The DWmegawad Club plays: 180 Minutes Pour Vivre

[Doritos420]

Map 05 - Grande Bleu

 

This map was like a warm hug. After running around doing errands all morning I made myself a hot cup of tea and got cozy to play a bit of Doom. Very joyful map with the plentiful ammo and upbeat music. Loved the aesthetics, and after the slaughter it was fun to poke around for the secrets (since the map is so small it wasn't a chore to go back and explore).

 

Really nice map, I like how at the start you can approach it in a few different ways: use the rocket launcher, let the monsters in-fight or go nuts with the berserk pack. You can rush through the area and unleash all the monsters at once or you can take your time and deal with the demons it little waves.

 

The secret area was very exciting as well, trying to hunt down the arch villes before the invulnerability wore off was a blast. I also really enjoyed the exit room with the whole platoon of zombie soldiers waiting for you, miraculously didn't get hit as I mowed them down with the chain gun.

 

Great job @Roofi!

Edited March 5, 2021 by Doritos420
spelling

[RottingZombie]

So I started this wad, and enjoyed it so much I got to map11. Without talking about that map ahead of time, can someone PM me how to open the final room, with the final few enemies in it? I've been wandering around for 30 minutes. If nobody has gotten there, I can wait. I'll just eat some of the leftover plasma cells.

 

Edit: Nevermind, I found it exactly 5 seconds after posting this. :(

Edited March 6, 2021 by RottingZombie

[ironicmoustache]

Well into the 6th where I am, so I'll get it going. Crispy, UV, pistol starting.

 

MAP06 - Complexe Cendré

Fun little map. Died at the big blue key battle twice (and restarted once after I realised I'd wasted RL ammo on the turret revenants) but those were entirely due to silly mistakes (and one sneeze that I didn't manage to pause the game for in time... or so I'd like to tell myself!) so no complaints on the difficulty here. I liked the new DeHackEd monster and appreciated how much work they did in the infighting for me. I really liked the layout and quasi mountain-base (for lack of a better term) look of the map, and I appreciated how the combo of turret revenants and imps kept me moving during the early parts of the level.

 

Got lucky with the final AV. I have this habit of zooming in to pick up dropped ammo (even when I don't really need it), so I spotted the AV after I went to pick up a dropped magazine from a resurrected zombieman on the upper floor. Eliminated the AV in almost complete safety by taking pot shots from above and ducking behind cover to avoid the attack.

Really liked this map. Great MIDI too, reminding me that I should play Revilution.

Edited March 6, 2021 by ironicmoustache

[golbeeze]

I probably shouldn't post at 2 AM because I can't remember all the details, but I am loving this wad so far. I had pretty good luck with most of the traps that other people have been mentioning. I was a little stuck on map 06 because I missed one of the most obvious switches ever. The new enemy on map 06 is quite the treat and the blue key ambush is pretty intense.

 

Maps 2-6 (and then Japanese Community Project randomly after it)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pgjm-iPhL5U

[dei_eldren]

MAP06 - Starts out with hitscanners, Pinkies and Chaingunners, and a couple of constrained Hell Knights.  Not exactly easy-peasy thanks to their numbers and placement, coming from all sides, but with some care progress is inevitable.  But after these comes the now familiar Blue Key trap, and some tens of mid-tier demons - mostly Cacos and Revs, some spiders, but think there was Pain Elementals too and maybe something else - spawn into existence.  Slaughter-time has come... This has a bit more bite to it than Map05's main battle, but it's all good fun, life and limb are under threat but at least there's some provisions of health around.  My naturally care-free ways earned me my first and only death on the map, but all in all, this is very manageable - challenging but not stressful. 

The layout is simple, but fits the level's concept - a complex - perfectly, and is nicely done.  Only one secret which felt a bit obligatory.  Got through in about 12:50.  Again, 8/10!  (HMP, Continuous, Blind).

