The DWmegawad Club plays: Congestion 1024

[Havoc Crow]

MAP24: Zyklon B

Boy, this map is tough; at first it even feels like a slaughtermap in miniature. You get a supercharge at the start, but the initial duel with the arch-vile is a crapshoot, and the zombies after that can wear the health down quick. Not helping matters is that ammo is parceled out rather stingily, and there's very little health too. Nevertheless, it's pretty satisfying when you manage to avoid getting killed by stray fireballs and clean out the entire courtyard.

 

However, the Cyberdemon that warps in near the end is a real bother. You need to teleport onto his platform at one point, at which point you either succeed in telefragging him, or you teleport right next to him and likely get splattered instantly; there's no way to ensure a favorable outcome, since the cybie's position can't be seen from the teleport entrance. However, if you do manage to telefrag him, then the map is your oyster, because you can grab the nearby invul sphere and cell ammo and easily dispose of the remaining monsters that teleport in. It is a nice catharsis after you've been outgunned and fragile throughout the entire map.

 

Overall, a very nice level with just a few annoying hiccups.

 

MAP25: Stein und Stahl

 

First of all, I want it on record that I love this map title.

 

The start is pretty rude: there are enemies attacking you from all sides, more baddies keep teleporting behind you, and you're given the absolute minimum of ammo you need at any given moment. The real surprise comes once you enter the side corridor (nice "curving" decoration on the wall, there) and the map rearranges itself into an arena, much like in "Corpse Yard".

 

The arena itself is quite dark and it's easy to get nailed by sudden attacks from behind. Ammo is very tight, too; I very nearly ran out of it before the red-key switch. The Mancubus can be a bit of a danger if you let his fireballs clip you while running around the arena, but once you enter another side corridor (I like the "dirt stairs" you need to climb), he's an afterthought. I was a bit disappointed that the ending sequence just dumped a replacement Mancubus back on the same spot. Might have been more interesting if it was a Revenant or two.

 

All in all, a pretty nice map, although not one of the best. I do like the visuals though, there's a number of nifty details here and there.

[galileo31dos01]

+++ Hell Revealed 2

 

Technically only single votes are allowed, right?

[Andromeda]

MAP25: Stein und Stahl (Congestion 1024)

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

 

Stein und Stahl is german for stone and steel, which seem to be the main motifs in the level. The atmosphere is creepy, with the low lightning level and the sudden monster teleports dictating a slow pace as you explore the initial outside area. After pressing a switch you can access a corridor where you feel safer, but the outside area requires further exploration as it has now expanded, revealing an arena where you can fight the monsters that spawn.

 

So far so good. Unfortunately, this setpiece is repeated twice which makes it rather lame. I think the second wave could be improved if an arachnotron replaced the mancubus as the turret, as well as releasing a couple of arch-viles and a handful of revenants on the arena instead. The increased mobility of the monsters coupled with the more effective turret could make for an interesting challenge, putting much more pressure on the player - as it is right now, it's merely a formality to clear the second wave. Barring this mild disappointment this is a solid level, I enjoyed battling my way through the darkness.

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP16: Deja View

MAP24: Zyklon B

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP19: Lip Service

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP25: Stein und Stahl

MAP20: Claustrophobic Sting

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP18: Tutorial 99

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP21: Corpse Yard

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

MAP17: Omega Outpost

MAP23: Close Quarters

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP22: Prison Escape

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

 

+++ Hell Revealed II

Edited January 7, 2020 by Andromeda

[3saster]

Time to do more voting! Pieced out on Congestion 1024, as I've played it before and really didn't like it. In addition to the previous HR2, I'll suggest Survive in Hell as an option. It's a neat little megawad by JCD that I have a soft spot for. It's fun to see the mapper clearly improving as we approach the later maps, from copies of other maps to doing his own thing. Ironically, some of the very early maps are near clones of certain HR2 maps, hehe. It's one I've been hoping to see on the DW Megawad club sometime, I think it would be perfect personally.

 

+++ Hell Revealed 2
+++ Survive in Hell

[Octillion]

MAP25 - “Stein und Stahl” by Catsy.

 

    My thoughts on this one are the same as everyone's. A bit of a cheap start, but nothing too annoying. I like the look of this map a lot, especially the floor when the map transforms, a mix of the metal slime and marble floor. The pentagram at the mancubus actually does 20 damage if you stand on it, took me off guard there. Definitely needed more monster variety.

 

MAP26 - “Marbelous!” by The Flange Peddler.

