Emerald Ambush (one small map for Doom II)

[Rook]

Emerald Ambush is a single, small map for Doom II. It has been tested in PrBoom+, GZDoom, and Doom Retro. Set in an overgrown facility, this map was made mainly to get me back in the habit of mapping after a fairly lengthy break. It is similar in style to my Sucker Punch mapsets, but the green detailing is not intended to imply an easy difficulty (it shouldn't be too rough, though).

 

Appreciation goes to @ukiro who made the textures from OTEX 1.1 (included), and @Crunchynut44 who composed the MIDI track "Giant Ball of Fucking Plasma". 

 

   

 

[DOWNLOAD]

 

Details

Name: Emerald Ambush
Map Format: Boom
Ports Tested: GZDoom, PrBoom+, and Doom Retro
IWAD: Doom II
Map(s): MAP01
Gameplay: Single play
Difficulty Settings: Yes
Multiplayer Placement: No
Build Time: Ten days?
Textures: OTEX 1.1 by ukiro (textures used are included)
Requirements: No jumping or crouching. Freelook allowed but not required.

Always happy to see comments, videos, demos, etc. I'll fix any issues identified, before an eventual idgames archive upload.

[Decay]

This looks really slick, I dig the look of it. Will download and give it a spin

[Egg Boy]

Love your previous work so gave it a play. Good stuff, took 5 minutes and was fun all the way through. Your maps always feel very Scythe X to me, with the clean architecture and compressed layouts, this was no exception. On UV in DSDA Doom, I didn't find it particularly difficult or easy, due to the open nature of the map, you are never really forced to directly confront your enemies, though if you leave too many alive, the next wave will leave you scrambling around. Scrappy, fast paced, fun. Your particular brand of Doom is quite attractive to me, would love to work with you one day.

Edited May 20, 2022 by Egg Boy

[Arrowhead]

2 hours ago, Rook said:

...and @Crunchynut44 who composed the MIDI track "Giant Ball of Fucking Plasma".

Great track, used that myself in a recent project. Really good speed to it.

[TheCyberDruid]

Just had a quick go on ITYTD. Really like the design. It's a very open map, but there aren't any long range sniping enemies and there's cover within short range all the time. Cool map.

[Jizzwardo]

Really fun map, thanks for making it.

Edited May 20, 2022 by Jizzwardo
spelling error

[Doomy__Doom]

Fun lunchtime map - short, nonstop action, open layout.

 

Enjoy my terrible gameplay - I was hungry and ended up snacking on way too many projectiles while my food was microwaving.

dd_emeamb_uvmax.zip (dsda-doom, cl9, semi-blind - I played until about half monster count blind first)

[RED77]

Great map. Short, quick, fun.

[SP_FACE1]

Such a pretty map... Great color choices and texture combinations. 

 

One small issue I encountered. You can pass through this part of the fence here:

Spoiler

 

[Daytime Waitress]

@Egg Boy hit the nail on the head regarding the clean design and compact nature - even with just something small and (seemingly) simple, you managed to make it feel more feature and secret packed than some maps ten times its size and length. It's drenched in tiny little touches that just plain make the world feel like everything has purpose in it. I always felt like there was something tucked into some little nook or cranny, or placed ever so slightly just off the main thoroughfares that I would be rewarded for exploring.

 

In so many other maps, the drop off onto a crag next to the big elevator would just be incidental detailing - but here there's a little plasma treat, because you saw it and got down here on your ingenuity, or because you were yeeted down here during a firefight and, hey, that sucks. You made it to the tiny plateau with the imps who weren't really doing much damage but were still flinging shit into the fray? Have a bunch of ammo. And the soul sphere secret was just *chef's kiss*.

 

The attention to detail in regards to enemy placement is on the same level and Rook makes this apparent right from the opening: you're given a clump of zombies, a shotgun and an exploding barrel. If your aim's not clean, one dude is always gonna be just safe enough; but if you dance around to line it up, you're taking heat from something else. That's the entire level. You're always soaking damage from something, and it's always just a tickle until you look down and realise you're sitting on 8% health. Hitscanners in particular are constantly at an uncomfortably hot simmer, never boiling. Masterful.

