The DWmegawad Club plays: Base Ganymede

[cannonball]

E1M3 - Bigger isn't always better.....

Honestly the main issue here is twofold, firstly the layout is set out in a way where monsters are mostly in front of you and in big enough areas where there isn't too much threat playing casually, the second is that the bigger monsters tend to placed in ways where they carry little actual threat. There is sufficient munitions and a beserk to prevent this being too tedious but I feel that more care could have been made to make combat more interesting. The biggest faux pas is the spectres in the nukage on the way to the yellow/blue doors. They should be introduced after dropping into the nukage instead of being already there and as such can be killed before the player needs to enter there. 

In the end, this one was a little dull and was actually easier than the preceding maps. I never made a UV Max for this one, well yet at least.

 

E1M9

Playing this again, this feels like a very early work of Khorus. A rather stringy layout and a blatant wallhump for the secret are a bit of a clue to me. Its short and pretty easy. The start is nicely chaotic though.

Spoiler

 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by cannonball

[Doritos420]

E1M9 - Sample Extraction

Spoiler

Small, simple map but is a decent challenge for sure. This level spawns you off in a large courtyard with what looks like a giant drill in the middle. Very chaotic hot start, you can grab a shotgun and chaingun early on. I was able to clear out the rest of the enemies without much hassle once you get rid of all the hit scanners. Going into the next building you might be caught off guard by the cacodemon hiding in the corner like I was. Pretty simple area, I wish there was a bit more detail in this building. Next you go through to the toxic waste building, I liked the little teleporter trap with the hit scanners spawning in behind you. The next area is a bunch of imps and shotgunners in high up spots, I ended up sniping everything with the chaingun and then grabbing the rad suit to get the final key (I like that so far maps have been fair with giving you a rad suit whenever you need it). The secret to this map honestly pissed me off a bit since I didn’t get it, and though I knew it was something to do with the rocket launcher, the teleporter area to get it has very subtle telegraphing to indicate it to be a secret (at least subtle for me), and you don’t want to hang around there since it’s in a toxic pool. I ended up beating the level with only 9 shells left so that would have come in handy.

Edited July 4, 2021 by Doritos420
added map image

[Capellan]

 

[dei_eldren]

E1M4 (HNTR, Continuous): K 99% (127/128), I 84% (43/51), S 0% (0/0), T 16:27, D 0 - Not very happy about the highly taxing hot start, with a horde of Pinkies, and everyone else up to Cacodemons - but i survived it, so on we go into the nukage-facility built inside a cave system.  The layout and visuals are both very good, and when done right and not to confound the player, this type of combination always gives a sense of adventure.

 

First task is to gain the YK, from an area into which there are two passageways, the nukage-flowing cave-system or through the facility itself.  Both of them lead to a large open outside area surrounded by cliffs, and guarded by all the low-tier enemies, on the side of which there is a small auxiliary building housing the key. The combat on this section is decent, lots of zombies and Imps on the way but it's a fair fight.

 

Once the YK is obtained, we return to the cave, and open a new passageway through the yellow bars.  After traversing a short distance we come to the door of the map's main battlezone.  The enemy roster is the same, and there's a lot of them over a large area, also flanked on cliffs to the left side.  Not my favourite type of combat, similar to the beginning but in larger scale, but it's alright, it certainly fits here, and without a doubt it's fair sometimes to have such (aren't we lucky this mapper didn't have Chaingunners at his disposal?)  After only some stragglers are left upon the cliffs, it's time to go up to finish them off and collect the RK used to open the final door.

 

It's after the battle that my real gripe comes. After getting to the exit and killing the demon within, checking the inside, checking the map and my time, and saving, while having every intention of going back to collect what i'd left behind (quite a bit of ammo, and health) and get the last kill, as per usual.  But instead, i find myself locked in.  What the fffffuck?  It's bullshit, i should've just used idclip, but why should i care?  (Because you wanted that health...?)  Those design-choices... It was a decent map until now, but there's no recovering from sillyness of this magnitude for a Cacoward -recipient.  Seriously?  2/5.

 

Here's some pix i used idclip to get taken...

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited July 4, 2021 by dei_eldren

[Pechudin]

E1M4:

     A fair bit easier than the previous map (the non-secret one), in my opinion. Ammunition is not a problem, and you are never really in any danger health-wise. I guess this is because the hitscanners are mostly indoors instead in wide open spaces? The final area in is interesting to me, mostly for the visuals. I never thought just flat STARTAN walls could look so fine. Even though the detail is minimal, it looks ... right.

 

Also, a Plasma Rifle? For what? I half-expected a Cyberdemon in that final area ...

 

Deaths: 0

Verdict: Polished nostalgia.

