The DWmegawad Club plays: Community Chest

[Book Lord]

MAP 06 – Goin' Down by Kevin Reay (Magikal)

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

 

Here we have something to talk about. Kevin Reay had a mania for puzzles and absurd situations, of which Goin’ Down was a colourful and early showcase. He did not seem to care much for balance, clarity, player amusement, or consistent visual flair, and he did not hesitate to juxtapose good-looking and plain ugly environments. This cannot be a map that people generally like, especially on the first playthrough when the progression is obscure and extremely annoying to figure out.

 

When I first unwrapped Goin’ Down on my continuous run, my PrBoom+ was wrongly set on complevel 2; some effects did not trigger, and I must cheat my way forward. Moreover, the blue computer room had such a cryptic progression that I was forced to consult Doom Wiki to get past it. I replayed the map on a pistol start and complevel 9, restarting my continuous playthrough from there, and it was a nice challenge. The ammo was just enough to carry me through the encounters, thanks to my foreknowledge.

 

I enjoyed the darkness-based puzzle in the first area, where the only point of reference was a liquid pool divided into four quadrants of water, nukage, blood, and lava. For how silly it might be, it helped me find my bearings, then a meticulous exploration led to the discovery of the RSK. At that point the level began Goin’ Down, not only because of the steady descent, but also in gameplay terms.

Spoiler

Firstly, a shovelful of Imps was served at the bottom of a steep staircase. The height difference made them difficult to deal with, and ammo shortage forced me to use Berserk punches and take damage. At the bottom, a guard post with Chaingunners was ready to surprise the unwary player. The blue computer room was the first moment when I thought that Magikal used some weird thought patterns: not only he felt not ashamed to unleash deadly squads of Shotgunners and Revenants as soon as the player approached some ordinary resources, but he even put the indispensable rocket launcher and ammo behind hidden closets with unusual means of opening. If you know that beforehand, you’ll collect them before triggering the monsters on the ledges and feel very smart. This was a pretty example of a map playtested by his own author only: he cannot replicate a blind experience and thus cannot avoid bad choices like this one. The same could be said for the unmarked doors hiding teleporter pads, the arbitrarily openable COMPTALL panels, and the hidden BSK that was necessary for progression at a later stage. This room was tragic, hands down.

Spoiler

Suddenly, an impressive lava room with an S-shaped, fake 3D bridge appeared before me. A strafe jump (or Arch-Vile jump) was mandatory to reach the YSK, a questionable demand that was still around at that time, but for the rest I admired how this room was conceived. It looked special and totally out of place, a quintessential Doom II fan-made experience. Behind the yellow door the level finally offered some shells and bullets, but the arsenal must be used judiciously. The ICKWALL staircase behind the blue door was going to be swarmed by a cloud of 29 Cacodemons, slowly coming up from the cesspool at the bottom. Pistol starters have almost no rockets to spend and it is advisable to kill as much of them as possible. Do you like holding a choke point with the single shotgun? This is the ideal map to practice it until you get bored.

Spoiler

The pool was not the destination though, as the progression went through a strange series of pit-traps holding a lot of ammo and even a Megasphere. Resources should not be left behind though, as no way back up was granted after the lifts raised. Quite the opposite, the player was caged in a room with Hell Nobles behind gratings. The way out of there was an unmarked, invisible, and non-impassable gap through the mid-texture. How clever! Two exits reached by running could get the player out: one led to the SSG closet, complete with the easily missed backpack secret (the only official one); the other sent me to the upper level of the cesspool, where I must fight the stuck Cacodemons that gathered exactly in front of the teleport destination. The exit could be exposed by pressing a switch, then it was reached after dealing with Spectres on a dark staircase, followed by an Arachnotron and multiple Revenants.

Spoiler

The way the Revenants were replenished in the exit cages, and the belated Imp teleport in the Megasphere room, gave more evidence that the author just did not care about players, were they either speedrunners, UV-maxers, or the casual Doom aficionado that unfortunately chose to play this level. However, my second playthrough on a pistol start was far less unnerving and frustrating than the first, confirming that familiarity with the map can compensate for its many rough edges.

 

There was nothing to save, though I wish that absurdities like the ones in store were reconsidered with modern tools and sensibilities. I liked the first puzzle and the lava room; the rest should be presented for what it is: horrible Doom editing that is thankfully confined to another era. I am sorry that Kevin Reay has prematurely left this world, and the exultant comments that anonymous fellows left on idgames archive are shameful and unacceptable. Just as the fact that he passed away before the megaWAD release does not redeem his work in any way, his pranks and bad concepts cannot be a reason to rejoice for his death. R.I.P. Magikal.

