Devils Pass, my 5 map first try at mapping!

[donevan427]

This is a 5 map project i have been working on for a couple months now. tested the maps in gzdoom and crispy doom. would love to get some critiques and feedback!

Designed for no jumping/crouching, mouse-look optional (I use mouse-look normally but tested in crispy doom no mouse-look 100% secrets)

Another thing I just thought of is there is a secret in map02 were if you mess it up you can never get the secret(without restarting the level). not sure if that is a taboo in map making, I know some people like to go for 100% kills and secrets.

devils_pass.zip

 

v screenshots v

Spoiler

 

Walk-through for the map02 library puzzle (And how to get the BFG secret)(click only if you want the solution, I recommend trying the puzzle before looking at the solution)

Spoiler

Normal way

1: lower the black bookcases

2: go up the stairs, raise the black bookcases using the switch on the back of the lowered red bookcase

3: make your way across to the blue switch

4: lower the blue bookcases, drop down and lower the black cases (you can now go back to start with red switch)

5: walk back to start to raise the red bookcases

6: walk back to under the blue switch, raise the black bookcases

7: either quickly run onto the rising black bookcase, or walk up the stairs and around to the blue switch

8: raise the blue bookcases and run across to the end (the BFG will be inaccessible if you do the puzzle this way)

 

How to get the BFG secret

Spoiler

Instead of doing the puzzle the normal do these steps

1: lower the black bookcases and raise the red bookcases

2: go up the stairs and raise the black bookcases using the switch on the red bookcase(don't need to lower the red bookcase to hit the switch)

3: make your across to the blue switch, but DO NOT press the blue switch(this will lock you out of the BFG secret)

4: continue across and the BFG will be waiting for you

 

 

Story loosely stitching the maps together (aka doom fanfic of questionable quality)

Spoiler

Setting: Doomguy is kind of like a mix of Doomguy from doom eternal and Dante from devil may cry 3. Demons invade sometimes, just call up your local Doomguy to take care of it.

 

map01: Doomguy gets one such call about a suspicious mansion in the countryside. Taking his trusty DoomMobile (tm), plenty of shells, and a rocket launcher for good measure, he arrives at a scenic overlook. The mansion(the exit) can be seen from here but the road is blocked. Doomguy has to make his way to the mansion on foot.

map02: Doomguy is now in the mansion. After slaying many demons and solving some puzzles, Doomguy heads further into the mansion. Only to find a trap(the exit)(originally was trying to make a false floor into a death-exit) that drops our hero into the dreaded pinky maze!

map03: Doomguy has no choice but to fight his way through this devious(and not very well-lit) labyrinth(or does he?). This maze was designed by the mansions inhabitants to deal with intruders. After navigating the depths Doomguy finds his way out and into a strange castle.

map04: After going through the entrance Doomguy finds himself in the courtyard of the castle. This courtyard acts as the hub of the castle which is filled devious traps, and lots of demons. Eventually emerging victorious our hero find a spiral staircase bringing him up the roof of the castle.

map05: The top of this castle is brimming with evil! Doomguy battles his way through wave after wave of demons culminating in a final battle back in the courtyard. Taking down the last of the demons and standing victorious, Doomguy saves the day, and fixes all the troubles!

 

Edited October 3, 2020 by donevan427
added story text

[smeghammer]

Hey! Just played the first level on UV. I used Brutal, so might not be exactly as you intended though. Love the ruined road tunnel thing. Looks inspired by parts of HL2, Highway 17? I like the use of stock textures to make the crashed vehicles. The tunnel lighting is cool too. 

 

When I went to next level, the style changed a lot and the hell-library theme seemed disconnected from the first level, so I felt no continuity. I'll give it another go later on tomorrow though.

 

Focussing on MAP01, it felt like a real space and the tunnel lighting and clever use of stock textures for the vehicle wrecks was pretty good. Combat was perhaps a little easy? (see comment re Brutal above though). I'll certainly have another playthrough as I didn't get the secrets. Is jumping allowed? I got the rockets and launcher from the car roof near the start, and was surprised that was not a secret area? I didn't notice any glaring misaligns of textures but I did notice the careful use of flats/textures to decorate the vehicles - that was nice.

 

Anyway, keep it up. This seems like a good start so far.

[TheMagicMushroomMan]

Looks much better than most "my first map" wads, good job! Third shot reminds me of Maskim Xul.

