Altars of Madness [Now on idgames!] [Boom] [12 Maps]

[myolden]

52 minutes ago, ryiron said:

 

I did manage to find this secret in my play through. The secret is visible on the map, so I figured there had to be something close by. I was only able to find it after clearing out the room, and heard the wall around the eye move when I was wandering around. I took a bit more searching to figure out what the actual trigger was. It is pretty obscure and easy to miss though. The main secret I got stuck on was the plasma gun in map06. The shootable switch for it is just barely visible. 

 

Yeah the obstacles obscuring the switch could probably be nudged around to make it a little more visible. That or upping the brightness a little. Or maybe both!

[Fiendish]

What a terrific set. I booted it up today and unexpectedly zipped all the way through it. This is one of the most fun sets I've played this year. The combat was engaging and well thought-out throughout. It always felt fair, interesting, and challenging. Visually, the maps looked fantastic, especially the orange/yellow maps. The detailing was gorgeous without obstructing gameplay (at least most of the time -- I did find the geometry a bit too easy to get snagged on at the end of map08, and the rocket launcher pedestal on map10 was a little annoying to maneuver around). 

 

There were two things about the combat that I especially liked. One was your monster density within each space; it always felt just right -- enough to feel significantly pressured, but never so much that it felt like a grind to get through. The other was how certain setups favored different target prioritization than the usual. It was really satisfying to think through the right strategy for some of the tougher encounters. For example, I was initially irked by the final fight on map11, but then I stopped and surveyed the arena, and figured out what (I take to be) the intended strategy, and got through it the first attempt using the right strategy. Great stuff.  

 

Also, clever use of the text before map07 to clue the player in to the map's main gimmick. The player could figure it out pretty easily by trial and error, but I appreciated the heads up.   

 

This is truly outstanding work. I hope you make more maps like these in the future!

[ryiron]

I finished my uv-max play-through. Playlist is below. There are some notes on the individual maps on the videos, but I wanted to summarise some thoughts here.

 

Overall I really enjoyed this set. The map look great, play well, secrets are fun to find, and the combat is tough without being overly grindy. I'm a big fan of lock in fights, close quarters combat, combat puzzles, and mini slaughter encounters. So this map set really does have all my favourite things.

 

Some of the stand outs of the set for me are:

• map11: this map starts out intense and never lets the pressure off. Giving the player only a rocket launcher/berserk for most of the map means you need to make use of some monster herding skills for a few of the encounters.
• map07: a unique take on the map07 mechanic. Smaller than some of the other maps, but the combat is tight and intense the whole way through.
• map02: funky orange aesthetics, and fights that use a small number of enemies to create challenging encounters.

For the most part the combat is really, really good. There are a number of interesting and unique encounters. I agree with @Fiendish that the combat density always feels just right. Lots of the fights pressure the player to act quickly and/or prioritise enemies, and clear space to move. I did however find a few encounters felt a bit luck based. In particular the four revs with little cover at the start of map03, the rev/hell knight fight in the plasma/cool lighting room in map08, and the pit fight with the two archviles in map12. I couldn't find consistent strategies for these fights. I'm curious if other people found good approaches for these that I missed?

 

I'd highly recommend this set to anyone who likes small, challenging combat and mini slaughter encounters. I think the maps are also a good learning ground for some of the larger scale difficult maps out there. These will teach you a lot of the skills needed to take on those larger, harder maps, but at a small, more manageable scale.

 

 

[Doomy__Doom]

An excellent sandwich-sized set of combat puzzles that test essential skills for the genre in a very approachable way. I hope this gets some recognition, it's a very beginner-friendly wad for people looking to get into this type of combat - short, punchy, non-intimidating enemy count, low arch-vile usage, secrets make a cushion to get through most encounters despite mistakes.

[myolden]

Glad people seem to be enjoying the set, just wanted to bump this thread to point out that RC2 is now available in the OP. Not too many big changes, just some minor tweaks and fixes.

[Death Bear]

 

Edited June 17, 2022 by Death Bear

[Death Bear]

 

[Death Bear]

 

[Death Bear]

 

[Death Bear]

 

[Ravendesk]

Noticed that it's possible to skip the exit linedef in some of the maps with just SR40, at least in maps 02 and 07. I don't think it's worth fixing though (you can just step back), but FYI.

Edited June 20, 2022 by Ravendesk

[ryiron]

5 hours ago, Ravendesk said:

Noticed that it's possible to skip the exit linedef in some of the maps with just SR40, at least in maps 02 and 07. I don't think it's worth fixing though (you can just step back), but FYI.

Yeah, I did this a couple of times by accident. I think orthogonal lines are easy to linedef skip. Putting trigger lines on a slight angle can help prevent this.

[myolden]

7 hours ago, ryiron said:

Yeah, I did this a couple of times by accident. I think orthogonal lines are easy to linedef skip. Putting trigger lines on a slight angle can help prevent this.

This is something I need to get into the habit of doing. I'll likely revise this throughout the WAD prior to the idgames release.

[Ravendesk]

1 minute ago, myolden said:

This is something I need to get into the habit of doing. I'll likely revise this throughout the WAD prior to the idgames release.

I hope it won't desync the demos because I did a couple already (jk whatever I'll redo them then).

[myolden]

2 minutes ago, Ravendesk said:

I hope it won't desync the demos because I did a couple already (jk whatever I'll redo them then).

I imagine it might since the timing of some triggers could change, though depending on how I implement it might not be an issue.

