The DWmegawad Club plays: SKULLTIVERSE

[DuckReconMajor]

MAP04 - Bilis - dsda-doom - skill 4 pistol start - rewinds used 

 

editors note: I've been having some computer trouble, and as such have been changing my dsda-doom settings

as such, today's footage is done in GL mode, with my status bar changed to "fit to width" (it was not adjusted before)

I've pre-recorded tomorrow's footage in software, with the same fit-to-width menu/bar and it's messed up again

 

so to add to Shepardus' dataset:

2560 x 1440 resolution

8-bit software + non-adjusted status bar -> M_DOOM messed up

OpenGL + fit-to-width status bar -> M_DOOM fixed

8-bit software + fit-to-width status bar -> M_DOOM messed up

 

I love the secret behind the waterfall at the start. It saved me a couple times, then trapped me later. Still, it was a lot of fun

Ammo continues to be tight. Again the blue key was put somewhere tantalizingly just-out-of-reach

Took me a little while to realize the ledge that appeared next to the switched in the bridge over water room with the revenant turret to the right

 

Spoiler

 

 

[Biodegradable]

MAP04 - Bilis

UV | Continuous | GZDoom and Vanilla+

 

Ya'll ready to get wet? I like this map's simple but well-made colour palette of gray and blue with some smatterings of metal brown here and there. I thought the use of water in general was an interesting visual touch. Combat's pretty gnarly at times, especially with the large swaths of hitscanners with some complementary Revenants just to make things a little more spicy. Also, the big fight at the end in the starting area was pretty good too. I even managed to find all the secrets in this one, which I still consider a personal victory hehe.

 

So... when do I get my SSG? :^P

 

 

Edited September 4, 2021 by Biodegradable

[ViolentBeetle]

15 minutes ago, Biodegradable said:

So... when do I get my SSG? :^P

New weapon arravives on each text screen, so soon.

 

Overall, if I remember correctly it was one of the submissions and originally it was slated for MAP02 slot. It was moved further down for general difficulty.

I must confess I had some reservations about that starting encounter, but I ended up loving the puzzle encounter.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 04 - Bilis, (UV, pistol-start)

 

This map's vibe is very different. Still techbase-y but set inside some sort of canyon or against a mountain but it's hard to tell because this is more abstract than the previous maps with hardly any computers.

 

I'm glads I read BookLord's post because I was prepared for this ridiculous troll of a beginning. A Pain Elemental sits in front of you while a chaingunner roars directly behind you. I was able to dispatch the chaingunner fairly easily with most damage coming from Lost Souls, but I was still reduced to slightly more than half-health. The welcoming committee inside proved to be some trouble but they were still easy enough to dispatch, despite the monster closet being a little tight. After picking up the armor and health inside, I ended up heading toward the waterfall to the right behind which was a secret bone wall. This led to a hallway with some enemies and a Supercharge at the end.

 

I then ended up wandering around the central courtyard for a minute and a half before realizing the way forward was a door to the northwest I hadn't even noticed in the earlier fighting probably because it was hidden by a nearby pillar. After shotgunning a substantial amount of hitscanners to the right of the entrance, I then ended up walking to where they were, triggering a tight ambush within a second or two. I tried to get rid of the hitscanners first before working on the Revenant and things mostly worked out.

 

Behind the red door, there was a bunker with some Revenants to the right overlooking a most of sorts, but I left them alone because I was running low on chaingun ammo. Around the time I picked up the yellow key, I triggered a massive ambush of mid-ranked enemies in the starting courtyard. While I was somewhat anxious due to my lack of ammo, most of them ended up killing themselves, though I killed the Revenants myself for obvious reasons, thanks to some bullets I'd found shortly before.

 

And that's it. Use the yellow card to get the skull key and exit. There was also the secret with the rocket launcher which would have helped a lot against the bunker Revenants, but I missed it because the lift to access it isn't exactly obvious, and I only found it because of DSDA Doom showing most secret locations.

 

This was a nice step up in action from the previous maps. I'm not sure you can say this is harder than Map 01, but you get more weaponry so it's more fun anyway.

 

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP04 - "Bilis" - RataUnderground (96%K/89%I/100%S):

Funny time is over, things get serious, mood gets darker, and the start gets punishing if you don't move, as the imps will be pleasured to take your butt right from the start. Bad thing is that the map feels like a revamp of a 1994/95 layout. Many ortho rooms between doors, and weird door placements. Feels better, as always, because of the new textures, but I'm sure something is not right. Many hitscanners here and there, but the good thing were for sure, the secrets, all of them will help you out a lot here, as it is a difficult map, when hitscanners start appearing constantly. I like the mixture between mountains and tech-base though.
No SSG, but I have a secret RL, why?

Deaths: 5 (HMP - PrBoom+)

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP03

MAP01
MAP04
MAP02

 

 

[Pechudin]

I have started, but not finished last few picks for the club, so hopefully this time I stick it out to the end. Ill' be playing on PrBooM+, UV PS without saves. Let's see how far I can go.

 

MAP01: Skullgate Central by Shawny - Deaths: 0; Total Deaths: 0

         The main menu picture is kinda ... weird? Looks off. Anyway, a fairly small techbase with a yard as its center, and various small rooms surrounding it. I liked the design, fairly detailed with some nice couches, reminds me of JPCP. The use of the chaingun was a refresher instead of the usual shotgun tucked somewhere. The opposition is suited to it as well, with Revenants being the toughest you will face. Some mentioned Revenants on ledges being annying, but TBH they were close enough to be juuuuuust fun enough to fight. Far away Revvied would be another story. Took me an embarrasing amoung of time to find the Yellow Key and exit the map.