Edited July 4, 2021 by Pechudin

[xX_Lol6_Xx]

E1M3, Chocolate-Doom with FreeDoom, medium skill, saves when needed

 

E1M3 Results: 100% kills, 83% items and 33% secrets

 

I like this one, I really do, kinda looks like a tech-base with a mine, I already see some Bruiser Brothers and lost souls, and this map is already giving you some rockets, so I's save them for later. I died once mostly because I found almost no health, and I already had grabbed the berserk. I didn't find the secret level, and I may not play it, I'm a bit busy. In any case, I'm enjoying this wad, I think it really fits in the Doom 1 atmosphere

 

 

[Book Lord]

E1M4

Doomsday Engine, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

E1M4 begins just outside the final area of M3, in a canyon where Doomguy is already surrounded by all kinds of enemies. The way they emerged from the gorge, each at his own pace and in waves, was somehow fascinating: Cacodemon & Lost Souls came flying, Demons running, Imps and zombies walking, at least when they were not busy at shooting or infighting. There was a nice random element to this section that I appreciated by playing it a second time.

Spoiler

The canyon ended on an UAC door, opening to a gloomy cavern with a slime pit and an eye-catching MARBFAC2 in the background. After clearing the usual squad of shooters, multiple options became available to reach the next area on the right: open the door and camp it until the opposition desists or take a radiation suit and explore the nukage tunnels, leading to useful health and ammo and eventually to the same room, as well as to the second big outdoor area.

Spoiler

Outside there were lots of Imps and Lost Souls emerging from the ground, so I retreated inside: they tried to swarm me from the window, they crept inside the nukage tunnel and even entered the small door on the other side. Another competent funnelling of enemies to attack the player from different directions and put pressure on him/her.

Spoiler

A room full of barrels and troopers granted some comic relief and then access to the luring YK, which after some more bars and switches led to the final portion of the level. It was a big L-shaped pool of toxic waste, crossed by a thin walkway and surrounded by rocky cliffs, a texture pattern we have seen a lot of times at this point. The far-away Imps hurled a storm of fireballs as soon as I opened the door; this forced me to retreat and deal with charging Pinkies, then the same Imps angered the lonely Baron of Hell, who made short work of them. You showed fine marksman skills here, my beloved horned Sir!

Spoiler

By then, the map was almost over. There was just time to raise stairs to the cliff, pick up the RK, deal with a little teleport ambush and pop the last Cacodemon. From the key resting place, I got a broader view of the area, which featured an elevated communication aerial. It was not an impressive sight, but it was evocative in its obvious simplicity. The same verdict is worth for the level itself: not as remarkable as E1M3, mostly due to smaller size and low monster count, but still above average with its quality combat setups, straightforward progression, and visual sleekness.

[DavitW]

Here we go with the first episode. Prboom+, Ultra Violence and continuous just so you know.

 

E1M1
A small map, pretty straight forward but not too linear. Resources here are a bit tight and the only secret gives you a mediket and a few shotguns shells. There are some things I like so far and a few things I don't. I like the overall aesthetic of the maps but hurt floors that you're guaranteed to take damage on just annoy me. An easy 100% in under 3 minutes.

 

E1M2
This one was probably made significantly easier playing continuously, but there are some maps later on that were a struggle even carrying over items from the last map so it balances itself out. As is typical of episode 1 in doom wads you can get a secret rocket launcher early here.Usually it's not too useful considering you don't find anything more dangerous than a horde of shotgunners but things are a bit different in this wad. Just 1 secret makes this another easy 100%,

 

E1M3
I missed the secret exit here the first time, but instead of using IDCLEV to warp there I decided to go back and do it right. A big step up from the last two maps with over 200 enemies to fight this time. One thing I liked here was the storytelling through set pieces such as the marine and demon corpses already around and the weapons and ammo lying next to them. Fair the story isn't much more than "These guys dead fighting and then dropped their weapons." But it's still a nice touch I feel most doom maps could use. We can make start making good use of the rocket launcher in this map with a number of cacodemons and barons already being deployed among the weaker monsters. Still has large sections of hurt floor with no rad suit around and then pop-up monsters on said hurt floor you have to cross in order to get the red key.

 

E1M9
Somehow didn't take a single point of damage at the start here despite spawning in an open area with a large amount of hitscanners and numerous fireballs flying around. The weapon of choice so far is the chaingun with the hordes of zombies and plentiful amount of bullets to be found laying around. Other than that another fairly quick & easy 100%. Even ends offs with a nice berserk pack to fully heal you for the next stage.

[ElPadrecitoCholo]

Hello, good night Doomers, I hope you are really well on this occasion. First of all, I would like to communicate that I have also joined what would be the event that the Megawad Club would have this month, and seeing that it was a Wad for Doom 1, it was an opportunity that I could not miss, so I got down to work with what was to make my gameplay on the first episode of the game to where we are currently. And secondly, I will make a brief summary of each of the levels of the game, since technically I was excited when I played the Wad for the first time, therefore, I apologize if I do not get to be so detailed in the publications. Well, well, without more to add, I will start at once with the brief descriptions of each of the maps that I have been playing until today.

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Ultra-Violence || Zandronum || Default || Continuous || Saves when needed

 

Status:
In the video they will be witnesses of my deaths and saved, because detailing them will be a headache...

