The DWmegawad Club plays: KINDa

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/Blind/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 19 - CALCULATOR 

100% kills and secrets

Time: 19:30

Deaths: 2

 

This is the first map in a very long time to feel consistently threatening. There's some nasty encounters all throughout the entire map, most involving archies, chaingunners, or both. Archies like to pop up from the gray-bordered lift blocks and also tend to just hang around other monsters. Chaingunners are used like normal, just there's a lot more of them in little elevated cubbies. My first death was going through the #4 area and getting perforated to death by one directly above me that I couldn't shoot at from where I was. I liked the numbered pathways here, but I don't know if there was a rhyme or reason to it. I don't think I needed to go in that order to get the blue key? I did go in order from 1-4, so maybe I did, idk. I'm assuming the switch I shot in #4 was what raised the platform to the blue key. Typical KINDa progression at this point. My second death was when I hit the exit switch. I knew it wasn't the exit, but I didn't expect a chaingunner and an archie to teleport in directly behind me. I had no chance. I still got a lot of health wiped upon respawn and BFG blast. That's a very hard fight without the BFG, but this isn't designed around pistol-start I don't think. Still, I think the map is one of the better ones in the WAD so far, and probably the hardest.

[cannonball]

MAP19 - “Calculator”

This one is a considerable improvement on the last two, in fact this one actually felt okay in both health and ammo. Okay the health is still a little in short supply but there enough recovery items if you can avoid getting hit too many times by the ambushes that actually carry some teeth. Archviles are used liberally here and aside from the complete joke at the exit they tend to be utilised to jump the player or make you very wary of the more open sections of the map.

There is something quite interesting and endearing about the texture usage and layout here, like the feel of going through air ducts to get from one open area to the next, it actually felt somewhat compelling and add in a little interest in the gameplay department then this certainly feels like a highlight.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP19: Calculator

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 2/5 secrets

 

A dimly lit techbase with black walls, and some numbers on the floor that can be used as landmarks. This one is honestly probably my favourite map since Monster Monopoly, I enjoyed my time in it a fair bit. My first few runs I thought it was going to be another brutal grind for me like last map, and it is quite low on health, but if you find your way to the blue skull key and use it to access a nearby door, your ammo woes can disappear for a while. The room beyond has a decent amount of shells and bullets, followed by an encounter with lots of hitscan that is easy to take cover from, so you end up pretty well stocked in the ammo department. Still, the map has lots of hitscan and not so much health, so it is by no means easy, and the secret SSG near the beginning is very crucial. Also good to take notice of the stimpacks hidden behind the cubes in the main hall.

 

The fight after hitting the switch to open the exit is one of the nastier in the wad so far. An archvile and a bunch of chaingunners immediately pop out with not a lot of time for you to get cover, from here on out the plasma is your best friend, and you luckily get a fair few cells. Lots of the more intimidating encounters have been pretty easy to run from in this wad, but this map remedies that by posting some more hitscanners and an arachnotron near the bridge out of the area, so it's less easy to cheese this one. It's a solid fight and a great climax to the level.

 

I liked this one a lot. It had a good atmosphere and some fun combat.

[brick]

MAP18 - Doomsday Machine (100%)

Some of the secrets here are fiendish, I loved how well hidden the BFG one was. The blue key puzzle is very well signaled, and this turns what could have been a frustrating running-around into a fun exploration-focused segment. I'm not a fan of the instant-teleport ambushes but they're not too odious with carryovers (pistol-starting this map on UV must be an exercise in frustration though...) and I enjoyed this part of the map. When I saw the exit teleporter I started wondering where half the monster count was... I found out soon enough. I like that you give us the option to duke it out for completion, or to simply run like hell to the exit. Good fun overall.

 

MAP19 - Calculator (100%)

I did not like this one much. The layout is interesting and the tiered elevators and that black block texture are used really well, but progression is purposefully confusing, made worse by the 1-2-3-4 numbering. Lots of switches but many are redundant, and the utility of the one that is the most important is pretty obscure, which creates some backtracking. Too many hitscanners and some are used in an absolutely infuriating manner, where they are on a higher level and can shoot at you and hit you but they are stuck far enough from the ledge that you cannot even see them, never mind reach them in any way until much later. Surprisingly large number of archviles but most are used pretty well. Mixed feelings overall.

Edited October 20, 2021 by brick

[Salt-Man Z]

On 10/17/2021 at 1:59 PM, Doritos420 said:

Map15 - Blackout

... there was one secret switch near the beginning that dropped a light to the floor but nothing else happened. Maybe it’s a quirk with GZ doom, I looked it up in Doombuilder and it looks like there’s an inaccessible berserk pack.

Perfectly accessible in GZDoom. The switch drops the light to the floor (it's a lift) but clicking on its pillar permanently raises said pillar to reveal the zerk. You can't ride the lift, but when it's down you can bump the zerk.

 

 

MAP15: Blackout (HMP/continuous/saves)

31:57 | 100% Everything

If I hadn't seen everyone else's screenshots in this thread, I would have wondered why this map was named "Blackout". I run GZDoom in "standard" lighting mode, and the entire level was fairly bright throughout. It would have been a completely different map if I had played it on a darker setting; it was nasty enough as-is with the tons of hitscanners, sparse health, and starting at like 60% from the previous hitscan-heavy map. I opted not to read the spoiler on the secret exit, and so wasted a lot of time at the end of this one, then felt like a chump when I came back here for the answer. The one-time door is easily the worst effect in the entire Doom engine (narrowly beating out the leaky radsuit); you literally have no way of knowing it's being used unless the author literally spells it out for you in the level, and even then it's so rarely used that that often doesn't even work. A pretty decent level, I guess, but soured by the secret exit. Oh, and that was a weird way to grab the red key. (I guess TNT did it too, but still.)

[Book Lord]

MAP 20 – Monster HQ

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

 

After visiting a lot of Kinda’s branch companies in the previous levels, we have finally reached the Monster HQ. The opening colonnade possessed that sprawling sense of scale typical of Drake O’Brien levels and fighting the scant hitscanner welcome team evoked bad memories from TNT MAP20. Luckily enough, I did not register many other similarities with that style of mapping. A Gotcha! arrangement in the nearby courtyard seemed in store for a later stage, so I went through the door and began the first round of corridor shooting.

Spoiler

This was the part I liked less. Again, hitscanners scored a lot of cheap hits at strange angles, until everybody lay dead. I noticed that I could not go very far, but before returning to the previous area and finding a mandatory switch improperly placed near the Radiation Suit, I noticed that the RK was very close to the wall and… yes! I grabbed it and could have skipped the whole area to the north, which was a funny romp into small computer rooms. Pistol starters should go here for the SSG and the secret plasma gun, which I missed.

 

That switch near the Radiation Suit made me notice the RK operated switch that opened the two small doors. They could just have been red doors. The lava room behind was divided in two symmetrical halves with the same actions taking place. Both switches had to be pulled to progress eastwards, and they activated the Gotcha! replay as well. The Cyberdemon won as always, even with my SSG constantly scorching his glutes.

Spoiler

I readied the plasma gun before taking the lift down and I was right: some critters but also a Pain Elemental were waiting at the bottom. The BK was in a lava room nearby which remotely reminded me of a famous area in Mill, possibly because of the Arachnotrons. The fast crusher above the Radiation Suit killed me like a rookie, as opposed to the Cacoswarm which was expected and routinely handled. A lot of secrets were hidden in this area, including another yellow locked room which honestly was not worth the late revisit. Another totally optional section was the monster garden with oversized benches, which granted a useful ammo supply instead.

