TNT 2: Devilution (Final beta released)

[baja blast rd.]

6 minutes ago, JackDBS said:

Just tried this one out for a bit. This is certainly the most TNT WAD to ever TNT.

 

Let's see if that holds up after you try TNT: Threevilution. 

[JackDBS]

10 minutes ago, baja blast rd. said:

 

Let's see if that holds up after you try TNT: Threevilution. 

MAP16: Why Is Bethesda Still Selling Final Doom for $4.99 On Steam When It Comes Free with DOOM & DOOM II Now speaks to me on a spiritual level.

[june gloom]

Decided to share my level reviews as I write them -- eventually I'll collect them and post them to my boomer shooter blog.

 

Sticking to the first episode, I'll share the second when I complete it:

 

Spoiler

 

MAP01: Obituary
mouldy, Luisinho
You start off in a weird, creepy blue version of the final boss room that seems to be in some sort of stasis. Step towards the TNT2 logo, though, and you're back in the real world, minus your arsenal, and plus a large contingent of imps and zombies. The sharp shock of difficulty is probably mouldy's fault, and you're pretty much going to be fighting for scraps until you can find the shotgun. I like the cool intestinal tunnel that uses some Doom 64-style tricks to fake room-over-room.

 

MAP02: Grime and Punishment

The Mionic Donut, Xaser
A significantly more sedate outing, this one is a small prison complex set in a flooded cave. While there's still plenty of resistance, you're overall blessed with more cover and more ammo, but it might help if you can find the bathroom key. Standout fight? Probably the lurkers in the computer room. I like the metallic green power doors that you can see something sinister through.

 

MAP03: Brimstone Labs
Alfonzo
Alfonzo gives us a slightly tricky techbase set into a hellish red stone-and-blood cavern. Hitscanners abound and health is really tight, but the super shotgun should help. Diligent explorers will find the plasma rifle, which will definitely help against the arch-viles. The yellow key secret is a little hard to find for what you get out of it. I like that the final (mandatory) fight can be managed on your own terms if you manage to not alert the mancs and archie before you get upstairs.

 

MAP04: Subterra Incognita
darkreaver, Adrian Hanekom, Kyka
Pretty straightforward techbase -- the platonic ideal of a techbase, even. Decently thematically varied with lots of silvers and blues amidst the greens and browns. You're pretty much forcibly gifted a soulsphere at about a third of the way through, a pet peeve of mine, but at least there's another one in a fairly obvious secret later on to grab on your way out if necessary. Standout fight is probably the one in the plasma rifle storage where the cage comes down on you and you're having to shoot between the bars. I found the chainsaw secret completely by accident because I'm always looking for ways to climb on things.

 

MAP05: Littoral
ProcessingControl, Tarnsman
With the music and the waterfront setting this would be a fine Doom Caribbean level. Lots of revenants and hitscanners here will have you on your toes, but the real standout to me is the teleporter that dumps you in a narrow pen forcing you to run into the nearby cave to avoid withering enemy fire. Also some seriously evil secrets, some of which are chained.

 

MAP06: Aquarium
ProcessingControl, Kyka, Xaser
A positively enormous undersea base adventure that starts out with a wrecked boat -- reminiscent of Duke Nukem 3D (or perhaps Shadow Warrior) before you descend into some rocky sea caves and finally into the base proper, with over 400 monsters on UV. ProcessingControl, Kyka and Xaser throw a hell of a lot at you over the course of the sprawling level, but the surprise moshpit when you grab a soulsphere in a cage is a particularly brutal encounter. But nothing compares to the finale, a big fuck-off mancubi and arachnotron showdown in a deep abyss preceded by trading rocket fire with respawning revenants as the elevator descends. Once you've cleared it the level opens up some of its secrets, and it's worth hunting them down -- you finally get the blessed BFG if you do.

 

MAP07: Campground
valkiriforce
Compared to "Aquarium," valkiriforce's "Campground" is positively sedate. You start off in a metal building full of pinkies; when you get outside, you can pretty safely duck into the space between it and the rock wall and have plenty of cover for the relatively sedate trickle of enemies that come your way. The standout fight is probably defending a small island in the middle of some lava while baby spiders on one side and a gaggle of trash enemies on the other try to catch you in the crossfire, and that's even before you realize that there's mancubi on the other side of the exit building.

 

MAP08: Hydrogenics
Tango, Kyka, Tarnsman
"Hydrogenics" is like "Aquarium" but smaller, faster, and above-ground. There's still a very high monster count, but encounters are overall a lot more manageable. It's mostly a lot of very large crowds of trash mobs that you can easily delete with rockets or the chaingun, but there are also an awful lot of chaingun snipers, only adding to the Plutoniousity of this mapset. I can't really think of a standout fight except maybe either the zombie snipers shooting at you from the waterfall edge or the sandwich of spectres and imps towards the end.

 

MAP09: Heterodoxical Hindrance
Tarnsman
Another techy, watery map (this is starting to become a theme) set in and around a small, flooded canyon. Punchy combat without a lot to really make you sweat, though the revenant sneaking up behind you when you open a locked door is one of those dick moves that make you paranoid the rest of the map. A cyberdemon stands watch over the canyon, but he's generally pretty harmless. Fun map from Tarnsman -- though finding the secret really requires using the ol' noodle.

 

MAP10: Surface Tension
Breezeep, AD_79, rd
Palutena's fat cock, where do I even begin? The Plutoniousity is off the charts with this rollicking gallery of violence, another smartly-detailed water base with lots to see and kill. This power trio of Breezeep, AD_79 and rd are kind enough to drop more rockets and cells than you'll probably ever need, and you'll probably need them anyway. Standout fights? Well, the press of barons in a narrow, barrel-filled hallway is a good start; how about the big open area with a bunch of imps, revenants, fliers and a cyberdemon who very well could trap you in the teleporter cubbyhole you enter from? Or we could talk about the SEVEN (!) arch-viles who show up in the double-stairway hall? I pretty much had to hold down the button on my BFG for that one.

 

MAP11: The Voyager
valkiriforce
After multiple levels with some really nice new textures this one feels curiously old-school with its mostly stock texturing job and curvy, naturalistic design. It's mostly a subterranean maze of caves and UAC installations. I like the business with the yellow key not working on the bars, but rather operating a switch that leads to a switch that leads to a linedef that upon crossing it will lower the bars for you. Not much in the way of interesting combat, just a lot of zombies, imps and mancubi.

