Mass Extinction megawad: Now on Idgames.

[nicolas monti]

41 minutes ago, Firedust said:

Hey, man, I loaded up the final version in Zdoom and it appears that Episode 1 starts with the wrong map. Is this because of the engine? Had to ICLEV to start from Map 01.

Going to check that out, last version contains umapinfo also, but it shouldn't conflict, maybe I screwed the mapinfo up while copypasting the code into the other mapinfo file!

[nicolas monti]

14 hours ago, Magicana said:

 

Oh hey, just noticed I got a credit - Thank you :).

 

That also reminds me that I never finished playtesting your other maps. I'm literally the worst person.

 

I think at this point I can just grab the proper release and enjoy it as a whole :).

Don't worry, we all have stuff going on, I hope you like it!

 

14 hours ago, Demion said:

Con midis de Charly encima, qué genio! Muy bueno el "megawadcito". Un abrazo compatriota!

Es bueno saber q no soy el único enfermo del doom en estos pagos, un abrazo y un brindis de manaos uva por el megawad!!!

[Valboom]

Wow! Thanks for sharing,today im play it.

Edited October 8, 2019 by Valboom

[nicolas monti]

20 hours ago, Valboom said:

Wow! Thanks for sharing,today im play it.

Thanks man, I hope you like the classic style!

[Lizardcommando]

I just finished playing this megawad. It was tough (especially that MAP30) and some parts I kind of got lost, but it was a fun experience overall.

[nicolas monti]

6 hours ago, Lizardcommando said:

I just finished playing this megawad. It was tough (especially that MAP30) and some parts I kind of got lost, but it was a fun experience overall.

Nice to see you felt encouraged to finish the whole set, a one man megawad can induce boredom but it seems this wasn't the case.

Getting lost is something I hear frequently from people who play my maps, I guess is something in my layouts some people find a bit obstuse, anyway this time I feel I managed to keep the maps small-medium sized so the trip is not too long or frustrating.

Thanks for playing it!

[Valboom]

On 10/9/2019 at 5:15 AM, nicolas monti said:

Thanks man, I hope you like the classic style!

I love classic style,Im play 3 maps so far,very fun on UV!

Edited October 11, 2019 by Valboom

[nicolas monti]

10 hours ago, Valboom said:

I love classic style Im play 3 maps so far,very fun on UV!

Thanks! Still a long way to go

[gaspe]

I'm late but I didn't forget about this. Fdas for the last episode + secret levels massexe4_gaspe_fdas.zip

 

MAP24: Good map overall, it doesn't stick out much tho but it make things going progressively harder especially with the tight health balance that will be present ownards, and the trap at the exit that was a nasty surprise

MAP25: Those bedrooms at the start look very comfy. Tricky to pass initially at the control room. The spiderdemon was too extreme without a BFG with a such closed encounter.

MAP26: Nice concept and it was fun to conquer this city of tall tower with many platforming bits.  My only complain is about the western tower, I didn't noticed that there was actually a way out at first if you fall down, but there's some walk to do on the damagin nukage and given the low health around is quite a death sentence unless you are prepared for it.

MAP27: I like a lot how you made the exit in this level, and the spiderdemo encounter at the RK was fun. 3 cyberdemons at the BK basement are too much imo.

MAP28: Good city level, my favourite thing was the silver monorail to get the RK. The spiderdemons at YK were like an improved version of the encounter at MAP25 plus you can make them infight :D that cybderdemon on the northen building closed by the red and blue bars was very annoying and awkward to kill.

MAP29: This was very enjoyable, and hard. Had many close call before getting into the final arena. A shame for the boss monsters that I think are the weak part of the set and needed more variety. Rhis final battle with the mandatory moving floors to hit a couple of switches and cyberdemons is the same setup of the BK area of MAP27 and this sadly shows that the ideas started to lack :/

MAP30: Very good moody start and lots of devilish traps. The final transformation that links the various areas was nice.

MAP31: Cool reprise of the Roman architecture with a blue theme. The battle in the room with the pillars filled with revenants and arch-viles gets me back to the previous point of the repetitive battles.

MAP32: Again the finale is the low note but this map is gorgeous with its architecture with all those arches and towers. Maybe it would look better with a different sky that gives more contrast and helps to highlight the map.