 

MAP02: Regular Base by Joe-Ilya - Deaths: 0; Total Deaths: 0

        Joe-Ilya is a prominent mapper here it seems, I see his name everywhere (been on a DBP binge lately). Anyhow, a fairly standard, linear affair. I guess the sewer part reminds me of the MAP02 of DooM? The SSG jebait was a nice small joke, but I feel the trap should've been more ... cruel. The method of getting the key was also a completely unnecessary, but whimsical detail that I did appreciate. As far as the combat goes, eh, not much to say. Still very easy.

 

MAP03: Get Rectangular by Nimiauredhel - Deaths: 1; Total Deaths: 1

        I recall testing some of @Nimiauredhel maps some months ago. The quality difference is very evident, and I hope I see some more of his work in the future. First death came in the form of a "Nothing personell kiddo" Revenant lobbing a max-damage rocket in my back beyond the Red Door. Nasty for a blind player! The jebait is repeated here with the Plasma Rifle (not that you need it). Other than the teleporting Revenant and the close-quarters scuff with the Hell Knight at the Yelllow Key the rest of the fights are kind of ... anticlimactic, especially the Blue SkullKey room. I was expecting something more than a couple of Sargeants I guess. Still, a noticeable difficulty increase.

 

MAP04: Bilis by RataUnderground - Deaths: 0; Total Deaths: 1

        Did not die, but did come very near it! Fast thinking saw me using the PE as a meatshield against the Chaingunner, then blitzed him and claimed my first viable weapon. The Revenant and shotgunner/Demon trap was tense since the opening left me at 20%-ish health, but managed to get through it, after which the map was fairly easy. Secret RL was a big help but even without it there were more than enough Shells. The final fight was a standard circle-strafe and let everything infight affair (while prioritising the Sargeants).

       

[Lorenz0]

MAP04 - Bilis

 

My favorite map so far. The combat is more intense than ever, though still managable, and there's a bunch of beautiful sights accompanied by an atmospheric midi I'm fond of. So far this wad has really reminded me how much I like night skies in Doom. They make most levels look a lot better.
Groups of hitscanners seem to fill half of the monster count in this one, which I don't really mind. Mowing down zombiemen is never unfun.

 

MAP05 - Green Tech's Embrace

 

The biggest level yet, seems to heavily focus on verticality, which makes the gamespace somewhat more interesting to explore.
I initially missed the elevator leading to the red key, which made me search for the way forward for a few extra minutes, but that's not the mapper's fault I suppose. The combat continues to be pretty exciting, though never overwhelming. Pretty good map as well.

 

And I guess why not, I'll start listing my order of preference as well:

MAP04

MAP05

MAP01

MAP03

MAP02

 

[dei_eldren]

MAP05 - Green Tech's Embrace (HMP, blind, continuous w/ saves): K 100% (128/128), I 100% (28/28), S 100% (1/1), D 10, T 31:58

 

Spoiler

The difficulty keeps rising, but this time not on the same gradient as before.  The actual size of this map is not so large, but it is intricate in layout and it seems all the available space has been used to maximize playing area.  The player finds himself in a factory setting amid metal corridors, railings, bridges and walkways, and machinery.  The special feature here is the vast height differences, and it along with the great texturing and detailing makes for a very impressive looking map.

 

Gameplay however, was not entirely my cup of tea, and i may now soon be brought down back to HNTR.  While it was manageable, the faraway unseen hitscanners together with the last ambush taxed my patience a bit.  In the BSK ambush i died seven times that i could count, often not even knowing what had killed me, and taking me many tries to even see the bloody Pain Elemental which gave me no end of trouble.  It did not help i didn't have too much health to spare in that fight, a mere 31%, and that there were hitscanners and Imps placed high up where they could not be seen.  After having gotten out of the room on my successful attempt, i had only 3% health left, so it was no fun to try and sort the rest out, including a relatively harmless in this situation Mancubus guarding the skullgate, but on the other hand, i did not want to leave without getting my greedy hands on that beautiful secret Soul Sphere.  Eventually i got everything sorted out with some luck with the hitscanners, and snatched the secret, but not after again exhausting every other possibility other than jumping there, which i deemed (again) impossible at first.  But my bad, the helpful ledge placed there for that purpose was a clear hint, so my fault totally.  i guess. 

 

For such a complex map the progression was quite clear, but there was one instance, where i missed stairs going down after pressing a switch on a higher floor, thinking the hallway was just a drop, and for a while i had no idea where to go next or what the switch did.  In a map as complex as this it's an unpleasant feeling.  i didn't appreciate dropping down into the nukage canal, but at least there were some goodies - i wish it had been marked a secret, though, particularly without a radsuit available.

 

i think a little more health pickups would have been fair, because going to that final fight in ill health is not pleasant, especially with the PE and elevated hitscanners.  But still, the level was very aesthetic, very well put together, and exploring it was fun, and most of the combat was also enjoyable.  Think the final ambush also was, except for the somewhat unfair elements in it.  The secret was a bit annoying - too easy making it too hard, but glad it was there.