Edited October 1, 2020 by TheMagicMushroomMan

[donevan427]

1 hour ago, smeghammer said:

Hey! Just played the first level on UV. I used Brutal, so might not be exactly as you intended though. Love the ruined road tunnel thing. Looks inspired by parts of HL2, Highway 17? I like the use of stock textures to make the crashed vehicles. The tunnel lighting is cool too. 

 

When I went to next level, the style changed a lot and the hell-library theme seemed disconnected from the first level, so I felt no continuity. I'll give it another go later on tomorrow though.

 

Focussing on MAP01, it felt like a real space and the tunnel lighting and clever use of stock textures for the vehicle wrecks was pretty good. Combat was perhaps a little easy? (see comment re Brutal above though). I'll certainly have another playthrough as I didn't get the secrets. Is jumping allowed? I got the rockets and launcher from the car roof near the start, and was surprised that was not a secret area? I didn't notice any glaring misaligns of textures but I did notice the careful use of flats/textures to decorate the vehicles - that was nice.

 

Anyway, keep it up. This seems like a good start so far.

 

Thanks for trying my level. The highway idea started with the first idea for the level I had, starting up on an vantage point where you can see the exit but need to snake around the level to get to exit. Can't complain about being compared to hl2! I was thinking more build-engine-like, the door at the end was going to be an 18-wheeler crashed through a wall into an maintenance type area. Had a whole scene in my head of the truck nearly running you over, but swerving into the wall at the last moment, A huge explosion blowing the wall open, then an elite team of imp assassins jumping out the back... with laser guns... then I woke up and remembered to scale it back to something possible for me XD.

 

Originally I made 1 map (map03) and then thought making a megawad would be fun. I recently played Evienterinity and Valiant. Really thankful i had the sense to limit myself to 5 maps not 32. It was tough enough to make 5 maps. The maps will feel really different thematically (except for map04 and map05). My original idea was to have a sneak at peak at the next level at the end of each level. map01 was going to show the mansion you were looking for as the exit area. Playing those other wads I kinda planned on making themes for an episode worth of levels.

 

Was thinking if the rocket launcher at the start should be secret. was thinking of it as you opening the back of your vehicle and grabbing the rest of your gear. Letting my imagination run wild again i was thinking of having the supplies be a recurring thing that would happen at the start of all the level but scraped that idea.

 

The first map I made was map03(then map 1,2,4,5) some legitimate feedback I got was about it was it wasn't really what people think of when they of doom. Its cramped, dark, and has very limited ammo. A pistol pretty much requires avoiding fights and punching demons in narrow corridors. Not the typical doom gameplay and more of a gimmick level, that in hindsight was a stupid thing to make as a first map :P. Map01 is kind of the opposite of that being outdoors, wide open, and starting with ammo and guns from the start.

[Clippy]

 

[donevan427]

42 minutes ago, Clippy said:

 

Wow thanks for making a video, It made all that time mapping worth it watching you figure out how to get the soulsphere.

[Scuba Steve]

Welcome to Doomworld. This place kicks ass because new members like you have been joining for more than twenty years and keep breathing new life into the mapping scene. Hang around, learn some new techniques, and keep mapping.

[dobu gabu maru]

Played all 5 maps. It's a pretty cool set. You avoid a lot of linear, straight-ahead battling and experiment around with each map. That's definitely the highlight—you're not afraid to try ambitious gimmicks/fights/puzzles, which keeps the set from feeling like something I've played 100 times before. The library puzzle in MAP02 was the highlight for me, though that doesn't come as a surprise since I love classic Doom puzzles.

 

My biggest critique I have to offer is to work on texture theming and lighting. Your first map is very good at this, sending the player through darkened tunnels to pick up goodies, and when they emerge outside you try your hand at shadow casting here and there. The second map's theme is all well and good, but overtly brown due to all the PAN textures and flat lighting. Third map is decent for what it is (also very unconventional to have a non-berserk melee map!) but those last two maps are offensively gaudy, switching to clashing textures at random intervals. The start of MAP05 has the best example of what I mean here.

Besides that, I'd suggest to work on aligning textures more (lots of misalignments everywhere) and to try and make secrets a bit more obvious, as I found only like... 3? The secret stuff is more subjective, but almost no one likes or defends unaligned textures. You definitely show a lot of promise, especially with some of your more creative decisions, like the "choose 1 of 2 goodies" mechanic.

 

I also don't know if he's played it or plans to, but @Suitepee should absolutely check out this set for a playtesting stream.

[smeghammer]

PLEASE REMOVE THIS POST

Edited October 2, 2020 by smeghammer
argh - double post

[smeghammer]

8 hours ago, donevan427 said:

Really thankful i had the sense to limit myself to 5 maps not 32. It was tough enough to make 5 maps.

