The DWmegawad Club plays: 1000 Lines Community Project

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP02 - "Flow" - Ben "Dreadopp" Taylor (100%K/76%I/50%S):

A map that connects itself with MAP01, remember the outside view from the previous map? well, we are now here, at least at the end  of the level.
This is again another short simple map, with bigger areas and harder fights. Most linedefs were wasted here on quirky details like the broken door at the water reservoir of the second area (First area the fight with the barons). Again difficulty is really high here, for MAP02 standards, pretty tight on ammo, and with heavy monsters, the fight at the end is pretty challenging, as there is an angry Arch-Vile already, trying to revive everyone on a pretty big, spacious area with little to no place to hide, and few rockets to snipe him. I don't know how did I get alive from here.
The Soulsphere secret seems a little bit romero-esque and cryptic, you don't clearly know what triggers the lift.
The ending is a little bit weird, as it is a walk-over exit linedef, placed on a spot that may feel a little bit early.

Deaths: 0 (HMP Playthrough - Chocolate Doom)

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

MAP01
MAP02

Two maps that feel that could be only one if you did not count the linedef limit, they both work well as they are short but tease you with a difficulty that you already know is going to be high throughout all the mapset. It's kind of the same situation with Congestion 1024.

[Endless]

18 hours ago, guitardz said:

All my mods are in the description.  I use a lot of informative HUD add-ons mostly.  Nothing that changes gameplay however.

 

The damage numbers is from Xaser's DamNums mod.

Those are my favorite add-ons <3 Simple Hud Addon complete is my #1. 

[Magnusblitz]

I have zero recollection about this community project, guess that just shows how generally out of the loop I am these days. Should be some smaller map sizes, easier to get through though no promises (still didn't finish Phobus' WAD from two months ago, come to think of it...) Not really sure what to expect from a 1000 linedef limit... 100 lines was either one-room or really creative/arcane design, PCorf's Zone 300 had what felt like bite-size chunks of normal maps, so I expect a lot of these to just feel like smaller, normal maps, to be honest.

 

MAP01: Ebb

100% kills, 1/1 secret

 

And yeah, this one feels just like a small intro map. The two outside areas are decent enough, though the grey interior area in-between feels pretty bland (all grey and bright lighting doesn't help). The action is alright, lots of different types of enemies used, none in really threatening positions though. Lots of pinkie demons thrown in which just tend to serve as meatshields than actually being a threat to the player or useful in infighting. A big chunk of the lines is used on a vista at the end which seems like an odd choice.

 

MAP02: Flow

100% kills, 1/2 secrets

 

Well I suppose that explains that choice, as this level follows directly from the last one and the last main area is the vista from last map. Plays very similar, too... SSG and chaingun for the most part, some higher-tier monsters but plenty of room to evade them. Even the first area with the pincer barons has plenty of room to move around, just sticking on the platforms and not even needing to drop into the cistern. The only real problem might be the AV at the end since there's not a ton of cover between you and where he pops in. I do agree the bit of aesthetic damage on the 'door' in the one water area feels like wasted lines.

[Capellan]

MAP03

Here's a map that shows more attention to maximising the gameplay and visual outcomes of the lines available.  It looks and plays better - and rather more aggressively; especially "that lift".

 

Interesting to see mancs on all three opening maps.  They're not often a monster that gets much love, probably because they have a fairly large 'footprint' and a slow movement speed.

[Krenium]

MAP03 - Town Square by Liberation

PrBoom+ / HMP / Continuous

 

Screenshot:

Spoiler

 

Gameplay:

Spoiler

 

 

I could tell from the start this map was going to be something special. Town Square really drives home the city aesthetic with apartment windows, a fountain, roads with sidewalks, porches, columns, canals and overhangs. The texturing skillfully sticks to the brown, green and gray look from MAP01 which adds to the feeling of continuity. Town Square's architecture is lovely and despite the map's small overall area, it will have you weaving and winding with thoughtful flow that takes you through the town square multiple times.

 

Encounters are carefully designed and in many cases, you'll be forced to decide whether to deal with a few tanks or multiple weak monsters. The blind elevator encounter in particular was delightful to me, as I did everything I could to maintain my foothold up top but was ultimately flushed out in the interest of getting out of the PE's LOS. At which point, all hell broke loose.