 

    Ok... This map is the most frustrating to play out of all the maps in the set so far, and it has a very generic look to it. Though, I can forgive the look due to the name, it was still a giant square. The starter is heavily relied on RNG, you will get chipped by hitscanners if your meat shield strat doesn't go according to plan. You get a berserk here, and you better use it against the hell knights here, or you'll run out of ammo. The first vile was not a problem; however, the chaingunner trap above, is very lethal here, I did die here because I ran out of bullets. Fast forward at the red skull area, due to the distance and the vertical advantage of the imprisoned revenants, you'll waste a good amount of shells and bullets here, which might result in you punching that hell knight at the tight stairs. The up and down displacement here doesn't help you dodging the knight, resulting in my second death here. Moving on, I pressed the switch and a second vile appears. This one is way more dangerous than the first, it is almost guaranteed he will bring back a manc or a caco here. Finally, the end is a chore as you'll either shotgun the two barons or punch them.

 

    Rarely, do I give anything below a 5/10. But this one, really was an unpleasant experience.

 

    Edit: So I replayed the map after @erzboesewicht mentioned there is a SSG that I somehow missed, it was a more tolerant experience so I'll bump it to 5/10.

 

Death Counter:-

Spoiler

16. (One on Map02 - One on Map09 - Four on Map10 - Two on Map11 - One on Map13 - One on Map19 - One on Map22 - Two on Map23 - One on Map24 - Two on Map 26.)

 

Rankings:-

Spoiler

 

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

7/10 - (Maps 3, 10, 12, 31, 16, 17, 22, 24, 25)

6/10 - (Maps 1, 5, 7, 11, 20)

5/10 - (Maps 2, 4, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 26)

 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by Octillion

[erzboesewicht]

MAP26: Marbelous!

 

This map consists basically of iterations of the well-known trope "press a switch, release monsters". The start is the most difficult part, where hitscanners and a pair of revenants can drain your health quickly. And then an archvile will try to resurrect everything again. But after you pass the red door, you're over the hump. The monsters in the bloody outdoor area will happily infight, there is plenty of cover, and I could block the second archvile to stay inside the stairway area so he didn't cause trouble. The visuals are average, almost everything is marble, like the title says. There is plenty of ammo and also enough health. Not bad, but also not really good; difficulty is about average of the mapset. My impression was that of a grindy, relatively boring map, but that was mainly because I didn't find the SSG which is actually there from the trap behind the blue door onwards but well-hidden, so I had to shotgun and chaingun all kinds of low- and mid-tiers up to archviles and barons.  (5/10)

Edited December 26, 2019 by erzboesewicht

[Andromeda]

MAP26: Marbelous! (Congestion 1024)

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

 

As the title implies, marble textures are prevalent here. I really like the stock marble textures since I think they give an imposing yet sober look to a level, match up nicely with blood/lava and let the author get away with doing less detailing. That is of course if they're well used, which happens here so on the aesthetic front, no complaints from me! The gameplay is subpar however. Flipping switches after switches, killing monsters as they appear in front of you (posing little to no danger at all!) is not really my definition of fun and is quite boring. The level also suffers from an excess of ammo, you could remove 2/3 of the ammo and still have enough to kill everything. In my view, this level doesn't quite live up to its potential, it could've been a very neat experience!

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP16: Deja View

MAP24: Zyklon B

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP19: Lip Service

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP25: Stein und Stahl

MAP20: Claustrophobic Sting

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP18: Tutorial 99

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP21: Corpse Yard

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

MAP17: Omega Outpost

MAP23: Close Quarters

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP22: Prison Escape

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP26: Marbelous!

MAP31: Archville Madness

MAP09: Monday Morning

MAP04: Outpost 1024

MAP14: House of Shadows

MAP13: The Focus II

MAP05: Autumn in Hell

MAP01: Water Facility

[obake]

+++ Nova III

[Horus]

MAP26 - “Marbelous!” by Cycloid

 

No prizes for guessing the dominating texture set on this one. Yes, a map made almost entirely out of marble textures. The first thing I notice about this map is the stupid ear-splitting sound coming from the MIDI. Thankfully you only hear that for a couple of seconds every few minutes, and the rest of the MIDI is decent.

 

The progression here is basically press a bunch of satyr switches in turn, which reveal further parts of the map, both monsters and keys. The timing of the berserk powerup was most welcome, and saved me certain death.