 

Yeah I started a five map miniwad just after lockdown in April. Still not finished...

 

Agreed it is tough, but really satisfying once you get the hang of it. There is loads of help and advice available here and elsewhere - Keep it up. As I said, I'll have a crack at them again. 

[Clippy]

 

[donevan427]

8 hours ago, dobu gabu maru said:

Played all 5 maps. It's a pretty cool set. You avoid a lot of linear, straight-ahead battling and experiment around with each map. That's definitely the highlight—you're not afraid to try ambitious gimmicks/fights/puzzles, which keeps the set from feeling like something I've played 100 times before. The library puzzle in MAP02 was the highlight for me, though that doesn't come as a surprise since I love classic Doom puzzles.

 

My biggest critique I have to offer is to work on texture theming and lighting. Your first map is very good at this, sending the player through darkened tunnels to pick up goodies, and when they emerge outside you try your hand at shadow casting here and there. The second map's theme is all well and good, but overtly brown due to all the PAN textures and flat lighting. Third map is decent for what it is (also very unconventional to have a non-berserk melee map!) but those last two maps are offensively gaudy, switching to clashing textures at random intervals. The start of MAP05 has the best example of what I mean here.

Besides that, I'd suggest to work on aligning textures more (lots of misalignments everywhere) and to try and make secrets a bit more obvious, as I found only like... 3? The secret stuff is more subjective, but almost no one likes or defends unaligned textures. You definitely show a lot of promise, especially with some of your more creative decisions, like the "choose 1 of 2 goodies" mechanic.

 

I also don't know if he's played it or plans to, but @Suitepee should absolutely check out this set for a playtesting stream.

Thanks for he feedback! The castle maps I choose a 4-5 textures and yeah basicly randomly chose from those to apply to the different rooms. I did notice the mansion map is very brown so I guess I over corrected in the castle maps. Also yeah the random textures on the walls that lower in map05 was to tell the player what the switch does. There are pillars next to the switches with red brick texture that lower to tell the player oh i remember the red brick walls, I should go there. But the map is pretty linear and seeing huge sections of walls missing with demons now visible is kind of hard to miss. I should be able to make it with better theming and still have no confusion.

Must of missed some misalignments (don't doubt it) I fixed ALOT of them but I'll try to be more thorough about that. As for the secrets really appreciate the feedback on those. Hard for me to balance those as I spent hours staring at them, but I try to have some clue for each of them and make sure to beat the maps, pistol start, uv, getting no secrets.

[ElPadrecitoCholo]

Devils Pass

Ultra-Violence mode || Doom64 mod
.
.
.

Map 01:
Status: Deaths - 0, Saves - 0



The level was really interesting, I mean, you were in the middle of what seemed to be some kind of car collision on the highway, seeing car wreckage everywhere, everywhere, old skies, all crazy, now playing the subject of the difficulty, the level presented this in an acceptable way, hitscanners in the dark part of the road with little light, after leaving a room with more hitscanners, we would see a huge huge field, an extremely large area that had imps, pinkys, cacodemons for interesting parts, in this case, the imps were abundant being in inaccessible places as well as the gunmen in certain parts of that enormous place, the good thing is that there was enough shotgun ammunition, not to mention that in one of the secrets there was a Chaingun to use, but personally, I preferred to spend the shotgun ammunition, that there was a lot of that, and finally, it is appreciated that as a last secret a A soulsphere to use will clearly come in handy in the other levels that follow. Very good start I have to say, entertaining and fun.

Map 02:
Status: Deaths - 0, Saves - 0



This level was hard, really hard, I'm not going to lie, every moment I felt ugly every demonic apparition that appeared to me, here there was a lot of variety of enemies to destroy, really fucked up as they have no idea, I was really worried about seeing so much enemy that was beginning to think about a possible appearance of an Archvile in the area, thank goodness that I was wrong all this time, luckily for me, no Archvile appeared on the scene, it is appreciated a lot, and speaking of the difficulty, unlike the first level, here if you see how the difficulty increased in an absolute way compared to the first level, quite a few revenants, barons of hell, and Hell Knights to deal with, like the infamous Lost Souls that I found in that huge library, that every time that was stepping on the platform where a mancubus was, these would suddenly begin to appear, and that was how everything was practically, the most horrible thing about this level was the scene that looked like a small colis eo, be it the fact that, when you take the yellow skull key, with the minimum noise made and the damned will come for you to give you a strong kick in the butt, the good thing is that it reactivates the part of the stands, removing The erasures with the Switch that was on one of the pillars, and once outside the site, I shot with the pistol, and everyone began to gather to fight, there was really chaos in that place. Another thing that I would also like to make clear is that... some secrets I could not get in a normal way (not Jump), but honestly, I had been a bit desperate for not knowing what it took to have those secrets so... using the "Jump" was no longer a problem, but for the record, in this case it would be justified to use the jump in these areas, such as the Super-Armor of the library, or even the BFG 9000 itself. Anyway, the level was intense, and it was a bit enjoyable, although it left me with some stress due to several things, such as the aforementioned seretos, or spending a shotgun on Revenants who come in a group, even so, it is a good challenge with which I am happy having completed without suffering unexpected death.

