The DWmegawad Club plays: Congestion 1024

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP13: The Focus II

 

This is a decent concept for a level that, to my tastes, goes too far in what it's doing, resulting in sensory overload - blinking lights, constant grinding and clunking noises, floors that bobble you up and down as you advance, walls crammed with fiddly little details and a mosaic of different textures which, all put together, are just too much for me to keep on top of.  I'd love to see this one blown up to twice the size, freed of the spatial constraints of this project, which I can't help but feel work against what the map is trying to do.

 

I think this is another map where it's impossible to get 100% kills because one of the monster waiting rooms is set up incorrectly, with a teleporter that has no assigned destination sector to eject its monsters into - did anyone else encounter this?

 

MAP14: House of Shadows

 

Another one with which I'm familiar from my playthrough of Crimson Canyon - it seemed odd to find it there, maybe I should've recognised when I was playing it that the cramped and spatially constrained nature of the map wasn't just something the mapper decided up whimsically but was actually an indication of some other project's restrictions at work.  This is a steady-paced crawl through the twisting confines of some mad stone structure into which elements both technological and infernal intrude; most of the action seems to favour a methodical, step-by-step advance through the maze of kinked little corridors and flickering lights with which you're presented, shotgun in hand to dispatch what's ahead with a single quick pop before it can do you any harm.  There's little room to dodge, so those occasions when you're presented with something your shotgun can't handle - a hell knight, say - seem the likelist candidates for bleeding a few cheap points of health and armour from you.

[Pechudin]

MAP13: The Focus II

    This map reminded me of Aliens TC. Imagine this map, but without music and maybe alarms in the background, and with a custom Alien - like monster pursuing you. I think it'd be fairly interesting. The majority of it does kind of look like crawling trough tight spaceship confines (sans the warehouse bit).

    The combat is mostly gunning down zombies before they gun you down with a sporadic noble threatening to corner you before you can dispatch it. The Hell Baron encounter was scary at first because of limited retreating space, but thankfully his pathfinding had him just going back and forth. Do not understand the point of the Archvile, he could not ressurect anyone and I could just take him out with mouseaim. There was not much in the way of health, and I left the level with 9% health. Well, I am pistol - starting anyway so it does not matter.

 

    So yeah, kinda clashing themes. Map would fit more in a horror wad, slowness of gameplay would then be a strength. Personally, I'd use the E2M6 music instead of the happy-go-lucky of the MAP04. If I rated it I'd rate it higher than @Horus, but that's just because I am a sucker for visuals, even at the detriment of gameplay.

 

MAP14: The House of Shadows

    I like this map a lot, feels like you are descending into dark, deep vaults of some ancient god - worshipping cult. The lighting is on point and serves to amplify the atmosphere. I really think this map would fit well into a narratively - driven mapset.

    Combat takes second place to the atmosphere and is fairy easy, with enemies almost all in front of you, enough health to spare and plentiful ammunition. There are several tricky moments will nobles in tight corridors. All in all, I really liked this map.

[obake]

MAP12 - “Warehouse 667” by shitbag

Looks can be deceiving. This one starts simple, but eventually stops pulling punches. You will need to conserve ammo, and be good at platforming on boxes before you tackle this map.

 

MAP13 - “The Focus II” by DoomedAce

Another toughie, this time remaking Doom II's The Focus. Things here are tense, as you will have to navigate a dark maze full of Chaingunners and Hell Knights. I had fun, though by the end, I was practically out of ammo, and needed to just rush to the exit.

 

MAP14 - “House of Shadows” by Psyren

The weakest map thus far. I like the atmosphere and music, but the gameplay unfortunately suffers from a few things: most of the map is hallways, and there are a lot of Lost Souls who serve no real purpose, being unable to directly attack you most of the time.

 

That said, there are parts I like, such as the lowering wall that makes a previous hallway turn into an arena, and the blood room at the end. Those are cool moments. Plus it is not too difficult (especially compared to the last few maps), so it does not become frustrating.

[Andromeda]

3 hours ago, TheOrganGrinder said:

MAP13: The Focus II

 

I think this is another map where it's impossible to get 100% kills because one of the monster waiting rooms is set up incorrectly, with a teleporter that has no assigned destination sector to eject its monsters into - did anyone else encounter this?

 

Yeah I also found that, but forgot to mention it.

 

MAP14: House of Shadows (Congestion 1024)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

 

A mazy level that reminds me of a 1994 level but oddly feels much more refined. It's probably the dark lightning coupled with the ominous MIDI that make it ooze atmosphere, coupled with some neat details (the Quake logo being the most noticeable). Gameplay lets it down, with the bulk of the action constisting of killing lone hitscanners/lost souls which is kinda boring, although there's some excellent mid tier usage. The powerups are well placed and really useful, while 2/3 secrets are very obvious. The ending is a drag, although you can just jump into the pit and ride the last platform to reach the exit quicker. Good stuff and bad stuff is found here in equal measure, making it a rather average level.

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP09: Monday Morning

MAP04: Outpost 1024

MAP14: House of Shadows

MAP13: The Focus II

MAP05: Autumn in Hell

MAP01: Water Facility

[Octillion]

MAP14 - “House of Shadows” by Psyren.

