Endless Random /idgames WAD Adventures #026

[LadyMistDragon]

DAWN (2000) by Patrik Hoglund (Eternity)

 

Amusingly, this mapper must've used an English keyboard or something because instead of putting an umlaut in his surname, he just threw in some quotation marks instead. Anyway, this map from 2000 is butt-ugly tech that shouldn't be worth commenting on, but yet it is. Just don't be in too much of a hurry to get out of the starting room, otherwise you're going to have a very bad time without a rocket launcher. While it feels a bit like strong monsters are thrown at you in part to frustrate the player since Patrik could've been a little more generous with ammo, nothing can be said to be overwhelming. The last massive ambush, involving pinkies, revenants, and hell knights in a sort of linear pillar room, suffers as a result but only slightly. You'll want to save at least 10 rockets and probably 1 BFG shot for the final battle in the void/catwalk combo, a la Cradle from Goldeneye if you don't want to hate your life. One more thing, the bit where you telefrag the Cyberdemon is kind of a neat idea. 7/10

 

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[Sena]

Day 9: bcs04.wad https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/a-c/bcs04

 

This one's got that general shovelware feel to it, you play enough 90s maps and they all blend together, really. The main aspect that sets it apart is that it implements doomcute, and as a 1995 map, is certainly one of the earlier examples of the concept. There is a clearly identifiable pool table, or, well, a clearly identifiable table with a stick in it, I'm not sure I'd have guessed it was a pool table if not for the text file, and it was the only item that was clearly identifiable, there was definitely stuff, but I couldn't make heads or tails out of what it was. Beyond that, it's a fairly generic map, with minimal enemy placement, rooms that are far too big, and I guess they must have been having a laugh, considering most the actual doors don't work, and instead most of the time to advance you'll have to use whichever random texture they decided they wanted to use this time. The map itself isn't explicitly bad (except for when you have to take the scenic route back through the whole map each time you end up finding a key), but it's not really got any explicitly good qualities, apart from the fact it was "not as bad as all the other examples of digital refuse that came out in 1995". 5/10.

[Roofi]

Month 7 Day 31

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop

 

[1] Deathtrap by sKydran (2017)

 

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This map has an odd way to be launched! You have to open gzdoom and instead of playing on slot 01, you have to write "map DTRAP" in the console. Honestly, I would have thought it was an empty file if the idgame's comment didn't explain the procedure to follow.

 

DTREAP consists of a modest map in the style of the first episode from Ultimate Doom where the 28 monsters populating it only came from the Doom 1 bestiary.

 

I was able to finish the level quite quickly, in about 3 minutes.  I liked the details brought by the author which are more pronunced than any IWAD map, especially concerning the outside area where you start. The author also incorporated some realistic elements.For instance, in order to access the secret of the berserk, you have to press a switch located behind a desk, which is also extremely easy to find but it doesn't matter. 

 

The map doesn't offer any challenge though, the few enemies are just waiting to be killed. Maybe a little more challenging gameplay would have been nice. In general, it could also be longer, but it stays enjoyable.

 

Grade : C+

 

[2] Fatal Cure's Doom Music by Fatal Cure (1996)

 

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This is a wad I threw together with some midi filz

 

A wad that just contains some new midis, which most of them are rendition of extremly popular themes/songs . Here is the playlist:

 

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Play List
                          -----------
            Introduction Music: Final Fantasy 3 Music
                          E1M1: Mission Impossible Theme Music
                          E1M2: Heart Shaped Box, Nirvana
                          E1M3: Shine, Collective Soul
         Completed Level Music: We are the Champions, Queen

Even if the quality of these remains tolerable, the wad is still of no interest.

 

I stop here for today.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Roofi

[Reisal]

On 2/8/2022 at 8:42 AM, Roofi said:

Month 7 Day 27

 

[4] Kingpin soundpack by Chris "dragon" Pisarczyk @Armaetus (2000)

 

A pack of new sounds, nothing extraordinary which replaces the grunts of monsters by funny quotes. Nevertheless, I really liked the sounds of the weapons, as well as the different sounds when you collect items or spheres. For the weapons, they sound a lot more powerful thanks to this mod.

