The DWmegawad Club plays: Judgment

dobu gabu maru · May 1, 2022

What is the DWmegawad Club?

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

Can I join?

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

What levels am I allowed to post about?

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

Do I have to post an entry every day?

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

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

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

+++ Ultimate Doom

Note that you can vote for up to three separate nominations in a single month, and every wad must contain at least three maps each. The winning nomination must receive at least four votes for a thread to be made. Ties will be decided by RNG.

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>>>DOWNLOAD JUDGMENT HERE<<<

Don’t worry about a court summons—you’re going straight to the executioner! Judgment is a one-man MBF21 megawad by Rayzik, worked on over the course of eight years! Expect pretty sights and brutal fights as you delve deep into this pit of demons. Just remember to update your GZDoom if you haven’t!

Episode & Maplist:

Step into the Fire

MAP01 - “Pit of Fire”

MAP02 - “Blood Mountain”

MAP03 - “Ritual Grounds”

MAP04 - “Temple of the Lost”

MAP05 - “Incised Path”

MAP06 - “The Stronghold”

Bringing Death in Kind

MAP07 - “Arcaneum”

MAP08 - “Rotting Garden”

MAP09 - “Hanging Death”

MAP10 - “Cenotaph”

MAP11 - “Shrine to Madness”

Mutant Techgnawlogy

MAP12 - “Chemistry”

MAP13 - “Combustion”

MAP14 - “Metallosis”

MAP15 - “Dawn of the Machine”

MAP31 - “The Shaman’s Grove”

MAP32 - “Walk With Me in Hell”

Beholding Ancient Fears

MAP16 - “Harlequin Vale”

MAP17 - “The Slayer’s Tomb”

MAP18 - “Forgotten Abbey”

MAP19 - “Mourning Palace”

MAP20 - “Ruination”

On the Seared Surface

MAP21 - “Entrancemperium”

MAP22 - “Watershed”

MAP23 - “Plateau of the Beheaded”

MAP24 - “Devil’s Orchard”

MAP25 - “Flooded Archive”

Aberrant Chroma-Death

MAP26 - “Cerulean Depths”

MAP27 - “Emerald Machine”

MAP28 - “Crimson Oblivion”

MAP29 - “Amethyst Citadel”

MAP30 - “The Grand Conjuration”

Secret Maps

MAP33 - “Neon Crater”

MAP34 - “Circle of Druids”

BONUS CONTENT

TBA

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OLD THREADS

Spoiler

The DWmegawad Club Metathread

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

Edited April 23, 2023 by dobu gabu maru

RHhe82 · May 1, 2022

Can we start already? Do I really have to be the first, it brings me such discomfort everywhere... Ahem.

Ok, I can't not participate DWMC, I still regret opting out of Ozonia. That said, I'm having a busy month IRL-wise, so I can make no promises to keep at Judgment till the end of month. If I'm enjoying it, I'll do the rest in June.

MAP01: Pit of Fire. Played thru DSDA-Doom v0.24.0. Pistol start, Ultraviolence. 36/36 K, 3/3 S, 68/68 I. Completion time 13:19.

First things first: I forgot to specify complevel 21 when booting up the wad, so I don't know if my experience went as intended. At least I didn't notice anything odd.

Good first impression! Pit of Fire is a compact level, dark caverns with green marble pillars and lava I very much like. As an episode- and wad opener it's not too hard, I actually beat it single segment. Completion time is a bit inflated, as two of the secrets were not easy to find. There was a Haste MAP04-like button hidden, but it really took me some time to find the obvious hint rocket box. Didn't use IDDT, either!

The baby cacos were adorable!

Edited May 1, 2022 by RHhe82
silly typos

Thelokk · May 1, 2022

Heh, not sure if I'll stick around for this one in the long run, not a huge fan of mods (Doom's arsenal and bestiary are fine as they are, if I want to have a different game experience... I play a different game), the first map didn't particularly strike me, and I've heard some things about the megawad's difficulty curve and inflated monster count in later maps. Was hoping for something a bit more traditional and chill after a full month of slaughter, but I'll give Judgment the benefit of doubt and see how the next two or three maps behave.

Judgment MAP10: Pit of Fire

HMP / 100% monsters / found no secret

Your typical entry level - compact (save for some vistas), small monster count and straightforward progression. Not sure if I skipped something of importance, but I found myself for most of the map shotgunning barons and even mancubi - not exactly a compelling experience. Also, it makes no intuitive sense to me why the rifle should be a pistol replacement as it looks and feels far more powerful than the shotgun.

Nothing great, nothing terrible.