Spoiler

The blue doors could not be missed during previous explorations, but there was a surprise attack by the colonnade to liven up the backtracking. The exceptional event here was the absence of former humans, and outrunning Revenants, Imps and -fast Pinkies in that wide area was fun. The two segments unlocked by BK were separate but connected through a chain of teleporters, which offered a lot of cells and a medikit. The path to the YSK was a rather long and uninspiring corridor shooting, ending with a Cacodemon closet that could be completely ignored. Nobody should miss the now available Megasphere on the way back to the outside area and to the exit, which was dotted with new monster closets. The vicious chaingunners did their best to blemish the newly acquired 200% stats.

 

Ignoring the usual gripes with the hitscanners, Monster HQ offered an acceptable challenge, several good-looking areas, and a reasonable progression. There were a lot of secrets and uncovering them was satisfying. The Gotcha! replica was announced since the beginning, and was neither a shock nor a gratifying déjà vu. We have finally reached the last episode of the MegaWAD and I am looking forward to see if provoking the Kinda was really not advisable, as threatened by the intermission text.

Edited October 20, 2021 by Book Lord

[Biodegradable]

 MAP20 - Monter HQ

UV | Continuous | GZDoom and Vanilla+

 

So this map had me running around a lot. Every corner had some motherfucker begging for a bullet sandwich. Health was noticeably stingy here and progression was as cryptic as ever. The Gotcha reference is cute, but was also underwhelming and borderline annoying. I couldn't get the two big idiots to infight, so I BFG'd the Spider-Mom and just ignored the Cyber for the most part, only killing him out of frustration later because I thought he might of being linked to progression since I got lost for a fair bit at the tale end, but it was ultimately my fault for forgetting about one specific teleporter. 

 

 

[Doritos420]

@Salt-Man Z Thanks for the info, that part really bugged me as to what was going on.

 

Map20 - Monster HQ

Insane base in this level. About halfway through I encountered a severe ammo shortage to the point where I was unsure if I could even complete the level. I ended up leaving the caco swarm in the courtyard as well as the Cyberdemon. I’m sure if I had found out where the plasma rifle is I would be able to complete the level. There were long stretches where I was just punching out imps in order to make it through. Very hard with the ammo shortage, but other than that it wasn’t a bad level but it seems like it squeezes all the ammo out, presents a gang of hit scanners to restock allowing you to continue just a little bit further.

[FragsBunny]

MAP20: Monster HQ (99%/100%/100%)

1.       Cyberdemon fires triple projectiles

2.       Baron of hell the throws a chain of 3 projectiles

3.       Mancubus has a small companion

 

Upon entering the map you will immediately notice a cyberdemon and spiderdemon in suspended animation, yet they will be the least of troubles you would face… I entered the map with half of health and half of armor, and I have to watch out not only for zombies, but even card-boosted imps and demons, not to mention few barons with the card boost above. For me, this map turned to be the largest in the set so far and the hardest – I had to take multiple tries to complete it.

 

You have to be a complete idiot if you choose to pick up the rad suit from the beginning - you will need it after finding the red key. Pistol starters absolutely must discover the plasma gun secret, because you won’t see it anywhere else in spite of cell ammo scattered around the map. Later on, you pull two switches in hazardous area to release both mini-bosses. It is absolutely imperative to make them infight each other, but even then, you’re bound to take some damage from the spiderdemon (like in my case).

 

The blue key area and its surroundings are even less friendly – first you have to clear the arachnotrons in lava, the deal with obligatory cacodemon ambush after grabbing the blue key. I hope you still have your rad suit active, cause the cacos will force you to jump down in the lava again! The yellow door area and the big graystone courtyard are completely optional, because they offer little to no health in contrast to dangers that await you there.

 

And at the end of that, right after picking the yellow key, The Mighty Whoosh unexpectedly gifts you a whole megasphere. Of course, to help you deal with ambushes on the way back. I believe you would still keep your conservative style of playing after picking it? The mega-armor secret was the last one to be found, but giving my low starting health, I don’t think it would have helped me in the long run.

 

Current cards on my playthrough:
1. Sergeants are always focused on players.

2. Player heals nearby monsters when damaged

3. Zombiemen picks up and throw dead monsters

4. Arch-vile can leap at their prey

5. Monsters gain a speed boost when they open doors

6. Imp gains health and damage after killing another monster

7. Mancubus are always focused on players

8. Mancubus turns to stone on death

9. Mancubus respawns once after death

10. Cacodemons are always focused on players

11. Baron of Hell showes nearby entities on death
12. Arachnotron projectiles are partially invisible

13. Arch-vile have a regenerating shield

14. Sludge rain will fall outside, slowing your movement

15. Arachnotron fires baron of Hell projectiles

31. Hell knight receives damage one second later

16. Imp projectiles traves twice as fast

17. Demon fires a baron of hell projectile on death

18. Mancubi are able to fly

19. Revenant may teleport away if in danger

20. Baron of hell the throws a chain of 3 projectiles

Edited October 20, 2021 by FragsBunny

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP20 - Monster HQ (90%K/90%I/84%S):

Was a really bearable map until AMMO SHORTAGE. I liked it more than others, anyway, a map in the style of Hell Revealed or Memento Mori, just like MAP17. Sadly ignoring most enemies will be the way to play this megawad. The BOSS fight between the Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind was clearly inspired by Gotcha!, but made 10 times less memorable. I could not make them infight, so I decided to accept they are there and proceed. Layout wise, is good, but there is a lot of running around.

(UV Playthrough - PrBoom+)

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP09
MAP12
MAP10
MAP08

MAP05
MAP11

MAP01
MAP16
MAP20
MAP17
MAP13
MAP04
MAP06
MAP14
MAP19
MAP02
MAP15
MAP07
MAP18
MAP03
MAP31

MAP32 (Unrated)

 

 

[MtPain27]

MAP 20: Monster HQ

One of the most enjoyable maps in episode 2 by my reckoning, Monster HQ is another nasty pistol start that lightens up toward the end if you don't make a point of killing every monster on sight. One critical caveat: there's a secret plasma stashed behind a computer panel blocked by a single explosive barrel: that's absolutely necessary to 100% this map. Also, there's a switch in the grassy area to the side of one of the monster platforms: press that, run to the side of the room where an arachnotron has appeared, and press the switch behind him for some much needed munitions. There's a teleporter you can take in the hallway behind one of the blue doors that will take you to a medikit and two bulk cells, and I made the mistake of emptying all my magazines before rushing out of there: don't get caught with your pants down.

 

 

The Gotcha! sendup was pretty obligatory, and didn't add anything to the map. You don't really want the most memorable part of your map to be a reference to another map. Anyway, I had a pretty decent time with this one when I took a step back and waited for an ammo refill. 