 

 

Well shit, that's definitely one of my oldest mods on /idgames/. 22 years now! My maps were more entertaining back then, even the pre-00 or pre-2010 maps which were under alias "Mr. Chris"

Edited February 16, 2022 by Armaetus

[Roofi]

Month 8 Day 1

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop

 

[1] No Hope for Life Epsiode II: FATE (Demo) by Andy Leaver (Aleaver)  @Aleaver(2005)

 

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 A small two map demo to show what NHFL Ep II will look like. 
              NOTE: This maps are not final..There will most likely be changes.        

 

This is a demo with two levels taking place in greenish bases in which no new resources have been added, not even new music.

 

This file should be run on zdoom according to the author, but it seems to work perfectly on more old-school ports, knowing that no particular effects had been used.

No Hope for Life includes a classic gameplay where almost all the gameplay is oriented towards the use of Shotgun and SSG. Apart from the possibility of getting a chaingun on chaingunners, don't expect to get another weapon.

 

These two maps seem to be effectively designed for the first slots for this hypothetical project that never saw the light of day. We face small enemies such as zombies and imps most of the time. Nevertheless, I have to point out the quite pronounced use of mid-tier monsters and especially Hell Knights. These only add an extra dose of grind and only justify the presence of the SSG. In the same way, some inopportune block monsters lines reduce their dangerousness.

 

In any case, as I like spamming with the SSG, I had a lot of fun. The fights have the merit of not too much head-scratching.

 

Aesthetically, the wad has nothing very memorable. The mix of brown, greenish and beige textures is not revolutionary, but it's still quite acceptable.

 

Grade : B

 

[2] Psycho series: Neurosis by @Aluqah (2006)

 

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A map with monsters.

 

Neurosis consists into exploring a kind of big industrial complex in which you have to collect 3 keys in a non established order before reaching the exit.

 

I played with Gzdoom, but again it's probably a limit-removing map. Aluqah says that you need a source port but which one? This author is very much oriented towards zdoom compatible wads in general.

 

In any case, this map can be memorized for its non-linear aspect thanks to its open layout which  allow you to move almost everywhere without needing to get any key beforehand. The blocky layout fits like a glove with the industrial theme. Some hellish textures and the famous orange sky add some chaos. 

 

Although being lightly detailed, Aluqah managed created efficiently an industrial architecture, highlighted by the height differences, namely the slime pits or the small platforming sequences for istance.

 

Don't be like me, I went through half of the map with only the shotgun and chaingun (as well as BFG) without having collected the SSG and RL which were relatively easy to find. The gameplay remains particularly simple indeed because lacking of good weapons didn't prevent me to go far. Some cyberdemons add a bit of tension, but it's easy to kill them with the BFG. Nevertheless, I don't understand what the Nazis are doing in this map. Maybe they are workers in blue uniforms, but this reasoning seems far-fetched.

 

Anyway, it's a good little find. A good classic exploration map

 

Grade : A- 

 

I got burnt by an arch-vile and the damaging floor ended me in the deathmatch map  BRUJO'S ARENA 

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Edited February 17, 2022 by Roofi

[LadyMistDragon]

React (2004) by cycloid (Eternity)

 

Map with a rather basic layout consisting of largely squarish rooms, many with computer banks at the sides. with one objective: to destroy a reactor. This map also features a custom monster: a zombie with a gray vest that fires a Super Shotgun. They're not so well utilized for the most part except at the red key trap where things get quite hairy indeed. For some reason, you spend a tiny amount of time in a stone tunnel, which just seems like a passageway someone carved out of the train tunnel leading out of the tan-bricked warehouse room for some reason, but no matter. I do think the computer map secret was a little strange since there's basically zero guarantee you're necessarily going to head back that way.

 

The final room is quite strange. Not so much the lava reactor as the surrounding pathways and corridors, pure blue on the inside (always nice!) around a whitish warehouse outside that was quite a curious choice to say the least. The Spectres keep you on your toes but honestly, this is an incredibly repetitive area where you're running back and forth between various rooms and throwing switches. After taking care of the firey guardian at the end, you then pull the switch and blow yourself up because Doomguy is completely suicidal.