NiGHTS108 · May 1, 2022

Well there's two replies by now, wouldn't hurt to get going

Stealing MtPain27's grading system as always

- PLAY INFO -

Spoiler

- GZDoom 4.7.1 source port
- MBF (strict) compatibility
- Ultra-Violence difficulty
- Pistol start every map
- Saves are allowed
- Completely blind to all maps
- I try to get 100% kills sometimes
- Using mods Autoautosave and IDCLEVer (Improves GZ autosaves and auto-forces pistol starts) and a few other mods that don't change gameplay (Doom II Minor Sprite Fixing Project, widescreen hud, DSDA-Doom hud in GZDoom)

MAP01: Pit Of Fire

Kills: 100%

Items: 33%

Secrets: 0%

Time: 3:20

Pit Of Fire isn't a particularly interesting opener, it just exists to do typical opener stuff like introduce the setting and some .deh elements. Most notably these adorable little Cacos! I almost have trouble killing them with their delightfully higher pitched noise! They shoot a faster, smaller blue projectile that feels even weaker than an Imp fireball and has about the health of a Pinky. Speaking of Imps, they also received a fresh makeover. I dig it, the black looks real sleek on them. They also fire a cool rotating Cacodemon projectile which doesn't feel like it does any more damage than typical Imp fireballs, but maybe it was always like that with Caco projectiles and I'm just noticing it now. As stated the map itself, well, isn't particularly interesting. You don't get an SSG here so you're gonna be hacking away at at least a few Hell Knights and Revenants with the standard pump-action. I don't mind it so much though.

Grade: B-

Difficulty: D-

finnks13 · May 1, 2022

I've played a bit of Judgment (the spelling of which has really thrown me because I've never seen it spelled any other way than "Judgement"!) when it was first released, up to about Map09. I never finished it because I was very busy finishing off a wad I was making and I figured I'd wait until the full release (and inevitable playing of it by the club) to give it another shot. From what I remember, this wad's pretty great with lots of small details that really make it shine.

As normal, I will be playing with DSDA-Doom v0.21.0, complevel 21 from a pistol start on UV. I'm going for 100% kills but if I miss a couple in a hard-to-find secret fight then so be it.

MAP01 - Pit of Fire:
Last time I played this there was a Doom1 MIDI playing, only the final episode had non-IWAD music so this came as a bit of a surprise (though the intermission theme is still the classic one!) - maybe the old tracks were placeholder or something?

The map itself is decent opener, I like that this bucks the convention of small packs of zombies + imps that is the standard for Map01's and introduces some heavy hitters such as the mancubus immediately. I also like the black rock & bright orange lava aesthetic, though the caves full of lava are very flatly lit which looks a bit odd. The most interesting things here are probably the dehacked additions - the imp now fires a cacodemon projectile which makes them a larger threat, but not overly so, there's a baby cacodemon monster that I immediately felt awful about killing (a demon's a demon I guess) and the pistol has been retextured into a rifle and fires a bit quicker. Killing the beefier enemies with the single shotgun isn't particularly engaging but they're thankfully in low enough numbers that it doesn't become awful. Nothing wrong with the map, but it's still a pretty standard Map01 and without much exception they tend to be quite dull.

RANKINGS:

Spoiler

Really Liked: ?
Liked: ?
Mixed Opinions: ?
Didn't Like: ?

Boring: MAP01

General Roasterock · May 1, 2022

There's two things I've learned from first downloading this a while ago. The first is that a lot of people actually don't know how to spell "judgment" in the goddamn greatest country on earth (pretty interesting to see that there were multiple spellings for different nationalities). The second is that while MBF 21 is a great idea, I've yet to see a full conclusive use of everything it offers. Xyzzy's Axolotl did a good job at showing off the power, but I still feel that there's a lot left to utilize, which I feel Judgment gets closer to realizing, but that's yet to be fully determined.

This time around I'm only doing demos if a map calls to me. I'm done making the mistake of blind saveless runs, and I don't want to create anything external to break my own high hopes. This is still about fun, of course.

Map 01: Pit of Fire

One thing I've noticed about Rayziik's architecture from the couple of Judgment maps I've played: he loves circular columns. Many chances to platform over damaging floor, or to house monsters high above the player, are usually done by a cylindrical pillar. They're present to the point where they're the first thing you step onto coming off of the starting platform. The DeHackEd is also immediately apparent, the Dark Imps having the Cacodemon projectile is pretty significant when it comes to the total damage they can dish out now. I find myself taking them a lot more seriously now. The same can't be said for the Baby Caco, which I will always feel bad slaughtering in cold blood, but I'm not sure of their practicality as of yet. I like this new wave of making the pistol/pistol replacement fire faster, but I still find myself just putting it away when I find a shotgun, which comes really early here. The rest of the map is pretty bog standard, but I like that a map called "Pit of Fire" actually feels like a pit the way its ovular shape sits with the terrain.

Most of the combat relies on the teleport ambushes with Revenants being unexpected. I will say I'm not a fan of the Revenants, and Lost Souls in the future, not bleeding when I hit them with bullets, as my brain will take a beat to realize that I haven't just missed them. The Lost Soul visually makes sense, but the Rev has gore all over his torso, it was already bleeding. The one Revenant that forces you to retreat down the columns after the second Manc was pretty smart, and the Pinkies are very appropriately blocking off errant Rocket Launcher usage. Finding intention in monsters is just as rewarding for me as blowing them up. It's a really memorable Map01, even if the changes help a bit.