Map 03:
Status: Deaths - 0, Saves - 0



On this occasion, the map was different, a whole labyrinth that is composed of traps that make ghosts and pinkys appear everywhere, and that you depend mostly on the Super shotgun or the use of a berserk, since there will be encounters Very varied throughout the labyrinth, you will be quite confused because that labyrinth includes switches that open doors or distant bars, as well as open them near you, it is a mess, but if you are one of those who like to see the automap a lot, then you will not arrive To lose you a lot, however, the level, apart from having the aforementioned monsters, also has many, but many Hitscanners that will be waiting to drain your health and armor based on shots, here we will find the 3 types , Zombieman, shotgunner and Chaingunner, and like icing on the cake, we are also joined by the Hell Knights at this level, although I will not reveal where they are here, in case you read this, I wish you good luck finding them. In conclusion, this map was very entertaining and interesting, due to the fact that it takes you by surprise every moment you take off from the main path that you decide to take to get out of the maze, apart from that, I also feel a strange neural sensation of remembering having already played to this map in the past... I don't know why but, I think you have already shown this level before... but I don't fully remember if it was true or not, but other than that, a very excellent map that serves as a small rest after playing map 02.



By the way, I also managed to find the secret exit of this level

Map 04:
Status: Deaths - 0, Saves - 0



This other map, I think I was about to compare it in difficulty with map number 2, until I realized some details that take it even higher than in the aforementioned map, and that is, here if two are already included very bad things: The Archviles and the Cyberdemon, but I'll talk about it in a moment, first of all, I want to comment on the way the entire map is structured, and that is, there is a lot to start with, so, to To summarize this part, I will only say that the structure itself seemed quite good to me, and interesting too, in addition to the fact that, in certain paths that you decide to choose, you will see from afar, areas that are practically like mini combat arenas , in which, depending on which side you have chosen to go (left or right), certain surprise enemies will appear that will ruin the game if you do not go with caution, and that by the way, I also have to highlight the next thing that I liked of the map, and that is the fact d e make a decision on the various items that are presented to you, so knowing how to choose the item you are going to collect very well can make the game very simple or very complicated, everything will always bring with it a positive or negative reaction to the decision you have chosen. The fights with the enemies are hard, as I have said before, here we will find Archviles, and a Cyberdemon, as well as many Mancubus and Revenants, no area is going to feel soft in this aspect, since all the combat that the map will be on you Presenting, it is somewhat dangerous, so it was better for me not to trust me at any time, only to have the best weapon that is full of ammunition and is powerful, and also to acquire the best item that is shown to you before the combat and everything will turn out good. I enjoyed the map, quite a bit in fact, although that doesn't take away from the fact that I felt stressed at times, still, this map was really fun, and I'm glad I survived all that on-screen carnage.

Map 05:
Status: Deaths - 2 (At the end of the level by a Revenant, and in the middle of the level by a Shotgunner), Saves - 0