 

 

[apichatpong]

Don't want to restart a now outdated feud, no, both TNTR and TNTD are great, but I must recognize that after playing TNTR last year and TNTD until map 19 (I was intimidated by the 1000 monsters and, even more, the 30 secrets) also last year, and then replaying TNTR recently and going quickly through the first two thirds of TNTD, my mind remembered 1 map out of 3 from TNTR and every single one from TNTD.

 

Of course, this might be due to the biggest size of TNTD maps (even though some tough fights from TNTR lead you to stay quite some time on some maps), and this is also the limit of TNTD since my stop at map 19 is also related to an overdose feeling, but I just realize that a quite important amount of my "derived map-thinking while playing" moments (these difficult to explain links your brain make between the map you are playing and another one from the past not obviously related) came from TNTD.

 

I'll face map 19 !

[june gloom]

Also, I'm really enjoying the unhinged graffiti in MAP15, but I feel like I should express that not only am I still running into the weird AASHITTY bug (so far, only on MAP14 at the end of the corridor you start in and multiple places in MAP15) but it is happening regardless of what port I'm using -- I tested in Eternity and Chocolate Doom. I even got a different copy of TNT.WAD to test and also re-downloaded TNT2 and it's still happening. I'm not having this issue on other levels, not even on that fancy fake ROR on MAP13.

 

Spoiler

 

Edited March 24, 2024 by june gloom

[june gloom]

Just did MAP20. You guys are mean.

 

Spoiler

 

MAP12: Ion Flux
Xaser, Alfonzo
Xaser and Alfonzo kick off the middle episode with a mostly silver-and-blue-tech base (that in places reminds me a bit of Icarus, perhaps.) The core of the map is a large room that eventually segments itself into five pieces, and you'll be trying to navigate around the surrounding chambers. Standout encounters? Maybe the arachnotron cells towards the end of the map? It's relatively tight quarters requiring quick thinking if you want to escape unscathed. I like the way the music subtly has distant teleporter sounds in it (might depend on your soundfont) to drive up paranoia.

 

MAP13: Nostalgia Drive
Xaser, Alter
If the way "Ion Flux" ended is any indication, Xaser and Alter's "Nostalgia Drive" is the original TNT's "Dead Zone" by way of Back to Saturn X, a large, attractively-textured outpost built of mostly round walls set into a half-flooded canyon. At first it looks like there's no way in, but every key has a copy you can find in a secret somewhere, and if you're particularly agile you can just make a jump through a window. Lots of fighting, but the standout encounter to me is probably the one in the big flooded room where pressing a switch has a stream of enemies teleport into the center and sides, culminating in a couple of arch-viles.

 

MAP14: Parhelion Labs
Joe Pallai, Tarnsman, an_mutt
A sprawling techbase with a slight Shores of Hell vibe with the abundance of white concrete, dark grey computers and blue flooring. I got lost in this map several times -- it's a real maze. I really like the sense of adventure as you gradually pull this map apart, especially the big exit doors that taunt you until you can push the red-locked button in a nearby control room and fight the cyberdemon and his pals that await you within. I don't know if this is a standout encounter but I find the bit where you're running through an encaged pathway with crushers while zombies and a mancubus shoot at you to be quite memorable. Great music too.

 

MAP15: Altered State
Alter, Tarnsman
TNT has always had little bits here and there that felt slightly lived-in compared to most Doom maps. TNT2, meanwhile, goes full Supplice; what we have here is a violent Hell on Io street fight through an infested colony. The hints of something bigger only get more in your face -- eyeballs watch you from every other screen and the graffiti strewn across town gets increasingly unhinged. Lots of great fights but I think the standout is the Spider arena full of hell knights and crushers. It's honestly all great, though, with a real sense of exploring the city. The music definitely helps.

 

MAP31: Caesar
Xaser, Whoo, Alfonzo, dt_
Time to do a little Doom Raiding. After a weird joke in the intro text about salad, you're thrown into this creepy subterranean Greco-Romanesque temple/tomb complex, at which point the groan-inducing hidden pun in the intro text will be clear. The map is split into several different, interconnected areas for a fun adventure, though the presence of several cyberdemons at various points around the map will probably put a crimp into your sight-seeing plans. Lots of great fights here, from the double-cybie showdown in the flooded outdoor ruin to the crush of baddies across a previously-broken bridge with way too many revenant rockets at once to comfortably deal with all the cacos and errant mancubus. Also some really fun secrets, including a super-spooky unofficial one that sends you into a creepy alternate version of one of the main chambers, reminiscent of "Wormhole." The secret exit has one of the coolest, creepiest effects I've ever seen in a Doom map, or really any shooter.

 

MAP32: Null Set
floatRand
This is a weird one. It's an Egyptian-themed map -- it's TNT2, after all -- but set in a pitch-black void and with some techbasey stuff that's seemingly merged with it. The first encounter is the toughest one: a whole mess of revenants, arch-viles, imps, knights and other trash, presided over by a cyberdemon in the middle. From there you're looking for keys to unlock the way to a mysterious, metallic pyramid. The red key fight has you running for cover from respawning revenants into a wall of pink meat, all while imps throw down fireballs at you. Compared to that, the fight for the blue key is pretty tame, especially if you can soften up the baby spiders beforehand.

 

MAP16: Techmine Superior
Pinchy
A map that wouldn't be too out of place in a Quake 2-themed wad, this is a cleanly designed mining complex stuffed full of hitscanners and imps with the occasional revenant, arachnotron or mancubus. Not the toughest fights in the world, here, just good clean Doom fun. I really like the way the floors in the installation areas are electric light panels. Most memorable fight? Probably when you come back to the area with the imp cage and the inaccessible elevators and a bunch of zombies have shown up, suggesting that they came from below. Yeah, I dunno, no real standouts otherwise.

 

MAP17: Galapagos
valkiriforce
valkiriforce gives us another old-school map using almost solely vanilla textures. It's a relatively small, rocky island fortress. You start off in a dark series of tunnels, but the bulk of the map is on the exterior. It's probably safest to jump down into the water and clear out the spiders and mancubi putting the island under seige, but there are a lot of revenants to deal with as well. Not much in the way of big fights, just a lot of kill-and-move-on, though the surprise cyberdemon to the north might make you sweat a bit. Fun, fast level.

