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IronEagle Competition 39: The Talosian Incident

Pegleg

By Pegleg
in WAD Discussion

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Pegleg   

Pegleg
Posted (edited)

Welcome to 2022, and to a new month of the IronEagle competition, the ironman challenge that accepts everyone who likes to play Doom. No matter who you are, as long as you like Doom, you're welcome at our party.

 

This month, participants will challenge themselves against The Talosian Incident, the 20-map set created by the Black Star Coven and released in mid-1997. The mapset tells the story of how a crew was sent by the UAC on a mission to explore an uninhabited world, and how an accident left you as the sole survivor, leaving you to fight through the hordes on the planet that are jamming your transmissions so that you can call for help. This mapset was intended to be the Black Star Coven's farewell to Doom before they moved on to Quake, although individual members released maps or contributed to other projects in the Doom community in subsequent years.

 

Participants must play these maps on complevel 2 or Doom(strict). There is a theoretical chance that there could be visplane overflows and drawseg overflows on some of the maps; however, as this mapset was released before either ZDoom or PrBoom were released, it's probably most likely that you would have no problem playing this set in Chocolate Doom if you so desired.

 

The Talosian Incident starts at Map 01. Survival is completion of Map 18. There are two secret maps, accessible from Maps 15 and 31.

 

Download The Talosian Incident. Being from 1997, the maps, music, and sprites are all separate and must each be loaded. There is a batch file for anyone who so desires to use it.

 

 

Congratulations to this month's winners (further details are in the post below).

UV: @mhrz (Runner-up: @NaZa)

HMP: @PsychEyeball (Runner-up: @Austinado)

HNTR: @Major Arlene (Runner-up: @DynamiteKaitorn)

 

 

Please note that this month, we're back to the standard Ironman protocol, where if you die, that's the end of your run.

 

 

Spoiler

 

  • Template for PRBoom+:
    • -iwad doom2.wad -file talosl.wad talosm.wad talosg.wad -complevel 2 -skill <x> -warp 01 -record <IEtalos>

 

  • Template for ZDoom:
    • -iwad doom2.wad -file talosl.wad talosm.wad talosg.wad  +compatmode 2 -skill <x> +map map01 -record <IEtalos>
      • it is possible you may have to use +set skill <x> for GZDoom

 

  • <x> must be replaced by the skill level. 2 = HNTR, 3 = HMP, 4 = UV
  • <IEolnoname> would be replaced with whatever you decide to call your demo, if you're submitting a demo

 

 

Rules:

The rules are basically the same as they have been. Either demos or streams are permissible. If you are creating a demo, post the demo. If you are streaming, post a video of the stream. Even if streaming, you can still submit a demo, if you want to.


The basic rule is that you submit a demo/stream played at a particular difficulty level (HNTR, HMP, or UV) and you play without saving and reloading, ending your run when you die (or survive).

 

The following are allowed (but not required):

  • Freelook
  • Crosshair
  • Mods that are COSMETIC ONLY

 

The following are NOT allowed:

  • Crouching
  • Jumping
  • Mods that change ANY aspect of base gameplay, including (but not limited to) enemy behavior, enemy speed, player abilities, player speed, weapon damage, ammo, and enemy drops.

 

Further, more specific, rules are listed below:

Spoiler

 

  • Submissions (except for streams, as described below) must include a demo.
    • You may practice a mapset if you want, but these practice runs should not be submitted as your official entry, and your run would be Category 2, unless there are exceptional circumstances (such as described below).
  • A run must be done in a singular sitting with no saves. (With room for breaks. This will be addressed below.)
  • Streams and video runs are accepted provided you post a video of the stream/run or a link to the video.
    • If you post a video of the stream, you may post a demo if you want, but it is not mandatory. You may also post a demo if you, for some reason, do not want to post the video or a link.
  • Secret levels, if present, do not have to be completed for a survival run. If they are completed, they are extra credit.

 


Any port is accepted provided it will actually run the mapset. There is no preference.
 

Spoiler

Of course, if you want to try a limit-removing/Boom map in Chocolate Doom, be my guest. However, be aware that your run may be over rather quickly. Don't say you weren't warned.

 

Category System:

  • Category 1: Blind run. This explains itself. You have no knowledge of the wad and have not played/seen it before. I'm willing to be somewhat lenient with this Category.
    • For example, if you die early in Map 01, and then decide to play again for your run, you can still call it Category 1.
  • Category 2: Non-blind.
    • If you have played the wad before and/or possess significant foreknowledge, your run is non-blind. Basically, anything that is not Category 1 is Category 2.

 

If you're unhappy with your blind run, feel free to record a new run, and submit that run instead. (Just don't submit your first run.) If you want to submit your first run, no matter how you perform, by all means, go ahead and do it. You just shouldn't feel that you HAVE to submit a run you're dissatisfied with, just to preserve a "Category 1" status. If you want to go back and submit a second run, you're welcome to do so, but, at this time, it won't be counted.

 

 

Difficulty System:

You may submit a demo/stream for only one of HNTR, HMP, or UV. Choose only one, because subsequent submissions will be rejected (i.e., if you submit a HMP demo, the HNTR demo you then submit will be rejected). We're not using the 1CC rule set here. And your first submission is what counts.

 

Only runs from the same difficulty will be pitted against each other. Each difficulty will be graded separately.

 

 

Submission:

When you submit your run, please the include the following information:

  • The category (1 or 2)
  • The difficulty
  • If you survived or what map you died on
  • If you survived, whether you completed either of the secret maps
  • The time elapsed when you survived/died (even if it's only approximate)
  • How many kills you had on the map where you died
  • The port you used (if you included a demo)
  • A link to the stream/video (if you did a stream)

 

You may include a commentary about the maps or details about them, if you want to. If you do include specific information about the map (e.g. "The demon trap in Map 08 is rough"), please put it in a spoiler, so that people that want a completely blind experience won't be tipped off. In you're just putting in a general comment (e.g., "Pro tip: don't get hit"), then no need for a spoiler.

 

Attempting to max the maps is not necessary to win.
 

Ranking for this mapset will be determined by:

  • Survival (with 2 secret levels)
  • Survival (with 1 secret level)
  • Survival (with 0 secret levels)
  • Total time for survival
  • Map of death (in descending order: Map 18, Map 17, Map 16, Map 32, Map 31, Map 15, Map 14, Map 13, Map 12, Map 11, Map 10, Map 09, Map 08, Map 07, Map 06, Map 05, Map 04, Map 03, Map 02, Map 01)
  • Total time at death
  • Kill count at death

 

If you die, please wait a few seconds before quitting.

 

 

Breaks:

Everyone gets tired. Sometimes people survive longer than they expected. Nature calls. Every now and then, there are family emergencies. Needing to take a break shouldn't necessarily end a promising run. While you should try to complete the run in a single setting, this isn't always possible. If you have to take a break, try to make it quick.

 

 

Happy Dooming!

 

 

 

Previous IronEagle Competitions

Spoiler

 

2018

  • 1 (Oct.): Scientist 2 (Winners -- UV: leodoom85   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Liberation)
  • 2 (Nov.): Vanguard (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Liberation)
  • 3 (Dec.): Crumpets (Winners -- UV: NoisyVelvet   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)

 

 

2019

  • 4 (Feb.): Dark Covenant (Winners -- UV: kmc   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)
  • 5 (Mar.): Brood of Hatred (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: Crusader No Regret   HNTR: Pegleg)
  • 6 (Apr.): Riot Control (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: Walter Confetti   HNTR: Pegleg)
  • 7 (May): Scimitar (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: Crusader No Regret   HNTR: Pegleg)
  • 8 (Jun.): Bauhaus (Winners -- UV: vdgg   HMP: Crusader No Regret   HNTR: Pegleg)
  • 9 (Jul.): Bloody Steel (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)
  • 10 (Aug.): The Brotherhood of Ruin (Winners -- UV: leodoom85   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)
  • 11 (Sept.): Flashback to Hell (Winners -- UV: kmc/Bdubzzz   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)
  • 12 (Oct.): A Taste for Blood (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: n/a   HNTR: Pegleg)
  • 13 (Nov.): Back to Basics (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz   HMP: Horus   HNTR: Pegleg)
  • 14 (Dec.): Whitemare (Winners -- UV: Bdubzzz & NaZa   HMP: Crusader No Regret   HNTR: Pegleg)

 

 

2020

 

 

2021

Edited by Pegleg
Added winners for the month.
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Pegleg   

Pegleg
Posted (edited)

Once again, I compiled a list of the best performers for the previous year. As a reminder, I had a simplified scoring system (based on the 2020 Britbowl), where:
1st place = 10 points

2nd place = 7 points

3rd place = 5 points

4th place = 3 points

5th place = 2 points

6th place and on = 1 point

 

Here were the top performers for 2021. Congratulations.

 

UV

  1. @Suitepee          41 points
  2. @Veinen             34 points
  3. @NoisyVelvet      27 points
  4. @galileo31dos01 26 points
  5. @Maribo            25 points
  6. @head_cannon   24 points
  7. @dt_                 22 points

 

HMP

  1. @Lol 6        47 points
  2. @Capellan   25 points
  3. @Austinado 24 points

 

HNTR

  1. @Major Arlene 69 points
  2. @Andromeda   49 points
  3. Pegleg             49 points (I removed the three months where I was the sole participant)
  4. @dei_eldren    27 points

 

 

These were the participant counts for each of the difficulties (people who participated at that difficulty at least once).

UV: 32

HMP: 9

HNTR: 6

 

Overall, there were 43 unique participants. Four participants tried their hands at different difficulties, depending on the month, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Edited by Pegleg
Replaced "Reserved" with 2021 totals.
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Maribo   

Maribo
Posted

DSDA-Doom v0.22.4

Category 1

UV

Dead on Map07 in ~48:40 with 67/77 kills

ie39_talos_maribo.zip

Spoiler

I am pretty sure that Map03 has mandatory secrets for progression, which is pretty lame.

This wad is really atmospherically interesting from what I've seen, but man... it plays like a 90s wad for sure. So many box rooms. Maybe I'll do some runs for DSDA though, it's mostly a sparse page.

 

5

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kalaeth   

kalaeth
Posted

so, for my return I died on map 03, with 33/71 kills, and aprox. ~7mins of play.

Spoiler

rocket launcher + change at pickup + closed quarters = one dead kal.

command line :  

gzdoom -iwad doom2.wad -file talosl.wad talosm.wad talosg.wad  +compatmode 2 -skill 2 +set skill 2 +map map01 -record kal_talos

I was enjoying the mapset so I think I'll go and try to finish it, outside of the competition. 

kal_talos.zip

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BoxY   

BoxY
Posted (edited)

Cat 1, UV

Result: survived* in 2:12:18 (please see notes below)

 

Spoiler

*Important note: I had to briefly use an editor to check progression on map12 because I was so lost I would have had to quit otherwise. It turns out that one door was tagged as shootable instead of using a regular door action, which just seems to me like an obvious mapping error (even in a wad this cryptic and confusing, random shootable doors are not a thing when all the other ones that look exactly the same work as normal). I think I was justified in doing this because expecting a blind player to somehow figure this out except by getting angry and shooting that door out of frustration is a bit unreasonable, but if it's not okay then just consider the run invalid after map11. Note that I didn't use the editor to gain any gameplay advantage (e.g. there was a secret area right next to me that I could have cheesed if I checked how it worked in the editor, but I didn't.)

 

Anyway, the run: this is the most boring thing I've ever done in Doom, and maybe ever. Beyond a certain point surviving isn't even about skill any more, just pure endurance as you try desperately to maintain the will to continue before the wad extracts your soul completely. The map03-05 stretch in particular is one of the most soul-crushingly grindy experiences I've ever had in a video game but some of the later maps are also crimes against humanity. To anyone who complained earlier about Sunlust being picked for an ironman, when wads like this are being picked: I suggest getting down on your knees and begging forgiveness, giving yourself a thousand lashes and then wearing sackcloth for a month to atone for your arrogance. Fuck this wad.

 

ie-bx-talos.lmp

Edited by BoxY
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Andromeda   

Andromeda
Posted (edited)

Category: 1

Difficulty: HNTR

Dead on: MAP13

Kills: 9/9

Time: 1:29:44

Notes: Lots of random fire inputs in this demo, somehow my touchpad was at max sensivity and was triggering at the slightest nudge (glad it didn't happen while I had the RL selected :P)

 

Curiosity killed the cat as they say...

 

ie_andromeda_talosian.zip

Edited by Andromeda
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PsychEyeball   

PsychEyeball
Posted (edited)
38 minutes ago, Andromeda said:

Curiosity killed the cat as they say...

 

Hey, about that huh...

 

Category: 1

Difficulty: HMP

Dead on Map 13

Kills: 9/13

Time: 1:22:15

Played on DSDA-Doom 0.21.3

Notes: After the first few ironman runs I did where I couldn't get past Map 2, I decided to dial the difficulty down a bit. Of course this happened with a WAD that's significantly easier so that went on longer than expected for sure.

 

And yeah, if you see a bunch of mutilated corpses over a blue teleporter, don't investigate!

 

As for the WAD itself... thankfully it did pick up after a while because the first few maps were a real snoozefest. Some nice MIDI music trickery going on in some of the songs. Also what's with the random hurt floors in Map 1? I almost died because of them and there's no real indication of parts of this level being hurtful.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t1qk8cvmdbkj0vh/psych_talosian.rar?dl=0

Edited by PsychEyeball
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Andromeda   

Andromeda
Posted (edited)
1 hour ago, PsychEyeball said:

Also what's with the random hurt floors in Map 1? I almost died because of them and there's no real indication of parts of this level being hurtful.

 

Spoiler

There's a radsuit near the damaging floor area (at least on HNTR), bit of a weak clue but yeah :P

Edited by Andromeda
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Roofi   

Roofi
Posted (edited)

Survived in roughly 2 hours and 25 minutes , on UV.  Category 2.

 

I played on DOSBOX. Here is a video and my demo. :)

 

The Talosian Incident is such a fantastic wad you can't see anymore in the doom community. We really need more wads like this that focus on atmosphere while maintaining vanilla compatibility. The soundtrack reminds me  videogames like Yume Nikki. It's really otherwordly.

 

 

 

 

DEMO

Edited by Roofi
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Austinado   

Austinado
Posted

Category: 1

Difficulty: HMP

 - » I gave up « - on Map07

Spoiler

  - I simply could not find the exit... :(

Kills: 59/59

Time: 47:16

 

Some notes:

Spoiler

 

I might have messed this up..i dont know. I did not read well the information, and started to play the WAD on complevel 4, then on the stream ( i was on map 04) Bytefire warned me that it was complevel 2, so i restarted again. I understand if i get disqualified.

-A bout giving up, i could not simply find the exit on map07...i dont know if it was because i used ZDL and got there all the zip files oh well. I hope to do better next month i guess..:(

 

 

Starts at 25:58

 

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Pegleg   

Pegleg
Posted

Dead on: Map 03

Difficulty: HNTR

Category: 2

Kills: 23/48

Time: 22:24

Recorded on: PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4

 

ie_pegleg_talos.zip

 

Panic? Poor decisions? On a Category 2? Foreknowledge doesn't always overcome poor movement choices. I'll leave it at that.

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mhrz   

mhrz
Posted (edited)

Cat 1, UV, Survived in 2:00:28

Didn't play that well but managed to survive.

Spoiler

Some of these maps got the worst progression i've ever seen in doom (wtf is map18)

 

IETalos_mhrz.zip

Edited by mhrz
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Suitepee   

Suitepee
Posted

https://youtu.be/Ng9twa7EXrY

 

Category 1 run on UV, died on map 11 to an Arachnotron (61/64 monsters).

 

I fear my mistake (not checking to see if the door was a lockin or could be opened again once the ambush was triggered) from the Ironman League this month carried over into this ambush. If not, I got unlucky in dealing with the setup and took too much damage at the wrong time. Oh well, this wad was also fun to play.

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Major Arlene   

Major Arlene
Posted

 

This set was a doozy, by MAP15 I was genuinely fed up with the way the WAD was going and there was an elevator trip that I didn't know how anyone would make normally, so I decided to forfeit at that point. Understandable if this run is not counted but here it is, regardless.


GZDoom 4.7.1

Category 1

Forfeit: MAP15, 10:30, 77/84 kills

HNTR

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leodoom85   

leodoom85
Posted

These maps sucks. Period.

 

Anyway, here's the result: The pic is shown at 5 seconds after my death. Blind category, UV. Recorded with PRBoom+ 2.5.1.7um. Not much to say really...

Demo: dwie_talosLD85.zip

 

doom01.png.7672f301b2eb3419d1d3201cefb8ee3c.png

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Pegleg   

Pegleg
Posted
On 1/15/2022 at 12:58 PM, Major Arlene said:

so I decided to forfeit at that point. Understandable if this run is not counted but here it is, regardless.

 

Ending a run prematurely does not forfeit your run. It will still be counted as making it to Map 15. The Talosian Incident is moody, atmospheric, puzzle-y at times, and not everyone's cup of tea.

 

On 1/3/2022 at 1:30 PM, BoxY said:

I had to briefly use an editor to check progression on map12 because I was so lost I would have had to quit otherwise. ... Note that I didn't use the editor to gain any gameplay advantage.

 

I appreciate your honesty, BoxY. Thank you. I pondered how to handle this for a little while because I can appreciate not wanting to quit and being thoroughly confused by the progression. That being said, I have to draw the line at looking at the maps in an editor during the run. You can look at the maps ahead of time, and then call your run Category 2. You can look at the maps during a blind run, and then go back and submit a re-recorded Category 2 run. But looking at the maps in an editor ends a Category 1 run; your run will be counted as having made it to Map 12. Thank you for submitting it, though. Hopefully, you'll find future months more enjoyable.

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DynamiteKaitorn   

DynamiteKaitorn
Posted

Category: 1

Difficulty: Hey Not Too Rough!

MAP I died on: MAP13 

Time: Roughly 1 hour, 30 minutes?

Kills before death: Hard to say since I didn't expect my death so I'd say no more than 6-10 enemies.

Port: PRBooM+

 

This was quite possibly one of the worst designed map sets ever. No wonder some people struggled. O_o

 

Also if you want the full experience of the pain I had to go through: disable music and enjoy the sweet music of DSDOROPN and DSDORCLS. :)

IEtalosDyna.zip

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NaZa   

NaZa
Posted (edited)

ironeagle_jan22_naza.zip

 

This set sucks so hard. Category 1, survived in 2:01:34. Had I understood the final map a minute earlier I could've beat mhrz but I don't mind; a survival is a survival. Never playing this again.

 

EDIT: Never specified skill level, though from my description it should be obvious: UV.

Edited by NaZa
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Pegleg   

Pegleg
Posted
On 1/5/2022 at 5:55 AM, Austinado said:

Category: 1

Difficulty: HMP

On 1/5/2022 at 5:55 AM, Austinado said:

I might have messed this up..i dont know. I did not read well the information, and started to play the WAD on complevel 4, then on the stream ( i was on map 04) Bytefire warned me that it was complevel 2, so i restarted again. I understand if i get disqualified.

 

I don't think you gave yourself much of an advantage with complevel 4 instead of complevel 2, but starting over means the end of your Category 1 run (similarly to BoxY looking at Map 12 in an editor). Since that's what you posted here, your run ends at Map 04. Had you posted your run as "Category 2," it would have been acceptable up to when you quit on Map 07.

 

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head_cannon   

head_cannon
Posted (edited)

IEtalos_hc.zip

Category 1, UV, PrBoom+

 

Dead in MAP12 with 110 kills

Spoiler

I was warned by being allowed to hear the Baron (& friends) make noise while waking up and waiting around to get teleported in, but the sudden point-blank engagement still smote me instantly.

 

The Talosian Incident has an old-school charm, but I still found it to be too cryptic for its own good. While there were things I appreciated when it came to the aesthetics & the gameplay, I could not enjoy the avant-garde noise soundtrack at all. If there was ever a mapset I'd recommend overriding with one of the existing midi packs, it'd be this one.

Edited by head_cannon
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Pegleg   

Pegleg
Posted

I would like to extend a thank you to everyone who joined us for IronEagle 39 and took on The Talosian Incident. I realize that it wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but thank you for stopping by regardless and trying your hand. Hopefully, you'll all be back for next month's IronEagle, and you'll invite some friends to come to the party, too.

 

Without further ado, here are the results for the month.

 

UV

  1. mhrz (Survived)
  2. NaZa (Survived)
  3. Roofi (Survived)
  4. BoxY (Map 12)
  5. dt_ (Map 12)
  6. head_cannon (Map 12)
  7. Suitepee (Map 11)
  8. Terrarienn (Map 08)
  9. 4shockblast (Map 07)
  10. Maribo (Map 07)
  11. NightTerror (Map 07)
  12. NoisyVelvet (Map 05)
  13. leodoom85 (Map 05)
  14. Death Bear (Map 03)
  15. Spendoragon (Map 02)

HMP

  1. PsychEyeball (Map 13)
  2. Austinado (Map 04)

HNTR

  1. Major Arlene (Map 15)
  2. Dynamite Kaitorn (Map 13)
  3. Andromeda (Map 13)
  4. kalaeth (Map 03)
  5. Pegleg (Map 03)
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