The DWmegawad Club plays: Akeldama

[Deadwing]

MAP 9

 

Map 9 shares the same environments for the previous maps in this episode, with a new twist: Hell has arrived into the icelands of Akeldama. The layout of the map is also pretty mosti-esque, with lots of irregular shapes and interesting interconnections. Monster placement works really well too, and takes advantage of the roaming enemies. I decided to igore the PE after grabbing the first key, only to find him later with lots of others enemies wanting to kill me. The final and the crusher trap were pretty cool too, althogh I'm pretty sure the crushers didn't work as intended because they started moving after I killed everyone lol

 

Anyway, another really fun map and one of my favorites so far from the wad.

 

MAP Preference

 

4, 5, 9, 7, 1, 8, 3, 2, 6

[Phobus]

MAP09: Winter Stronghold

Very nice 90s-style layout, with the corridors off of a central area at odd angles and most of the lines not following any orthogonal grid that I could detect, both indoors and out. Visuals kept to the same high standard as the rest of the map set, but with the added variance of some bloody themes to catch the eye. Ammo, health and armour placement all seemed generous, with two blue armour pickups easily accessible, two green armours, a berserk and a soulsphere all stumbled across despite me missing two secrets. This meant that the mixture of hitscanners and heavier foes could do some damage without me feeling hard done by and gave me a sensation of freedom to get in amongst the enemies more readily. Add in the generally "open" layout (where you can normally take at least two routes into a given room and have a few options in most fights) and this map encourages plenty of bravery and swashbuckling - particularly on continuous. The music was good, too.

 

In short, a well-made, fun map that capitalises on the expectations fostered by the format and the project goal. No complaints from me!

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP09: Winter Stronghold

 

I figure I'm not the only one whose first impression at the beginning of this map was a variation on the theme of Doom II MAP08, with the player starting out in a hub area amidst doors and hallways branching off in all directions.  It's an engaging map that quite deliberately eschews right angles and orthogonal orientation for most of its layout, gradually opening up from a dense knot of corridors and distinctly separated encounter nodes into a more free-from playground in the last one-third or so of its running time, as the player descends to look out over the frozen wastse surrounding the stronghold.  The author is generous with the power-ups, with two soul spheres and three blue armour vests available along with plentiful weapons and other bonuses; it's an approach that lets the gloves come off and makes very palatable the toothiness of certain encounters (for example, the yellow key cave which has the potential to go wrong in quite spectacular ways).  I will say that I'm ready at this point for the WAD to change things up a bit thematically; we've had "dense, tangled techbase in a wintry setting" for three maps now and although each has approached the theme from its own direction I wouldn't turn down a map that throws more in the way of open areas or significant verticality or a more map-wide consistency of appearance into the mix.

[Arbys550]

Map08: Arctic Compound

 

I loved the use of revenants here. I always love a good rev horde to practice the rocket dodging skills. Everything else was awesome as well. The only thing that irked me was that I didn't know the archvile was telefraggable and so I wasted a lot of ammo on him. When I entered that teleporter for the first time I also didn't get the RL so I had to come back mid fight to grab it. I also wish there were rockets at the yellow key so that I didn't have to use the SSG against the big rev swarm.

 

Video:

Spoiler

 

 

Ranking:

Spoiler

Map08: Arctic Compound

Map06: Insurrection

Map07: Carnage Facility

Map02: Knights of Ilasac

Map03: Renegades

Map04: Chillwell

Map01: The Generator

Map05: Bunker Hill

 

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP09 - "Winter Stronghold" - Matthew "The Mysterious Moustachio" D. (100%K/99%I/50%S):

This looks like Phobos on ice, a really nice map that follows the line of the previous snowy maps in terms of looks, it mixes some things we have already seen on MAP05 or MAP04, with ice grottos, techbases and "light-brown brick" textures. The map also has a "hellish" cave in the easternmost part of it. Mixes many things into the table with the main focus of the episode. I really like some things, I don't like others, specially the crusher room, that if my memory does not serve me bad, I remember said room to be a Ghost Monster factory, at least on UV, where the Arch-Vile spawned near that zone. I also feel like most of the crushers here were removed. I remember this part of the level to be more annoying on beta-testing than it is right now, but that I think is something good.
The sideview at the end yard with the ocean is a really nice touch, also, the encounters here are the best the map can offer. Again, nothing surprising as with MAP08, but certainly more challenging, also, more straightforward.
Another thing about this map is that it feels bigger than it actually is, not a really big map here.

Deaths: 10 (HMP Playthrough - Chocolate Doom)

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

MAP05
MAP06
MAP04
MAP09
MAP08
MAP07
MAP03
MAP02
MAP01

I like snow because we don't get that much here in the southern hemisphere, at least in my city, but yes, it may get a little bit old here in Akeldama, luckily there are some interludes.