 

MAP18: Forsaken Harbor
gaspe
TNT2's aquatic theme continues with a sprawling waterfront facility from gaspe. Most of the doors are locked and opened elsewhere -- only a select few actually work with a key. The end result is you'll probably be bumping around looking for ways to progress, especially if you miss the yellow key like I did. I like the cacodemon swarm in the yellow key room, as well as the weird semi-secret if you can jump the railing.

 

MAP19: Habitat II: The Habitatening
Tarnsman
Good gravy, this is a big one. Tarnsman's tribute to the infamous TNT level "Habitat" is a sprawling, Shores of Hell-esque complex at least partially in a dark void and with much of the map wrapped around a couple of vast lava lakes. With a monster count of 1006 on UV, it's a lengthy adventure with plenty of slaughter situations (though encounters are usually more sensible -- it's the ambushes you have to worry about!) A whopping thirty secrets dot the level and it's an adventure in itself to find them all. I think I found maybe half? True to "Habitat's" legacy, it's entirely possible to bypass most of the map if you just keep following the right hand path from the start, but it's worth exploring a little just for the cute callbacks to the original map -- though the sewer section is a lot easier to navigate this time around!

 

MAP20: The Infernal Carrier
lupinx-Kassman, Alter, Xaser, Alfonzo, rd
If MAP19 was intimidating, wait'll you see this monstrosity. It's a truly enormous starship; I think the implication is that this is the starship from Evilution's intro that dumped an entire invasion's worth of monsters onto the Io base. But little scenes here and there suggest that the Hellship is in fact a warped UAC ship, or perhaps several. Combat is slow and methodical, with lots of enemies throwing fire at you from extreme distance, lots of surprise moshpits, some pretty slaughtery moments as waves of enemies teleport in before you're even done clearing the previous bunch. It's a massive, tense adventure with lots of different sights and scenes, but eventually things start to quiet down as you approach what might be the end... only for the rug to pull out from under you and throw you into a fight with what feels like endless waves of archviles, mancubi, and imps, bracketed by four spiderdemons (at least one of which is replaced by a cyberdemon once she's down.) I think this might actually be *too* much -- after about 30 tries, I eventually had to devise a plan to grab the blue key, kill a spider for the invuln, throw the switch that opened the exit, and hope the archies didn't throw me around too much before my invuln ran out as I ran to safety.

 

 

Looking forward to the finale, I've heard so much about it.

[june gloom]

Progress has been slow but I wanted to say that MAP22 made me realize that, at least vibes-wise, TNT2 might be the Axiom Verge of Doom megawads. Just great, surreal stuff.

[Tycitron]

On 3/27/2024 at 2:44 AM, june gloom said:

Just did MAP20. You guys are mean.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

MAP12: Ion Flux
Xaser, Alfonzo
Xaser and Alfonzo kick off the middle episode with a mostly silver-and-blue-tech base (that in places reminds me a bit of Icarus, perhaps.) The core of the map is a large room that eventually segments itself into five pieces, and you'll be trying to navigate around the surrounding chambers. Standout encounters? Maybe the arachnotron cells towards the end of the map? It's relatively tight quarters requiring quick thinking if you want to escape unscathed. I like the way the music subtly has distant teleporter sounds in it (might depend on your soundfont) to drive up paranoia.

 

MAP13: Nostalgia Drive
Xaser, Alter
If the way "Ion Flux" ended is any indication, Xaser and Alter's "Nostalgia Drive" is the original TNT's "Dead Zone" by way of Back to Saturn X, a large, attractively-textured outpost built of mostly round walls set into a half-flooded canyon. At first it looks like there's no way in, but every key has a copy you can find in a secret somewhere, and if you're particularly agile you can just make a jump through a window. Lots of fighting, but the standout encounter to me is probably the one in the big flooded room where pressing a switch has a stream of enemies teleport into the center and sides, culminating in a couple of arch-viles.

 

MAP14: Parhelion Labs
Joe Pallai, Tarnsman, an_mutt
A sprawling techbase with a slight Shores of Hell vibe with the abundance of white concrete, dark grey computers and blue flooring. I got lost in this map several times -- it's a real maze. I really like the sense of adventure as you gradually pull this map apart, especially the big exit doors that taunt you until you can push the red-locked button in a nearby control room and fight the cyberdemon and his pals that await you within. I don't know if this is a standout encounter but I find the bit where you're running through an encaged pathway with crushers while zombies and a mancubus shoot at you to be quite memorable. Great music too.

 

MAP15: Altered State
Alter, Tarnsman
TNT has always had little bits here and there that felt slightly lived-in compared to most Doom maps. TNT2, meanwhile, goes full Supplice; what we have here is a violent Hell on Io street fight through an infested colony. The hints of something bigger only get more in your face -- eyeballs watch you from every other screen and the graffiti strewn across town gets increasingly unhinged. Lots of great fights but I think the standout is the Spider arena full of hell knights and crushers. It's honestly all great, though, with a real sense of exploring the city. The music definitely helps.

 

MAP31: Caesar
Xaser, Whoo, Alfonzo, dt_
Time to do a little Doom Raiding. After a weird joke in the intro text about salad, you're thrown into this creepy subterranean Greco-Romanesque temple/tomb complex, at which point the groan-inducing hidden pun in the intro text will be clear. The map is split into several different, interconnected areas for a fun adventure, though the presence of several cyberdemons at various points around the map will probably put a crimp into your sight-seeing plans. Lots of great fights here, from the double-cybie showdown in the flooded outdoor ruin to the crush of baddies across a previously-broken bridge with way too many revenant rockets at once to comfortably deal with all the cacos and errant mancubus. Also some really fun secrets, including a super-spooky unofficial one that sends you into a creepy alternate version of one of the main chambers, reminiscent of "Wormhole." The secret exit has one of the coolest, creepiest effects I've ever seen in a Doom map, or really any shooter.