Edited March 6, 2022 by Book Lord

[Yumheart]

Map06 "Goin' Down" by Magikal

Even after finishing this map, I still don't really know what it is, haha. I actually liked the beginning, where you had to berserk a lot and ration your ammo and health. The Shotgunner & Revenant ambush in the blue room is also okay, I guess, though I knew about the rocket launcher from MtPain's video, I can't imagine how miserable the map would've been to play without it.

The map's second half is really painful if you don't know where to get the SSG, I got lucky and got to it after a few attempts of shotgunning like 30 Cacos to death, which you will never ever have the ammo for. Especially with the Lost Souls teleporting in behind you after some point, which really got me on my first attempt, felt like survival horror. The progression is unbelievably cryptic, having to walk through cagebars, pressing on wallpanels, guessing the right teleport sequence...

 

I have to say, this map doesn't agree with me at all, but I still liked it better than Map01. This one is memorable and an interesting curiosity at the very least, and it feels like some effort was invested in making it so weird and abstruse. I also have to mention how incredibly well Aranea Imperatrix from the MIDTWID2 midi pack fits this map, it feels like it could've been written specifically for it.

Also, RIP Kevin Reay, thanks for sharing your creative work with the community <3

Edited March 6, 2022 by Yumheart

[Poncho1]

Map06: Goin' Down

Author: Kevin Reay (Magikal)

 

The first of two contributions by Magikal. Considering how his second entry in the WAD at least looks consistent, this one simply strangely doesn't. It begins with a strangely cryptic switch hunt that grants you the Red Key, all set in a marble temple of some sort. Then, you're whisked away to a techbase corridor with a ton of Imps, which in turn leads to a larger tech room. Next, your travels lead you to a rocky lava-filled room, and after that an almost sewer-like area with tunnels, water, and a large vat filled to the teeth with Cacodemons. There is no consistency to the themes of the map. So fine, maybe Magikal was going for a Sandy Petersen vibe (and I like Sandy's maps), but his gameplay is... off, to say the least. Once you get to the large tech room, the level *really* starts to get complicated and annoying, the latter fact I avoided somewhat thanks to knowing how the map worked beforehand. Getting the Blue Key's a nightmare for the uninitiated: you must activate the Revenants before getting into their cage - a cage that can only be accessed by a teleporter behind an unmarked tech panel - then get through *another* unmarked panel that takes you to the opposite cage, where there's a misaligned texture that houses the Blue Key, which is required to finish the level. The Arch-vile in the lava room will more than likely butcher those unfamiliar with the map, and the Caco and Lost Soul swarm at the end is taxing in a tedious way. Perhaps most infamously, there's a caged area accessed via several descending lifts that can indeed be entered, but only at a very specific "gap". There're a few sporadic moments of fun I got: the beginning switch hunt isn't too awful once you know the sequence order, rocketing the Revenants and Shotgunners from their cages is satisfying, and the final Revenant trap is kinda cool, but the rest doesn't connect at all. What's sad is that I'd still rather play this than Pistol Panic.

 

Sidenote: I've zoomed ahead into this WAD and I'm currently at the start of Magikal's Map29. I guess I'll see if he can make up for this one...

Edited March 6, 2022 by Poncho1

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP06 - Goin' Down - Kevin (Magikal) Reay (68%K/100%I/0%S):

I'm sorry, I cheated 3 times to finish this level, and I do want to say good things about this level, but it is truly something unplayable, it is safe to say, it is the worst map in a community mapset ever, I don't remember a level ever more offensive that this one, this is the first one to make me ragequit back in the day, savespam as much as you want, replay this as much as you want, you won't beat this in a normal playthrough. What's the sense of humping walls to progress? What's the sense to have so little resources to fight enemies? The layout is awful, secrets are mandatory for you to progress, nothing is good in this map, worse than a Master Level. My brother did maps like this when he was 10, this is at a 1994 mapping level. The jump for the yellow key to open the yellow door at the same room, having to shotgun an archvile, having to avoid bruisers in a narrow ledge to grab said key, some lifts work one side, but not the other, midtextures often are impassible, often not, this map is just a painhouse, the 3 times I wanted to play through Community Chest, I had to cheat in this level, and then force a pistol start for MAP07. Magikal made his first appearance notorious for one thing, but it is not its only appearance on Community Chest, said map, is even more notorious, and you will see at the end of this month. This map was left in because, first of all, Community Chest did not have any QA testing sessions, and also, I would guess, in memory of Magikal, who sadly, passed away during this project's runtime. This is clearly not the map to honor or remember him though, as there is MAP29...