 

[FistMarine]

MAP11: Her Keep
As the title may have given away, this map features the return of the Spider Mastermind! And also the BFG, which is given freely and that's what causes the spider to spawn! So after you grab the BFG, run, wait for the spider to appear and blast her! It takes 2 BFG shots in classic ports (I could never kill the spider with a single BFG blast in non-ZDoom ports), during time in which I lost quite a bit of my health, meaning I had to play a bit more careful in the later parts of the map. But that way guaranteed a fast kill, rather than using SSG to slowly kill her.
The rest of the map isn't difficult, since again there isn't any particular dangerous encounter. There is an archvile that is waiting for you in the exit room and the archie can be eliminated with a single BFG blast. There's a few traps that happen at some points but there is nothing really that can stop you.
Two secrets: Soulsphere at beginning (press on those pillars until that wall gets revealed) and a light amp in a dark room (which also contains few imps) which I found after I was done with the map. There's also a non-secret blue armor guarded by a revenant that can be taken out easily, then climb on those wooden stairs until you reach the armor.
I expected the map to be a bit tougher, though that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy the map. It was fine, I actually have more fun with easier maps in general. I just expected a bit more challenge.

 

MAP12: Monster Monopoly
That was an interesting map! I especially really liked the blue sky. It was also a bit challenging at times, although I had the misfortune one time to get almost fucked up by one or two chaingunners (that managed to teleport behind me) because apparently the close SSG shot didn't kill him and then I got stuck for 1-2 seconds while DoomGuy reloads the super shotgun and went down from 200% health and armor to only about 62% health (and 70-80% armor) in just a few seconds! I was panicking I would die and by some miracle I managed to get out of this situation by managing to kill them in time before it could get worse. That was almost a fatal mistake that could have costed my life! After this mess, I had to go with the slower approach for most of the map and then I was lucky enough to not take damage for a while (kill the teleporting baron and revenant carefully, other hitscanners, etc) until I recovered my health.
Interestingly, I got lucky at some parts in the map (maybe to compensate for that unlucky part that could have killed me), such as the blue key ambush. Before I reached there, I saw that a megasphere secret got unlocked (guarded by a chaingunner), however I didn't feel like picking it up right now, so instead I looked further for secrets to find a fresh blue armor (to replace my 50% blue armor) and it just happened in a couple of seconds to find a blue armor secret! Perfect! Exactly what I needed!
So then I prepare myself for the blue key ambush because I knew there would be a trap and selected my plasma, though it wasn't as bad as I expected. Only a couple of shotgunners/chaingunners show up (easily killed with plasma) and then upon picking up the key...did I just hear an archvile teleporting? I take cover behind one of pillars and realized it must be behind the Baphomet textured walls and teleporting in between them, so I select the rocket launcher, fire a couple of rockets in the right side (because it's better to focus on one side rather than switching sides randomly) until the archvile died and that was it! After that, I was allowed to leave and go further.
I don't want to bore everyone with details, so I will just say that the map was nice (reminded me a bit of TNT/Icarus levels) and there's 3 easy secrets to find (computer area map, megasphere, blue armor). There's also a hidden chaingunner (the last enemy that I had to kill) that is revealed by stepping on the STIMPACK sector, which felt a bit strange that he would be guarding a stimpack of all things. The computer area map greatly helped finding him by showing an unexplored gray square, so I knew he was hiding over there! The megasphere was obviously saved for the end but I'm not exactly sure what opened it, I guess the fact I explored that area that contained an invisibility?
I can only advice to try exploring the whole map because things may open gradually as you progress.

 

MAP13: Blast
And now for something different! Inspired by DOOM 2 MAP23: Barrels Of Fun, this map contains LOTS of barrels and also lots of hitscanners. This is where the chaingun truly shines and you will have a lot of fun destroying barrels (which in turn may or may not kill the zombies), setting off barrels in a chain reaction and simply killing the zombies.
What is less fun is having to traverse acid areas with only one or two radsuits provided in the map (though thankfully it's only a few areas, one of which contains the YELLOW SKULL KEY) and some crushers that may get you if you don't time them correctly.
Once you make your way until the end, there will be an archvile that teleports in between the two pillars, so be quick in taking him down, then the remaining hitscanners and the victory should be yours!
There's two secrets to find: a backpack (I think there's more backpacks placed on top of each other because it seemed to give me more ammo than usual) and an invulnerability sphere (this secret I got with the help from dei_eldren's video, even though I had a feeling that the secret would have been reachable this way, I didn't think to try it myself).
Additionally, there's a berserk pack in the acid, soul sphere between crushers (be careful to not get crushed when grabbing it, which happened to me once so I reloaded save since I didn't want to finish map with just 124% health) and a blue armor guarded by a chaingunner.
The map was a bit annoying at times, however it was still fun, at least on a continuous run. :P

 

MAP14: Death's Dwelling
I don't really have much to say about this one, it was fine. Some tricky fights at some points (the part with the surprise revenants and chaingunners on stairs could have gotten me if I wasn't lucky, as I only suffered around 40 damage) but nothing very difficult to handle, I guess I got lucky for the most part because I can't recall anything that gave me lots of trouble. Most traps are predictable anyway.
The only thing I found annoying was that timed switch that reveals a teleporter, I got stuck in the map initially because I looked for the red skull key for a couple of minutes and I simply couldn't find it. Instead, with help of that progression switch, I managed to find a SECRET area with teleport that leads to berserk and chainsaw, rather than the normal progression.
So I saved, quit and took a look at dei_eldren's video and then figured out what I had to do. Also the pit with spectres at end of map is totally fine to fall into because it's non-damaging water and there is a teleporter you can escape after you kill the last few enemies (spectres, imps, zombies) in the map.
Three secrets to find:
-blue armor at beginning reachable by a temporary lowering nearby crate, then when raised, hop into the blue armor sector (I didn't even need the blue armor because there was a bigger reward)
-the previously mentioned secret, look for a misaligned wall, press that switch that temporary opens the teleporter that leads further in progression, then go back and you will find the wall has opened
-take the elevator and look for a strange texture, press on wall and it should contain a MEGASPHERE

 

MAP15: Blackout
Who turned off the lights? On a more serious note, why is there a switch (THE SOLUTION TO THE SECRET EXIT!) that becomes inaccessible after 30 SECONDS HAVE PASSED SINCE THE MAP STARTED?
I'm not complaining about that (at least not too much) because thanks to people mentioning this earlier in the thread, I was able to expect that there is such a thing to look out for. So in preparation, I went ahead and explored the beginning of map in ZDoom with cheats (GOD, FREEZE, NOCLIP) and saw which is the switch that becomes permanently closed behind bars, so I went back to Crispy Doom, loaded save from beginning of MAP15, used plasma to clear enemies quickly while finding and pressing that big red switch. Once I did that, there was no more of a problem because the switch remains pressed for the whole map. If you didn't press the switch in time, just restart the map as else you won't reach the secret exit!
Still, I have to thank people for pointing this out as I don't think I would have been able (unless extremely lucky, or by accident) to press the switch on my own if I didn't read posts in the topic. I guess remaining a bit behind does have a few advantages.
As for the rest of level, quite tricky at times. Not being able to see the targets (most of which are hitscanners) is a major disadvantage since you may be firing blindly and take damage from enemies you can't even see. Since I progressed slowly, I was careful to not get surprised from an enemy I didn't notice except in rare cases. Of course the damage was inevitable at times but the slower approach should minimize the damage and also at part with that elevator (towards the end), it helps to go back down and wait the enemies to take the elevator, then kill them there. Most of the blue armor I started the level with, was eventually consumed by the end of the map (at least until I grabbed the red key) and my health didn't fall below 60-70% I believe, so I wasn't really in danger of dying. Also I managed to grab the red key through the wall, which I suppose was the intention because it is locked behind cage and there doesn't seem to be a way to lower that cage, just bump into the red textured wall and DoomGuy magically grabs the red key through the wall. ;)
The last fight of the map can be easily done with saving that invulnerability (beware of the crushers surrounding the soulsphere and invulnerability), it managed to expire right as I finished with the last archvile.
I don't know how to explain how to get all secrets in this map but I would recommend checking for more suspicious walls (or try doing stuff like strafing into platforms or shooting a certain green switch) and once you press all switches (and provided you pressed that switch at beginning), you will eventually get to the secret exit, which also counts as a secret.
I can at least mention that the megasphere secret at end of level (that leads to the normal exit) can be gotten by just going closer to the normal exit, then go back to platform and you will notice the edge temporary lowers and then raises, then you can reach the megasphere! You don't need an archvile jump or anything like that, just the steps I mentioned.