Edited March 6, 2021 by dei_eldren

[TJG1289]

Map05: Grand Bleu - Roofi

100% kills and secrets. Time: 10:22

Deaths: 1

 

Really fun map! Focuses on the berserk, RL and pistol for the most part, though there are 2 chaingunners towards the end you can pilfer their guns from. I like the opening outside area, where walls lower each time you grab some rockets on elevated patches of ground. You'll get swarmed by imps, pinkies, and zombies, with some Hell Knights and Mancubi sniping you. I took to punching everything on the ground level and used the rockets on the heavies. I was saving my rockets for the hidden fight. My first time playing this map, I found the hidden fight very easily. An inconspicuous window with a bunch of clips nearby it? Hmmmm... Anyway, got killed here as I decided to save the invul for later and pretty much regretted it as I got hit by 3 revenant missiles and an Archie blast at the same time. Hidden fight features the new Cacodemon type, whose name I forgot and is probably mentioned somewhere here in this thread. They shoot way too many Mancubus projectiles. Thankfully, since there's a lot of monsters here, they got busy infighting. It's actually an easy fight: grab invul, rocket Archies, and circle-strafe to win. Rewards is 2 Soul Spheres, and a bunch of rockets and some boxes of bullets. Other 3 secrets were easy to find, but the combat armor took me a while to find the initial playthrough which is honestly weird since I didn't remember how to get it this time and found how to easily. Rest of the level is easy-peasy. 

 

Map06: Complex Cendre - JC

100% kills and secrets. Time 6:28

Deaths: 1

Nice and short little arena map. My only death came almost immediately as I ran to the right of the start and proceeded to get double-teamed by a shotgunner and an 80-damage Rev rocket that I wasn't aware was following me. That building where I died is where you can lower the blue key and grab a chaingun from a commando you kill, so do that first, then go through the other building to ensure some safety later. Grab the world's least hidden combat armor (if you didn't grab a security armor a minute ago), grab the RL in the corner, then start the big fight by grabbing the blue key. Buncha nasties will spawn, including the first non-hidden new Cacos. Circle-strafe to win, making sure not to get hit by the new Arachnotrons and Mancubi back on the starting area. The building to get back up to the elevated start is closed, but the door will open after a while, so rocket what you can. Once you get back up to the blue key door, go around the side to take out the Archie before opening the door. I ended up with <20 health at the end, so the fight was kinda tough. 

 

Also, the intermission text didn't load for me despite dragging both WAD files on GZDoom. So I just took the 180mpv_b solo onto it, cheated to the end of normal Doom II map 6, and read the text that way. 

[Omniarch]

MAP06: Complexe Cendre (Ash Complex) by JC - 100% / 100%

 

A small, open, combat-focused outing with a strong sense of flow, Ash Complex is an archetypal speedmap, simple, goal-focused and easy to enjoy. While lacking the impressive scope of some previous entries, there is a certain simple elegance to the layout and texturing. I also approve of the midi selection. Always nice to see TNT: Revilution's soundtrack get some love.

 

The progression and combat are one in the same, with most of the action taking place in the central courtyard. The only real issue here is how easy it is to simply run past the main event, using the map's meager supply of rockets to blast your way to the exit. If one does decide to remain, the shortage of rockets and the lack of an SSG makes cleaning up the remaining monsters a bit of a chore.

 

Overall, an enjoyable if rather simple entry that really could have benefited from the last map's ample rocket supply.

[Dalish]

MAP06 - Complexe Cendré by JCD
Stats: 100% Kills | 100% Items | 100% Secrets

 

MAP 06 continues the style of MAP 02 and MAP 03 while being more open and using more "outdoor" space. It is a combat-focused map, that starts off with hitscanners, pinkies, and imps. Later on, in the outdoor arena with the blue key, the combat gets more "slaughtery" with cacodemons, nightwatch cacodemons, pain elementals, imps, and revenants teleporting in. To kill them, you have the rocket launcher with plenty of rockets, health, and other ammo laying around as well as the only secret containing the megaarmor. Be careful tho! You don't want to blow yourself up with the nearby barrels.

 

I died three times, each time I died I restarted the whole level. During the second attempt, I realized that those rockets have to be used cautiously, and wasting them to kill the turret revenants is not the way to go. Still, got killed by the lost souls. Finally, on my third run, I used those rockets to kill the pain elementals so the level doesn't get flooded with souls that encircle can you and block your way. After that, the rest was just optimally dodging projectiles, movement, and making monsters infight. I then fought my way to the exit where the Archie boi took me by surprise. I was lucky enough to have plenty of bullets to kill him. Finished the level with more than 50 HP.