[nicolas monti]

On 10/19/2019 at 10:50 AM, gaspe said:

I'm late but I didn't forget about this. Fdas for the last episode + secret levels massexe4_gaspe_fdas.zip

 

MAP24: Good map overall, it doesn't stick out much tho but it make things going progressively harder especially with the tight health balance that will be present ownards, and the trap at the exit that was a nasty surprise

MAP25: Those bedrooms at the start look very comfy. Tricky to pass initially at the control room. The spiderdemon was too extreme without a BFG with a such closed encounter.

MAP26: Nice concept and it was fun to conquer this city of tall tower with many platforming bits.  My only complain is about the western tower, I didn't noticed that there was actually a way out at first if you fall down, but there's some walk to do on the damagin nukage and given the low health around is quite a death sentence unless you are prepared for it.

MAP27: I like a lot how you made the exit in this level, and the spiderdemo encounter at the RK was fun. 3 cyberdemons at the BK basement are too much imo.

MAP28: Good city level, my favourite thing was the silver monorail to get the RK. The spiderdemons at YK were like an improved version of the encounter at MAP25 plus you can make them infight :D that cybderdemon on the northen building closed by the red and blue bars was very annoying and awkward to kill.

MAP29: This was very enjoyable, and hard. Had many close call before getting into the final arena. A shame for the boss monsters that I think are the weak part of the set and needed more variety. Rhis final battle with the mandatory moving floors to hit a couple of switches and cyberdemons is the same setup of the BK area of MAP27 and this sadly shows that the ideas started to lack :/

MAP30: Very good moody start and lots of devilish traps. The final transformation that links the various areas was nice.

MAP31: Cool reprise of the Roman architecture with a blue theme. The battle in the room with the pillars filled with revenants and arch-viles gets me back to the previous point of the repetitive battles.

MAP32: Again the finale is the low note but this map is gorgeous with its architecture with all those arches and towers. Maybe it would look better with a different sky that gives more contrast and helps to highlight the map.

Thanks man! Didn't see your response until today, I'm working on a mini episode right now, one more map and I'll post the whole thing for playtesting, thanks for your comments on every map :)

[NightFright]

I gave this a Cacoward vote recently, but forgot to post my opinion here.

 

Well, it's easily Monti's best megawad yet. Gameplay is smooth, but also challenging at times, the general setting is original (you don't travel to prehistoric eras too often in Doom, I'd say), music fits the maps, exploration is important. Usage of alpha Doom textures is contributing to the "ancient" theme that is going on, and each episode has its own style. A good design decision.

 

It's getting a bit heavy on the Revenant/Archvile/Mancubus side later on, but there's always enough ammo and space to take care of these abominations. Often I found myself sticking to the rocket launcher and got through just fine whenever it got crowded.

 

Oh, and be sure to get to the secret levels. They offer impressive visuals and are refreshingly different from the regular levels (as they should). 

 

This probably looks even better when you play it in lower resolutions since it will look grittier and less clean than in sterile HD, but it's enjoyable in any way you prefer.

 

Thanks a lot for creating these highly entertaining 32 levels! If there is a god, he shall consider this for a Cacoward this year. It's at least worth an Honorable Mention IMO. It would be more than overdue.

Edited November 20, 2019 by NightFright

[nicolas monti]

18 hours ago, NightFright said:

I gave this a Cacoward vote recently, but forgot to post my opinion here.

 

Well, it's easily Monti's best megawad yet. Gameplay is smooth, but also challenging at times, the general setting is original (you don't travel to prehistoric eras too often in Doom, I'd say), music fits the maps, exploration is important. Usage of alpha Doom textures is contributing to the "ancient" theme that is going on, and each episode has its own style. A good design decision.

 

It's getting a bit heavy on the Revenant/Archvile/Mancubus side later on, but there's always enough ammo and space to take care of these abominations. Often I found myself sticking to the rocket launcher and got through just fine whenever it got crowded.

 

Oh, and be sure to get to the secret levels. They offer impressive visuals and are refreshingly different from the regular levels (as they should). 

 

This probably looks even better when you play it in lower resolutions since it will look grittier and less clean than in sterile HD, but it's enjoyable in any way you prefer.

