The DWmegawad Club plays: Ozonia

dobu gabu maru · January 1, 2022

What is the DWmegawad Club?

This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

Can I join?

Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

What levels am I allowed to post about?

Whatever day of the month it is, is the upper limit for the map you can post on. So if it’s the 6th, you may discuss up to MAP06.

Do I have to post an entry every day?

Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

When do we vote on the next month’s megawad?

Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example:

+++ Ultimate Doom

Note that you can only nominate up to three separate wads for a single month, and the wads must contain at least three maps each. The winning wad must receive at least four votes for a thread to be made. Ties will be decided by RNG.

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>>>DOWNLOAD MOONBLOOD (RC2 Deluxe) HERE<<<

>>>DOWNLOAD MOONBLOOD (RC2 Classic) HERE<<<

Time to enter the zone! The O-zone! ia! Ozonia is the third part of the Moonblood saga, a crafty series made by the ever-crafty Deadwing. Expect smaller maps with an Eviternity-style difficulty, some gorgeous visuals, and a couple of new foes.

Note that the only difference between the Deluxe and Classic editions is that Deluxe uses an mp3 soundtrack while Classic uses your usual midi soundtrack.

Maplist:

MAP01 - “Ozonia”

MAP02 - “Renascido”

MAP03 - “Circulos”

MAP04 - “Cerimonia”

MAP05 - “Hexagonal”

MAP06 - “Altura”

MAP07 - “Satélite”

MAP08 - “Subterrâneo I”

MAP09 - “Subterraneo II” by Lorenz0

MAP10 - “Aranha”

MAP11 - “Moonblood I”

MAP12 - “Céu”

MAP13 - “Observatório”

MAP14 - “Caverna”

MAP15 - “#”

MAP31 - “Rooftops”

MAP32 - “Penitência” by antares031

MAP16 - “Cidadela I”

MAP17 - “Cidadela II” by riderr3

MAP18 - “Torres”

MAP19 - “Gerador”

MAP20 - “Moonblood II”

MAP21 - “Inferno”

MAP22 - “Velas”

MAP23 - “Inca”

MAP24 - “Berragem”

MAP25 - “Caveiras”

MAP26 - “Plutocidade”

MAP27 - “Rapido”

MAP28 - “Solidão” by A2Rob

MAP29 - “Mecanismo II”

MAP30 - “Moonblood III”

BONUS CONTENT

Original Topic

Soundtrack

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OLD THREADS

Spoiler

The DWmegawad Club Metathread

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

Edited April 23, 2023 by dobu gabu maru

NiGHTS108 · January 1, 2022

(Oh thank god it's not Community Chest)

Each map gets 2 grades

Grades: A>B>C>D>F

Difficulties: X>A>B>C>D>E

X for extreme, E for easy

- Play info

Spoiler

- GZDoom 4.7.1

- Boom (strict) compatibility

- Eviternity difficulty

- Pistol start

- I try to get 100% kills but I won't if I don't feel like it

- Using mods Autoautosave and IDCLEVer (Improves GZ autosaves and auto-forces pistol starts)

- Using RC2 Deluxe

MAP01: Ozonia

Kills: 88%

Items: 56%

Secrets: 50%

Time: 3:15

I'm a big fan of this calm little MAP01, I can name a few megawads that have their name as one of the maps but this was a bit of a surprise, even though MAP01 packs less than 30 monsters, the texturing is on point and supported beautifully by the Otex sky, it's like a painting in Doom! Every unit pulls it's weight, well as much as they can, there's a number of Arachnotron in this map and even a secret Cyberdemon! When you get into the main castle you'll be greeted by 2 Hierophants, Ozonia's first custom enemy, they use the same sprite as their NOVA II equivalent but are significantly less scary, they fly around, shoot just one round of Mancubus projectiles and go down pretty easy, present yourself to the Mother Demon and you're free to go, I'm a really big fan of this map's calm, lovely music as well, it wraps a nice bow on a very pretty and atmospheric MAP01

Grade: A-

Difficulty: D-

Playthrough video

Electro Rage · January 1, 2022

Map 01: Ozonia

Kills: 100%

Secrets: 100%

Difficulty: Eviternity (UV)

Source port: Prboom-Plus

Nice chill map. The secrets are very punchy, the chaingunner secret being a nice trap you should not use your toy you acquired on and another against a cyberdemon guarding a mega sphere. Acquiring the yellow key can be challenging if you do not kill everything, so do that first. The chaingunner ambush at the key door can easily be stopped by just running away like a little bitch, or using rockets. The last two enemies you will meet without accounting the secrets are the first custom enemy you'll meet, Hierophants. Flying enemies that can take 1-2 rockets and fire two mancubus fireballs. Almost killed me when I met them. You press a switch at the end of the keep, a big ass demon appears, you shoot at it, and you die. That demon does not apply to the kill count.

Conclusion: Nice chill map that has kick to it, so this wad will be getting rough later on. This makes me excited for later maps, and is a great starter to the wad.

DisgruntledPorcupine · January 2, 2022

I will be playing using the classic version of the wad.

MAP01: Ozonia

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

The opening map of Ozonia has a moody and atmospheric quality to it. The midi is quiet and melodic, the lighting is dusky, and the skybox is cloudy and covered in orange twilight. You start on some grassy cliffs looking upon the central structure where you will later go and finish the level. The outdoor area is flooded in water and full of small cave nooks, and the structure is grey brick, with some strange runes on the walls in the final room.

The monster count is low at 25. The outdoor area features a lot of arachnotrons with a few other enemies, and the final room introduces us to a custom enemy, the hierophant. They are orange demonic looking creatures with shackles on their hands and a missing lower body. They float around at a relatively quick speed and fire mancubus fireballs at you, and have a tendency to zoom around a bit after being hit. If you are just trying to finish the level and get out it is very simple, getting 100% kills does add a bit more complication to things though. You will need to find both secrets, which is easy with the help of the computer area map. One contains a plasma gun and a small chaingunner ambush, while the other gives you a couple more chaingunners and an ominous message: "The firekeeper shall always keep the flame burning for the mother." To your left is a cyberdemon looking upon a giant fireplace. There aren't quite enough cells in the map to take him out with just plasma, so you will likely have to finish him off with one of your other weapons. Hit a switch to snuff out the flames and get a megasphere, and then leave. The level ends with you hitting a switch and raising up some kind of four-armed monstrosity. After a couple seconds of it staring upon you, you drop dead and the level ends. Creepy way to finish off.

As a first map, I really liked this one a lot. It keeps things pretty simple, cyberdemon aside, but still leaves quite an impression with its looming atmosphere. Real excited to play on.

Pseudonaut · January 2, 2022

I'm playing in DSDA-Doom, complevel 9, UV, recording demos until I run out of patience for that. I noticed several days ago that this wad had a significant lead in the voting, so I started recording my FDAs early. For that reason, my demos for the first seven maps were recorded in RC1, and may desync with the most recent version of the wad. With that out of the way...

