The DWmegawad Club plays: 1000 Lines 3

[ReaperAA]

14 minutes ago, Biodegradable said:

 

The plot thickens, my friend. Here's the first video I recorded where you can see me specifically select HMP. I don't understand!

 

I think you accidentally chose UV after you started with pistol start again at around Map08 following the plasma zombie fix (you can blame Liberation again :D). I just saw your Map11 video and I can tell you were playing on UV since there is no archvile at the start of Map11 on HMP.

 

Anyway, good luck on Map20 on UV :D

Edited December 18, 2021 by ReaperAA

[Biodegradable]

Yes, I just thought of that myself, mate! I must've accidentally selected UV out of habit. Well fuck lmao I've come this far on UV, I might as well stick it out and see how far I get. I'll be sure to simply pistol-start HMP on whatever map I happen to get stuck on should UV be too much.

 

Shit, now I'm going to have to edit all my posts from MAP08 onwards to reflect the correct difficulty :^P

Edited December 18, 2021 by Biodegradable

[RHhe82]

MAP18: Farewell to Dark Ages. UV, pistol start. 187/187 kills and 2/2 secrets. Completion time 31:44 (last five minutes or so spent on searching for soul...sphere secret in the watery area).

 

Farewell to Dark Ages is what feels like a good match for my skill level: definitely challenging, but not so much as overwhelm me. Especially liked the purple key arena, which I survived by barely holding my stuff together, a little bit of luck and no midfight saving, although I came very close to do so.

 

I really liked the layout as well, it sort of feels very expansive (in other words, map feels bigger than it actually is), but not convoluted. The start is hot, again in a way that suits my skill level (challenges me), all that without restricting resources. If I had one complaint, the final cyberdemon. Then again, I think I should employed infighting techniques there, but I didn't, and thus had to take care of the bastard myself.

 

Soundtrack was good again -- I like the sort of melancholic ambience it conjures.

[dac]

MAP 18 – A Farewell to Dark Ages

 

...I’ve mostly known Antares for having one of the best eye at detailing, but the entire 1k lines projects have been a good reminder there are strong fundamentals behind said detailing, fundamentals that are easy to see here. The greatest thing I can say about this level is it not just feeling like it was made with more than a thousand lines, but feeling like it was made without any limits in mind save maybe the vanilla ones – you’d plop this level in a hypothetical OTEX-powered BTSX episode and no one would bat an eyelid.

 

I’ll echo the love for the hot start, and how it’s easier to just run around without aim trying to get some infighting in then rocketing the stragglers than it is just defending one place and going through rooms one by one. Funnily enough, the ambush with the gargoyles and the archvile gave me more trouble than the big purple key fight, even if both make good use of fast weapon switching – rifle to rockets in one, rocket to plasma in another. Was not a fan of the end cyberdemon though, decided to just end the map here after a few tries of eating rockets by the rear.

 

Also also props to Tristan, the music fits really well.

 

(Oh god really bloody nervous for the next map)

[finnks13]

MAP 18 - A Farewell to the Dark Ages by Antares031:

Another very solid map, A Farewell to the Dark Ages is set in some sort of flooded town, the river winding through the town's streets making for a pretty compact but open design, and the map looks excellent, the presence of the banners everywhere reminds me of Antares' other OTEX levels. There's far fewer open ceilings and access from every area to every other area, so while the black gargoyles are still ever-present, there are fewer ambushes that put them in the spotlight in this map than the previous few.

 

The opening moments of the map, scrambling for weapons among the fire from the surrounding enemies are great - the black gargoyles in these opening moments are very scary, but thankfully, there's few enough of them that they don't become really annoying. The blue and green key fights are pretty good, as long as you're willing to go nuts with rockets and the area with the two pillars with a perched archvile and about 10 gargoyles spawn in and swarm you is pretty punishing.

 

The most entertaining fight was probably the purple key fight, which spawns in loads of stuff and after a while lets two archviles loose - one on all of the corpses and the other rapidly teleporting between two spots, denying both sides of the arena and my ability to hear well. Didn't care too much for the ending cyberdemon and revenant horde, seemed a bit tacked on and I would have been happier if the map had just ended instead of having this - at least the revenant horde adds something to the ambush. That doesn't take away from the map though, which I thought was very fun overall.

[Roofi]

Started a blind playthrough on DOSBOX. UV continuous because why not. I'm not feeling doing pistol starts. I wanted to do the whole first episode but I got an unfortunate crash on map 04.

 

 

Brief comments about each map :

 

Map 01 - A pretty cool opening level. The plasma zombies surprised me at first but they don't cause very much trouble thanks to their low health. I like how many weapons are actually hidden in secrets. I managed to obtain the RL but not the shotgun.

 

Map 02 - A fun level featuring larger combats and areas but the layout and whole aesthetics didn't hook me that much. However, the part where an army of plasmagunners emerge from a lava pit was my favourite sequence in the level. 

 

Map 03 - I really appreciate the more realistic approach of this map. I feel a Duke-Nukem/Ion Fury atmosphere. The fights are particularly violent and focused on the plasmagun. Contrary to the two first levels, I respect the effort to create inaccessible environments that truly enhance immersion.

 

Map 04 - My favourite of the set for now. It reminds me of Liberation's level but with much wider spaces. Seeing all these open spaces helps me to feel relaxed. Nevertheless I crashed in this level, I will start again from the beginning in my next video.

 

More generally , the soundtrack is awesome and the dehacked works brillantly. The use of the assault rifle makes the wad so much more enjoyable.

 

Edited December 18, 2021 by Roofi

[dei_eldren]

MAP19 - Gutter Waltz (HNTR, continuous, blind): K 91%, I 91%, S 33%, T 36:41

 

Spoiler

The map begins nicely in the gutter, surrounded by some Imps from above in the buildings, and attacked by Pinkies, from whence i emerged into a small city.  The map also begins in the location it will end.  For the most part it was a fun simple romp through streets and gutters, and on the beams along the walls of the quaint little houses, whilst fighting against sturdy but mostly manageable opposition that has taken over the once presumably peaceful habitation.  There's also a foray to rocky terrain right at the edge of town, where one of the larger encounters takes place. 

 

Upon entering there's an immediate attack of Pinkies and Imps, with fire from more distant Hell Knights and Revenants in an elevated position nearer by.  i first took out the attackers, then the Revenants with plasma, and the rest with rockets and SSG.  But my health did go down, because of taking a nasty hit from a big Imp at the end, to 2%, so i was a bit lucky to survive this part.  There was a switch by which were placed quite a bit of plasma and some health, indicating that the place might not be secured just yet, but what followed was a grouping of a few Revenants. The switch raised up stairs which were the only way to leave the place, atop which were more plasma cells, and a view to the gutter the map started from, with the central wooden structured having been lowered earlier, leaving a relativelly small open gutter-arena.