As bonus, I show an automap screenshot where that problematic switch is located. Hope this helps in finding it before it's too late!

 

Deaths so far: 0

 

I may have been lucky so far to never die once but I'm sure the secret levels and later levels will have their own tricks up their sleeve. Luckily I came prepared with 200% health/armor and a full arsenal with plentiful ammo. I still have a feeling things won't be that easy, in fact they might get serious!

 

Spoiler

 

[cannonball]

MAP 20: Monster HQ

A fairly substaintial map that feels like a decent late 90s adventure through a brick base of sorts. It does have that charm and slight element of being easy to get lost in. There are a quite a few secrets and optional areas that will reward the player with a far easier ride. By finding 3 secrets before the exit I avoided the situation of running out of ammo and the freebie megasphere feels like Kinda is making up for the majority of the maps so far.

It's an okay map, it tended to move at a slower pace than others, good for those who like to bask in the atmosphere more than the action. The Gotcha tribute is a bit on the meh side.

However I will say that the switches used in this one are a little aggravating as the first one you need at the start is quite easy to miss.

[kawadec]

Alright, session 2, maps 6 - 10, let's go.

 

 

Have to say that overall I had a noticeably easier time with this batch of levels, in terms of both combat and navigation (and recording, since my GZDoom settings were mostly in place by this point, sans a tweak to EoA upgrade spawn rate because the trickle of new new stuff was really bugging me; might turn that back down later). Part of that is certainly due to new getting new weapons and their mods (oh boy was I psyched to finally get a Ballista in Map 10 and no longer feel hobbled in terms of DPS), and also the encounters just felt more manageable I guess?

 

Map 6

Nothing too huge to write home about on this one; a smooth ride from start to end mostly. The Archvile caught me off guard and landed a death on me. And I certainly wanted to take down that Tyrant/Cyberdemon at first, but with the exit right there and not a lot of ammo in the immediate area to pick up or chainsaw from weenies I decided to just duck out and move on, rather than chew through all of it for the kill, then potentially load into the next level and find myself in a situation akin to that poster for John Wick 2 (it's happened before with this mod).

 

Map 7

I don't know what a Kinda is, and I'm not sure what I did to piss them off, but if they got a problem with me maybe they oughta come say it to my face. I'll be here.

 

Another compact level that loops back around on itself for that yellow key nicely. And a bit of Dead Simple lite at the end there with the Mancubi and Arachnotrons, I like it.

 

Map 8

Music pack throws "Bleed" at me, and one of my favorite areas of this map features a pool of blood. Funny how that works. A bit more of hitting a switch and trying to figure out what it did; not the worst I've experienced so far though.

 

Map 9

Some fun dancing with the Pain Elementals toward the end, and a bit of panik when those two Barons jumped me at the exit. Naturally neither of those encounters got me, meanwhile the zombies and imps at the start took me down once or twice.

 

Map 10

Yes, I did laugh a bit when the music pack I'm using threw a Linkin Park MIDI at me for this level. And no, I felt absolutely no inclination to change it whatsoever. Not my best run of a level; that Baron beyond the bloodfall kept getting me, and like the genius I am I kept forgetting I had a quicksave I could use to skip past the opening room after clearing it multiple times. Beyond that there was some wandering about while I figured out where to go at times. Not that I don't appreciate the size of the level or the overall look of it. Did anyone else get deja vu from that room with the blue key, like something like it was in the last level too? Maybe it's just my scrambled brain.

[dei_eldren]

KINDa - MAP21 Melancholy (HNTR, blind, continuous w/ saves): K 100% (108/108), I 100% (59/59), S 100% (2/2), T 21:27

 

Spoiler

The gorgeously impressive fiery sky had me believing we had arrived in hell, but not quite yet, but at least the map has a potential nukage-run-hell to make up for it.  The map is another nukage-facility, carved partly in most impressive manner into marble-rock, offering vast and striking marble-areas to run through, in addition to the oppressive inside-parts of the facility. 

 

Spoiler

 

There are at first three paths to take, either through nukage or facility's outside areas, and i thought it'd safest to take the non-nukage areas first, as there otherwise might be problems with radsuits.. this turned out to be correct, as the RK i first obtained is needed in the nukage area, from which the YK is obtained.  i always enjoy enemies rising out of the floor, and the awaited for ambush on the way to RK was mostly taken care of with the BFG.  Close to the RK is also a secret yet unobtainable Invulnerability sphere, which was really delightful for once to put to good use later.

 

There is again generally nothing very cryptic about progression, only one switch needs be found that i at first missed, even having killed its guardian Chaingunner behind barrels.  The central nukage-section is indeed on first entering quite difficult to do in correct order and end up in right place.  The design isn't very intuitive, but at least there are some extra suits available.  Regardless, i ended up running naked in the nukage for a little while, as there are many rooms and also enemies to kill.

 

Behind the YK door is another nukage-section, and only one radsuit to start it with, but i think there was another later on?  But it's not much help if one has to go through it twice, like i would have had to if i didn't use saves, when i had missed a switch to raise necessary stairs from the nukage for the final plateau.  Of course, i didn't know what had happened, but decided to go through the last area before being teleported there again, and the situation was resolved..

 

Spoiler

 

The last plateau was a lot of fun!  Especially, because i spotted immediately a likely secret on a side-ledge (i promised i would pay attention playing through this map, and for once kept my word!), which lead me to a teleport, which transported me to the Invulnerability sphere!  So i ran to the plateau to take care of the final eight enemies with easy confidence.

 

Spoiler

 

Very good map and a lot of fun to play through, even with the nukage-section of computer-rooms giving some problems, which aren't very disturbing.

 

 

Calculator on HMP:

Spoiler

So i decided to play this after all, but i honestly liked it less.  To my liking, there was enough enemies on HNTR, and like i suspected i didn't find the experience with more of them any more substantial or edifying.  My approach was a bit different knowing what's coming, but i didn't significantly change my route.  Was very happy to have the BFG.  And net also the last secret! 