 

    As mentioned by everyone, the atmosphere here is the strongest point of this map, everything else is generic. It felt like I was in a ventilation system with mismatched textures. The combat was boring and grindy, I didn't like that I had to kill soul after soul in a lot of parts here. The only good part was the hitscanners with the partial invisibility sector. The first crusher is almost guaranteed to hit you, thankfully it's not a slow one. Yeah, not much to write about this one.

 

Death Counter:-   

Spoiler

 9. (One on Map02 - One on Map09 - Four on Map10 - Two on Map11 - One on Map13.)

 

Rankings:-

Spoiler

 

8/10 - (Maps 6, 8, 9)

7/10 - (Maps 3, 10, 12)

6/10 - (Maps 1, 5, 7, 11)

5/10 - (Maps 2, 4, 13, 14)

 

 

[Havoc Crow]

MAP13: The Focus II

Wow, this level is really cramped. It feels like it was first made as a full-scale map and then forcibly squeezed into the 1024x1024 region. Somehow, the entire starting area (with the blue key) was labyrinthine enough that I got kinda lost, which is quite a feat for such a small level. After going past the blue key door, you find yourself at the bridge room, and it actually feels surprising how large it is compared to the starting area. Almost makes you wish the author had spent some of that real estate on giving you slightly more room elsewhere.

I like how the opening shot frames your view with the dark gray walls. The visuals on the whole are pretty good, although sometimes go overboard with the details. Particularly these tiny little crushers in the corners, which make a lot of annoying racket.

Gameplay-wise, the map feels pretty trivial; though I was low on health one or two times (from surprise hitscanner attacks), ultimately nothing about it felt challenging.

In the end, I felt this map was average at best. It was far too cramped, and not particularly exciting.

 

MAP14: House of Shadows

Now here's a more interesting map. The beginning feels a little disappointing, you just walk forward through identical corridors and hold down the fire button to mow down all the suckers in your way. However, once you open the first locked door, the visuals start getting more varied and the combat is a bit better — the standout encounter is the sudden hitscanner ambush near the red key. There are some crushers after that which I was lucky to notice ahead of time; I suspect I'd have been pretty peeved if I'd gotten killed in them, and my opinion of the map would be significantly lower!

It's actually impressive how long the map feels, and how many distinct locations the author managed to pack into the tiny space. The muted lighting and the moody music help give this map a somewhat unsettling and claustrophobic vibe. Not my favorite in the set but better than MAP13 nonetheless.

 

MAP15: Bantam

Ooh, I really like this one. The map only has 16 monsters (on HMP) but uses them very well, especially compared to — say — the two preceding maps which spend most of their high monster counts on random trash beasties. The fights can be rather challenging, but never overly or unfairly so. Only the two Mancubi at the end are a bit of a letdown since it's easy to kill them without a scratch, but the rest of the fights are all satisfying.

The visuals are top-notch too. There isn't any ridiculous overdetailing here but the author still manages to make the map look gorgeous. I really like the inaccessible hallway (with the gunshot-activated switch), which hints at the castle being far bigger than the small slice you visit. I also enjoyed the tower which cleverly changes depending on whether you access it from the lower or the upper door, to give an illusion of a two-story building.

One of my favorites in the set.

Edited December 14, 2019 by JudgeDeadd

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP15: Bantam

 

This is a neat little level that makes great use of inaccessible backdrop areas to open up the map after a couple of very claustrophobic adventures and create a sense of being embedded in some small part of a larger structure.  The monster count is pretty low (though heavy on the high-tiers, with little trash) and the detail present is less "fiddly" than in several preceding maps, with more of a focus on the handful of "big picture" architectural elements that can be squeezed into a map this compact: the building that simulates one floor above the other, the girder bridges that span the map, the castle that dominates the eastern side of the level.  If "how do you pack a lot of gameplay into a small area without making things feel cramped?" is the question and the challenge, then this use of verticality is one possible solution.

[vdgg]

On 12/10/2019 at 2:30 AM, Horus said:

 

Ah, no I had Default compatibility on. What's the difference between Boom and Boom (strict)? And out of interest any idea why it would be a death exit on GZDoom Default compat and not on Boom?

Sorry for late reply.

- When switching between compabilities you can see the list of features and see exactly which features change. For example, compared to Boom-strict, Boom disables infinitely tall actors and wallrunning

- I have no idea which port was @Shtbag667  using for testing, and this is a rather unique exit setup, at least for me (I really don't check these too often). The player teleports into a room which has a few barrels and an Icon of Sin, every Thing in the same spot.  In PrBoom+ the result is detonation and death of the Icon, with the player intact. With GZDoom (I tried a different version than you), the player dies, no matter which compat setting you choose.

[Andromeda]

MAP15: Bantam (Congestion 1024)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

 

I'm a little bit ashamed to say I died 5 times to a 10 monster level, I usually don't struggle with berserk punching wannabe barons but today I was getting killed over and over... but I digress, this level is a treat! Beautiful setting, mildly challenging fights and some (easy) puzzles, giving it a rather Eternal Doom vibe. The secret exit is hidden in plain sight, being revealed by a switch in a spot where you probably won't bother to check. Also of note some interesting trickery used to simulate a room over room effect.