(HMP Playthrough - PrBoom+)

Order of preference: 

 

Spoiler

 

MAP02
MAP03
MAP04
MAP01
MAP05

MAP06

 

 

[RHhe82]

39 minutes ago, DJVCardMaster said:

worse than a Master Level.

Oh yeah, that’s another positive. Master levels feel almost good after this one.

 

I didn’t know the author had passed away during the development of CC. Makes me feel even worse than looking down on maps by authors still active on this forum. I want to believe Goin’ down was a sincere offering from Magikal, just that quality control and project lead failed in guiding the guy to fix the issues. Wouldn’t have made the map a crown jewel, but perhaps it’d be unmemorable in a good way? Or even ”solid outing that adheres to mid-90s mapping style”.

[sincity2100]

7 hours ago, RHhe82 said:

MAP06: Goin' Down.

 

Let's hope this is the worst CC has to offer.
 

Unfortunately , it's not...

[finnks13]

MAP06 - Goin' Down by Magikal:
What the hell is this? Where do I even begin here? Well, the start of the map is fine - it's very dark and trap heavy but there's mostly nothing wrong with anything here. Mostly. Finding the red key is a nightmare because it's hidden behind a random switch that is obscured in a dark corner of a different section of the level, which then lowers a pillar behind a fake wall that you have to be basically psychic to know that walking to the other side of this building happens to open the door. The red flags on this map's progression are already pretty obvious. There's a massive horde of imps behind the red door which are more annoying to take out than anything else and then a 15 second long elevator ride, that I had to do twice due to my attempts to punch a pinky demon.

 

Next up is the blue room, which has a my favourite fight within - shotgunners and imps from all sides, it's quite fun - and then nothing. Pressing a switch makes a horde of revenants and shotgunners appear on both sides of you, but I've only got a shotgun, chaingun and berserk, how am I meant to fight 10 revenants in a small corridor? Well, the answer is that there's a hidden rocket launcher in this room that you have to press small computer panels to open with no sound feedback - I absolutely wouldn't have found it without having watched the Dean of Doom episode on CC1, so thanks for letting me experience the rest of this map MtPain27, I guess. The teleporter to the upstairs section is behind a completely unmarked wall, which is just super.

 

Upstairs there is inexplicably a hell canyon with a faux-3d bridge, and some demons on a nearby cliff. I did not like this room, 3d bridges are really jank and you should never use them like this. I then had to consult the wiki as I was stuck, since there is a yellow door at the end of this bridge and while the yellow key was in plain view, I had assumed that I'd missed a teleporter that'd lead me there. You have to straferun to the yellow key, it's not a trivial jump either, took me a fair few attempts to land it. Behind the yellow door is a blue door that requires you to find another random teleporter behind an unmarked wall to open.

 

Behind these door is a terrible ambush of loads of cacodemons that is just miserable to play. I foolishly didn't check a random part of floor which was surprise an elevator that led to three increasingly silly traps. There are two teleporters out of this room, one leads you to a room with a hidden teleporter that takes you to the top level of the cacodemon room and the other leads to the SSG. Guess which one I took. I did eventually find the SSG but it was far too late to be useful. I was able to get to the exit eventually which contains a small fight against some revenants on a staircase that I had to punch to death as I had ran out of ammo, and then like 20 imps spawn into the 3 elevators rooms as a middle-finger to people trying to UV-Max the map I assume. I'm trying to not be overly harsh here (sort of) but I think this is probably the worst map that I've ever played. I am baffled that someone could make this and think it's OK. You couldn't pay me to play this map again.

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

Really Liked: MAP02
Liked: MAP04
The Boring Zone: MAP01, MAP03
Didn't Like: MAP05
Really Didn't Like: MAP06

 

[erzboesewicht]

47 minutes ago, RHhe82 said:

 I want to believe Goin’ down was a sincere offering from Magikal, just that quality control and project lead failed in guiding the guy to fix the issues. Wouldn’t have made the map a crown jewel, but perhaps it’d be unmemorable in a good way? Or even ”solid outing that adheres to mid-90s mapping style”.

Definitively, more playtesting would have helped the map a lot, above all the jump to the yellow key and some combat scenarios. I however liked some of the puzzles in Goin' Down, they mostly have hints which are rewarding if you find them, some of them require a look at the automap. I guess it makes a crucial difference if you have already played - and liked - difficult puzzle-centric maps like Eternal Doom's Excalibur or not. It's likely Magikal knew these maps and wanted to replicate elements of this style, but was of course much less experienced than Jim Flynn, Bob Evans and Co.. It's really sad that he passed away so early without being able to provide some more mature offerings.