Castr_Tricks2 · May 1, 2022

Alright, I'm back from Three's A Crowd. Standard GZ 4.7.1, with Doom (strict) comp mode.

MAP01: Pit of Fire

So many little platforms, ditches techbase entirely for hell right off the bat.

Surprised me with all the custom stuff, even the trees had hanged skulls on em.

We got mancubi and revenants off the bat, great! The teleporting revenant at the end of the last cave section took a good chunk out of my health.

Imps are now more dangerous. Expect this guy's death count to go skyhigh.

Overall, great introducing map, and I enjoyed it. (Maybe it's because I've played alot of shovelware recently?)

Ranked:
S:
A:
B: MAP01
C:
D:
F:

tonytheparrot · May 1, 2022

Judgment is a wad that I have downloaded when it appeared on the "21 more for '21" section of the 2021 cacoawards. Despite that, I never played it before as it didn't attract me as much as some other wads. This month is gonna change that and allow me to use DSDA-Doom for the first time outside of Heretic and play my first MBF-21 megawad. Hopefully it is gonna be a great experience! Of course, I am still playing on UV with saves and I am gonna try getting 100% secrets and kills, but i can't guarantee it for every map, especially with secrets. This time however, I am plyig continuously and not pistol-starting.

Map 1: Pit of Fire

100% kills, 88% items and 100% secrets

Time: 3:49

This map serves as a nice easy introduction to the megawad. It introduces the rifle, which uses a beta Doom sprite and fires faster than the pistol, the new imp who has 3 death animations, a new skin and fires caco projectiles and the baby cacodemon, who has about half of a normal caco's health, shoots a faster less damaging projectile and is so adorable!!! I don't want to kill these guys, they look and sound so cute! But it has to be done :( The blood is also coloured and stays on the ground after an entity is shot, which is a nice detail. However, the revenants and probably also the lost souls (they don't appear in this map) don't bleed after getting shot, I am split on this change, while it makes no sense for skeletons and skulls to bleed, it reduces the enemies' response after getting shot, especially if the pain chance doesn't activate. Gameplay wise, the map doesn't go too hard on the player and is mostly made of simple, easy fights and some platforming, but it gets the job done for the start of a megawad. The secrets are also well hidden, epecially the rocket launcher hidden behind a wall that opens after finding a skull switch on a pillar. Visually, Judgment starts with a hellish theme, similarly to Nova 3 or Resurgence, which works very well thanks to the new textures and the midi, which is one of Sigil's best tracks. Overall, a nice opener for this megawad.

Rankings:

Spoiler

Like:

Map 1

Edited May 1, 2022 by tonytheparrot
Added the quote about playing continuously

DisgruntledPorcupine · May 1, 2022

MAP01: Pit of Fire

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/3 secrets

The first map introduces us to a fair few of the set's changes right off the map. One thing to note is that the mostly "vanilla" textured map has some small differences, like the lava texture seeming a bit more still, and some of the dead trees having skulls hanging from them. The health bonuses are a brighter shade of blue as well. For your weaponry we see an upgraded pistol, faster and more accurate than the regular pistol. Lots of small monster differences, the imps get a new coat of pain, the hell knights bleed green, and the revenants don't bleed at all. And we even see an adorable baby cacodemon! Killing that thing did hurt me a little inside.

The gameplay is definitely very MAP01, the monster count is kept low at 36 and the ambushes are low threat. The flow of the map is also quite linear, maybe a bit too much so, but hey it's a MAP01 so this ultra-relaxed play is forgivable. Or maybe I'm still just getting re-adjusted to lower energy gameplay after the slaughters of last month. In any case this is a nice and easy map to introduce some of the changes to the player, and it looks nice too.

cannonball · May 1, 2022

So Rayziik is most renowned for some of the entries in the Slaughtfest series, along with a few others that certainly side on the hard side. This being a full megawad outing was always going to provide an interesting experience. The first impressions skimming through this was this body of work was a lot more restrained in terms of difficulty. However until now I haven't really delved deeply into this one.

MAP01: Pit Of Fire

A fairly quiet start to the megawad, it is presented reasonably well and the fights were okay. A few annoying instances of having to chip away at a perched enemy. However I suspect the playability of this would be improved by acquiring the secret rocket launcher. It is a surprise to see a wad start with zero hitscan enemies (Plausible given the start is in hell perhaps?). The only suggestion would be the inclusion of a berzerk pack as this could streamline the map a little bit and avoid the heavy "Shotgun only" combat the dominate the playtime here.

Overall, solid but nothing overly groundbreaking (Aside from the new additions like the baby cacodemon).

As a note I am glad that the stock soundtrack has been replaced.