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP09: Monday Morning

MAP04: Outpost 1024

MAP14: House of Shadows

MAP13: The Focus II

MAP05: Autumn in Hell

MAP01: Water Facility

 

MAP31: Archville Madness (Congestion 1024)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

 

For our first secret level comes a small techbase, heavily populated by arch-viles. Rather uninspiring stuff, unless you're not used to dealing with arch-viles in packs which is pretty much the whole gimmick of the level. The canyon area provides a decent sendoff fight, deploying some flyers to add some variety. The fact that it's short and contains many different weapons gives it a certain degree of replayability, which is always a plus in my book. The super secret exit might be easier to find than the regular one. Decent level.

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP31: Archville Madness

MAP09: Monday Morning

MAP04: Outpost 1024

MAP14: House of Shadows

MAP13: The Focus II

MAP05: Autumn in Hell

MAP01: Water Facility

 

MAP32: Nullspace Junior (Congestion 1024)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

 

The beefy monster count, coupled with the presence of the very first Cyberdemon of the set hints that this is a difficult level. It is not, in fact. The action takes place in a nicely textured structure floating in the void (which is lethal, if you're curious to check). Gameplay is unfortunately quite dull for the most part, consisting of the standard kill monsters, flip switch, kill more monsters, flip another switch, repeat. The highlight is the cacoswarm, providing some duly needed excitement - it's neat to watch them appear from the void then slowly but surely covering "ground" and surrounding you. Now, all this talk and no mention of the Cyberdemon yet? Well, because it's effectively a paperweight and easily ignored, which is my biggest gripe with this level. If it spawned next to you it would be a whole different matter, making it a much more interesting fight. Still it's a good level, but could have been so much better...

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP31: Archville Madness

MAP09: Monday Morning

MAP04: Outpost 1024

MAP14: House of Shadows

MAP13: The Focus II

MAP05: Autumn in Hell

MAP01: Water Facility

Edited December 20, 2019 by Andromeda

[Horus]

MAP15 - “Bantam” by Cyb

 

And now we are presented with a grassy expanse in a mini-hell fortress. Yay for not being another 64-unit corridor shooter! Then as soon as I move, two hell knights right in front of me, and a berserk pack behind me. And two more hell nobles dotted around. So a hell noble Tyson fight this is. Which is not a style of gameplay I enjoy unfortunately.

 

Once you clear that, a badly misaligned switch texture allows you to progress and get you your weapons and so there is no more Tyson gameplay. The rest of the map has some cool effects, such as the 3D bridge and platforms. But the gameplay is pretty mute, with just a few monsters spawning that, in stark contrast the opening sequence, barely deal any threat, leading to a map with an inverted difficulty curve. One of the problems of the way the map is laid out is that there is a linedef you can’t shoot the cacos through (the one in the screenshot).

 

The secret exit is pretty obvious to find. Seems I'm the odd one out here as another level I didn't enjoy sadly.

 

MAP31 - “Archvile Madness” by Jimi

 

Like MAP07, not too much in the way of surprises here. A series of archviles to navigate (except unlike Hunted, it actually has some non-archvile monsters too: cacos and a pain elemental). Starts off a little tricky because the archviles can advance to your starting area and leave you trapped. But after you clear the first room it gets easier as you now have more hiding room.

 

At first the BK area isn’t too hard either because you can just rocket spam to kill the archviles and clean up the other monsters. The spawning archviles at the end are pretty tricky to deal with though, because again you don’t really have much room.

 

This map actually felt smaller than 1024 (but it isn’t), probably because of the lava river and rock pillars that take up quite a lot of the playable space. The supersecret exit is heavily hinted.

 

MAP32 - “Nullspace Junior” by Russel Pearson

 

Finally, the mapset is back to form. When I first saw the very zoomed out automap, I thought the quirky ‘super secret’ here was that it was going to break the constraint and be a large map. Which wouldn’t have been a bad thing in all honesty.

 

However, the alternative is pretty good. This is basically an arena map where all the action takes place either side of a spiral staircase. The playable area is actually one of the smallest, if not the smallest, of the maps so far, but because the action is confined to two areas it’s actually also one of roomiest maps for the player.

 

The action is basically a series of mini-battles that get harder and harder in terms of enemies, but also grant you the weaponry and health to go with it. One of the best battles is a nice little tomato invasion from the dark void. Be quick to avoid being turned into tomato sauce! Then the cyber makes its introduction. Which I might have thought would have been a problem on a 1024 map, but no, space is ample. The two sniping revenants at the start are a bit annoying, and the map is overgenerous with spheres, but otherwise this is a pretty enjoyable map.

 

MAP16 - “Deja View” by Szymanski

 

This one is a hellish arena map where you start again with your powered up fists, but this time have more appropriate low-tier enemies to use it against. Then once you get enough shotgun ammo you can switch to the shotgun and start making real headway against the enemies, albeit making sure not to get roasted by the mancubi. It helps if you can try to get the mancubi to kill some of the imps for you.

 

Then once you get the SSG the second (and final) round of the arena battle begins, this time throwing you tougher enemies given your improved arsenal. Again, the more you provoke infighting the more it helps you, but watch out for the archvile!

 

Fun stuff, my favourite map so far.

 

Map rankings:

Spoiler

Great (8/10): MAP03, MAP05, MAP06, MAP08, MAP32, MAP16
Good (7/10): MAP10, MAP11, MAP12
Decent (6/10): MAP01, MAP04, MAP09
Average (5/10): MAP02, MAP07, MAP31
Below-Average (4/10): MAP14
Poor (3/10): MAP15
Awful (2/10): MAP13

 

[erzboesewicht]

Coming close ...