Map01 FDA (0 deaths)

oz01.zip

Also includes a low-effort pacifist demo.

This map gives you a shotgun and rocket launcher right away, and that turns out to be pretty much all you need, so it's a chill map. That is with the exception of the secret cyberdemon encounter, for which you're not well equipped unless you find the plasma gun in the other secret first. The two berserk packs in the little cyb arena are funny, like an invitation to punch the cyb the rest of the way if you come into it without the plasma gun and run out of your other ammo. Not something I'd want to try.

Endless · January 2, 2022

MAP01: Ozonia | UV (Eviternity) | Doom Retro

May I join in? We'll see how far I get this time. Ozonia caught my attention with their cool screenshots and passionate production. The first map already leaves a good taste in my mouth. It's quite attractive, simple in layout but with enough juice to refresh me. Apparently, the megawad is slightly inspired by Eviternity, mainly in the type of gameplay it will feature, and I can quickly see that with the beginning. Few enemies, but each designed to attack in a memorable way through different encounter sets. Simple, with a good balance that fits the pacing of the game. This is a good start, with a solid map that shows excellent use of textures as well as sweet details. A good first impression.

Spoiler

Can't decide if I want to play this in crispy-style or a more modern-ish look:

Biodegradable · January 2, 2022

MAP01 - Ozonia

UV | Continuous | GZDoom with Vanilla+

I love how, despite playtesting this map and all its brothers and sisters in Episode 1 last year, I managed to stumble across all the secrets I missed... or maybe I didn't? Or perhaps they're entirely new? I honestly don't remember and trying to remember what's the same and what's different is a separate game I'm going to be playing in my head all through my journey of Episode 1 this week. Anyways, the first map starts things off reasonably chill, though perhaps slightly chaotic for newer players. I recall my first interaction with that area being a bit more hectic, but that might just have been due to inexperience and now knowing that you're flanked by three Brainiacs once you nab the rocket launcher, it turns into an easier affair. Mind you, "chill" is relative. This map doesn't pull any punches with plenty of nasty little tricks at its disposal. I should know, I caught my very first death of the run right here! How embarrassing! Personally, I don't recall even finding the Plasma Rifle during my playtest, so the Chaingunner souffle Deadwing served me was quite unexpected and gave me a good laugh.

This first map is lush with gorgeous textures, an intriguing layout and and well-crafted combat surprises. Considering my memories of the maps to follow in the episode, I think it does a great job setting the player's expectations for what it has in store for them beyond this point.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Biodegradable

TJG1289 · January 2, 2022

I'm glad this one made the club for the month! I had been looking forward to this WAD's release for a while now. I have one of Deadwing's past WADs downloaded, Moonblood, but I don't remember if I've played it (what else is new?). But seeing the WIP screenshots Deadwing would post every so often got me pretty excited for this, so let's see how it is!

Deluxe/GZDoom/Eviternity/Continuous/Saves

Map 01: Ozonia

100% kills and secrets

Time: 6:04

Deaths: 1

First off, the MP3 soundtrack is sounding nice! Really dug the little bit of the title screen that I heard before starting, and this chill tune with long guitar tones reminds me a lot of the US soundtrack for Sonic CD's Collision Chaos. Makes the map feel a little lonely. This is a very small map, only about 25 monsters, but it's not really a pushover. The detail in this courtyard is nice, with the little ravine and caverns being nice details. These little nooks house a few arachnotrons, so grab the rocket launcher and run around the area for rockets. I pretty much spent 2 rockets on each and shotguned them the rest of the way. The computer area map in one of these nooks made finding the 2 secrets easy, and you need them for 100% kills. One has a few chaingunners and a plasma. The other has a cyb and a cell pack. I found this one first, and tried telefragging it. Didn't work. Upon respawn, I just grabbed the newly revealed megasphere, ate a rocket, and teleported out. At least I didn't die. Went back after finding the plasma rifle and finished it off. The final room has a rev and 2 of a new monster. These are called hierophants I guess, according to an above post, since there's no txt file with the WAD. These fly, fire a single mancubi flame burst, and die in 1-2 rockets. I guess they also have a melee attack, but I didn't let them get close. Killed them, hit the exit switch, revealed the Mother Demon instead, died, and beat the level. Huh, maybe continuous isn't gonna matter. I'll have to see. Very nice opening map!

Map 02: Renascido

100% kills and secrets

Time: 13:32

Deaths: 1

This map looks like a more modern styled Plutonia to me. This toxic base really reminds me of it a lot, and I think that was intentional. There's a descent amount of chaingunners and revs too, so there's another comparison. It's kinda odd that a map this early will focus more on mid-tiers instead of fodder, but hey that's what this one does, and it does it pretty well. You get the RL first, with only the chaingun and shotgun left to deal with some of these encounters. I did manage to find the secret SSG, but that was when I was ready to head through the blue key door. Another computer map in the sludge can help find the secrets. The SSG is nice, but there's a long sequenced one that was pretty cool. It first takes you down to an area with a computer terminal spouting exposition (a nice touch), then allows access to a big sludge area that takes you to a soul sphere. Just have to deal with a couple revs and an archie first. There's a surprisingly tough fight when hitting the switch that allows access to the blue key door. An arachnotron and hell knight appear up with you, while an archie teleports onto a column in the sludge, ready to zap. If you rocket him, he may fall off and teleport onto the other column. My death was here, cause I didn't expect the archie to teleport in the first place. Kinda nasty, even with the small amount of baddies present. The blue key fight wasn't too bad, as it's just a few cacos, a rev, and a pain elemental that needs to be taken out ASAP. The part behind the blue door had an amusing ambush, where once you fire, shotgunners and chaingunners pile out from behind some walls right in front of the door. The final ambush at the exit ain't anything really, tho the perched rev can be annoying. Pretty solid 2nd map! This mapping style was kinda different, and I liked it. The MP3 was a nice rock jam too.

Pseudonaut · January 2, 2022

Map02 FDA (0 deaths)

oz02.zip

The rocket launcher is again provided straight away, and the SSG is introduced in a secret. If you know where it is, you can run to grab it as soon as the run starts and the rest of the map will be easier and faster. In my FDA, I didn't find it until the map was over, but the map still plays well without it thanks to the amount of rockets available. I like the archvile who inconveniently teleports to a new perch every time a rocket hits him.

Book Lord · January 2, 2022

MAP 01 – Ozonia

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, UV, Pistol start, blind run w/saves

Whatever place Ozonia is, it curiously looks like the tropical jungle we just left in last month’s 1000 Lines 3. However, it does not take long to realise things have changed quite a bit. There are not many tasks to accomplish: collect the YSK, access a temple, and end up “sacrificed” to an evil goddess, bearing a strange resemblance to Doom 64 Mother Demon. The subtle spiritual mood pervading the place, the message written on the wall, the cheeky combat attitude, the awkward monster placement… everything tells this megaWAD will be a memorable experience.