 

The whole of the map style reminds me of TNT Revilution's maps. I think it even uses the midi from TNT. Not sure about that. It's exactly my kind of map, so I really enjoyed it. I like how the mapper used the "revenant towers" to keep the player moving. The reskinned arachnotrons look cool. One more secret would be a nice addition. Still, great flow, design, and combat. 8/10!

Edited March 6, 2021 by LeDoomer

[Roofi]

Map 06 :

 

 

Cool map with diagonal geometry and ton of wide spaces. The funniest thing about the blue key's fight is to watch the black cacodemons litterally destroying everything in their sight thanks to their overpowered attack. Indeed, I like how the map relies on infights and also how the blue armor "secret" is easy to find.

 

The only thing I could complain is the clunky timed door which close when you reach the blue key. It can be activated 4 times and it's annoying when you accidentaly  close it again after the fight , just because you wanted to get the ammo around the key.

Edited March 6, 2021 by Roofi

[Biodegradable]

MAP06 - Complexe Cendré

HMP | Continuous with Saves | GZDoom + Dead Marine

 

Hot damn, this one was fun. While it's probably a little bit too symmetrical in its layout, it makes up for it with its combat. It's basic, but much more satisfactory than its similar predecessor, MAP04 because it makes much better use of space to make the combat more dynamic and the progression flow feel more fun and fluid. Not much else I can say about this one, but hey, sometimes you don't need to say too much about a simple map that offers a pleasurable little romp of pure Doomage.

 

 

[WH-Wilou84]

7 hours ago, TJG1289 said:

Also, the intermission text didn't load for me despite dragging both WAD files on GZDoom.

Hmm, weird.
To get the story texts, wad loading order should be 180mpv.wad first, then 180mpv_b.wad.
You could try creating a shortcut to GZDoom.exe and use command line options :
 

[path_to_your_GZDoom_executable] -file 180mpv.wad 180mpv_b.wad

 

[continuum.mid]

31 minutes ago, WH-Wilou84 said:

Hmm, weird.
To get the story texts, wad loading order should be 180mpv.wad first, then 180mpv_b.wad.
You could try creating a shortcut to GZDoom.exe and use command line options :
 

[path_to_your_GZDoom_executable] -file 180mpv.wad 180mpv_b.wad

 

Interesting, I'd assumed that 180mpv_b.wad was just the bonus map. Regardless, the story text is quite amusing.

 

Anyway, on to the review:

 

Map06 -  Complex Cendré

PrBoom-Plus 2.5.1.5 + OpenGL, Ultra-Violence difficulty, pistol starts, saves, any%

 

A really well-designed map. The first part of the map involves a lot of ducking behind cover to avoid revenant missiles from the front and imp fireballs from the back, with a couple of rooms to the side containing hitscanners. The blue key teleport ambush is the most serious fight in the WAD so far, with the Nightmare Cacodemon being much more prominent here, though I happen to know there are some true slaughtermaps coming up in the later third.

 

Also, noticed that the Arachnotron sprites are the same as in Ancient Aliens, which is interesting. I'd guess they originated in 3 Heures d'Agonie.

Edited March 6, 2021 by northivanastan

[MtPain27]

MAP 04: Ignominie

 

There's almost nothing to this map: it's three rooms with thirty monsters, and while it may ruffle a few on first playthrough, it can be consistently outwitted with a little patience. Kill the imps in the first room and shoot the switches behind them. In the next room, lowering the red key will reveal revenants: just ignore them, open the red door to release a baron, and hopefully he'll infight with them while you slip past. Hitting the fake exit switches releases an arch-vile in the revenant room, which is why you don't waste ammo on them. Eliminate the enemies in the fake exit while you wait for the archie to stick his head out, rocket him, and clean up the stragglers with the chaingun and your remaining shells. It's actually the second easiest map so far when approached this way: it's a bit of a one trick pony maybe, but it's perfectly acceptable as a speed map. Good music too. (Doom Wiki doesn't have all the tunes listed, I kinda wish I knew what they were)