 

MAP11: Caco District

 

A sniper hell miniature, where you are under fire from the start. The level uses a lot of verticality, which makes it sometimes a bit bumpy, and the presence of windows everywhere makes it difficult to find safe spots to retreat. But its bark is worse than it's bite, you get a megasphere and plenty of ammo and other health pickups, and most of the time you have some place to hide and take out enemies systematically, so it's again much easier than MAP10. As the name already implies, several times groups of cacos will enter the map - not really "swarms", but they can definitively molest you with all the open windows. A little puzzle element almost made me escape to the wiki but finally I found it. Good map, but not quite as fun as MAP09 for example. (7/10)

 

MAP12: Warehouse 667

 

A very simple techbase/warehouse with some verticality. Again difficulty goes down - back to MAP06 levels perhaps. While I got surprised two times by ambushes both are very easily solvable. What I most liked about the map was the first major ambush near the blue key, it honors aggressive play while punishing you if you retreat to the starting area. Then there's a pincer ambush behind the blue door with a nasty chaingunner, but simply being wary is enough. The arch-vile at the exit was not threatening at all - in contrast to the surprise pain elementals, which took half of my health at the end but didn't manage to kill me. Average level with a bonus point for the first ambush. (6/10)

 

MAP13: The Focus 2

 

Well interconnected techbase level with some, but not too many similarities to the original "The Focus". Despite of its physical size, where even a part of the 1024x1024 square seems to be reserved for inaccessible areas with monsters waiting to teleport in, this is a pretty long and grindy level with again a higher difficulty. The main areas get repopulated once with enemies. There are several small-scale traps, the most deadly one being an Arch-Vile where you have to decide if you try to preserve ammo taking him out from closely but having to rely on a friendly RNG, or to take it out from a distance where you have cover but will likely need more shells. Ammo isn't exactly scarce, but it's so concentrated in the starting half that you can get a false sense of abundance - if you abuse it, e.g. killing enemies from a distance or SSG shotgun guys, you will have to rationalize it in the final quarter. The level is extremely cramped, bigger monsters are very likely to get stuck often. The 3D bridges in the arena area are neat but sometimes block you. Regading visuals, the most cute thing is this miniature machinery in the lower level, I really dig these things. Three monsters for some reason didn't want to spawn. (8/10)

 

MAP14: House of Shadows

 

Despite of the simple texture usage, this is actually in my opinion a little masterpiece in atmosphere with very fine ambient music. Above all, the dark area at the end of the blue section with the caco and the crushers and the final arena are really cool. And there are nice strange details like the Quake sign. The combat, however, has a problem: the corridors are so cramped that in some situations there is no way to dodge, particularly in the enclosure hell knight fight after the blue door, so you very likely will lose some health there. But the resources are really plentiful because your main enemies are shotgun guys, you get even a berserk pack and a megaaarmor (which I found after having already beaten the level). Standout encounter is the ambush at the red key, with a pack of hitscanners with very little cover, but also an invisibility sphere which helps enormously. The final area, in contrast, is quite easy. For the soulsphere secret I had to recur to the wiki. (9/10)

[Octillion]

MAP15 - “Bantam” by Cyb.

 

    Interesting layout, with a few monsters. Looks like a medieval aesthetic with surrounding grass. You slug it out with hell knights at the beginning, thanks to a startup berserk. The instant pop-up baron though... That put me off. Mainly because he pops up very close to the player. It's a very bland level, nothing special and the combat is forgettable.

 

MAP31 - “Archvile Madness” by Jimi.

 

    That's a lot of goodies at the beginning, *Reads map's name* oh no. Surprisingly, it wasn't that bad. A minor case of archvile swarm that is manageable, followed by some door combat at the outside. There is also a sneaky pain elemental in the lava, which is odd since you'll probably kill everything first and you're left with it. I wasn't aware the exit was behind me when those two viles came in, as I was dodging I stumbled on it. Had to redo the level because of that and find the secret exit. Yeah, nothing really annoying here, I actually enjoyed this one.

    

MAP32 - “Nullspace Junior” by Russel Pearson.

 

    Oh wow, look at that monster count. This looks like a tough cookie. A grey mini-fortress in the void with instant-death edges? Cool. The combat is mostly an arena fight, you traverse between two areas, hit a switch and kill everything. Didn't feel grindy, was mostly enjoyable. The cyber was a surprise, but he was well-placed so it was a positive here. It might feel repetitive going back and forth between those two sectors. But hey, it's "1024" after all. Warning: a lot of imps like to teleport behind you.

 

Death Counter:-   

Spoiler

 9. (One on Map02 - One on Map09 - Four on Map10 - Two on Map11 - One on Map13.)

 

Rankings:-

Spoiler

 

8/10 - (Maps 6, 8, 9, 32)

7/10 - (Maps 3, 10, 12, 31)

6/10 - (Maps 1, 5, 7, 11)

5/10 - (Maps 2, 4, 13, 14, 15)

 

 

[Andromeda]

MAP16: Deja View (Congestion 1024)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

 

The déjà vu word play in its title implies that this is going to look similar to a previous level. While it bears significant resemblance to MAP07 by the same author, it looks even more similar to a certain area in Requiem MAP04 to me. The action takes place in an arena style room where you have to fend off the enemies while waiting for supplies to lower. This style of high octane gameplay coupled with supply scarcity that leaves little margin for error is very appealing to me. Simplicity at its best, incredibly fun to play!