Alaxzandarz · May 1, 2022

Played with pistol-starts on UV on DSDA-Doom

So Judgment. I downloaded this one right after it was released and played trough the first three maps. I thought it was interesting, but I didn't have time to play any further. So it is really nice that it was chosen for this month.

Map 01: Pit Of Fire

Pretty simple first map. Visually it's a rocky outdoors hellscape. Gameplay is really basic, just shotgunning low tiers and a couple of mid tier enemies. I like the mild level morphing this map employs, with the bridges and pillars rising. The player's path looping around the crater is also nice. It's a decent opener.

Andromeda · May 1, 2022

9 hours ago, RHhe82 said:

MAP01: Pit of Fire. Played thru DSDA-Doom v0.24.0. Pistol start, Ultraviolence. 36/36 K, 3/3 S, 68/68 I. Completion time 13:19.

First things first: I forgot to specify complevel 21 when booting up the wad, so I don't know if my experience went as intended. At least I didn't notice anything odd.

This wad contains a COMPLVL lump that tells the port which complevel to use, so you don't have to worry about setting it manually.

For those curious, here's a handy guide to the monsters you will encounter throughout Judgment (courtesy of @Rayziik):

Spoiler

Rayziik · May 1, 2022

16 minutes ago, Andromeda said:

This wad contains a COMPLVL lump that tells the port which complevel to use, so you don't have to worry about setting it manually.

For those curious, here's a handy guide to the monsters you will encounter throughout Judgment (courtesy of @Rayziik):

Reveal hidden contents

Also if you are playing through blind, THIS HAS MAJOR SPOILERS!! So only look if you don't wanna be surprised by the new boss monsters encountered later on.

Edited May 1, 2022 by Rayziik

Thelokk · May 1, 2022

Judgment MAP02: Blood Mountain

HMP / 100% kills / no secrets found

Ok, now we're talking... sort of. As a whole, this is a much more interesting map: the architecture, while a bit more traditional compared to MAP01, is more imposing and visually compelling, the progression requires more backtracking and exploration (I enjoyed the Quake-style 'this door opens elsewhere') and the fights' compositions and layouts are generally more interesting. Ammo is not always abundant, and I was required to rush ahead at times in order to collect supplies. Music was groovy.

Just like in MAP01, the pain points come from the MBF21 additions. The two new monsters, some flying fire thing and a winged baron (as if the original wasn't already annoying enough) are... just kinda meh. They don't mesh with the rest of the bestiary, from a gameplay standpoint (they really mess up with muscle memory) but from a visual one especially: they look as if they were cutout from a different game and pasted into Doom - the baron looks particularly silly, like a regular mob wearing cardboard wings. I did kind of enjoy the new machinegun, which I had already made ample use of in Occula; I still don't get the rifle.

dobu gabu maru · May 2, 2022

Just a heads up that MAP31 & MAP32 are played on the 15th with MAP15, and MAP33 & MAP34 ~~are played on the 31st.~~ on the 8th and 24th respectively.

Edited May 2, 2022 by dobu gabu maru

General Roasterock · May 2, 2022

Map 02: Blood Mountain

There's a lot here that comes on pretty quick. I'm indifferent to the faster firing Chaingun on its own, as it seems to be slowly becoming a standard for big name releases. The way the Marines are introduced made me think they just replaced the Zombieman, which is not the case. The Fallen is cool, I'm glad it doesn't try to use the entire effect suite all at once like something like the Guardian from Ancient Aliens. It's just a weak flying monster with a Revenant missile. The Pain Elemental being edited solely to make more Lost Souls makes me nervous. They already blow out tons in any encounter, and while they've only come single file so far, I fear for the maps where six or seven attack at a time and the soul spawning buff really takes over. I can no longer punch my Barons due to them throwing fireballs as fast as they do now, inconsequential but it makes me sad.

The map itself is pretty boxy, primarily relying on teleporting monsters into the outdoor sections to create the challenge. I managed to completely miss the Super Shotgun in the Arch-Vile fight, but the arena seems timed to allow you to Chaingun one to death if you feel so inclined. The Cacos coming over the fence is cool, if only to show off the block lines on the ground for MBF21. I loved how natural the destructible decorations were introduced into the environment in that Baron fight, watching an errant fireball destroy one made the area feel alive. Outside of that and the ending bit, clearly set up to allow for an AVJ to the exit, the rest of the map blends in my head with a great many other wood/metal based lining hell, unfortunately. There's only so much that can be done with that theme nowadays that hasn't already been done, but I feel the technology gives it the extra push to be memorable.

Power Rankings:

Spoiler

Pit of Fire
Blood Mountain

Rayziik's Circular Column of the Day:

Spoiler

Screenshot_Doom_20220501_211403.png.b2778519edca6c9406681d1622ca25b1.png

They're actually so fucking common I feel like I can pull this bit off.

1 hour ago, dobu gabu maru said:

Just a heads up that MAP31 & MAP32 are played on the 15th with MAP15, and MAP33 & MAP34 are played on the 31st.