 

 

 

Kind of Top Ten:

Spoiler

MAP10 - Mud and Blood

MAP08 - Deux

MAP12 - Monster Monopoly

MAP09 - Death Delivery

MAP05 - Leak

MAP21 - Melancholy

MAP19 - Calculator

MAP20 - Monster HQ

MAP17 - Naive

MAP15 - Blackout

MAP16 - Patino

MAP06 - Cement

MAP04 - Treehouse

MAP07 - the UAC Project

MAP02 - Hell's Cavity

MAP01 - Go

MAP18 - Doomsday Machine

MAP13 - Blast

MAP14 - Death's Dwelling

MAP11 - Her Keep

MAP03 - Toxic

MAP31 - Hell's Party

 

Edited October 20, 2021 by dei_eldren

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/Blind/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 20 - MONSTER HQ 

100% kills and secrets

Time: 23:15

Deaths: 2

 

I'm pretty sure this is the longest map so far, and one of the most challenging. Like KINDa-typical, there's not a lot of health here, so there were several points where I was in the lower half of health. Especially after the Gotcha! homage. I did take a cyb rocket to the face for my first death. The other death came when trying to take care of the cacos after grabbing the blue key and I got surprised mancubus'd. For some reason, that hall down the lift whittled my health down considerably. A far away chaingunner did a number, and some other riff raff came out of nowhere to attack me while I was dealing with other monsters. Odd. There's more to worry about throughout, as hitscan use is as normal as it has been. The outdoor area with elevated imps and a plethora of slightly elevated monsters doesn't give you a lot of cover, but I managed there. Grabbing the yellow key was a relief since there's a megasphere locked behind a yellow switch right by it, and man I needed that health! Design-wise, I liked the map. Pretty fun too. It seems the WAD is increasing in quality lately, so hopefully the third episode continues that.

[Biodegradable]

MAP21 - Melancholy

UV | Continuous | GZDoom and Vanilla+

 

Not going to beat around the bush here, I fucking hated this one if only because the progression was quite infuriating with the return of the radsuits and nukage. Once you've gotten into the area with the nukage, I couldn't for the life of me figure out how the fuck you're supposed to get OUT of it and back to the yellow door once you've retrieved the yellow keycard. I had to cheat a little just to keep progressing. Only later while writing this post would I find there's a sodding teleporter in that platform that the Rev is standing on at the beginning of the nukage section thanks to watching dei_eldren's video. Unfortunately, Whoosh didn't use a teleporter texture, so how was I supposed to know that was there? ACK! Incidentally, opening the yellow card door was also a bitch to figure out because of that dumb switch in the basement area that showed a tiny platform I couldn't hear or notice that then reveals an elevator behind a fucking wall to the corresponding switch that opens the yellow keycard room. Very annoying map.

 

[No footage for this one. My video file was corrupted]

[TheMightyWhoosh]

21 minutes ago, Biodegradable said:

Not going to beat around the bush here, I fucking hated this one if only because the progression was quite infuriating with the return of the radsuits and nukage.

This map and map 23 are the two maps I dislike the most. Nukage was a bad idea when a non-damaging blood floor would have been sufficient, I think. The next map is pretty fun, though… 

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP20: Monster HQ

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 4/5 secrets

 

Probably the lengthiest map in the set so far if we are to assume clean progression. Visually it's quite well crafted as well, a mostly brown brick techbase that keeps things overall pretty diverse on the texture side of things. This map has a generous and simple start and finish to bookend a rather brutal middle. Those 4/5 secrets were found with a fair amount of effort on my part, as stocking up on any secrets you can find is absolutely crucial to pistol starting this with 100% kills, or at least is for me. The plasma and rocket launcher (with a bonus mega-armour!) being especially important in this run.

 

As mentioned before, the beginning is relatively breezy. The health is sparse, but you get a pretty fair amount of ammo and the threat level is kept quite low. This all changes when you hit the red key switches that unlock a couple of barons, which suck your ammo stores dry, something that I didn't much appreciate. For the rest of the next little while the ammo continues to be hard to come by, feeling almost non-existent outside of secrets, so you really have to look for those secrets, harbour as much infighting as you can, and make every shot you take count. On your way to the yellow key though, you get access to a lot of cells, and after grabbing the yellow key the level even gives you a megasphere! From here on out it's smooth sailing, as the rest of the monsters fall easily before your plasma and the large amount of hitscan among them does wonders to stock up the rest of your ammo. This was also the best moment to take care of the surviving boss monster from the little tribute to Doom II's own MAP20. 

 

This level was quite well crafted from a layout and a visual perspective, but to be honest the middle of it aggravated me a fair bit. Still, it's a map I respect the work on.

 

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 21 – Melancholy

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

 

The third episode of Kinda began with a level which was not easy to ascribe to a typical category. It had tech-base elements in the central nukage-filled zone, then it abruptly shifted to surreal rocky areas under a red sky, crossed by unbelievably long stone beams. I could also not associate the name Melancholy to anything seen in the map, unless the green liquid was intended as a bile reservoir, instead of the classic Doom waste.

Spoiler

The progression was straightforward, and it required no backtracking in my case, since I entered the western area with the RSK before venturing into hazardous territory. The only dangerous trap was a ridiculous floor pop-up with many hitscanners in a wide-open area, which died to their own barrage after hitting me hard. This set piece would be easier if approached from the north side. The remaining opposition was eliminated effortlessly with carryover ammo, but the supplies for pistol starters looked minimal.

Spoiler

The south-eastern area unlocked the nukage tunnels by intercepting the dumping pipes, a recurring theme of the map, but it also offered important resources for pistol starters, notably the rocket launcher. I eventually forgot to enter the teleporter to its area and completed the level with missing kills and items. The exploration of nukage was relaxed, considering that Radiation Suits were not a concern. The area was strangely underpopulated, with only a few hitscanners and Imps. The shotgunner ambush by the YK was mean though, since I expected tougher foes in the cramped space and had the SSG equipped, which was the worst weapon for that situation.

Spoiler

Behind the yellow door, another nukage section featured a few beefy monsters in harmless positions, resulting in an exercise in managing the attrition of distant hitscanners. @TheMightyWhoosh was so kind to devise a teleport out of this area, dropping me nearby the now open exit, even though I could have missed the switch raising the unusual “nukage stairs”. I revealed the secret gate to the Invulnerability, but such a power-up was honestly not necessary for the final skirmish, maybe just to soak up hitscanner damage.

 

I found this to be a solid level on continuous play, without significant flaws. Combat felt mostly incidental and underwhelming for a third episode, with the main threat always coming from the former humans. There was a compresence of cute ideas (e.g., the interruption of discharge pipes for progression and some well-made visuals) and of the original sins of this megaWAD: hitscanner abuse and haphazard placement of tougher foes, with egregious floor pop-ups to underscore both. Pistol starters could elaborate more on the available resources, which appeared not plentiful and oddly distributed. The result was an average map, which could improve after a focused rework.

[FistMarine]

MAP31: Hell's Party
Well, that was an interesting short secret map. In the first room, all you have to do is circle strafe with your SSG (or bigger weapons if continuous playthrough) while taking out the teleporting monsters (just watch out for those sneaky shotgunners/chaingunners!) and they should go down easily. Then while waiting for the circular platform to lower, grab the blue skull key but watch out for the teleporting archvile (which can be simply BFG'ed). He managed to only resurrect two weak enemies, so thankfully nothing bad happened.
Now for the next part, there is a SPIDER MASTERMIND and a bunch of cacodemons. You know what to do! Though eventually you have to take the spider yourself with rockets/plasma and once done, clear the remaining imps on edges and that's it, map complete!
Be sure to take the teleporter that DOESN'T say EXIT, because the one marked exit sends you to normal exit with NO WAY BACK! I was lucky to take the other teleporter first which sent me to a much needed Soulsphere secret and at same time dropping into the cage where spider was (counts as the second secret) where the SECRET exit gets revealed!
Note that there is no way back in both cases, so be sure to collect goodies (ammo, health) you may have left behind before leaving!
Funnily enough, I got just slightly below 100% blue armor and wanted to grab the new green armor (I know, as punishment for not having 100% or more blue armor remaining), HOWEVER I think it's better that there is no way to grab it if I want to go to MAP32, since this remaining blue armor helped me a lot throughout MAP32!
But yeah, I will admit, on a continuous run the map is nowhere near as bad when you come fully stocked from MAP15. On a pistol start however, it's an entirely different story, judging from other people's comments! I don't regret playing continuous one bit!