[Andromeda]

MAP09: Winter Stronghold (Akeldama)

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

 

Eh, this one didn't grab my attention as much. The start is hectic and you're left scrambling for better weaponry as the duo of revenants appears around the corner. I eventually stumbled into the yellow key area and the super shotgun, which released a pain elemental that was tricky to dispose of due to the awkward terrain. SSG in hand, let's dispatch the evil boneheads - finally some peace! Really enjoyed this start, shame that the level doesn't keep up the good momentum and kinda peters out until the end. Sure, there's some interesting bits like the red key zone and the crusher room but the combat is a letdown, plenty of monsters but they're not very threatening. The neat detail and the well designed layout definitely improve my impression of the level, but I'm still left feeling a little underwhelmed overall.

[Snikle]

MAP09: Winter Stonghold

Really fun map here. The opening area with the circular spoked halls and was interesting and fun. There was some really nice areas towards the end of the map where you went into some sort of shipping area outside. Another highlight was the room with the walkover-activated crushers/doors, that you needed to time right in order to get to the next area, while also trying to crush the monsters. There was also a secret door in this area, one I found before finding the real door. Lucky me. One thing I noticed about this level, in contrast to the others in this WAD so far, is that the key quests were usually pretty short. Getting the key was like a single fight, and then the door was pretty much next to it. I personally enjoy all these variables in progression, keeps the maps feeling fresh. Not that they’d need any help with visuals and layouts this enjoyable to begin with though.

[DuckReconMajor]

6 hours ago, DJVCardMaster said:

I like snow because we don't get that much here in the southern hemisphere, at least in my city, but yes, it may get a little bit old here in Akeldama

LOL people still love techbases after all these years, you could make the whole wad just snow I'm not going to get tired of it.

f snow irl though, unless I'm inside watching comfortably from my window and not having to walk, shovel, or drive in it.

 

MAP09: Winter Stonghold

prBoom+ 2.5.1.7um, skill 4, continuous with saves, no complevel specified

 

This map kept me running and the monster placement was balanced just right to keep things exciting throughout pretty much the entire map.

At the end I did hear a door open that I could not subsequently locate. I spent some time looking for it but eventually gave up.

The seemingly disjointed themes throughout the map were pretty jarring, but not in a way that detracted from the experience.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Woolie Wool]

MAP10: Hangar Facility by The Mysterious Moustachio and Valkiriforce (3/5)

Skill: HMP | Time: 23:59 | Kills: 100% | Items: 98% | Secrets: 100%

This large industrial map gives off even more Tom Hall vibes than the last two, this time feeling like a Hall map split in half by a watery gorge and the windows--or whatever they're meant to be--in the cliffs looking down on the bridge below give me impressions of "2fort" from Team Fortress, but other than that the sights are pretty mundane box-shaped (and often box-filled) rooms for the most part. Gameplay is pretty mundane too, even easier to the previous maps. Even the big blowout battle with a spiderdemon and an entourage of high-tier enemies late in the map solves itself through infighting and a conveniently-placed ring of barrels, and the usual waves of hitscanners are easily dispatched with minimal risk using standard pie-slicing techniques. This map also has way, way, way too much symmetry that makes already simplistic and repetitive gameplay even more stilted. Needs more style and more teeth.

[lirui1001]

Map08: Arctic Compound

Time: 7m56s

 

On 7/8/2020 at 9:20 PM, DJVCardMaster said:

and Valkiriforce did the monster/item placements

That can explain why there is little health in this map :( 

 

There are 2 green armors in this map but one is on the shotgun guy platform, so if you grab that armor you will definitely lose about 10 secs.

 

Also since the average time of maps in akeldama is long so the table filling will cost plenty of time...

 

 

 

[Arbys550]

Map09: Winter Stronghold

 

It was okay. I didn't really like the use of pain elementals. The terrain in those two fights were so awkward and I hate awkward terrain. Two other things that irked me a little bit were the fact that cacos could get pushed back a thousand miles in the last fight. I also was slightly miffed by the caco behind the fake wall gag. That's one of those tropes I wished would have died in the 90s.

 

Also looking above it seems that that one room used to be a ghost monster factory? Thank goodness that was changed cause that's another of my pet peeves.

 

Video:

Spoiler

 

 

Ranking:

Spoiler

Map08: Arctic Compound

Map06: Insurrection

Map07: Carnage Facility

Map02: Knights of Ilasac

Map03: Renegades

Map04: Chillwell

Map09: Winter Stronghold

Map01: The Generator

Map05: Bunker Hill

 

Edited July 13, 2020 by Arbys550

[Endless]

MAP09: Winter Stonghold

UV, LZDoom and Brutal Doom mod.

 

This was an interesting map. It is full of rooms and different paths to take, but at no time is it confusing or lost, in fact it is one of the simplest despite being medium sized. It only asks for 2 keys (a miracle) and is quick to complete, but is combat-filled and intense on both sides. It was quite fun and I enjoyed the final fights, right after the interesting room with the crushers, although right there I think I found a little bug or maybe it's part of the game mechanics, but apparently the crushers would be disabled if I went through the soulsphere again, weird.

Overall, I liked this map quite a bit, I love simple but intense maps that don't make you go around too much and give you a consistent but entertaining map.