 

E1M1:
A very interesting map, with a very particular beginning, starting from a kind of sewer, until then reaching the outskirts of the site itself, but in itself, the action here is really enjoyable, because there are Hitscanners everywhere, and there are also Imps, quite a few of them, and only a few Pinkys are present, besides, the little place to go to after exiting through the sewers is just as interesting, although basic in the visual aspect, but anyway, the combat is not loses being there, and on the other hand, I don't really like the idea of only putting toxic soils in much of the map, especially the end zone, as this is a bad way to get out of the level, although good, at least the pain is only for a few moments, then you can leave the level more calmly. Finally, the only secret that this map keeps, is a bit disappointing but at the same time very necessary, personally I expected something more than a first aid kit, but hey, in short, it is not the best map to start the adventure, but I can not consider it the worst I have seen, so it is in the decent, and right there it stays at that.

 

E1M2:
Regarding this map, as in the previous map, at once I will say that the E1M2 disappoints by the fact that it also includes enough toxic soils, and very few anti-radiation suits, but the only thing that saves this map from the Absolute disappointment are the different explorable areas here, although they are somewhat long and at a certain point you get lost easily (like what happened with me, for example), the truth is that once you find the rhythm of this map, it will be much more practical to just go looking for the enemies to kill them without much hassle, besides that, this is the map where we first found the Chaingun, a very useful weapon that will serve later, and also the rocket launcher , only that's a secret. The enemies here were fine, as usual, Hitscanners, Imps and Pinkys, but now with the two new weapons, things should already be a little easier, therefore, this map again falls into decent, because of the excessive toxic floors is that I cannot reach the status of "good".

 

E1M3:
This map has an initial structure that I really liked, how the area is elaborated in an architectonic way was simply good, and the combat here was also good, Hitscanners and Imps at the beginning, unfortunately, later we fall back with the same The usual problem, toxic floors, I mean I understand that the first episode has its levels with this kind of traps, but it is not necessary to put them in the entire episode, not even the original Doom 1 required so much of this to make progression in its levels and a large part of these were just decoration or also minor traps, but in this Wad, priority was given to toxic soils... whatever, later there will be some doors to cross to advance to different areas, Many of these are required for progression because you need the keys to advance, but what I did find interesting about this map is the way in which there is variety in each site you visit, what I mean, at times we fight outdoors, and at other times we enter areas of closed spaces, at least here it is not as linear as in the other 2 previous maps, but nevertheless it has the same problem as the previous levels... the damn toxic soils, but leaving that aside, in this map we find for the first time the Chainsaw, another weapon just as useful for the other maps that follow, and so on the Marine went to try to kill them all but by chance of fate, I find a way to go to the secret level without having killed them all 100%, oops. Anyway, I would give this map a good look because at least it entertains in the fighting section, since they bring three new enemies to combat, the Lost Souls, the Cacodemons and the Barons of Hell, and despite being Toxic soils annoying, at least there are quite a few anti-radiation suits here, for which you are forgiven for this time, so, indeed, I really enjoyed this map unlike the previous ones.

 

E1M9:
Goodness, this map at first I thought it would be one of the Slaughter theme, because of the hard start it shows, Hitscanners, Imps and Pinkys already ready from the beginning but fortunately, the map is short enough to complete it without problems, although there are moments something complicated as the beginning, afterwards things get a bit calm, and I say "a little" because by the end, there are appearances of Lost Souls and Cacodemons in an area where they would be toxic soils (and here we go again), but after that confrontation, going through the exit is practically easy and there are no risks to take. This map itself is really entertaining, because it has direct combat and almost no Puzzles, except for some secrets, but beyond that, it does not stand out at all with respect to the visual and structural section, personally you can see a Not very basic the way in which several buildings were made, but that is understood because the map is not long, so everything is fine here, what I can say is that it falls into the decent, since it has a good combat, but it lacks of a building of structures that make the map look more interesting.

 

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And well people, that would be all for this occasion, and later I will deliver the other maps that follow to get up to date with this event, have a rest and good night.

Edited July 5, 2021 by ElPadrecitoCholo

[Thrustpeak]

UV | Continuous w/ Saves | PrBoom-Plus 

E1M4
It unexpectedly dialed back the enemy count here, but after the high count of the last map (E1M3 not E1M9) giving the player a break here makes sense I suppose. I enjoyed the part where you open a door and are face to face with a room of zombiemen who decided to hang out with some explosive barrels. I always get a kick out of setting off a chain reaction of explosions and carnage. With pretty much no rockets I was hoping to not run into any packs of barons when I found the plasma gun just sitting there next to a door. I was expecting a big fight, but—compared to the previous map—it was pretty smallscale. Only a single baron? What was I packing this much heat for? Assuming it was designed for continuous play, maybe the plasma will be a major boon in the next map. Also, another nukage and rad suit section. At this point I'm expecting Episode 2: The Floor Is Lava. Strange to see no secrets whatsoever. Overall, an okay map, but almost feels like it should have switched places with E1M3. 

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by Thrustpeak

[Endless]

E1M9 | UV Continous | GZDoom & DOOM Retro

The first secret map of this megawad is a rather simple and curious one compared to what we could call the ''standard'' secret maps. It's small, fast and doesn't offer much explosive combat (except for the first area) and yet, I think it works very well in offering a kind of coffee-break with the rest of the set, although it's not that the first 4 maps are really difficult, but it never hurts to have something different. Or is it all the same?