 

MAP32: Monster Museum
I didn't find this map as bad as other people did. However, I will say I had to watch DuckReconMajor's second part video of the map (as well as reading the spoiler) just to see how to get the yellow key (apparently there is a hidden bloodfall at beginning of map you can go through, which is intended for PROGRESSION rather than a secret area) and probably two points to see how to get blue and red skull key. I actually discovered getting the blue one myself (where a chaingunner was standing in an alcove) but I didn't step on the sector since I thought that it's a SECRET AREA!
This map was quite messy at times. At least I never died and wasn't really in danger of dying, the extra health I started level with, has helped greatly in clearing the first room. And then when my blue armor almost ran out in the second part of the map, I just replaced it with the green one. The fresh blue armor I saved for the end of level (also watch out for those two chaingunners guarding it!).
I don't remember what was the actual first secret I got but all I know is there is a soulsphere secret between the crushers, notice the blue torch in the middle, press on it and carefully time it so you get into the lowering elevator with soulsphere before you get crushed. Don't worry if you stand too much in the small sector, it lowers by itself when it's about to go up, so you can try timing the crushers again. And yeah I gotta say I got lucky to not get crushed, I smelt a crusher judging from those crushed corpses but it wasn't until I stepped close to it when it started lowering the ceiling and managed to step back in last second.
There's also TWO Cyberdemons to fight in this map (as you may notice, although they are inactive at first), first one appears when you activate the yellow key bridge that leads to second area and the second one appears when you get the red skull key. I killed the first cyber with plasma and second one with BFG. I'm not that good at two shot BFG trick, so I ended up using 5 blasts for a total of 200 cells. I think it turned out slightly better than having to use 200+ (possibly 250-300?) cells to kill one with the plasma.
There's a few interesting traps every now and then but again, nothing that can stop me. For example when grabbing the red skull key, I just grabbed it and ran away, then realized 4 barons got teleported on those pillars. They were no threat to me, just took cover, used RL and that's it.
Also one thing to point out: in Duck's video, I noticed when he fell down in the lava room (surrounding the switch that you need to reach by activating a bridge), it did no damage and he got stuck until he rewinded. Since I didn't want to risk falling here myself to test if you get stuck, I watched the video and that helped me realize that there is indeed no way out and the lava is harmless, meaning you get stuck here unless you kill yourself with rocket launcher or just load the saved game.
Overall, I think both secret levels were just fine on a CONTINUOUS run and I also liked the hellish sky (a small tease for E3). Completing MAP32 is a better outcome than just doing MAP31 and choosing normal exit, since you will end up with slightly more ammo and 200% health and armor. But when compared to just skipping the secret levels entirely and just advancing from MAP15 to MAP16, I found a rather interesting outcome between the two results:
At the end of MAP15, I had 323 bullets, 100 shells, 65 rockets and 600 cells. At the end of MAP32, I had 324 bullets, 73 shells, 65 rockets and 300 cells.
In other words, I ended up with one extra bullet, 27 less shells, SAME amount of rockets (!) and half of cells. Therefore, the outcome was much worse! At least there was no death exit or something. :P

 

MAP16: Patino
I liked this one. The ambush at the end of level (with many weak monsters) was pretty cool, at first I stayed in middle and sprayed plasma and took a bit of damage but it didn't take long until I realized I could just hide in the corner and use SSG/chaingun to take them down from safety with ease!
Also I made sure at beginning to grab all those armor bonuses and ammo pickups since there is NO WAY BACK once you step into the elevator, after you took care of the arachnotron!
I only found the secrets when I finished the map, probably for the better. Here are the 3 secrets and how to get them:
-A teleporter that leads to a Soulsphere (I found the teleporter earlier, good thing I didn't check it yet so I don't end up grabbing the soulsphere earlier)
-A misaligned wall that requires to be shot to open (I initially just pushed it when I came across this wall), leads to a Blue Armor
-Strafe into the blood circle in middle of map (near exit) to collect Plasma Gun and Cell Pack

 

MAP17: Naive
I think this one was alright. The only fight that took me a bit by surprise and damaged the precious blue armor was when an archvile teleported (and a bunch of chaingunners, imps, etc) when grabbing the blue key (which I couldn't find myself after searching the map for a few minutes, so I had to check dei_eldren's video to progress) because I used Plasma and felt like I should have used BFG to take the archie out quicker, plus I was a bit under pressure from those teleporting chaingunners, thus I couldn't hide reliably from the blast! The rest of the map wasn't too bad and I made good use of the invisibility sphere before I entered that building with red key.
The spider mastermind shows up at end and can be easily killed with plasma from far away (just stand at a distance, preferably near the secret teleporter, her bullets barely reach you), killing her with just taking a single hit. You may have to sacrifice your precious plasma ammo (while hoping your shots connect) but this is the safest way to deal with her.
There are two secrets to find: Backpacks and Soulsphere (in the final room, go near exit, then go back and the teleporter temporary lowers), then a rocket launcher secret that I COULDN'T figure it out. Can anyone help me reach it? (PM me if needed). I know where it is and I HOPE that the secret is still possible to reach when you finish the map (unless a switch temporary made it accessible) or else goodbye 100% everything, unless I replay the map from beginning...
At least I grabbed all the bonuses at beginning of map before teleporting (there is no way to go back, so I did a good choice) and I ended up this map with 120% armor (blue) and 200% health, so I'm still good for the next level. Just wish I could figure out how to get that damn rocket launcher secret after searching for minutes and honestly, I feel exhausted! And because of that, I think it's a good stopping point right here.

 

Deaths so far: 0

 

Screenshots (only maps 31 and 32, can't seem to upload maps 16 and 17 screenshots due to limit)

 

Spoiler

 

[Doritos420]

Map21 - Melancholy

Enjoyable level. At first the beginning area gave me some ammo shortage troubles (as per usual) and I was worried about rad suit scarcity. For example in the red key room I ran away from all the enemies since at the time I didn’t have any ammo to deal with them and had to come back later. In this map I really liked the gimmick of shutting off the toxic waste pipes in order to progress, pretty clever trick. The teleporting shotgunner trap near the yellow key gave me a bit of trouble since some of the shotgunners got stuck and then teleported when I had already left the room and was running around in the toxic waste outside. I really liked the gang of chiaingunners locked behind the toxic waste with all the barrels. I would say this map has just the right amount of rad suits and I think I may have used all of them during the playthrough (thanks for the one in the exit room, allowing me to go back and kill the handful of enemies I had left behind). I ended up finding the secret too, though it was pretty useless as I had beaten the level at that point. Level starts out hard but then slowly eases up as you go.

Edited October 21, 2021 by Doritos420
Spelling

[FragsBunny]

MAP21: Melancholy (100%/96%/100%)

1.       Arachnotron may slide while moving

2.       All projectiles travel faster

3.       Baron of hell projectiles travel twice as fast

 

The opening map of the third part, despite its large size, offers smaller monster density than MAP20. With large amount of health saved by the previous megasphere, I did not encounter serious troubles during exploration. Initially it was just a walk in the park… that is, until the moment when I was forced to explore the toxic tunnels.