 

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by dei_eldren

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP03: "Get Rectangular" by Nimiauredhel

UV, pistol start, no saces

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

A nice looking techbase map, and a small hike in difficulty from our opening two. The layout of the level is a small key-hunt for the yellow and red keys, which bring you through doors near the starting area so that you can progress, with the yellow taking you to the blue skull key. It's the most modern of the maps so far in appearance, using flashier textures than the opening two maps, and I enjoy the somewhat janky and frenetic feel that the midi has. 

 

Gameplaywise I thought it was pretty fun. There are quite a few more mid-tier monsters here it felt like, and the ambush after grabbing the blue skull key is pretty nasty, teleporting in a ton of hitscanners in the narrow halls. I did think the cacodemons in the small caged area were kinda neat as they can see into a couple different areas, but it feels a little bit disruptive to go and kill them. Overall though, I enjoyed this one a decent bit, it's a solid early map.

 

MAP04: "Bilis" by RataUnderground

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 4/4 secrets

 

Quite an impolite map, the start throws you in face to face with a pain elemental, with the only weapon in the area being in the hands of a live chaingunner. I only found one of the secrets while initially playing through the level, with me finding the remaining 3 searching for missed kills, and it feels like the experience of this level would be very different with the rocket launcher in hand. Without it, the teleport ambush you face while going through the yellow key is deceptively difficult, containing quite a few mid-level demons as well as a lot of hitscanners. The chaingun and regular shotgun just barely cut it here, as even trying to create infighting is difficult with the hitscanners chipping away at your health constantly.

 

I'll also give a mention to the revenants overlooking that bridge, they weren't hard, but man they were annoying to kill. You can't see them in the darkness, so if you want to have an idea of where they are you need to wait for them to fire at you. They aren't that deadly as you have cover, but they can be a bit of a time and ammo sponge.

 

Definitely the most difficult level so far. A bit of a nuisance at times, but also has some pretty well-made fights.

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/Blind/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 05 - Green Tech's Embrace - Death Bear

100% kills and secrets

Time: 13:16

 

I swear, it seems like lately if there's a speedmapping WAD, Death Bear has contributed at least one map to it. I haven't played a lot of said WADs, but I did enjoy the ones he did for the PUSS that used Rowdy Rudy gameplay. This map is another solid one from them, and reminds me a ton of Valliant in the use of the titular green and base elements. Progression requires finding the yellow and red keys to grab the blue skull. You'll have to activate switches to raise platforms. It seems like there's a couple different ways you can get the yellow key at least, so that's cool. Red maybe not? I didn't find this level to be as difficult as the last, especially since the rocket launcher is now in play with some decent ammo. You will find mancubi here, so be prepared for that. Enemies do like to teleport in when switches are hit, and items are grabbed. The best use of them is when you grab the blue skull and monsters start teleporting in the path back to the portal, with pinkies stationed at the top of the stairs leading to it, making a run to the exit challenging. I'm not here to run though, so rocket with impunity. MIDI pick is strong. 

[Nimiauredhel]

On 9/3/2021 at 9:18 PM, ViolentBeetle said:

I never explicitly confirmed that, but I believe the entirety of MAP03, beside crates, key markers and maybe some grass is textured with additional textures I've taken from "Post your doom textures" topic.

 

Yeah I remember trying to only use non-standard textures, not sure if I 100% stuck to that. 

[baja blast rd.]

map04: "Bilis" by RataUnderground

 

The most compelling aspects are mood and theming: a dreary grey-and-blue techbase in a cave system, unsettling harp music pattering over everything like a depressing rainstorm. Also unsettling: why is a functional door made out of many human skulls? I liked the boldness of the hot start. (I used the pain elemental as a meatshield, pistoling it at close range, while the chaingunner further away was shooting at its uh ... butt.) From a pistol start, the three revenants in the drawbridge room are tedious to kill with the means freely available -- you want either the secret rocket launcher or the secret that crushes those revenants -- but I respect that choice because secrets that provide rewards other than resources are nifty.

 

As a possible improvement, the last fight captures a tendency for major encounters here to be mass spawns that look messy. Experienced mappers tend to either mesh monster teleport locations with map features (which don't have to be monster-teleport pads) or situate teleport spots in geometrically orderly places (even if "off over there" or "in that closet or corner"), to provide some visual logic to warp-ins. Hitscanner use tends to be abrasive too. It's not quite to the point of unfairness (even at its meanest, you can run away), but the use of either revenants or hitscanners as primary threats does repeat a lot, feeling like a dryness of ideas.

 

map05: "Green Tech’s Embrace" by Death Bear

 

If there's one way I'd describe this, it's unified. Everything fits a cohesive mold -- from the rusty, dark texturing all fitting together cleanly; to the way progression is a lot of rising silver lifts or short jumps or handy backtrack paths; to the way the central grounds are all about loose influxes of fodder and the tighter spaces upstairs are where the snappier, more tactical fights are located. You can describe this map's gameplan quite efficiently, and it's a good one. Over such a brief map, I don't believe that unity risks even bordering on "repetitive," especially since the individual fights have plenty of variety to them. 

 

 

One fight I found notable is this little lowering-wall setup. It seems deliberately understated, no big closets of imps and zombies I might have expected, but I appreciated how it's telegraphed to let me intuit "use rockets here" on a first attempt, and I also appreciated that counterintuitive restraint in monster use. Because as fun as it can be to fight big fodder hordes, that shouldn't make us overlook how small groups can make a few rockets feel like powerful nukes. 