[Deadwing]

MAP 10

 

That was a really fun map! As Woolie said, a bit easier than the previous ones, even though here you get the SMM reveal, in a surprising casual way but still fun due to in-fighting ready to go. There are also more arch-villes than the usual, but they won't offer much challenge. The level starts as being your standard box maze, with a nice crate maze but with a big cracter in the central area, which gives you some nice view and a strong identity for the map. Afterwards it becomes some sort of tech-base crawling that leads to a TNT-esque finale with the cute trucks in the latest section. Thematically it's very consistent and the whole map is well balanced, apart from the Plasma Gun area, which due to a barrage of Chaingunners you will be forced to duck in the cover and take one by one 3/4 Mancubi and Revenants + 1 Baron.

 

Anyway, one of my favorites along with 4 and 5.

 

MAP Preference

 

10, 4, 5, 9, 7, 1, 8, 3, 2, 6

[Biodegradable]

MAP10 - Hangar Facility

HMP | Continuous Play with Saves | Running on GZDoom + Hellrider

 

This one felt packed to the rafters with demons and I caught my first death here, though I feel it was mainly to me being careless and sloppy, so it's a really clumsy death. The map itself is really wide, making it feel like more of a slaughtermap but it's also got a lot of verticality to play around with. I think this is the map I've had the most fun with in terms of combat, just lots of little thrilling moments for me personally with the different set pieces. Level design is on the more interesting side and I liked the use of heights and the monster closets towards the end certainly had me panicking and running for cover hehe. This one really had me feeling more of the heat I felt back in MAP07 and I hope there's more where that came from for MAP11. There is beauty in its simplicity and, although MAP09 was better in my opinion, this one is also a better stand-out to me. Both of them I like a lot better than MAP08 and feel more in line with MAP07 with more unique level designs that keep you guessing. Or at the very least, they do for a Doom greenhorn like me ;^) :^P Yeah, just lots of fun to be had. Very much enjoyed this one for the combat scenarios alone.

 

Gameplay footage:

Spoiler

 

 

[TheOrganGrinder]

MAP10: Hangar Facility

 

For me this map is characterised by a strong sense of "macrostructure" that hasn't really been a thing since MAP04 or maybe MAP06, with its large underlying shapes and structural elements around and into which the gameplay spaces are built, versus the overall feel of MAP07-MAP09 with any large-scale structure emerging organically from a series of smaller, gameplay-oriented decisions.  I don't feel that either approach is especially better or worse than the other, merely that they're different and create different gameplay experience, and variety is always a nice thing to encounter in a WAD, especially one that's otherwise trying to maintain consistency of theme and aesthetic throughout.

 

That kind of macrostructure-first approach to design doesn't have to lead to heavily structured or set-piece-centric gameplay but there is a degree of that here when the Spider Mastermind comes out to play, although the combat leading up to and stepping down from that climactic encounter is of a more incidental variety for the most part.  Things are a little uneven toward the start of the map, with long lines of sight and hitscanners cloaked in darkness able to chip away at your health in a way that feels best countered through an abundance of caution.  It's also somewhat less generous with supplies than the preceding map, so the secret soul sphere and blue armour are nicely tucked away and feel well-earned, although it's possibly an odd mapping choice to put them both relatively close to the start of the level; at least you have the option of saving them for later if you find them early, or returning to scour the complex for hidden valuables at the end of play if you haven't otherwise found them at all.

[Phobus]

MAP10: Hangar Facility

This map feels like it would've been a highlight in Evilution. You've got the trucks near the end, the warehouse with the offices and the glass that can't be shot through, the abundance of hitscanners and the big corridors and and sense-of-place moments, like with the outside area that is reminiscent of HOOVER.WAD - a classic, IMO.

 

Coming in fully stocked (aside from the BFG and only having just over 100 health) and stumbling across the soulsphere secret early on gave me a sense of security that later turned out to be quite false. I was predicting the traps and ambushes, the enemies were mostly in front of me, supplies seemed fine and I got to all of the weapon pickups before going to the progression area up the stairs in the first main corridor. Sure, some of the areas were dark and the hitscanners were steadily chipping away, but then I got to the secret blue armour and picked it up way before I needed to. All good, I thought! The map has been pretty safe so far...

 

Then I got a bit of a scare on the bridge, but avoided the damage despite reacting late to the Hell Knight behind me. Then I realised my rockets were getting a bit low. Still, not a big deal, right? Plenty of plasma to go around...

 

Then the Spider Mastermind happened. In itself, that was fine, but I stood a bit close to a barrel as I set some others off in the chain, so that knocked some health and armour off. Then I worked myself into a bit of a corner because of the Arachnotrons and Mancubi coming through the corridor, whilst I was trying to keep the Barons and Knights between me and the almost-dead Mastermind. I ended up down to about 30-odd health by the time I'd cleared that fight, and I'd used up a lot of plasma. This is where I started to realise that I was actually depleting my supplies quite a lot here! There was a green armour and plenty of health around, even with Arch-Viles and stuff to fight. As it happened, most of the rest of the fights were pretty safe, so although I took the odd hit, I managed to finish on 100/100 anyway (courtesy of a late, additional green armour).