[Keyboard_Doomer]

The wad has been in a RC state for a while, I hope I'm not too late and you didn't just upload it to idgames a few seconds ago.
Here is a bunch of softlocks and, of course, nitpicks I noticed:

 

MAP03
    - once you're blocked off by sector 705, it's possible to get on a ledge and then back behind that sector, which will get you stuck
MAP06
    - can get stuck behind sector 199 once it's been raised
MAP07
    - archvile jumps near the start can get you stuck - ideally, teles should be added or these lines made impassable: 308, 1420, 1577, 1579, 3664, 3676
    - archvile jump next to the red key can also get you stuck if you go through one of these lines: 2873-2875, 2928
    - floating candles (thing 73 and 75 after pressing line 27)
MAP08
    - I see you added a tele to the outside area but the archviles at the exit can still blast you to the secret (sector 937) and you get stuck there if you didn't lower sector 2399 first
MAP10
    - possible to get stuck near the beginning of the map if you fall off - next to sectors 1022 and 1171
    - also possible to get stuck after dropping down from the megasphere secret, behind sector 568
MAP11
    - possible to get stuck by accidentally gliding into a wall and behind one of these lines: 2318 or 3331/3338/3342... obviously unlikely but well, I've seen similar stuff happen
    - small misalignment (line 4614)
MAP12
    - floating cellpacks (things 331 and 332)

 

Also, the ENDMAP lumps after each map are superfluous, they are only needed for UDMF maps.
 

[myolden]

34 minutes ago, Keyboard_Doomer said:

The wad has been in a RC state for a while, I hope I'm not too late and you didn't just upload it to idgames a few seconds ago.
Here is a bunch of softlocks and, of course, nitpicks I noticed:

 

MAP03
    - once you're blocked off by sector 705, it's possible to get on a ledge and then back behind that sector, which will get you stuck
MAP06
    - can get stuck behind sector 199 once it's been raised
MAP07
    - archvile jumps near the start can get you stuck - ideally, teles should be added or these lines made impassable: 308, 1420, 1577, 1579, 3664, 3676
    - archvile jump next to the red key can also get you stuck if you go through one of these lines: 2873-2875, 2928
    - floating candles (thing 73 and 75 after pressing line 27)
MAP08
    - I see you added a tele to the outside area but the archviles at the exit can still blast you to the secret (sector 937) and you get stuck there if you didn't lower sector 2399 first
MAP10
    - possible to get stuck near the beginning of the map if you fall off - next to sectors 1022 and 1171
    - also possible to get stuck after dropping down from the megasphere secret, behind sector 568
MAP11
    - possible to get stuck by accidentally gliding into a wall and behind one of these lines: 2318 or 3331/3338/3342... obviously unlikely but well, I've seen similar stuff happen
    - small misalignment (line 4614)
MAP12
    - floating cellpacks (things 331 and 332)

 

Also, the ENDMAP lumps after each map are superfluous, they are only needed for UDMF maps.
 

 

Wow, thanks for the feedback! I've yet to get this wad finalized, been busy with other stuff as of late, but I'll add these to the list.

[nobleflame]

Loving the wad so far. Sorry if this has been mentioned but I've found a bug in map06 - just in front of the red key (facing the start of the level) you can fall down behind the tree and get stuck. 

[myolden]

2 minutes ago, nobleflame said:

Loving the wad so far. Sorry if this has been mentioned but I've found a bug in map06 - just in front of the red key (facing the start of the level) you can fall down behind the tree and get stuck. 

 

Thanks! That bug was reported a while ago and I just got around to fixing it. RC3 is now available in the OP, which contains a bunch of other soft lock fixes as well.

[nobleflame]

On 7/6/2022 at 8:20 PM, myolden said:

 

Thanks! That bug was reported a while ago and I just got around to fixing it. RC3 is now available in the OP, which contains a bunch of other soft lock fixes as well.

 

Thank you, mate :) Love this wad!

[myolden]

One last bump of the thread from me to announce that the wad has been uploaded to idgames. See the OP for the link. Thanks again everyone for playing!

[pampoo79]

good maps but what's the point of everything being orange?

[Death Bear]

9 hours ago, pampoo79 said:

good maps but what's the point of everything being orange?

Because Kel said so.

[Custom Longplay]

Yesterday I played the first 7 maps and was totally thrilled. A lot of action in a very small space and you have to face a lot of enemies in almost every section of the room. I'm already looking forward to the rest of the mapset! Here are the first 6 videos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Reisal]

Seeing the map set title name, you don't happen to be a Morbid Angel fan, are you OP?

[myolden]

6 hours ago, Armaetus said:

Seeing the map set title name, you don't happen to be a Morbid Angel fan, are you OP?

 

That's correct! The maps are also named after various songs, check out the bottom of the OP for more details.

[Ravendesk]

FYI: there is a possible softlock in map09 in the hellknights room, presumably triggered by the fact that imps can get stuck on the closing door.

 

aom09-softlock.zip

 

[|Raph|]

I played all the maps on UV and really like them. The difficulty level is about the same for every maps exept map 3 that was a bit easier compared to the rest (at least for me). Overall, I had a lot of fun playing this.

[Helm]

even just the first map is so tight and crunchy that I know I'm in for a treat! Am I right to believe the first map is a Mare reference (I don't want to click on the playlist for spoilers!) 

edit: map02 was a step up on difficulty, really nice challenge encounter design, great flow, exactly at the edge of my skill level where it becons me to replay it over and over to get a clean saveless UV run. No guess on 'daymare' from me.

Edited July 29, 2022 by Helm

[myolden]

4 hours ago, Helm said:

even just the first map is so tight and crunchy that I know I'm in for a treat! Am I right to believe the first map is a Mare reference (I don't want to click on the playlist for spoilers!) 

edit: map02 was a step up on difficulty, really nice challenge encounter design, great flow, exactly at the edge of my skill level where it becons me to replay it over and over to get a clean saveless UV run. No guess on 'daymare' from me.

Anisette is indeed a Mare reference! Quite surprised to see someone recognize it, but also very pleased.