Spoiler

1381017983_OzoniaMap01_01.jpg.559b05edb76f8a33a9fadc61935de4af.jpg

The infotext suggested that the first episode was going to start gently and allow a nice learning curve. The Arachnotron crossfire the player is subjected to as soon as he/she drops down by the temple entrance, before realising where the essential rocket ammo lay, was a bit of a shock. The monster density in the megaWAD may be low, but Deadwing is not going to save anything in his roster for later. Mine will be another normal UV playthrough, and I am better be prepared to bite the dust more than usual.

Spoiler

355059066_OzoniaMap01_02.jpg.25612500d3d9429576e37393d52e2874.jpg

Coming to Ozonia’s eponymous MAP01, it was a short and punchy introduction to the combat style, reminiscent of Plutonia and other famous PWADs, mentioned by the author himself as sources of inspiration. A handful of enemies was enough to create hairy situations because they were arranged to surprise the player as much as possible. The only monsters in plain sight were the Hierophants, new mid-tier flying demons appearing just before the end. The area with the lonely Cyberdemon had an unconventional design. The big badass could be evaded to snatch the Megasphere, a totally useless bonus in a map with a death exit and with little left to confront you. On the other hand, killing him with the limited resources and no telefrag options was the greatest challenge in store, even with the secret plasma rifle. A peculiar start which raised my expectations.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Book Lord

Book Lord · January 2, 2022

MAP 02 – Renascido

PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4, UV, Pistol start, blind run w/saves

Doomguy was reborn (Renascido) in a nukage filled tech-base brimming with Plutonia atmosphere. The forced pistol starter received a rocket launcher right off the bat, but it was necessary to deal with the sneaky Cacodemons and Revenants in the vicinity. The rest of the level could be taken at a leisurely pace, though proper attention must be given to hitscanners placed in troublesome spots, and to the small but spicy combat set pieces, guarding the essential progression steps.

Spoiler

737066208_OzoniaMap02.jpg.7d9e84f77b36860df0465ce19d0928cf.jpg

The phasing Arch-Vile was a classic; he had my skin once since I did not quickly take care of his teleporting sidekicks. The BSK surprise attack was expected, though its arrangement caught me completely off-guard. I survived by jumping down and hiding in the lift niche. A thorough exploration before opening the blue door granted me both secrets: they marked the entrance to extensive, articulated, and rewarding chains of hidden areas. The ambush by the Soul Sphere was a nasty surprise; I should take note that Deadwing tends to populate and trap his secrets.

The last section resumed the small-scale, non-stop aggression, eventually reaching a waste pit with the RSK and a walkway theatrically rising out of the toxic slime. The lamp pillar was conceived as a shield from homing rockets, if used properly. The whole level prompted strategic use of cover in many situations and was a lot of fun all the way through. If this is the standard, I am truly looking forward to what comes next.

Deadwing · January 2, 2022

MAP01 - “Ozonia”

This is a map that came out quite late in the development, as also the song.

Originally MAP02 would be the first map of the set, but then I wanted something with a stronger "intro" feeling quirkness and as a story introduction. Also, MAP02 used to be harder so this is a quite bit easier one. Here you start in the middle of your teammates corpses and a remaining Imp already wanting to kill you, getting into a small struggle until you find yourself into an unavoidable death by the Mother Demon.

As for the map itself, it introduces the player to few key elements in a more acessible way: A small non-linear layout, rocket-oriented gameplay, ambushing enemies, small story bits and some sillyness (the cyberdemon secret). Initially you were meant to kill the Cyberdemon using your fists, but after a lot of negative feedback from the playertests I decided to add an extra package of Cells which will make the battle still challenging, but much more bearable (and better too!)

MAP02 - “Renascido”

This was the original MAP01 and definitely the oldest map of the set. I like it, even though thematically it isn't much memorable, apart from the dickish Arch-ville encounter (which is very luck-dependent on how the Arch-Ville will teleport and it might surprise players in cover). It was initially a lot harder too, with less accessible Chaingun and Shotgun and the first encounter featured Chaingunners instead of Imps. It doesn't features any new enemies, as at that time the wad wasn't supposed to have any and I didn't know much where I wanted to go >.<

So while the layout remained the same, the map went through a lot of iterations, and after the release of version 1.0 (with 11 maps), this was also the first map that I tried to create something more detailed and some of this quirkness shows in the architecture. The song was also the first one that I composed, although it's meant for the TNT MIDI Community Project and I felt this level was the most fitting for it.

The map shows a bit more some custom textures that I robbed from the Textures thread and I've been surprised with how much great stuff there is in there. Although Plutonia 3/Plutonia CP 2 uses some of the same sets, this will definitely help gives Ozonia some more visual identity.

dei_eldren · January 2, 2022

MAP01 - Ozonia (HNTR, continuous, blind): K 100%, I 94%, S 100%, T 11:04

Spoiler

Moonblood is one of my absolutely favourite Megawads, and it just happened to be one that i chanced upon very early after i'd started playing Doom again in October 2020, so i've very much been looking forward to release of this one. Despite this, having played so many new WADs of late with the Club i wasn't sure i'd play along this time, saving Ozonia for later, but ... here i am. i'll play along as my use of time permits, might fall behind, might not, as my primary dooming goals right now are finishing Sign of Torment and playing Hell Revealed and other classics.

Ozonia feels to me like an advanced or more sophisticated style to Moonblood - a lot of the basic design features of the layouts are similar, but more complicated (i think height variation is a feature now used much more prominently and frequently, almost as a matter of course), and also more original, or at least more consistently so. Ozonia is a good example of what could be a relatively simple opener made unique with idiosyncratic design, which really appeals to me, because it has complexity combined with clarity and 'clean' aesthetics, and has its roots firmly in classic Doom design. The combat is very Plutoniaesque, with many surprises, but gameplay never feels like it's just a journey from one mise-en-scene to another with the map functioning only as a vehicle to house them in, thanks to the adventurous nature of it.

Another notable feature of Deadwing's design style is great secrets, and i managed to get both in this one without much trouble thanks to the automap. Speaking of surprises, those Plutonia-like Chaingunners in the other one are a great example. Another feature of his style are switch-puzzles, some of which in Moonblood were very tricky indeed, and this map offered already one, albeit a very light one.

The new monsters, i'll find out the name by reading other people's reviews i'm sure, looked really good, and are an interesting addition. i'm not usually a fan of such, but i liked these. The level end...oh god, what do i do with the secret Megasphere if there's a forced death exit :D Yeah, first time i met that one, whatever it was, Mother?, i died a couple times, and i totally missed that the death actually resulted in exit. So i went back to it after finding the plasmarifle and the Megasphere, thinking just maybe i could kill it! Obviously not, though. Speaking of deaths, i also died once in the beginning by an Arachnotron i'd not seen as i was fighting a Cacodemon.

Highly original and fantastic opener, just as i expected it to be.

