The DWmegawad Club plays: Ad Mortem & Wormwood 1/EU/3

[cannonball]

Map04 of Wormwood EU went kaput, so I will have to try that map again another day, however the journal entries are short relatively easy to scrape through.

 

MAP31 - “Journal Entry I: Killing Time” by Ribbiks

Not a fan of this one, mostly because platforming is something I just can't do well with keyboard only. However it is clear that more skilled players should be okay with this one. I guess in the end goading the mancubus into starting the infighting chain reaction can be a bit of a chore as he seemed reluctant to fire when I was starting by the cyberdemon, however stepping on the surrounding blocks closer the mancubus's location did the trick. The rest can be dealt with light footwork and good BFG usage. It's fine but not one I would want to return to.

 

MAP32 - “Journal Entry II: Thus We Spameth” by Ribbiks

This one is a solid and more old school style of slaughter map, one where you can blow off steam. To be honest going for the keys right after getting the BFG seems to be the plan, mostly because you want to maximise infighting. Both wings are pretty hectic, but a careful mix of BFG and infighting will see you through. The only gripe here is the Hellknight towers that are a chore to clear, even with the mass of cells at the end. I can't help but feel that a more elegant solution could have been done here.

 

MAP33 - “Journal Entry III: Business As Usual” by Ribbiks

I don't like tyson maps really, but I actually like this map the most out of the three. There seems to be a great deal of care to calibrate the map well to both the player and the monsters that patrol it. It is the kind of map that gets forgotten in the Ribbik's back catalog (Same with the compact Sunlust maps to a degree). It is good fun and you do get a little assistance from a Plasma gun and of course the chainguns in the final room that you can grab from the chaingunners. Good stuff. 

Edited October 29, 2022 by cannonball

[General Roasterock]

Map 02: Vampire Killer

 

  What would Wormwood be without Grain of Salt? It would be a hell of a lot more boring for starters. Vampire Killer is a map without peer in the scope of what has been released in this period. I can’t think of any other map that looks or operates like it does on any level. Most of the geometry is jagged and coarse, emerging from the ocean of purple as if they’ve been eroded by the waves. The first thing the map does to you is fake you out with the teleporter in front of you, giving you a much more beneficial route immediately behind it. It’s this idea of exploration that keeps the level interesting for the whole playthrough.

  Vampire Killer is definitely an interesting place to introduce the eccentric Arachnotrons in this WAD, pitting you against a horde of Revenants and just expecting you to notice that the spiders are a little more aggressive than usual. Their constant spewing of Mancubus fireballs makes the already impressive threat an Arachnotron posed with its stream of plasma into a force to be reckoned with. It is significantly harder to cross over in front of oneif the need arises, and the damage output has jumped to ludicrous, especially in the last fight where you don’t have any height advantages against a horde of them. 

  I do have a couple problem with the map. The final fight funnels monsters through its teleports far too slowly, and the reward for collecting the Orange Skull is overwritten by having to pick up the Megasphere to start said fight (unless you shimmy right next to it). While bothered on an efficiency level, these do put character in the map, and I’m always down for an optional key hunt, even if it isn’t as developed as I would want it to be. The music was killer, I’ve never heard a version of Tower of Dolls quite like this. The undeniable character of this map is strong, but it has a really rough edge for navigation and combat. Copse is definitely the best full package, but I have a better time replaying Vampire Killer, so there’s that.

[cannonball]

MAP01 - “Life?” by Ribbiks

Another year another set of boom mapping tricks to show off. The first room is a bit of a pain and you can easily zap a lot of health from yourself to the point where one unlucky revenant rocket would finish you off. Beyond this you get two fights with the exploding projectiles that offer a reasonable and engaging challenge. The rocket launcher was not used at all as it turns out the hellknights in the middle section can be killed without your intervention. 

Overall this was really cool and felt more substantial than the opener to Wormwood EU.

 

MAP02 - “Vampire Killer” by Grain of Salt

I appreciate that GOS produced a more substantial offering to Wormwood 3, that said the map feels a little on the clunky side in both combat and visuals. The green key fight was pretty cool in the sense of gauging when to swap sides in the middle section to prevent yourself from being swamped. The plasma gun fight looks daunting but I escape pretty easily from the hornets nest. The yellow key is optional and the fight for it is pretty tepid. The sun symbol feels rather out of place with the rest of the architecture (It looks pretty neat though). The final fight has a typical circle strafe outcome (Like Ad Mortem Map07), though it gets a better reception because of the monsters used and the fact that you don't get the instant win BFG effect seen there.

