount of meat I had to get through with only a regular shotgun and chaingun.

[dac]

MAP 04 – Regicide

 

Funny how simple environments or sounds can create such apprehension. There was a bit of that in map 03, where the plasma rifle area had a menacing aura telling me serious shit was going to hit the fan once I acquired it – at least, more serious than a hell knight! The first meeting with an arachnotron in this map was similar: it fires different, harsher sounding bolts and even if the changes are all cosmetic, I didn’t want to get hit just in case. I didn’t want to get hit anyway, but not by those bolts.

 

Anyway, a castle map! This one is a bit less non-linear than map 03, while not exactly a straight line; there are a few approaches I could take regarding which keys to go for first – blue-yellow-red in my case. Or simply go for the always fun “obstacle course as fast as I can” type secret, with a megasphere that was mighty helpful for the rest of the map (and trapped, as is becoming tradition with this mapset). Especially the throne room fight.

 

I expected the final fight once I got all three keys to be more furnished than the single arch-vile against a rocket launcher on HMP, an easier version of the arch-vile plus imps against a super shotgun on the way to the blue key area. But then, the two arch-viles UV ends with might have been a bit too tricky at this point.

[Demon of the Well]

Map 03 -- Drain - 95% Kills (d'oh?) / 100% Secrets - FDA, 0 Deaths

In direct contrast to the circuitous linearity of the previous level, this one allows the player more or less immediate access to every part of the map (save for the gutterway leading to the exit, of course), though it can't be traversed equally smoothly in all directions, both by dint of its structural design and its malcontent inhabitants. In the FDA, I lucked into a pretty interesting route (like @dac above I took the teleporter to the soulsphere quite early, and so lacked a heavy weapon for the deadfall/armor-shrine ambush along the northern stretch) featuring some nice fast action; neither the plasma rifle nor the SSG were given much time to shine in this run, but fortunately the fights worked pretty well without them--sometimes misadventure is the most fun adventure, after all.

 

There's quite some scope for variety in experience here, of course, especially by the standards of a small/quick map. In terms of replayability, I reckon this particular run of mine is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum in terms of 'smoothness' -- beelining straight for the plasma rifle from the outset allows one to burn through the action like a hot knife through butter (or....like a stream of superheated plasma through demon-brain) in one continuous blitz of violence, while on the the other hand moving directly to the southerly drain-switch (the last one in the demo) seems to involve a rather pronounced grind through quite a bit of meat should the player commit to it (though there is nothing actually forcing one to commit, in fairness), especially if one were to miss out on the SSG secret along the way. To some extent, these relative extremes are part and parcel for this kind of compact layout; a creature contributing to crossfire over the cistern in one run might be little but a hallway-clog in another, but all the same being populated solely by popcorn monsters (versus a certain mild-but-noticeable preponderance of hell knights and such) would likely undercut the gravitas of the two heavier weapons debuting here.

 

At this point it would likely be presumptuous to say "and of course it looks good", but I can't say I'm surprised, either. Bearing in mind we've only seen one small slice of the assets at this point, I'm quite impressed with the versatility seen thus far--there are a lot of different colors and materials used in a relatively small space, but the whole is quite elegant in effect, a rich yet muted watercolor sort of look.

 

Edit: fixed broken FDA link

Edited March 3, 2019 by Demon of the Well

[rehelekretep]

prboom+ 2.5.1.4, pistol starts

map01 fda

map02 fda

map03 fda

 

so far: cant fault the texturing, music, or map layout. can question the secret and combat design: no non-secret ssg or berserk means lots of low-threat plinking at knights. not so fun. fortunately map03 brings the pg into the mix but not much ammo so you cant run wild with it. hoping the set will loosen up as the mapcount ascends.

[rehelekretep]

On 2/28/2019 at 6:28 PM, Magnusblitz said:

Looks like the first maps of each episode are on the smaller side (at least at first)... Ok, how about this schedule:

 

3/1: MAP01 + 02, then one map a day

3/5: MAP06 + 07, then one map a day

3/9: MAP11 + 12, then one map a day

3/12: MAP15

3/13: MAP31

3/14-15: MAP32

3/16: MAP16, then one map a day

3/19-3/20: MAP19, then one map a day

map01+02 on the first day should be the format for all DWMC playthroughs tbh