 

(Also sometimes when maps use so many barrels, it looks unserious, but here they mesh so well with the grimy industry setting that it feels inevitable that there are dozens of them, that initially we get what seems like three or four barrels for a couple of imps. Those barrels might not do a lot early, but they make for a good show if you save them for later.)

[FrancisT218]

Okay might as well throw in some cents on maps I got to play in testing phase (no footage...I didn't archive it, plus almost every map had changes planned since...), these will be brief:

 

1 - Good starter, strong visuals and sense of place right away, and not ridiculously easy. Shawny is a great mapper and right off the bat is making very good uses of the Skulltiverse textures as well, mixed in with some vanilla go-to's here. The restore power concept does good too.

 

2 - Did not test or play yet

 

3 - Alright map, I like the name :) Sadly can't recall that much else though. Probably rate visuals as so-so too.

 

4 - Was map2 when I tested, it is hard for that slot, may still have been nerfed some perhaps since I played, but presuming the slot was also moved up for that reason. Decent visuals and enjoyed it overall, a touch better than 3.

 

5 - Of course Death Bear does not disappoint! Very nice tech mini city with difficulty increasing the further along you get, definitely together with map1 as the best looking and best overall map in E1.

Edited September 5, 2021 by FrancisT218

[Thrustpeak]

UV | Continuous | dsda-doom 

 

MAP05: Green Tech's Embrace

 

Judging by the name, green was the theme, and it was utilized well like the previous maps dedication to blue and gray. Nukage scattered throughout, green tinged stone, green pulsing panels and tech all set against green skies with some browns and grays paired for good measure. I got the sense of being in some kind of ominous factory with all the explosive barrels and nukage pools being refuse from whatever is going on here. I dug the look of this map, and had fun playing it. However, none of the encounters really stuck out to me. There is no "that fight" to point to. Not to say that the combat was bad, but it just felt like it was lacking one big memorable brawl or unforgettable evil trap. Still it was overall an enjoyable experience, and probably my favorite looking map yet.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by Thrustpeak

[Book Lord]

MAP 05 – Green Tech’s Embrace by Death Bear

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

I immediately recognised this as the map featured in the chapter screenshot of the release thread. This environment was indeed pleasing to the eye, with a prevalence of green tones in both the tech buildings and the stormy skybox. I am not sure if this represented a nuclear plant or a nukage treatment facility, but I shrugged any doubts off and fell with marvel into Green Tech’s Embrace. Once penetrated inside the central building, it became clear that I had to search for both YK and RK to unlock the core holding the blue skull.

Spoiler

@Death Bear obtained the most out of this rather small-sized map, even though this was bigger than the previous entries. The main strength was the interconnected layout and the masterful intersection of multiple paths, allowing to cross the level from one side to the other and on different heights. The paths were not readily accessible but had to be unlocked by pressing switches. The progression was articulated and multi-layered, with the only confusing part being the switch that activated the lift to reach the RK area. In contrast to the YK ledge elevator and bridge, this one rose behind my back while I was distracted by monsters, so I only realised the event after a short, disoriented wander.

Spoiler

Picking up a key, flipping a lever or entering new areas was rarely without consequences, since a variety of closets, insta-pops and teleports was devised to keep the player on his toes. Everything felt extremely balanced and fair, while still being exciting and challenging at the same time. No huge monster clusters = perfect for UV -fast! The only minor fact I disliked was the dead end with damaging floor and a deaf Lost Soul, which I had to drive out at my health’s expense to get 100% kills. There was an easy Soul Sphere secret to make up for that, so even this small complaint turns out irrelevant in the big picture. This was an outstanding map, too bad this is the last by this author in the MegaWAD!

Edited September 5, 2021 by Book Lord

[Pechudin]

MAP05: Green Tech's Embrace by DeathBear - Deaths: 0; Total deaths: 1

        The opening's ammo scarcity is intimidating at the first glance but the abundance of barrels makes the solution obvious. The verticality and the act you jump over the areas you walked before is rather nice, using the same space multiple times. We get the RL for the first time (non-secret), and it does help with the map's few Mancubi and Hell Knights. The fights are still rather easy, never have I felt pressured or cornered or helpless due to ammo deprivation. I did feel the map's only secret (the Soulsphere) was a tad too easy to get, I only had to walk on a relatively short ledge.

[DuckReconMajor]

MAP05 - Green Tech's Embrace - dsda-doom - skill 4 pistol start - rewinds used 

 

today and next few days back in 8-bit software

Hell yeah. Another big cityscape. 

I liked the aesthetics of the red and yellow key room. Reminded me of Sunlust somewhat

It's was difficult to me depending on the order i took everything on.

 

Spoiler

 

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by DuckReconMajor

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP05 - "Green Tech's Embrace" - Death Bear (89%K/100%I/100%S):

The best so far, and also the biggest map yet, something not so different to the things we have already seen with tech-bases, but this excecution was just better, feels like I'm playing one of those tech-base maps from Eviternity again. Combat, yet again, is hitscan heavy, but now there are some more bigger threats than before. Layout wise, though better, is pretty confusing at times, and I felt just progressing by brute force, rather than actually knowing what I was doing, and this is my only grippe so far with this level.