In the end the map is rather flawed, but it has its enjoyable moments.

[Pseudonaut]

Wormwood 3 Map02:
There are three paths out of the start, but only the eastern path makes sense to take, as far as I can tell. There's also a teleporter in the start room which leads to the same place as the eastern path, but in a less advantageous position, so I prefer to ignore that as well. All of these options can make first-time playthroughs interesting, though. There are a few more cool things to discover that don't have much strategic importance: A jagged rocky path toward the east leads to a lone health bonus and ":D". Near the yellow key, a skeleton has been making the same soup since 2018 (maybe a reference to another GoS project?). I wonder if some of the decorative structures were originally supposed to be part of the map's progression or an optional fight. For what is here, the fights are pretty fun. The cyberdemon+rev encounter requires you to manage a lot of homing missiles at once, and it stands out to me because it can be skipped by slipping past the infighting cyb, which ultimately produces a faster UV-Max time. Judging by mhrz's 3:25 demo, the green key fight can be "trivialized" with a lineskip via rocket jump, which looks harder than just doing the fight normally, but also faster.

 

 

Demo:

ww302m440.zip

 

Edit: I forgot the haunted house was in this map, it's a really cool addition.

Edited October 29, 2022 by Pseudonaut

[Azure_Horror]

Wormwood III MAP02

Vampire Killer by Grain of Salt

Pistol start, DSDA-Doom, complevel 9, some saves

UV difficulty

 

I think that this entry by Grain of Salt is absolutely fantastic! I really mean it!

The map combines modern high-stakes combat, Doom1 E3m6 non-linear layout, and a good dose of verticality.

 

The start allows for 5 different directions:

1) teleporter. It sends you right in the fray.

2) right-hand turn behind teleporter. It gives additional ammo and more advantegious position.

3) left-hand turn behind teleporter, and going up the stairs to the left. This allows you to dodge revenant horde fight later in the map by jumping right onto the archno wall.

4) left-hand turn behind teleporter, and jump into the ocean to the right. This allows you to grab goodies from the ocean, like the orange key treasure trove, or mega-armor. In the end, you once again teleport onto the arcachno wall.

5) a little corner in the starting room, which teleports you to the haunted house. Sadly, this way is a dead end: the house won't let you leave...

 

The map looks abandoned. In-universe, it feels like the place was long forgotten and it has fallen into ruin.

On the meta level, exploring this map feels like going out of bounds in a modern videogame: in this strange place, which lies in the empty ocean, you find a lot wierd locations and strange surprises. Strange places include:

- The haunted house at the start.

- The wooden rectangles in the water.

- The mountain, which you can climb to look at the map from above.

- The huge, empty, arena-like room behind orange door. Nothing here, except for a soulsphere and blue armor.

- A bunch of enemies, which use invisible walls to lay a trap in the very middle of the ocean.

- The blue-green arena, where the final battle takes place. This is an obligatory place to visit!

- And the strange glowing thingy, which serves as the exit from the map.

The irregular geomery of the stone buildings further highlights the eeriness of this place.

 

The combat, while not very sophisticated, is fun to play. The fights occasionally gave me Sunlust, Going Down, or Serious Sam vibes. The spread-firing arachnotrons are the stars of the show. The spiders shoot their plasma in mancubus-like spreads. Those new arachnotrons are great infighters.

 

In total, I really like this map, and would be glad to play something like it in the future!

Edited October 31, 2022 by Azure_Horror

[finnks13]

Wormwood 3: THE HORROR

 

Map01 - Life? by Ribbiks:

HMP: 3:28/8 Deaths
Like the other two, Wormwood 3 opens up with a short introduction to the wad's themes and gimmicks. After walking towards the Icon of Sin in a spooky orange and black corridor,  we're introduced to the first one, a VERY damaging floor, it reminds me of the damaging floors in Blood, but even harsher - you'll die in less than half a second from it. Thankfully, enemies are also affected by it and we get taught that immediately by being forced to use it to kill a small horde of revenants that blocks the way forward. Killing them unlocks a short platforming section above an insta-kill floor (very cool that this can be done in -cl 9!) and we are then introduced to the missile launchers, which fire out explosive green balls on a timer.