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP16: Deja View

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP31: Archville Madness

MAP09: Monday Morning

MAP04: Outpost 1024

MAP14: House of Shadows

MAP13: The Focus II

MAP05: Autumn in Hell

MAP01: Water Facility

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP31: Archvile Madness

 

The title is pretty indicative of what's in store here, lots of arch-viles which are most readily put down with the super shotgun and steady pop-shoot-duck tactics; I'm not really getting the "Madness" part, I will admit, not with a layout that can't help but encourage methodical progress and extensive use of cover to avoid the signature monster's explosive flame attack.  Normally I look for secret levels that distinguish themselves in some way and to some degree from the normal maps of the WAD, and this one... kind of doesn't, I mean you could've dropped this into any prior slot in the main flow/progress of Congestion 1024 and I really don't know what would've made it stand out from the level to either side of it.

 

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

 

Now this is more like it, a level that does something pretty unique out of all the maps we've seen so far, suspending a medieval-type structure of stone blocks, stained wood, and iron bars within an ominous void, surrounding it with cages, overhaving ceiling elements, and remote teleportation spots that make the whole assembly feel so much larger and more grand than the little island of it that you're free to navigate.  Gameplay follows a wave assault model, with every step and button-press bringing in more enemies while the suspeded structure gradually unfolds around you; mostly you'll be shooting imps, but most waves contain one or more other enemies to give you some sense of having to prioritise targets and dance around to peel your intended victim out of the crowd, rather than just maintaining your sweaty-palmed grip on your shotgun as you blast steadily away at the approaching walls of meat.

[erzboesewicht]

MAP15: Bantam

 

18 monsters and plenty of space, so that has to be easy, right? While with saves this is a walk in the park and for continuous players it should be completely trivial if you don't get caught by the pop-up nobles, several ambushes are threatening enough to make it engaging to beat saveless from pistol start, at least if you're not a decent Tyson player (and I'm really bad at that). The start is already not easy: with only berserk fists and pistol you have to get inside a cramped cave with imps and a hell knight to press a switch which opens the rest of the map. They can't be lured out because of monster blocking lines, a tree always gets into your way if you want to incite infighting, and outside two HKs are waiting. The other standout encounter is at the red key, where an arch-vile is likely to resurrect revenants on a cramped balcony while cacos attack from behind. Nothing too difficult and the rest is really easy, but errors in these two encounters can be lethal. Visually it's one of the weaker maps of the set, with simple brown buildings around a grass courtyard and some rocks. The secret exit is easy to activate but surprisingly hard to see, bonus point for that. (6/10)

 

MAP31: Archvile Madness

 

A bunch of arch-viles with occasional meat shields. The first part is completely Hunted-style with groups of two or three Arch-Viles you have to dispatch inside a building, but adecuate weaponry is available - although not with endless ammonition, so you have to manage it a bit and use the plasma rifle only for emergency situations. Once you enter the outdoor courtyard, cacodemons (and another unpleasant surprise) start to appear, which have the tendency to attract rockets, so you must at least take care of them if you camp behind the entrance and don't want to run out of ammo - or blast yourself into death, like I managed to do two times. Difficulty is average for the set so far. In my opinion one of the weaker maps of the set, as it doesn't provide nothing new, and also visually not really impressive. (4/10)

 

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

 

In the tradition of MAP32, the highest monster count so far, but actually one of the easier levels until now. A simple and fun amusement park. Most of the 150+ enemies are imps, they tend to appear in a big cage and can be easily dispatched. The occasional mid- and high-tier monsters - the Cyberdemon makes his first appearance here - aren't a problem because they tend to appear in small groups, with a Cacoswarm - which is still manageable, even if it managed to kill me once - being the only exception. The arch-viles were surprisingly easy to dispatch. Visually pretty bland, although I like the gimmick with the instantkill void a bit. Nothing special, but also not totally unenjoyable. (5/10)

 

MAP16: Deja View

 

Circlestrafing, the map. A very fast-paced and simple square arena, where progressively enemies will be spawned around a lava pool (which you'll probably only touch at the end) while also a couple of goodies will appear, from weapons up to a soulsphere and megaarmor. The number of monsters is small, but is comprised mostly of mid-tiers up to a single arch-vile. The monsters will happily infight, and the AV is probably the only real threat if he can attack you at a place where you don't have cover. Very simple ahd short and feels like a breather, but I had some fun. (6/10)

 

Finally catched up. Until now MAP09 continues to be my favourite, followed by MAP14 and MAP08.

Edited December 16, 2019 by erzboesewicht

[Horus]

MAP17 - “Omega Outpost” by Szymanski

 

Back to a techbase, except this one is pretty minimalist with the detail in comparison to the other techbases in this set. This map is a simple, fun blaster that notably drops the difficulty down compared to a lot of the previous maps. Which is fine, it’s nice to have a breather map once in a while.