Phew, heck friend, this last map was really quite a barbarity, and I'm not saying it in a good sense of the word, I really got stressed as you have no idea, not only because I lost at the end just when I was about to win, but because of the fact That I didn't do any kind of save at all, what a level shit really, but I needed to vent about what the ending is like, damn, the ending is really hard, that is if you enter without any InvulnerabilitySphere, but Even with this sphere, you cannot save yourself from the horrible pain in your butt that you will feel from the Revenants and Archviles that appear there, including also a Cyberdemon in the middle, that good, going back a little behind all that, the structure of the level is really interesting but at the same time it reminds a lot of the E2M8 from Doom 1, at least at the beginning, and the rest seem as if they were small warehouses or some structure that resembles a house, perhaps... in terms of its difficulty , this one can be quite equivalent to a solid Slaughter with open spaces and with ammunition to spare, but yes, the Hitscanners are abundant in this area, the damn remote shooters are seen almost everywhere, and the worst thing is that There are the 3 types of soldiers possessed to give more variety to the matter, although well, with respect to the demons, they are not far behind, and here the following enemies appear many times: Cacodemons, Lost Souls, Pinkys, Arachnatrons, Revenants, Hell Knights and Mancubus, all of them only seen in the middle of the progress and even at the beginning of the level, but seriously they are a pain in the ass all, without any exception... well, maybe the Imps are, after all , not many appear in the level, unlike the Shotgunners or other aforementioned enemy. Now, speaking a little more thoroughly, I will go to the side of how the items and secrets of the level are placed, and that is... most of these secrets are really good, although there are some that do not get to do it, As for example, obtaining the second Invulnerabilitysphere on a platform that does not require jumping, is practically difficult to achieve, for the mere fact that there is no button, a switch, or even a target to shoot to get it, really horrible that secret, as horrible as just finding out that a miserable secret includes a Soulsphere, and that is where the life increase goes, and yes, I know there are two other Soulspheres near the end of the map, the way the health spheres were placed, the way they were placed, they weren't even close to the structures that formed a path to access the spheres in that like "Parkour" that I asked you to do to achieve both, that just seemed like a big stupidity to me... but hey, those I only say it for me, if someone else liked this, I will understand it without problems, and now with the last, the end of the level, what can I say about that?... well, that's easy, it took the central from the previous level to add it to this other map, and the truth, was that necessary? You just didn't see much creativity in the latter, just take something already done before and paste it here to make some modifications that I did not do in the previous level so, fuck the player very ugly when he arrives. I don't have much to comment on this level anymore, I suppose I also enjoyed it a lot, despite having repeated it 3 times without saving, although I also confess that I really get angry that I have been repeating everything again, for being a level that was made to do slaughter everywhere, I was not expecting much about having quiet and relaxing moments knowing that health I lose it quickly because of so much Hitscanner out there, ugh, I have no desire to play this Wad again for a while, but yes, interesting wad I've played without a doubt.

[donevan427]

6 hours ago, Clippy said:

 

Glad you gave up on getting the bfg. At that point the bfg is inaccessible, you have to do the library red/black/blue puzzle a certain way to get the bfg. I was questioning putting the secret or cutting it out since it makes a scenario where you cant get 100% secrets.

The way you solved the puzzle was sort of close to getting the bfg. The intended way to solve it you don't need to press the button while the red bookcase is up. To get the bfg you do need to press the button while it is up though. With the yellow key area, the intended way is go in from the lower room, but jumping the rail works too. I originally put impassible line to stop the player from jumping over, but felt it was funner to be able to do that little sequence break.

I don't know how to hide sector of the automap, but don't think i would change that for the secrets. The teleport closet I should hide though. I was learning different stuff while making these maps, map04 has sound tunnels for some areas but then i learned from someone on this forum how to join sectors and made the rest with those. as always thanks for the feedback.

[donevan427]

1 hour ago, ElPadrecitoCholo said:

Devils Pass

Ultra-Violence mode || Doom64 mod
.
.
.

Map 01:
Status: Deaths - 0, Saves - 0



The level was really interesting, I mean, you were in the middle of what seemed to be some kind of car collision on the highway, seeing car wreckage everywhere, everywhere, old skies, all crazy, now playing the subject of the difficulty, the level presented this in an acceptable way, hitscanners in the dark part of the road with little light, after leaving a room with more hitscanners, we would see a huge huge field, an extremely large area that had imps, pinkys, cacodemons for interesting parts, in this case, the imps were abundant being in inaccessible places as well as the gunmen in certain parts of that enormous place, the good thing is that there was enough shotgun ammunition, not to mention that in one of the secrets there was a Chaingun to use, but personally, I preferred to spend the shotgun ammunition, that there was a lot of that, and finally, it is appreciated that as a last secret a A soulsphere to use will clearly come in handy in the other levels that follow. Very good start I have to say, entertaining and fun.