 

Then through the RK bars is an area for which your survival largely depends on how well you can dodge the revenant sniper missiles, and also if you find the untagged secret SSG. The blood floor in this area is welcome and gives a contrast to the plethora of marble seen everywhere else. Sadly I did not find the real secret in this map.

 

I had a much more positive impression of this map than the posters above, and I think a key reason for that is that I found the SSG as soon as it became available. Also, ammo is perhaps more prevalent on HNTR than UV, because I found the balance of ammo just about right, almost running out quite a few times without ever actually running out (or maybe @Andromeda is just better at managing ammo than me :P). I was also fine with the progression, though maybe it would have got tiring over a longer map.

 

Map rankings:

Spoiler

Great (8/10): MAP03, MAP05, MAP06, MAP08, MAP32, MAP16, MAP17, MAP19, MAP24, MAP25, MAP26
Good (7/10): MAP10, MAP11, MAP12, MAP20
Decent (6/10): MAP01, MAP04, MAP09, MAP18, MAP23
Average (5/10): MAP02, MAP07, MAP31, MAP21, MAP22
Below-Average (4/10): MAP14
Poor (3/10): MAP15
Awful (2/10): MAP13 

 

Edited December 26, 2019 by Horus

[TheOrganGrinder]

So, Hell Revealed II has something like four or five votes at this point, and this is a WAD that's noted (per the wiki) as being "quite possibly one of the most difficult WADs to date."  As of sixteen years ago.  I'm pretty aware of my shortcomings as a player; mostly when I'm playing through something with the DWMC, I do so on Hurt Me Plenty difficult, but for harder WADs (this has included the likes of Ancient Aliens and Sunlust) I tend to step down to Hey, Not Too Rough.  Collective expertise of Doomworld, I implore you: how do Hell Reavaled II and its then-vaunted, signature difficulty stack up to more modern offerings?

 

MAP26: Marbelous!

 

The phrase that came to mind as I was working through this one was "bite-sized," and that's not a commentary on its overall dimensions (which are the same, accounting for a margin of error, as every other map in the WAD) so much as its layout and pacing, which seem calibrated to feed the player just as much meat as they get get their teeth into without ever leaving them with a sense that they've bitten off more than they can chew.  I'm not convinced the secret area works as it's supposed to (did anyone else find themselves grabbing a medikit and a box of shotguns shells through the wall and "out of nowhere?") and oddly enough the super shotgun is tucked away in a well-hidden cubby that isn't tagged as a secret, not sure quite what the deal with that is.

[Horus]

MAP27 - “Tower of Hades” by The Flange Peddler

 

Wow, what a wonderful map! The first thing that stands out to me here is the architecture and detailing. The player starts on the central ‘tower of hades’ with a marble base, but unlike the monotextural previous map, this one mixes in brick, blood, flesh and wood textures. If it sounds too much, it actually isn’t, because it’s designed in such a way that all the elements complement each other well without the feeling of clashes.

 

Furthermore, the player is surrounded by 4 side towers, each with a Spider Mastermind, acting as turrets that chip away at the player’s health; the player can also view the vast lava pit expanse beyond, surrounded by red rock mountains.

 

Complementing the aesthetics is the equally impressive gameplay, taking place entirely in the central tower that doesn’t feel too cramped thanks to making use of almost the whole 1024. Each of four switches activate a trigger that crushes the Spider Masterminds, but they take their time doing it, so the Spider Masterminds still happily chip away at your health whilst you attack the horde within.

 

Combat is hard but fair, and gradually gets harder and harder as stronger enemies spawn around you, culminating with the cyberdemon at the end. Before the cyber, careful use of the rocket launcher is rewarded; once the cyber spawns though you have the BFG making it easy to finish off.

 

If there’s one criticism of this map, it is the anti-climactic ending of a single arch vile. As long as you still have BFG ammo then it’s an easy one-shot kill. Still, excellent map.

 

Map rankings:

Spoiler

Excellent (9/10): MAP27 (not far off 10)
Great (8/10): MAP03, MAP05, MAP06, MAP08, MAP32, MAP16, MAP17, MAP19, MAP24, MAP25, MAP26
Good (7/10): MAP10, MAP11, MAP12, MAP20
Decent (6/10): MAP01, MAP04, MAP09, MAP18, MAP23
Average (5/10): MAP02, MAP07, MAP31, MAP21, MAP22
Below-Average (4/10): MAP14
Poor (3/10): MAP15
Awful (2/10): MAP13 

 

[dobu gabu maru]

On 12/25/2019 at 5:38 PM, galileo31dos01 said:

Technically only single votes are allowed, right?