 

But those who hated this map, don't give up - I'm a bit ahead and the next maps will be probably better received (although 07 and 08 have their weirdnesses, too).

[sincity2100]

This is how I describe Going down in 1 drawing..

[DJVCardMaster]

I do agree MAP06 is not the worst moment in CC, it IS the worst map, but, certain mapping decisions, or certain moments/setpieces, take the cake at being the worst, not in a "bad level" way, but in some other ways, more precisely, losing way to much time.

[Book Lord]

5 hours ago, erzboesewicht said:

I however liked some of the puzzles in Goin' Down, they mostly have hints which are rewarding if you find them, some of them require a look at the automap.

 

True. For example, the strange openings behind the Chaingunner cubbyholes drew my attention. A look at the automap helped to find the unmarked door to the first teleporter. Unfortunately, there was no reason why you should try to open the COMPTALL panels, except that you are left without other options to advance.

 

6 hours ago, erzboesewicht said:

It's likely Magikal knew these maps and wanted to replicate elements of this style, but was of course much less experienced than Jim Flynn, Bob Evans and Co.. It's really sad that he passed away so early without being able to provide some more mature offerings.

As for Kevin Reay, his Doom activity (speedrunning and mapping) was short and more like a mature age hobby. He created these CC maps when he was 45. Besides the experience that he was probably lacking, he was no kid trying to impress people, so he probably meant Goin' Down to be like this. At the time there were less fixed schemes, tendencies, and mapping benchmarks to compare with; he wanted to experiment, and he obviously failed with this map. I dread MAP29 even more, now that I know what he was up to, but I am very curious to see what ideas did he come up with.

 

He was an accomplished magician, renowned and honoured in British magic circles, before and after his mysterious death. Check this 6' 1987 video on Youtube, he was amazing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K_bFD2-McGU

 

 

[Jaccident]

I’m a day late because I spent far too long playing Elementalism and so didn’t have time for this yesterday.

 

Map 05: The Forgotten Prison

Well the title of this map is very much suitable for the map, as in half an hour or so I will probably have forgotten it exists. Not a particularly bad map, just generally mediocre. It relies far too much on chaingunner spam, and I don’t particularly enjoy cowering behind walls, shooting, and every now and then getting my health obliterated, so I can’t say the combat grabbed me. Aside from the chaingunner spam this map doesn’t have anything vaguely memorable about it – even the archvile ambush failed to excite me as I could easily just hide behind a wall. The exit was also poorly marked, so I nearly missed out on going back and grabbing the large amounts of health packs I left lying around.

 

Map 06: Goin’ Down

Goin’ Down is a map that dares. It is a map that dares to be different, dares to go against the grain of doom level design. It is a map that asks a question nobody has ever thought to ask before - “How can we make doom puzzle levels even worse?” The answer is simple. You take the most obscure secrets and make them mandatory for progression, and you make them blend in perfectly with the surrounding environments. However, the start of the map fails at this goal, and is actually vaguely enjoyable, but then the loose breadcrumbs of progression are taken away from you. Chaingunners wait around every corner. Humping random walls is the way forward, with a blue key hidden behind a random wall you wouldn’t even think to use, only accessible by humping another wall you wouldn’t think to use. Truly revolutionary. Flooding the player with an insane number of cacodemons, and then hiding progression behind a random bit of fence? How on earth did nobody think of that before? Truly, this map’s genius is beyond our comprehension.

[Capellan]

If I had to pick a worst map in CC, MAP06 would definitely be a top-two candidate.  Another map competes with it due to the obvious failure to playtest with infinitely tall things, which makes it a complete nightmare when played that way.

[Dusty_Rhodes]

Map05: Forgotten Prison

Played continuous on PrBoom+ in Ultra Violence

This is the first map I really don't like in CChest. There's very little lighting variation, the "all brown" method of texturing does not work as well as it does in Map04. I can see what it's going for, an Alien Vendetta - styled level with natural areas, slime, and bricks, but it isn't done with enough tact or skill. I hate to be so rude, since as @Use said, he was a beginning mapper, and of course 2002 mapping tools were not as advanced as the software we have now. But the fights are grindy and slow; they remind me of early Hell Revealed maps. Not a terrible map, and I do love the use of the Zimmer textures later on, but this map feels like it drags on. Definitely not my favorite.

 

Map06: Goin' Down

Magikal's first map. No comment other than despite it's insanity, I don't mind this one. I think it's fair @MtPain27 gave it an "F" though. It's probably the worst map in the wad.

[Crusader No Regret]

I played around with CC around the time when it came out.  While I have no inclination to download it again, I'll still share some of my memories of various maps.  First on the chopping block: map 6

 

     This felt playable up until the red key.  Tight on resources but manageable.  After the long ride down, all enjoyment evaporated for me.  I remember being thrust into a situation with lots of revenants, not much space and cover, and being under-equipped to deal them.  No SSG and maybe 3 rockets.  Never made it farther without cheating.  And the one time I did cheat to tour farther, there's a tricky strafejump to reach the yellow key where failing leaves the player stuck in inescapable lava.

    Even if my skill level has improved since back then, I found this map so unenjoyable that I have no inclination to revisit it to beat it legit even with savescumming.  It's not the only map in CC that left a sour taste with me either.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP05: "The Forgotten Prison" by Black Void 

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/1 secrets

 

This map comes in eager to show the previous map just how brown a map can be. Well actually I find this one a bit better visually, the tan rock texture works fine with its cave section and the level brings a lot of splashes of green with its nukage. I also quite like the look of the grassy area when you are transitioning from tan rock to tan brick. It's definitely still a pretty monotonous looking map on the whole though.

 

The combat here is a little bit whatever. After a somewhat hot start, you go through very symmetrical corridors, which culminate in a strangle clump of teleporting monsters. I kind of enjoy this one because of how strange it looks, and the chaingunners can at least be a little bit annoying (unless you just let them mix it up with the hell knights). Otherwise, the map tends to lay on a fair few monsters at the same time, but there isn't a whole lot of excitement to how it uses them. You go down a hall and past the walls there's a bunch of monsters, shoot them down and duck behind the other wall for cover until they're all gone. It feels like the monsters are more just there to slow you down than kill you, definitely could have been used in more exciting ways.

 

As others have said, the final product of this map is largely forgettable. There's nothing too objectionable about it or anything, it's just a bit dull.

 

MAP06: "Goin' Down" by Magikal

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/1 secrets

 

So I've actually played this map before, I gave it a try after the Dean of Doom episode on this wad dropped just because it seemed like such an oddity. In writing this part of me regrets having already played it because I'd want to more freshly recount what an absolute marvel this thing is when played blind, and I don't mean that nicely. Obviously it wasn't totally a blind playthrough as he does mention some of the level's quirks in his review, but my memory is far from perfect and this thing still hornswoggled me at several points.

 

Anyway, the first section of this map isn't too bad your first go-around, although it's a bit of a chore in subsequent playthroughs. You start in a central area with 4 doors and 4 corners surrounding you, each door marked by its down liquid in front (which does some damage to you). Your goal is to solve a small puzzle to get the red skull key and leave through the red door behind the blood-marked door. As far as puzzles go this one isn't so bad. It's advisable to get the berserk relatively early in your solving though because you'll want to save as much ammo as you can in this map. After you get to the bottom of the lift you find yourself in a techbase room, where the bad parts really start to come into play.

 

There are secret doors in this section that are completely unmarked and required for progression, and there are buttons disguised as small grate textures providing a rocket launcher and rockets that are 100% mandatory for pistol starters. In your progression through the confusing secret doors, you'll want to go for the blue skull key first (behind an extra unmarked secret wall!) before heading through the wavy 3D bridge room with the yellow skull key, because good luck with that room without the rockets the other one provides you.

 

The rest of the map is a bit less of a mind-bender, although you'll want to be mindful of taking the ammo in the area in non-wasteful manners. The snake-like corridor full of cacos adds an extra bit of slogishness to this part and seems designed to make sure you're using your ammo properly. Dip into the lift trap on the side before the cacos overtake it too so you can get more ammo and a nice megasphere. The part of this one where you have to walk through the bars is a bit weird, but at least the appropriate section is marked by that face texture, so I kind of liked that bit. The rest of the level features some weird monster repopulating, and ends off with some annoying revenants which you have to take care of before the army of lost souls that have repopulated the caco hall find you.

 

A blind playthrough of this map is a miserable undertaking. When you know everything going in it's less of that, but it is a very sloggish map. There's a cool idea here or there, I don't totally hate the very end, but this thing just isn't a fun playthrough. It is fun to talk about though, I'll give it that.

Edited March 6, 2022 by DisgruntledPorcupine

[DJVCardMaster]

1 hour ago, Capellan said:

If I had to pick a worst map in CC, MAP06 would definitely be a top-two candidate.  Another map competes with it due to the obvious failure to playtest with infinitely tall things, which makes it a complete nightmare when played that way.

Do you remember which map was that? I don't want to unexpectedly play said level and suffer

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 06: Goin' Down - Magikal

100% kills and secrets

Time: 20:43

 

You know what; I didn't hate this map. Granted, if I hadn't seen the DoD ep, I probably would. There's a lot of obtuse and baffling progression in this one. Most obviously is the blue key, as there's absolutely no clue to where it's at. I guess Magikal just expected people to just hump every single wall in this area to find the key. Nowadays, there'd be a texture misalignment, or different lighting on the wall. Not here. There's also the fact the rocket launcher is kinda hidden. Oddly enough, this is the first map in the WAD with it, and if you don't need it on the revs in this room, you definitely need it for the caco swarm toward the end. Triggering traps and progression in general can be tough if you don't cross certain linedefs. Triggering the rev and shotgunner trap in the blue room is caused by going for some ammo in the center area. The teleporter to their areas is behind an unmarked wall, but to be fair, there's a clue to something being there in the chaingunner trap nearby. The cage room is accessible by going down 2 unmarked lifts. There's a lot of stuff like that here. Looking at this map from a design standpoint, it's kind of admirable. It's experimenting with traditional design tropes, but it's not really doing it that well. As for the fights, they weren't too bad, assuming you find the RL. Nothing seems too unfair. Ammo is tight, even playing continuous. There's a few ammo stashes spread around at least. I'm still not sure about the giant imp ambush in the cage room. None of them were there until after I was done using that room. I didn't see them until I backtracked after getting to the exit. Odd. So overall, I didn't hate it surprisingly, but going into it completely blind would be another story. There's still some weird design choices, but the combat isn't too bad. 

[Capellan]

46 minutes ago, DJVCardMaster said:

Do you remember which map was that? I don't want to unexpectedly play said level and suffer

 

In spoiler so anyone who doesn't care to know doesn't see

Spoiler

25

 

[brick]

MAP04: Outer Base

I'm not sure what to say about this one. Nothing in it impressed me that much, but nothing particularly annoyed me either. It's ok I guess? The big ambush in the NW area took me a bit by surprise but you can just back away and whittle down the horde. Certainly an interesting choice of colours (not in a bad way).

 

MAP05: The Forgotten Prison

Similar to the above, not hugely memorable either way but overall more on the side of good. The gargoyle corridor was cool I thought.

 

MAP06: Goin' Down

This one, however, I did not like, at all. The back-and-forth to get the red key is not great but still bearable. Getting out of the blue computer room however... maybe you're supposed to figure out with the very narrow hole in the wall just before (I just kept thinking it was a shootable trigger and wasted a lot of time), but then the blue key is even worse (and to think people complain about Hexen and Eternal's puzzles being too obscure...). Straferunning on the 3D bridge to get the yellow key was another obnoxious moment made worse by occasionally falling through the bridge while trying to get the straferun going (a plea to mapmakers: please please do not make straferuns mandatory). I think the swarm of cacos and the swarm of lost souls behind you are actually pretty good, but it was becoming more difficult to appreciate the map. The rest of progression isn't as bad but still has annoying moments (like the gargoyle face to trigger the teleport lift), and the completely invisible nondescript linedefs triggering progress are annoying because they're too narrow and it's far too easy to walk around them without ever realizing you're missing something. It's telling that the map's only secret is easier to find than just about every single step required for progression. It's a shame too because I feel the map could've actually been quite fun with only minor modifications and only slightly more subtle hints dropped in.

[DavitW]

MAP07: The Boardwalk

It's another ugly map with no real rhyme, reasoning, or theme to its texturing and layout. The titular boardwalk is the most interesting part of the map, but also the worst to play. It's basically a straight path with several dozen or so enemies overlooking it and only a small alcove for cover. Gameplay is basically poking out, firing as many shots as you dare and ducking back into cover before a dozen different projectiles hit you. 289 monsters is the most we've seen so far, and it may sound like a lot, but it doesn't feel that way considering it's mostly just jabronis packed together into tight groups. Once you look past the visuals and a few dense moments this map can be fun in a brainless sort of way.

cc7.zip

[erzboesewicht]

MAP07: The Boardwalk by Gene Bird

 

I remember Gene Bird from CC2, where his maps were almost universally panned by most reviewers, above all because of the monotone visuals. While "The Boardwalk" looks a little bit less boring than Bird's CC2 offerings, they are certainly not the strong point of this map. But it already starts in a fun way, with a Evilutionesque imp/zombie minislaughter. It's a 3-key hub map, and it plays in some aspects like the bigger and meaner brother of MAP04, with small to medium hitscanner-centric fights culminating into a big setpiece with lots of infighting, in this case the yellow key fight, which is really fun and hosts a big part of the monster population. However, the map has its weird elements too, starting from the funny position of the imps and HKs at the east of the starting room, and then you have to endure the whole western area (which hosts the blue and red keys) almost without health items, in rooms with several hitscanners and other potential dangers, although a megaarmor and lots of good weaponry are provided so I suppose this was an intentional challenge. Fun map, although I would have loved a little bit more interconnection.

 

Difficulty: 4/10
Rating: 7,5/10

 

Difficulty scale (aprox.): 1 = Doom E1M1, 3 = Doom E1M4 or E3M2, 5 = Doom2 MAP29, 7 = Plutonia MAP15, 10 = Sunlust MAP15 and above

[RHhe82]

MAP07: The Boardwalk. DSDA v0.24, HMP-PS. 100% kills and secrets. Completion time: 13:52.

 

It's the infamous Gene Bird I've heard so much about on MtPain27's videos. And what do you know, this is a quite nice map (especially coming after MAP06). Sure, it looks a bit amateurish in its design, but there is nothing obnoxious about it. It's like an innocent 90s map that pushes enemy forces on you in a way that's not exactly challenging, but just challenging enough that mowing them down feels fun instead of a chore. You would have thought the level was longer when you saw the enemy count. The outdoor area even looks interesting, and is the high point of the map in terms of design and challenge.

 

Not much else to say here. It's not exactly a winner map, but sometimes all it takes is a map that's playable from pistol start, that doesn't have mandatory secrets, a map that's functional.
 

[Book Lord]

MAP 07 – The Boardwalk by Gene Bird @Searcher

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

 

The first of four contributions by Gene Bird, The Boardwalk introduced the player to his peculiar style. His layouts tended to spread across lines, following various directions, with little or no criss-crossing of paths and no feel of narrow spaces, unless he specifically designed a point to act as a funnel or bottleneck. During fights there was either ample space to manoeuvre, or doors to camp. The frontal arrangement of the dense monster population encouraged this kind of approach, especially in the first half of the map.

Spoiler

Regardless of the linear progression and the somewhat underdeveloped detailing, The Boardwalk was a respectable map, with plenty of resources for vanquishing the hordes of hitscanners and tougher demons lined up by the author. The areas contained typical Doom landmarks (a MARBFAC3 trilithon, a library, octagonal rooms) and were full to the brim with enemies. The rocket launcher, the SSG, and even the plasma gun were available, thanks to a secret that was impossible to miss. I forfeited only the secret in the library; I instantly operated the right Doomcute computer to get the BSK, so I did not bother with the other one.

Spoiler

Behind the blue door lay The Boardwalk, an L-shaped wooden bridge over a water channel, surrounded by classic Doom II town buildings. This open area hosted more than 100 assorted enemies as the ultimate defence of the YSK; slaughtering them was good fun, thanks to the straightforward layout, the adequate ammo supply, and the likelihood of comical infighting. I lost some time only in the last area, looking for a way to access the other octagonal tower, but it was not possible. I discovered the Soul Sphere, so I left the map in good shape and with a smile on my face. I even forgot it was MAP07, and that it completely lacked Arachnotrons and Mancubi (there was one in the missed secret, but no special sector tags). A basic design leading to pleasant gameplay, and a breath of fresh air after the horrors of MAP06.

Edited March 8, 2022 by Book Lord

[Yumheart]

Map07 "The Boardwalk" by Gene Bird

Another pretty good map! The visuals here aren't great, tbh - texturing, room layouts and geometry were rather primitive. Gameplay-wise, it's mostly just unthreatening room clear-outs, but with lots of fodder / hitscanners, which made it a lot more fun.
The obvious highlight here was the map's outdoor centerpiece, if you don't take it slow that is. Sufficient sniper usage and a heap of mosters putting pressure on you on the ground level made for the best fight in CC so far, imo.

Overall, I liked this one. The balance of hitscanner-heavy incidental combat and open fights with good use of snipers kinda reminded me of sincity2100's style, though much less refined obviously.

[Silhouette 03]

Map06: Goin' down-Magikal

Is this hell...?

 

This was probably the most difficult map when it comes to organizing my thoughts into a somewhat coherent post. It took me two sittings to finish this map. It took me that long for the wrong reasons, which I'll get to in a moment. This map is probably the worst map so far. The gameplay on the whole is bad and the narrow corridors which aren't built for player movement and lack of ammo and health don't exactly help the experience. The ammo shortages in the map make certain fights artificially difficult, especially the fight in the blue area. I dislike that fight most of all. Among this is a plethora of questionable design choices. A good example would be making the water near the door in the starting area a pain sector. Yes, water hurts you. There's no indication that it does hurt you, it just does. I think the reason that water is a pain sector is that the mapper ran out of liquid flats to use as pain sectors near the doors. It's the only logical deduction I can come up with.

 

The reason that it took me so long to write this post and finish the map was the map's obscure and at times downright infuriating progression. Pressing the use key on random walls to progress where the indication that there's something behind them is such a minor detail. Having to use random textures that aren't indicated as being switches. Walking through a mid texture. It's just really bad design. 

 

 I read Book Lord's post on Kevin Reay. I hope I wasn't too harsh here. When I critique a map I try to be fair and not too harsh, taking into consideration the fact that most of us map for enjoyment and not for any kind of compensation or recognition.

 

It can't get any worse than this... right?

 

Kills: 79%

Secrets: 0%

 

Map07: The Boardwalk-Gene Bird

A step up from the previous map.

 

 I'm beginning to see why many people either condemn or see CC as a mixed bag of maps. I'm happy to say that this is one of the better maps in the wad. It plays well for the most part and has some nice encounters, such as the boardwalk itself with all the enemies in cages and on the opposite side. It also looks good from a visual standpoint. My only real criticism is that some areas, such as the area with the chaingunners and the platform you lower with a switch that then lowers a door, encourages door fighting with the way the fights are structured. I don't really have anything else to say, really.

 

I await the next map with equal parts anticipation and dread.

Kills:95%

Secrets:80%

[Gibbon]

MAP06 - Goin Down

 

RZDoom, Boom Compat, no saves

 

So..  here it is, the first truly 'wtf' CC1 map.  The first part is mostly ugly rooms with silly linedefs that trigger doors / platforms in order to get the red key.

each door has its own 'pain pit' that will either hurt you or not, depending on how fast you are to the door.

 

The second part is where I died.  First you are swamped with Imps, which afterwards is a dance with hitscanners and more imps plus Revenants.  Once you survived that (and found the mandatory secrets), you are meant to flick a switch to exit the room..  however this is where I died as the chaingunner in the wall killed me.

 

Can't say I like this map.  It is more tricks than gameplay and is nothing more than an ugly puzzle box.

 

MAP07 - The Boardwalk

 

Well, this is one of Gene's best maps.  It isn't the prettiest but the gameplay is fun, the computers are excellent and the monsters make good fodder for your super shotty and rocket launcher.  It is a decent "let your hair down map" and fits nicely in its MAP07 slot.

 

I enjoyed the secret with the second computer.  Just excellent!

Edited March 7, 2022 by Gibbon

[NiGHTS108]

MAP07: The Boardwalk

By Gene Bird!!!

Kills: 100%
Items: 100%
Secrets: 100%
Time: 9:04

 

My teacher’s arch-nemesis actually delivers my favourite map in the megawad so far, a lot of the fights work pretty well, and the pacing is quite upbeat, I like the nice usage of the shotgun at the start, and the level doesn’t drop from there, this library area is quite neat indeed, being able to activate computer panels for a secret and the blue key, how cute! The peak of the level easily comes at the titular boardwalk, a fast paced SSG spotlight fight with an all-you-can-eat buffet of demons! Including shotgunners, chaingunners, Imps, Pinkies and Hell Knights, now now Gene Bird is not completely rid of odd choices, such as the extremely weird plasma rifle secret, and that previously mentioned computer panel secret, but believe it or not, Gene’s walkin’ on air!

 

Grade: B-

Difficulty: B-

 

 

22 days left.

[Book Lord]

59 minutes ago, Silent Wolf said:

I read Book Lord's post on Kevin Reay. I hope I wasn't too harsh here. When I critique a map I try to be fair and not too harsh, taking into consideration the fact that most of us map for enjoyment and not for any kind of compensation or recognition.

 

I do not want to sound apologetic or to discourage people from expressing their honest opinion about maps. Everybody is entitled to write their sincere thoughts here, the DWMC is the right place to do so, no matter if the interested authors can or cannot reply.

 

I only consider a couple comments in the idgames archive as outrageous, as they mixed the disgust for the maps with hateful speech against the persons who made them. This is a wrongdoing that should be avoided, especially on subjects that only require passion and devotion of time, like modding an old video game.

[Gibbon]

5 minutes ago, Book Lord said:

 

I do not want to sound apologetic or to discourage people from expressing their honest opinion about maps. Everybody is entitled to write their sincere thoughts here, the DWMC is the right place to do so, no matter if the interested authors can or cannot reply.

 

I only consider a couple comments in the idgames archive as outrageous, as they mixed the disgust for the maps with hateful speech against the persons who made them. This is a wrongdoing that should be avoided, especially on subjects that only require passion and devotion of time, like modding an old video game.

 

And lets all not forget Gene.  If he is still alive, he would be in his 90's.  So it is highly likely he is no longer with us either, so lets all be a bit more kind to his maps too.