Map 02:
Status: Deaths - 0, Saves - 0



This level was hard, really hard, I'm not going to lie, every moment I felt ugly every demonic apparition that appeared to me, here there was a lot of variety of enemies to destroy, really fucked up as they have no idea, I was really worried about seeing so much enemy that was beginning to think about a possible appearance of an Archvile in the area, thank goodness that I was wrong all this time, luckily for me, no Archvile appeared on the scene, it is appreciated a lot, and speaking of the difficulty, unlike the first level, here if you see how the difficulty increased in an absolute way compared to the first level, quite a few revenants, barons of hell, and Hell Knights to deal with, like the infamous Lost Souls that I found in that huge library, that every time that was stepping on the platform where a mancubus was, these would suddenly begin to appear, and that was how everything was practically, the most horrible thing about this level was the scene that looked like a small colis eo, be it the fact that, when you take the yellow skull key, with the minimum noise made and the damned will come for you to give you a strong kick in the butt, the good thing is that it reactivates the part of the stands, removing The erasures with the Switch that was on one of the pillars, and once outside the site, I shot with the pistol, and everyone began to gather to fight, there was really chaos in that place. Another thing that I would also like to make clear is that... some secrets I could not get in a normal way (not Jump), but honestly, I had been a bit desperate for not knowing what it took to have those secrets so... using the "Jump" was no longer a problem, but for the record, in this case it would be justified to use the jump in these areas, such as the Super-Armor of the library, or even the BFG 9000 itself. Anyway, the level was intense, and it was a bit enjoyable, although it left me with some stress due to several things, such as the aforementioned seretos, or spending a shotgun on Revenants who come in a group, even so, it is a good challenge with which I am happy having completed without suffering unexpected death.

Map 03:
Status: Deaths - 0, Saves - 0



On this occasion, the map was different, a whole labyrinth that is composed of traps that make ghosts and pinkys appear everywhere, and that you depend mostly on the Super shotgun or the use of a berserk, since there will be encounters Very varied throughout the labyrinth, you will be quite confused because that labyrinth includes switches that open doors or distant bars, as well as open them near you, it is a mess, but if you are one of those who like to see the automap a lot, then you will not arrive To lose you a lot, however, the level, apart from having the aforementioned monsters, also has many, but many Hitscanners that will be waiting to drain your health and armor based on shots, here we will find the 3 types , Zombieman, shotgunner and Chaingunner, and like icing on the cake, we are also joined by the Hell Knights at this level, although I will not reveal where they are here, in case you read this, I wish you good luck finding them. In conclusion, this map was very entertaining and interesting, due to the fact that it takes you by surprise every moment you take off from the main path that you decide to take to get out of the maze, apart from that, I also feel a strange neural sensation of remembering having already played to this map in the past... I don't know why but, I think you have already shown this level before... but I don't fully remember if it was true or not, but other than that, a very excellent map that serves as a small rest after playing map 02.



By the way, I also managed to find the secret exit of this level

Map 04:
Status: Deaths - 0, Saves - 0



This other map, I think I was about to compare it in difficulty with map number 2, until I realized some details that take it even higher than in the aforementioned map, and that is, here if two are already included very bad things: The Archviles and the Cyberdemon, but I'll talk about it in a moment, first of all, I want to comment on the way the entire map is structured, and that is, there is a lot to start with, so, to To summarize this part, I will only say that the structure itself seemed quite good to me, and interesting too, in addition to the fact that, in certain paths that you decide to choose, you will see from afar, areas that are practically like mini combat arenas , in which, depending on which side you have chosen to go (left or right), certain surprise enemies will appear that will ruin the game if you do not go with caution, and that by the way, I also have to highlight the next thing that I liked of the map, and that is the fact d e make a decision on the various items that are presented to you, so knowing how to choose the item you are going to collect very well can make the game very simple or very complicated, everything will always bring with it a positive or negative reaction to the decision you have chosen. The fights with the enemies are hard, as I have said before, here we will find Archviles, and a Cyberdemon, as well as many Mancubus and Revenants, no area is going to feel soft in this aspect, since all the combat that the map will be on you Presenting, it is somewhat dangerous, so it was better for me not to trust me at any time, only to have the best weapon that is full of ammunition and is powerful, and also to acquire the best item that is shown to you before the combat and everything will turn out good. I enjoyed the map, quite a bit in fact, although that doesn't take away from the fact that I felt stressed at times, still, this map was really fun, and I'm glad I survived all that on-screen carnage.

Map 05:
Status: Deaths - 2 (At the end of the level by a Revenant, and in the middle of the level by a Shotgunner), Saves - 0