RHhe82 · January 2, 2022

As I said, I'll be taking a break from the Megawad club this month -- mostly to avoid performance anxiety and to concentrate on other backlog wads and other life stuff. But also because I have mixed feelings on Moonblood, which I believe is the previous project created by the author of Ozonia. On the other hand that means I'm very interested to know your views on how Ozonia compares to Moonblood, especially gameplay wise. Aesthetically I had no qualms with Moonblood's first 23 maps + secret maps I have played, and based on your screenshots so far, Ozonia looks great, too. Anyway, I'll wait for at least the idGames release :P

Lorenz0 · January 2, 2022

I was looking forward to this wad for a long while. I'm pretty happy to finally play it. I'll stick to the classic version for now.

MAP01 - Ozonia [GZDoom/UV]

25 monsters seems like very little, even for the first map of a megawad, but the gameplay here manages to be pretty exciting despite that fact. Deadwing rejects common thoughts on what kind of monsters a first map should include, and throws a horde of arachnotrons at you right away. They’re fairly easy to combat, but you can back yourself into a corner if you’re not careful. The remaining monsters on the main path are even less threatening, which is not a bad thing, as things are just getting started.

The computer area map made it pretty easy for me to find the secrets, but the cyberdemon one confused me a little. It seems like you’re meant to kill him after you find the plasma in the second secret. You don’t exactly have much space for that fight either, so it just seems like an unnecessary annoyance. Or that the cyb is there just for shock factor.

Setting gameplay aside, I enjoyed the atmosphere in this one. The midi contributed to that feelling a lot, and the texturing was solid throughout. Detailing was always Deadwing’s weakest asset, but this seems like an improvement from Exomoon, and especially from Moonblood. There’s one nitpick I have however, that I will probably have throughout my entire playthrough of this wad. I feel like some wall textures don’t have matching flats. For example grey walls with black/brown ceilings/floors. I’d always like the transitions to have matching colors, so if you wanna have a black ceiling under a grey wall, I’d add a grey border around that black ceiling to make it look more seamless. One of the reasons why this problem may occur is something I realized in the process of making a map for this project - there’s not that many flats in the texture pack. It’s not a big deal though, and may just come down to personal preference.

MAP02 - Renascido

Here we have an even better showcase of Deadwing’s efficiency with low monster counts, and the first showcase of one of his biggest strengths - the layouts. The progression path just flows so nicely and you don’t get lost easily, even with some non-linearity. The texturing in this map is very Plutonia-like and looks quite nice overall.

The combat steps up a bit and isn’t a cakewalk anymore. Some ambushes are nasty enough to kill you if you stop paying attention. I died at the red key fight from revenant missiles due to standing in place like a dumbass instead of running forward. Overall not a trivial map, and would probably give me a bit more trouble if I hadn’t found that ssg secret.

finnks13 · January 2, 2022

I've seen rave reviews of Ozonia since it came out, and from seeing the screenshots as well as description of the gameplay, I'm intrigued. I've played a bit of Deadwing's previous work, but not very much and since this became the pick for this month, I've tried to avoid watching it, so I'm mostly going in blind.

Played with DSDA-Doom v0.21.0, complevel 9, pistol starts, UV (or Eviternity difficulty, I guess). Going for 100% kills, but not sweating it if I miss a couple.

Using the MIDI soundtrack because playing doom with mp3's feels weird to me, and I definitely like it as much as the MP3 soundtrack so far.

MAP 1 - Ozonia:
A non-standard first map (and I'm not just talking about the Map1 title drop!), Ozonia doesn't stick you against fodder with just the pistol and shotgun to hand - you get everything up to the plasma gun here, and the majority of enemies are mid-tier foes, with a few zombies sprinkled in for good measure. The arachnotrons especially make themselves the stars of the show and require a reasonable amount of finesse to take out with the rockets provided, though the openness of the areas keeps the difficulty low.

I like the use of textures with a gradient at the bottom, seeping into a featureless void - and I expect this will be a recurring trope if the screenshots I've seen of the megawad are to be believed. The plutonia influence is obvious in the aesthetics and gameplay, and I like it. The cyberdemon secret was a genuine surprise, and the area you're given to fight it is small enough that it's not an unreasonable challenge. I expected this to be a fake fight at first, which caused a death when I tried to wake up the cyberdemon, and instead of it teleporting away like I thought it would, it immediately killed me.

The first new enemy debuts in the final room, the Heirophants, which are flying hell knights with a mancubus attack. The small dash they can do definitely makes them harder to take out, though I'm expecting to dislike this behaviour quite soon, as I did for the Astral Cacodemon's dash in Eviternity. The map ends with the Mother Demon from Doom 64 rising from the ground, then a short pause before she kills you where you stand. Creepy... Overall, this is an interesting and unusual opener.

MAP 2 - Renascido:
A fast, punchy techbase, Renascido is a fun little map. There are screens dotted around the place which hint at an overarching story (I must admit to having only played 8 maps of Moonblood and none of Exomoon so this is probably going over my head), which is interesting and one of these are placed in a secret. The aesthetics of a plutonic nukage-filled techbase are great and I like how the vine midtextures are used - not too much that they get in the way of gameplay but enough that they create the sense of a desolate area.

The pace of combat is kept up here by the abundance of rockets - after the first area, I had enough that I didn't need to worry about using any other weapons. The rocket launcher is my favourite weapon to use, so I am completely OK with this, especially since it lets Ozonia establish it's gameplay philosophy, while keeping the difficulty low. The most dangerous foe in this map, as it tends to be when I am given the rocket launcher, is my own recklessness with close-range rocket combat and I nearly died twice to face rockets!

My favourite part of the map is the soulsphere secret, I stumbled on this by complete chance and was surprised by the extent to which this secret goes to. The small opening area with a computer panel is followed by the most demanding fight in the map, which contains a mean archvile and revenant over damaging nukage. The soulsphere here was a minor miracle, as I was down to 8% health at the end of the fight. One thing that does slightly annoy me so far, a couple of the secrets have ended by forcing you to pick up the item before letting you leave the secret area. This shouldn't be a big deal as long as it doesn't happen too often though. I liked this one, it's fun and has a bit of a mean streak for an early map.

dei_eldren · January 2, 2022

MAP02 - Renascido (Doom II, continuous, not blind): K 100%, I 94%, S 100%, T 16:52

Spoiler

This map is quite familiar to me, as i've played the old version many times for practice. It starts with getting some needed weaponry, ammo and armor (why!, oh why, alas!, the death exit!), but after that a tough fight is imminent (as a beginner i needed to practice this fight many times to get through it - i wasn't used to the amount of mobility required - though, to be fair, i was playing with keyboard only, and that explains part of it). i always go outside first, where on Doom II there is a Revenant and two Cacodemons, and an Imp providing additional fire. It seemed rather easy now usually playing it on Plutonia, but there's still challenge to get through it with dignity - the Cacos and Revs work well together. As sometimes happens, the shotgunner coming out from the other entrance, to provide that much needed weapon, had ventured haplessly into the nukage away from the pathway and couldn't thus perform his function until i found him.