 

Map rankings:

Spoiler

Great (8/10): MAP03, MAP05, MAP06, MAP08, MAP32, MAP16, MAP17
Good (7/10): MAP10, MAP11, MAP12
Decent (6/10): MAP01, MAP04, MAP09
Average (5/10): MAP02, MAP07, MAP31
Below-Average (4/10): MAP14
Poor (3/10): MAP15
Awful (2/10): MAP13

 

[Andromeda]

MAP17: Omega Outpost (Congestion 1024)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

 

A gloomy techbase with lots of action. The layout is simple and it's easy to know how to progress though turning those corners requires care lest you're turned into swiss cheese. There's a number of revenants here and it can be tricky to dodge their missiles, while the lack of armor and health leaves little room for mistakes. Provided you know how the level plays out it can be quite easy, however. The lightning work is the highlight here, though the cacoswarm is another neat standout moment. Good level with a kickass MIDI.

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP16: Deja View

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

MAP17: Omega Outpost

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP31: Archville Madness

MAP09: Monday Morning

MAP04: Outpost 1024

MAP14: House of Shadows

MAP13: The Focus II

MAP05: Autumn in Hell

MAP01: Water Facility

[Octillion]

MAP16 - “Deja View” by Szymanski.

 

    Oh wow, this is dead simple on steroids, similar in design but more challenging. Not much to say about the look, but the game play is where its at. You better not miss, because the ammo is almost perfectly tailored for every monster. (You can always "Tyson" it because of berserk.) The vile is the only threat here, and sometimes the spiders if you're not careful. Overall, I enjoyed it. It was a fun little arena map.

 

 

MAP17 - “Omega Outpost” by Szymanski.

 

    A dark tech area from the looks of it. The detailing is decent, nothing stands out here, but not bland either.  The lighting is definitely the key factor here, as mentioned by Andromeda, it sets the atmosphere of the entire map. Game play was mostly on the easy side, with the highlight of the cacos that seem to come out of nowhere.

 

Death Counter:-

Spoiler

 9. (One on Map02 - One on Map09 - Four on Map10 - Two on Map11 - One on Map13.)

 

Rankings:-

Spoiler

 

8/10 - (Maps 6, 8, 9, 32)

7/10 - (Maps 3, 10, 12, 31, 16, 17)

6/10 - (Maps 1, 5, 7, 11)

5/10 - (Maps 2, 4, 13, 14, 15)

 

 

[erzboesewicht]

MAP17: Omega Outpost

 

The difficulty curve of Congestion 1024 really is a bit odd: this map is even easier than MAP16 and the secret levels and far away from the difficult combat puzzles of MAP08-11. The good thing about that is that the casual fun is back and not so much "work" is required. Basically, MAP17 is a broad spiralling corridor with two additional rooms. Plenty of space to move, and most enemies are cannon fodder, even the hitscanners are barely threatening. I died once in a "Fantastic at Doom" moment to a lonely revenant with plenty of cover. The standout encounter, which at least provides a bit of threat, is at the blue key, where a mancubus will spawn close quarters to you and a small group of cacos will try to abuse that situation to attack you from behind. I liked the visuals, while it's very brown the curved lines are an aesthetic pleasure. Not a masterpiece, but reasonably fun. (7/10)

 

MAP18: Tutorial #99

 

Very short techbase level (15 monsters on UV) with an acid pit and some nice detailing, but otherwise not much to talk about. It feels more like a part of a bigger level, and unfortunately not exactly the standout part. Two arch-viles and a baron help to make it not completely trivial, but it's again much easier than most of the preceding maps since MAP07. Combat-wise, in my opinion the weakest map so far, all enemies are in front of you, the only surprise moment is the arch-vile hidden in a lift, and the exit battle (a lonely mid-tier) is completely anticlimactic. What is the megaarmor supposed to be for? And why the "Tutorial" name? (3/10)

[Andromeda]

MAP18: Tutorial 99 (Congestion 1024)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

 

I died twice here, somehow. Once to an arch-vile & revenant joint effort, the other one was even worse: trying to dodge an arch-vile attack I was blocked by a closing door. Either way, I think this is a good level, the detailing is simple but refreshing, given most previous levels went a little overboard in that particular aspect. This is also one of the few levels you'll probably complete in under 2 minutes, due to the low monster population and the easy progression. The chaingun could've been a secret, since it's rather well hidden. Bonus points for the long, but killer MIDI.

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP16: Deja View

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP18: Tutorial 99

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

MAP17: Omega Outpost

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP31: Archville Madness

MAP09: Monday Morning

MAP04: Outpost 1024

MAP14: House of Shadows

MAP13: The Focus II

MAP05: Autumn in Hell

MAP01: Water Facility

Edited December 18, 2019 by Andromeda

[Octillion]

MAP18 - “Tutorial #99” by Hobomaster22.

 

    Another tech map, this however is the most forgettable one so far. Even though it has a really banging midi, it does not save it from how boring it is. Design wise, it's average, mostly squares with sharp right angles to break them. I did like the ceiling at the blue armor tho.

 

Death Counter:-

 

Spoiler

9. (One on Map02 - One on Map09 - Four on Map10 - Two on Map11 - One on Map13.)