 

MAP32: Null Set
floatRand
This is a weird one. It's an Egyptian-themed map -- it's TNT2, after all -- but set in a pitch-black void and with some techbasey stuff that's seemingly merged with it. The first encounter is the toughest one: a whole mess of revenants, arch-viles, imps, knights and other trash, presided over by a cyberdemon in the middle. From there you're looking for keys to unlock the way to a mysterious, metallic pyramid. The red key fight has you running for cover from respawning revenants into a wall of pink meat, all while imps throw down fireballs at you. Compared to that, the fight for the blue key is pretty tame, especially if you can soften up the baby spiders beforehand.

 

MAP16: Techmine Superior
Pinchy
A map that wouldn't be too out of place in a Quake 2-themed wad, this is a cleanly designed mining complex stuffed full of hitscanners and imps with the occasional revenant, arachnotron or mancubus. Not the toughest fights in the world, here, just good clean Doom fun. I really like the way the floors in the installation areas are electric light panels. Most memorable fight? Probably when you come back to the area with the imp cage and the inaccessible elevators and a bunch of zombies have shown up, suggesting that they came from below. Yeah, I dunno, no real standouts otherwise.

 

MAP17: Galapagos
valkiriforce
valkiriforce gives us another old-school map using almost solely vanilla textures. It's a relatively small, rocky island fortress. You start off in a dark series of tunnels, but the bulk of the map is on the exterior. It's probably safest to jump down into the water and clear out the spiders and mancubi putting the island under seige, but there are a lot of revenants to deal with as well. Not much in the way of big fights, just a lot of kill-and-move-on, though the surprise cyberdemon to the north might make you sweat a bit. Fun, fast level.

 

MAP18: Forsaken Harbor
gaspe
TNT2's aquatic theme continues with a sprawling waterfront facility from gaspe. Most of the doors are locked and opened elsewhere -- only a select few actually work with a key. The end result is you'll probably be bumping around looking for ways to progress, especially if you miss the yellow key like I did. I like the cacodemon swarm in the yellow key room, as well as the weird semi-secret if you can jump the railing.

 

MAP19: Habitat II: The Habitatening
Tarnsman
Good gravy, this is a big one. Tarnsman's tribute to the infamous TNT level "Habitat" is a sprawling, Shores of Hell-esque complex at least partially in a dark void and with much of the map wrapped around a couple of vast lava lakes. With a monster count of 1006 on UV, it's a lengthy adventure with plenty of slaughter situations (though encounters are usually more sensible -- it's the ambushes you have to worry about!) A whopping thirty secrets dot the level and it's an adventure in itself to find them all. I think I found maybe half? True to "Habitat's" legacy, it's entirely possible to bypass most of the map if you just keep following the right hand path from the start, but it's worth exploring a little just for the cute callbacks to the original map -- though the sewer section is a lot easier to navigate this time around!

 

MAP20: The Infernal Carrier
lupinx-Kassman, Alter, Xaser, Alfonzo, rd
If MAP19 was intimidating, wait'll you see this monstrosity. It's a truly enormous starship; I think the implication is that this is the starship from Evilution's intro that dumped an entire invasion's worth of monsters onto the Io base. But little scenes here and there suggest that the Hellship is in fact a warped UAC ship, or perhaps several. Combat is slow and methodical, with lots of enemies throwing fire at you from extreme distance, lots of surprise moshpits, some pretty slaughtery moments as waves of enemies teleport in before you're even done clearing the previous bunch. It's a massive, tense adventure with lots of different sights and scenes, but eventually things start to quiet down as you approach what might be the end... only for the rug to pull out from under you and throw you into a fight with what feels like endless waves of archviles, mancubi, and imps, bracketed by four spiderdemons (at least one of which is replaced by a cyberdemon once she's down.) I think this might actually be *too* much -- after about 30 tries, I eventually had to devise a plan to grab the blue key, kill a spider for the invuln, throw the switch that opened the exit, and hope the archies didn't throw me around too much before my invuln ran out as I ran to safety.

 

 

Looking forward to the finale, I've heard so much about it.

Ah, i love your mini reviews of each map and putting in possible story implications in as well. It helps me understand what the plot of the wad actually is and highlights the good parts of the levels!

 

Spoiler

One thing that still confuses me in this wads story is the time travel aspect, like when did Doomguy / Marine Commander time travel to the future? was it the exit of Map11 or was it at the beginning at Map01 with the blue light stuff? idk no matter how many times i play this wad i still get confused at that part of the story. Also another thing is WHERE the middle part of the wad take places, at the end of Ion Flux / Map12, You teleport out of the weird power cell area and end up in Map15 Dead Zone from the original TNT (Except more dilapidated and rusty) and enter an exit that says "GOING UP!". So the original TNT took place on IO, yet it seems like you "leave" IO with the exit in map12 but the sky texture still looks like you are on it. IDK i put too much thought into the story of this wad but its interesting to me i guess cause the devs put actual thought into it unlike most other wads and i love that.

 

The levels themselves are amazing so full of atmosphere and cool combat encounters. Not to mention the aesthetics like god it's so good.

 

[june gloom]

Thank you so much. This really is a super weird WAD, storywise, hence my Axiom Verge comparison.

 

Also, just an absolutely lovely soundtrack. I use Arachno for it and it sounds fantastic, especially Bucket's stuff.

[ObserverOfTime]

Map05's sector 551 badly needs to be turned into damaging floor. My immersion went completely out the window when I stood on the campfire and didn't take any damage whatsoever. How something absolutely essential like this could escape the playtesters is completely beyond my comprehension. ^/s

 

Spoiler

 

On that note, what a pleasant way to create a campfire effect! Super simple, yet damn effective and convincing, especially when paired with the little logs around the side.

 

[june gloom]

Honestly TNT2 so far has felt like a combination of Plutonia's rollicking violence with TNT's sense of adventure and occasional flashes of DoomCute and I'm here for it. Just wrapped up MAP23 and the wad feels better and better the more I play it.

[Tycitron]

Oh, something i've been wanting to ask about or "report" is that i found both MAP06 and MAP12 both have soft-lock areas in vanilla CO-OP. i was playing the wad with a friend through crispy doom.

Spoiler

This area in map06 right before the archvile yellow key trap, the way closes behind you to prevent you from leaving. Which is fine, but in coop if you end up dying in that trap and respawn at the start, and if your friend isn't there or dies as well, you cannot open the area back up so you are forced to restart and hope that you dont die in that area. Maybe a simple trigger to allow the user to open it up from the other side just in case could be nice. 