 

The largest fight in the level involves herding a group of hell knights and imps into these missiles in order to quell their numbers when you've only got the SSG to get yourself out of a tight spot until the rocket launcher lowers after about 30 seconds or so. This was definitely the hardest part of the map, and my deaths came from relying too heavily on the missile launchers and not helping them out myself. I didn't care for the final room much, it's a nice reprise of the idea of Wormwood:EU but the cyberdemon is at the perfect angle above you that I kept getting hit with splash damage and that annoyed me. Having to keep on the move to avoid the missiles as they attack you around the circle is a cool concept, but slowly wittling down the cyberdemon wasn't particularly engaging and the hell knights that spawn in afterwards felt like an afterthought that seemed entirely unnecessary. Oh well, the rest of the map is cool enough that this dull ending doesn't ruin it.

 

Map02 - Vampire Killer by Grain of Salt:

HMP: 8:59/0 Deaths (though I did have to restart once after finding a certain secret area :P)
I'm very glad that Grain of Salt made a larger map for Wormwood 3, since I enjoyed her other two maps, but they both felt rather short. The most unusual thing about this map is how empty it often feels, with this incredibly large castle being home to just 300 monsters, it almost feels like the aftermath of a slaughtermap, a year or so later when some demons have moved back into the fortress. There's not much to the combat, the best bit is the fight in the courtyard near the start with a massive horde of revenants on the ground, a cyberdemon behind them and arachnotrons sniping from the top of the castle walls. The arachnotrons in Wormwood 3 have been altered and fire three shots at once over a wide area, sort of like a mancubus attack all at once, which makes them both much more dangerous and much more annoying.

 

After a while, the map opens up and my favourite bit of it was just wandering around the very empty outskirts looking for secrets, I found a health bonus and a :D at the top of a large set of rocks, there's a skeleton making some soup in the castle and there's a genuinely very creepy empty house that you can teleport to from the starting room - though you can never leave... This is one of those maps that's much more than the sum of it's parts, because it all just melds together into something rather memorable, even for this series.

[General Roasterock]

Map 03: The Horror

 

  Oh so aptly named.

  The Horror is incomprehensible. Gone are the days of vague buildings and courtyards as we welcome in a clash of shapes. Walls wrap around themselves, caves constantly give way to crags of rock or searing green infernos, fluorescent lights emit from pillars of wood, and the entire landscape, if you can call it that, is drenched in darkness, and etched into an unfathomable abyss. Attempting to make sense of the map on your first time is a fool’s errand, as you’re better off just hugging a wall and seeing if you recognize the mesh of loose fitting stone and stained glass. Escaping this hell only requires one of the Green and Purple keys, which leads to the Orange Key fight and out through the north end, but it is far more likely that a player will run into another “corner” of this map before getting on the right track. This doesn't even mention the MIDI, a jarringly fearful piece of strings and shredding, unsettling even in the guitar solos. 

  My biggest issue with the map, despite how much it adds to the atmosphere, is the sickening amount of platforming that is required. Every key either opens up platforming, or is the reward for it. The entire leadup to the Purple Key is probably the least egregious of these, as it is more a puzzle in working out the timings of the comets rather than a test of specifically getting movement exactly right. The Green Skull, on the other hand, is back and forth across the same segment of blocks that is timed incredibly tightly. None of this mentions that failing any of these jumps is instant death, expedited through the kill floor technology in this WAD. This map revels in its ability to probe movement, all leading up to the Orange Skull challenge across these horrible spines, and they truly are horrible, acknowledged by Ribbiks himself with a switch to skip the jumps at the cost of some extra ammo. Even then that doesn’t change the fact that you have to deal with the fucking purple squares immediately after, one of which is placed stupidly far away in order to preserver the flat consistency and level details. I died a far greater amount to simply not moving correctly than to any fight in this map, and I would be fuming if it wasn’t for how amazing the mood is, and how well it works with moving quickly through the emptiness.

  There is hardly a fight here that won’t clamp down like a hound in The Horror. One that comes to mind pretty quickly is the brawl leading up to the invulnerability. Clearly a lot of work is required by the Cyberdemon overlooking the mess, but he is positioned so high and so far away that he will hardly get a shot off towards you. From then on, the entire gorge is filled with Revenants, Hell Knights, and the now ever effective Cacodemons that I have come to expect to float over a wall at any significant encounter in this franchise. Did I mention they shoot Baron balls now? My first time in this fight was dismal, strewn about by a lack of ammo that, while not as unforgiving as Stabbed, with a Sword, still continues that map’s legacy. It will beat you to a pulp if you are not engaging with crowd control at every second. 