Deaths: 5 (HMP - PrBoom+)

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP05

MAP03

MAP01
MAP04
MAP02

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 05 - Green Tech's Embrace (UV, pistol-start)

 

Ancient Aliens music is always welcome but I could always be mistaken. Still had the style though. I assume this is a sewage plant of sorts, though why there's so much monitoring electronics at the beginning is anyone's guess.

 

There are barrels scattered throughout the outside courtyard, though you may be disappointed at the amount of room your foes have to avoid them. That's ok though, because the map's not especially stingy with ammo (thank you, Death Bear for being the first mapper I have any familiarity with besides Ilya!). Still, things do have a semi-claustrophobic feel to them, mainly alleviated by the vast majority of monsters being fairly low-ranking.

 

Now I'm not entirely certain if both of the main lifts on the outside of the main courtyard are immediately accessible. It took me a minute of two of wandering, including into an inside pool of slime in one case, before finding the lift in the east. A backpack will be your reward, along with a way to enter the building. Don't think you can access the yellow key across the way from here, btw. You can always head in here to pick up the berserk pack and rocket launcher and pick up the red key by taking a marked lift and heading to an otherwise inaccessible area. Or you could be like me, head to the other side of the courtyard to take the other lift to take you to the room with the yellow key and immediately receive some nasty back rockets from some Revenants which prompted much weaving and annoyance at 30 percent health. I did have a rocket launcher here though. Picking the yellow key up opens a door with some hitscan opposition and a hallway which leads you next to the not-so-secret Supercharge you can either jump to or walk along the ledge surrounding it's chamber.

 

The red-key path on the other hand, leads you to a room with some red lights on the floor, along with a fairly modest monster closet that you can handle with ease. See, I've played enough difficult maps at this point that when I forget something like this is still acceptable for a Map 05. Anyways, take care of this, and maybe hit a switch (who care) and go through a hallway to the red key chamber and likely dead Revenants. Unfortunately, Zone 400 flashbacks came back when a stupidly weak ambush happened before I could pick the key up. Still better than having a massive ambush happen before you pick up the key and having practically nothing afterwards which is just really stupid. The real danger comes from a Cacodemon pair which teleports in after you pick the red key up, though they can be easily dispatched with rockets.

 

The next bit may be a little easier if you have around 9 or more rockets which isn't terrible likely, as those are quite well-balanced, but anyway, return to the firts floor of the central building where you saw yellow and red switches earlier. Hit one switch, or both switches if you pressed neither earlier, and the bars surrounding the skull key will lower. Picking up the skull key finally triggers a teleport ambush worthy of Death Bear's name. Enemies teleport onto the surrounding ledge, near the main entrance and generally just all around. The Hell Knight near the entrance is easily dispatched, and perhaps the Pain Elemental to the southwest as well, though the wanker ended up a huge pain in the ass. He and his Soulspawn died when I had around 60 percent health left. Heading outside, there were still lots of enemies and a Manicubus at the exit portal that I had just enough rockets for. At the end, there were 4 enemies left. I found two Imps on one of the lifts inside but I have no clue where the other two were.

 

Any map where you don't have to kill Revenants with a Chaingun is a huge plus, and Death Bear is still probably better with staging encounters than Shawny, but I'm not sure it's better than Map 01. Who cares?

[Omniarch]

I think I'm going to cover these earlier maps in small batches, since none of them are really long or note-worthy enough individually to warrant their own posts.

 

Regular Base - joe-ilya
A visually-bland yet rather eccentric outing from CP veteran joe-ilya. This map feels almost like an artifact from a bygone era, reminiscent of '00s techbases in its aesthetics and focus on Boom gimmickry. Despite comparing unfavourably in qualitative terms with the previous map, Regular Base's backwards-looking nature could actually have been a strength in the context of Skulltiverse, given the premise of the wad. Unfortunately, the map is ultimately too short to leave much of an impression beyond the original but somewhat irksome blue key gimmick.

 

Spoiler

The only part of the map anyone remembers

 

Heh, I forgot to set the complevel and broke it

 

Get Rectangular! - Nimiauredhel
A basic techbase from new mapper Nimiauredhel, who also composed the map's eccentric-but-appropriate midi. This map showcases a wide variety of the set's textures, blending them together to create a rather ecclectic scheme. Interesting to know that these assets were sourced primarily from the "Post your Doom textures" thread. Nice to see such obscure resources getting some love.

 

Spoiler

This is my favourite room. Feels like some sort of '50s nuclear control room or something

 

I like this blue key altar. Classy!

While simple in terms of gameplay and progression, the map is still enjoyable enough, in a pederstrian sort of way. Unfortunately, it doesn't have a particularly strong sense of place nor atmosphere. It is, as the name implies, simply a rectangular techbase.

 

Bilis - RataUnderground
This map starts well. Upon arriving on this desolate world, the player is greeted by a well-composed, visually pleasing area, and immediately thrust into the most difficult encounter so far (saying very little of course). RataUnderground clearly knows their stuff when it comes to visuals, atmosphere and midi-selection. In particular, the integration of naturalism and tech is unusually seamless for a newer mapper.