 

Like MAP03, “Melancholy” also plays on rad suit management, and if you are playing it for the first time like I did, you’re bound to run on toxic sludge without your rad suit on occasions. While there are multiple rad suits scattered around, you still need to be careful, cause this map is infamous for its overstretched corridors and rooms. You also need to instinctively learn where to find your next switches and what doors they do open – particularly when looking for the yellow key and during your search for the exit.

 

After pulling a switch opening the sludge-covered area with chaingunners and barrels I decided to run into the revealed teleporter instead, cause my rad suit had already expired. I ended up teleporting in back in the toxic corridor and hap to wallow few seconds in sludge while running for another rad suit. Adding to the annoyance, I had to return back to previous area again, to find another switch (and rad suit) that raise the sludge-covered stairs to exit. By the time I found the secret invulnerability, everything else was already dead, so my question… What was the point of it?

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP21 - Melancholy (87%K/98%I/100%S):

This map resembles at times MAP02 or some design choices used for the first group of maps of KINDa, the weird textures, long corridors and having to dive into the nukage pits, progression is a bit more clever than some other maps, but nothing that blew my mind, at this point, some maps feel like they were "Frankenstein'd". Some parts of the level are connected to others with little to no correlation, it often feels like a piece of one map was attached to another random piece of another map.
Oh yes, ammo problems were something here, but luckly, the abundance of shotgunners refilled my shell supply for a proper playthrough, I'm obviously playing this continuous by now, so I'll try to carry weapons to the next map.
Yet another case of "the last fight can be totally avoided" if you manage to find the invulnerability sphere near the end, negating every type of challenge of the last room.

(UV Playthrough - PrBoom+)

Order of preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP09
MAP12
MAP10
MAP08

MAP05
MAP11

MAP01
MAP16
MAP21
MAP20
MAP17
MAP13
MAP04
MAP06
MAP14
MAP19
MAP02
MAP15
MAP07
MAP18
MAP03
MAP31

MAP32 (Unrated)

 

 

[Veinen]

Map17: Naive video

 

Oh god... This one cranks the resource scarcity to eleven, to the point of obnoxiousness to be honest as I get fucking stripped to the bone even in a max demo where you're supposed to be extremely effective. Part of it is because of the random "caged" turret enemies against that you can happily ignore in a casual playthrough but need to deal with if you want 100% kills. And let me tell you, they suck to deal with. It's not only ammo that is tight but health too (though you get a semi-useless Soulsphere at the end to pad the stats); if you're not picking up every possible medkit and stimpack you're probably playing too timid. Combat is just overall slow-paced in this map: there are bunch of stationary or near stationary enemies that you have to take out only for the sake of kills and the constant ammo management is just bothersome all through the map. Aesthetically it's a bit of an oddball as well with an almost uniform light brown theme, crates for doors etc. but I find the theme surprisingly appealing actually. Well, not a very fun map to max but it's done at least.

[cannonball]

MAP21 - “Melancholy”

 

Did not have the ammo problems others had, I think I am starting to spot where to save ammo at this point. There are a few spots where you can leave the monsters to take each other out (Most of the outdoor/cave sections) and where to simply not bother with the monsters (Red key area). Other than that, not really much to say here, I was never particularly troubled once I got into the nukage section in search of the yellow key. Health is almost non-existent up to this point but funnily enough there is sufficient amounts of health later on, probably because of the extensive trekking through the nukage (By the way the radsuits are sufficient in my opinion, in fact there was always the next one right when I needed it). The middle section was probably the most entertaining for me due to plenty of hitscanners and other low tiers to mow down but also carried a little threat. The big cave sections on the other hand are a bit of a joke, especially the exit where infighting will happen before you even have the chance to fire.

Lets call this middle of the road, but that masks some genuinely good stuff and some other parts that really should have been consigned to the scrap heap.

[dei_eldren]

KINDa - MAP22 Skin (HNTR, blind, continuous w/ saves): K 100% (103/103), I 100% (3/3), S 100% (1/1), T 15:33

 

Spoiler

Though it looked quite different for the first few minutes, and the first few attempts..., this map ended up being something of a breather - which is something to say when in few seconds from the start you're hit by an Arch-Vile you'd never seen.  Needless to say it's a hot start, and running somewhere for cover is at first imperative, from where to start unravelling the situation.  Luckily such a place was not too difficult to find, and after the initial deaths, once i figured out what's going on, i stopped dying.

 

Spoiler

 

It's a cave of fleshy hell, naturally teeming with enemies big and small, but it seemed like Pinkies were particularly numerous, and the player at first is running around a central pit guarded from the central position by an Arch-Vile, from a platform where also the exit will be.  On the outer side of the pathway there are a couple of doors, side-areas, and another pit, and it's by one of the doors that i camped initially.  Progression is quite standard, first task is to find a switch to open the doors, next to flick a switch behind one of them, to bring down the YK, and lastly the YK switch will reveal a teleport to the exit.

 

Most interesting element in the whole map was the other room which seemed to serve no meaningful function.  Perhaps it was just a torture chamber, judging from the lone impaled man in the center?  So when searching for the secret, a visible out of reach Megasphere, when almost everyone were dead, i returned to that room to have a closer look.  It's in fact rare to find a secret in walls that have been inlaid, so i got a real fright when all of a sudden, trying the walls, i ran forward through a fake wall into a closet, straight into the embrace of a Cacodemon.  So it turns out the room had three secret closets with goodies and Cacos, and the last one also had a switch to lower the secret Megasphere! 

 

Spoiler

 

Visually, the level is for the most part standard good-looking fleshy hell, but i loved the YK switch room with its weird crimson ambience - i'm sure i've never seen a room like that before.  Combat-wise the map was kinda nice, and a real breather apart from the initial scare, as it turned out to be much less scary than it appeared.  It's just not my favourite type of combat, but i enjoyed it for the simple and short romp that it was.

 

 

Kind of Top Ten:

Spoiler

MAP10 - Mud and Blood

MAP08 - Deux

MAP12 - Monster Monopoly

MAP09 - Death Delivery

MAP05 - Leak

MAP21 - Melancholy

MAP19 - Calculator

MAP20 - Monster HQ

MAP17 - Naive

MAP15 - Blackout

MAP16 - Patino

MAP06 - Cement

MAP04 - Treehouse

MAP07 - the UAC Project

MAP02 - Hell's Cavity

MAP01 - Go

MAP18 - Doomsday Machine

MAP13 - Blast

MAP14 - Death's Dwelling

MAP22 - Skin

MAP11 - Her Keep

MAP03 - Toxic

MAP31 - Hell's Party

 

Edited October 21, 2021 by dei_eldren

[TheMightyWhoosh]

1 hour ago, dei_eldren said:

KINDa - MAP22 Skin (HNTR, blind, continuous w/ saves): K 100% (103/103), I 100% (3/3), S 100% (1/1), T 15:33

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Though it looked quite different for the first few minutes, and the first few attempts..., this map ended up being something of a breather - which is something to say when in few seconds from the start you're hit by an Arch-Vile you'd never seen.  Needless to say it's a hot start, and running somewhere for cover is at first imperative, from where to start unravelling the situation.  Luckily such a place was not too difficult to find, and after the initial deaths, once i figured out what's going on, i stopped dying.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

It's a cave of fleshy hell, naturally teeming with enemies big and small, but it seemed like Pinkies were particularly numerous, and the player at first is running around a central pit guarded from the central position by an Arch-Vile, from a platform where also the exit will be.  On the outer side of the pathway there are a couple of doors, side-areas, and another pit, and it's by one of the doors that i camped initially.  Progression is quite standard, first task is to find a switch to open the doors, next to flick a switch behind one of them, to bring down the YK, and lastly the YK switch will reveal a teleport to the exit.