Phew, heck friend, this last map was really quite a barbarity, and I'm not saying it in a good sense of the word, I really got stressed as you have no idea, not only because I lost at the end just when I was about to win, but because of the fact That I didn't do any kind of save at all, what a level shit really, but I needed to vent about what the ending is like, damn, the ending is really hard, that is if you enter without any InvulnerabilitySphere, but Even with this sphere, you cannot save yourself from the horrible pain in your butt that you will feel from the Revenants and Archviles that appear there, including also a Cyberdemon in the middle, that good, going back a little behind all that, the structure of the level is really interesting but at the same time it reminds a lot of the E2M8 from Doom 1, at least at the beginning, and the rest seem as if they were small warehouses or some structure that resembles a house, perhaps... in terms of its difficulty , this one can be quite equivalent to a solid Slaughter with open spaces and with ammunition to spare, but yes, the Hitscanners are abundant in this area, the damn remote shooters are seen almost everywhere, and the worst thing is that There are the 3 types of soldiers possessed to give more variety to the matter, although well, with respect to the demons, they are not far behind, and here the following enemies appear many times: Cacodemons, Lost Souls, Pinkys, Arachnatrons, Revenants, Hell Knights and Mancubus, all of them only seen in the middle of the progress and even at the beginning of the level, but seriously they are a pain in the ass all, without any exception... well, maybe the Imps are, after all , not many appear in the level, unlike the Shotgunners or other aforementioned enemy. Now, speaking a little more thoroughly, I will go to the side of how the items and secrets of the level are placed, and that is... most of these secrets are really good, although there are some that do not get to do it, As for example, obtaining the second Invulnerabilitysphere on a platform that does not require jumping, is practically difficult to achieve, for the mere fact that there is no button, a switch, or even a target to shoot to get it, really horrible that secret, as horrible as just finding out that a miserable secret includes a Soulsphere, and that is where the life increase goes, and yes, I know there are two other Soulspheres near the end of the map, the way the health spheres were placed, the way they were placed, they weren't even close to the structures that formed a path to access the spheres in that like "Parkour" that I asked you to do to achieve both, that just seemed like a big stupidity to me... but hey, those I only say it for me, if someone else liked this, I will understand it without problems, and now with the last, the end of the level, what can I say about that?... well, that's easy, it took the central from the previous level to add it to this other map, and the truth, was that necessary? You just didn't see much creativity in the latter, just take something already done before and paste it here to make some modifications that I did not do in the previous level so, fuck the player very ugly when he arrives. I don't have much to comment on this level anymore, I suppose I also enjoyed it a lot, despite having repeated it 3 times without saving, although I also confess that I really get angry that I have been repeating everything again, for being a level that was made to do slaughter everywhere, I was not expecting much about having quiet and relaxing moments knowing that health I lose it quickly because of so much Hitscanner out there, ugh, I have no desire to play this Wad again for a while, but yes, interesting wad I've played without a doubt.

 

Thanks for the detailed review with screenshots to go with it. Nice job finding the secret exit on map03, wasn't sure if anyone would find that.

Map05 is supposed to the roof area of map04. I can feel your pain dying so far into map05. The end is a challenging fight, Its supposed to be like the end boss of the wad. Congrats on beating the whole wad UV no saves, playing that way should be a good challenge.

[ElPadrecitoCholo]

5 hours ago, donevan427 said:

Nice job finding the secret exit on map03, wasn't sure if anyone would find that.

Heh, with such a large space that you left on the other side of the "prison" where the level begins, it was strange to me that it could not be accessed in a normal way through the door that was there

 

5 hours ago, donevan427 said:

Map05 is supposed to the roof area of map04.

 

That was not what I expected, I mean, as there was no roof structure to be seen, or even a decoration that looked like a roof between the structures that surrounded the center, I never imagined that the last level would be focused on the extremely long ceiling map 04 actually had, hahaha
 

5 hours ago, donevan427 said:

The end is a challenging fight, Its supposed to be like the end boss of the wad.

In that case, you did a very good job of having made a really challenging boss, since having made me replay the same level 2 more times, it means that the boss really fulfills its function of making you have better reflexes and plan a good strategy before each encounter or when he is already in full battle.

 

5 hours ago, donevan427 said:

Congrats on beating the whole wad UV no saves, playing that way should be a good challenge

First of all, I thank you a lot, it means a lot to me that the gratitude comes from you, and secondly, of course it is a challenge, especially if you are one of the people who do not like to have to repeat everything from 0 , at least in my case, I thank God it was only until the third attempt, where I finally get the victory. Very difficult if it is, but it is really satisfying when you manage to win, with sheer effort and sweat of your hands and your forehead at the same time, a whole package of maps without making any save, or something similar.

[Clippy]

 

[donevan427]

1 hour ago, Clippy said:

Always enjoyable to watch another episode. Map03 was the first map I made, then i made the rest in order. I think I made it a bit to dark, you footage looked really dark. I was thinking of going over it and making it look nicer (with more of a collapsed mine turned death trap feel), but decided to only do very minor touch ups. I designed Map03 for a pistol start, so atleast you didn't have to go through with barely any ammo, the plasma flashlight was nice. Reminded me of my first time playing doom on the ps1 using the chaingun as a flashlight.