Spoiler

And in map12, once you pick up the blue key in the main area, the door leading into the main area from the spawn gets covered by a blue wall preventing you from entering the area if you die in coop. Also the blue doors are unable to be entered cause you dont keep keys after death in vanilla coop. So if your buddy(s) all die in that area (somehow) you are forced to restart because you cant get back into the main area anymore. 

If there is someway to bypass these or if im just incredibly stupid let me know, it's just something that happened while playing coop that was annoying.

Edited March 30, 2024 by Tycitron
spoiler pictures just in case idk

[june gloom]

Made it to MAP30 and I'm going to be honest, this is an insane level. The amount of creativity on display for what's ultimately one of the most bizarre and out-there maps I've ever seen is staggering. I should have reviews for the third episode up eventually, but I did want to bring your attention to a noclip bug in the bathroom near the two-bed bedroom, if you charge straight at the toilet (the one with the two stimpaks) from the door you'll clip behind the wall.

 

[ETA] And another in the secret lab with a message to the player, close to the entrance.

Edited March 31, 2024 by june gloom

[june gloom]

And done.

 

Spoiler

 

MAP21: Star Bridge
Uni
Compared to the last map this is a real breather, a mere 92 monsters on UV in a tight little level made up of a small UAC base set into a volcanic region. Some tough fights here, like the one that ambushes you when you jump down through the broken railing, or the way the opening area becomes a battle ground after parts of the floor have been collapsing into lava as you've been working through the map, resulting in a much smaller battle space than you might have expected. Some cool atmosphere with the bodies everywhere and the finale leading to a mysterious, deep hole you jump into.

 

MAP22: Solitude
Pottus, Xaser
Strap in, here's a weird one. Pottus and Xaser give us a sprawling techbase in a rocky terrain that seems to be host to a large collection of demon specimens. Of course, there's more to it than that, obvious almost right away when the hallway veers off what the automap tells you and into a mapless void, the corridors twisting, turning and sometimes going upside down. Reality is out to lunch as the entire (unmarked) southeast wing of the map seems to call back to Xaser's own Lost Episode with its distorted, spacey surreality. The rest of the map is comparatively normal, but it's a sprawling adventure map as you work your way into UAC bases that are probably way above your pay grade. Some good fights here, from the surprise moshpit when you grab the yellow key to the rock-em-knock-em horde of bullshit coming at you from the holding cells to the west.

 

MAP23: Pulverizer
The Mionic Donut, Tarnsman
The thematic opposite of "Ion Flux," Mionic Donut and Tarnsman's "Pulverizer" is a red-and-silver techbase with some volcanic cavern sections. It's pretty much a big loop centered around the mysterious drill, likely the same one seen in the previous map (and possibly connected to the Hellship?? Questions abound...) Lots of punchy combat here, but I struggle to think of a real standout fight as the map is oddly open in some ways and you rarely have a moment's rest. The megasphere secret is an evil one, an even nastier version of a similar one in "Star Bridge."

 

MAP24: Tides of Fire
Alfonzo, Tarnsman
I try to be fair -- obviously, I can't be objective, there's no such thing as objective reviews of a creative work -- and I try to engage with a map on its own terms. But I'm sorry, but Alfonzo and Tarnsman have dropped a real dud with "Tides of Fire." The short version is that it's the worst sort of puzzle map: you must manage a limited supply of radsuits to navigate a confusing and difficult fire and brimstone lava maze and hope you get out alive. What this boils down to is it pretty much requires trial-and-error gameplay with slowly learning the map and figuring out the minimum amount of steps required to get the blue key and get out. I didn't bother trying to explore. What's the point?

 

MAP25: Hard Wired
AD_79
On to the next map. Reality seems to be disintegrating; what would ordinarily be a straightforward, brown, grey and red-themed quasi-industrial techy thing slightly corrupted by Hell is now floating in an endless sunset as even the ground seems to cease to exist. Its low-key atmosphere is punctuated by tough fights with lots of revenants and hell knights; arch-viles will frequently play spoilers to any sort of battle plan you devise. Standout fight? Probably the showdown for one of the keys; or, if you manage to get into the triple-locked BFG area, the multiple-stage scrap (including a cybie) that can be very, very tough to get through unscathed.

 

MAP26: Last Stop at the Border
Marcaek, Luisinho
Supposedly, this map is unfinished as of this writing -- to my understanding it was actually missing completely for a long time, ultimately winning the Mordeth award for its eventual beta release. It features no monsters or secrets, there are elements that are clearly not implemented yet -- but what's there is some kind of futuristic fueling station and rest stop floating in between dimensions. There's two versions, accessed by the teleporter you arrive in, in an oddly "Wormhole"-esque vibe. Despite the lack of finishing touches, I almost feel like this map would be better *without* enemies, a quiet moment to rest, relax and fuel up before you tackle the finale.

 

MAP27: Relayer
an_mutt
an_mutt continues Devilution's fascination with the original TNT's most thematically intriguing element, that of a twisted Otherworld a la "Wormhole." In this case, you clearly have been in the Bad Universe for a while and you begin the level in it; as you progress you suddenly pop into (ostensibly) the Real World -- cleaner, in better shape, and with an emphasis on blue and silver rather than red and rust. an_mutt cleverly layers the two worlds in that changes on one side will affect changes on the other -- flood a room here and it'll be flooded there, open a gate there and it'll open a gate here, allowing the player to naturally weave their way through the map. Lots of great fights, but I think my favorite is the room in the Otherworld where you must kill enemies as a series of lifts progressively introduce more targets into the fray. Love the fakeout ending, another "Wormhole" callback.

 

MAP28: Lethe's Falls
gaspe
MAP28 marks gaspe's return to the lineup with "Lethe's Falls," a helltech-themed nest of demons in a watery cave. In addition to the usual lineup of revenants, chaingunners and mancubi, gaspe also throws hordes of hellknights and cacodemons at you, with encounters ranging from the hellknight ambush near a soulsphere to the gang of cacos floating around just inside the blue key area. And if that's not enough, there's a spiderdemon crawling around in the biggest pool. Fun map.