 

Yeah.  Imps in their numbers, and TWO Arch-Viles - because, as everyone knows, why have only one fucker when you can have two?  Still, i survived it on the second try - the Archies were for the most part happily resurrecting and not aiming for me, so that helped.  i did get zapped once on the first go.  All in good fun.

 

The secrets... i found one.  Looked for half of my video length for the rest, and got no closer to uncovering them, even with iddt.  i'm sure there's a clue somewhere but i couldn't fathom it.  That's kind of nice and not :D

 

Fun map to play.  i did notice some boxiness to the design, everything is very right-angled, also on the natural environment, but that really is a small thing and it's still visually nice.  My favourite detail by the way were the chickens upon a far-away rock-ledge. That a map this good went on my list in the last place on 2nd episode is just an indication of how good this WAD has been so far, and the margins are small.

 

 

MAP16 on HMP

Spoiler

The trap at the end didn't work for some reason, i teleported back to the center of the hall, but the enemies didn't appear immediately.  Only after i had gone to get the last secrets they started teleporting in.  No matter, the map was still every bit as good as i thought first.

 

 

 

Top 1000 maps in four sets

Spoiler

Episode 1

MAP11 - in Kasei Valles - 9/10

MAP06 - a Memory from Earth - 9/10

MAP02 - Tharsis Awakens - 9/10

MAP10 - Red Alley - 9/10 

MAP07 - Back Alleys and Interlopers - 9/10

MAP05 - Martian Vista - 8/10

MAP01 - Dust Devils - 7/10

MAP04 - Monuments of Mars - 5/10

MAP03 - Lower City Grime - 5/10

MAP09 - Martian Midnight - 5/10

MAP08 - Concrete Avalanche - 5/10

 

Episode 2

MAP16 - Corruption - 9.5/10

MAP13 - Viridical Mines - 9.5/10

MAP15 - the Black Ramparts - 9.5/10

MAP18 - Farewell to the Dark Ages - 9/10

MAP14 - Bad Manor - 9/10

MAP17 - Ceremony of a Thousand Stars - 9/10

MAP12 - Forlorn Hope - 9/10

MAP19 - Gutter Waltz - 8/10

 

Come Together

MAP16 - Corruption - 9.5/10

MAP13 - Viridical Mines - 9.5/10

MAP15 - the Black Ramparts - 9.5/10

MAP11 - in Kasei Valles - 9/10

MAP06 - a Memory from Earth - 9/10

MAP02 - Tharsis Awakens - 9/10

MAP18 - Farewell to the Dark Ages - 9/10

MAP14 - Bad Manor - 9/10

MAP17 - Ceremony of a Thousand Stars - 9/10

MAP12 - Forlorn Hope - 9/10

MAP10 - Red Alley - 9/10 

MAP07 - Back Alleys and Interlopers - 9/10

MAP19 - Gutter Waltz - 9/10

MAP05 - Martian Vista - 8/10

MAP01 - Dust Devils - 7/10

MAP31 - Farfarout - 7/10

MAP04 - Monuments of Mars - 5/10

MAP03 - Lower City Grime - 5/10

MAP09 - Martian Midnight - 5/10

MAP08 - Concrete Avalanche - 5/10

 

[dac]

MAP 19 – Gutter Waltz

 

Spoiling this because it's rambling and behind the scenes a bit.

 

Spoiler

 

Sometimes I felt out of place in this project.

 

You have multiple Cacoward winners, people who have proven their craft for years, and others who are more known, know more, have contributed more. A whole lot of the cream of the crop right here.

 

And then there’s me who hopped on the project by literally asking Liberation for VOTEX resources. With very little to show as map portfolio, whose biggest claim to fame was, as Bridgeburner once jokingly said, “showing [Insane_Gazebo] how to make a hard map”. People will say this is imposter syndrome talking for me, but I can’t help comparing and thinking I should not be here.

 

And yet I am. The map is here, it’s part of the project, and unlike your average League of Legends match even if it’s bad it can’t sink the entire project by itself. And while I’m not 100% satisfied with it – most of it was done in a depressive daze and bursts of mapping months apart, so it’s more uneven than I’d like it to be – I can look at map nineteen of a cacoward-winning community project and tell people:

 

Hey, I made this! I’m proud of this! I hope you enjoy this!

 

But enough rambling, let’s look at the map. I had some goals in mind beyond making a map with a thousand lines that is vanilla compatible (and I was a bit too conservative regarding vanilla limits!): a) Get a good feel for vertical play, b) make some natural rocky environments. Both goals were from playing Valiant at the time and wanting to emulate that. You can see a bit of the work in the cave fight for natural terrain, and I’m rather proud of that part near the beginning where imps on a ledge wake up as you climb up stairs. It could have gone better for the first arena where ground imps can bodyblock you if you wake them up early, but that will be for another go at using vertical spaces.

 

I mentioned how I was a good fan of reusing spaces to get past the line limit, and this is what I meant: reusing the starting area three times as start, ambush and exit. Linear yet looping on itself. A specific sectors serves as ledge, monster activator, lift, and access to a secret area. And I guess people can tell I prefer Boom mapping since a lot of the lines went to moving parts - stairs, closets, the works. If anything, this is kind of my regret regarding the challenge: this kind of interactivity is not the most compatible with both vanilla and limited lines, even if I ultimately like how it runs.

 

But if this map was good for one thing, it was for one specific Bridgeburner playtest. I'm a bit scared of feedback given through voice, shouldn't be but it's stronger than I am, but Bridge made me realise a few things:

 

a) I still had a problem with giving the correct amount of resources.

b) Because when you test a lot you tend to use the barest minimum and balance on that metric.

c) And sometimes I went way too hard on monster count.

 

The last one is important and was a bit of a revelation. Take the cave fight for example: the beta version had a lot more revenants teleporting in after flipping the switch. To the point it became a chore to just plasma them all away, a chore I simply did not see because I felt it was completely normal to TP ten revenants in one shot! I've played this fight countless times, and forgot to see how it'd go for people on their first time with no idea what was going to happen. So that specific feedback was massively useful, along with this map needing armors.

 

Also the finale, I admit is a bit last minute and done to get the map out for testing. Sorry about that, I know I said some stuff about abrupt endings.

 

But overall I'm proud of what I've done here. And I know whatever I do next will be even better than that.