Map04 and map02 are my favorite levels. The teleporting cyberdemon is a big difficulty spike, Its pretty much the only place I died while testing the map. What did you think of the texture work in map04? my first pass on it, it was all green and gray. Like how map02 is all brown and brown. I might of gone over board avoiding it looking all the same color like map02.

 

[Clippy]

I thought it was interesting the green marble textures with the red brick textures. I also like the way that map 4 kept opening up to reveal more monsters and stuff

 

I make maps too and I'm not very good at textures so I'm not sure I'm good at reviewing them either haha but I had no complaints

 

I think I had the most fun playing map 4. 

 

4 > 1 > 2 > 3 is my personal preference

 

The teleporting cyber demon was tricky until I got him focused on the barons. Other than that I had a great time fighting the hordes of monsters

 

These are good first maps buddy I'll get to the last map soon!

[Clippy]

 

[Suitepee]

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/813481400

 

My playthrough starts at 1:03:30.

 

Thanks to @dobu gabu maru for the playtest recommendation, was a decent wad overall.

[Wilster_Wonkels]

Level 1 was kind of bland to me, not a whole lot for me to say honestly, but level 2 was head and shoulders above it. Really enjoyed level 2, but the lighting felt flat for the most part. I think some variation in the lighting to make it a bit moodier would've been nice. This is an odd complaint perhaps, but I felt like the ceilings in level 2 were bland. A lot of room just had this flat one texture ceiling and some variation there too would've helped the map visually. I loved the puzzle in the one library room, with the lowering and raising of the coloured platforms. It was fun. My favourite was level 2. This is definitely the mold that I feel you should follow. The difficulty was fair but firm, a very good challenge without being stupidly difficult. I like exploring the level, and it had the most interesting architecture to me. You did a really good job with it.

 

Level 3 was also sort of bland, but also tedious. I just felt like I was meandering through tunnels against enemies that had their backs to me. Level 3 was my second least favourite level. By the time I reached the end, I had missed all the secrets, and about a third of the monsters, but I just wanted it done with.

 

Level four was interesting, perhaps a bit too big for its own good. It felt somewhat empty, and a lot of the time I didn't really know where I was supposed to be going. I was just stumbling around and happened to find my way through everything. I really love the idea of choosing between items. That's something I haven't seen in a doom wad before. It's a great idea, and you did a really good job with it. Level 4 was my second favourite.

 

Level 5 I didn't finish. It just felt boring to me. There were waves of enemies and not a whole lot else to it I felt. To me it was the worst level.

[Arrowhead]

Really enjoyed the vanilla texture sector vehicles. One of the better attempts I've seen w/ just the stock textures. I had fun w/ this. The second map was my favourite, I especially liked the hectic fight in the yellow key room.

[Oldschoolgeek32]

 

I enjoyed this map! Level Design is really well done and I like its architectural style especially the opening part of the level with the cars and the outside courtyard layouts. Combat-Wise, its really well balanced, maybe slightly more enemies may improve the outside parts of the map but overall, a really good  starting map! :) 

 

[donevan427]

what a nice thanksgiving surprise to have my thread get bumped :) thanks to everyone that tried it out!

 

[donevan427]

Just checked out suitepee's stream, nice job playing you made the mapset look easy.

On 11/23/2020 at 5:27 PM, Suitepee said:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/813481400

 

My playthrough starts at 1:03:30.

 

Thanks to @dobu gabu maru for the playtest recommendation, was a decent wad overall.

map1 I focused on making an outdoor area with shadows. map3 was designed for pistol start and for you to have very little ammo, but playing it that way means you have punch out alot of the demons in the maze area, or avoid them until you get to the berserk pack. It's not the normal way to play doom and I'm not sure how to push the player into playing that way without it being frustrating. I was going to have map2 end with a death exit but i didn't know how to make one at the time( probably made the mapset better honestly).

The library area (with the bookcase platforming) in map2 doesn't have a way to get up top, since you can go there before the going through the switch maze. map4 was focused on different combat challenges, and map5 was my take on a big wide open slaughter-like map without going to crazy with monster counts. Glad you liked the mapset, I had alot of fun making them and learned alot.

If you or anyone else is curious what I have been up to after this mapset, I made a couple maps in @ViolentBeetle speedmapping event Hellevator. Check out the thread below, the megawad should be released soon! Also my maps have custom music (sorry d_runnin fans)!