 

The map starts with an open area in what seems to be a kind of outpost or the skirts of a factory. A huge amount of enemies divided into groups will attack us immediately, but thanks to a good positioning, if we have quick fingers, we can escape and hide without much trouble. Depending on how we start this map, it can be a bit complicated if we have low HP, but it is not a big deal. The rest of the map consists of getting the two keys to move forward, first the yellow one which is in a small section connected to a wide corridor that is guarded by a few enemies. The yellow key opens the door to the red key, crossing a long dark path with a heavy atmosphere, we end up in a kind of subway processing plant. Quite attractive and with a simple zig zag layou, the combat becomes a bit faster and allows us to cross the entire map without stopping. Once we have the key, we return easily.

 

This map is quite modest for a secret map. We are used to secret maps having something different, breaking the norm or surprising us with huge slaughter attacks, but E1M9 does nothing of the sort, on the contrary, it follows in the footsteps of the first original secret map: Military Base. It's simple, doesn't break the established visual theme and simply works as a sort of extra appetizer for the passionate gamer who wants to complete 100% of this megawad.

 

Honestly, I like it. The linearity, constant combat and straightforward progress is something I will always welcome.

 

E1M4 | UV Continous | GZDoom & DOOM Retro

 

Still big, but a little less than the previous one, however, better for me. This map starts in a closed cave that offers two different ways to approach the action. Our primary objective is to get the yellow key through a small courtyard full of low-tier enemies, positioned in groups and in perfect position to eat rockets. Once we have the key and we take care of a small ambush, the map opens a wonderful final scene, authentically great. Jupiter's huge skybox opens the way to a rather wide L-shaped path, full of enemies and with an excellent visual touch, including hand-shaded areas with sector-lightning, pure visual beauty to finish big.

 

This is a medium-large map with more than 100 enemies but with a fairly linear layout that makes us follow the action in constant movement without stopping. The gameplay is rough, but the ammo is bigger and we always have enough space to maneuver, as well as different paths and even the option to run quickly to the exit while ignoring all the enemies, but the truth is that I don't recommend ignoring anything. Going slow on this map is its own reward; excellent visuals accompanied by a clear and satisfying sense of progression that opens the door to the fantasy of living on one of Jupiter's moons. Probably full of meteor showers and lots of demons, but heck I'd like a vacation here!

 

Thanks to the amount of consistent and tightly packed enemies, this map is hot at all times and in every sense; it always delivers what we need: lots of action, lots of blood, lots of guns. Ready to fight, here we get our first standard plasma-rifle, and the rest is history, good history.

 

One of my favorites so far. It perfectly encapsulates the meaning of simplicity, along with a glorious visualization that takes full advantage of its skybox. Very nice.

[Biodegradable]

E1M5

UV | Continuous Play with Saves | GZDoom + Dead Marine

 

Aha much better. Things are starting to get a little more spicy now with this map being the biggest bodycount yet. Combat's a little more intense with larger groups, monster closets, a couple of neat traps, some added hard-hitting pressure that had me on pretty low health at times and even Mr Cyb shows up to say hello. The map's design/layout is also pretty different as well which makes up for the last map, especially with its progression and general flow. I quite liked this one and I hope E1M6 carries on this new jolt of energy.

 

 

[Soul_Runner]

E1M4 - K - 100%, I - 88%, S - 100%, Time: 6:11
Pistol Start, No Saves, UV Max, Not Blind, 2 Deaths
No secrets for this map, at least i don't have to secret hunt saving time :)
A nice open area to start with a chaingun, backpack and plenty of ammo. Ammo shouldn't be a problem for the rest of this level.
Not to many mosters for this start area, a little quiet for me really.
Having the map based in a caved area, running through caves with the occasional building and techbase feels like a good mix which i like.
Going through the map to the second open area, spectres, imps, zombies and lost souls, followed by a room full of zombiemen and barrels, it's fun hitting the barrels in the back.
After getting the yellow key, going into the little cavern with the zombie and switch feels like a small detonator to me, revealing a plasma gun and a large area to run around with a nice large number of monsters.
Due to getting carried away with running around though, i died here :(
Died in the same place a second time. Not playing seriously today clearly xD Time to start focusing lost souls more. Also i should remember i have a rocket launcher.
3rd time around and i beat it playing seriously, sometimes i underestimate some monsters and maps. So in my case today, a reasonably difficult map if your not careful around hitscanners, lost souls and try to chainsaw cacodemons.
Design wise, i would say besides the cave and techbase theme, not entirely memorable.

[princetontiger]

6 hours ago, Thrustpeak said:

UV | Continuous w/ Saves | PrBoom-Plus 

E1M4
It unexpectedly dialed back the enemy count here, but after the high count of the last map (E1M3 not E1M9) giving the player a break here makes sense I suppose. I enjoyed the part where you open a door and are face to face with a room of zombiemen who decided to hang out with some explosive barrels. I always get a kick out of setting off a chain reaction of explosions and carnage. With pretty much no rockets I was hoping to not run into any packs of barons when I found the plasma gun just sitting there next to a door. I was expecting a big fight, but—compared to the previous map it was pretty smallscale. Only a single baron? What was I packing this much heat for? Assuming it was designed for continuous play, maybe the plasma will be a major boon in the next map. Also, another nukage and rad suit section. At this point I'm expecting Episode 2: The Floor Is Lava. Strange to see no secrets whatsoever. Overall, an okay map, but almost feels like it should have switched places with E1M3. 