[NiGHTS108]

MAP18: A Farewell To The Dark Ages

By Antares031

 

Kills: 100%

Items: 90%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 11:02

 

Ah! Fellow MtPain27 fan! How's it hangin'? Too bad you were 2 maps off the name being accurate man, total bummer dude, anyway, Antares delivers a relatively soft hitter with A Farewell To The Dark Ages except for one moment, especially thanks to Eris Falling's TNT: Revilution midi, it follows a rather interconnected layout and you get quite a lot of rockets so don't be afraid to use them, also the 20 Gargoyles suddenly teleporting in gave me a good chuckle, the only place you'll want to be careful on is the purple key fight, Antares drops in a firestorm of demons into a relatively small area, and later 2 Arch-Viles, one teleport addict and another on the ground, this fight isn't the hardest one in 1000 Lines 3 but it is quite unforgiving, clean up a Cyberdemon and his friends chillin' out in the exit and you're done, A Farewell To The Dark Ages is one of my favourite maps in 1000 Lines 3 so far, you know what they say, an Antares map a day keeps the doctor away!

 

Grade: A-

Difficulty: B-

 

Playthrough video

Edited December 18, 2021 by NiGHTS108

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 18 - A Farewell to the Dark Ages by antares031

 

Due to the fact that I'm knee-deep in the courses of new wads at the moment, I've had to bring a halt to my megawad playing, so it might be some time before I work my way around to Struggle, but descriptions of antares' design tendencies sound close to that of my favorite kind of maps. Despite the basic layout of a flooded castle not one that you might think is given to much detail, he really it on, placing reeds, flags, and even a really cute farm at one point around in such a manner that few other active mappers are really known for. And also, "Darkest Hour" is a true Tristan classic, imo, he occasionally can miss.

 

As for the map itself, I ended up rewinding quite a lot, especially at the beginning, but I only allowed myself to die once, below a ledge with an Arch-vile and some pillars and a Revenant in fron on the way to the green key. Frankly, it's probably overall harder than Map 14, but Bad Manor felt a touch obnoxious, whereas while there's plenty of Revenants, Gargoyles, and Pain Elementals for you to sink your teeth into, it feels more like a way to increase the fun factor as opposed to the difficulty. It took my 5 minutes to find the Super Shotgun though, which was just as annoying as you might expect. Revenants got considerably less intimidating to me. Gargoyles were actually quite annoying in this map, they ate up all my bullets and genuinely felt like they fulfilled their potential in a way they never quite did in other maps.

 

One thing that happened a lot were enemies blocking me quite a lot for a couple of second. Most of the time, they'd end up moving but sometimes, I do exactly the opposite of what I'm supposed, which is to run forward like someone with absolutely no depth perception whatsoever. It really only was a huge problem during the final amethyst key fight with the side-teleporting Arch-vile. Honestly, avoiding them and the others wasn't all that difficult. I would've liked to find some secrets, but it was not to be, not with the layout the way it was which sort of pushes you to keep moving.

 

I don't really think this is better than 17, imo. In some ways, it's more fun I guess, but providing enemies just for the sake of having something to shoot, idk. If I really wanted to, I could split the difference and say they're equally good but meh.

Edited December 19, 2021 by LadyMistDragon

[NiGHTS108]

MAP19: Gutter Waltz

By Dac

 

Kills: 100%

Items: 98%

Secrets: 66%

Time: 8:43

 

Gutter Waltz is relatively unremarkable if you ask me, the visuals feel like most of what we've seen so far but less green I suppose, the feature fights are okay but the other parts kinda blur together in my memory, the first is the green key battle, going for the cells in the opening room will lower the floor to reveal Revenants, Pinkies and Imps, it's not as hard as it sounds now you're glutted with cells, the hard part is the blue key fight, after you hit the switch in the waterfall, think fast as an Arch-Vile now has you in his lines of sight, after that you've got two more Arch-Viles in the exit room which you'll want to find the secret rocket launcher for, when you lower the green key, hop back outside to find a path that leads to a secret fight with a rocket launcher behind the waterfall, Gutter Waltz is not bad

 

Grade: B

Difficulty: B+

 

Playthrough video

[NiGHTS108]

Oh no

[ReaperAA]

7 hours ago, Roofi said:

I wanted to do the whole first episode but I got an unfortunate crash on map 04.

 

@Liberation

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP18: "A Farewell to the Dark Ages" by antares031

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 2/2 secrets 

 

This one takes the form of a flooded fortress. The floors are mostly all water, and vines hang down from the ceiling as often as banners. The main bit of the progression is somewhat linear, but the path you take to get there and the order in which you arm yourself along the way is up to you. The Eris midi is quite great, a melancholy and dynamic number that climaxes in a very cool guitar solo, and I love the sound effects during the quiet parts that sound like waves breaking on the shore. Very neat track.

 

If you gave me a guess as to who made this without showing me at the end, I'd probably have gotten it. This map felt very Antares to me, starting with the beginning of the map which already sees you with nowhere to go that is safe from threats, and leaves you running around a pretty open layout in search of weapons and ammunition to fight back. Definitely a style that I associate with Antares and a formula that makes pistol starting his maps quite exciting right from the getgo. The ambush while waiting for the purple key also called his style to mind, which has you fighting quite a few monsters in a rather cramped arena, having to do your best to carve out even a little bit of space for yourself. It's a ripping good time the hardest part of the map, and one of my favourite fights in the wad so far. The cyberdemon at the end surprised the hell out of me, and he's able to navigate through the level quite well so he can be sneakily dangerous. 

 

This one was a ton of fun, might be my favourite of the episode so far.

Edited December 19, 2021 by DisgruntledPorcupine

[Roofi]

Well, I try to play Map 04 and I got an another crash at the same place. Except that , it's a wonderful first episode which is far from being a walk in a park on UV !

 

 

Short comments on each map

 

Map 05 - My least favourite in the episode. I enjoy the restaurant you can see at the beginning. However the whole map deserve some aesthetic touch-ups here and there. It feels quite speedmappy. Layout-wise , it's a quite generic tech-base.

 

Map 06 - A real difficulty spike here but Aurelius always manage to create top-notch environnments. The cyberdemon's last fight didn't cause me a lot of trouble but the claustrophobic design make the encounters a lot deadlier , even on continuous. It reminds me good old Death-Destiny's maps , especially on his map 11.

 

Map 07 - Really enjoyable level with some groups of arch-viles bringing actions.  The hole with the barrels underneath is enough to create a little panic!

 

Map 08 - A cruel map which extensively use crushers. It's a nice thing since crushers tend to be forgotten as a way to create hazardous environnments. The secret part where you get the megasphere and the weapons was extremely brutal but I miraculously manage to survive it.

 

Map 09 - I like the use of cyberdemons in it but not my fav. It's a well built tech-base but that's it. The map lacks of really memorable visuals or moments.

 

Map 10 - Yeah slotter ! Maybe my favourite among the first ten maps. Alter bring you a lot of supplies to defeat all the enemies but you can also manipulate the many cyberdemons to do the work for you. Visuals are a bit lacking at some places (the library and the bar look a bit weird imo) but that's ok for me considering how vast the level is.

 

Map 11 - Maybe the most beautiful and atmospheric level in the whole set. I like the mix between the ominous darkness, the tall architecture and the relaxing enigmatic music. The layout reminds me a lot of Ephemeral but without all the emphasis on puzzles. A very good level but I don't know if I would have taken as much pleasure on pistol-start. 

 

Personal ranking of the maps from Best to "Worst" (All maps are pretty good so worst doesn't mean bad)

 

Map 10

Map 06

Map 04

Map 07

Map 11

Map 03

Map 01

Map 08

Map 09

Map 02

Map 05

 

 

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by Roofi

[Biodegradable]

^{Edited all my posts from MAP08 onward after realising I've been playing on UV the entire time. How embarrassing!}

MAP19 - Gutter Waltz

UV | Continuous | GZDoom

 

After discovering I've been accidentally playing on UV since MAP08, we have a map that thoroughly nails that factoid into my head nice and sparkling clear. Hoo boy, this haunted villa is packed to the brim with nasty gargoyles flying out of windows and monster closest jammed with pain opening in tiny battle zones determined to frustrate the living fuck out of me. Dac's viciously violent little village is calculating in its offset simplicity, but doesn't pull any punches as it makes sure that space limitations spell your demise. It's a cantakerous little map that nearly made me restart on HMP, but I pulled through. However, I don't like my chances with MAP20 tomorrow given it's a Wilou map. But we shall see when we see.

 

 

[RHhe82]

MAP19: Gutter Waltz. Played on UV, pistol start. 206/206 kills, 3/3 secrets. Completion time 14:46.

 

Another suitably challenging map, Gutter Waltz gives a series of hairy fights, first of which is the arena with an arachnotron, mancubus and riffraff. Took a couple of attempts. Right after that is a close quarters mess with revenants and others, good thing I was able to find the soul sphere right before it! Then there is the arena with a lot of revenants and archvile once you press the switch. I wish I had found the final secret (with one final fight as well) before the blue key arena!

 

Nice map, I liked this one too. I sometimes think Community Projects have wildly varying quality, but so far the whole wad has been such a quality work (as has been last month's Interception II). Even when I'm not particularly fond of some map, it is not because it's amateurish or obviously made by some teenage edgelord with zero sense of what makes Doom great.

[FragsBunny]

MAP18: A Farewell to the Dark Ages (100%/96%/50%)

1.       Bonus health drains over time

2.       Arch-vile respawns once after death

3.       Hell knight no longer flinch

 

Do you know that at the same time I am also trying my best to finish the first 2 installments with Corruption Cards as well? The choices of cards in this run feel much lighter compared to cards that I am forced to deal with during other two runs. That being said, the “cursed” monsters do force me to adapt my tactics. And the encounters in this level are the perfect example.

 

The compact flooded medieval castle feels nice and breezy to explore, until you actually start to collect the keys. At one point I almost freaked myself out upon seeing a cyberdemon, only to find out it was just an illusion! The rocket launcher area features a nasty flock of gargoyles accompanied by an arch-vile above – thank goodness the monster explosion card did not affect them! Even so, they were still a pain to deal with. The green key path had a nasty ambush of revenants, but with rocket launcher and explosion card in effect, they were very easy to deal with.

 

The big crescendo event is in purple key area. I understand that using the BFG might be an overkill here, but I am playing with Corruption Cards, so no holds barred! And immediately upon starting the encounter, I had to deal with an invincible pain elemental, along with other pain elementals and nasty stuff. I need to remind you that they also had “reflect” enchantment – so I was not allowed to aim the BFG or rockets directly at them! The monster became vulnerable after I killed the arch-viles and barons in the final leg of the wave. The “teleporting” arch-vile was fortunately blocked by barrels – he started his teleport sequence after I blew them up and killed him last.

 

You think that’s the end? Nah, there is still a Cyberdemon to deal with! And the final arch-vile guardian. Of the two secrets hidden here, I only found the soul sphere secret, and only because Daisy’s cries gave me the cues about the secret’s presence. The madness keeps intensifying!

[FragsBunny]

MAP19: Gutter Waltz (89%/95%/33%)

1.       Revenant bleeds lethal acid

2.       Hell knight projectiles bounce off of walls

3.       Monster starting positions are shuffled

 

Another compact and frantic action-packed level. Gargoyles are once again a major annoyance here, this time coming out of window-textured walls. Similar to the previous level, I only found one secret, which again contained Daisy and a soul sphere. I have no idea where the third secret is, but I think that I locked myself out of the second one after raising that platform with green armor.

 

Typical of new-school levels, many key encounters will lock you in against the monster horde. Even though I picked the soul sphere just recently and used the BFG with impunity, I still took a lot of damage from revenants and that invincible demon, who even chased me on elevator where the green key was. Later encounters had me to deal with arch-viles of course, and I could not avoid their flame attack at least two times. But I was still on a power trip, and there were plenty of cells to use – unfortunately MAP20 will be the final opportunity to keep that streak.

Edited December 19, 2021 by FragsBunny

[finnks13]

MAP 19 - Gutter Waltz by dac:

Another flooded city, though this one is a bit more autumnal than any of Episode 2 so far, with oranges and browns replacing the greens of the other Episode 2 maps. I really like the aesthetics in this map, something about autumn always feels cosy to me, and I'm not sure if this was the intention, but using the pigs in dark sectors against the sky really made me laugh because of how ridiculous they looked, so I liked that choice too!

 

Unfortunately, this is the map so far which has spammed the black gargoyles the most and it is the point at which they really started to annoy me, I'm not sure if this map is just getting unfairly saddled with 9 maps worth of frustration with them, but this is the map where I started to wish they just weren't included in the wad. The first time a few of them appeared out of the windows of the houses was pretty cool, the third significantly less cool. The final fight was also a bit of a disappointing end, as you can just leave the room and hold the fire button down for the plasma gun and barely break a sweat, though the other difficult fights make up for this.

 

I did like the secret fight a lot, the arena looks cool and it's fun to find and tackle, and the fight in the yard where you pick up the plasma gun initially was fun and very hectic too. The fight after picking up the green key where you drop down into a cavern was great, with fodder immediately surrounding you and the revenants, arachnotrons and mancubi high up on various cliffs - this all worked together to make a very fun fight. I also thought that the areas of the map transforming and being reused is done really well here, while area reuse is very common in this megawad, this is the best example of it so far. Overall, a good penultimate map with some interesting fights, though I would have preferred less of a focus on the gargoyles.