 

I'd prefer people to vote for only one thing but it's not a strict rule.

 

Speaking of, I'm going to do something really rare and change my vote over to:

 

+++ NOVA III

 

... because I gotta support my brethren. I'd definitely be happy to play HR2 but I know firsthand how much a project can benefit from having the club run through their beta.

Edited December 27, 2019 by dobu gabu maru

[erzboesewicht]

MAP27: Tower of Hades

 

We're approaching endgame territory! This is a simple, but very funny arena map, where you have to survive heavy fire from all sides while you wait for the access to the exit to be released. Not unlike MAP16, but imo much better done as it requires more strategy and provides means for several ways to complete it. The monster HP of this map should be enough to rival the combined total of most maps that came before, and no escape is possible because the bullets of your main foes, four Spider Masterminds, cover almost the whole map (there seems to be a very limited number of safe spots), and to flee the 1024x1024 area means instadeath. The start is actually pretty easy, you have to discriminate useful monsters (those that can help killing the spiders or at least get distracted by them) from useless ones like the notorious pinkies that only will get in your way and thus are top priority to kill. The most lethal part is a combined pinky-revenant-HK wave, in the latter half of the map where it's very easy to get cornered and you better resort to heavy weaponry which will be already available in full sight, also because stronger reinforcements are to arrive soon. A minor complaint: all keys are provided at the same time, which means one single key would have had almost the same effect but at least they add a bit of colour. Visually, the tower and the surroundings are also very nicely done. One of my favourites so far. (10/10)

 

Spoilers:
 

Spoiler

1) There is a very easy Pacifist way to solve the level. Simply dance around a bit without shooting and wait for the keys. I think it's actually not an oversight but more of a humourous addition, otherwise the imp could have been replaced with a shootable switch.
2) You can actually crush the spiders, just search a bit, I found it out after I already had cleared the map. However, I wouldn't kill all spiders this way, they're too helpful. Maybe killing one or two, to get a safe spot, would be the optimal strategy.

 

[Andromeda]

On 12/26/2019 at 8:42 PM, TheOrganGrinder said:

So, Hell Revealed II has something like four or five votes at this point, and this is a WAD that's noted (per the wiki) as being "quite possibly one of the most difficult WADs to date."  As of sixteen years ago.  I'm pretty aware of my shortcomings as a player; mostly when I'm playing through something with the DWMC, I do so on Hurt Me Plenty difficult, but for harder WADs (this has included the likes of Ancient Aliens and Sunlust) I tend to step down to Hey, Not Too Rough.  Collective expertise of Doomworld, I implore you: how do Hell Reavaled II and its then-vaunted, signature difficulty stack up to more modern offerings?

I have not played Hell Revealed II yet, but I've watched decino's playthrough of it on YouTube and it actually seems a bit easier than the first on the whole (which I've played). Taking the examples you mentioned, I think it's harder than Ancient Aliens but easier than Sunlust, so you might want to stick with HNTR.

 

MAP27: Tower of Hades (Congestion 1024)

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

 

With four levels to go, I was wondering whether we'd get to see a Spiderdemon in this set. Sure enough, there's FOUR in this level, as well as a Cyberdemon. This can be quite hectic, as monsters spawn in progressively harder waves while you're trying to avoid hitscan fire from the bosses, which due to their placement are not very good at infighting. After the marble pillars lower you can make a run for the exit, but getting 100% kills seems impossible... or is it?

 

Fortunately the author provided four well hidden switches, each triggering a crusher to kill one Spiderdemon, meaning you can focus exclusively on the monster waves, making this level much easier. Even easier? Don't fire a single shot and crush all the bosses, then wait for the keys to lower while nonchalantly dodging the imp's fireballs as no other monsters will spawn. The different ways this level can be tackled really add to its charm, as you can pick your poison so to speak. However, I think this level is too easy if you know about the crushers. I'd make the switches inaccessible until the ammo appears, that way you're forced to contend with the hitscan fire from the Spiderdemons for some time. Otherwise this is an awesome level, really fun and does not feel constrained by the 1024x1024 "limitation" at all despite its tiny size.

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP16: Deja View

MAP27: Tower of Hades

MAP24: Zyklon B

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP19: Lip Service

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP25: Stein und Stahl

MAP20: Claustrophobic Sting

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP18: Tutorial 99

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP21: Corpse Yard

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

MAP17: Omega Outpost

MAP23: Close Quarters

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP22: Prison Escape

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP26: Marbelous!