 

Rankings:-

Spoiler

 

8/10 - (Maps 6, 8, 9, 32)

7/10 - (Maps 3, 10, 12, 31, 16, 17)

6/10 - (Maps 1, 5, 7, 11)

5/10 - (Maps 2, 4, 13, 14, 15, 18)

 

 

[Havoc Crow]

MAP31: Archvile Madness

A tastefully designed base of subdued brown. As the title implies, it's full of Arch-Viles, but ammo and weaponry is plentifully provided and with a bit of experience, you shouldn't have problems with them (unless you get snagged on the doorframes when retreating.) Things gets worse once you open the door to the outside, because of these darn cacodemons getting in your way and blocking your shots at the Arch-Viles. And of course, even if you kill the cacos, they can just get resurrected again. Things are just as bad on the other side of the lava river because you're suddenly attacked by Arch-Viles with little room to maneouver or hide, and if a Vile attack dumps you into the lava river you're dead. Fun level, though a bit frustrating.

 

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

A very atmospheric map with great decor (I love the stone SP_FACE1 texture), though I don't think the music is quite ideal... something a little more somber would go a long way. Many moments in the map feel a bit oppressive, but there's quite a lot of resources around and the map isn't as hard as it looks. The cacodemon swarm coming from the inky blackness is a pretty cool moment, and the cyberdemon gave me a bit of a surprise, but there's enough cover that he's not really a problem. Not a difficult map, but I enjoyed it thoroughly.

 

MAP16: Deja View

A fun "scripted" map, set in an arena where increasingly tough enemy waves keep teleporting in, and new weapons are regularly provided. To make things worse, there's less and less cover as you go on [?], which is especially bad when you're up against an Arch-Vile and chased by Revenant fireballs. Ammo is quite tight (killing all the monsters took exactly all of the ammunition on the map) but infighting can be instigated rather easily and there's a berserk fist to fall back on. A fun, quickie map with well-polished visuals.

 

MAP17: Omega Outpost

A brown techbase which loops on itself quite a bit. The beginning involves lots of straight corridors once again, but at least they're comfortably wide, and tastefully decorated without details getting in your way.
The map relies a lot on teleporting in new monster waves all around you, and it particularly likes Revenants. Thankfully, the map's design mostly keeps you from being exposed.
I liked the exit, where you emerge into a wider corridor before the map suddenly ends, implying that what we've seen is but a tiny slice of a much larger level that we'll never get to see.

 

MAP18: Tutorial #99

Here's a shortie at 15 monsters, and just a handful of rooms to pass through. The one standout encounter is the arch-vile at the bottom floor of the big room, who can be quite tricky unless you can coax him into coming upstairs. The other fights are not quite as interesting. The visuals are really neat (I like the decor in the big room), except for the starting room which looks garish. However, in the end, this one's a bit forgettable.

[Horus]

MAP18 - “Tutorial #99” by Hobomaster22

 

This one does feel like a tutorial compared to the some of the other maps. If the last map was a breather, this one just feels more…pointless. Pointlessly easy. Another techbase, albeit a more corrupted version, with the classic techbase textures mixed in with more gruesome hellish marble textures in the opening room.

 

The next area contains a pretty weird design decision, an optional lift that reveals an archvile that once killed, takes you to a…chaingun. Not a weapon that is needed at all in this map (especially as ammo is abundant), so non-maxers are better off leaving it.

 

The next area is a poison pit surrounded by barrels. A couple of revenants and archviles lurk, but again no danger to the player because you can just fire & hide.

This map is kind of over before it started really. Fine as a map, just not sure what’s it doing in the MAP18 slot

 

MAP19 - “Lip Service” by Potgiesser

 

And now for a map more fitting of its slot! This one is tough but not too tough, especially as you get the SSG in the first room. It is basically a bunch of small-scale traps testing the player’s agility and ability to provoke infighting (which is essential the baron & mancubi fight). The action and the MIDI pair together well. It doesn’t skimp on the detail either, with the crate conveyor on the BK section especially nice.

 

Unfortunately, the mapper seemed to entirely forget about the constraint at the end. This isn’t like map 01 where there is a secret that ever so slightly extends beyond it, here the exit area extends way beyond the 1024’s reach.

 

If I was a purist, I would heavily mark it down accordingly, but I can’t deny despite the big oversight this is a pretty fun map to play.

 

Map rankings:

Spoiler

Great (8/10): MAP03, MAP05, MAP06, MAP08, MAP32, MAP16, MAP17, MAP19
Good (7/10): MAP10, MAP11, MAP12
Decent (6/10): MAP01, MAP04, MAP09, MAP18
Average (5/10): MAP02, MAP07, MAP31
Below-Average (4/10): MAP14
Poor (3/10): MAP15
Awful (2/10): MAP13

 

[Octillion]

MAP19 - “Lip Service” by Potgiesser.

 

    Strap your seat belts, because this map brings back some difficulty to the mapset. An industrial map with cool piping details here, coupled with tech textures which serve as the control room. It's right into the action with this one, although there was some door combat, it wasn't too bad. I died once here because of the late teleport pinkies, got stuck when I picked up the armor + bk and they finished me easily. The double baron behind the YK door was grindy, mainly because the player has a lot of space to deal with them. If it was a tight path, this could have been deadly. The mancs are definitely there to spark infighting with the barons, this cleverly doesn't make it a slow-paced encounter. Undoubtedly, an enjoyable map.

 

Death Counter:-

Spoiler

10. (One on Map02 - One on Map09 - Four on Map10 - Two on Map11 - One on Map13 - One on Map19.)