Edited December 19, 2021 by finnks13
fixed formatting

[dei_eldren]

MAP20 - Wall of Omens (HNTR, continuous, blind): K 94%, I 76%, S 0%, T 19:54

 

Spoiler

Another mapper from the infamous 180MPV.  And i have to say, it may be my imagination or preconception, or not, but to me the style of the combat and the architecture was akin to some maps in that illustrious Megawad.  What surprised me, though, was the relative ease, at HNTR, that i experienced, as it was not by far the most difficult map in this WAD for me, so far, even discounting MAP32. 

 

This map of some sort of fort complex of wood and stonework with a water canal begins, after a single zombieman, with a chaotic ambush of Imps, Chaingunners, Hell Knights and Cacodemons, but there's also a lone Chaingunner sniping outside of the main combat from above, but i started the map with 200% health and lost around 70% in this fight.  The Mega Armour is given here, and in general i thought the map had ample supplies and health, and it's too bad one can't carry it over to MAP21 :P 

 

Like in some other maps, the fights along the way involved a lot of enemies far off and on higher ledges, and few times my autoaim failed me to such an extent that the waste of rockets became unbearable, and i simply reloaded out of frustration, for example, with the cadre of Arachnotrons on the other side of the canal.  The finale included, of course, a Cyberdemon, who was walking on one side of the quasi-slaughter arena.  Think i needed 2-3 tries to nail it, caught some stray rockets, too, but other time due to my own haplessness and inattention, and i left some suckers alive, Cyberdemon included. 

 

The secrets i unfortunately left behind, too, but with the death exit there's little incentive to go and search for them, even if i had some ideas already about them.

 

Visually the map is just fantastic, the design is magnifique, and i'd call the style neoclassical with its added complexity to the classical clarity without altering the overall, once again, Plutoniaesque feel too much.  Once again, just a fantastic episode ender, and have to say, i like it that the two have not been any sort of gimmick-maps, nor mere excuses to have a slaughter-scene, or three Cyberdemons.

 

Absolutely incredible episode.  The maps have varied in length and complexity somewhat, and in difficulty, but have been remarkably consistent in quality and more or less in style of play.  This is true, to lesser extent also of episode one, of which there was nothing to complain about either, but as a whole it must be said this one was even better.  Maybe it's because of the easiness of some of the maps on the first episode (and the sadism of otherwise fantastic MAP08...)

 

 

Top 1000 maps in four sets

Spoiler

Episode 1

MAP11 - in Kasei Valles - 9/10

MAP06 - a Memory from Earth - 9/10

MAP02 - Tharsis Awakens - 9/10

MAP10 - Red Alley - 9/10 

MAP07 - Back Alleys and Interlopers - 9/10

MAP05 - Martian Vista - 8/10

MAP01 - Dust Devils - 7/10

MAP04 - Monuments of Mars - 5/10

MAP03 - Lower City Grime - 5/10

MAP09 - Martian Midnight - 5/10

MAP08 - Concrete Avalanche - 5/10

 

Episode 2

MAP16 - Corruption - 9.5/10

MAP13 - Viridical Mines - 9.5/10

MAP15 - the Black Ramparts - 9.5/10

MAP20 - Wall of Omens - 9/10

MAP18 - Farewell to the Dark Ages - 9/10

MAP14 - Bad Manor - 9/10

MAP17 - Ceremony of a Thousand Stars - 9/10

MAP12 - Forlorn Hope - 9/10

MAP19 - Gutter Waltz - 8/10

 

Come Together

MAP16 - Corruption - 9.5/10

MAP13 - Viridical Mines - 9.5/10

MAP15 - the Black Ramparts - 9.5/10

MAP11 - in Kasei Valles - 9/10

MAP20 - Wall of Omens - 9/10

MAP06 - a Memory from Earth - 9/10

MAP02 - Tharsis Awakens - 9/10

MAP18 - Farewell to the Dark Ages - 9/10

MAP14 - Bad Manor - 9/10

MAP17 - Ceremony of a Thousand Stars - 9/10

MAP12 - Forlorn Hope - 9/10

MAP10 - Red Alley - 9/10 

MAP07 - Back Alleys and Interlopers - 9/10

MAP19 - Gutter Waltz - 9/10

MAP05 - Martian Vista - 8/10

MAP01 - Dust Devils - 7/10

MAP31 - Farfarout - 7/10

MAP04 - Monuments of Mars - 5/10

MAP03 - Lower City Grime - 5/10

MAP09 - Martian Midnight - 5/10

MAP08 - Concrete Avalanche - 5/10

 

[cannonball]

Well I am behind, but that's fine but the levels are short... lets start with map32...

Ah...

MAP32 - “Vintage Murderfest” by Roofi

Well this one kicked my ass big time. I used the invulnerability secret early and paid the price big time. However I must say that the mechanisms for teleporting the monsters in is a little too crude in my opinion and was abused quite badly by yours truly. The area with the blue and green key doors can be made relatively safe by a little reflex skill. As such you can control the flood of monsters somewhat as camping in this spot tends to stop monsters teleporting into the middle.

The blue key door unleashes complete chaos but is actually substantially easier to deal with, clear the archviles around the perimeter and if you leave the cybers alone from earlier you can essentially use them to slaughter everything else.

In the end I think the design of the map is a little too simple to work well. I know there are limitations but I suspect the execution could be better. That said I can see this being fun once you have a good routing idea in your head. This like map31 is one of those that you are thankful for being in the secret slot. That said this gave me a bit more of a rush, so it wasn't that bad and I didn't rage at this as much as I thought I would.

 

MAP16 - “Corruption” by Pegleg

This one was on the whole quite fun to run through. Plenty of monsters roaming around the map that keeps refilling steadily as you make progress. I appreciate the quaint sandbox-like setting. I am not sure whether finding secrets were part of the progression or not (I assume not), but seemed to pick the secrets up naturally as I got the keys.

I am not really a fan of the ending, the initial fight is pretty easy, whilst the trick exit is a bit of a harsh move and a complete lottery. The room also re-opens once you activate said trap, which means that you can escape and pump rockets through the bottle-neck. That says to me that even the author didn't think this area worked that well.

Overall and middling map in regards to the rest - Which to be fair means it was pretty enjoyable.

 

MAP17 - “Ceremony of a Thousand Stars” by AD_79

In terms off being able to pull off something technically impressive given the mapping limitations, this is top-notch. In terms of how it plays? I loved it. 