The map is extremely intricately laid out, very non-linear, and with a lot of height variation and platforming (which is going to be standard in the coming maps). The main fight is probably for the YK (unless i misremember the colour), against some Revenants and Cacos again, but i sort of missed the added difficulty of Pain Elementals and additional numbers from Plutonia-difficulty. Also, the other larger encounter when raising the bridges for the second part of the installation, felt underpopulated on Doom II, but on the other hand, if i were playing this the first time, i'd have been overwhelmed by the added numbers and the now-missing Arch-Vile. Surprised me when i was ready to shoot him rising up in his alcove and there was a Revenant instead.

The last mise-en-scene for the RK is tricky because the only cover from the Revenant's missiles is on the winding bridge over nukage, and i always manage to fall down from it, this time also, haha! Still, i missed the Cacodemon present on Plutonia. Already in Moonblood, i noticed how Deadwing crafts layouts and environmental elements to be part of the combat, but without the situations coming across as contrived puzzles. This is a feeling that's difficult to qualify, but it's something in his style of design. All my favourite mappers (for example, Deadwing, datacore, Nicolas Monti, Kain D., shawny) have very idiosyncratic styles that gives their maps a distinct feel, and the factors are subtle dynamic interplay of the elements used by all, qualifying which in words would not at all seem remarkable, i think.

The secret Soulsphere is pretty devious and guarded by Revenants, and i only found it a few months ago, nowhere near my first playthroughs (i just couldn't figure out how to get to that place with the lone Imp), whereas the SSG is much easier to find as long as one explores everything.

This is one of my all-time favourite maps, and particularly on Doom II -difficulty the combat also is on suitable level of challenge for me. i think this HNTR run turned out to be deathless, but i think i reloaded once after trying to snipe a dormant Revenant with rockets without being able to hit it - trying it from the wrong place. i forgot to grab the computer area map, but since it wasn't a secret didn't want to waste any health for it. i only noticed some graphical changes, but nothing in gameplay or layout, from the earlier released version.

Next map is the reason i decided not to play on Plutonia.. i find one of the ambushes simply too unfair :D

And there's no point in scoring these maps for me, i know they'd all score 8-10/10. But still, for me this is a standout map.

Edited January 2, 2022 by dei_eldren
fixed the difficulty designations :)

TheOrganGrinder · January 2, 2022

I've been less active in the club this past year for various reasons, participating in all of two playthroughs; time to do something about that. ZDoom 2.8.1, continuous play with saves, playing the Classic version of the WAD, and of the custom difficulties presented in this project I've picked Doom II as my comfort zone of choice.

MAP01: Ozonia

An introductory map with a low monster count, but the population is weighted toward the middle tiers rather than the usual rabble of imps and troopers; yes, there's a zombie man, a shotgun sergeant, a handful of chaingunners, but the meat of the level is in the arachnotrons, mancubus, and a new monster type that appears as a pair in possible tribute to the "Bruiser Brothers" of classic Doom. I guess these are the Heirophants, and we've yet to meet the Hellions? Mostly this map is about atmosphere and style, establishing the WAD's aesthetic, or re-establishing and evolving an aesthetic that players familiar with the author's previous works might already know; progression takes the player from a cliffside perch, to a watery exterior arena that suggets a reservoir, to an unearthly shrine bedecked with unsettling tribal imagery, with a possible side jaunt into a secret chapel where (on difficulties higher than the one on which I'm playing) a Cyberdemon awaits. As first levels go, this one is pretty abundant with weapons and power-ups; it can afford to be, since the player's progress is wiped by a death exit that raises questions about where this all is taking place and what exactly is going on. It's intriguing, an appetiser for the feast ahead, a teaser of what's yet to come, but as such it's not particularly substantial; if the purpose of this level is to leave me wanting more than I'm content to say that it has succeeded.

MAP02: Renascido

Now this is a more substantial offering, a compact complex of twisted shapes and gloomy hallways in the tradition of the finest Plutonia brickbase aesthetic. All but overflowing with slime and thickly draped with hanging vines, it's a wet environment, one in which you can imagine nervous sweat trickling down your spine, moisture condensing on the barrel of a shotgun held in unsteady hands; certainly, all the vines and peculiar angles and abrupt changes in elevation do a lot to break up lines of sight and leave you constantly on edge, wary of ambush from virtually any direction, although to my tastes the map goes perhaps a bit too far in that respect, with its overall layout becoming hard to follow, its interconnections and paths of progression obfuscated despite its relatively modest footprint and use of only the blue and red keys.

Screens within the facility tell a story of failed experiments, purged data, an abandoned project: one of which you were a part? And if so, were you one of the architects of that project, that experiment, or were you its subject, its victim? High-tech environments in which something has gone terribly wrong are familiar territory for the Doom series and its user-created WADs, but the tribal imagery teased in the previous map hints at something altogether more involved and distinctive going on here, picking up the thread of nebulously defined but ubiquitous mysticism woven through the fabric of Moonblood. Certainly the brick aesthetic and organic qualities of the map play nicely with that thematic thread, suggesting the commingling of the new and the primordially old, of high technology retrofitted brutally into the fabric of ancient structures, of the monsters not as an invading force but as something akin to an immune reaction to the sudden violation of natural law and ancient covenant by the unchecked arrogance of modern scienc. There Are Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, and out intrepid marine confronts now the consequences of probing too deeply into that which should have lain undisturbed to slumber away the aeons...

Salt-Man Z · January 2, 2022

5 hours ago, RHhe82 said:

I have mixed feelings on Moonblood, which I believe is the previous project created by the author of Ozonia.

Actually, Deadwing made the megawad Exomoon in-between the two.

I played Moonblood with The Club, and mostly enjoyed it, though I had some issues with it. But a year or two ago I played Exomoon, and absolutely loved it, and it has been living rent-free in my brain ever since. So I've been eagerly awaiting Ozonia all this time. (In fact, I just posted my 2022 play list last night, and the only thing I added to the list was Ozonia!)

So I will definitely be joining in, likely later tonight, but certainly tomorrow when everyone else in the house is at school/work except for me. :)

Also recommend the OP be updated with a link to the Ozonia OST on Bandcamp as bonus content, where you can get a high-quality download of the soundtrack, as well as supporting Deadwing (downloads are pay-what-you-want.) I highly recommend the Exomoon OST as well. :)

Edited January 2, 2022 by Salt-Man Z

DJVCardMaster · January 2, 2022

Back to dooming in a pretty idle month...