 

I've played much worst than this (there's also one ambush with cacodemons that comes just before you pick up a rocket launcher that's a little tedious) but I have a somewhat hard time recommending this unless you like some creative texture usage. 7/10

 

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[LadyMistDragon]

(Two in a row? Really? Well, it's not important, I don't think I'll have the time for another wad this weekend for a ocvuple of different reasons)

 

 

Gnash (1995) by David "Driller" Davidson

 

Hey, it's another member of TiC! Right before the initial release of Memento Mori, David Davidson released this incredibly basic, yet functional deathmatch map. Completely square and constructed entirely of tan bricks with only a few details (a corpse wal) to break up the monotony, there's nothing about this that stands oit whatsoever. Amusingly, there is an exit. The left teleporter will actually take you to a BFG! 5/10

 

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[Roofi]

Month 8 Day 2

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

 

[1] WolfDM by Pablo Dictter @pabloD (2001)

 

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A group of 4 DM maps with a special theme. Most of these maps are simple made. Since the maps of Wolf are just plain, I wanted to show the same, but with some detail. If you want wolf like skins, look below...way below...

 

WolfDm is a Deathmatch wad featuring 4 Nazi themed maps, using textures, statbar and music from Wolfstentein 3D as well.

 

I really appreciate the aesthetics. The author has reduced the size of the textures compared to IWAD and they therefore look much better in my opinion. Each map has its own texturing, highlighted by more advanced details than in the original game: light gradients or more rounded room shapes.

 

Concerning the gameplay, it seems to be more duel oriented because of the small size of the maps and their close-quarters aspect.

 

A Hexen map that offers a lot of exploration among forts surrounding a river populated by underwater monsters.

 

[2] RIVER for Hexen by David Meurin dmeurin@wimsey.com.ca (1996)

 

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You can explore the river canyon; ruins, tunnels and caves. You can swim in the river, if you don't mind the fish. You can play with the lifts, slide down the waterfall, and search for secret rooms. Hundreds of monsters are waiting for you to arrive. Have fun!

 

I accidentally exited the level because the portal is easily reachable. You just have to fall in the river and go to its extremity. The rest is optional.

 

Nevertheless, I was able to explore a good part of the level and the progression was the strong point thanks to its variety. Between the open outer areas, the height differences and the different parts of the dungeon, there is plenty to do. I almost died from a surprise crusher at one point.

 

However, I didn't like the fights too much in general, but that probably comes from the fact that I'm not a fan of Hexen in general. However , the monster placement didn't entertain me.

 

A level I don't really want to play again.

 

Grade: C-

 

A space marine telefragged me in Mutiny Mod ?

 

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[Sena]

Day 10: Doomworld Forums 3 https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/Ports/d-f/dwforums3

An example of the 'parodying contemporary forum drama' subgenre of jokewads, which I'd say is probably the worst type of jokewad, at least as long as we aren't counting people who think that making a WAD "bad on purpose" makes it a jokewad, because it doesn't, it just makes it bad. Anyway, this one's actually alright, as there is an actual level of humour here, the dialogue is pretty decent.

 

Ignoring the Max Payne style cutscene in the beginning, which tonally balances humour with self-aware 'trying so hard to be super gritty it just comes across as silly', which is fairly different to the rest of the WAD, which just goes for straight up humour. DF3 has a very basic formula, you walk in a room, and meet an enemy, who is actually a somewhat well known Doomworld member, and they'll say something denigrating, and then you will fight them in a one-on-one, for which reason, the combat of this WAD is pretty much an afterthought. Now, it's not bad combat either, fighting enemies one at a time is surprisingly less boring than it sounds, and to be honest, if I'm playing a jokeWAD, I should expect that the joke part is the main attraction, not the gameplay. At least, this is all true until the finale, which is an Icon of Sin fight, and probably the worst one I've ever seen. It takes place in a smaller room than normal, and one with zero obstructions - the original IoS has the actual shooting the Icon bit on a forward elevator, so nothing can obstruct your path, but this time around, everything obstructs your path, because of how autoaim works, and because of the speed in which enemies spawn, it is simply not possible to make a clear path for yourself, so have fun spamming 30 rockets and having none of them aim at the giant head in the wall that you actually want to shoot.