But can't you access the other secret maps from within maps in the WAD? I feel like chronological order would make more sense if days were being doubled up, but I understand for scheduling.

FrancisT218 · May 2, 2022

33 and 34 can be accessed from within the wad, I also think they belong to the respective dates.

8 and 24

Edited May 2, 2022 by FrancisT218

sandwedge · May 2, 2022

Wow I'm excited for this one! According to the Judgement thread it has lots of MBF dehacked stuff and is sort of plutonia in a modern style... sounds awesome! Also I feel better about actually keeping up with the thread this time since it's only one a day (at least for a while) and they aren't crazy slaughter maps that might take a while to figure out in video, so perfect to record some blind playthroughs. Great choice!

kalaeth · May 2, 2022

oh, a new month! Let's gooooo!

MAP 01 - Pit of Fire :

So. Different colors, a new pistol. I see black imps up ahead and a manc is sitting here at the start of the first level. After platforming to the shotgun, pressing a switch and a new path open. Kill the pinkie and the manc and inside we go. A small imp trap rewards us with the green armor, we reach another switch. Press, a new path opens down there and a baby caco! So cute! Inside, more imps and a HK. Reaching the HK releases a surprise manc, that dies to the shotgun too, switch, a revenant guarding the platforming path that opened, at the end of which there's a secret box of rockets. After that, a pair of pinkies, a pair of imps and the final rev and that's all for monsters. But I'm missing 2 secrets.. Ok, one of them is the RL that I can see but not (yet) reach.. Ah! Found the switch that opens the path! Now, one more secret to go? Ah! Found it.

100% K/I/S, 0 deaths, 10:20

MAP 02 - Blood Mountain :

There's a chainsaw and a green armor, stepping towards them releases a caco and a pair of pinkies. I rush for the saw and chop the pinkies down, switch, stairs, more lumberjack work on pinkies. Pick up some health and shotgun the imps. Up ahead a pair of HKs on a pillar guarding the chaingun. Ohh, mini-gun! Open the door and a pair of AVs plus a chaingunner in each corner. After killing them I go back for ammo and health. Inside, two chaingunners sniping and then 2 HKs roaming but also a blue armor and heath. Now.. Switch. New door opens and inside imps, shotgunners and a new kind of zombie that I didn't give time enough to shoot at me and so I don't know what he does yet. A mostly imp ambush and it would seem that the new zombie is but a simple riffle guy. After clearing it I find the secret 'sphere, and out we go,switch, pinkies, another switch hidden behind some hanging corpses. Switch, blue key, archie. Going back I spot the secret for the plasma gun! And a PE with some prettier lost souls. Then it's time for the door I had missed before, where a bluesphere is just there for the taking! After that the crusher room that leads to a red door,a switch that uncovers some more rockets and another way to reach the plasma! So, back outside, blue door. A manc on each side, imps and chaingunners on pillars on the center and a winged baron at the end of the room! Ok, so the main difference is that he shoots twice sometimes. Ok, so I still need the red key.. What else am I missing? Ah, there's another corridor here, I see. And the red key! Clear the cacos with the mini-gun, and then HKs in cages inside. Red door, red switch and I can leave when I wish but.. I'm one secret short... Ah! Found.

100, 89, 100%, 0 deaths, 20:22, most of it looking for the final secret.

That's all for today.

finnks13 · May 2, 2022

MAP02 - Blood Mountain:
That's more like it! This map picks up the pace and shows more of what you should expect from the rest of Judgement - intricate and interweaving layouts which are filled with fun traps. This map introduces the minigun, which is always fun and lets you immediately use it against a big horde of imps. No bullet ammo increase like wads with this tend to use so I expect to run out of bullets frequently. You also get a non-secret rocket launcher and plasma gun, which I like and since the wad has death exits between episodes anyway it suggests that we may see a more weapon limited set of levels later on. The cacodemon shooting two fireballs is a cool idea and distinguishes them from the imps a lot more, they're used very well in the red key ambush. The baron now shoots two fireballs too, which helps make them slightly more interesting to deal with (not much, mind you) and the new Fallen enemy seems like it will feature more heavily in the map, but only appears next to

the chaingun.

I really like how you can shoot the gory decorations and they'll "die" - it's just a very neat detail. The green door being "opens elsewhere" is also a cool detail that I presume is done using some very savvy text replacement. The blue key ambush is entertaining rocket fodder, and the lights-out archvile ambush after picking up the SSG is pretty cool too. I don't particularly like the last room, the monsters replacing each other on the pillars is a bit awkward. Overall, this is a pretty great map, though it is certainly being carried by the constant introduction of cool and interesting new stuff.

RANKINGS:

Spoiler

Really Liked: MAP02
Liked: ?
Mixed Opinions: ?
Didn't Like: ?