This map is a little more easy going than some of the preceding maps. However in terms of monster place and ammo usage this is very well crafted. You will need to lean on the berserk from time to time and threats feel very well calibrated to the environment you are in. Speaking of which this really does well in creating a fully compelling world (Map15 does similar in some regards). The map loops around a couple of times, always keeping key and said door within spitting distance. There are a lot of modern tropes within this one (Very BTSX design philosophy), which given the mapper and background in the community isn't surprising. 

After pausing after map32, I was debating whether to press on, or call it a night. I am glad I pushed onwards because this is my favourite map so far. 

 

Edited December 19, 2021 by cannonball

[Doritos420]

Map18 - A Farewell to the Dark Ages by antares031

This map was incredibly well done. I really liked how it starts wide open and just lets you run around collecting weapons. Because of this the beginning area actually reminded me a lot of Bourgeois Megawad where you just run around blasting enemies. After that it turns more into a keyhunt with progressively more and more intense fights. The first one was pretty intense with the horde of gargoyles, really pays off to use the assault rifle here. The arena fight to get the purple key was also quite hard, especially with the archvilles at the end! Died here a couple times. The final challenge was a ton of enemies and a cyberdemon, very exciting fight. You can lure the cyberdemon around the map and try to find the best area to take him down. Very good map, I had a lot of fun here.

 

Map19 - Gutter Waltz by Dac

Solid map with some fun fights and a nice ramp up in difficulty. Felt like ammo was balanced really tightly on this map, I was always on the verge of having too little ammo but it never got to the point where I was bone dry (very well done). I really liked how you go through the various windows to navigate through the level, and the moments where the gargoyles come out of the windows were also very nerve wracking. There were a few nasty ambushes in this map especially towards the end, making you really rely on the plasma rifle’s killing power. The last giant wave of imps with the two archvilles was a great final battle, though after that fight I went back and found the secret room fight. Great detailing and a fun midi.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 19 - Gutter Waltz by Dac

 

Another map, another fantastic Psyrus trap. I guess the construction does show someone who left and came back to work on this over a period of months, but thematically-wise, everything feels entirely coherent with the differing textures being used to complement each other. Mountainous and snug, like some Japanese games I've played before.

 

Pistol-starting, you'll have to content leaving the raised ledge of Imps alone since you won't have any spare rockets. In fact, there's no rocket launcher out in the open, so you'll have to make do. At several point in the map, Gargoyles leaped out of windows almost without warning, hurting me quite badly. There's one area with some Cacodemons that don't seem to do very much. The first major trap involving Revenants and an Arch-vile is best left untriggered until you've taken out quite the stiff opposition. You always could, but that doesn't seem very smart. It's quite hard to hide here, so I ended up dying here once. Incidentally, I spotted the switch behind the chaingunner which opens a chamber not too far ahead with a Supercharge.

 

The first ambush after the green key after returning to the starting room was excellently staged. I was mostly able to avoid the Revenants, strangely enough, despite movement being quite constricted. The final ambush was also quite large, although thing started to become quite tedious here. Because while the Imp mob was fun, the two Arch-viles were not so much. Constantly resurrecting everything, my ammo was threby drained to the extent I was running through my shotgun ammo before I could finish them off.

 

[NiGHTS108]

MAP20: Wall Of Omens

By [WH]-Wilou84

 

Kills: 88%

Items: 71%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 11:33

 

The chapter ender of 1000 Lines 3's second episode doesn't play all too much like one honestly, however that doesn't weaken the map at all, Wall Of Omens is another pretty quick map but hides the cunning combat scenario that lies in wait, you'll be up against the titular wall for as long as you're in its sight, I guess it can be considered the "final boss" of episode 2, it can deep fry an unsuspecting Mancubus as easy as you so be careful outdoors, especially with elevators as Wilou demands good timing if you don't want to be a bucket of kentucky fried Doomguy, after you get the blue and purple keys, prepare for an ominously large room that drops in a flood of Hell Knights, a Cyber and later 2 Arch-Viles, you're given plenty of rockets here so let em fly, step into the portal and it's curtain call for the Tudors

 

Grade: A-

Difficulty: B+

 

Playthrough video

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP19: "Gutter Waltz" by dac

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 3/3 secrets

 

Here we have more of an autumnal village setting, with rust-coloured leaves hanging from vines and covering the ground, and canals running through it all. Inaccessible areas around the outside feature darkened lighting and farm animals sitting atop cliffs and outer walls, silhouetted against the starry sky. Not sure what they're doing up there, but they seem to be enjoying themselves. The village areas kind of leave a bit to your imagination, but the area with cliff area you access after getting the green key looks quite pretty. I probably sound like a broken record at this point, but the midi (by Psyrus) is another good one, a somewhat aquatic sounding groove with some nice percussion usage. 

 

So I'm going to judge the combat of this map as I played it, which was not finding the two secrets bookending the map's secret fight until I had already taken care of everything else. The reason I say that is because without those secrets this map was quite nasty difficultywise, but I feel like getting those secrets when first accessible would make this one a lot easier, especially with access to rockets. The combat of this one has a nice consistent pace to it, where every encounter feels relatively well populated and at least somewhat threatening. I'm not sure I'm a fan of the gargoyles coming from windows, fighting them felt a bit more passive than the rest of the map, but nothing I turn my nose too much at. There are 3 archviles in this map and each of them are quite evil. The first one is likely to be quite productive in his resurrection duties if you don't take care of him ASAP, and the other 2 appear at once and avoiding a zap from them was something I don't think I ever managed to do. It's here where some rockets would really do well, as one of them has an army of imps in front of him as meatshields. Would have been mighty nice to let the gibs fly and get to him easier, but it was at least do-able with plasma as well.

 

Quite an exciting play. As I said I think those secrets might have made it easier on me, but as I played it it's definitely one of the more difficult levels of the episode.

[FragsBunny]

MAP20: Wall of Omens (99%/89%/50%)

1.       Mancubus can carry other monsters

2.       Baron of Hell spawns with a small companion

3.       Mancubus projectiles travel twice as fast

 

This time, both the cards and the map author decided that it is time to completely fuck me up. The map opening is the perfect example, with three separate ambushes coming at me at the same time, with only a single medkit and armor to patch me up! The most reasonable action, at least from the view of continuous player, is to kill the mancubi behind the bars, then kill the hell knight and imp ambush, following the rest. I remember back in early days of CC, there was a card that would reset my inventory to pistol only at the start of each level…

 

Those of you who played MAP20 may have noticed a large squadron of arachnotrons perched up above. Well, in my case, they can use flight! As soon as I teleported to the next area, they all came to me personally! I had no choice but to use BFG here, since I was short on rockets! Later on, when I was moving along to collect the purple and blue keys, I hand to dance around an invincible revenant, but hey – I am stuck dealing with stuff like this for the rest of my run!