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 January 7, 2020 by Andromeda

[Havoc Crow]

MAP26: Marbelous!

 

This is one hard map, sometimes aggravatingly so (although nowhere as bad as "Gothika 1024"). I doubt you'll be able to complete it on the first try. The first tough moment is the first arch-vile: if you try to be clever and hide in the starting area, a bunch of imps will stab you in the back. The key to this fight seems to be, once you press the switch that releases the arch-vile, run back inside the starting area before he notices you, get rid of the imps, then kill the arch-vile. Oh — it would probably help if you lure the revenants onto the stairs beforehand, and later work to stop the arch-vile from reaching the boneheads.

 

Later on you meet the second arch-vile, who can also be an annoyance because of his tendency to revive the mancubuses and cacodemons. He's not that dangerous by himself, but if he revives too much meat, you might find yourself running low on ammo.

 

I really like the design of this map. It uses the 1024x1024 space well, and its decor is simple but tasteful (though that one missing floor tile in the main room kinda gets on my nerves; it's so... random).

 

MAP27: Tower of Hades

 

...Well, on my first try, I managed to break the map. I didn't attack the first imp at all (one of the spiderdemons did it for me) and, without me shooting my weapons, the monsters in the dummy sectors didn't wake up to teleport in. This resulted in a very confusing experience for me as I ran around the empty map for two minutes (befuddled as to what the author was thinking, making me wait for so long with nothing whatsoever to do) and then I had a whole bunch of monsters dumped on top of me at once, which were easy to kill with the BFG.

 

I was about to post a very flabbergasted review, until I read the others' posts and realized that I must have missed something. So I replayed the map, this time doing it properly. It was... rather underwhelming (on HMP at least). You're given ample firepower and health, and the spiderdemons aren't a problem thanks to the handy crushers, so you're in basically no danger throughout the map. Even the Cyberdemon is a piece of cake, since you're armed with a BFG and plenty of cells. And then there's the final battle against a single Arch-Vile which poses no threat whatsoever.

 

Visually, this map is quite excellent, but its arena gameplay is nowhere near as good as "Deja View". Maybe I'll try playing it on UV later, though.

Edited December 27, 2019 by JudgeDeadd

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP27: Tower of Hades

 

So, this is a funky map in a similar vein to MAP32, with the greater part of the level's monster population tucked away "offstage" and waiting to teleport in via a series of progressively larger and more dangerous attack waves.  Lording it over the proceedings are a quarter of Spider Masterminds; fortunately, you're provided with precisely the tools you need to take them out of the equation, though I imagine there are different approaches to be taken there, keeping them alive for part of the map's running time in the hope that their wildly-sprayed chaingun fire will draw some heat off you and save you more blood than it spills.  The scenery is gorgeous and the designer has taken the purely spatial constraint of the WAD's concept and disguised it neatly within the gameplay constraint of fighting off an invading army while perched atop a tall and precariously slender tower.

[erzboesewicht]

MAP28: A Bridge Too Far

 

This map is somewhat ... unbalanced. It begins in a good and violent way: you're placed on a bridge in the middle between two courtyards with high monster density. On the bridge you're safe, but to make progress you must leave it. It's a challenge to establish a foothold, above all because of the presence of several enemies with a high damage rate (mancubi and arachnotrons) and revenant snipers. You're responsible yourself to create some safe spaces. However, once you have cleared at least one of both areas, everything becomes much easier. You get a megasphere after most of the trouble is over, many of the remaining enemies can be rocketed from totally safe camping spots, and the two cacoswarms trying to harass you are very small (they could maybe cause more trouble if you should release them at the same time). A single archvile in a slightly awkward position to kill is one of the more threatening encounters of this sleep-inducing latter half, but as he cannot resurrect anybody he's also not really a concern. Also the Cybie can be taken out safely with rockets or SSG. It's a pity, the map really began in a style I liked, but then gameplay-wise went down to below-average level. I wonder if I broke the intended progression in some way? At least the visuals were nice, again with much marble but with some hellish infestations. (5/10)

[Pechudin]

Once again I am a bit behind, so let's catch up!

 

MAP25: Stein und Stahl

     Great music and gorgeous map design! The start can be rough if you are unprepared and do not react to ambushes fast enough, but after that it is mostly a breeze. I really liked how the map changes shape after a button is pressed, almost like the author got to have twice the room than imposed by the project restriction. The combat after the opening is on the easy side and might not be very fun for the combat - focused players, but for me visuals and atmosphere are primary, so this map ranks high on my scale.