Ozonia.wad - Ozonia - Tomás "Deadwing" Soares:

This is a pretty interesting 32-map megawad done almost entirely by Brazilian doomer Deadwing, with few exceptions of guest mappers here and there, this amazes me, I've been following this project since I started hanging out at the forums, circa 2018. I really dig the Plutonia aesthetic it gives, and talking about Plutonia, I think it's pretty obvious who or what are we referencing to by the title of the mapset itself. We can expect natural landscapes, short but fast gameplay, and fancy stuff provided by the MBF port usage, as it is one of the best ports if you want to include new enemies/companions. This is the case, as you will find some new fellows (two of them) here and there and some interesting tricks that will give you a refreshing experience while playing more of the same game, as we casually do here in the club.
Also, what a cursed TITLEPIC, kinda scary.

MAP01 - Ozônia (94%K/91%I/100%S):

A really sweet opener, quite short and straight-forward, you can end this in 20 seconds I guess, get the key, combat some enemies and exit. The map will give you a secret plasma gun, and already gives you a rocket launcher right from the start, so you can feel that this mapset is going to be pretty explosive. There is a secret fight for a megasphere, against a cyberdemon, yes, at the first level, but hey, at least it's optional. You can even trick him by opening the megasphere closet and escaping without fighting him, but you'll have to do it if you are going for the 100% kills. I found it quite difficult as I did not have enough cells or rockets, and I could be empty if I wanted to fight the new enemies that we have at the end of the level. Our first encounter with the Hierophants is at the end of the level, where two of them introduce themselves from two closets where they are standing. They are not that strong, but they can fly and throw mancubus fireballs at you, so I feel they could be quite annoying later on the mapset.

The ending was just unexpected, some random demon (the cursed one in the TITLEPIC) appears and you instantly die, I hate this dude, he is scary...
Oh god, a death exit right at the first level...

MAP02 - Renascido (92%K/98%I/100%S):

Or "Reborn" in Portuguese, a name that fits quite well, as you revive from the death caused by the scary fellow at the first level. This is the map that I remember from my playthrough of one of the Alpha versions of Ozonia back in the day, a lovely cave system with more RL action right from the start, in fact, Deadwing encourages you to use rocket launcher over other weapons at any point. I feel this could be a problem with stretch corridors later on, but for now, the maps are being quite open, and the traps fair enough for me to complain about them. This map is pretty fun to traverse, there are lots of interconnections between areas that are well thought off. Here we can find our first SSG, but it is secret, so try to find it out. Not a hard secret to find, though.
Here there are some big enemies like the arch-vile, but difficulty levels are not that high for a Plutonia inspired megawad, at least for now (Well, I'm also playing on HMP...). I really enjoyed this map.

(HMP Playthrough - PrBoom+)

Order of preference:

Spoiler

MAP02
MAP01

TheOrganGrinder · January 2, 2022

When it comes to the author's prior body of work, I played Moonblood along with the club back in August of 2017, but that's about it. Am I going to be missing out on significant story and context, not having played Exomoon? Would you recommend doing so before delving deeper into Ozonia?

Deadwing · January 2, 2022

7 minutes ago, TheOrganGrinder said:

When it comes to the author's prior body of work, I played Moonblood along with the club back in August of 2017, but that's about it. Am I going to be missing out on significant story and context, not having played Exomoon? Would you recommend doing so before delving deeper into Ozonia?

There's no need, IMO.

The 3 stories are more located in the same "universe" with loose connection instead of being actual sequels that depends on each other.

Edited January 2, 2022 by Deadwing

DisgruntledPorcupine · January 2, 2022

MAP02: Renascido

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

This one takes place in a structure overgrown with vines and flooded with green slime, and features a pretty groovy midi track. The visuals are great, apart from the vines the map juggles demonic and techbase flavours quite well. The layout is also pretty complex and interconnected, can be easy to get lost in at first but you get used to it. There are some computer monitors on the walls that display more story elements, alluding to a canceled Reborn Project (the map title being "reborn" in Portuguese) and the deletion of the contents of a UAC Root directory.

The combat isn't too hard, but does have some tricks up its sleeve. The fights are very RL-centric, which can be a bit of a danger to you when the map chooses to tighten up the available space. There are some somewhat nasty revenant ambushes, I did have one instance of letting myself get cornered by a revenant with nothing but rockets left for ammo, so I took a death there. There is also a surprise archvile, who gradually raises up behind you when you hit a switch, and teleports off when he's able to move. There's a chance he zaps you on his way up, which luckily didn't happen to me, still he can definitely catch a first-time player offguard.

Good map, really liked the layout and visuals.

NiGHTS108 · January 2, 2022

MAP02: Renascido

Kills: 94%
Items: 73%
Secrets: 0%
Time: 10:38

Similar to the last map, Deadwing supports rather low monster counts but favours a lot of heavies in Renascido, quite a few Revenants and Chaingunners in this one as well as a pesky Arch-Vile, similar to the last map, the combat isn’t the star of the show here, it’s the beautiful texturing and layout, these waterclogged basement walls supported by neon vine greens remind me of Ribbiks, the layout also somewhat reminds me of rbk, it does a good job keeping the whole map nice and interconnected, I skipped finding the last 4 or 5 enemies, after circling the compound twice, I couldn’t find them anywhere, but typing IDDT shows them mostly lurking in a secret I had no idea how to find, and in Renascido there even appears to be lore written on the walls interestingly enough…

Grade: B

Difficulty: D

Playthrough video

riderr3 · January 2, 2022

In my opinion, release candidate wads is useful for playthrough, as it is more convenient to find the remaining bugs before the release and to play basically full version. I add from myself that I will refrain from playthrough this month, but with interest I will read comments, especially given the fact there is my map in this wad.

LadyMistDragon · January 3, 2022

I'll be playing the deluxe edition, on UV with pistol-start and saves.

Map 01 - Ozonia

Welcome to a brand new megawad and to a composing style we've seen little of in Doom up to this point; a sort of Brazilian-influenced (I thought Deadwing was from Argentina for some reason before going to his bandcamp) style also drawing influences from classical and seventies rock. The opening track "Minds Like Magnets" options an orchestral moment before leading into some catchy funk rock, which actually works as the perfect intro to this very first map. Starting at the edge of a canyon as a nearby Imp fires at you, the layout soon gives way to shallow water than a fairly generic minimalist techbase. Strangely enough, the visual impact is incredibly strong. Honestly, I never thought too much about layout tendencies utilized by different mappers until @Lorenz0 brought it up, but its critical toward drving you into a fast, dynamic sort of combat that's not necessarily Plutonia-esque but still gives you a serious jolt regardless.

Take the rocket launcher you're given practically the instant you hit the water. Several Archanotrons (and a Mancubi or two ) will attack around this time. While quickly running out of rockets (and perhaps taking a hit or two as a result) I knew there had to be more nearby, and ended up running toward the right and located more rocket boxes in a nearby nook, saving me from suffering through having to shotgun anything.

After this, I opened the seriously obvious outside secret with the Megasphere and Cyberdemon which I consequently left alone because you can't telefrag him and are starved of ammo for reasons and quickly located the other secret. Further in, I fought the flame-tossing Herearchs, who went down in roughly 2 rockets each.