 

MAP 05: Grand Bleu

 

This map's a beach in every sense of the word, it's a seashore-set slaughterfest, probably the most satisfying experience in the megawad so far. I love the opening fight, where the ammo pickups will lower walls revealing more and more enemies: you've got plenty of room to run, and more than enough rockets, so go wild. I typically hate when mappers stash big chunks of monsters in secrets, but because this map is so petite, I actually enjoyed tracking them down; they are a little tricky to find, but it's worth it. The secret fight on the island with the three arch-viles and a LOT of other vacationing demons is made much too easy by the invulnerability, but I think the point of the map is to kick back a bit, as we're still early in the wad. I had a great time with this one, it put a genuine smile on my face.

 

MAP 06: Complex Cendre

 

Oh yes: Jeremy Doyle's "Neato" is one of the standout tracks from TNT: Revilution, and it's used to excellent effect here. Everything boils down to the big blue key fight in the center of the complex: it involves several nightwatch cacos, revenants, hitscanners, and some sniping arachnotrons and mancubi if I remember correctly. I was lucky enough to survive it on my first attempt: there's plenty of room to run around, but the ammo is a bit tight, so you might want to lean on infighting when your bullet counter starts ticking down. Despite its auspicious start and explosive centerpiece, Complex Cendre kind of unravels after the big fight is over. The door that lets you out of the pit is on a timer, but I was done fighting a full minute before it let me out: I was about to idclip through it, thinking I'd broken the map, when it popped open. The obligatory arch-vile at the exit is easy to see coming, and sans-SSG it's kind of...well, obligatory, to take out. Despite the mediocre denouement, this is still probably my second favorite map so far. Side note, the purple arachno projectiles look sharp!

 

Oh, and that story text post-MAP 06: "--PRESS SPACE BAR TO CONTINUE--"

 

Priceless. 

 

[xX_Lol6_Xx]

Map06: Complexe Cendré

 

Man, the French Doom comunity has good music taste. I almost died (I started the map with 25% health or something like that), but I enjoyed this map, again, quite short, but with good fights. I finally met the arachnotron (good sprites BTW). This gets better and better. I liked the story too. Got 100% of everything

 

Deaths so far: Map 03 (one death)

Edited March 6, 2021 by Lol 6
LMAO

[ironicmoustache]

MAP07 - Chaologie Quantique

 

A few false starts on this one (that's what you get for trying to play Doom first thing in the morning I guess) before I realised I should just stand in one of the chaingun doors to chainsaw the pinkies one by one. Elevator down was rough because of all the close-up shotgunners waiting, but survivable. I liked the circular nature of the first half, with new switches opening up and triggering another wave of teleporting enemies. All manageable, but mistakes can quickly spiral into death if you're not careful.

 

The chaingunner + AV switch was rough and resulted in another death, but it's manageable if you're either a bit more aware of your surroundings or, well, just know what's going to happen. Rest of the map was doable, and the twin AVs were dispatched without too much difficulty with the plasma rifle. I thought the small bunch of hitscanners through the exit room window was a nice, if perhaps slightly nasty, touch; I finished with my health in the teens and had I not noticed them I probably would've died going for the exit switch.

 

Nice compact map, certainly keeps the adrenaline going.

Edited March 7, 2021 by ironicmoustache

[TJG1289]

Map07: Chaologie Quantique - Datacore and [WH] Wilou-84

100% kills and secrets. Time: 10:42

Deaths 1

 

Nice blue map. Beginning has you making a circle of sorts throughout the first several rooms, revealing switches and enemies at a constant pace. Thankfully, nothing teleports in that's a huge threat other than hit-scan, so just take cover when need-be to survive. Not sure what the point of the first secret was. Was that where the backpack was? I realized halfway through the map I had picked up one and I didn't remember doing so. The second half isn't too bad. Kinda nasty trap when you hit a switch lowering a wall with some chaingunners, and backpedaling only lands you at the feet of an Archvile. Surprisingly, I didn't have a problem with him this time. I guess I got lucky. After hitting the switch in the blue key room, I lured out the imps and spectres in there, since I remembered the Archvile trap. I didn't remember it being 2 of them, but the plasma made easy work of them. Pretty solid map overall.