Onto the story, the general premise I got is that I, some particularly maligned individual, hate NewDoom, some kind of Doomworld replacement, and so I go out and destroy it, and that's about it. Not that it really matters, since the main point is the dialogue that ensues, and I have to give them credit, it's pretty funny. I wasn't really willing to give them a chance, I played this expecting there to be no semblance of humour, for it to just mock various well known people with about all the grace of a tabloid article, but the dialogue here is actually good. It's certainly not set a new precedent or anything, I'd still say that its humour doesn't come close to It Only Gets Worse, the only jokeWAD that was good enough that I can remember it by name despite having played it upwards of 2 years ago, but it's passable, I got a good few laughs out of this one, and given its short length, that's good enough for me. Don't have much else to say really, the humour's alright, the gameplay is passable, if not forgettable. If you want a decent jokeWAD, I guess you can give this one a try, because you've not exactly got a wealth of options. 6/10.

Edited February 19, 2022 by Sena

[Roofi]

Month 8 Day 3

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

 

[1] SYMOHOME.WAD by Symo Storr (C) 1995 (2003)

 

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Oh shame! Just back from walking the elephant and what happens? Bloody hellspawn again! Have to frag 'em I suppose. What a life, eh? This level is fairly HARD to complete, but fun to explore and even more fun in multi-player mode! New graphics created on an Acorn RISC PC (what's that?) and converted to BMP's using !ChangeFSI and !ToBMP software.

 

 

SYMOHOME figures among all the myhouse.wad from the 1990 but you have to venture into a odd cute candy pink house this time. It features several and unique custom textures. According to an idgame comment, it was made in 1996.

 

Yeah, I found this map really weird aesthetically speaking. The author created new textures for the windows but not only it ressembles like wallpaper textures, but the outside areas look totally different to what is drawn! It's much duller I could say. It is quite strange to see all these dead trees surrounding the house. 

 

In the same way, you can see some hellish textures in the house. Everything seems cursed here, I advise you to not live here !

 

Concerning the gameplay, it is unfortunately not the strong point. I accept the pseudo-realistic architecture with these doors that hinder the progression. Nevertheless, the author decided that it was fun to fight mid-tier monsters in closed spaces with the shotgun only. At the very beginning of the level, you meet a baron which can easily reduce you into pieces if he manages to corner you.

 

This map seems to contain secrets as well. We can find a megasphere or a plasmagun. I strongly recommand you to try getting them in order to leave this level alive.

 

Grade : B+

 

[2] Hell's Cage by SirCaco (2013)

 

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You find yourself trapped within the fire of a hellish temple, and have to fight the demons to escape.

 

Great! A terry wad... However, this  one did not kill me fortunately.

 

The "serious" part consists of a small bland marbled temple  populated with only 11 monsters. Some textures are obviously missing, but that's not the author's will of course. At the end you end up in a kind of disco with bees chasing you apparently.

 

Grade : F

 

[3] DOOM II "Argus" Episode by Ty Halderman and Robert Taylor (1995)

 

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This is the first of a series of levels, some of which are completely revamped levels first released as Sacrifice levels 1-6 for DOOM I. These levels offer sophistication and puzzle solving rather than just turning up the volume. Children (you know who you are) may be bored. Definite consideration was given to consistency, theme and fairness. However, you should remember that these are levels for DOOM II, and that presupposes that you are an experienced player.

 

The rather misleading title, should not make you expecting to play an entire episode because it is actually only one map. It takes place in a kind of underground base with various areas: wooden rooms, a metal section or a small piece of tech base.

 

Visually speaking, the map has nothing outstanding, but the authors still bringed refined aesthetics. The secret pyramid containing the red key may remain carved in your memories though.

 

Being the first level of a series, the low difficulty makes this map  really relaxing to play and to finish. There are a lot of ammo and the highly rewarding secrets allow you to finish the map with your eyes closed.

 

This level has the same taste as a piece of cake.

 

Grade : A-

 

[4] Hydrogen by Jacek Nowak (2019)

 

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Doom II map, roughly in E1 visual style. Designed for classic gameplay. Please do NOT jump. Freelook is allowed but not recommended. Exploration is encouraged!