 

MAP26: Marbelous!

    I find that marble - heavy maps can look somewhat boring, but this one mixes enough other colors (primarily red) to make it good - looking. The opening combat is fairly manageable save for the Archvile which can be somewhat RNG depending on what he ressurects, since you only have the regular shotgun to work with. I was fairly fortunate since in my case the Mancubus infought with the ledge Revenants, so I could save some ammo (not that I needed to, it was plentiful). The second hard encounter is again the Archvile. I failed to block him from coming down the stairs so he ressurected some pinkies and a Mancubus, but thankfully the Mancubus was too fat to get in front of him. After that it is straightfoward if you pick off the Revenants one by one. Uh, and the MIDI was also very good.

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP28: A Bridge Too Far

 

I was all set to post about how set piece battles and choreographed combat tend not to be my favourite style of encounter design, but really, within the constraints of a 1024-square bounding box, it's hard to have much in the way of "incidental" combat and I suspect we've already seen all that can be wrung from the format in that respect - so, on with the set pieces!  Here the player is tasked with raising a bridge and opening the gates that prevent transit once it's all assembled; it's as much of a narrative as can be expressed within the Doom engine and the limited space and running time of a map like this, and I think it makes good use of the available space while depicting (as does the previous map, by the same author) a greater, inaccessible-to-the-player environment that's the territory of the monsters.

 

Oh, and since I keep forgetting to do this:

 

+++ NOVA III

 

(Let's get it while it's still fresh, I figure; HR2 can wait 'til February)

[Pechudin]

MAP27: Tower of Hades

    I have absolutely no shame in cheesing any map provided a cheese strategy, for me finding and exploiting the cheese can in itself be fun (less charitable: you are bad at DooM). This is a long winded way of saying that, yes, I did abuse the crushers and yes, I did do one Pacifist run of this map (also, I dialed it down to HMP). I did do one legit run afterward, however.

    That being said, it is a nice looking map and the fight is tough but fair. I thank the mapper for the middle island that helps hide from the Cyberdemon while dodging other monsters. The floor was a bit bumpy, however which once made me slide off the edge into the abyss below.

 

MAP28: A Bridge too Far

    The start kind of reminds me of Plutonia MAP07, Caughtyard, what with its Mancubi on the floor and Revenants on the walkways above. Carve out a small niche for yourself and go out from there. Thankfully the map provides (atleast on HMP) the player with ample Cell ammo. The multiple Cacoswarms can be a problem if you let yourself be cornered but other than that it's fairly straightfoward afterwards.

[Horus]

MAP28 - “A Bridge Too Far” by The Flange Peddler

 

This map continues with the marble theme (basically Marble 1024 at this point :P), however this time the action is outside in the grounds of a fortress, interspersed with red crackled platforms, and other impressive details. It’s a hectic map right from the get-go with revenants all around. And yet dropping down reveals more bestiary, so is no safe haven.

 

The reward for surviving that fight and scaling the rocky slope is a megasphere and a BFG. Consequently, as others pointed out, the battles to get to the three keys are relatively trivial, especially as ammo is abundant. Only at the end once the cyberdemon spawns with its supporting cast do things creep up in difficulty again. Enjoyable map, and plus points for using the TNT track Death’s Bells

 

Map rankings:

Spoiler

Excellent (9/10): MAP27
Great (8/10): MAP03, MAP05, MAP06, MAP08, MAP32, MAP16, MAP17, MAP19, MAP24, MAP25, MAP26, MAP28
Good (7/10): MAP10, MAP11, MAP12, MAP20
Decent (6/10): MAP01, MAP04, MAP09, MAP18, MAP23
Average (5/10): MAP02, MAP07, MAP31, MAP21, MAP22
Below-Average (4/10): MAP14
Poor (3/10): MAP15
Awful (2/10): MAP13 

 

[Octillion]

MAP27 - “Tower of Hades” by Cycloid.

 

    What an adrenaline rush... This was intense. I attempted to do a passive run, but failed miserably and got myself killed. I think the bumps are intentional here, to further restrict your movement and it succeeded in scoring a second death. I beat it the third time, without much trouble. Very straightforward, action-packed, a nice midi, and overall cool aesthetic, making this the first 9/10 in the mapset.

 

MAP28 - “A Bridge Too Far” by The Flange Peddler.