 

I like the sense of place the map fosters and enjoyed my playing experience. I do wonder how tight things would be from a pistol start, though. I definitely left with significantly less ammo than I came in with, and I rather suspect I didn't leave too many pickups early in the map when I didn't need them. Could've been less wasteful with the blue armour, obviously, but the choices of enemy and effectiveness of the big climactic fight always ensured I'd be taking damage.

[Andromeda]

MAP10: Hangar Facility (Akeldama)

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

 

Now I thought this was great! Starts lukewarm with two areas riddled with hitscanners, where you're put in the backfoot a bit until you find some armor. Afterwards you can explore a few optional rooms that have some important supplies but are also populated by a few midtiers, then it's time to cross the bridge. Another calm section with huge rectangular "blocks" in the middle - hmm, this looks suspicious... Ah there we go, the blocks raise revealing some monsters and plenty of barrels, which you can use to kill the arachnotrons immediately (or let them kill themselves, whichever you prefer).

 

This goofy setup really had me cracking up, was not expecting it :) We can now admire the gorgeous vista over the canyon in peace before tackling the next area. More barrels, more Dead Simple enemies and a circular staircase going down to where the red key is located. After the red door lies my favourite part of the level. It starts with a big room filled with - you guessed it, mancubi, arachnotrons along with a few hell knights and lots of hitscanners. Suffice to say I instigated some infighting and noped out of there, returning later to off the two surviving arachnotrons. We eventually arrive outside, with a truck in plain view and a trailer buried in the snow in a more secluded place. Inside it we have the switch that opens the gate - freedom at last!

Edited July 10, 2020 by Andromeda

[Snikle]

MAP10: Hangar Facility

Mixed feelings on this one. The beginning and ending of the map kind of annoyed me with all the turreted hitscanners everywhere. I missed the yellow key somehow and then happened across all the optional areas and secrets before eventually finding it. After that things were looking up, the large fight with all the barrels and nobles and the Mastermind was amazing, highlight of the level. The canyon was amazing to look at, I always love huge canyons in doom. Being able to make this one work in vanilla made it even more impressive. After getting the red key it went downhill again, with a lot of sergeants and chaingunners in high places (in those two side areas to the main L-shaped arena) which did me in a few times. I can’t imagine being one of those no-save players for this part (most of them are better at Doom than I am, but still). Still enjoyed the level as a whole, I believe, just had some parts that got on me a bit.

[DuckReconMajor]

MAP10: Hangar Facility

prBoom+ 2.5.1.7um, skill 4, continuous with saves, no complevel specified

 

I still will always love areas with a bunch of crates. And the trucks from Marswar are back too!

Not quite as much my tempo as yesterday's map, but still quite a bit of fun.

 

The big canyon area made me think of the Plutonia MAP02 canyon.

At one point I hopped back out from the far side of the canyon due to monster buildup. I tried to fire rockets from the other side but it was too far for autoaim which was frustrating. I actually had to wade into the water to do it, which did end up working and I went back up into what ended up being the hardest part of the map.

 

I really liked that quaint little office with the computer.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Pseudonaut]

Map10: FDA including 2 deaths, no exit.

 

When I die this far into a map, I don't really feel like doing another saveless attempt without knowing what the rest of the map is like. I came back later and finished it with saves. I might just do this from now on whenever I die in the latter half of a map.

 

It's a large map with a lot of monsters, but the density of monsters is low enough that there is plenty of space to run around and shoot anything that moves with the SSG, at least some of the time. Some encounters are most easily solved with infighting, as with the Spider Mastermind. On the other hand, the fight near the plasma gun (with the mancubi, revenants, and turreted chaingunners) seemed really awkward at first, but it can be done aggressively.

 

It's a decent map. Doesn't really resonate with me, kinda like map06. I find the three previous maps more interesting and fun.

[loveless]

guess who's got internet again? this motherfucker 

guess who's making a long-ish post?  this motherfucker 

 

prboom+, no saves, uv pistol starts  
 
 

Spoiler

 

map 1 

hitscan trap outside of the blue key building was so cruel!  
clinging to life with sub-10hp and a dream, not a piece of armor in sight.  
setting and atmosphere were great, haven't used software render in a while so i'm taking in the visuals while i can.  
the midi was a great addition to an already pleasant visual experience.  

 

map 2 

peak map 2 was this hell knight getting stuck in the door on my way into the eastern side of the map from spawn.  
went through, ran back, and let everything trickle in while i shotgunned from safe distance.  
however, the homie was stopped dead in his tracks and became the proverbial fish in barrel.
the following area, i have no fucking clue how i took so much damage that quickly.
i was thinking the dream was dead at 1hp but somehow managed some quick snipes.  
second to last real fight felt a bit free, the sort of thing i dislike out of principle.  
not everything should be tight lock-in and hopeless but stairs with block lines do have their place. 

 

map 3 

ssg? map 3? ooh, we're turning up the heat a little!  
nice bit of progression and some sweet e4 vibes, you're making me nostalgic for childhood doomin!  
i have crispy setup with my old keyboard control, i really should be replay doom1 sometime as it's been too long.  
the progression onto blue key and forward could've benefited from an additional caco.  
two in the front, one hittin it from the back, or maybe one in front and two in the back?  
let's take the mullet philosophy and keep a presentable appearance facing forward.  
progressing further, i think this is the most i have killed in a single shot, 5 shotgunners at one time.  
unless a shotgunner was able to one-shot another, which would be pretty lit.  
i'm not sure if that's even possible but i'm not too hung up on it.  

 

map 4 

my first death!  we're starting to see the length i recall from playing this in coop last week.  
i can't remember exactly how many maps i played, want to say about half of them, but alcohol was involved.
the number of maps played could be in any range.  that final trap was a bit harsh!  
i was truly scared of rocketing myself against a lost soul or another monster i happened to dash around.
fortunately, the chaingunners were dispatched quickly and i was able to hold down a spot to win the fight. 

 

map 5 

we found the heat!  classic run-n-gun opening, sprinklings of ammo and health, and a dash of perched hitscan and project pressure to keep the player moving.  
i am not sure what caused this but there was a completely inactive cacodemon outside of red key.  
baiting a revenant missile was enough fire under it's ass to get going.  
the blue key fight was the biggest point of contention for me.  
it took 4 attempts to survive and on the 5th attempt i was able to survive and ultimately exit the map.  
whatever the struggle, the soulsphere secret made it worthwhile and brought peace of mind.  
the narrow hall fights behind blue key doors got SPICY!  rockets proved useful but spectres in software mode make themselves known.  
i'm really seeing how overpowered gl rendering is, these guys are tougher to spot! 

 

map 6 

dying my second attempt to the revenants guarding the exit was soul crushing.  
i had to go outside, walk around in the yard for a bit, and eat an orange to rebuild motivation.  
much like a recent wad, after grabbing red key we wrap to the beginning in order to progress.  
pushing the imps with ssg was pretty fun, it's a shame there weren't few more with shotgunners sprinkled about.  
dealing with the spectres in the slime pit was tough due to visibility.  
i'm not used to playing in software yet, i think this is going to be a struggle.  
there was a decent mix of mid tiers but i felt myself wanting more. 

 

map 7

viles rapidly teleporting from post top post, a classic trap.  
early ammo scarcity made itself apparent by the warehouse lift room.  
the ending of the corridor from the vile posts had an interesting end cap.  
nice e4 vibes, always a thumbs up from me.  
there were a few fun traps, most notably the outdoor falling walls with pillars and the pit with monsters teleporting in, walking left and right.  
while i enjoyed myself, i feel that the last two maps have suffered due to their length.  
there's lots of good content here but it's stretched out a bit further than i like. 

 

map 8 

i really, REALLY need to pay attention to lift texture usage.  
my inability to notice particular tropes is impacting my ability to find progression.  
you know, that lift you take to the lower levels after grabbing ssg.  
i'm not minding the position-heavy stance taken to enemy placement.  
it's lots of hitscan followed by pinkies and some mid tiers,  setups for infighting are essential due to the paced ammo pickups.  
the finale!  this is why i hang on to rockets and lean ssg; the situations i wait for. 

 

map 9 

not too much to say.  i enjoyed the first outdoor, snow arena bit and the following fight ay yellow key.  
it was only after that i realized an ssg was being offered.  i should be trying to push through and into the fights a bit more.  
i have too strong a habit of holding down one spot, this is not getting me stronger weapons when needed most.  
it felt good to get the cell and mega armor secret.  the last stretch of this map was a cruise. 

 

map 10 

i'm not normally a fan of the run-n-gun style approach to hot starts but the rest of the map made this worth it.  
there was a cool fight down some stairs early on after grabbing ssg.  i enjoyed leading the mid tiers to the steps and forcing a pinch with myself and the perched imps.  
those area denial chaingunners within were something i didn't make use of but at least i didn't die to them.
yellow key bridge was another fun pinch to create.  zip behind the hell knight to duck, dodge, dip, dive, and dodge.  
SMM reveal and the following crowd control was a fun fight!  my first demo recording of two nobles duking it out!  
the last time i had anything like this was watching an arach explode a barrel onto another arach in BTSX E1, shame i don't have a demo of that.  
from this point onto the exit is gold.  bits of pressure here and there, little bit of back tracking, and onto more enemies every step forward.  
these doomcute trucks are sending me back to Mars War; i half-expected the first truck switch to be the exit!  

 

 

lads and lasses, good to be back.

akeldama maps 1-10.7z

[head_cannon]

I finally found the time to give Akeldama a shot. The Vanilla-Compatible subgenre is my jam, and it's another new release like last month, which is exciting. Hopefully I'll be able to do some catching up this weekend.

 

-Crispy Doom, UV Continuous

 

MAP01 - The Generator

 

The reveal of the snowy outdoor environment was striking. It and the E1 sky work well together. And I also like how the stock textures have been woven together in new combinations, keeping the architecture clean and functional while spicing things up visually. The view from the exit platform was a nice touch, as was the way the blue key was revealed. I thought the pillars along the outside wall of the grand hall added depth to the visuals, and also had a useful function to keep the Imp snipers spaced evenly instead of letting them wander and clump up.

The waves of teleporting monsters work inside the grand "temple" bunker when the key is taken and the alarm is raised, but the earlier bunker is obnoxious in how it dumps a pile on hitscanners onto your head when you approach the front door.

 

MAP02 - Knights of Ilasac

 

The opening room is awesome, as the minibosses each announce their challenge to their player with a roar before teleporting away to prepare to ambush you later. And the map delivers on that promise. I'm glad that it (mostly) wasn't rude "gotcha" moments, but instead entertaining setpiece battles where you find yourself surrounded and have to shoot your way out. I thought that the neat little elevator boss fight was cool, and then of course the level had one last sting in its tail.

I did find it a bit strange how the opening battle includes a Pinky Demon who's stranded up on the landing by the yellow door and can only watch helplessly. Ah well. Overall this one's an early favorite. I really liked the classical "industrial facility transmuted into a demonic castle" aesthetics of this map, and in particular have to praise the way that many buildings had windows displaying the rows of monuments outside. The added depth looked cool.

 

MAP03 - Renegades

 

I ended up diving right into the SSG room, and then it was a frantic melee in that small brick cistern as I tried to clear the Pinkies off of my ledge while keeping the Cacodemons floating in the center, which was complicated by the low-tier mobs wandering in from elsewhere. I question the usefulness/point of the escape hatch in that room, but the secret's concealment in darkness was well done. Something I thought was particularly clever about the blue key room is that the bridge you raise out of the floor to access the upper level also serves as a barrier if you panic and fall back into the center when the trap springs.

Rockets are still a scare resource at this stage of the game, so I had no choice but to immediately dive down when the water started to lower in the exit building rather than try to catch the monsters in the blast radius from above. Someone who hesitates and stays up there is potentially going to have a blocked descent, which could be frustrating.

I liked the E4-vibes this level gave off, and I liked the way it wrapped back on itself and used vertical space so well.

 

MAP04 - Chillwell

 

So damn intricate and interconnected. I think it's really clever how there are three different battles to pick from at one juncture, and each arena also functions perfectly well as incidental combat when encountered later on if the player picked a different point of entry. It was a good scare having to scramble for cover from the chaingunners who lurked up above, and so was the sudden plunge into a dark basement full of pillars & barrels (and shotgunners).

The red & blue keys each open up shortcuts around the map, and when all my crisscrossing back and forth was done, I opened the two-stage lock to the exit, and I like how the baffling non-event of the two Pinky Demons inside is a clear signal that you're not quite done here yet.

[galileo31dos01]

Reading loveless inspired me to keep these random thoughts. Inb4 I start forgetting about the maps :x

 

 

 

05

 

Love me some KSutra vibes! There's irregular geometry, pieces of doomcutery, point-blank fights, caves, red stock bricks textures, etc, the vibes are from every outdoors areas around the houses most particularly.

 

So first things first, leaving the starting house asap is crucial due to cacodemons outside who don't take too long to usurp your fresh air inside. Once outside, I really liked how the sniper shotgunners could hit me from all windows, odd feeling though as I don't like those assholes that much. They used to be unable to land shots but it got fixed. 

 

There's two ways to pick and I always preferred to the right side that lets me grab the RL first then work around the perimeter cleaning up areas -- an important thing, the walls around the RL use block lines so snagging the extra ammo in time is much trickier than it seems, before the monsters warp in and deny all the area. I thought to point it out in a beta-test phase but now I don't find that awkward at all. One thing in particular I appreciated was the addition of barrels in the imps towers, because normally I'd find sniper imps (or revs) with lots of freedom to move the most tedious to kill with limited powerful arsenal, so that you can hold up those barrels for later is way more convenient imo, it's what I'd do if I were to place imps in such role, this is just personal taste.

 

There was a pincer revenant trap in one side which costed me a chunk of health when one of them teleported on some non-hinted spot as I was rocketing shit in the way, that somehow speaks KSutra-AV to me. It might frustrate some people though (iirc, people took very bad the HK bridge setup in AV's map 18). 

 

Inner fights were cool. The SSG setup gets hairy pretty quickly by dashing to the centre with all the shit spawning, it has good measure of meat (the upper barons are kinda irrelevant "baron-wise" though). One latter fight is super tight fun with I think HKs and chaingunners, and various revs and spectres spawning later. The secret blur sphere fueled battle is cute, shows how thrilling it is chainsawing zombieman than punching them, until pinkies intercept though. 

 

Oof that was a lot of words. Good map DFF!

 

 

06 

 

On the contrary, I'm a little conflicted with this map. Somewhere past the caco/lost soul trap I started to see a pattern for monster placement that rubbed me the wrong way (read: not annoying, but "out of tune" and not because of the music). I wasn't necessitating a SSG until that point onwards, and when that sensation happens, it's a sign the gameplay isn't working somewhere for me, and even after snagging the SSG the gameplay didn't feel much like an upgrade in parts. It was things like throwing hordes of pinkies/spectres in walls-of-health quality with absolutely no dynamic added other than backing up a bit while shooting, groups of four-six cacodemons in open spaces or slowly teleporting one by one, hell knights in symmetric opposite ledges, pain elementals who have no chance to be annoyances, or even a bunch of shotgunners right behind closed doors, basically only frontal incidental combat and "room-per-room cleanup" which isn't the problem per se, but the lack of spice in the formula is what was missing for me.

 

An exception is the pre-final setup with imps and distant revenants, which did get me some excitement from dodging homing fireballs as they hit imps. The key was not retreating to find cover, and not letting those imps advance too much. SSGing the bridge of imps in that HR-esque room was also simple joy, if again missing some pressure from behind as well, like teleporting pinkies maybe, like that would have been good use of the ol' little ham. 

 

Back in the public testing phase I gave my honest opinion about what could use some spice in places, what was redundant (basically almost all the pinky hordes save for one that greets you on top of a lift), besides minor suggestions here and there -- still think three of four radsuits are superfluous for such a short-term secret. Seeing no changes anywhere at all since then was a mite disappointing, because in spite of the heavy symmetry and squareness, the layout could still allow for plenty surprises that never existed. 

 

So, sorry, this one didn't do it for me. 

 

 

07

 

Valkiriforce is an ambitious vanilla-lover mapper as it's shown here and anywhere else he contributes with a large layout. This is my typical feeling but on a first time I tend to feel a bit "drown" on those maps, by virtue of length, as if they drag on forever like the ideas begin to blur together. However, on replay I end up enjoying the maps a lot more, case in point the TNTR maps, or this one (first playthrough was a year ago in some "idk what to do" moments). Hard to explain the reason behind this, but I suspect it has to do with choosing the wrong time to play a valki lengthy map, since on replay they feel way less of a slog.

 

The important is that this last time around I had much fun, part of this was because despite having privately tried the map myself before out of boredom, it still managed to shock me multiple times with things I previously forgot: the "explosive" chaindudes and troopers, the mancubi clausterfuck, or teleporting away of a key room only to be munched by pinky blockers. It was a fresh intense experience, added with the dozens of roamers mostly pesky zombie hitscanners (if at this point you didn't quite tell which is valki's favourite enemy type, take a guess, yes that one), somewhat intricate progression and actually looking for secrets I didn't mind before - loved the computer one - plus hearing an archvile in pain somewhere else, good times.

 

I read some people found health to be scarce (frankly not in the mood to revise the map at the moment), but iirc there were two soulspheres, a freebie megasphere and at least three green armors, all on UV again if I'm not mistaken, not sure about the medikit count though the thing with valki is that he relies on hitscan abundance or point-blank ambushes for maximum punishment so maybe that's where health takes a nosedive for most people, which I usually find myself as well in his maps. That said, I personally didn't find the map hard at all, it just demands your attention on a constant term to chaingun dudes around corners and the key fights are indeed sedate in comparison, although yeah the mancubi trap is a bit dickish. I can't remember how I dealt with it, probably with plasma rifle suppression meanwhile some mancs never even fired.

Edited July 11, 2020 by galileo31dos01
typo here, typo there

[loveless]

i take screenshots as mental notes for myself.  i don't want to run around tntem and look at whatever while i'm writing but the screenshots are helpful.  i don't keep/post them because i don't think they're useful outside of being a reminder.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP10 - "Hangar Facility" - Michael Jan "Valkiriforce" Krizik & Matthew "The Mysterious Moustachio" D. (99%K/95%I/50%S):

A really different take here with a pretty open map, divided in two sections, and both sections separated with some YK bars, and a really big canyon, and I have to say, this is so far the best visual "photo" of Akeldama as for now. I really love how you are able to see the outside and the other side, and how the map teases you what's next.
The first part is more of the usual, with a "Tom Hall" style of layout (The usual crate hangars and cramped halls). Not that different from what we have already seen so far. Tons of hitscanners with the occasional mid-tier enemies as Revenants all along the way. The second part in comparison, is even more open, and "slaughtery" as big groups of the same type of enemy try to ambush you in the first pair of big rooms.
Finally a "boss" type of enemy here, as you may encounter the Spidermaster mind, on a dangerous position in which she won't let you progress.
The second part of the level is really spacious and changes totally the pace of the level itself, without making it feel like a "Frankenstein" map, as usual with other maps that are made by more than one people.
That is probably what I like this, apart from the visuals, the map seems pretty balanced, and often challenging, without throwing it all away like MAP07. Definitely another high note on Akeldama.
The TNT: Evilution feelings again, it feels like Ty Halderman was behind this map in some sort, I don't think I'm the only one feeling like this. Specially because of the last part with the truck trailers at the end.
Again another "exit the complex through the gates" type of exit, in similar fashion to MAP07's exit, just for the record. Nice touch.

Deaths: 10 (HMP Playthrough - Chocolate Doom)

Order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP10
MAP05
MAP06
MAP04
MAP09
MAP08
MAP07
MAP03
MAP02
MAP01

I feel I'm not the only one having troubles with MAP11, as nobody posted something about it yet.

Edited July 11, 2020 by DJVCardMaster

[Endless]

MAP10: Hangar Facility

UV, LZDoom and Brutal Doom mod.