 

A limit-removing map which is indeed more or less similar to the theme of Ultimate Doom episode 1 but which allows itself to use the resources of Doom 2. The map takes place around a nukage canal.

 

I admit I was skeptical about this map at first. Indeed, we start with a lot of imps that shoot us from far while we don't have the necessary equipment to defeat them. Once you have enough weapons and ammunition, especially the SSG, the fun really starts.

Firstly, I like the size of the spaces which allows you to explore quite freely. Secondly, I also like the evolution within the map, with notably the bridges that rise to access new places.

 

The level is quite simple in general, I did not really struggle to progress. However, some traps can surprise the player and push him to be careful. Some of them involve small groups of pain elemental and some arch-viles, which would easily kill the unwary or impatient person.

 

I would also like to point out that the beginning of the map looks more like an Ultimate Doom map with this iwad's bestiary accompanied by some sparingly placed mid-tiers.Nevertheless, after getting the SSG, the author intensified the use of the Doom 2 bestiary in order to create a kind of rising difficulty curve.

 

In any case it's a good map. A new music would have been nice though.

 

Grade : B+

 

[5] Make a Stand (01mkstnd.wad) for Doom 2 by Daniel Huff (1996)

 

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This DeathMatch wad is small and fast paced, leading to very high frag counts. It has a building in a large circular yard; also a very unusual wall around the yard. The center of the building also contains a circular court yard.

The Double-barrel shotgun is close to all starting points; all higher weapons are hard to find, (but all weapons are available depending on the level of difficulty chosen). There is easy access to all ammo by using the teleporters. The backpack is also hard to find, but available on all difficulty settings.

The exit is a co-op type exit. There are two hidden switches that require each player to push in succession, which will open the passage to the exit room, located on the second floor North East room. The first switch is on the second floor South balcony and the second switch is by the doorway leading in to the second floor North balcony.

 

If you have played the great classics of the 1990s, you're likely to feel a sentiment of Deja-vu. Indeed, Daniel Huff was the author of map 03 in The Talosian Incident, which was characterized by buildings separated by large desert areas.

 

This map can of course be played with friends . However, it also offers an interesting challenge for singleplayer mode. Indeed, you have to kill 4 cyberdemons which are able to  walk everywhere in the map. To do so, you have to collect SSGs scattered all over the map. However, there are not enough SSGs outside to finish all the bosses. The player must therefore penetrate the central building to get more of them. For the more daredevil, the author also put a lot of berserk packs but I don't recommend to use them if you don't have 200 HP and a good armor!

 

During my session, I had to kill the last cyberdemon with my fist because of the lack of ammunition. Nevertheless I learned via the builder, that a BFG could be recovered behind a hidden wall.

 

Anyway it's a good map, and the CRATOP texture to imitate the sand creates a feeling of emptiness.

 

Grade : B+

 

[6] Snejkowy Monster by @demrumrus (2013)

 

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You must kill Snejkowy Monster, because he love Adolf Hitler

 

Here is another stupid trollwad made by a polish doomer with a nazi-incompatible humor. Nevertheless it's not a Terrywad and that's a very good news!

 

In reality it is rather a bad map that would have been released in 1994, except that memes from the 2010 era in a language I do not understand, cover the walls in an extremely unattractive way. 

 

I will not lie : I had some fun on this map, especially by torturing zombiemen stuck between them or by passionately watching cyberdemons being crushed. The electro music used is also good at least. The wad deserves its E because there is a certain "playability" despite the shitty humor.

 

Grade : E

 

[7] Crimson by doomaniac (2008)

 

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A single level based on the Doom 64.

 

Crimson is a map for gzdoom that uses sprites from Doom 64 and some new textures.

 

I must say that the addition of new sprites and sounds brings a new fresh air. The look is still stuck to Doom 2 though, although it reminds me more of TNT Evilution because of the starry sky.

 

Actually, I liked the beginning of the map very much, but I soon realized that it was going to be a switch-hunt. The level is not bad in itself, but all these backtracks add unnecessary confusion, knowing that there are no real traps that can kill us. Besides, the SSG is located almost at the end, which is useless.