 

    A marble fortress that hosts a lot of everyone's favorite monster, revenant. It seems these last maps are very fast-paced and chock full of action, and I don't mind it one bit. You might get hit a lot here, but thankfully you start with a mega armor to tank most of the damage. Another cacoswarm here that is easily dispatched with the BFG. The one moment that caught me off-guard was the BK archvile, since you might burn to death if you had a different weapon out then the BFG. And finally, a cyberdemon to close things out. Overall, it was a good map with a nice TNT midi.

 

Death Counter:-

Spoiler

 

18. (One on Map02 - One on Map09 - Four on Map10 - Two on Map11 - One on Map13 - One on Map19 - One on Map22 - Two on Map23 - One on Map24 - Two on Map 26 - Two on Map27)

 

 

 

Rankings:-
 

Spoiler

 

9/10 - (Map 27)

8/10 - (Maps 6, 8, 9, 32, 19, 28)

7/10 - (Maps 3, 10, 12, 31, 16, 17, 22, 24, 25)

6/10 - (Maps 1, 5, 7, 11, 20)

5/10 - (Maps 2, 4, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 26)

 

 

[Andromeda]

MAP28: A Bridge Too Far (Congestion 1024)

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

 

This level starts off with a Revenant immediately attacking your backside, effectively a glimpse of the pain you'll have to endure. Staying in the bridge is not recommended as you'll have to dodge a large amount of enemy fire without much room to manoeuvre, so I drop down to the left side and start clearing my way to the BFG9000 with the plasma gun. So far so good. The trouble comes later after grabbing the blue key - well, you can technically proceed slowly here but it's more exhilarating to grab all the keys and activate all the switches, then quickly teleport to the bridge and nuke the Cyberdemon as it's infighting with the cacodemons.

 

Hopefully you managed to do it before the cacodemons surround the bridge, preventing your escape if you're not fast enough to punch a hole through them. After this, it's a matter of clearing out the remaining monsters and exit. This is a really fun level, that encourages playing at a blistering pace but I feel it lacks a certain something which I can't pinpoint, maybe it's too short? Either way, good level with a cool TNT MIDI.

 

Levels in order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP16: Deja View

MAP27: Tower of Hades

MAP24: Zyklon B

MAP08: A Jagged Stroll

MAP15: Bantam

MAP19: Lip Service

MAP12: Warehouse 667

MAP25: Stein und Stahl

MAP20: Claustrophobic Sting

MAP10: Gothika 1024

MAP18: Tutorial 99

MAP06: Departure Point

MAP11: Caco District

MAP21: Corpse Yard

MAP32: Nullspace Junior

MAP17: Omega Outpost

MAP28: A Bridge Too Far

MAP23: Close Quarters

MAP02: Garden of the Descent

MAP22: Prison Escape

MAP03: Dilapidation

MAP07: Dead Small

MAP26: Marbelous!

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 January 7, 2020 by Andromeda

[vdgg]

The title on the tally screen reads " A Bridge To Far", a nice pun IMO. I mean, I'm not native English, this is probably gramatically incorrect, but for me "far" could be a noun, a synonym to "distance". Alas, 1024.txt has "too far", disappointing!

[dobu gabu maru]

Hell Revealed 2 and NOVA III are tied with 4 votes each.

[Jaws In Space]

+++ Nova 3

[Octillion]

MAP29 - “Magus” by Potgiesser.

 

    Another marble structure, this time we're inside. I liked the red crosses that act as light sources on the ceiling. Since I play in "Dark" mode on GZdoom, the atmosphere could've been better with a slower-paced midi, or something creepier. Then again, this was 2005. The combat was a letdown, I thought it would be like the last two seeing the high monster count, but it wasn't. It's mostly door combat and a lot of teleports, forcing the player to camp most of the time. And the finale was disappointing, just a horde of imps while you are fully geared with megarmor, soulsphere and tons of cells.

 

Death Counter:-

Spoiler

 

18. One on Maps (2, 9, 13, 19, 22, 24)

      Two on Maps (11, 23, 26, 27)

      Four on Map (10)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rankings:-

Spoiler

 

9/10 - (Map 27)

8/10 - (Maps 6, 8, 9, 32, 19, 28)

7/10 - (Maps 3, 10, 12, 31, 16, 17, 22, 24, 25)

6/10 - (Maps 1, 5, 7, 11, 20)

5/10 - (Maps 2, 4, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21, 23, 26, 29)

 

 

Edited December 29, 2019 by Octillion

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP29: Magus

 