 

Thanks a lot for creating these highly entertaining 32 levels! If there is a god, he shall consider this for a Cacoward this year. It's at least worth an Honorable Mention IMO. It would be more than overdue.

I have to thank you for your words, it's difficult to judge your own work.

The points I can make more of less objectively is that this time I put more emphasis on the feedback and I tried to avoid most of the sins of the past like bullshit traps.

It was key also the planning, subdivision and theme-ing of the mapset. Off course the maps are very abstract, but I tried to make that every map is distinguishable or memorable in one way or another. Also tried hard to make them not big, something I struggle because when I do the layout drawings they seem fairly simple but when I translate that into the map editor sometimes it becomes more complex than I thought at first.

All in all I'm happy that first of all I was able to make another megawad without quitting another aspects of my daily life, and I think IMO this mapset is my more mature work to date.

Edited November 21, 2019 by nicolas monti

[NightFright]

I still remember playing some of your early levels many years ago. They used to be massive, often confusing and quite cryptic. Often you didn't know what switches did, where to go next or even what to do in general. Somehow you found the exit eventually, not rarely after an hour or so of searching. It certainly was no stuff for the impatient.

 

You have come a long way since then. Your latest maps are compact and have better layouts in general, mob density is sensible, you usually see what important switches are doing and all encounters are survivable thanks to generous ammo placement.

 

In spite of all these changes, you haven't abandoned your general style of mapping, which is what I like about your whole development. There's still this certain amount of "positive weirdness" in these levels, with unusal layouts, distinct texturing and burst-style encounters. It's all a lot easier to digest now, coming in more compact forms.

Edited November 21, 2019 by NightFright

[nicolas monti]

9 hours ago, NightFright said:

I still remember playing some of your early levels many years ago. They used to be massive, often confusing and quite cryptic. Often you didn't know what switches did, where to go next or even what to do in general. Somehow you found the exit eventually, not rarely after an hour or so of searching. It certainly was no stuff for the impatient.

 

You have come a long way since then. Your latest maps are compact and have better layouts in general, mob density is sensible, you usually see what important switches are doing and all encounters are survivable thanks to generous ammo placement.

 

In spite of all these changes, you haven't abandoned your general style of mapping, which is what I like about your whole development. There's still this certain amount of "positive weirdness" in these levels, with unusal layouts, distinct texturing and burst-style encounters. It's all a lot easier to digest now, coming in more compact forms.

I agree in what you've noted, I'd could make an analogy with music, let's say may older wads are like albums with 15 tracks 6 minutes each, a few might call it a masterpiece but most of us will find it tedious, what I'm trying to make now are compact albums with 10 tracks 3 minutes each, every track with its cachy chorus if possible.

The ingredients are mostly the same but they are served and arranged in a better format.

On the switch stuff, yes, I try to make the event visible, I won't quit doing that.

[E.M.]

This is a great wad. I love the abstract level design. However, I encountered a problem with MAP15.

 

 

I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get into this secret to flip the switch that opens the door to the secret level. Is it broken or do I just suck?

[Salt-Man Z]

Is the latest version of MAP30 busted? I found the IoS impossible to hit, and then someone showed me a video from a previous version where the "fire rockets from here" platform raised up far higher than it did in my game. Loved this megawad, but that IoS fight left a real bad taste in my proverbial mouth at the end.

[Revved]

11 hours ago, E.M. said:

This is a great wad. I love the abstract level design. However, I encountered a problem with MAP15.

 

 

I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get into this secret to flip the switch that opens the door to the secret level. Is it broken or do I just suck?

I believe you're supposed to lure an arch-vile out so you can jump into that sector. At least that's how I figured it out.

[sandwedge]

On 3/7/2020 at 10:36 AM, Salt-Man Z said:

Is the latest version of MAP30 busted? I found the IoS impossible to hit, and then someone showed me a video from a previous version where the "fire rockets from here" platform raised up far higher than it did in my game. Loved this megawad, but that IoS fight left a real bad taste in my proverbial mouth at the end.

 

Quoting this for emphasis.  I know it's been a while but this is a fantastic megawad, maybe my favourite by nic, but it seems to be broken at the end now.  The platform and IoS don't rise up high enough and I think it's impossible, or at least practically impossible, to damage now.  It's an unfortunate anti-climax to a great experience but it wouldn't be hard to fix.