 

Aesthetically, it's ok. Nothing jawdropping but the level of detailing remains honest.

 

Also, was a pk3 really necessary ? I highly doubt it.

 

Grade : C+

 

[8] MNTFIRE.WAD - `Wasteland: Mountain of Fire' by  Alberto BARSELLA (1994)

 

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the setting is inside a volcano: there are corridors, rooms and some larger areas. Overall the level should run smoothly on all machines.

The creation of this WAD was made possible by the two great programs called DEU 5.1 and BSP 1.1 (dmgraph and wt helped, too). In this WAD I continued my work in the creation of realistic lighting effects. When you walk through corridors you will find areas lit by torches. Don't expect any torch in natural cracks..... Some of the rooms have objects (pillars, etc) which cast shadows onto the floor and on the walls.

This level takes place in a volcano, volcanoes contain lava, and lava is deadly. If you fall into the lava YOU ARE DEAD. There's no way to get out of it. If you see dangerous ledges then SAVE YOUR GAME. Special effects include: waterfall with sound, a couple of attempts to recreate cave-ins, a fallen bridge and computer messages! The difficulty is higher than Dead Base.

 

A very old map released in 1994 taking place in a volcano. And the first thing I can say is : What an amazing level ! I loved it from start to finish !

 

Aesthetically speaking, Alberto was really ahead of his time. First of all, the areas look credible. We are far from the usual abstracton in the maps of 1994 and the 1990s in general. We discover very distinct places: Rocky tunnels, crevasses filled with lava, including a huge circular pit that looks like a boiling cauldron, a base with a broken entrance door ... 

 

Moreover, the red rock and the light gradations give a really mysterious tone to the map. The strongly pronunced height variations make us feel tiny in this huge volcano.

 

All along, I felt immersed in an adventure. This is also felt in the progression. At one point for instance, you have to walk on small ledges and the wrong step fall implies an atrocious death in the lava. Also, there is a place where water replaces lava and the author had an ingenious idea to put a crusher sound to imitate the sound of falling water. The effect is not perfect but I think it helps a lot to make the scenery more lively

 

Concerning the gameplay, if you have played "Everything Dies", the map 19 from Hell Revealed, the gimmick here is a bit similar. At the start point, you find all the weapons except the BFG and a stock of  ammo. Except for a few places where you can get some ammunition for the shotgun for example, you have to deal with what you got at the very beginning. Honestly, in spite of this particularity, the difficulty does not come from the combats but rather from the path to follow (ex : walking on ledges)

 

To be honest, Mountains of fire contains some rather annoying designs, such as the unavoidable damage floor at some places, the yellow key hidden in an extremely cryptic way for no apparent reason or some rock tunnels that are a bit too narrow.

 

Nevertheless, thanks to its atmosphere, its sense of adventure or its graphics. Mount of Fire figures now one of my favorite levels of the 1994 era. Also, Alberto drew a complete map in the txt file. Impressive. I literally took a screen of almost every area in the map.

 

Grade : A+

 

I just had the time to breath in Mother's Day Insanity 2020

 

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[Sena]

Day 11: Museum I https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom/m-o/museum1

 

This one gets a failing grade automatically, as the textfile says it occupies E1M5, when it's actually MAP05. As for the level itself, it's not any better, it's got a Hitler portrait in the opening room, and one portrait of a historical figure is not enough to make a museum, not even by the standards of 1995. The rest of it is somehow less detailed than actual Wolf3D levels, but employs a similar boring, flat, unremarkable series of rectangular rooms, with so many megaspheres and plasma cells you don't even need to do anything, and after playing for more than one minute, you won't want to do. If you want to go through the same exact rooms over and over again, killing enemies who can't even do anything because they're all trapped in cages, even the lost souls, who are completely useless, then this is the WAD for you. 1/10, this feels more like a test than a finished level.

[Roofi]

Month 8 Day 4

 

I play until I die or intentionally stop. I don't comment the wad where I died/stopped.

 

[1] PN Slime Base by @PirateNipple (2008)

 

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The Doom guy is going to the store to buy tacos, but on the way home the monsters steal them! He follows them to the fabled PN Slime Base, maintained by the evil PN Corporation who for some reason works for the UAC and they have some of their crates in there.