 

And these secrets and enemy placement are tied together by a flow* that I just can't begin to describe. Take this with a grain of salt because I can't remember the last time I actually loaded up a DM level but... this feels like a DM level. You're constantly moving and searching for better vantage points and dropping off of ledges because doing so means you can double back around and get the drop on your enemies. The map is compact, sure, but practically every fight has at least two ways of approaching it, and it's goddamn exhilarating.

 

I'm not a terribly experienced player, so I played on HNTR because out the gate HMP kicked my arse. But I immeditately loaded it back up on medium after completing the lower difficulty, not just because I was now familiar with the map and what it expected of me - I loaded it back up because you demonstrated, as an author, that you're going to generously reward the player's natural inclinations to bounce around and explore every inch of the map. And then I did the same for UV. In the space of an hour I've gone from "Nope, that's above my skill ceiling" to "Yeah, no-save UV-Max'ing this shouldn't be a problem, and I want to try and do that right now". I can categorically say I've never had such a huge reversal of confidence while playing Doom.

 

Thank you, Rook.

This is, pun completely intended, an absolute gem.
 

Spoiler

 

I had the same issue as @SP_FACE1 - had a right giggle when that got me killed, though. And I definitely cheesed it to get around the unexpected babby longlegs in UV. Fuck that spider.

Spoiler

 

*

ngl the wrasslin mark in me calls this map Emerald Flowsion.

Edited May 21, 2022 by Daytime Waitress
Wasn't finished gushing. Also, Misawa.

[SP_FACE1]

Just played through Sucker Punch 1 & 2. I hope this is a trailer for the third part!

[RataUnderground]

I played this in HMP because today I want to chill. Was a nice, good looking, fun map : ) , reminds me (in a good way) the first maps of Valiant.

 

[Biodegradable]

Definitely echoing sentiments here, I really enjoyed this map. It is elegant in its simplicity, well-balanced and fun combat with a sleek and colourful design. It's a terrific little map. :^)

 

 

Edited May 21, 2022 by Biodegradable

[azerty]

This map was great. Short and sweet just like it should be. Great use of otex but what really surprised me was the layout. This map is open and there are so many ways you could finish it but progression is still straight forward and everything is connected to each other. What a great map.

 

[Rook]

Thanks everyone for playing and for your feedback - very glad you've enjoyed the map.

 

11 hours ago, SP_FACE1 said:

Just played through Sucker Punch 1 & 2. I hope this is a trailer for the third part!

 

Then you'll be pleased to know that Sucker Punch 3 is underway - I've just finished MAP01, "River of Fire".

[LadyMistDragon]

Oh, yes, we are all suckers to your punches. Those were some nasty Arch-viles. Honestly, it was pretty hard. But that enemy placement was just chef's kiss!

lmd_emeamb.zip

[SleepyVelvet]

Really good map.  Really smooth.

Here's a Skill 2 FDA (5mins to get to exit; 8mins to find the missing secrets/monsters)

noisy_emeamb.zip

[Wyrmwood]

Just gave it a play, loved it. As others have said excellent use of color and textures and lovely clean natural but detailed look. Music track suits the level to a tee, a mixture of 80's arcade and 90's techno perfectly matches the neon ambiance of the map. Enemy placements great too, had a run through on HMP, then re-tried on UV and totally different play-through. Experimented with different approach on UV run and it payed off.

 

Going to have to figure out how to cover things in spoilers as I would have liked to gave slightly more detailed comments but don't want to spoil some-one's first play.

 

Anyway have to add Sucker Punch 1 & 2 to my playlist and glad to hear there's more to come.

[Clippy]

really cool map - @sandwedge joined me for vid

 

 

[Breezeep]

Fun little map! Looks and plays great too! Found a few issues while playing it:

 

 

This fence is supposed to be impassable.

 

 

Sky transfer mishap.

 

 

I've got a feeling that this green arrow texture was supposed to be animated. Must have been purged in SLADE's "remove unused textures" feature.

Edited May 22, 2022 by Breezeep

[Rook]

1 hour ago, Breezeep said:

I've got a feeling that this green arrow texture was supposed to be animated. Must have been purged in SLADE's "remove unused textures" feature.

 

Thanks Breezeep - a couple of others had identified the first issue but not the second or third. I didn't actually use SLADE for texture management, but instead used Doom Tools. It's possible that I did something wrong, or that there's a lingering bug (I stumbled on a similar problem with an earlier version last year). I'll look into it.