Boring: MAP01

Edited May 2, 2022 by finnks13
got the name of the new enemy wrong somehow

RHhe82 · May 2, 2022

MAP02: Blood Mountain. Played on DSDA v0.24.0. Pistol start, Ultraviolence. 147/147 K, 3/3 S, 43/55 I. Completion time 19:37

Again I like the visuals, the marble/wood type of hell of TFC, or more recently maps 14 & 16 of Haste. The level's somewhat harder than MAP01, although I *almost* single segmented it: I only reloaded (technically rewinded) at the very early part of the level when you are ambushed by an archvile duo. It was just lazy of me not the retry until I beat that section, since you can skip most of the first area hordes.

Speaking of which, it's a shame we didn't get to see more the flaming harpies as they are introduced the first time you enter the big courtyard. Perhaps they wouldn't have fit anywhere, they seem like outdoor creatures or otherwise vertical places.

Being unfamiliar with MBF or MBF21 (outside of playing Valiant) my understanding is restricted to that they somehow make it easier to have custom monsters. I noticed that one of the doors that are opened by a switch triggers a message "This door is opened elsewhere" if you try and open it directly. Is there some sort of scripting at play here, or how is that accomplished?

Great map, although at the end it started to feel like a chore, when I had already run out of rockets, and there were revenants spawning behind me and an archvile spawned on a pillar to replace a lesser foe in the exit room. Also, are the "tangerine nightmare barons" bulkier than your regular baron? It feels like it takes a zillion SSG shots to kill them.

Edited May 2, 2022 by RHhe82

tonytheparrot · May 2, 2022

(Played continuously on UV with DSDA-Doom, saves are allowed)

Map 2: Blood Mountain

100% kills, 70% items and 100% secrets

Time: 11:30

This map continues to introduce more elements to the wad. You get the first SSG and RL which get no change, the minigun which fires faster than the vanilla chaingun and the plasma (secret-only) which has the Doom 3 firing sound and shoots weird projectiles. A lot of enemies are also introduced with some changes, the cacodemon and baron both fire 2 shots in a quick succession, the lost soul has around half the health, the pain elemental releases 4 lost souls after dying and the chaingunner, baron and lost soul also get new sprites. There are also 2 new enemies: the fallen, which is a weird flying creature on fire that shoots revenant missiles and has health comparable to a pinky and the former marine, a tankier and faster nazi. Another new feature from the dehacked patch allows you to shoot the impaled guys to kill and even gib them, which is an awesome detail. As for the map itself, it is better and more aggressive than the opener. The visuals are still top notch, the AD_79 midi is great, and compared to map 1, some rooms may actually get stuck in your head. The opening starts with a cacodemon, lots of pinkies, imps and fallens which is pretty surprising for a map 2. However, my favorite moment is when you grab the SSG and the lights go out, then, 2 archviles spawn one after the other followed by 4 chaingunners, it is a fun encounter and a dramatic moment. Some of the ambushes like the teleporting fodder and the pinky and revenant monster closet when going for the blue key are also pretty neat. The final room is a bit weird however, with the monsters on top of pillars who get replaced after dying by imps, chaingunners or an arch-vile, it feels out of place and there's not much fun in beating it. Despite that, this map is very solid and definitely more fun than the opener.

Rankings:

Spoiler

Really Like:

Map 2

Like:

Map 1

Nefelibeta · May 2, 2022

2 hours ago, RHhe82 said:

Is there some sort of scripting at play here, or how is that accomplished?

It's just a modified door massage which you'll never get the key for.

Book Lord · May 2, 2022

New month, new DWMC, new source port... I hope that DSDA Doom will cover all compatibility levels I need to play this game and its countless mods. I will play on UV, continuous through the episodes (there are death exits between them, I suppose, so some maps will force PS), and I will keep the commentary about the Dehacked enemies to a minimum, except when they matter for the encounter design. With all those new monsters and modified weapons, there's the risk that most of the text is filled up by mentioning their features. I'll catch up in the next hours...

MAP 01 – Pit of Fire

DSDA-Doom v0.24.3, UV, Pistol start, blind run w/saves

Judgment started off with a level that suffered a bit from the MAP01 syndrome, which is not surprising if you consider it was designed in 2013, along with most of the megaWAD’s first half. It did its job though, as it presented the theme of the Step into the Fire episode, along with a couple of Dehacked enemies: the reskinned black Imps and the Baby Cacodemons. Do not expect mercy from me because of their squeaking; they deserve to die like the bigger and meaner hellspawn.

Spoiler

1092388119_JudgmentMAP01.jpg.13176a3033845e8771b43623db116b7c.jpg

I fell into the lava while dodging Imp balls and I immediately found one of the signature lion face lifts, that will be frequently used to get out of damaging pits. Once I got hold of the shotgun and recovered from the shock of bloodless Revenants, I soon gained control of the Pit of Fire and its surroundings. A sequence of switches regulated the progression to the western tunnel, up to the Mancubus’ terrace, then into the eastern passage, enlivened by a varied mob of monsters. A trail of marble columns allowed to cross a lava cave and reach the exit. I missed all secrets while fighting, but I found them easily while backtracking and checking the hints on the automap. Getting hold of a rocket launcher, unnecessary for the opposition in store, raised hopes that the set was balanced for continuous play as well. Not an astounding opener, but it got me good vibes.