The Doom guy asks for the tacos back, because he could never bring himself to harm a monster. They give an apology and return his tacos, then invite him inside to play Scrabble! The Doom guy says he would love to, and that he will see them there soon! The truth is, though, that the Doom guy was lying and he wants to destory all the monsters.

The tacos can wait. There's Hell to pay.

 

I already played PirateNipple's Slime Base during my Month 5 Day 1 session. This time I played it with Prboom+ in UV-max. The level seemed much simpler than I remembered except for the chainsaw trap where I highly recommend you to take a soulsphere and the secret plasma gun hidden behind a nukage waterfall. It is almost impossible not to lose health points because of the number of pinkies instantly surrounding you once you grab the chainsaw.

 

As far as ammo is concerned, I didn't exploit infighting as much as the first time, but the proper balance of ammo means you can't spend without counting either.
 

Grade : A

 

I got ambushed and burned to death by custom cacodemons in Testae Virtus

 

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[LadyMistDragon]

900 Deep in the Dead (2013) by @Jayextee (Eternity)

 

I guess Jay Townsend's still around, eh? Did you hear MFG38 just put out a mapset created within a half hour? Because this one follows similar lines. The objective here was to create a set of maps that were all under 100 lines. Unfortunately, it also replaces E1 of Doom, an episode only remembered as fondly as it is because of the tasteful yet prolific amount of detail that contained. Something like this naturally has absolutely no time for that. A generic Doom II set using grey and tan textures could hardly be worst than this. Anyway, this is a decent set of speedy maps, up until around Map 05 or so where they degenerate into grindiness (only partially ameliorated by pistol-starting) and a certain method of linedef conservation involving heading between placed by various lifts. This really pissed me off, ngl. I did like the secret map though, accessed in Map 03 by crossing a linedef near the regular exit I believe and opening a small passage in one particular linear slime pit. This secret map "Poisonous," involves basically running around some demons through slime, picking up weapons, then lowering the platforms with Imps and blowing them apart however you wish. Despite just 24 enemies, this map is genuinely hard, especially to max, as there's little ammo to go around.

 

It's sort of cool seeing a collection of corpses at the beginning of Map 03, but in Central Elevation, it becomes laughable when you see a collection near the end and maybe 20 Imps afterward. The blue key puzzler in the same map was also ridiculous, revealing a sergeant every time you made the walls lower as seen below "Baron's Delight" was a fair E1M8 replacement (but do watch out for the small contingent of Spectres!), though the outside's just butt-ugly and bears no further comment on.

 

Thanks to the latter half especially, though it's not like the earlier maps don't tend to follow the same pattern, I can't give this anything more than 5.5/10

 

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[Sena]

Day 12: Four Corners (or mosh if you prefer) https://www.doomworld.com/idgames/levels/doom2/d-f/fourcorn

 

I might have said yesterday that it felt like I was playing an unfinished test map, but this takes it one step further, as the level doesn't even have properly modelled floors or ceilings half the time. Apart from that, it's a very repetitive slaughtermap, at least they had the courtesy to give you invulnerabilities every time, but with or without, fighting 10 cyberdemons and 5 spider masterminds at once isn't a very interesting combat encounter, certainly not interesting enough to justify having me do it 5 times. And that's pretty much it, sometimes they'll have a hundred chaingunners as well, but it makes no difference, nor does it make a difference when they make a giant crusher, 30 seconds of invuln is more than enough time to kill whatever they throw at you, so the whole thing is fairly unengaging. 3/10.

 

Edited February 21, 2022 by Sena

[Jayextee]

14 hours ago, LadyMistDragon said:

I guess Jay Townsend's still around, eh?

I lurk a bit, yeah. It's "Jay Trent" now though, to distance myself from the memories of an abusive family. Given that 900 Deep reviewed pretty well when it dropped, it's actually kinda refreshing to hear you dunk on it. But I assure you, 100 Lines maps are difficult to do much with; especially given the limited original-game bestiary. Thanks for playing, all the same. :)

[ICID]

Thanks for another great adventure, everyone! Here's the new thread: