The DWmegawad Club plays: Community Chest

[erzboesewicht]

MAP10: Termination Center by Samuel Villarreal (Kaiser)

 

The opening shot screams "Tricks and Traps", but what we get here is less a trap-heavy or combat puzzle map but a very classic techbase with lots of incidental combat and long switch hunts. It has some nice visual elements that give it a bit of personality like the metallic doorframes. The gameplay is of average difficulty, easier than the previous offerings and mostly dominated by hitscanners and hell knights, with a handful of revenants and barons acting as a kind of "minibosses". It is generally enjoyable, perhaps a little bit long (with 200+ monsters) and also a bit linear. There are some switch puzzles, with the most memorable being the blue key one where some speed and precision is required, while the last one where you have to build stairs to activate the switch which opens the exit door is a bit meh (at least you have to take a little detour).

 

Difficulty: 3/10
Rating: 7/10

 

Pistol start, UV, prboom-plus, occasional saves in bigger maps. Difficulty scale (approx.): 1 = Doom E1M1, 3 = Doom E1M4 or E3M2, 5 = Doom2 MAP29, 7 = Plutonia MAP15, 10 = Sunlust MAP15 and above

 

PS: I was a bit surprised that MAP09 had such mixed reviews here. But on the other hand that shows that the preferences from the club (and Doomers in general) are far from uniformity - thats good :)

Edited March 10, 2022 by erzboesewicht

[RHhe82]

1 hour ago, erzboesewicht said:

PS: I was a bit surprised that MAP09 had such mixed reviews here. But on the other hand that shows that the preferences from the club (and Doomers in general) are far from uniformity

Indeed - sometimes it doesn’t feel so obvious that the taste in maps is subjective, and not just regarding slaughtermaps or E2M6.

Personally, my recent positive experiences are influenced by MAP06 :P If it wasn’t there, I might have had a different - at least slightly different - takes on subsequent maps :P

[kalaeth]

and, as part of the daily ritual, time for a map! 

 

MAP10 - termination center :

Will I be terminated? Time will tell!Again with the symmetric start! I like it. Three regular doors, a blue door, 4 corridors, 2 ending in normal doors, one in a red door and the other extends down some stairs.. I'll start there. A pinkie guards a door, and one of the vents opens a lift, to a backpack. That done, the door : a tiny warehouse! A secret opened somehow and that secret lowers a crate with some cells, another with a rocket and another to reach the medkit. Now.. Clockwise? Anti-clockwise. Small room with an unreachable RL, fake door, room with bars blocking the progress and a switch. That did.. something? Maybe? Next. Room with zombies and shotties and barrels. A switch too. Again, it does something unseen (but heard!). Ah, it was the bars, let's go! The rest of the room has a HK guarding a button. It was a trap! After clearing it, press the bars open again and discover the door that opened, on the zombie+shootie room. Some crates, a bersker that unleashes the biggest trap so far, a window to a room with a HK and more, two shotgunner guarding a SSG, secret blue armor, and a pair of timed switches that control a big metal bar blocking the way.. I hate timed switches.. Almost, on the 5th try.. and on the 8th, 9th, and on the twelfth or so try I finally garb the blue key. Damn. Ok, a new path. And a new ambush.

 Now, back to start, blue door is next on the progression but.. I'm missing a single non-keyed door and I'll do that one first. Couple of zombies and a shotgun, this was supposed to be the first room in a pistol-start. Blue door now. Small room 1, small room 2, small room 3, with two side doors.. hum.. Front. small room 4 and a fake door. So.. Back, left. Shotgunners and a switch, right, specters and a open wall (I'm guessing I opened it with the switch?). Int the wall, down the stairs, door. Imps in a small room, teleport in a small room : I'm at the end of a corridor with caged zombies shooting, leading to the blue armor seen at the start. But first, there's a switch. Pressing it and trying to leave the room puts me inside a meatball sandwich!

 Ok, so fake door still closed, RL still on a pedestal, so I'm guessing the room at the end of the blue door? Indeed, and stairs lead me to the HK room glanced at before. Blue door, annoying little fireskulls, button. Back, back, back, back and fake door is open! Also, HK+Caco+Cahingunner teamup. Ok, two more doors, I pick.. Right. A lift, and I'm on the upper floor of the left door. Grab the invis, chaingun all, enter the door, chaingun some more.. I think I'll go down first. Clear the floor and as I approach the door at the end it open up and HK, shotgunner and a rev show up! Entering that room, a fake door and a door marked as blue on the automap but not on the texture. Inside, a caco guards a switch. It opens the fake door, a cool room with a central pillar and a hitscanner paradise kinda ambush. On top of the pillar a button opens up the walls releasing more firefuckingskulls. One of the small niches has a switch, I throw it, but first I save. As expected it opens the bars leading to the teleport. That teleport leads me to a corridor, a secret bluesphere behind and a switch on the wall. That done, back up through the lift. Now.. There's a door and a fall. Door first, and..

Oh look, even more options! From the door I entered, counterclockwise : door leading to a switch, throw it. Opens the wall with a chaingunner, and another switch. Some chaingunners teleport back, kill them all and keep following the left wall, big door, red key, still guarded by small walls. For such a fit dude, doomguy could maybe jump over them, but nooo. 'Kay, go back outisde and keep following the wall. Small shotgunners room, nook with a switch, another door, more shotgunners in a short room, and back to the start, so red key? Still locked. Well then.. Grab the rad suit and jump down it is. Room with pillars, revenant included. One of the pillars has a button, pressing it opens a wall, dark blinking corridor with a specter. Switch raises some elevators, one back to where I came from another to a different place, so I take that one. Switch to control the lift, pinkie and HKs, room with 1 switch and 1 button.. I switch the switch, button the button and the door opens back to where I fell from. And I'm guessing the RK is now free? Oh, yes it is! No trap? No ambush? I find that hard to believe.. Ah, there it is, two HKs on the lift. Back to the central room, the RL is down and guarded by another HK. Now, red door. Damn! Ambushed by an HK from behind, lost lots of live, so back back.. Oh, a secret on a wall! Now.. where.. Ah yes, all the way back to that first warehouse, a medikit. Now, red door again. But first, save, open, plasmatic discharge! (good album name, I should save it). Oh, more switches.. Another puzzle? Ah, switches raise platforms in the brown sludge. Ooooh, they raise more than just once and I need them to raise to the exact size. First : all down. So, three raises for three platforms, press the switch, fake door opens, kill baron, button. Rocket a caco, raise more. This time.. The last one must be raised some.. I'd say 2 more times? No, three. Next, 2. And finally, just the one. Ah. I need all 4 pillars this time. So 7 times on the 4th pillar, and there we are, last door open, all enemies down, exit!

 

K/I/S : 100% / 100% / 100%

time : 40:58 / 2:55:23

deaths : 0 / 6

 

 Damn! 40 minutes of playtime, some puzzles, some hard fights and ambushes, but pretty fair level, despite all that. I liked it!

[Gibbon]

RZDoom, no saves, HMP

 

MAP 10 - Termination Centre (yes British spelling for me :P)

 

Well, this map definitely was something.  First thought about standing in a room with some doors was one of bewilderment, so after dispatching some monsters from the doors that were possible to be opened, I soon discovered this is another 'one of those maps'.

 

It has some nasty secrets that render whatever you just obtained null and void due to the constant ambushes you receive.  The latter half of nothing more than a key and switch hunt through some very narrow corridors with minimal supplies.

 

Just when you think you're getting close to the ending, it just has to again go on some long-winded adventure that you did not ask for.  It would have been great if this map was an 8 minute affair, but it just tosses you around too much and doesn't know when to finish.

 

The Hellknight cage fight was quite funny, since you can just lock yourself in and pick it off without taking any damage at all, was this map even tested?

 

May be a harsh review today, but I prefer Battery over this map any day (and that is saying something).

[finnks13]

MAP10 - Termination Center by Kaiser:
This map is very long and tedious. I could probably end the review there, but I spent half an hour of my life in this level, so I'm going to at least get a paragraph out here. To start, the starting room and general layout remind me of Map05 from Doom64, with the small octagonal starting room with corridors and doors leading off from every side. There's also a part later on with a lot of square rooms that were similar to this map too. The combat seems to be inspired by Doom64 too, with the endless supply of hell knights, barons and cacodemons - notably absent are the revenant (ok there's two of them), the mancubus, the arachnotron, the pain elemental and the archvile which makes the combat dull.

 

I think the progression in this map is pretty awful, the vast majority of it is pressing random buttons which inexplicably open doors a few rooms away without any indication beyond maybe the initial sound effect if you're lucky. There's also two instances where you have to ride an elevator up to the ceiling to push a button which is certainly a choice. The map is very lovingly detailed and does look pretty good, considering when it was made, though it doesn't really go far beyond a pretty standard Doom2 techbase, which is a theme I don't particularly care for. Overall, this map was boring and I resent how long it is.

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

Really Liked: MAP02, MAP07
Liked: MAP04, MAP09
The Boring Zone: MAP03
Didn't Like: MAP01, MAP05, MAP08
Really Didn't Like: MAP06, MAP10

 

Edited March 10, 2022 by finnks13
I managed to get the map title wrong in my original post

[Yumheart]

Map10 "Termination Center" by Kaiser

Probably the most generic map so far, entirely inoffensive, but also nothing special. The combat is - once again - entirely incidental. The progression didn't ever feel unclear, exactly, but the map carries on for way too long, considering how little actual substance is here.
The visuals are good though, very clean and with enough detail to keep the map from looking dull. I liked the few puzzles too, especially the one where you had to raise platforms to certain levels, they were a nice way of breaking up the monotony of switch-hunting and boring cleanup. In fact, if the map was no longer than ten minutes, they would've been a nice centerpiece.

As it stands now, Termination Center has some interesting moments, but they're watered down by the map's, imo, unjustified length.

[DavitW]

MAP10: Termination Center

I have to assume the map author was digging on Tech Center from Doom 64 pretty hard while creating this one. It's not quite a remake but the basic concept is the same, with plenty of new ideas thrown in as well so it doesn't lose any points for being uncreative. As with any map like this it can be a bit confusing at times but there was nothing in here I found too obtuse, though I have no idea if I retrieved the blue key in the intended fashion or if I just bullshitted my way through it.

 

Knowing this wad so far I expected the worst when I saw the pillar puzzle at the end of the level, but it turned out to be far easier than I thought it would. I spent a bit of time at the end of the demo looking for a missing monster. I first thought it was a caged shotgunner that mysteriously went missing just like Mario did all those years ago, but instead it turned out to be a Cacodemon stuck in a teleporter related mishap. Thankfully I found him relatively quickly and telefragged him to a merciful end.

cc10.zip

Edited March 10, 2022 by DavitW
Added demo

[Silhouette 03]

Map10: Termination Centre-Kaizer

Finishing this map took longer than expected.

 

This map would be pretty unremarkable if it weren't for it's long length. When I started the map I was expecting a short tech base map. I did not expect something of this size and scope. It does have a traditional feel to it, though. A feel I can't quite explain. Maybe it's the texture work or maybe I'm wrong entirely. There's some nice scripting on the one door with the hell knight behind. The map in my opinion relies too heavily on HK's and barons as a means to soak up ammo. At one point I was running out of health and ammo as a result of this. The puzzle at the end really irritated me. I don't mind the occasional puzzle here and there but this puzzle just irked me.

 

At least it's not as long as dehydration. I remember the combat being good in that map though.

 

Kills:100%

Secrets:60%

 

  

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 10: Termination Center by Samuel "Kaiser" Villarreal

Music: "Denied" by Doomkid(92) from Plutonia Midi Pack.

Played with the JPCP class from the Final Doomer mod

 

A fairly strong map. The opening hallway is obviously cobbled from the beginning of Doom 64's Tech Center which itself came from "Tricks and Traps." Reminds me of when I first played Doom 64. There's lots of nice tech-detailing, along with a backpack secret that's easy to miss if you don't press one of the lights on one side of the closet in one of the hallways near the beginning. Fights aren't really anything to speak of, so we won't spend any time with them. It's definitely around the difficulty of an average Doom 64 map, for all that's worth.

 

The progression on the other hand....it's pretty good for the most part but there are a few switches whose function aren't exactly intuitive which really dragged things down. The puzzles on the other hand, actually worked quite well for the most part. No, I don't know who would put timed pillars around the blue key, nor pillars used for jumping in general, a la the puzzle near the end of Holding Area which opens the way to the first secret map of Doom 64.

 

This map still feels like it's lacking something and I'm not sure what it is, It's also one of the hardest to complain about though, so I can really say no more

 

Best maps (so far)

 

Spoiler

Map 08

Map 02

Map 10

Map 04

Map 03

Map 01

Map 05

Map 06

Map 08

Map 09

 

[Poncho1]

Map10: Termination Center

Author: Samuel Villarreal (Kaiser)

 

Actually, I'll think you'll find it's written "centre". Differing-English spelling aside, I really like how the map looks: crate shipments, computer panels, barred-off areas, it all looks really well made. Sadly, the progression is utterly FUBAR. With the eight-directional beginning room which allows you to choose a good chunk of the paths, it promises a good non-linear time, but that isn't really the case in that, besides a few optional side-areas (at least, I think they're optional) to gain the Rocket Launcher, you pretty much have to go about the map in a particular way, Key-wise. Speaking of keys, the whole puzzle involving the Red Key (which sits atop a metallic structure like something out of Mill from TNT Evilution) takes for-fucking-ever: two super-hidden switches and no gameplay make Poncho an angry boy. Seriously, the hunt for the RK took up a good 10 minutes of my time: I'd cleared the whole area of enemies, and I had found the switch hidden in the lift in the middle of the Lost Soul room, only, to my shame (!), I didn't noticed another hidden switch in that room that was needed to advance. Man, what an idiot I am! The ending makes use of a "making-your-own-bridge-made-out-of-lifts" puzzle that isn't quite as bad as it sounds, but it's still slow. And that's how I can sum the map up: slow and uneventful. Much like the last couple of levels, the combat feels uninspired, nor does the map feel like it builds up to a grand event. One of the better-looking and detailed levels of the whole WAD (this goes for all of Kaiser's contributions, really), but the gameplay is left wanting.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Poncho1

[Book Lord]

1 hour ago, Poncho1 said:

besides a few optional side-areas (at least, I think they're optional) to gain the Rocket Launcher

 

I forgot to mention that weapon in my write-up and I did not see anybody writing about it, possibly because the map is a bit claustrophobic for rockets. 

 

That weapon is on a pillar that it's lowered by an apparently useless switch near the RK monument, that only seemed to trigger a pair of Commandos. How can a player relate that faraway switch to a weapon near the start, in a room out of sight, is beyond me.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP10 - Termination Center - Samuel "Kaiser" Villarreal (94%K/98%I/60%S):

First of the series of "Long-ass" maps in Community Chest, this is a really good map for the mapset, the hub-like structure, with very well made rooms and "non-orthogonal" layout, seems to be pretty interesting and well thought-out. Yes, this kind of gameplay already feels old, the room-door-room progression, feels like something you would see in TNT, or in the late stages of Memento Mori I or II, or even Requiem. But there are mostly positives here, the layout, may have tons of backtracking, but it manages to make you feel engaged as much as it can. Some things may make this not as good as it could be, like hidden switches in gaps between pillars, or tricky stuff like that, mandatory to progression. The lift puzzle near the end, where you need to hit switches to raise the steps you need to use, was quite a neat feature aswell. Termination Center has its moments, and while it goes for so much, I feel it is overall good, the fights you will find here, are mostly what makes this level interesting, this and secret finding. The first time I've played this one I just slept, probably because I was listening to the worst Pink Floyd album while playing this. That's the memory I have from my first playthrough of this. Even with its flaws, it's still the best made map yet, and not to mention, it is pretty well detailed, as it should be.

(HMP Playthrough - PrBoom+)

Order of preference: 
 

Spoiler

 

MAP10

MAP02
MAP03
MAP09
MAP08
MAP04
MAP01
MAP07
MAP05

MAP06

 

 

[Poncho1]

1 hour ago, Book Lord said:

 

I forgot to mention that weapon in my write-up and I did not see anybody writing about it, possibly because the map is a bit claustrophobic for rockets. 

 

That weapon is on a pillar that it's lowered by an apparently useless switch near the RK monument, that only seemed to trigger a pair of Commandos. How can a player relate that faraway switch to a weapon near the start, in a room out of sight, is beyond me.

Bloody really!? That's what that one switch - that looks super important, might I add - does!?

[Book Lord]

MAP 11 – Mandrel by Alex Parsons

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

 

Alex Parsons contributed a second small level to Community Chest, playing like a slightly larger, more varied, and ultimately better version of the unremarkable MAP03. The short, narrow, and right-angled corridors were still there, as well as the realistic light sources, but one can notice a step forward in the use of height. The outdoor sections improved the map’s visual outcome, making it less congested and monotone if compared to Ground Floor.

Spoiler

It was another straightforward switch and key hunt, fighting against low tier monsters shooting from behind gratings or from elevated positions. The last room with the RK featured a small group of Cacodemons and a Pain Elemental. The threat was always minimal, with the hardest challenge posed by the Soul Sphere secret (a classic, though easily missed along the way). Once again, the name Mandrel was barely understandable. Maybe the author was programming a CNC lathe machine at that time, and he confused the WAD with the machine code file?

Spoiler

 

 

1 hour ago, Poncho1 said:

Bloody really!? That's what that one switch - that looks super important, might I add - does!?

Yep, the switch linedef and the RL sector share tag 43. It also releases Hell Knights in the hub, though it is a bit difficult to connect them with the switch or the RL.

 

Apparently, it does not release Chaingunners. They teleport once you enter the room, due to another sector arrangement.

Edited March 10, 2022 by Book Lord

[Andromeda]

7 hours ago, Book Lord said:

How can a player relate that faraway switch to a weapon near the start, in a room out of sight, is beyond me.

I see your point, but for me it actually served as an interesting sidequest - seeing it in a room near the start, on a pedestal just out of reach meant that it would be eventually unlocked later. So whenever I returned to the hub I'd check that room, until I was eventually able to claim my reward just before the end and use it to clear the remaining monsters. A little something that added some flavour to the level :)

[DavitW]

MAP11: Mandrel

What the hell's a Mandrel? Let's see here... "A shaft or bar the end of which is inserted into a workpiece to hold it during machining". Alright, sure. Makes perfect sense for this map. The start was the hardest part here. I found it best to run out and face your problems head on rather than camping at the start, otherwise you'll be trapped in the starting room by a number of demons with only a pistol to your name. The secret was trivial to find in my case, kind of like the author threw it in last minute just because he felt it was mandatory. Overall though it was short, sweet, and relatively easy going making it a good pallet cleanse after the last few beasts we've had to deal with.

cc11.zip

[RHhe82]

MAP11: Mandrel. DSDA v0.24, HMP-PS, 100% kills and secrets. Completion time 9:44.

 

Good map streak continues, I really liked Mandrel, even if it does feel a little small and cramped at times. Mandrel would make a perfect first or second map for some quality vanilla-megawad. It's hard to say, why I liked it as much as I did, maybe it's because I've grown to like small levels, and Mandrel doesn't feel like wasting space, having rooms and hallways just for their own sake. As a downside, it sometimes feel like stretches of the level just stop at some point with a slapped room, like the author just got bored with it. Like the end after the red door, it's just some corridor and the exit's there.

 

Minor grievances. This is another I just might replay in UV some day.
 

[brick]

MAP09: Flow

I wasn't a huge fan of this one. Too many narrow and dark passages, and way, way, waaaaaaaaaaaay too much backtracking through said narrow dark passages. The idea of a "switch hub" where you go back every time you find a key to open up the next passage is not bad in itself, it's just that the keys, the room, and the doors that open are laid out as if to maximize running around, and it doesn't make the gameplay very engaging, especially since there's nothing much to look at while you run around. It doesn't help that the map doesn't even abide fully by this design, since the yellow switch is for some reason in a completely different and completely unremarkable side passage.

 

MAP10: Termination Center

I think I liked this one even less. The opening room layout looks like a more interesting version of the octagon in Doom II MAP08, but the progression is just too random for me. There are several instances of pressing a switch near a door, which opens a wall somewhere else (have fun finding where!) to reveal a switch that opens the door. The switches hidden up at the top of the lifts were annoying, especially since in one case the one you need looks identical to the one that just lowers the lift again so it's easy to not realize this is important. I didn't mind the timed lifts on the blue key, and hunting down the switches to the red key was mostly fun. I absolutely despised the switch key at the end though. It took me some time to realize what each switch does, at which point getting to the first objective was easy, but even after knowing what to do to get to the top one, even after raising each platform to where it should be, I just could not get the exact right angle and speed and waltzing to get to the top. After too many failed attempts I just resorted to cheating (first time this wad). I cannot even begin to imagine trying to do this without saving and reloading.

[Poncho1]

Map11: Mandrel

Author: Alex Parsons

 

It's very clear that this was made by the same chap who made Map03. Mandrel is another short, small, very easy run-and-gun that hands you an easily-obtainable Supercharge secret, with which the rest of the map becomes piss-easy. In fact, the only thing you really have to worry about from that point on is the lava area with Pain Elementals and inescapable pits. But even then, the ledges are thick enough to not be a nuisance and the PEs and Imps don't add much to the difficulty. Just again, like Map03, it happens and it finishes, without a want or worry of being remembered: inoffensive, average and unremarkable.

[Yumheart]

Map11 "Mandrel" by Alex Parsons

Yet another exremely average map, getting kinda tired of saying this. Despite the cramped and kinda hectic beginning, which seems like something I'd like, this map didn't resonate with me at all. I found the usage of Chaingunners here to be pretty weak, they're really only threatening on your first attempt because of how they're hidden in dark sniping spots, but don't seem to serve any purpose beyond that: If you know where they are, you can't really die to them. Aside from that, the combat is - say it with me - entirely incidental.
Visuals are bland, as appose to Map03, which got salvaged by it's lighting and texture choices.

I don't have any strong opinions on this map, it failed to make any impression on me, tbh.

Edited March 11, 2022 by Yumheart

[Worriedidiot]

I have a lot of stuff to catch up on... again.

MAP05 “The Forgotten Prison” by Black Void

Broown... very brown

Ehh... this is map is fine, I guess. It doesn't really stand out in any way. The combat feels sloppy for the most part and visually it's pretty bland.

The last half of the map feels like it's 90% filler. Just corridors with randomly placed chaingunners, cacodemons and revenants.

That big staircase fight was one of the only parts that really stood out to me both because it's an actual trap and also because I accidentally cheesed it twice.

For me this map mostly stands in the middle. It's nether good or bad. Just kinda average.

 

MAP06 “Goin’ Down” by Magikal

( ° ͜ʖ °)

This map is the best thing I've ever played. It opened my third eye to what is a great map. It's a piece of art in map form and the epitome of what makes a good puzzle map.

Visually, it may not be the best but it's minimalism at it's best. It's charming with it's simplicity.

Some of you might say that the progression is confusing and "dumb" but it just requires a high level of IQ to beat it. You wouldn't get it of course.

In terms of combat it's fresh and flowing. The ammo balance is amazing and I never felt like the combat was unfair in any way.

This map is breathtaking to say the least.

 

If you couldn't already tell, I was being sarcastic.

This map sucks... sucks. It's an incoherent and horrid mess of teleporters, switches that don't look like switches and doors that don't look like doors. I had so many issues that I don't think I can even list them all here.

Visually it's very inconsistent, bland and ugly. Some rooms look like they're ripped straight from 90s shovelware.

The progression... it's some of the worst I've seen. I don't really like it when maps have an obligatory secret or two but this is on a whole other level. Half of the map is one big secret. Good luck beating this map without some sort of walkthrough and an insane amount of wall-humping.

Also, the map constantly went from having not enough ammo to overloading you with it.

I wish I got my 23 minutes back that I wasted on this map.

 

My personal ranking of the currently played maps:

Spoiler

1. MAP04
2. MAP02
3. MAP05
4. MAP03
5. MAP01
6. MAP06

 

[finnks13]

MAP11 - Mandrel by Alex Parsons:
The second (and final) contribution by Alex Parsons is another map that I would probably have a hard time remembering for longer than the few minutes it took to write this paragraph. Like his other map, this is a small, wimpy techbase - though this map is outside and uses the BROWN textures instead of STARTAN, which I personally prefer. The map is quite cramped, though not overly so, and the start is pretty hectic since there aren't any immediately accessible guns and there are loads of sniping hitscanners. I appreciate the break and chance to blow off some steam with some fast-paced action considering the length of the previous and next two maps, but the map does feel a bit insubstantial. Overall, this map is fine and marginally more interesting than Map03.

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

Really Liked: MAP02, MAP07
Liked: MAP04, MAP09
The Boring Zone: MAP03, MAP11
Didn't Like: MAP01, MAP05, MAP08
Really Didn't Like: MAP06, MAP10

 

[kalaeth]

Friday! Another map,

 

MAP11 - mandrel :

Tiny room opens up to small room with paths. One down, one up and a red door. Let's go up : aim for the top! Oh, you actually can't. The path is on the same level and leads to a blue door. Down it is then. Nice courtyard with a bluesphere on a pillar, and on the side a ledge near a lava pit. The blue key, and a SSG, are across the lava. Up some steps, a closet with a shotgunner and a zombie, a few imps hidden in the darkness, we go up all the way to a switch. It opened a door on the other end of the ledge. So far the shotgun has been proving to be THE weapon to use, even pinkies are easy to kill with the barrels. Now, some bars block the stairs but the lift is here to take me up, unto another switch that opens the bars. Up the stairs, blue key is here, now back down through the SSG pickup. On to the blue door, bars to the right, stairs to the left. I'm guessing I'll find a switch up there. Oh, no it's back down to that small adjacent room with a window. Door, imp, switch, and change to SSG for the first time to deal with the pinkies. Also, free RL! Bars are open, back tp the SSG to deal with the pinkies, zigzag above the lava, and what a surprise : a switch! It lowers the red key, so back to the red door now. Stairs down, a lone pinkie and that's the end. However, I'm missing the secret and a enemy. Let's investigate! Also, I left way too many barrels, so as I hump my way across the level all barrels must explode! Secret found, the bluesphere is mine! But where's the remaining enemy? AH! found. It was one of those hidden imps. Exit time.

 

K/I/S : 100% / 100% / 100%

time : 10:12 / 3:05:36

deaths : 0 / 6

 

After yesterday's looong map, this one felt like a snack. A tasty shotgun action snack. That's all for today folks.

[Silhouette 03]

Map11: mandrel- Alex Parsons

Alex Parsons second contribution shows a lot of promise.

 

This is Alex Parsons's second contribution to CC and is a massive step up from Map03. The layout is open and there's plenty of space to strafe. There's a lot more to this map than Map03. The progression feels a lot better than Map03. The map's biggest flaw, however, is it's gameplay. It's makes way to much use of hitscanners and enemies in cages, especially cages with flashing lights, making said enemies hard to see. Putting hitscanners in dark areas to ambush players is never a good combination in my opinion. There are multiple softlocks in the map as well, such as in the lava pool with the SSG pillar, and in the area with the red key. I have a feeling these softlocks were intentional as a way to punish the player for not moving carefully. I don't really like this approach to map design. If you want to punish the player, make the sector highly damaging( -10) but give at least some way out of the pit. To me this design seems to make the map artificially difficult.

 

Overall, This map is an improvement over Parson's first map but still has a lot of flaws. This is by no means a bad map, though.

 

Kills:98%

Secrets:100%    

 

[erzboesewicht]

MAP11: Mandrel by Alex Parsons

 

A small but tricky level. The start is the most difficult part, because there are hitscanners and other foes sniping at you from many angles, and if pistol starting it is essential to use some of the barrels to reach the first courtyard where you can get a shotgun and ammo. From there on, difficulty lowers at every meter, so I suppose it's another level balanced more for continuous play. On the way to the first essential switch you still have to engage with some creative hitscanner/pinky usage. But when you come close to the blue keycard you've essentially won. In the final third you get a green armor, a SSG and a rocket launcher to battle only a couple of cacodemons and a pain elemental, this fight is easy-peasy due to the enormous amount of ammo you'll have accumulated here. Fun, but a bit unbalanced.

 

Difficulty: 4/10
Rating: 6,5/10

 

Pistol start, UV, prboom-plus, occasional saves in bigger maps. Difficulty scale (approx.): 1 = Doom E1M1, 3 = Doom E1M4 or E3M2, 5 = Doom2 MAP29, 7 = Plutonia MAP15, 10 = Sunlust MAP15 and above

 

PS: I recommend all non-Doomgods to play the next two maps with saves :)

Edited March 11, 2022 by erzboesewicht

[Lingyan203]

 

YouTube playthrough for reference

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 11: Mandrel by Alex Parsons

Music: "Always Watching" by Lippeth from Plutonia Midi Pack

Played continuously  with JPCP Class from Final Doomer

 

A sort of larger and more complex version of Map 03, only largely outdoors and comprised of a certain Doom1 green texture that's not green STARTAN. Pistol starters should watch themselves, as there's a chaingunner to the left when the first room's entered and you must immediately rush the shotgun guy in front of you to get his gun and take the chaingunner out. Otherwise, this is maybe just a touch or two harder than Map 03, and also featuring an almost-impossible-to-miss secret. I admit being intrigued when I picked up a rocket launcher and the attack of a few Cacodemons and a Pain Elemental does make for some decent excuse to unload some rockets, but they also felt strangely unnecessary. Still less painful than many of the previous maps.

[Gibbon]

RZDoom, no saves, HMP

 

MAP11 - Mandrel

 

I have to say, I really loved this map.  It starts off in a brown techbase but definitely gives you NRFTL vibes.  The action is nicely spread out and doesn't drop you into a Baron pit but gradually increases the pressure the further you get.

 

Some nice shotgunner placements on the towers over the nukage pit and the imps inside the walls was fantastic, it had me peeking around every corner expecting some surprise.

 

It is a short level, but well designed, nicely balanced and a pleasure to play.  It is a shame Alex Parsons did not stick around in the community.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP11 - Mandrel - Alex Parsons (100%K/I/S):

Another entry by Alex Parsons, another entry similar in layout, pretty reminiscent to the work that American McGee gave us in the original Doom II, just like in MAP03, the layout is a little bit compressed, but this time, this little setpiece offers you better navigation, and better fights. Yes it is quite a pocket map, but you will really like it anyways. Again, it feels like an American McGee map, just like if Alex Parsons was him, but with a pseudonym, as happened with MAP03. Parsons was doing the TWID thing just before it was actually something. Good map, and luckly, a shorter one, I need short maps like this, as the next two ones are going to be a pain.

(HMP Playthrough - PrBoom+)

Order of preference: 
 

Spoiler

 

MAP11

MAP10

MAP02
MAP03
MAP09
MAP08
MAP04
MAP01
MAP07
MAP05

MAP06

 

 

[Dusty_Rhodes]

I was late for a bit, so we've got a triple post for today. Fun stuff. :D

 

Map09: Flow

Played continous on PrBoom+ in Ultra Violence 

 

The last of @dt_'s maps. I have to say, I'm sad to see him go. Just like with the previous map and Map04: Outer Base, Bad Bob's combat feels a lot more modern that the rest of the megawad: there's more monster variety, a strict approach to ammo, and great use of a lack of room. Flow is no exception to this. I really enjoy the visuals and overall feel of the level. Playing it feels like delving deeper into the facility introduced in Map04 and expanded upon in Map08. This one doesn't have as enjoyable combat, but I still have a good time with it. 

 

Since there's been a lot of mixed feelings about dt_'s levels:

 

I think their biggest strength is adding some consistency to the early game levels, as well as a bit of an unwritten narrative (I talked about that a bit with Parsons' Map03, it's even more evident here). They feature tight combat and well designed ambushes and utilize textures correctly. I seriously don't understand the disapproval of the visuals, they're slick, consistent, not cluttered, and well done. They don't distract or look bad. In defense of Map08 and Map09, they (like the rest of this wad) were not designed to be pistol started and it's obvious. This wasn't a style that was popular in 2002 / 2003. I think it's unfair to complain about hard situations and secrets that should be optional but aren't, when we play it in a more modern frame of reference. Not that your gripes aren't justified, they are, but it is important to remember what your playing.

 

Alright, digression over. Accuse me of wanting to put on brown lipstick all you want, but I've defended Cchest and it's maps for as long as I've been on the forum. I only recently knew Mr. Trim was a member when he was tagged here. Either way, I enjoyed this survival experience of a map and I'm sad to see Bad Bob go. This is his last map in the megawad, but this trilogy are probably my favorite out of the first 10 maps; which I consider the first episode. 

 

Map10: Termination Center 

 

Sorry lobsterbacks (looking at you Gibbon and Finnks), it's spelled "Center". It's not my fault your King George went crazy taxing newspapers by the letter, therefore changing how words are spelled due to the design of printing blocks.

 

 Jokes aside, this map is kind of an anomaly for me. It's @Kaiser's first level in the wad and I love it in some ways and dislike it in others. First off, this map is drop dead gorgeous. It's kind of the poster child for 2000s tech bases. Secondly, there's some fun combat and a very creative layout here. It seems equally inspired by Doom 64's Map05 and TNT Evilution's Map18: Mill. The non - linear, Mill - inspired sections are really cool, definitely my favorite. That said, this level goes on a little too long. The ending puzzle is more annoying than intriguing and the Baron placement is tedious. That's why I find the level confusing, I can't tell if I love it or hate it. Some days I'm in the mood to go on a tech base adventure, looking for clues, solving puzzles, and killing chain gunners (side note, I do really enjoy how the chain gunners are utilized here) and other days I want to not get lost, find myself annoyed by hitscan damage, and end up tired of the TEK textures. So, I think this level is decent. It's pretty middle of the road for me. I'm surprised people seemed to enjoy the slower pace and more tedious combat, especially when compared to earlier maps. That is the fun part of the discussion though. In the end, this level looks great, has solid secrets, and some decent combat, but is equally frustrating to progress in and way to happy to use Lost Souls and Barons of Hell. Don't worry, Kaiser's later maps are much better, I really enjoy Map15. But we'll get there when we get there.

 

Map11: Mandrel

 

Sad to see you leave so soon, Alex Parsons. I have a weird soft spot for Map03: Ground Floor despite it not being that great of a level. That leaves me feeling affable to it's author, who I've barely played anything else of. This is Parsons' second and last map for Cchest and his most fun. It's nail biting hit scan fights with some good lighting, consistent texture usage, and a unique layout. There's a nice bit of verticality here and I really enjoy making my way through the level. 

 

All in all, I really appreciate this level for being a short, punchy break map. Just like Map03, it's different and interesting enough to make a distinction from the levels around it. Not the most memorable levels ever, but the serve their purpose for pacing very well. Especially since Map09 and Map10 were so long. Mandrel is a refreshing and fun experience that very nicely contrasts @Kaiser's lonesome tech base and the upcoming menacing sludge factory @Use has in store for us. Good map.