 

 

We are in the mountains! Or well, that's what it looks like but it's actually a kind of hangar. This map does give me a lot of vanilla vibes, especially the use of big brown walls and the stacking of boxes. A pretty attractive and well-developed idea. The map is divided in ''two sections'' separated by a river, with a little imagination, we can see the certain beauty of a place like this, at least I like to imagine these attractive maps in real and similar situations. Going on; we are starting to meet the longest encounters, now with more than 300 enemies the difficulty of the megawad is definitely starting to increase in a progressive way, a good way I would say. I didn't die once, but I came close to it on two separate occasions: the first time with the ambush on the bridge and the second time with the barrels and the Spider.

A good map that satisfies both my tastes and the fact of remaining vanilla, as well as having an comprehensible progression and continuous challenges. Funny that it only has 2 secrets, but enough with what they give, they are worth it.

[Deadwing]

MAP 11

 

Woah, that level was huge! I think I probably took 1h to finish the whole thing, at least! On other hand, most of the encounters here are pretty setpiecy, so there's a lot of "empty space" that lets you go faster to the later sections of the map. Anyway, this level is definitely a departure of what we saw previously, giving you definitely the feeling of a "final level", that fits well for an episode closer. There are numerous Cyberdemons in this, at least 5? (I guess) Although due to the larger space + lack of BFG, I decided to let them live even if they did kill me sometimes.

 

Some of the encounters feels like they want to be more numerous in terms of monster quantity, but I think it worked well here, not everything needs to be slaughter/slaughter-lite. What annoyed me most (and chipped most of my health) was the frequent usage of Chaingunners in turret placements. It's not something that I would change that much, though.

 

The architecture was very cool and really detailed, I'm pretty sure that making a level this long with that level of detailing should've taken a lot of time to finish.

 

MAP Preference

 

10, 4, 5, 9, 11, 7, 1, 8, 3, 2, 6

[Pseudonaut]

Map11: FDA including 2 deaths, no exit.

 

This is another one where I get most of the way to the end, die, stop recording, take a break, and play it again with saves. To be honest, I thought this map was pretty bland. Aesthetically, the interior of the base is unmemorable enough that it made navigation difficult. The combat is usually (but not always) bland. Some of the arch-viles were quite threatening on the blind saveless run, but they can be dealt with easily enough with foreknowledge and well-timed rocket/plasma spam. Of the four cyberdemons, two are released at the same time, potentially with no additional enemies nearby, and there is enough space that they can be circle-strafed with the plasma gun easily (my first death notwithstanding). The third cyberdemon appeared in isolation and was easily circle-strafed, and the fourth was actually threatening. I only encountered the final fight when I played with saves, and it seems to be the hardest part. I did survive it on the first try, but I had gone in with a full megasphere and came out with about 25% health. It probably would have gone better if I just immediately spammed plasma, I dunno.

[Biodegradable]

MAP11 - The Glacier Base

HMP | Continuous Play with Saves | Running on GZDoom + Hellrider

 

My sentiments exactly, @Deadwing by Satan's glorious red arse, this map is H U G E ! Ahem... yes, quite. I was honestly a little overwhelmed by the sprawling majesty waverider has laid out for me here, but I soldiered on and had a blast. I even manage to find two out of the three secrets. I did get a little lost at one point, but figured it out in the end. Like I said, the layout is really big and really cool and progression, while a tad bit odd, was cool. I kind of went all over the place because of the sheer scale of it all, but thankfully, there's no right or wrong way to complete a Doom map. It's about time a Cyberdemon showed up here. I was starting to wonder if Team Akeldama all hated the big galoot hehe. All the large scale battle grounds were fun and kept me running around like a maniac, figuring out the best methods to dispatching them all. I think my only complaint with this map is just how many Lost Souls there are. I can't stand the little bastards, but waverider seems to love 'em because they were bloody everywhere! YUCK! The fucking Doom equivalent of the mosquito and oh how I hate them. Irritating little blighters. What was I talking about again? Oh yes! This map's definitely going to be in my top favourite list. Just a lot of good fun to be had here.

 

Gameplay footage:

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

[Andromeda]

MAP11: The Glacier Base (Akeldama)

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

 

Here we have the finale of the first episode, a large sprawling techbase against a snowy backdrop. The level does a good job at masking its linearity with several paths that ultimately lead to the same place, which is something I like. The first Cyberdemon surprised me, appearing barely a minute in - not that I wasn't expecting something to happen considering the sheer amount of supplies in the preceding room. Still it's an easy battle, just spray plasma until it's dead, you have plenty of room to dodge which is something that I feel hinders the level as a whole - the large areas throughout completely negate the potential challenge of most encounters.

 

This could've been a letdown but I like how the level keeps things fresh by constantly varying the way enemies are deployed and also between indoor/outdoor areas. The use of several teleporters to bring you back to previous areas and minimize backtracking was also a neat touch. Just wish I'd known to leave the Spiderdemon alive and use the invulnerability to create a Gotcha situation with the Cyberdemon that spawns upon picking up the red key, would've been fun. Oh well, you win some you lose some I guess. Perhaps not as challenging as I expected (I'd go as far as to say it's one of the easiest levels so far) but it's a good level nonetheless.

Edited July 11, 2020 by Andromeda