 

Spoiler

I particularly like the cool blue-grey palette. Very pleasing

 

Unfortunately, the rest of the map is not so consistent, consisting of a single comparatively dull outdoor area and a series of bland gray hallways. Additionally, the bulk of the combat outside the starting room is pretty bland stuff. Still, it is the opening room that sticks in my mind after completion, a space that demonstrates promise on the part of the author.

 

Green Tech's Embrace - Death Bear
The most professional map thus far, in my (un)professional opinion. The map is, in a word, cohesive. Every element works together in harmony with every other element. Green Tech's Embrace sits on the verge between what I'd consider "professional" and "beginner" mapping, solid enough in gameplay terms and consistent enough in the visual department to qualify as the former, yet weighed down on the margins by a handful of noobish tendencies, like blunt use of DOORTRAK and an excess of impassable linedefs.

 

Spoiler

Very professional indeed

 

Death Bear is one of the most promising mappers of the 2020/21 generation, in my opinion. A prolific speedmapper with an eye for colour and a strong grasp of the fundamentals, he has been improving rapidly since debuting in the 12 Days of Doommas speedmap megawad last year, participating in many subsequent PUSS events among other CPs. I shall be keeping an eye on this one's progress, for sure, if this rock-solid outing is anything to go by.

Edited September 17, 2021 by Omniarch
raging perfectionism

[DFF]

MAP05 - Green Tech's Embrace by Death Bear

A grand tech base on display here, lots of good technical detailing and consistent color theming on display to make this map feel rather authentic. I rather enjoy the copious use of barrel traps to help the player, as well as the strong emphasis on verticality. I tend to agree that this map never has one truly monstrous fight, but I don't think thats a bad thing for a map05 slot. The map knows its difficulty, and while maybe not the most exciting, the combat is consistent throughout the map. No section felt really unnaturally weaker or stronger. The only area that I had to approach with some thought was the inside, mainly due to lots of infinite height actors being out of my sight, making it hard to deal with them.

Overall a fun design to explore, consistently nice combat pieces. The inner room is annoying to deal with the monsters below you initially but manageable. Also The singular secret was rather easy, I would have liked more secrets. Large, detailed maps invite people to want to explore them, which in turn invites the author to hide some creative and fun secrets.

[Pseudonaut]

Map05 FDA (1 death):

stv05FDA1527.zip

Cool map, best so far. Pleasing to look at but also enjoyable to fight and move around in thanks in part to an abundance of significant height variation, sometimes involving claustrophobic encounters on small platforms such as 6:30 in the video. Not difficult since it was just two imps, but it came as a surprise and kept me on my toes. There's some potential for "infinite height" annoyances here, which I experienced a couple of times with barrels, but it didn't bother me in this case.

[dei_eldren]

MAP06 - No OH&S Compliance (HMP, blind, continuous w/ saves): K 100% (93/93), I 100% (9/9), S 100% (3/3), D 3, T 17:28

 

Spoiler

This nuclear facility map begins with a bang, as right at the start is a chance to blow away some Imps amongst barrels, and soon after is an attack of some Pinkies.  This is one of the finest looking techbase-maps using the white wall textures i've ever seen, as they tend to look merely bland but it's clear from the beginning that this is a very nice looking map with well-balanced aesthetics.  The most striking features is of course the central pool with the core lowered into it (which will later on be raised) surrounded by lamps, around which all the action takes place and the rooms are arranged.

 

i guess the most striking room is with hordes of Pinkies and some tens of barrels that can be used to kill most of them.  Here on first try, i got myself cornered, after exploding the first group of barrels, between the other and the wall, and of course some Pinky exploded the barrels killing me.  Was more careful on second try, and knowing the layout, exploded both sets, and didn't let the Pinkies any more corner myself.  This room has a teleport for the room next to this on the second floor.  Here is the YK, and some sort of a machine working as a crusher.  On the side is a pool of nukage, from which rises a row of Imps - reminding me of the swamp scene in Robert E. Howard's horror story Black Canaan. 

 

The YK is atop a curious staired metallic structure in the middle of the hallway, and grabbing it does not cause anything.  We are now at the other side of the pool, and can get to the Imps that were seen earlier onto one side of it.  For some reason, the area is a secret, containing some ammo, rockets and the Chaingun.  Then it's time for me to fall into the pool, as i seem to have had an irrational Jesus-complex.  Yes, i do like the Boom-stuff, i always have - i think Boom-features are a good addition, without changing/improving anything essential.

On the video i'm mostly surprised at the falling, but the view of the Cacos under the water was very striking, and the whole thing very well done.  Anyway, i fail to notice the stairs, and die.. i'm not even sure of the keys i could've used to swim.  And in the game i only hope i don't need to go into the pool again, fearing there's a switch or a secret.

 

On the other side there is a YK door, and behind it is first a Revenant, and next couple of Pinkies, and the BSK.  Of course, on a raised pedestal not yet available.  It's the switch here that must have raised the stairs on the other side to an elevated part next to the crusher.  There is a ton of rockets, and going forward opens a wall, to reveal on the other side of this raised floor the beginning area, now teeming with Pinkies and Imps, easy enough to take care of from here.  But at the same time! the reactor core has been lifted, and the Cacodemons from under the water have been freed, and attack from behind.  Nice touch.  This is the toughest fights of the map.  Getting a great idea, for once, i run to the other side of the crusher, hoping some of them would get crushed.  This works, but there's so many of them, perhaps ten, they still keep attacking from all sides.  My health goes down to 7% before i actually take the threat of these flying beauties seriously.  After them, all kills are accomplished.  And it's only now to press the last switch, which as expected made available the BSK.