 

MAP29: Nexus of the Defeated
Tarnsman
A straightforward techbase that contrasts its silver-and-blue aesthetic with the black and red of the surrounding environs. Compared to some levels in this mapset it's almost placid, though it does have its tough spots. Some interesting encounters, from the string of crusher rooms circling the big central platform with chaingunners pouring into the crush zone, to the horde of pain elementals who will fill the skies with screaming skulls. I think my favorite is the switch fakeout where the floor drops into a sea of blood as arachnotrons close in.

 

MAP30: The New Technology
lupinx-kassman
HELLO AND WELCOME TO THE EYEBALL ZONE, that mysterious place where you'll see such incredible sights like enormous hypodermic needles that you will actually enter and jump down, blood cells as big as your head, eyeballs staring at you in the dark, a chair where you upload your brain, and a living planet with your face on it. By the time you get to the living quarters, which has been partially corrupted by the energies of hell, it seems almost quaint. Fights are mostly low-key and small, though lupinx-kassman likes to repeatedly throw a monster in your face then have it teleport behind you. What's more interesting to me is the sheer amount of creativity on display, a truly out-of-nowhere experience that has only been somewhat hinted at and even now at the 11th hour we get a mere glimpse of what's going on.

 

 

Aside from a few missteps this has been one of the most satisfying experiences I've ever had playing Doom. I'm so proud of everyone for getting this thing out the door.

[baja blast rd.]

These reviews have been fantastic. Much appreciated.

[june gloom]

I should have an overall review up on my boomer shooter blog after I finish Plutonia (wanted to post my reviews of both TNT and Plutonia together.) That might take a little while but I'll be sure to share the link here when it's ready.

[Pottus]

On 3/30/2024 at 12:14 AM, ObserverOfTime said:

Map05's sector 551 badly needs to be turned into damaging floor. My immersion went completely out the window when I stood on the campfire and didn't take any damage whatsoever. How something absolutely essential like this could escape the playtesters is completely beyond my comprehension. ^/s

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

On that note, what a pleasant way to create a campfire effect! Super simple, yet damn effective and convincing, especially when paired with the little logs around the side.

 

 

You wouldn't be able to stand on it directly when played in stock doom2.exe since things are infinitely tall.

[SilverMiner]

3 minutes ago, Pottus said:

You wouldn't be able to stand on it directly when played in stock doom2.exe since things are infinitely tall.

No, infinitely tall is not the reason. Player has to be touching that floor in order to be damaged

[Pottus]

1 minute ago, SilverMiner said:

No, infinitely tall is not the reason. Player has to be touching that floor in order to be damaged

 

That is reason number two even if you can stand on it.

[Uni]

Spoiler

MAP21: Star Bridge
Uni
Compared to the last map this is a real breather, a mere 92 monsters on UV in a tight little level made up of a small UAC base set into a volcanic region. Some tough fights here, like the one that ambushes you when you jump down through the broken railing, or the way the opening area becomes a battle ground after parts of the floor have been collapsing into lava as you've been working through the map, resulting in a much smaller battle space than you might have expected. Some cool atmosphere with the bodies everywhere and the finale leading to a mysterious, deep hole you jump into.

 

@june gloom I'm glad you overall enjoyed it. The ending with the hole you jump into is suppose to link the level to the one that follows, in a way. Originally, when you entered the big tunnel right at the end(the "bridge" if you will), the last door was meant to reveal a Cyberdemon that could potentially corner you if you didn't kill it fast enough with the Plasma Gun but it was cut due to the abundance of Cyderdemons in the 3rd act. Other than that, not much has changed over the years except texture choices(blood instead of lava, less grass) and different enemy placement. My maps tend to be on the smaller side so in community projects, they usually serve as a breather maps between bigger ones.

 

Thanks for playing.

Edited March 31, 2024 by Uni

[june gloom]

I really liked the vibe of that map to be honest, with the music and the way it immediately follows on from the insane 2nd act finale. Definitely one of my favorites and perfectly paced and placed. Thank you for making it.

[ObserverOfTime]

2 hours ago, Pottus said:

 

You wouldn't be able to stand on it directly when played in stock doom2.exe since things are infinitely tall.

 

2 hours ago, Pottus said:

 

That is reason number two even if you can stand on it.

 

Man, you guys really like to dampen the mood, eh? Next you're going to tell me I can't roast marshmallows and make s'mores in doom2.exe either. Maybe the small trim sector surrounding the barrel could be turned into damaging floor, then you could still have the effect of taking damage from having your toes dangle in the fire! Have you never gone camping and burned your toes on the stones you use to create the fire pit?!?!?! This is very very important stuff!

 

On another note, can someone enlighten me on how I can reach the secret megasphere in map16? Thing 35, sector 281. I've been staring at it in UDB for 5 minutes now and I still don't understand what I have to do in order to get up there. Obviously I have to follow the winding path / elevated bridge / walkway whatever that structure is leading up to it, and I think I enter from sector 713 from the ledge with the Imp / Hell Knight on it (sector 223), but I just don't know how to get up there. I have a feeling the solution is pretty obvious and I'm just suffering from a brain fart at the moment, any pointers are appreciated.

[Pottus]

14 hours ago, june gloom said:

And done.

MAP22: Solitude
Pottus, Xaser
Strap in, here's a weird one. Pottus and Xaser give us a sprawling techbase in a rocky terrain that seems to be host to a large collection of demon specimens. Of course, there's more to it than that, obvious almost right away when the hallway veers off what the automap tells you and into a mapless void, the corridors twisting, turning and sometimes going upside down. Reality is out to lunch as the entire (unmarked) southeast wing of the map seems to call back to Xaser's own Lost Episode with its distorted, spacey surreality. The rest of the map is comparatively normal, but it's a sprawling adventure map as you work your way into UAC bases that are probably way above your pay grade. Some good fights here, from the surprise moshpit when you grab the yellow key to the rock-em-knock-em horde of bullshit coming at you from the holding cells to the west.

 

 

I will give you some insight into this map! It was made very early on in development I believe 2011 or 2012; when I was building this map at that time I put a lot of focus into how the demons subverted UAC technology. Now I didn't do any updates to this map myself after submission all those years ago and Xaser made a bunch of great changes. I think he really saw into how the design was and just went from there and brought things up to where they should be.

 

The drill room did look a lot different in the submission map I didn't really think a lot about it at the time and when I saw it again it looked a lot better with the updates that were made. The idea in this area is the UAC drilled too deep into hell and released them; MAP 23 wasn't created until after Solitude was released so for a taste of continuity they threw in the drill to show that it goes deep and you are now below the last map.

[elic]

Minor nitpack:

 

Compare my original submitted version of a section of map05 to the version in the latest beta.
 

The water outside the cave the player is in is a darker shade than the water inside the cave, which kind of messes with the shadow effect being done with the rock pillars. Should hopefully be simple to up the brightness of the outside water in this one area.

 

@june gloom Been enjoying your reviews but RE Map24:

Quote

What this boils down to is it pretty much requires trial-and-error gameplay with slowly learning the map and figuring out the minimum amount of steps required to get the blue key and get out.

I had the same experience as this when playing the map, but I consider this description to be a total positive! I found it very cool being encouraged to gain a good understanding of the level, and the time pressure of the rad suits pushed me into a different play style than I'm used to, probably more a speedrunner mindset. Because the map is pretty open ended I found it fun having to map out my route and get a sense of the different encounters far more than I normally. Guess I'd consider this a way more successful version of whatever was trying to be done in Scythe Map28. But I generally like any level the messes with the conceptions of what's considered normal for a Doom map.

Edited March 31, 2024 by elic

[TMD]

On 3/30/2024 at 11:47 PM, june gloom said:

 

  Hide contents

MAP23: Pulverizer

The Mionic Donut, Tarnsman
The thematic opposite of "Ion Flux," Mionic Donut and Tarnsman's "Pulverizer" is a red-and-silver techbase with some volcanic cavern sections. It's pretty much a big loop centered around the mysterious drill, likely the same one seen in the previous map (and possibly connected to the Hellship?? Questions abound...) Lots of punchy combat here, but I struggle to think of a real standout fight as the map is oddly open in some ways and you rarely have a moment's rest. The megasphere secret is an evil one, an even nastier version of a similar one in "Star Bridge." 

 

 

 

Thanks for playing, hope you enjoyed the show.  I will follow Pottus' suit and talk a little development on this.

I made a couple E3 maps in 2011-2012 for this project, but they got moved to another project due to directional changes, both in quality and storytelling, around 2014.
I did Pulverizers layout in 2016, and had a lot of Icarus inspiration (I am tickled by this being an antithesis to Ion Flux, never heard the comparison, cant unsee it, but I dont believe I looked at map12 in making this) but the chief concept I drew from was Evilutions Map18 (Mill).  For reasons that amount to "drama" I just wanted to make a follow up to Mill using mapping styles conducive to the mid 2010s era of vanilla mapping.  Tarnsman was responsible for the aesthetic and a few janky mobility choices in the volcanic section of the map.  I just had a grungy techbase with crushers and a power core in the center.  During an early (relative) beta somebody noticed the power core looked a lot like the drill in map22 so we moved the mapslot and made the centerpiece that drill (Tarnsmans doing more than mine, probably also influenced the pervasive red and silver look)

Ive always valued Doom for its constant need to move around and the recent release of the 2016 reboot was probably where I got the "you gotta keep moving and chipping away at enemies with limited ammo" vibe, and this map is meant to be a resource drain for single playthrough runs and living up to its name for a pistol start.  I came from mostly DeathMatch and Capture the Flag mapping, so interconnected rooms, an emphasis on kinetics over combat, and the first act of the map being a loop were all key elements in this map.  Act 2 (Getting the Yellow Key to getting the Red Key) is more TNT map18 than anything, minus the switch hunt.  Act Three (Red Key grab to exit) was supposed to be a lot more getting the heck out of dodge and dealing with whatever enemies were still left from act one (and Archviles for all you pesky 100%ers) but that got cooled off a lot by revisions.

If you thought the megasphere secret was bad in the final product, you arent alone.  Beta testers wanted it out but its the one thing I insisted stay in the map because it is a sort of TNT thing to do, with modern understanding of archjumps.  There was also a mandatory archvile jump to the exit (which was the power core, implied to teleport you into Hard Wireds bizarre reality as this was originally map24) in a super early version of the map.  Less sadistic heads talked me out of it, and by that I mean told me "absolutely not".

 

 

  Hide contents

MAP02: Grime and Punishment

The Mionic Donut, Xaser
A significantly more sedate outing, this one is a small prison complex set in a flooded cave. While there's still plenty of resistance, you're overall blessed with more cover and more ammo, but it might help if you can find the bathroom key. Standout fight? Probably the lurkers in the computer room. I like the metallic green power doors that you can see something sinister through.

 

This map was sort of influenced by Human BBQ, insomuch that you have a lot of running around outside with hitscanners on balconies (and from some mysterious grimy undergound) getting you in an early map, and this was made as a follow up to a very different map01.  Xaser did the lions share on getting the cave segments up to snuff in visuals.

The indoor (jail) part of the map was originally lined up to be a duelmap for CGI which was en vogue when this map was made (that just happened to be using the TNT2 resource pack).  However, a bunch of the CGI folks jumped in on revamping Devilution around that time and I just turned it into a small early game level since it was halfway there as it was.

The metallic door bit was my idea but Xaser somehow got that cherry on top with the Easter Egg in there.  In its original form the Easter Egg was VERY different (in CGI fashion wed just sneak methods to get the BFG when we played the other map designers)  I wonder how much that will screw with the stats once this gets on Doomwiki :3

Edited April 3, 2024 by TMD

[june gloom]

Thank you for the developer insight -- always fun to see the inner workings like that!

[Lord Biscuit The Tossable]

THE HABITATING! I had just been playing through this blind and this got a laugh out of me.

So far I've found it a very fun experience.  I think the particular highlights for me have been the Aquaduct, which I feel has been prime TNTism so far, map 10 (absolute accelerant) Map 15 (and the dodgy salad). I'm absolutely terrible at secret hunting, though; most maps, I only leave finding one or two, and usually, I'm not too bad at finding them. Still on map 19 though, I don't think I'm ready for nearly 1000 monsters.