 

Most interesting element in the whole map was the other room which seemed to serve no meaningful function.  Perhaps it was just a torture chamber, judging from the lone impaled man in the center?  So when searching for the secret, a visible out of reach Megasphere, when almost everyone were dead, i returned to that room to have a closer look.  It's in fact rare to find a secret in walls that have been inlaid, so i got a real fright when all of a sudden, trying the walls, i ran forward through a fake wall into a closet, straight into the embrace of a Cacodemon.  So it turns out the room had three secret closets with goodies and Cacos, and the last one also had a switch to lower the secret Megasphere! 

 

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Visually, the level is for the most part standard good-looking fleshy hell, but i loved the YK switch room with its weird crimson ambience - i'm sure i've never seen a room like that before.  Combat-wise the map was kinda nice, and a real breather apart from the initial scare, as it turned out to be much less scary than it appeared.  It's just not my favourite type of combat, but i enjoyed it for the simple and short romp that it was.

 

 

Kind of Top Ten:

  Reveal hidden contents

MAP10 - Mud and Blood

MAP08 - Deux

MAP12 - Monster Monopoly

MAP09 - Death Delivery

MAP05 - Leak

MAP21 - Melancholy

MAP19 - Calculator

MAP20 - Monster HQ

MAP17 - Naive

MAP15 - Blackout

MAP16 - Patino

MAP06 - Cement

MAP04 - Treehouse

MAP07 - the UAC Project

MAP02 - Hell's Cavity

MAP01 - Go

MAP18 - Doomsday Machine

MAP13 - Blast

MAP14 - Death's Dwelling

MAP22 - Skin

MAP11 - Her Keep

MAP03 - Toxic

MAP31 - Hell's Party

 

I'm glad you enjoyed this one! It was one of my favourites to create and play test. The only thing I wish I’d done differently is:

 

Spoiler

Place an exit sign by the yellow key door, as you cannot get back to the rest of the level after you’ve stepped on the teleporter. The exit originally didn’t have the fence surrounding it; however it was possible to Arch-vile jump to the exit without a fence being there!

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 22 – Skin

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

 

This is the map to go if you absolutely want to check Kinda’s take on the Circle of Death/Slayer trope. Otherwise, my advice is to give this mess a wide berth. Not a pleasant experience with -fast monsters and on continuous play, I can only imagine the discomfort of a pistol starter trying to fight his way out of this fleshy hell.

 

Skin featured the archetypical round walkway, now fully wrapped in flesh, spines, and intestines. No damaging floors were found by jumping down from said walkway but doing so would be even more deadly since the pits were chock-full of otherwise harmless monsters. At the centre, an all-seeing Arch-Vile was ready to blast me at sight, while Imps were shooting -fast fireballs from all directions. A Pain Elemental was eager to start some infighting and spawn countless Lost Souls. Nothing that a full arsenal or some skill cannot manage, but it would not be Kinda without hitscanners: 6 Chaingunners & 4 Sergeants whose presence weighed like lead since the first tic into this level.

Spoiler

The first time I tried to run around the ring with SSG I was dead before the half of the lap. Since I could not leave the Pain Elemental alive in that mayhem, I reloaded and equipped the plasma gun, doing a mad dash spraying everything in front of me and slowing down only to target the brown ball. I still lost a good half of my health & armour but established a foothold that allowed the methodical conquering of the area. As for pistol starters… I have no idea how they could do it since the Berserk pack behind the start would surely be missed, SSG was inconveniently placed below the entrance, the plasma gun was tucked away in the well-guarded western pit and with no cells, the rocket launcher was in the eye of the storm, and the small side areas were too crowded for the insufficient ammo provided. I forgot to say there are four Barons of Hell, which ended up stuck in the pit but sooner or later would sink some ammo.

 

At least progression was a no brainer: an eye switch opened the side areas; a second switch lowered the visible YSK (a secret one lowered the Megasphere as well) and picking up the key summoned a last wave of monsters to hunt Doomguy inside the pit. With enough ammo available it could be entertaining to stand and fight the horde, nevertheless the high ratio of hitscanners discouraged any boldness. Pistol starters would probably have run out of ammo by then, and their best bet would be jumping on a timed intestine lift and get out of the pit as soon as possible.

Spoiler

The -fast parameter played a crucial role in making me dislike Skin, combined with the gameplay design. The aesthetics were also not my favourite, as the circular layout tends to look better with material texturing and strong contrasts not achievable with the flesh theme, especially without blood on the floor. I did not find anything to like in this map, so I assign it to the bottom rank of Kinda for now.

Edited October 21, 2021 by Book Lord

[kawadec]

Session 3, Maps 11 - 15. Decided to throw on some texture and lighting mods; I rather like the result. Video quality and frame rate is gonna be lower on this one; might get better after I'm caught up and only doing one or two-level sessions, but that last 1080p-60 fps video just took too long to render and upload for my tastes.

 

 

Map 11

A BFG on a pedestal, in a wide open area, with steps that slowly lift to it in dramatic fashion? How nice, I'm sure nothing bad will happen when I grab-aaaaaand there's the Spider Mastermind. Liked the way the opening layout of this level unfolded as switches were hit, not a ton else for me to say though.

 

Map 12

Okay, so "the kinda" wasn't a typo? Very well, my callout still stands, mysterious foe.

 

Didn't mean to grab that Argent cell through the bars, but I guess once you get into that menu there's no backing out. Bunch of hallways like this are bound to give me troubles once I run out of baddies to shoot and have to actually figure out where the frick to go, but this ended up not being the worst case of me getting stuck (that comes later). Since I'm not as accustomed to Eternal Archviles the blue key room had me a little confused, and naturally I just stood there staring at the wall like a dummy until they toasted me. Neat little trap, more of that please.

 

Map 13

A key in a timed nukage tunnel that you can easily miss if you choose the other tunnel...good spot for a secret, but maybe not where I would have advised to put a progression item. Ended up with a Marauder instead of the regular foe at the end, and with his speedy self and those teleporters he ended up doing some pretty funny Wally West nonsense, vibrating in two places at once. Good thing he's more vulnerable to a BFG round than his official counterpart.

 

Map 14

Yeah, sorry, knowing me that red skull was probably somewhere really obvious and I just missed it, but after enough wandering around I just ran out of patience and consoled one in. Didn't help that there was a timed door before then that my modded Doom Slayer was just too slow to reach before it closed, making me even less confident that I was going to make it through this level without shenanigans. Before I ran out of things to shoot I was having a jolly good time of it though, so it's a shame it ended that way.

 

...actually, after reading back in the thread I see I wasn't the only person flabbergasted for a while at the whereabouts of that skull. So far I find myself feeling the same frustration others have had of "why can I find all these secrets but not the friggin key??" But the map maker has probably heard enough of that kind of feedback, so let's move on.

 

Map 15

This one also took me a while, but went better. Was able to find the red key this time, though it was hidden behind an automap (not the level's fault in this case). The double Archies here got a nice "NOPE" outta me and use of the Unmakyr; guess I gotta use that BFG ammo at some point, right? Kept wondering what that blocked switch was for, but given how long this session has been I decided it will remain a mystery for now.

Edited October 22, 2021 by kawadec