 

Another detail I particularly enjoyed is that on your second time through the town square, you're faced with a baron in the side canal, and depending on where you kill it, it could make your life much harder your third time through. In my first playthrough, I got super lucky and the 'vile from the third town square encounter came straight down the hallway toward me, effectively neutering it. But during my second playthrough, he rezzed the baron (putting a meatshield between me and the archvile while it started rezzing the entire square).

 

I can't think of any criticism for this map, other than perhaps I thought the water pools in the first building with the red key seemed out of place. Town Square provides a full enough experience that I forgot this was supposed to be a constraint wad. I notice Liberation has three more maps in the wad and this has got me excited to play them.

 

Map ranking (favorite -> least)

3 1 2

[golbeeze]

UV - Continuous - with Combined Arms mod

 

Maps 01-03

I enjoyed all three of the beginning levels. They really brought on the challenge right from the start. I feel like I have to take my time despite the small size of the levels. Instead of ranking all the levels, I'll try to just pick out my favorites along the way. I found it pretty difficult to track all 32 levels previously. So far, the first level is probably my favorite.

 

[Horus]

MAP03 - “Town Square” by Liberation

 

This one seemed more meaty than the previous two, however my two deaths might have contributed there. You are almost immediately presented with the town square from which the level gets its name, where already you get the rocket launcher needed to kill the mancubus, a weapon that throughout plays a significant role in slaying the meat and preventing the grind seen in the previous level.

 

The optional red door rocket ammo/chaingunner alcove was a nice touch, even if it came at the cost of a formal secret (in fact, this map doesn't have any items either, the first time I've actually remembered seeing a level with no secrets nor items).

 

The next area is quite challenging thanks to the close quarters baron coupled with the PE and mancubi. I was fortunate in my playthrough that a mancubus got stuck and died to an infighting imp. Lone archviles aren't usually much threat, but to me the one seen here was an exception, with no SSG and rocketing being risky from such a thin corridor (one of my deaths was a suicide rocket...).

[Endless]

MAP 02: Flow

LZDoom + UV

 

Like the previous one, this map follows a fairly simple layout. Connecting the theme of the previous one, this one feels like sequel of map 01, I like that, the feeling of progression through different maps that are connected is an extra point in my book. Always following the limitation of the megawad, this map felt a little smaller than the previous one but it increases slightly more the difficulty by entertaining us with Barons. I can assume that there will be certain jumps of difficulty in the following maps, but at least in this one it felt enough balanced in UV to feel pleasant, although the end was a huge jump of difficulty that fortunately can be totally ignored if we run fast. Hehe.

 

Overrall, this two maps are very simple and actually work line one single map if we joined them together. Very short, indeed, but fun enough and well built.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP03 - "Townsquare" - Philip "Liberation" Brown (100%K/0%I/0%S):

Making a DoomCute map with linedef limit? Challenge accepted. Great job at making something simple as a small town square, with few lines. the map progression is simple and revolves around the central square. It pretty much looks like you are in a city, and it's really fine to look from the outside. From the inside, rooms are more like your classic '95 Doom experience, as this is Vanilla. It's yet another simple map, but difficulty keeps going up from the previous map. Room for fights here is shorter than in MAP02, and there are some cheap spots, like the lift room, and the Red Key tunnel with the Arch-Vile. Talking about Arch-Viles, there is another one already, we've encountered 2 in three maps of HMP playthrough, so I'm a little bit scared of what's next.
This map feels even longer than the previous two, and there is a lot of simple details and lines here, so it makes me think yet again, that MAP01 and  MAP02 could have been one map.

Deaths: 3 (HMP Playthrough - Chocolate Doom)

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP03

MAP01
MAP02

 

 

[loveless]

prboom+, no saves, uv pistol starts  
map 3
deaths 0

 

fun, short, and sweet.  enjoyed the use of rockets and mid tiers, especially the added spice of a baron in close quarters(although i could've ran away).  seeing a vile this early on was another added pleasure.  visually, my favorite bit was the main plaza connecting the key doors. 

 

1kcp-3-loveless.7z

[Biodegradable]

MAP03 - Townsquare

HMP | Continous with Saves | GZDoom + Zagemod

 

Carrying onward from Ebb and Flow... wait, holy shit I JUST got that! lmao anyways, this map also gives us a good feel of thematic progression by also using some shallow water pits to give us the idea that we're leaving the water treatment area and moving onward into the city, which is fun. I'd say this map has the most distinctive layout so far, but perhaps it might be a bit early to make any sort of claim like that, but hey, I feel it has the most going for it. The level's design makes good use of tight spaces combined with height variations and surprising combat scenarios; the second Baron encounter caused my first death, though it was oddly enough the Pain Elemental that sealed my fate after the Baron had whittled down most of my health. After the first two maps was rather eager to throw Revenants at me, I appreciated Liberation's more fairly balanced restraint when it came to enemy encounters. There's a nice dash of tension without feeling too unfair. Also, as Capellan noted, this megaWAD seems to be giving the Mancubus a bit more love earlier on with some good, balanced use of our favourite walking, flaming ball of blubber who insists you should "Hump Yer Mom". 

 

Gameplay:

Spoiler

 

 

Edited August 4, 2020 by Biodegradable

[Hitboi]

I have completed 40% of the MegaWad, I'll post when i finish it. I hope people having a great time playing this!

Spoiler

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by HitBoi64
Adding sexy screenshots

[ThatWeNGuy]

MAP02: Flow

PrBoom+ | UV | Pistol Start | All Kills | 50% Secrets

The map feel like a continuation of MAP01, seem cool.

The Arch-Vile Fight is difficult, although I able to kill the arch-vile by infighting.

 

MAP03: Town Square

PrBoom+ | UV | Pistol Start | All Kills

I enjoyed this one, it feel like a city map. The fight is challenging, the visual is cool. not much else to say, I liked the map.

 

Ranking:

Spoiler

MAP03: Town Square

MAP01: Ebb

MAP02: Flow

 

[Phobus]

MAP03: Town Square

Liberation has been around in the Doom community a long, long time, but has recently come to the fore as a major presence on The Hellforge and with a lot of recent community project engagement. As a result, I'm only familiarising myself with his work as of the last half a year or so, and I like what I've seen thus far. This map feels a bit more old-school in execution, with more representational architecture and contrasting flats with textures in a lot of places, when compared to the previous couplet. The MIDI is reminiscent of the sort of rock or metal ones I was plundering for my recent megaWAD too, which I quite liked. This and the slightly tighter confines all makes for a nice place to do battle... Something I as in danger of managing unscathed. Much like MAP01, I made it through a lot of the map without taking a hit, although the hits I took here were a lot more substantial. The one bruising (and painful) encounter, fittingly, was the one with a Baron of Hell and Pain Elemental, where I took a few hits from the assortment of enemies, particularly as the PE tried to fill the room with Lost Souls!

 

I escaped with just over 130 health (thanks for that previous soulsphere!) and my armour in tatters, but cruised through the rest of the map. The rocket launcher was very helpful here, speeding up the fights with the more threatening enemies and reducing my exposure to risk. We're three for three so far! This is a very solid starting episode.

[Smite of Disrespect]

MAP02: Flow, by @Dreadopp

Pistol starts, no saves, Chocolate Doom

Fun little map, man :) I like how you led the player back to the starting room, but the once locked doors were now opened, revealing more monsters.

I found it a little too easy on skill 2, until that arch-vile came out outta nowhere and instantly killed me >:( It could've still used some more popcorn enemies on skill 2 I think. As for skill 3, I used to think having to fight two revenants with a plain shotty was a bad map design choice, but I was probably bad then because it worked great here; you gotta force the homing missiles to slam into the wall on the right. Near the end, I got forced off of the ledge and all the monsters clustered by the elevator and started killing eachother, just to get revived by the arch-vile; luckily I had the rocket launcher to take out the arch-vile once he was in my sights. By the time I was playing on UV, I already was familiar with the map, so I booked it to the exit once the arch-vile appeared

Edited August 3, 2020 by RonnieColeman

[Veinen]

Thought I'd check this wad out since I haven't played it before. Haven't participated in the Club in ages so let's see how this goes and if I can keep up with the writeups when my holidays end.

 

Played with glboom+, UV, pistol starts. FDAs attached.

 

Map01: Ebb

 

A neat little opener map. It's small and basic but pretty enough and has surprisingly meaty combat for map01. Quite a few mid-tier enemies already but since this is the first map they are not very dangerously positioned. The outdoor areas look quite nice, reminiscent of Coffee Break for some reason, and doesn't seem like they area affected much by the linedef limitation. The grey indoor area in between looks rather dull in comparison and even a little bit of variation in lighting would have gone a long way. Everybody's mentioning the cool vista at the end but I naturally decided to ignore it completely on my first playthrough.

 

Map02: Flow

 

Even having missed the preview in the previous map, this really does feel like a direct continuation of map01. The architecture here is a bit bigger in scale and the low detail level starts to show a bit more here as a result I think. The mapper used a lot of corpses and trees as decorative elements trying to counter the lack of detailing and the corpses especially do bring some colour to the map. One random visual thing that I didn't really agree with were the small pools of water in the final area which don't look very natural... Combat is a bit more difficult already although the monster mix hasn't really changed much compared to map01. Revs in the first outdoor area are definitely a good choice. The big ambush at the end is not surprising but the AV kind of is so points for that. I played this map pretty bad and almost died early but had no problems after recovering from that. Got a bit lucky with the Av who immediately started to infight instead of going after me.

 

Map03: Town Square

 

Definitely feels a little bit punchier than the previous two maps what with the RL-centered gameplay and relatively tight quarters. Visuals remind me of Scythe ep1 a lot, especially the RK and BK wings. Combat is still pretty easy but there are a few well-designed light ambushes (Spectres and Hk's, the lift ambush) that could be trouble if you have the wrong weapon in hand. Nice map, I definitely liked it.

 

FDA_1kCP_01-03.zip

[Smite of Disrespect]

MAP03: Town Square, by @Liberation

Pistol starts, no saves, Chocolate Doom 3.0.0

Excellent balance of ammo and health across all difficulties, including skill 2! I made a mistake and thought, "Whatever, I'll just grab the nearest medkit, it's on easy," just to realize: there was none! Only stimpacks! Definitely a lot more challenging on skill 2 than I expected, which is fine; if someone really wants to play on easymode, they'll be using saves anyway. On skill 3, the lift up to the Baron was surprisingly tough because you barely have enough room not to blow yourself up, and the only escapes are blocked by a pain elemental and a mancubus. The pain elemental spewed a lost soul at me as I launched a rocket at the Baron and I instantly died. The arch-vile resurrected the Baron in the eponymous town square, which is like the worst thing an arch-vile can resurrect. I just ignored him and ran away; luckily, he couldn't follow me because he didn't have a blue key. My only complaint is there wasn't much of a difference on UV; only things I noticed were an extra chaingunner in the window and another mancubus in the street area.

Edited August 3, 2020 by RonnieColeman

[Summer Deep]

I played the first half-dozen levels on the same day, and my recall of them is a bit sketchy, but anyway here are a few thoughts. UV continuous by the way, GL Boom+.

 

MAP01

 

As has already been noted, fairly tough for an opener with Revenants and Mancubuses already in circulation. Highlight was the Blue Key room which served up some decent infighting opportunities.

 

MAP02

 

Interesting change of scenery to a castle-like environment. The courtyard with the Archvile was the standout encounter, and I found that the best tactic was to retreat to the bottom of the lift area, where you are pretty safe provided that you can get there without being wiped out. It's often possible to get the AV killed by the other mid-tier monsters at the top of the lift, as another poster has pointed out. That Soulsphere secret was tricky to get, only a fraction of a second of slack built into the timing it seems, and it took me about half a dozen attempts. Shades of the Mega Armour secret in MAP11 of 25 Years Of Doom a couple of months ago.

 

MAP03

 

Can't really share the enthusiasm of many others here for this map. The only bit I really enjoyed was playing cat and mouse and infighting games with the two Revenants and the Baron in the red key tunnel area. Potentially very tough stuff after you get onto the lift behind the red door. It's not so much the Baron, which I found it a straightforwad task to dispatch even with just the ordinary shotgun, but if the Pain Elemental shows up too early then you do have problems. On one occasion I was alarmed to find one of the Mancubuses coming up the steps and into the room.

 

The most annoying thing so far is that I've had to play without any armour in all three levels. Maybe I've missed some in a secret somewhere, but I wish more mappers would place at least a green armour plate somewhere near the start of a level.

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by Summer Deep

[RottingZombie]

Map 02 and 03 were good. An arch-vile made me crap myself and accidentally suicide by rocket in map03, after you drop down into the water tunnel. I didn't know he was going to fit down said tunnel.

 

Looking forward to map04 tomorrow - the music sounded cool.

 

I love small maps (Zone 300 is my all-time favorite MW I think).. I think this one - so far anyway - should be a little easier on HNTR :). On the other hand, so far it's at least fair, and not slaughtery.

[DFF]

MAP03: Town Square by Liberation (100% kills/100% items/100%secrets)

Blind Run|UV|Continuous|ProjectBrutality3.0

 

A side note, I have always wanted to make a map using this track from Hell to Pay, nice to see it as I generally like it and rarely is that music used in WADS.

This was a really fun map, good layout for combat, returning to areas to lengthen the map but not the line count, died a few times. Overall very good, I liked it.
The detailing here for being limited was also generally very nice. I like the city details, I like the windows, I like the "optional" red key room with rockets, nice to see optional exploration paths in a WAD that's limited on lines, even if very short. No secrets is a bummer but nothing i'd rate the map lower for. 

Rankings:

Spoiler

MAP03: Town Square

MAP01: Ebb
MAP02: Flow

 

[VanaheimRanger]

 

[Capellan]

MAP04

Still quite a lot of line-hungry elements in here; e.g. staircases suck up lines big time; but also clearly some thought has gone into how to get multiple stages of play out of particular areas (also something map03 did), with things connecting up and giving you new ways into zones you could previously see.

 

Gameplay overall felt a bit gentler than map03, though there is one notable exception to that.  I'm sure you'll know what I mean when you reach it!

 

Found 2 of 3 secrets here, which finally breaks my duck for the WAD :)

[DuckReconMajor]

MAP03: Town Square

glBoom+ 2.5.1.7um, skill 4, pistol starts with saves, no complevel specified

 

The windowed square courtyard made me think of a Doom2 or other iwad map. MAP21? i don't think so, but maybe.

Whatever it was I quite loved that courtyard.

I enjoyed popping a chaingunner with a rocket through an actual window.

Got hurt/killed by hell knight and baron multiple times. I love when these are used well.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited August 3, 2020 by DuckReconMajor

[golbeeze]

Map 04

 

I didn't think much of this level. The hot start was interesting, although mostly imps. Otherwise the level felt sort of bland and brown. I didn't find the secrets. Still enjoyed the first level the best.

[Bauul]

Just to add a little context to this community project as I've seen this raised a few times: the objective was simply to make a map that was 1,000 lines or less.  It wasn't necessarily to squeeze every last possible bit of mapping out of those 1000 lines.

 

While most mappers did indeed need to execute line efficiency in order to realize their vision, a fair few achieved their vision comfortably within the line limit, and then were free to spend the extra lines on non-essential detailing.  So not every level will be an exercise in perfect line efficiency.

[Horus]

MAP04 - “The Stormdrain” by Bauul

 

This map wastes no time in getting going, it's a busy start, but not a particularly hard one as long as you're reasonably nimble. The map has some tricks up its sleeve later though, chief amongst them the arachnotron triggered by the BK door, which took me by complete surprise, and wasn't far off killing me. The battle on the other side of the drain was also pretty neat, where using the demons and lost souls as shields against the revenant rockets came in pretty handy. The close quarters battle with the revenants and imps after the RK door felt like a bit of a hindsight trap though.

 

I saw the trigger for the computer map / green armor secret immediately, which when picked up displays the '1000 Lines' logo in the automap (what can I say, Bauul must have spent some extra lines on non-essential detailing :P). The berserk secret was also simple enough, however my search for the soulsphere secret was fruitless, certainly it was the most well hidden of the three. On balance, probably the best map of the four so far in my opinion.

[Krenium]

MAP04 - The Stormdrain by Bauul

PrBoom+ / HMP / Continuous

 

Screenshot:

Spoiler

 

Gameplay:

Spoiler

 

 

The Stormdrain continues our hero's journey deeper into the city. Many of the same textures from previous maps have been used here, though less green/gray and more brown. Like the previous couple maps, water plays an integral role. True to the map's name, there are several storm drains sprinkled about the courtyard. Aesthetically, there are some nice details here and there, such as the corpses dribbling blood from the ceiling after the map's capstone fight. But overall, it felt lacking in the looks department. For me, I think it has to do with the lack of large-scale variation in the spaces. That said, one thing I appreciate is that we get the best look yet of the skybox, which has more skyscrapers than I thought.

 

The layout of this map is the simplest we've seen so far, with a central courtyard surrounded on all sides by various pathways and ledges. Nevertheless, some interesting progression has been incorporated. I'm a big fan of the leap of faith that marks the halfway point of the map. You can tell it's an ambush, but you are required to be an active participant in it! As for the gameplay side of things, this is the strongpoint of the map, in my opinion. This is the first serious hot start we've seen in the wad. Many of your early activities will be interleaved by imp fireballs from the other side of the map, adding a nice sense of tension.

 

I have mixed feelings about the

Spoiler

blue door trap. On one hand, it feels cheap in the sense that you don't expect two doors to be tied to each other from so far away without any clues, but on the other hand, it's such a great trap that it actually put a smile on my face.

 

I enjoyed hunting for secrets. The platforming one caught my eye immediately and was fun to execute. In the end, I couldn't find the soulsphere secret even after a second playthrough, and had to open Eureka in order to find it. Well-hidden! While I had the editor open, I decided to check what was going on with the lines, since I noticed "1000 lines" had been expensively spelled on the automap. The map has exactly 1000 lines with said detail included. There are also quite a few areas I noticed that have been given curved walls. Like Bauul said earlier, the vision had been realized, and I agree with that assessment. Much like maps 1 and 2, there were lines left to burn, so why not?

 

Overall, I feel Storm Drain is a worthy entry to a strong wad (so far). Although looking somewhat ordinary, it shares some of my favorite gameplay with MAP03.

 

Map ranking (favorite -> least)

3 4 1 2

Edited August 4, 2020 by Krenium
more clarity

[Endless]

MAP03: Town Square

LZDoom + UV

A map with a somewhat realistic touch compared to the previous ones. The ''city'' theme is modestly well done on this map, something I quite enjoy. Not that I'm a fan of city maps, but I'm a fan of those maps that manage to solidly convey a theme of realism. This one does, even if its with small-cute buildings, it has a charm. With a solid starter zone, this map opens through small paths that guide us among a formidable group of demons, a group that despite fiercely opposing our advance with traps and surprise assaults, they're nothing compared to our strength. The progress of the map is quite direct, as its size helps to give the ability to advance quickly and in ''straight line'', the map can be completed incredibly quickly. It's funny that it has no secrets, but I think it doesn't need them since it gives us enough items to survive. Still, I always think it's great to add at least one secret to each map. A pretty simple map, but more ''visual'' compared to the others one, so, for now, my favorite one.

[loveless]

17 hours ago, RonnieColeman said:

Fun little map, man :)
 

 

notices username 

... 

AIN'T NOTHIN' BUT A PEANUT

[Smite of Disrespect]

MAP04: The Stormdrain, by @Bauul
This one was the funnest so far because of the chaotic engagements: being chased by pinkies and lost souls at the start while being attacked by imps and zombies from above, getting sandwiched in the narrow passage below by an arachnotron on one side and three pinkies and two chaingunners on the other, getting swarmed by lost souls, revenants, pinkies, imps, and a hellknight once you cross the bridge and fighting them all off with limited chaingun ammo and a plain shotgun, and finally that cramped revenant + pinkies trap at the end