 

Unfortunately, there's still one secret to find, and boy, did it take time.  In the process i managed to get myself crushed once, too.  Anyway, the third secret was behind what looked to me to be an umarked white wall, behind the YK door.  So it was just nice classical wall testing that helped me find it.  Sometimes nothing wrong with that. 

 

Excellent map on all counts for the ending of the first episode.  And as good as the maps before have been, i have to rank this as my favourite.  There's something about making such good use of the Boom-features, the boring white textures, and the herds of Pinkies and the swarm of Cacos that all together win me over, together with many small design features, hinting already towards slight corruption.  Plus some of the best combat since MAP01. 

 

There was also a way to get softlocked, dropping down to the small space between the lamps and the wall from near the last switch, which while looking for the last secret i just had to give a go in hope of a switch or something..

 

i can already say that for MAP07 i'm returning to HNTR.  But more about that tomorrow.

 

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by dei_eldren
softlocked

[cannonball]

MAP03 - “Get Rectangular” by Nimiauredhel

A rather basic techbase with some colourful texturing, an off-putting midi and the plasma gun vanished before I could grab it. Okay you don't really need it for this one. At least the author tried to kill me in a few places here, which made it somewhat entertaining. The layout is rather basic, I guess this is an early effort of the mapper's career. It was okay, if someone bizarre in places.

 

MAP04 - “Bilis” by RataUnderground

Grey and blue always work nicely. Not sure about the combat here, clumps of hitscanners only really serve as entertainment value and the revenants in the pillbox were annoying to plink with the shotgun. I thought I was being clever finding a secret, it turned out to be the intended route and my reward was the big fight of the map. Despite the bark of hellknights, revenants and hitscanners, this isn't too difficult to handle as they tend to quickly fight each other. An okay map again.

 

MAP05 - “Green Tech’s Embrace” by Death Bear

A curious little number with a compelling grimy green aesthetic. The layout is a little awkward to navigate at first, but otherwise a very nice map to play, continuously trickling in monsters as you progress further towards your final destination. Nothing too difficult here and a few jumps might be a little irritating, but otherwise a very nice map and the best one so far. 

[Lorenz0]

MAP06 - No OH&S Compliance

 

Not all amateur works are created equal, but this one stands out only in a negative way. Visually speaking the map is incredibly ugly with its abstract, undetailed architecture and a clear lack of lighting variation. It feels like everything here has been assembled at random, except for maybe the trap with the floor lowering into a crowd of demons and barrels, which is pretty tedious since you can't position yourself in a way to blow all of them up, and the gimmick with deep water and cacodemons in the middle. It makes me think that the author just wanted to show off that they know how to do that, not caring enough about the end result from the gameplay perspective. The only way out of the water is at a small ledge, from which you have to shimmy next to awfully placed lamps to the yellow key area. What's the point of placing decorations that make the room look worse and play worse? The cacodemons don't serve much purpose either, since after you release them, you can just head towards the exit without killing them. Not even the midi could save this map, as listening to it for a while just gives me a headache.
Most of this level hasn't been any fun at all, but I've definitely seen worse. Everyone starts somewhere and I hope the author will improve on his ideas in the future.

 

Order of preference:

 

MAP04
MAP05
MAP01
MAP03
MAP02
MAP06

Edited September 5, 2021 by Lorenz0
random enters appeared in the text

[Book Lord]

MAP 06 – No OH&S Compliance by Washing Machine Enthusiasts

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, UV-Fast, Continuous, blind run w/saves

 

The level received an amusing and appropriate name, considering it takes place in a sort of reactor core where safety measures for workers have long since fallen into oblivion. Doomguy could inadvertently stumble upon damaging floors, crushers, clusters of explosive barrels and the cooling water pool, which was deep, poisonous, and teeming with scuba Cacodemons.

 

As for the gameplay and overall design… the map left much to be desired. The level was a big open chamber where distant monsters took advantage of their perfect aim, while I could not locate them thanks to obstructive detail. I took some bullets and fireballs before every pesky sniper lay dead. The locked doors suggested I had to find the YK, so I went into a room where the floor suddenly lowered into a pit filled with barrels and Demons. There was a Berserker Pack and an apparent Tyson invitation, but I am not dealing with 30 -fast Pinkies in a pit without SSG or plasma gun. Luckily, the trap could be triggered without falling into the pit, so I happily abused this to avoid being turned to shreds.

 

I gained YK and got back to the door, leading to an upper ledge with a control switch. It raised some stairs to another switch on the other side of the map, requiring more tedious to and fro movement. The rocket launcher and a ridiculous bunch of rockets were available for the taking, in prevision of two consecutive attacks: a small group of Imps and Demons and the most-anticipated Cacoswarm from the reactor core. I was expecting them and approached the switch carefully, so I activated one ambush at a time. A nearby slow crusher demanded some prudence, but there was enough room to dodge Caco fireballs and pound them with rockets. This was an entertaining fight, the only highlight in a rather unimpressive level. It had its share of gimmicks, though not the types that I love (Demon-Tyson trap, deep water, hazards).