Edited May 2, 2022 by Book Lord

Jacek Bourne · May 2, 2022

45 minutes ago, Nefelibeta said:

It's just a modified door massage which you'll never get the key for.

You get massages from doors?

cannonball · May 2, 2022

MAP02 - “Blood Mountain”

This is a definite step up in difficulty here. The start is fine, just lots of low/mid tiers that you can manipulate easily. The SSG room is a real surprise and a nasty one at that. The light level is so low that I really struggled here. Of course there is enough cover. The rest of the map is a little hit and miss for me. Nothing really stands out as a really interesting fight. The red key can be easily skipped and the cacodemons cannot pursue you effectively. The blue key is a little better but again you are relatively free to move away from the main threat without too much punishment. The final room is pretty straightforward, though I needed to go back and pick up a box of shells I had left earlier in the map.

Overall it is another ok map, a few sharp points of adrenaline but as of yet nothing too demanding. The map is a little door heavy and uses fences a lot which restricts movement that could have allowed more varied combat.

NiGHTS108 · May 2, 2022

MAP02: Blood Mountain

Kills: 91%

Items: 63%

Secrets: 33%

Time: 9:44

Y'know I actually don't find this map too violent of a step up from MAP01 in terms of difficulty, I can't tell if I was in a smiley mood, or I'm experiencing a hangover from the raging alcoholic month that calls itself April. This map does have time to introduce another new custom enemy to the wad, he won't be appearing much here but he resembles a flying Pinky who shoots Revenant rockets, maybe a bit more health and speed than that. He does have this awesome trail effect, and a very nice blood drop where these specks fall off him and break off on the ground, what is this, Decorate?! You'll also receive a special minigun that doesn't go a lot faster than the original chaingun, but you can't snipe with it, so don't forget about that rifle. Overall the combat here is solid, a few select memorable moments. Early on I enjoy the dramatic first Arch-Vile of the wad which reminds me of an early one in Scythe II in the dark, then a good one with another Arch-Vile, Mancubi and Pinkies by the blue key, an attack from flying foes by the red, and this neat little combat bit in the last room with Dark Imps clogging up a teleporter closet with Chaingunners, more Dark Imps and an Arch-Vile. Kill at your own risk. Despite these threatening words, you're given more than enough ammo and area to deal with these encounters, making it not a lot harder than a typical MAP02 overall in my books. To me, Blood Mountain falls in the category of a map that makes you smile and have a good time, but it wouldn't necessarily be a first choice. Not bad.

Grade: B

Difficulty: D+

Edited May 2, 2022 by NiGHTS108

TJG1289 · May 2, 2022

After taking last month off, I'm back to the club! I did forget to vote last month too, but thankfully this was one I would have voted for! I think this is the first MBF21 WAD I've played, so I'm looking forward to seeing what it brings, if anything. I know this WAD has been in development for a long time so idk what MBF21 implementations are in here, other than some secret exits showing up outside of map 15.

GZDoom/UV/Blind/Saves

Map 01: Pit Of Fire

100% kills and secrets

Time: 9:06

This may be the first map, but this is already a step up in terms of difficulty in terms of a first map. The first enemy you see is a mancubus after all, and there's dark imps firing at you too. There's extensive Dehacked work in this WAD, and the dark imps are the first of 2 monsters that use that this map. They're darker in color (duh) and fire caco balls. You can snipe at the ones on the pillars below with your new pistol replacement, the rifle. It's like a slower version of the one in Rowdy Rudy 2, but it's still very effective as its rate of fire is still fast enough to stun-lock enemies and it has perfect accuracy. The titular pit of fire looks really nice, and there's some cool decorations around. I like how the small pillars in the lava look that allow you to escape the lave if you fall in. I also like the changes in blood color when attacking enemies. Hell knights spew green, while revs leave dust particles. It's a small change, but it's cool. You'll be relying on the rifle and shotgun throughout, though you can grab a secret rocket launcher if you're observant. Hitting the switch the mancubus was guarding opens up the next area, and also reveals the next new enemy: the baby caco. It's exactly what it sounds like - it's smaller, weaker, and it's attack isn't as powerful. It also sounds like a dying puppy when you hurt it. Almost makes me sad to kill it. Next area is full of dark imps, and the occasional hell knight, rev, and mancubus, but it's nothing to worrying as there's plenty of shells and bullets. You can find 2 secrets here too, one with health and ammo, and a lavafall secret with some rockets. Overall, this was a strong opener. A little tougher than normal with the amount of mid-tiers here and some light platforming and lava traversal, but still more than manageable with the new rifle and the shotgun.