 

 

That was room was a lot of fun.

 

Oh... and we also get the plasma in this level! Now we're ready to rock. 😎

[Zirtonic]

E1M2,3,9

UV, pistol starts, saveless

 

I'm bundling these 3 together because they can all be summed up with a single weapon: the chaingun. Outside of a few token Baron encounters once you pick up the chain gun you can hold M1 until the end of the level. Fodder enemies and bullet boxes aplenty guarantee that you never run out of ammo and keep the pace breakneck. I will highlight the final room of E1M3 for its layout and visuals. It has a sense of grandeur with the huge, raised slime pit and perched imps in the distance. Also the opening room of the secret map is the first real ball-busting encounter of the WAD and handed me 2 deaths: the first because I forgot where the chain gun was and the second due to a combination of poor movement on my part and some unfortunate pinky pathing that boxed me in.

[Doritos420]

E1M4 - Uruk Sulcus

Spoiler

 

Again another fun map. This one taking place inside a sort of valley with various installations that looks as if they were built out of a crater. One detail that I love was that you can see the building from the previous E1M3 behind you once you start. One thing I’ve noticed in this wad, is that ammo can get a bit tight on UV, so I’m always on the lookout for a berserk or chainsaw (you get one that pretty far into the level). We also get a chance to use the plasma rifle in this one, great for taking out the final baron. At the end we get to a giant looking tech base, what I presume to be the setting for the next level. I really like how each level transitions so well into the next one. Also I was surprised there were no secrets here.

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by Doritos420
Deleted map

[Dazel]

E1M4

(GZDoom, UV, Pistol Start, Saveless)

Death Count: 1/1

Blue balls the map, and I'm not talking about Cacodemons. The start gave me my first death so far, when the near pitch-black room after the starting canyon hit me with shotgunners. Was it kinda my fault for having GZDoom's hardware renderer on? Sure. Was it also kinda cheap? Yeah. Health is scarce as heck in this map, but once you get past the first outdoors section with demons, lost souls, and a bevy of imps, you're not in much danger of getting whittled down here. Getting the plasma rifle in this map lead me to believe one of the encounters I remember from later in the episode would be coming up, which is a disappointment if you know what I'm talking about. Said plasma rifle is... really not necessary at all, and I forgot I even had it until I got through the outdoor bend, with the questionable shadowing detail on the star walls that I think is supposed to look like a darker section of metal is intersecting, but really just gives some glaring snow in the crack between the two sections. I do appreciate the return of continuous level design, with the building from E1M3 your backdrop for starting this one, but elsewhere the visual design is rather poor for most of the runtime here. As for blue balls, the exit showing up when it did caught me completely off-guard, with the fight leading up to it feeling much more like a build in tension for a bigger fight than the wad had thrown out so far, which was a huge letdown to check the kill count and see that I had already finished the map.

🟊✭☆☆☆

PS: Even if you don't play Doom this way normally, E1M5 is done a disservice by not pistol starting it, it's enough of a standout that just the little snippet I got after clearing E1M4 reminded me how fun the opening is on pistol start. Even if you load your continuous save back up after, it's worth that try.

[Thrustpeak]

3 hours ago, Doritos420 said:

One detail that I love was that you can see the building from the previous E1M3 behind you once you start.

 

I missed that detail. A shame since I always appreciate continuity between maps. Probably a result of E1M9 being fresher in my mind. 

[dei_eldren]

E1M5 - the Nukage Garden (HNTR, Continuous): K 98% (254/258), I 100% (34/34), S 100% (2/2), T 36:54, D 6 - The darkened room with massive imposing supercomputers in the middle and zombies the map started with, set the tone grim, even if the trap here is a light one.  The layout is good - starting room is from the northern section of the central hub computer room, from which four doors lead to different sections of the map.  It was guarded by twelve little Imps, who first have the higher ground on top of the computers, until the player finds his/her way there in the confounding semi-darkness.  It's effective and atmospheric, and felt a lot more than merely twelve Imps when it was happening. 

 

The first real difficulty came to the eastern section, which begins with heavy crossfire of Imps and hitscanners from the distance over a nukage-reservoir and also from a nearby upper room.  Hard to snipe them because of the distance (not sure it was even possible), and the constant barrage of projectiles and gunfire.  So i decide to take the closer door first.  The problem is, from behind the projectiles keep coming, and to the left is an upper open window with seemingly endless amount of enemies.  And behind the door, the same, with some added Spectres and Pinkies.  Certainly i died two or three times here  i had no fun whatsoever and just wanted to get away from it.  Eventually i made my way through the door, and perhaps i did something there that gave me access to the nukage-pool?  The devil knows.

The lower area itself has a little trap, with a Spiderdemon!  And there's no way out without killing her.  There's some plasma and a radsuit for your troubles.  No Soulsphere or anything of the sort, not even afterwards for reward.  Has there been a single Soulsphere in the whole game?  No.  Yeah, this whole section was unpleasant, and i never want to see it again.  

 

Behind the BK door is the Exit and another large nukage-area, and at first i suspected some sort of slaughter-scene about to commence, until a Cyberdemon appeared, with some dignitaries in his entourage.  This is what i wanted to avoid, choosing HNTR.  Fuck... whatever.  It's dead.  No deaths on this area at all for me, not even in the trap in the balcony, which was a surprise.

Which wasn't quite the same for the area preceding, next to the Exit.  There's a small river of nukage (oh god, please enough of it already!) with some goodies at the end, and a rather nasty trap in the form of a horde of Pinkies as one tries to run get them.  Which suggested to me that that was it, the trap was dealt with, and then i can grab them in peace and harmony with the nukage.  So i fell for an easy one, as then he released another trap, of about three million Imps and nine thousand Barons spawning in, trapping me at the end.  So that's why the radsuit was there, not a kindness to prevent further damage on the way back after health's been restored. 

Like others pretty much thought of the Berserk-pack at the end of E1M9, this just shows the mindset of the mapper.  All the goodies were wasted on the ambush.  i'm very near calling the mapper names...  Instead, i'll call this map a name, because relatively unrelated to my woes, i finally came up with one.  i'm also pretty sure Nuke Depot would be a fitting name for one of these maps (maybe E1M4).

 

This is the first map i simply dislike for its shenanigans.  Gameplay is tiresome and tedious, and i wanted it to be over ever since i went into that first crossfire - and the secrets i don't even remember what they were.  If this vein continues, and i suspect it will only get worse, having not seen the next map yet, i might opt out until the 2nd Episode - and it's not because i can't handle it, even if i could play this without deaths on UV i still wouldn't enjoy it.  But since this WAD doesn't use normal structure, i'm hoping fresh start of a new Episode might help.  For now, am totally burned out by this map, and maybe my will to live will return if i never see it again, 1.5/5.  (PS: Happily i can report i ended up finishing Ep1 today, so no break for me after all.)

 

Well, it's done, and i wish i had more health going into the next one.  In the meanwhile, here's a few snapshots from my recent trip to the Seychells..

 

Spoiler

 

Edited July 5, 2021 by dei_eldren

[cannonball]

E1M4 - Cautious play is yet again rewarded in this fairly linear romp. That said the pursuit of both keys can get a little hairy in places. Larger monsters are placed with the smaller foes instead of generally appearing on their own, which is an improvement at the very least. The plasma gun given as a freebie is a little strange to be honest but I will take the help.

[Capellan]

 

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

E1M9

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 1/1 secrets

 

The first secret map of Base Ganymede has a bit more urgency than the other maps we have seen so far. It starts with a nice hot start featuring a lot of hitscanners, where your first goal is to locate the chaingun sitting in the corner so you can take down all the baddies.  A fun introduction to the map. The map does let up a little bit after this point, but is still pretty fun.

 

Apart from the hot start, the most noticeable encounter is the room with the nukage and rad suits. Ledges and pedestals are lined with fodder enemies and at the end of the nukage is a small gang of lost souls. After grabbing the red key, two cacodemons enter the room and start hunting you down. Not really a difficult room, but I thought it was a fun encounter, having to deal with the small time pressure of your rad suit. The level is pretty low on pickups of both the ammo and health variety, so you may have to take care not to be wasteful. I actually ran out of ammo with the one cacodemon left over in my run, so I had to wallhump to get to the secret rocket launcher and finish it off.

 

A pretty decent map with some faster paced combat compared to previous maps.

 

E1M4

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/0 secrets

 

The start of this level is an E3M2-esque canyon, with the ending of the previous non-secret map in this wad visible behind you. Right away a chaingun with lots of ammo and a backpack are accessible to you, so grab those before heading on. After the first spat with demons, we have more rad suits and nukage. I guess Ganymede just has a lot of toxic slime on it.

 

The biggest threat in this map is the many hitscanners poking at you from ledges and faraway places. Apart from that though this one is quite a bit on the easy side. I will say I enjoy the slight change of pace visually, with the heavy cliff themes present here. The doorway near the end has a plasma outside it, and I expected something really scary to be ahead, but it ended up just being a baron and some other enemies on cliffs and in the nukage on the sides. Oh well, anything to make barons seem like less of a time-waste I suppose.

 

A nice looking map that felt like a breather.

[DuckReconMajor]

E1M4 - prboom-plus 26um - complevel 3 - skill 1 - pistol start with saves

 

i AAAM smellin' like a ROSE wandering around an E1M9 looking slime pathway around a stairway up to a platform

I dunno if i was supposed to make that wall come down going to the yellow key but i snuck around it.

The scene opening the door to the L-shaped slime valley headed to the red door was awesome. Beautifully done.

Short and fun map. I am a fan.

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Book Lord]

E1M5

Doomsday Engine, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

It takes just a few seconds to realise that things are now getting serious. Base Ganymede has been gentle so far, training the player to make a living without much health, ammo, and armour, but not indulging in merciless traps and sleazy moves. Here Khorus takes the gloves off and starts threatening Doomguy for real.

Spoiler

The three-way closet ambush by the rocket launcher was the first sign; a point-blank Baron to immediately waste the collected ammo acted as the second omen; an apparently escapeless, cross-shaped pit with Imps shooting from all directions, where I struggled not to die like a rat, was the third and last warning. I knew by then that I must raise my attention level and be extra careful if I wanted to die only once in a while.

Spoiler

The YK room had a blatant tricksy vibe and I had to use the environment to my advantage, as a protection from hitscanners, flaming skulls and Cacodemons, all doing their best to land a blow on me. When I gained the key, attrition had already dealt more damage than the scarce supplies could restore, also due to the lack of a more reliable combat armour.

Spoiler

Damaging floors abounded, as in previous maps, but radiation suits were at a premium. Some were a decoy for hideous traps, like the one in the middle of a wide tunnel where Imps appeared to surround me. I knew the large pool in the outdoor area had to host the first Spiderdemon fight (I heard her awakening sound), but the deadly setup found me unprepared. The only cover from the devastating chaingun was behind the blocked stairs, from which shooting rockets or plasma was unfeasible with -fast. I was stuck there and spent all my shells and bullets to wear down the mastermind, until I was able to charge and kill her before she riddled me first.

Spoiler

Progression was partly non-linear, because the BK section could be entered before even knowing that a blue door existed. It displayed an exquisite mix of simple, yet nice architecture, and of engaging combat. We saw many outdoor areas by now, but all of them looked fresh and varied. Monster placement delivered nice surprises and unpredictable situations, like the exciting Cyberdemon battle by the RK: even though the boss lethality was restrained by his low position, Spectres and Cacodemons prevented me from standing still and out of his shooting line, so I had to prioritise targets and dodge multiple attacks while on that ledge. 

Spoiler

Near the exit door, more malevolent traps awaited the unaware player: I expected the switch to lower the bars, but it opened a closet full of Barons instead, who guarded the real switch. As soon as I entered the slime, Demons insta-popped in my face. There were goodies in that dead end, but the wickedly huge, cunningly timed teleporting horde ate up everything I collected, along with another chunk of my health. One of the cruellest deceptions I have ever experienced in Doom. I am beginning to see why Base Ganymede received praise and awards: it makes extraordinary use of Ultimate Doom resources and looks really refreshing. E1M5 was a wonderful map, even though a bit unforgiving.

Edited July 5, 2021 by Book Lord

[LadyMistDragon]

E1M4

 

So I guess this is supposed to be a waste-disposal area since UAC scringes on their cleanup budget for some unknown reason. In any case, I think I'm digging the music.

 

As others have said, the intensity is noticeably dialed down, though I did suffer a death in the central slime pit room, probably because the cacodemon guarding the entrance managed to take me by surprise, and the one shotgun guy near the entrance didn't wander out. That's to say nothing of the spectre and imps in the same room, but they don't present the same threat. It was all honestly kind of fun to explore and saw some of the architectural tendencies Biodegradable pointed out earlier. My favorite location was the storage shed with the hitscanners, barrels, and chainsaw that we all know nobody could possibly need ever if we're familiar with Doom 3 at all.

 

While the monster count's around 120, the map didn't really feel all that unpopulated. But the tougher monsters other than Cacodemons show up in low enough numbers so that the threat's not as great as it could be. Like, there's maybe 1 Baron and 3 groups of Lost Souls quite lazily placed that mostly eat up your chaingun ammo. On the plus side, it seemed like there were slightly more stimpacks. Perhaps a slight telegraphing of the encounters to come?

 

This might be the first map where I was actually somewhat bored. Were it not fot the fact that I randomly ran back into the cavern before the final area whilst grousing about my low ammo count, I would have never discovered the plasma rifle which naturally made the last section much easier. It still felt a little bit too much like meat and potatoes combat: not bad but simply not great. Did I mention you can't access the rooftop place on the right where at least 1 Imp and a Cacodemon will fire at you from? At least there's some sense of continuity after having glanced at the next map because it seems you're entering a lab-like location.

Edited July 6, 2021 by LadyMistDragon

[xX_Lol6_Xx]

E1M4, Chocolate-Doom with FreeDoom, medium skill, saves when needed

Results: 100% kills & items, no secrets found

 

I've noticed that we're usually forced to fight on slime, which can be a bit frustrating. I like, once again, the level transition. This time there are plenty of resources so I didn't died once. I found a little "quirk" where the yellow key is, the barrier that blocks the path can be skipped, making the little building a bit... pointless, I assume this was an accident or wasn't planned by the mapper. I've also noticed that there are a lot of wide open rooms with lots of monsters. It's not a bad map, but, eeeh, I think it could have better.

[MelonadeM]

E1M4, GZDoom, blind UV playthrough with continuous saves

 

This is more like it. It's what E1M3 should have been, frankly. Not as many barons or cacos, pretty few lost souls from my recollection, and a vast increase in ammo count and also health pickups. So far it's one of my favourites from this entire set, it doesn't overstay its welcome at all but what it does stay for, it provides an okay challenge. The only letdown I've had in here is the last fight, you pick up the red key and... it teleports like 3 imps in or something. A disappointing way to end the map, honestly, especially after the bloodbath you've just faced right before pressing that switch.

 

As stated in the last post I continued with the stats I had from E1M3 rather than E1M9, so like 11% health and not a ton of ammo, but that isn't an issue here since the starting area is oddly not that difficult, despite the instant ambush. That's something this mapset seems to do a lot, and I don't exactly like it, because if you're playing without saves, whoops, one pause between levels to get your bearings and that could mean pistol-starting the map. I guess the intermissions are for that, but I don't know, feels a bit cheap...

 

Video:

Spoiler

 

 

[Dazel]

E1M5

(GZDoom, UV, Pistol Start, Saveless)

Death Counter: 1/2

Fantastic start to the map, with only your pistol's 50 bullets and a rocket launcher to take out a small group of imps, zombiemen, demons, and a Baron. The chaingun in the second room is almost more useful for its 20 extra bullets than for the weapon itself, as you're otherwise forced to take very careful shots to maximize your effectiveness before you can get a shotgun. As for that shotgun, of your options for leaving the second room, one path rewards you right away with a sergeant, another gives you a few sergeants and a shellbox in a somewhat more messy fight, and another path hates you. Once you clear out the opening challenges, ammo scarcity isn't too much of a problem, although Khorus is quite stingy with bullets as he seems more than aware that the chaingun is Doom 1's best bang-for-your-buck weapon if cells and rockets aren't given out like candy. My only death this map came courtesy of a teleporting imp directly in my face not taking kindly to attempting to rocket a cacodemon in the slime hallway, although I rarely ran above 50% health for the runtime of this level, as health is a far greater concern than ammo. I'm not particularly fond of the Spiderdemon fight, the only cover in the arena is rather awkwardly behind the stairs, which gives a painfully long difference between where she can shoot you and where your plasma shots can pass. Also of note, it took every last shot of plasma from the gun and pickups in the arena to kill her both times, which means either RNG didn't like me very much and gave me a harder time, or RNG was favorable to me and if you don't snag the few cells in a secret beforehand you'll be left finishing her off with a few rockets. While the Cyberdemon fight is quite alright, the room preceding that arena is complete caca doodoo dogshit, with the cells you'll later need held behind a trap that first: gives you popup pinkies once you're already in the slime pit to get a tic of damage in that way, and then secondly: locks you in and spawns imps and demons so close to your ass that if you don't already have the rocket launcher out and ready to fire, you're just about fucked unless you decide to waste those cells you'll need for the Cyber. I knew this was coming and it still quite nearly killed me, only escaping but through the grace of a spectre backing away to give me just enough room the squeeze past with 11% health. Enough for that Cyberdemon fight, a wide open arena with ample plasma and a few cacodemons that can be taken separately thanks to the upper walkway. The maps fun parts are definitely worth the admission and make you forget about that SSG and Archvile itch for a moment, but the bad parts here reek.

🟊🟊✭☆☆

 

[Thrustpeak]

On 7/5/2021 at 10:13 AM, Dazel said:

PS: Even if you don't play Doom this way normally, E1M5 is done a disservice by not pistol starting it, it's enough of a standout that just the little snippet I got after clearing E1M4 reminded me how fun the opening is on pistol start. Even if you load your continuous save back up after, it's worth that try.

 

Gave this a try, and I'm glad I did as I believe the plasma gun would have been excessive to start with. 

 

UV | Pistol Start w/ Saves | PrBoom-Plus 

 

E1M5

This map was the difficulty spike I've been expecting since the start. It had a great opening where you immediately grab the rocket launcher and blow up 2 imp closets. However, on a less positive note, the nukage is really starting to feel excessive. I enjoyed the various traps where you get locked in and have to fight a spider mastermind or a horde of enemies, but both of those sections felt marred by being in nukage. There was a surplus of radsuits, but—if they are so abundant—there is no reason to bother with the radioactive waste in the first place. It probably wouldn't bother me if this map was in a different wad, but it's been prevalent in every single level. At this point I'm just waiting for the map that takes place entirely on radioactive waste with waterfalls of it for walls. I want to enjoy this map. It had some cool parts. Unfortunately my opinion of it is colored by my growing exhaustion with the overuse of damaging surfaces.

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by Thrustpeak

[Dazel]

12 minutes ago, Thrustpeak said:

but both of those sections felt marred by being in nukage. There was a surplus of radsuits, but—if they are so abundant—there is no reason to bother with the radioactive waste in the first place.

This is something I've noticed as well, I can appreciate that radsuits in a large damaging floor section give the player a time limit, but of the three fights in damaging floors, the Spiderdemon fight is short enough with the plasma rifle that I don't see why a time limit is even necessary, the Baron and Imp trap is so cramped that you'll either blast through it or die right away and really just chips at your health getting to the suit in the first place, far more annoying than challenging, and the Cyberdemon would've been an interesting fight if you could only have the radsuit from the previous section for a brief time before being made to play around the narrow walkway, but the second radsuit kinda neuters that and gives you more than enough time.