 

Rankings:-

Spoiler

 

8/10 - (Maps 6, 8, 9, 32, 19)

7/10 - (Maps 3, 10, 12, 31, 16, 17)

6/10 - (Maps 1, 5, 7, 11)

5/10 - (Maps 2, 4, 13, 14, 15, 18)

 

 

Edited December 19, 2019 by Octillion

[erzboesewicht]

MAP19: Lip Service

 

This is again more the style I like. The techbase level gets flooded with several waves of teleporting enemies who will corner you if you aren't careful. Gameplay is excellent, with particularly good noble and pinky usage - it can be tricky to navigate around these monsters, and you have always to care about hitscanners draining your health. The chaingun was my primary weapon in the first part of the level as shotgun ammo is more limited, while later you will most likely switch to the SSG when the bigger monsters come into action. Standout encounters are the ambush before the blue key in a cramped space, where the low-tier combo with a strategically placed hell knight is surprisingly lethal if you are too sloppy, and the baron/mancubus combo in the lower floor which led to three deaths in my case because they simply didn't want to infight. The exit battle is easier, despite of the archvile. The visuals are good I think, with a factory/warehouse theme, but gameplay is what matters more in this level. Fast-paced fun. (8/10 - I read the exit area is out of the mapset's restrictions, thus I give it a point less than I would otherwise do.)

[Dragonfly]

Aw nuts... I missed this which is a real shame as this one's such a nostalgic wad for me as it was released around 6-8 months after I started getting into Doom Mapping.

Glad to see 1024.wad get some love in the modern age, sorry I didn't participate. With xmas around the corner starting on the 19th just isn't a smart idea. :P

[Havoc Crow]

MAP19: Lip Service

 

A very well-made map with excellent fights. Each encounter felt like it was carefully polished, and every one was satisfyingly difficult without being infuriating. The graphical side is high-quality as well, with each room having a different theme (and the nukage-filled cave outside the window at the start was a nice piece of landscaping), although some parts felt overdetailed and visually busy. One of my favorite maps in the set, although I'm a bit annoyed that the exit room ostentatiously flaunts the 1024x1024 restriction! I'm sure it could have been cut without decreasing the quality of the map.

Edited December 19, 2019 by JudgeDeadd

[Andromeda]

MAP19: Lip Service (Congestion 1024)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

 

A level where the bulk of the action consists of two big teleporter traps. If we leave it at that it sounds pretty boring but it's actually not, the fights are cleverly designed despite not being lethal. For example, the blue key trap spawns demons and a hell knight in the room, severely restricting your space to dodge the projectiles while several hitscanners are deployed in the adjacent room, slowly chipping away your health. 

 

As the result of such fights, I hovered at around 40-60 health for the greater part of the level, going as low as 13 health at one point. The camping spots here are occupied by hellspawn, it's a fruitless strategy and it's infinitely more fun to tackle this aggressively. Nice bruiser brothers usage here, the space is deceptively ample, requiring quick feet to escape unscathed. Love the neat detail at the start, where the cacodemon comes out of its dark den while you're looking at the impaled marines. The arch-vile at the end is a bit predictable, though. Great level with a fitting, adrenaline fueled MIDI.

 

EDIT: Oh, and this annoys me a bit: all the doors in this room are the same width, except the rightmost one which is narrower.

Spoiler

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP16: Deja View

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP19: Lip Service

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP18: Tutorial 99

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

MAP17: Omega Outpost

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP31: Archville Madness

MAP09: Monday Morning

MAP04: Outpost 1024

MAP14: House of Shadows

MAP13: The Focus II

MAP05: Autumn in Hell

MAP01: Water Facility

Edited December 24, 2019 by Andromeda

[obake]

MAP15 - “Bantam” by Cyb

Fun little city map. The Berserk start is quite tough.

 

MAP16 - “Deja View” by Szymanski

Arena map, surprisingly easy. Still fun.

 

MAP17 - “Omega Outpost” by Szymanski

Dark atmosphere. I like the lighting, though the ending feels underwhelming.

 

MAP18 - “Tutorial #99” by Hobomaster22 

A bit of a messily textured base. Simple and short.

 

MAP19 - “Lip Service” by Potgiesser

A base full of teleporting traps. The second half is more difficult due to the number of Barons.

[Andromeda]

MAP20: Claustrophobic Sting (Congestion 1024)

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, HNTR-PS, no saves, 100% everything

 

This level takes place in some kind of underground site, complete with power generators in what is a good example of DoomCute. The low lightning and the MIDI really help in setting the atmosphere, you're left wondering just what has happened here as you slowly explore the surroundings. Further into the level you spot a power generator whose cord has been broken. This is where the action spices up, as some hell knights suddenly teleport nearby, providing an opportunity to use the rocket launcher to kill them quickly. After this you're left wondering whether more monsters will spawn as you make your way to the exit but alas it seems you've eradicated the threat. Great level, though I feel it could have more monsters after the blue key trap.

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP16: Deja View

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP19: Lip Service

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP20: Claustrophobic Sting

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP18: Tutorial 99

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

MAP17: Omega Outpost

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP31: Archville Madness

MAP09: Monday Morning

MAP04: Outpost 1024

MAP14: House of Shadows

MAP13: The Focus II

MAP05: Autumn in Hell

MAP01: Water Facility