[Lord Biscuit The Tossable]

On 3/31/2024 at 7:01 PM, Uni said:

  Reveal hidden contents

MAP21: Star Bridge
Uni
Compared to the last map this is a real breather, a mere 92 monsters on UV in a tight little level made up of a small UAC base set into a volcanic region. Some tough fights here, like the one that ambushes you when you jump down through the broken railing, or the way the opening area becomes a battle ground after parts of the floor have been collapsing into lava as you've been working through the map, resulting in a much smaller battle space than you might have expected. Some cool atmosphere with the bodies everywhere and the finale leading to a mysterious, deep hole you jump into.

 

@june gloom I'm glad you overall enjoyed it. The ending with the hole you jump into is suppose to link the level to the one that follows, in a way. Originally, when you entered the big tunnel right at the end(the "bridge" if you will), the last door was meant to reveal a Cyberdemon that could potentially corner you if you didn't kill it fast enough with the Plasma Gun but it was cut due to the abundance of Cyderdemons in the 3rd act. Other than that, not much has changed over the years except texture choices(blood instead of lava, less grass) and different enemy placement. My maps tend to be on the smaller side so in community projects, they usually serve as a breather maps between bigger ones.

 

Thanks for playing.

I found it absolutely a breath of fresh air. Its brevity is a massive saving grace, but that isn't to say it's simple. I delighted in the sharp ambushes and the dense, thoughtful architecture. It meant that I could take a lot more time really taking in the atmosphere and that the violence was test of reaction time without any excess. Really cool

 

On 3/31/2024 at 8:43 PM, Pottus said:

 

I will give you some insight into this map! It was made very early on in development I believe 2011 or 2012; when I was building this map at that time I put a lot of focus into how the demons subverted UAC technology. Now I didn't do any updates to this map myself after submission all those years ago and Xaser made a bunch of great changes. I think he really saw into how the design was and just went from there and brought things up to where they should be.

 

The drill room did look a lot different in the submission map I didn't really think a lot about it at the time and when I saw it again it looked a lot better with the updates that were made. The idea in this area is the UAC drilled too deep into hell and released them; MAP 23 wasn't created until after Solitude was released so for a taste of continuity they threw in the drill to show that it goes deep and you are now below the last map.

Thank you! I had glanced at the comments here and glanced at the automap, I am not going to lie that I legitimately found the map a touch unsettling in a way that transduction wasn't. Transduction dialled up the horror from the start, while here it felt a little like "Oh, something isn't right... Oh, where am I?", glanced at the automap and felt suddenly I wasn't in Kansas anymore, and that I wouldn't necessarily be able to find my way back. Cool feeling.
 

On 4/3/2024 at 6:05 PM, TMD said:

Thanks for playing, hope you enjoyed the show.  I will follow Pottus' suit and talk a little development on this.

I made a couple E3 maps in 2011-2012 for this project, but they got moved to another project due to directional changes, both in quality and storytelling, around 2014.
I did Pulverizers layout in 2016, and had a lot of Icarus inspiration (I am tickled by this being an antithesis to Ion Flux, never heard the comparison, cant unsee it, but I dont believe I looked at map12 in making this) but the chief concept I drew from was Evilutions Map18 (Mill).  For reasons that amount to "drama" I just wanted to make a follow up to Mill using mapping styles conducive to the mid 2010s era of vanilla mapping.  Tarnsman was responsible for the aesthetic and a few janky mobility choices in the volcanic section of the map.  I just had a grungy techbase with crushers and a power core in the center.  During an early (relative) beta somebody noticed the power core looked a lot like the drill in map22 so we moved the mapslot and made the centerpiece that drill (Tarnsmans doing more than mine, probably also influenced the pervasive red and silver look)

Ive always valued Doom for its constant need to move around and the recent release of the 2016 reboot was probably where I got the "you gotta keep moving and chipping away at enemies with limited ammo" vibe, and this map is meant to be a resource drain for single playthrough runs and living up to its name for a pistol start.  I came from mostly DeathMatch and Capture the Flag mapping, so interconnected rooms, an emphasis on kinetics over combat, and the first act of the map being a loop were all key elements in this map.  Act 2 (Getting the Yellow Key to getting the Red Key) is more TNT map18 than anything, minus the switch hunt.  Act Three (Red Key grab to exit) was supposed to be a lot more getting the heck out of dodge and dealing with whatever enemies were still left from act one (and Archviles for all you pesky 100%ers) but that got cooled off a lot by revisions.

If you thought the megasphere secret was bad in the final product, you arent alone.  Beta testers wanted it out but its the one thing I insisted stay in the map because it is a sort of TNT thing to do, with modern understanding of archjumps.  There was also a mandatory archvile jump to the exit (which was the power core, implied to teleport you into Hard Wireds bizarre reality as this was originally map24) in a super early version of the map.  Less sadistic heads talked me out of it, and by that I mean told me "absolutely not".

 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

MAP02: Grime and Punishment

The Mionic Donut, Xaser
A significantly more sedate outing, this one is a small prison complex set in a flooded cave. While there's still plenty of resistance, you're overall blessed with more cover and more ammo, but it might help if you can find the bathroom key. Standout fight? Probably the lurkers in the computer room. I like the metallic green power doors that you can see something sinister through.

 

This map was sort of influenced by Human BBQ, insomuch that you have a lot of running around outside with hitscanners on balconies (and from some mysterious grimy undergound) getting you in an early map, and this was made as a follow up to a very different map01.  Xaser did the lions share on getting the cave segments up to snuff in visuals.

The indoor (jail) part of the map was originally lined up to be a duelmap for CGI which was en vogue when this map was made (that just happened to be using the TNT2 resource pack).  However, a bunch of the CGI folks jumped in on revamping Devilution around that time and I just turned it into a small early game level since it was halfway there as it was.

The metallic door bit was my idea but Xaser somehow got that cherry on top with the Easter Egg in there.  In its original form the Easter Egg was VERY different (in CGI fashion wed just sneak methods to get the BFG when we played the other map designers)  I wonder how much that will screw with the stats once this gets on Doomwiki :3

Really liked Puzveriser for that reason. It really kept me moving and exploring all the time and had some pretty nasty traps.


Finished Deviluton. I think I just stared at the screen for a solid minute, then let out something akin to both a moan and a chuckle. Fantastic conclusion, it could've only ended this way.

[june gloom]

My full Devilution review is available now. Sorry for the wait!

[Grieferus]

What IWAD it needs? TNT Evilution?