Map 02: Blood Mountain

100% kills and secrets

Time: 16:17

And I thought the first map was tough for a map 01. This one kicks things up quite a bit, throwing a lot more mid-tiers at you and introducing a few new foes. First up, the caco now fires 2 balls at you, which isn't very nice. Pistol-starters will have to try to take it out with the chainsaw here. Use it on the pinkies, and then deal with the new swarm of dark imps that appeared. You have a lot of room to maneuver out here, so make the most of it. As you continue around the corner, you'll find 2 flying skeletons that are on fire heading toward you shooting homing rockets at you. These are Fallens, and they're not too tough to take out. These are the only 2 in the map, and you can run past them to grab the minigun and mow them down. This chaingun replacement is faster, but you can't chaingun tap it, so sniping with it isn't effective, but that's why we have the rifle I guess. Heading into the fortress will kill the lights and send an archie after you. Joy. Idk if the SSG is here immediately or until later, since I didn't see it until after I grabbed the blue key, so if it's there, use it. If not, I used the minigun to take out the archie. After which, ANOTHER came in, and 4 chaingunner windows opened. At least the lights came back on. I like how the chaingunner sprites have the minigun. You have 2 paths you can take. I took the south path first towards the blue key. You get introduced to the new pain elemental that likes to shoot los- I mean Forgotten Ones more often and an extra one upon death. Plus, Former Marines, which shoot continuously while in sight. Look for a switch on a torch pillar to gain access to a soul sphere in the cavern area. The switch in the pinky/rev area lowers the blue key and an archie that's just begging to get rocketed in the face (you get the first non-secret rocket launcher just before this). Taking the north path gets you the red key. Getting there has you deal with a hall of crushers to hit a purple switch. This will open a purple door, and open a cubby with chaingunners and barons. Er, I mean, chaingunners and Lords of Heresy, which shoot 2 projectiles at you. The crushers help a bit, but you're still going to be doing most of the heavy lifting here. The red key balcony teleports in a bunch of cacos and one PE, so focus on that lone monster first to lower the amount of FOs. Before heading back out, check the cubby the chaingunners and lords were in to find a shootable switch. It opens a teleporter that sends you to the plasma rifle in the initial archie room. Use your new toy on the pain elementals, and admire the new plasma projectiles! They look very nice. The red door here just has some health, ammo, and baddies, and that's it. The blue and red doors back outside take you to the exit. Hit the switches on each side to access it. The imps on the pillars will repopulate for a bit with each kill, occasionally sending in chaingunners and a singular archie. Also, revs teleport outside too. Nothing rockets and shells can't handle. Very solid map, with a nice challenge! Looking forward to the rest of the month for sure, as I'm really liking these Dehacked changes.

dobu gabu maru · May 2, 2022

18 hours ago, FrancisT218 said:

33 and 34 can be accessed from within the wad, I also think they belong to the respective dates.

Reveal hidden contents

8 and 24

Ah okay, in that case we'll keep with club tradition and play MAP33 on the 8th and MAP34 on the 24th.

Castr_Tricks2 · May 2, 2022

MAP02: Blood Mountain

Deaths: 2 (so far in this mega wad)

Ahh, more new stuff. Marines, flying nerds with homing missiles, yknow, the good stuff.

That's a fresh wakeup for any pistol starter including me, what with your rifle and a chainsaw vs a buffed up caco and 2 pinkies.

Take em down. Find loads of imps outside with another, larger crowd of pinkies. Oh yeah and 2 of those fallen guys, they're manageable. Treat with shotgun or minigun.

Next room holds my only 2 deaths so far... Fun. That's why you save kids. Archie makes an early appearance here when you get your SSG, in a dark room with pillars and racks of heads. Kill 1, out pops the next, lights are back on, and what do you know? Chaingun-..MINIgun guy porches are revealed. Just shoot em. Next room has got a mancubus, and a few chaingunners. Not so bad, until you find the massive crusher room, hit the switch and find 2 barons with wings released, who were locked in with a rocket launcher. A little bit of confusion later (with a very close call on the blue key archie. Yeah you wanna kill him fast, with all the freshly made corpses around), you've got the blue key. I got lost here, but eventually found my way to the red key. I was running low on ammo at this point, but our balcony has loads of shells to SSG the crap out of the new and improved Pain Elemental. Oh yeah and lots of cacos. Last room had lava, switches, and a lot of imps. When I killed a imp, they'd rotate out with something else, like a chaingunner, or even a archvile! Mancubi, winged baron, and some revenants who come out after you raise the circle pillars! Needless to say, I had almost burned through all my ammo by the time I had gotten the heck outta there.

Overall, really fun stuff. I am really excited for tomorrow's map, cause this map is really good and quite the fun waste of 10 minutes.

Ranked:
S: MAP02
A:
B: MAP01
C:
D:
F:

Edited May 2, 2022 by Castr_Tricks2

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