Spoiler

 

Edited September 5, 2021 by Book Lord

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP05: "Green Tech's Embrace" by Death Bear

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 1/1 secrets

 

This one was very visually appealing. It's a predominantly green techbase underneath a Speed of Doom-esque green sky, with dim and effective lighting, and it carries a nice sense of adventure about it. There's a fair bit of switch-hunting and lift-raising, but I like the implementation personally. The Jimmy midi is also very nice and fits the level quite well. 

 

Combat-wise, the level takes a sort of slow and steady approach through much of the runtime. Not so threatening apart from a couple moments. One slightly tricky part happens when you are obtaining the yellow key, as hitting the switch to raise the platform also reveals a couple of revenants across the way. Grabbing the yellow key provides you with an escape, but also unleashes two chaingunners from opposite sides, compounding your problems further. The final fight after getting the blue skull key is a good one too, as many enemies are teleported all around at different heights and in different areas.

 

Not too challenging of a level, but I loved the layout and look of it a great deal.

[baja blast rd.]

map06: "No OH&S Compliance" by Washing Machine Enthusiasts

 

Will go over some substantial improvements to the gameplay that I think are possible. (I know it's an idgames version, but the reasoning might be useful to future works.) 

_

 

The big pinky horde where the floor plunges is the first attempted major setpiece, and a neat idea in theory, but the outcomes are in an unusual binary: 

 

a) If you blow up the barrels immediately, the fight is over and a non-event. I don't think this is ideal -- the map could use a fight that isn't either cleanup of low-threat monsters or an instant win, and this felt like a good choice. One simple patch would be requiring basic pinky luring to the barrels, similar to the part right after the shotgun pickup. 

 

b) Key thing is if you fail to do that, you're still not in a precarious spot; the rest simply plays out awkwardly. While the mob is numerous, pinkies are also relatively weak and the arena isn't set up either for them to be credible threats or for you to flank them. It kinda becomes a stalemate until you clean up a bunch. Something like this is possible too.

 

 

 

The arena shape is the issue here, and making it something other than a big rectangle with pillars would hypothetically help a lot. 

 

_

 

In the area with imps rising out of slime, the fun approach is luring imps to the crusher. But you don't have any incentive because they are just imps and your shotgun is enough, so the concept's connection is loose. I honestly didn't even immediately realize it was a concept fight. This is partially my reasoning for -a- above -- the second-longest fight in the map is potentially just shotgunning imps. The gimmick (if meant to exist) conveys better with a few hell knights involved. 

 

_

 

After this, I would probably replace the late rocket launcher secret with something else -- you get the regular rocket launcher immediately afterwards anyway.  

 

Upon hitting this switch, I didn't notice the stairs rising for the final leg of progression because they are very grey and blend in with the very grey map. The change is pretty subtle even if you are looking at it directly. Even a pure gameplay-oriented map benefits from an occasional focus on visuals, to guide the player's attention and help them understand the map properly.   

 

When you reach the not-secret rocket launcher, a group of imps and pinkies spawns below you. They are not in a good position to be rocketed unless you notice them immediately, but also not threatening if you fail to notice them. It would work better to have a closet spring open in this wall I'm looking at (ignore photobombing caco).

 

 

_

 

Finally, at the end, cacodemons rising out of the toxic water pool is a fun idea, as is how you can see them underwater if you accidentally fall when you get baited in. But once they are active, they fail to get around well thanks to a combination of the midtex grating and these lamps. 

 

 

In a more visuals-oriented map you could probably get away with the cacos existing just for the looks of a big tomato swarm, but here, the fight probably has to be threatening on some level. Further, their obstruction by the environment means they don't add cinematic spectacle either. 

 

Along with retrofitting the layout to let them move around better, it would make sense to have many teleport elsewhere (or something like that). You could even consider mixing in a couple pain elementals. 

 

_

 

With those patched up, this likely becomes a bare-looking but functional gameplay-oriented map. The first two setups with barrel spam start things off on a good foot, and pretty much all of the smaller fights are either amusing in some way (like crushing the zombies) or too inoffensively short to leave a mark either way.

[WashingMachineEnthusiasts]

MAP06 - No OH&S Compliance (by me)

For context, this was mapped in a few hours because I misread the rules as 3 days starting from when you open the editor, not 3 days from when you claim a slot (as it actually was). I mention this not to excuse the map, but to provide the context that this wasn't playtested by anyone else. I've made maps that are heaps better than this, and they all went through several drafts. As rd said, this definitely needed further drafts. I agree with all of the criticism given, except getting hit from the other side of the map - hitscan enemies only appear in this map when you're near them, so if you're getting hit from the other side of the map it's because you let them live - and if it's a projectile then just dodge it. But I agree with everything else, so in further drafts I would have made the central pool completely inaccessible, as just one example.

 

On the plus side, and if I can cross-promote, I can say that I have used some of the concepts in better ways in other maps now - the barrels and pinkies fight is done better (with luring) in Ferox, and the cacos rising from water is done better (with a more confined space) in Cold Reception (both from Temporal Tantrum), and looping around a central point is done better in The Last Resort in Auger Zenith.

[ViolentBeetle]

I actually quite like MAP06 and find its gameplay pretty fun (If a bit unchallenging), so I was somewhat surprised by response here. Those random hazards and explosive barrels mechanics were quite entertaining to me.

Overall, I do find the first chapter a bit weak compared to the rest of the wad, even though I don't outright dislike any of it (If I did, I probably wouldn't include them).