Edited March 7, 2021 by TJG1289

[dei_eldren]

MAP07 - From the get-go, every fight now really is a threat to life and limb here, as the enemy placement is often surprising and always has a certain degree of viciousness, and the situations are frequent.  Quite a bit of the more difficult demons, and even Archie makes a nasty appearance in a place i'd rather wish him not to. Eventually i arrive, i think without deaths so far, at what proves to be - for me - the most difficult trap of the map - a switch.  Attacked AV from one side, and without at first knowing it, a cascade of Chaingunners from the other, in a cramped cave area.  Yeah, my strategy sucked, which is why i died at least five attempts - why didn't i just run away first i'll never know as there was certainly opportunity for it.  i ended up plasmaing the Chaingunners and sniping the others with rockets and somehow survived it.  To be fair, in hindsight it doesn't seem so impossible, but in the heat of the moment i was overwhelmed.  

After this, there's a few more deadly encounters and traps, but somehow the gameplay felt bland and i didn't quite enjoy most of it.  The combination of the fights and the environment didn't do it for me, and overall the level felt somewhat ... i don't know, i often like cramped levels, and i often like grinding, but here the elements just don't come together so well, for me.  Maybe it felt somewhat formulaic & artificial, just going from one fight & trap to another.

 

There's two secrets, the other of which i found - the second... goddammit, i spent literally half an hour searching for it, and came up empty-handed, which sucks because there's a couple of areas one could get to. i  didn't find a shootable switch, i humped everything that could be humped, and wasted my time trying to shoot at the two small tunnels i thought might have switches in them, and subsequent anything at all i could see.  (Dont get me wrong, i like devious secrets...when i can find them!  And i never blame the mapper for not finding them...i know the limits of my experience.)  

 

My final time was a bit over 30 minutes, but in reality i used at least the same time not included in final tally, searching, shooting, and humping...

 

The design of the level, the layout, architecture, and the decor, was really great - this map is really good looking.  As per gameplay, i enjoyed the first and last fights the most, and apart from the vicious trap, the caverns.

 

Oh well - 6/10!  (HMP, Continuous, Blind.)

Edited March 7, 2021 by dei_eldren

[Roofi]

Map 07 :

 

 

Quite average map ,  on both aesthetic and gameplay aspects. At least , it's not a boring traditional dead simple map. Progression tends to be quite annoying because of huge amount of switches all close to each other to press. Also , as a lover of shootable switchs in doom maps, I don't understand the purpose to put shootable switchs when you can easily reach them by hand... Gameplay gets better when once you get the SSG.

 

This map looks like a regular underground tech base with colors which don't really match imo.Grey, Blue and Green... However , I really enjoy the blue rooms and corridors near the end. Architecture has nothing really striking but the cavernous part at the north part brings some variety.

 

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Roofi

[Dalish]

MAP07 - Chaologie Quantique by Datacore, [WH]-Wilou84
Stats: 100% Kills | 30% Items | 0% Secrets

The longest level so far. It's sort of a classic tech base map with both hitscanners and other enemy types. The combat is good, challenging and there enough resources (health, ammo, armor) around so it's definitely not something frustrating.

You also get a backpack right from the beginning. The most difficult part of this map has to be the archvile that spawn near the chaingunners you killed before. You have to make sure to kill otherwise those chaingunners are gonna shoot you like crazy. Or maybe the part where you go down by a lift and there are shotgunners around you kinda like in MAP 04. The two other archies at the end are not big of a deal.

 

The design is great with colors like blue and green mixed in to make it a little more interesting. Maybe there are too many switches. Simple doors or open archways would be better. Also, there are two shootable switches that I believe could be reached by hand which to me makes no sense. There are two secrets in total but I didn't find any. I wonder if it had another plasma gun.

 

For me at least, this is so far the most fun map. Looking forward to the next one.

Edited March 7, 2021 by LeDoomer

[Biodegradable]

MAP07 - Chaologie Quantique

HMP | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom + Dead Marine

 

The most recurring theme throughout this first episode so far has definitely been FUN and MAP07 is no exception. A thoroughly entertaining romp through a treacherous little techbase involving high-stakes teleportation shenanigans, hitscanner ambushes and a couple of cheeky Archvile encounters thrown in for good measure. I also finally got a hold of my chainsaw which was nice hehe. 

 

 

[BoxY]

map06

Nothing too much going on here, the BK fight is map's centrepiece and it's pretty much just run in circles for a couple minutes until everything's dead and then head to the exit. I was actually doing so little during that fight that I forgot I even had a rocket launcher for a couple of minutes, probably not a good sign for player engagement. The revs on the pillars could be kept alive to help with the fight, but since I was blind I killed them all with the shotgun in advance which was pretty boring.

 

edit: 180mpv06str114.zip more fun way to play the map :^)

 

map07

Eh, it's an okay map but has the most blocky and uncreative geometry so far, and hunting the random switches plastered everywhere gets old fast. If there's one thing I really dislike it's that there's a bunch of hitscan traps at the start with no armour and barely any health, which makes it feel like the map was just trying to randomly waste as much of my health as possible, and the chaingun at the start is hidden in a small unmarked closet for no reason - if it's the first gun in the map, it's kind of a no-brainer to me that the player should be able to see it. Everything else was decent, pretty conventional fights with moderate difficulty, nothing revolutionary. But hey at least it's not Dead Simple.

Edited March 7, 2021 by BoxY

[rehelekretep]

map05 fda

this is just a fun map: good midi, nice design and aesthetics, good gameplay. i particularly am fond of 1) rocket and berserk play - theres not enough maps with this focus, 2) invuln + rockets, 3) squishy zombiemen versus rockets, find this in ToD maps a lot and i love it. great stuff by Roofi!

 

map06 fda

this is quite a simple and fun map but my one criticism; not enough rockets. maybe they are in a secret that i didnt find but its quite tedious to clean up the enemies with only peashooter and shotgun

 

map07 fda

can be quite deadly in parts. the aforementioned feature of the arena moving and changing was cool. overall bonus points for not being a Dead Simple but doesnt stick in my mind as particularly memorable

Edited March 7, 2021 by rehelekretep

[Doritos420]

Map06 - Complexe Cendre

Short and simple, very good map. Really dug the music, Initially progressed through the tech area slowly, stocking up on equipment before reaching the blue key and starting the battle. Felt like a fair fight, lots of space and cover to run to. I started outside but soon found myself overwhelmed so ran inside for some cover and fought a pair of Barrons. Soon enough though a bunch of imps and revenants had followed me and were boxing me in, so I ended up running back outside to take care of most of the enemies. Very cool arena fight. Secret was a bit too easy for me though, ended up grabbing the mega armor at before exiting the level.

 

Map 07 - Chaologie Quantique

This map paired with the music gave off a dark and foreboding atmosphere. Very claustrophobic with lots of teleporting enemies kept me alert and ready for something that might come out from behind the corner. Navigation was a bit confusing at times, trying to find the right switch to hit. Lots of detail put into the tech base look to it. The area when the archville spawned in front of you with a bunch of chain gunners behind you was pretty intense (luckily I had grabbed the previous plasma rifle). Towards the end of the level I died to the pair of archvilles, I mistimed my peak around the corner and got zapped. On that note, even though there was a lot of ambushes I feel like there was enough health and ammo around so that it was not too difficult. The first secret was very easy to find, had trouble with the 2nd one though. And it's nice to finally have a chainsaw after missing it on the first map.

[continuum.mid]

Map07 - Chaologie Quantique

PrBoom-Plus 2.5.1.5 with OpenGL, UV, pistol start, saves, any%

Surprised not to see any Dead Simple mechanics here, maybe I missed them. The TNT music is oddly calm for what is effectively the hardest and most fun map so far; there are excellent fights here, like the several waves of teleporting fodder enemies and the double Archvile trap at the end. The blue rooms are pretty nice-looking too. I really liked this map.

Edited March 7, 2021 by northivanastan

[xX_Lol6_Xx]

Map07: Chaologie Quantique

 

The hardest so far, with traps that can kill you if you're not ready, I got my ssg back. The music is an interesting and good choice, the midi is good. Missed a secret and a lot of items, but I got all the kills ( I think I did)

 

[Omniarch]

MAP07: Chaologie Quantique (Quantum chaology), by @Datacore85 & @WH-Wilou84 - 100% / 0%

 

An enjoyable little blue techbase, with a style of combat similar to Datacore's MAP03. I feel other posters have more or less covered this one pretty thoroughly, so I'm not sure I have much to add. Plus, I'm pretty knackered after a long day of fighting with dehacked. I'm some of those reading can relate :)

[golbeeze]

Map 08

This was a fun one with lots of attention to detail. The location is a gold mine/vault sort of area. It was a lot of fun to play through and I think there was a new enemy. Either something went funny or my mod (Argent) messed with it because the enemy died in a single shotgun blast. Pretty cool battles, though I definitely skipped a big one once I realized how many revenants and flying eyeballs showed up.

[dei_eldren]

MAP08 - Ace!  What a creative idea to make a gold mine in Doom, and execute it this well, still retaining to classic Doom atmosphere.  This alone is already impressive to me.  Played this through a few days ago already, so some of the details elude me, but i enjoyed every moment of the gameplay - the encounters were often very challenging, and sometimes exasperating, with Chaingunners doing hitscanner duty on some far off ledge, managing my only death.  Some nice encounters with Hell Knights (IIRC), and a Mancubi, too.

A basic route goes around the playing area, and that route has different sections to it.  What's remarkable is how the elements are used to form such a varied cave-system that invites exploration; the combination of caves and manmade areas, the height variations, the surprisingly expansive vistas in a mine...

The combination of fights and adventure is really a killer for me, that feature makes Si666il my favourite set, with the way its executed.  This is not quite on that high a level, but certainly aspires towards it.  Also what also reminds me of Si666il is how well the restricted environment is used to flavor the gameplay.  The map is beautiful, as it is there's nothing to complain about, but with some more detailing work, it could become absolutely fantastic.

After everything was killed, i enjoyed hunting for the secrets and getting to know the system intimately, and even managed to find all of them, and so in 26 minutes it was all over, sadly.  This level could be much longer and it wouldn't overstay its welcome.

 

Easily my favourite level so far - so i'll give this 9/10!  Great work, Roofi!

 

(i wish i had actually thought about my scoring system earlier, but this basically is a point higher than levels that got the same score before, meaning earlier scores are no longer comparable, as otherwise i'd have to give this a perfect ten, but i can't quite do that.)

Edited March 8, 2021 by dei_eldren

[Dalish]

MAP08 - Ruée vers Laure  by Roofi
Stats: 100% Kills | 0% Items | 33% Secrets

 

This is my favorite level so far even though I died like 7 times here. The combat is challenging with archviles and chaingunners in the roster again giving me PTSD from Plutonia :D, but it is so much fun to play. You have to be careful with your movement and also with your ammo management. I died so much because I simply wasted rockets or bullets on enemies which then later left me pretty much defenseless. It seems like this kind of combat and is going to be the case for the upcoming maps as well.

 

The whole map seems to be some kind of mine with both tech and "cave-like" structures. The colors and overall design are amazing with mostly the color yellow brightening things up which looks really cool. The Wolfenstein 3D door in the starting area was a nice touch. There are 3 secrets, one of which also contains the only item considered in the item count. I only managed to find the one with the rocket launcher though which was quite crucial because I can't imagine fighting the demons in this level without it. I'm glad that it was easy to find.

 

Despite the fact that I died so much I still enjoyed going through and learning the level which for me is one of the proofs that this level is really well made and thought out. The maps so far just keep getting better and better. 9/10 from me!

Edited March 8, 2021 by LeDoomer

[Omniarch]

MAP08: Ruee vers Laure (Rush to Laure/Laura/Lauren), by @Roofi - 100% / 33%

 

Another excellent entry from Roofi!

 

Like his last map, Rush to Laure is designed around a strong central theme, though unlike MAP05, there is little joy to be had here. The map takes place in what appears to be an abandoned goldmine, crawling with hitscanners. Where Grand Bleu emphasized freedom of movement and a carefree style of combat, this map requires caution and careful resource management if you want to come out alive.