 

Eventually I arrived at the final arena, where a horde of Hell nobles, gargoyles and a cyberdemon started to pour in. Against the common logic, I chose to kill the cyberdemon first, cause in all of my failed attempts I ended up being blown off by his rockets. And I had to kill the rest of the nobles before the wall nearby completely collapse, revealing… That’s right, arch-viles and revenants! Very hectic battle, but still manageable with the right setup. And this marks my nightmare difficulty of Episode 2. Next up, hell difficulty of Episode 3!

[Book Lord]

Episode 2: Tudor Times

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

 

The second episode pivots on the unexploited elements of OTEX package, most notably the Tudor-style walls, ideal for building half-timbered houses and mansions, often paired with blue water for the best visual outcome. The design team went further by introducing new things, among them some cute living animals, and ambient sound sources for the waterfalls. While very appealing for the pseudo-fantasy scenery and for the distinguished gameplay propositions, the involved authors were very focused on providing a challenge. The Gargoyles reused the Heretic sprite with a black palette, which made them hard to see and shoot against the grey background. Combined with a fast zigzag movement and rapid fire, they made up for a troublesome new enemy. This episode was satisfying, though the gameplay was often on the punishing side to be always enjoyable. The secret maps were not among my favourites.

 

MAP 12 - Forlorn Hope by @Liberation

The introduction to the second episode had a rough hot start, which I found a bit impolite and detrimental for enjoyment, as it disturbed the contemplation of a beautiful castle vista. I replayed the starting area a dozen times before I could overcome the opposition without sustaining serious injury. Not only was I surrounded by a flock of black Gargoyles, a grievous new enemy I could barely see and target, but there were stout Mancubi sweeping the area with fireballs from a central podium, Imps on every ledge, a group of Pinkies for added chaos and, as the real thorn in the side, chaingunners shooting through midtextures. After this brutal initiation the rest of the level felt manageable, even though it featured a variety of closet and teleport ambushes to protect both keys. There was a heavy preference for Revenants and Arch-Viles, as usual. The new medieval looks were fantastic, with the custom things deserving a particular mention. The livestock was especially cute.

Spoiler

 

MAP 13 - Viridical Mines by @Worm318

This one had a pit in the centre and a small network of caverns and tunnels all around it. An early and welcome variation on the castle theme, which could get repetitive if used for an entire episode. I was a bit reckless when I jumped at the bottom of the cavern and found myself surrounded by snipers and flying monsters. The start could be handled better with a careful approach, if not pistol starting. The mine tunnels leading to the blue key hosted a nasty closet trap, which might catch most Doomguys unprepared. Considering the openness of the pit area, the use of flying monsters was privileged, with the black Gargoyle creating the most trouble as expected.

Spoiler

 

MAP 14 - Bad Manor by @Nootrac4571

Since the beginning the layout looked simple and blocky, nonetheless the proper use of textures created a pleasing visual environment. It consisted of a building at the centre, the titular manor, and a handful of side areas to explore, all unlocked by switches inside the manor. Two of them were combat arenas to gain the green and blue keys, structured in a similar way and using the same monsters in different arrangements. The scarcity of other ammo forced me to use SSG and assault rifle for everything, just like a pistol starter. The map featured a lot of monsters to kill and many of its ambushes were challenging, actively punishing the player who rushed into them. As an example, it was advisable to enter the manor with care, since running inside would only spring more traps. The locked areas handed both plasma gun and rocket launcher, in straightforward but well-designed environments (a library and a blood pit), then the purple key leading to the last switch became available. Leaving the manor was even harder than entering. The first time I ran for the exit, ignoring the horde of monsters released to the outside, including the Arch-Viles on pillars, but I was annihilated by two chaingunners hiding in the exit. I took my time to slowly kill everybody, and the completion required 35 minutes, still missing the Megasphere secret. I liked how the level was structured, but many encounters were grindy, with a lot of hit points to vanquish and too much reliance on shells and bullets.

Spoiler

 

MAP 15 - The Black Ramparts by @Bauul

I adore castle levels like this, with plenty of narrow ledges to tread, intersecting paths, movement puzzles to solve, under the sharp eyes and powerful rockets of a ruling Cyberdemon. The path was extremely linear, requiring backtracking only for the secret exit, and offered tricky situations without involving massive amounts of monsters. Most encounters were compelling, beginning with the first crowd of enemies facing the opposite way. I only found the pop-up monsters inside one of the buildings a bit cheap; such jump scares work only the first time. The lift puzzle under the Cyberdemon nose was great, I managed it at first try with splash damage, but I was lucky. The flock of Gargoyles upstairs almost had my skin, though. I was a bit worried when I entered the last arena with less than 60% health and noticed there were more than 100 monsters left. I am thankful they were all Imps and former humans, with an Arch-Vile thrown in to revive some corpses. The Baron on the exit teleporter was stuck in place, but the Gargoyles kept me busy enough with their darting moves. This one belonged to the highlights of the second episode.

Spoiler

 

MAP 31 - Farfarout by @Xyzzy01

A miniature tech-base level with creepy atmosphere and featuring only 11 monsters, all Revenants except 2 Arch-Viles. They appeared when expected, but in positions player would not guess, resulting in a couple of genuine jump scares. Besides that, it was a short and concise switch hunt in a silent and seemingly deserted place. A neat idea with a proper execution, a bit too short to leave a lasting impression. Nobody asked if I really wanted to reach MAP32.

Spoiler

 

MAP 32 - Vintage Murderfest by @Roofi

A pulse rate surge in an overcrowded 16th century arena, where Doomguy was constantly swarmed by seemingly endless waves of demons. Considering the cramped halls hosting the festive event, it was a good exercise of quick thinking as suggested by the intermission text, at least for my slow-witted brain. However, knowing things in advance helped more than reflexes, as typical when maps require to manage hordes in narrow spaces. Resources were more than enough for the job, but I would not have survived the Revenant + Hell Knight wave without the impenetrable hiding spot I found on the three-switch platform. Not my favourite kind of level, and not what I am looking for when searching for secret exits. At least there was an untouched Megasphere to grab before leaving.

Spoiler

 

MAP 16 - Corruption by @Pegleg

An old-school Doom outdoor map with two blocky, house-like structures, embellished by new and shiny textures with diabolical carvings. Obviously, gameplay was contemporary and featured a lot of cunningly placed monsters, surprise teleports and closets, to keep the player on their toes during the short exploration and straightforward key hunting. The secrets were surprisingly easy to find. When I gained access to the fenced structure in the north, after disposing of the hellspawn on my way, I reached an ominous square cloister. I smelled the upcoming ambush, but there were two consecutive ones instead. Quite chaotic if you ask me. I was afraid the map would not allow returning to the previous area to take the Soul Sphere I conserved, but I only had to resist the impulse to flee when Arch-Viles appeared with reinforcements. A solid entry by Pegleg.

Spoiler

 

MAP 17 - Ceremony of a Thousand Stars by @AD_79

A simple map if only enemy numbers and combat intensity are considered, it proposed a good diversion with its prominent height variation and platforming. The attacks on vertiginous ledges and relatively easy jumps became more exciting when I realised that all pits in this level were inescapable. Many precious lines were used to draw a gargantuan hexagonal hub, an awe-inspiring but ultimately empty place that must be crossed multiple times, during the quest for the three skull keys. The action was concentrated on the brink of the outer chasm, with a lot of flying monsters and ambushes that might end up in a misstep towards sure death. I located both secrets but failed to reach them. An interesting entry, though I found the real content to be somewhat disconnected from the graceful name.

Spoiler

 

MAP 18 - A Farewell to the Dark Ages by @antares031

I am a sucker for levels that do not look like real places but manage to be perfectly convincing. This creation could be described as a flooded castle, featuring a lot of interconnected halls and small courtyards, all packed with respectable opposition. The starting area acted as a hub with the keys placed on pillars that must be lowered, granting access to new areas. The thoughtful use of colours on door textures and standards gave useful hints for progression, which I found very intricate despite the small size of the map. The combat crescendo was also masterfully done, culminating with a teleporting mishmash of enemies protecting the purple key, a chaotic battle which I failed only once. Plasma gun was the way to go, and resources were plentiful. I had more trouble with the trap behind the blue door, involving 20 black Gargoyles in a limited area, plus an Arch-Vile to negate even more space. The aesthetics were exceptionally good here, on par with the gameplay. I chose the pig shed and the tower with a multi-coloured beacon as a representative screenshot, because it sums up the compelling and pleasing representation that I have tried to expound. My favourite map of the second episode.

Spoiler

 

MAP 19 - Gutter Waltz by @dac

A smaller level, this one took place in a Tudor-style hamlet with a river flowing through the half-timbered houses, which only lacked a visible roof. Black Gargoyles coming out of the windows were a recurrent nightmare in this place, as well as jumping down in an area and be assailed wildly by the hellspawn. While I appreciated the multiple transformations of the starting room, I found the blind jump in the south-eastern cavern and subsequent aggression a bit cheap. I missed the secret area in the north-west, which included a rather big fight as well, but I am still clueless about the way to access it. Good action and compact design, though after this map I irreversibly hated the black Gargoyles.

Spoiler

 

MAP 20 - Wall of Omens by @WH-Wilou84

The conclusion of the second episode was its hardest map by a generous margin. The starting area did not take long to open the walls and reveal some heavyweights, betraying the author’s murderous intentions. However, what really defined this map was the “long terrace” overlooking the lower water basin, a.k.a. the Wall of Omens, holding 27 Arachnotrons ready to send a barrage of plasma as soon as they spotted the player. Not only they were a constant annoyance while dealing with other enemies, even in seemingly safe areas, but they were the main element of the challenge, which required moving under their noses several times to press switches and ride up the lifts. I could probably waste all my carryover ammo to thin down their ranks and ease my life, but I decided to take it like a pistol starter. There was a secret way to access the terrace and kill them all, but it was so ridiculously hidden and counterintuitive that only the editor revealed it to me.

 

I endured their bolts and fought my way through the level, reaching the final flooded zone which stank to high heaven of a slaughter arena. The Cyberdemon was confined on a strip by blocking lines and could not be easily surrounded and nullified by the appearing Hell Nobles, so I had to move quickly. This was no easy task with those zigzagging Gargoyles. After dying a lot, I pulled out the BFG I carried from MAP32 (no other options to snatch it in the episode, even for continuous players!) and started some serious area cleaning. The fight was not simple for my skills, and I would have struggled even more without the biggest weapon. WH-Wilou84 had precise plans and carried them out perfectly; as for myself, I enjoy being pushed to the limit from time to time, but I was not in the mood for it when meeting this map. Players would better be ready for both movement and combat tests in store here.

Spoiler

 

Edited December 21, 2021 by Book Lord
apparently I credited the wrong Worm for MAP13; Sorry.

[ReaperAA]

MAP19: "Gutter Waltz" by dac 

UV, pistol start, no saves

Kills: 206/206, Secrets: 3/3

Deaths on map = 0

Total Deaths = 15

 

A small map with an autumn setting that nonetheless is jam packed with action. Liberal use of gargoyles coming out of windows can be found in this map (to a point where some would be annoyed, but I don't mind). I really like the compact design and the reuse of the starting area for different fights. The ammo in this map early on is really tight, but ammo balance more relaxed after halfway through the map (and especially if you discover the secret fight).

 

The most notable fights include the fight in the starting area (with revenants, imps, gargoyles) before getting the green key, the secret area fight with pain elementals, imps and chaingunners, the fight in the blue key area with teleporting revenants + an archvile and the exit fight with 2 archviles and group of imps. In order to get to the secret fight area, you need to press the green key switch (the switch the revealed the green key). This switch also lowers the platform just outside of the starting room for a limited time. Entering which takes you to the secret with a soulsphere and cell pack and a lift that takes you to the secret fight. The waterfall on the north-west of the fight area contains many goodies as your reward.

Edited December 20, 2021 by ReaperAA

[Biodegradable]

MAP20 - Wall of Omens

UV | Continuous | GZDoom

 

Well, fuck me sideways, I actually managed to beat this map. Naturally, knowing Wilou's mapping tendencies, I was fully prepared to rage-quit and pistol-start this one but no, I pulled through. It was only the final fight that really had me by the nadgers for a while, but I managed to get the hell out of there in the end. This little map is balls-to-the-walls action as said walls constantly tumble down to reveal monster closets full of demonic dickheads who want to fashion your bones into a gruesome xylophone. The most eye-catching aspect being the huge swath of Brainiacs perched on the far right of the map, constantly reigning a maelstrom of plasma fire as soon as you're in range. Timing feels like everything with this one with that aforementioned spider armada as you rush to get to lifts at the center. There's a lot of cheeky rug-pulls going on with the way everything is placed with such pinpoint precision to make sure you're utterly terrified to move without standing on a linedef that opens yet another monster closet. It's a terrifying and exhilarating map by all accounts and, despite how much I hated the end fight, I quite liked the map a lot.