Once this concludes, you'll soon find yourself in an ominous-looking room with what numerous people have pointed bears some resemblance to the Mother Demon from Doom 64. I'm not sure if that means anything but I am sure you die within 2 seconds for unexplainable reasons we'll probably find out after Map 06. See, this is how you do environmental storytelling and NOT by doing the sorts of envionments 5 billion other people have already made.

Map 02 - Renoscido

I guess the title means "reborn?" All I can think of is the Slayer song of the same name for some reason (as well as "Live Undead"). Either way, you're starting in a base that seems to have been decaying for probably months at least. Screens you come across on occasion seem to say there was some sort of experiment occurring here. I don't think this was the opening base however.

Once again, you're given a rocket launcher almost right away and you then proceed to blast your way through Cacos, Revs, and a whole host of trash enemies. When you get to the slime moat, pick up the computer map down on the right than hit the switch at the other end of the moat. Due to some sector trickery, you're teleported to a location with a window you passed by earlier, but now the ledge in front has lowered. But be quick! I tried this a few times before I found out what was happening. The Super Shotgun is located at the other end of this outside slime pool.

At a certain point, you'll come into a large central room where you grab the blue key. Be prepared as a closet opens with Revenants, and some more, along with a Pain Elemental that spit out far too many Lost Souls are teleported in. This wasn't terribly difficult, but I'd advise anyone to keep their bearings during this fight. Also, falling into the slime when you're crossing to the other side is very easy unless you side-strafe across for some reason. That's not a huge deal though, since there are a couple of different ways to get out. I took a nasty hit from the last Revenant here unfortunately. The Hell Knight in the corner I arrived in was nothing more than window dressing though.

Now I didn't really find the layout all that confusing. But choosing to place the switch that raises the bridge over the slime moat in a location accessed by one of the more obscure slime pools in the map wasn't really the best design decision. It ended up with me spending 8 minutes trying to find out what to do, discovering the fairly clear Supercharge chamber signified by the blue eye in a location that'll initially make no sense, until it occurred to me to head to that place where I killed a chaingunner.

Not like it was terribly important of course. Pressing the switch unleashes an Archanotron across the way as well as an arch-vile that's somewhat difficult to avoid, but can be handled still. It is quite anxiety-inducing that they initially teleport behind you. But the Archachnotron were obviously a more immediate threat. The final fight aren't anything so special, but the chaingunners and revenants will probably still harry you.

Initial Impressions

This is already seeming to be a product well-deserving of a 2022 Cacoward. The presentation and layout are polished to a knifepoint, Map 01's ending is highly intriguing and the way said layout facilitates dynamic combat is something I really have trouble finding a serious issue with. Looking forward to the rest!

I probably won't be doing a map order every 4 maps this time around.

Edited January 3, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

Endless · January 3, 2022

MAP02: Renascido | Ultra-Violence | Doom Retro

The second map welcomes us with a succulent atmosphere, full of darkness, obfuscating the view (in a positive way) in a magnificent visual work. It is a short and small map in itself, but its expansive design and detail gives it a good depth, as well as its varied layout, which makes us think that the map is much larger than it appears. The visuals are top notch here; the previous map is great, simple and works as a good introduction, but this one manages to emanate a very unique and attractive atmosphere that I enjoyed a lot. The skybox along with the use of dark textures gives a very special touch, near theatrical. The gameplay follows in these same footsteps by bringing a few more violent surprises, raising the difficulty a bit without having to increase the number of enemies too much, or to double them. The simple fact that the items are further separated and the encounters are methodically designed to throw us into specific combats, makes a good finger discipline necessary if we want to defeat the new opponents, including Archies and Spiderdemons. All in all, a great map and I have to note, again, the great dark theme. I also noticed that most of the maps have not-so-correct Spanish names, which makes me wonder if there's some story or theme I'm missing.

dei_eldren · January 3, 2022

MAP03 - Circulos (Doom II, continuous, deblind): K 91%, I 94%, S 66%, T 24:12 &

Plutonia, pistol start: K 90%, I 94%, S 66%, T 13:35

Spoiler

Another map i've played through at least five times, on HNTR and HMP difficulties. The start is hectic and demanding platforming at that, nor is the map easy to get a clear idea of layout-wise on blind run (for me, that is). There's probably better/many ways to play it, but i always run to the left, towards the Arachnotron, after killing which there's an ambush of Revenants and Cacodemons coming in - a fight i really have always enjoyed, as well as the subsequent one in the little grassy outdoor area against Revenants. Have to admit this time i was disappointed, because even on Doom II -difficulty i don't remember this being a trifling affair, but now, the Arachnotron was totally gone and the amount of other enemies was reduced from the earlier version, and now i'm convinced too that Renascido had also been made significantly easier. The number of sniping Arachnotrons in the eastern part had also been reduced.. and perhaps Chaingunners, too.

Coming into this map i was worried about two things, as always - the RK ambush in the lava, and the Cyberdemon room. Well, also the RK ambush has been significantly defanged on Doom II, but the Cyberdemon room at least still got me. On second attempt, i managed, luring the Cyberdemon first out of the area of the switch, then after pressing it, dashing past him, collecting the BK, and miraculously enough escaping. It wasn't pretty but it worked. This area is a prime example of the environment being part of the fight - it's bloody difficult for me, even now after practicing it literally tens of times, and i was happy to escape on only second attempt! i was worried it might take me 3-5 tries. The area has devious damaging lava, and platforming requiring accuracy to gain the BK, which is bloody difficult when the Cyberdemon is shooting rockets at you. i tend to panic... And kiling the Cyberdemon of course is an option but for me just as difficult, it requires a level of accuracy in controls that my fingers just don't have, at least without having to try multiple times before with some luck succeeding. So even in the end, i left him alive, rather than take potshots at him from the other side of the door.

Two out three secrets were known to me, but i don't remember the third. It appears to have been the plasma rifle on top of a tower, but i didn't find a way to lower it. In the earlier version, however, it was available in the lava for the RK ambush, at least on Plutonia. In the Megasphere secret as always i did take a hit from the Arch-Vile, but it still resulted in nice net-profit of health and armor. Should probably try run away from the room or something, but.. i think i've managed to not take a hit once or twice before, firing rockets at the villainous bastard. Oh, and there was also a switch whose purpose i couldn't find out, in one of the RK ambush alcoves, as well as a linedef in the outside area that appeared to open/lower something that closed after a few seconds, but i couldn't discover that either. Before playing MAP04 i might still check it out, as well as invest some time in trying to lower the plasma rifle. It would be nice to have in the next map.

The layout as usual is intricate and imaginative, and at least for me it wasn't easy to put together on first couple playthroughs, having distinct circular areas all of which are more or less visually connected (resulting in a lot of enemies shooting from afar... like i got hit near the start by Mancubus fireballs from about four and a half miles away), and traversing between which one must take platforming... and this is not going to be the only such level. And i'm worried about the maps i don't know beforehand, my blind runs will most likely be a total mess :D

The toughest part of the map was near the end, i always have trouble with the semi-distant Revenant, when approaching the BK door - he's a pain to kill, again i wasted a fistful of rockets on him, and the surrounding Imps, and i forgot about the Chaingunner around the corner, too. Still, only one death by the Cyberdemon.

My only (small) complaint is that the maps have been made much easier on Doom II (ex HNTR), which to be honest, is fair enough, because the maps were probably a bit tough in the earlier version, but i would have chosen to play on Plutonia had i known (then again, i don't know how much tougher that difficulty is this time...i sort of enjoyed the lack of Cyberdemon on Ozonia...) And then there's the coming blind maps to consider. Next map i've played through multiple times also, but mostly on HNTR, because when i played it couple of times on HMP i was scrambling... So don't mind my minor complaint about it, it's probably for the best in the long run :D Just not what i was expecting.

Along with the third secret, i also missed three other enemies apart from the Cyberdemon i allowed to live - and found two with iddt lying in wait in monster-closets, possibly teleporting in when Cybie is killed, or when the plasma rifle is lowered?

i should also say, by the way, that this is the first Plutoniaesque Megawad i ever got into, and ultimately one that changed my about Plutonia itself, and other sets that feature largely its combat style. There's something about the designs and layouts that intrigued me enough to want to keep trying until i actually learned how to deal with these fights (as i do anyway...)

Plutonia -difficulty starts as i remember it - took me a couple times to get it right, and even then i fell into lava but that just got everyone infighting so it turned out well. The RK ambush could have been a bit easier than before? But i felt that to be somewhat unfair before. Oh, and i managed to kill the fucking Archie with rockets before he could zap me this time. i was just slow playing on Doom II.

Plutonia video:

Spoiler

Edited January 3, 2022 by dei_eldren
plutonia added

Book Lord · January 3, 2022

MAP 03 – Circulos

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

The first map I was actually able to play continuous began in the hottest possible way, on a 64-wide ledge surrounded by Mancubi and hot lava patrolled by some Arachnotrons. It was impossible to stand and fight, so I sprinted forward and then westwards, which happened to be the intended progression. Pistol starters should make a dash for a rocket launcher since its ammo was plentiful, and almost every major assault could be countered with accurate use of rockets and cover.

Spoiler

1699397902_OzoniaMap03.jpg.9da75856460f2ed969ba4e0aa8f4b40f.jpg

The way to the RSK was clear but picking it up casually would probably lead to a premature death. It stood on a column in the middle of one of the Circulos, a perfect place to surround Doomguy with monsters and lava. The Radiation Suit was the way to go, as the opposition cannot be handled without cover and with limited movement. Once the key was secured, the map continued eastwards in another circular room, where the main danger were the enemies placed in dark corners. An easy Megasphere secret was, in fact, another trap.

Behind the red door, an interesting situation was presented along with the BSK: shooting from the door alerted Barons and Cacodemons, which I rocketed without leaving the safety of the threshold; I was then surprised by the deaf Cyberdemon waiting behind a corner. I was not sure whether the intended challenge was to lure him in the courtyard, push the switch he was guarding, pick up the BSK and leave, or to kill him the usual way. I carried plenty of rockets and forced myself to use them, switching to SSG only to finish him off. I then found the trapped plasma gun secret in the same area, and the early one I missed before (it was under my nose but could not see how to access it).

The exit door was behind a lava moat, which must be entered to press the required switch. The last ambush was quite hectic, featuring multiple closets releasing Arachnotrons, Mancubi, and Revenants, with some of them teleporting around to make things even more chaotic. I ran like hell out of the lava, and they mostly took care of themselves; I watched the show from the western terrace, until a fatso startled me by making it upstairs and into the small room to my left. I liked the use of hazardous floor in this level, as well as the effective use of small groups of enemies. Excellent stuff.

Biodegradable · January 3, 2022

22 hours ago, Biodegradable said:

This first map is lush with gorgeous textures, an intriguing layout and and well-crafted combat surprises. Considering my memories of the maps to follow in the episode, I think it does a great job setting the player's expectations for what it has in store for them beyond this point.

I recant that last statement! Deadwing has made a liar out of me but not making any particularly dramatic changes to the combat of the next two maps! BEWARE! lmfao

MAP02 - Renascido

UV | Continuous | GZDoom with Vanilla+

It's just as chaotic as I remember from my playtest. After being melted by the Mother Alien, this pistol-start has you running around a lot desperately searching for something with more firepower because fucking hell are you going to need it. The first bastards you come across are Revs and Cacos, so you'll be clambering with something else to use. Fortunately, you should run into a shotgun shortly after some evasive maneuvers but things will still feel rather tight and desperate for a while until you manage to find the chaingun and rocket launcher. This map, oh this map, she is a rude awakening! Revenants and Cacos proves to be the real stars of the show as they are a constant scourge, showing up at the worst opportune times as you desperately poke at them with your lower-tier weapons during the opening minutes of the run. The map's layout is very interwoven with lots of connecting sectors and little linedef-timed lifts that show up when you're in a jam and need an escape route. While some of the more cramped spaces make trying to fight a cruelly-placed Rev with just a regular shotgun a fucking nightmare, the map is best played as aggressively as possible: Kill first, figure out everything else later. Once you've killed a significant portion, you can finally get your bearings and figure out what in the fuck you're supposed to do.

This map is an intense cavalcade of calamitous chaos with a sprawling layout of hidden lifts, hidey-holes, monster closets, teleporters, skinny hallways, Revs and Cacos stalking you around every corner while sniping Imps and Mancs make life just that little bit more miserable. This is the real start of Ozonia, kids. MAP01 is a lie! Fortunately, I managed to find both the SSG secret and nab the Soulsphere before leaving and thank fuck because with MAP03, I'm going to need them.

MAP03 - Circulos

Much like its predecessor, this map is a cunt from the very beginning. Thankfully, it feels like it's also apologising a little for how rough MAP02 was with some more ample supplies upfront and you have a little bit more wiggle room to work with. Despite the almost Chasm-esque balancing beams at the start and accompanying lava, you're given a radsuit to explore, duck and weave around the place so you can scoop up ammo and perform some much-needed hit and run tactics against all the surrounding Mancs and Brainiacs turning the place into a SHMUP game with their projectiles. Once you've managed to overcome the first area, the map is a fair bit easier to deal with in a linear fashion with clear progression. However, that doesn't mean you should relax. Things still come at you hot and heavy and you can find yourself smeared all over the floor if you're careless. Even with my prior playtesting knowledge, I still got a right bollocking. However, pulling off the blue skullkey grab in one go was awesome and likely the highlight of my performance for this map hehe. It's not as intense or elaborate as MAP02, but this map has some more memorable set-pieces and a more sexy design your eyes can take in rather than running about like a headless chook the entire time.

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The DWmegawad Club plays: Ozonia

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