The early levels of Congestion 1024 left me thinking of the whole project as one that wasn't really trying to have a theme or story, going from one map to the next; you've got techbase environments, temples, outdoor areas, and demonic castles all kind of mixed together and shaken up, waiting for you to reach in and pick out one nibble-sized treat after another, like a bowl of jelly beans without a flavour card to tell you what each is supposed to be.  From MAP25 onward, though, we've been firmly entrenched in the aesthetic of classic Doom Hellscapes: marble and metal, gargoyles and lava, scorched red rock and cancerously bloated viny growths everywhere.  This level continues in that vein, setting out an assortment of claustrophobic dungeon chambers through which the player must struggle against an onslaught of demonic meat.  Gameplay relies heavily on repopulating the map with successive waves of reinforcements, flooding previously-cleared spaces with fresh foes to carve your way through on a return trip from key or switch to door; I wasn't a fan of the way that the first of these waves sputtered out after a while, with stragglers shambling in at irregular intervals and leaving me wondering "okay, am I sure that all the monsters have teleported in, is it safe to press ahead?" while standing about a bit non-plussed.  Later there's a bit of a sense that the map has run out of ideas and its trying to make up for quality with quantity; "here, have a whole bunch of pinkie demons," and then "here, have an even bigger bunch of imps," are the ideas behind two encounters that use of something like three-fifth of the map's monster population between them.  If you've been paying attention to your automap, then you'll probably see the death exit coming, you know that there's a 1024-square bounding box around the level and about a quarter of it is empty as you step beneath the exit sign and into the teleporter, and what else might be on the other side (and in that remaining chunk of unused player-navigable real estate) except a nasty not-such-a-surprise?

[erzboesewicht]

MAP29: Magus

 

196 monsters on 1024x1024? Well, let's go for it, must be a miniature slaughtermap. The start is surprisingly quiet, it's a mix of "enemies in front of you" and some minor warp-ins behind you. But still small groups and not hard, not unlike the start of MAP25. There are two archviles, but they are pretty pointless, as they have very limited resurrection power and there is always cover to hide. Then, after the yellow door, the monster groups begin to become bigger, and the plasma shoot-out of the big pinky wave is the first standout encounter. I would have thrown some more monsters in the mix as companions of the poor lonely revenant whose "meat wall" qualities are almost zero. Then what's left after the red door? Imps, and about 100 of them, in two separated spaces. Overall, I had fun with this map, it's an exercise of putting some "slaughter light" in a very restricted space. But more variety in monster usage after the red key would have been the key to make it a really great map, also because we're already at MAP29 and I would have expected if not a boss fight so at least some mid-tiers thrown into the exit battle. About the visuals: there are some nice spots that give the impression of a chapel or another kind of religious place, but overall it's a bit blocky. (6/10)

 

PS: I'll have probably not enough time to play in the club in January, so I won't vote for the mapset of next month.

Edited December 29, 2019 by erzboesewicht

[Havoc Crow]

MAP28: A Bridge Too Far

 

Set in an infernal pit split in two halves, with you forced to shuffle back and forth across the wall/bridge in the middle. From the very beginning there are crowds squeezing you from all around, and even once you thin out the initial lineup, new beasts will keep teleporting in.

 

I loved this map. Each encounter feels fun, and exploits the map's crampedness to the max. The most memorable encounter is oddly the most dull one, namely the cyberdemon that 'ports onto the bridge. About the only safe way to kill it is to stay down on the ground and keep firing at it while its rockets are blocked by the bridge parapet.

 

The visuals are top-notch, placing you in a beautifully sculpted marble castle that extends beyond the map's area, giving the feeling of being in a small part of some large structure.

 

MAP29: Magus

 

The beginning feels really oppressive. Monsters keep irregularly teleporting all around you, and it takes a moment before you finally reach a safe locale. Once you do make it to the chamber with the first key, things mellow down, as long as you keep a cool head during the arch-vile fight and don't let yourself get ambushed by the monsters teleporting in as you make your way back to the start. The fight beyond the keyed door is tame, since there are no longer any miscreants ambushing you from behind and you can easily get some infighting going. The demon wave that appears after you pick up the plasma gun can be deadly if you underestimate its threat, but the plasma rifle lets you keep them at bay. Finally, there is an easy room full of imps to get past, and the final battle against a teleporting imp horde, which is nevertheless a simple matter if you have plasma. All in all, the difficulty curve feels a bit out of whack, but on the other hand the visuals are gorgeous (the red crosses are particularly memorable) and the Chrono Trigger music is a welcome addition.