  You would think that Invulnerability would act as a reward for clearing that fight as a get out of jail free card for any encounter of your choosing, such as that pit drop triggered by the Green Switch, or even the Orange Key fight, but no. That Invuln is the singular chance to acquire the Purple Skull behind a wall of comets, and missing that chance essentially bars you from that key. I essentially did exactly what I described with the powerup on my first time around, leveling that fight which usually gave me a lot of trouble in the past, only to then realize I now had an exploding barricade between me and the Purple Skull. I will say that the flexibility of the key system is phenomenal in The Horror. Only one card is required to claim the BFG and open the Orange Card fight, but having the skulls will give you some much needed protection in that brawl, as well as continue to unravel the writhing mass, allowing you to push onward in other indescribable directions. There’s two Green Cards for some reason, allowing you to pick which fight you would have an easier time with if you’re not eager for a max, and this technically rules out a lot of the platforming from being mandatory, but it definitely helps to have these supplies with how brutal this map can get.

  That Orange Card fight in particular is a very quick dive straight into hell. Arachnotrons are spewing fire across what little space you get, Cacos and Pain Elementals pour in from the west cliffs, Pinkies and Barons clog up more and more dirt as time goes on, and this megalithic construct is constantly spewing comets in an attempt to cut you down. The only way to win this is to make use of the head to deal the explosion damage to the Barons that your pitiful rocket supply could not. Having cell ammo from collecting the skulls at this point is a godsend, as being able to BFG through some Pinkies, or stamping out the PEs before they can get going is life and death. That’s not even the height of spectacle. That title easily belongs to the final fight, pitting a whopping thirty-eight super Arachnotrons against a whole squad of Cyberdemons, and later a horde of Revenants and Pain Elementals. I don’t think Soria Moria will ever be beaten when it comes to the projectile beauty of its final fight, but this proves that that fight was not lighting in a bottle, as the sky will become littered with orange bolts, randomized through spread and infighting. It’s genuinely beautiful, and once Ribbiks finally pops the cork and supplies you with enough cells to weaponize a country, breaking down that firing squad is cathartic. 

  Truly enjoying The Horror requires drinking the Kool-Aid without hesitation. It is abrasive, it rejects approaches that don’t adhere to the insanity, and it sure as hell is not very easy. I doubt it will ever have peers, as that would require either an abstraction that is both completely separate from Doom level design and congruent with what makes the gameplay immortal, or such a rigid ruleset on Ribbiks post-Magnolia that also manages to be unique. This is a direction for mapping that I need, and watching the transition from the crypt of Revenge of Demon House, to the fractals of Stabbed, with a Sword, to the derivation of form that is The Horror, has been enlightening.

 

Summary:

 

  The Wormwoods are a revolution in technology and theme. I have no problem if a set wants to take the traditionally entertaining approach to the dark side of Autumn like Ad Mortem, as that set was a good time on its own, but what Ribbiks and Grain of Salt achieve with a simple nontraditional palette and some craft in dehacked is monumental. For each Ribbiks behemoth that bears down on the set, there's a Grain of Salt appetizer that is more aligned with goof than terror. There hasn't been a better combination since seafood and aioli. Even removing the main attractions in the forms of the WAD closers, there is more than enough invention to be used in other sets in the forms of environmental hazards, monster edits, geometry hacks, hell I'd even take the bats to spice up the atmosphere. These sets are beautiful, practical, and right on time for the holidays. Damn do I hope we're getting another one of these tomorrow, especially considering Ad Mortem is still getting updates. Anyone who isn't yet satiated even after all that should try out Orange is True Love, which is akin to a Wormwood precursor by the same duo we've been blessed with for the past week or so. 

[RHhe82]

MAP03: The Horror. Played on DSDA v0.24, HMP, PS. 325/329 K, 0/0 S, 12/14 I. Completion time 34:05

 

I see we have arrived at the main attraction. It's a marvellous level, and for me, quite overwhelming. Like with EU's MAP04, I think the map would benefit from repeated playthroughs, because the experience would be quite different now that you have a vague idea where to go and where you'll end up. It'd be easier to concentrate on encounters, worrying less whether or not you should be there.

 

Not that my second playthrough, whatever the difficulty, would be considerably easier. I still don't know how to get the purple skull key (though I suspected I should have used invuln sphere more wisely, and club posting by @General Roasterock seems to confirm it). I know that there shouldn't be more enemies in the way, because the ones I left alive this time was the one cyberdemon that teleports in not far from the PSK and a couple of hell knights courting her with infight in mind. (I didn't have the resources to dispose of them at the time).

 

There are some acrobatics tracks presented here, especially soon after the start of map, which I didn't care for that much. Speaking of platforming, I found the "I hate platforming" switch funny :P I wonder if I locked myself out of something by pressing it. Never mind.

 

The final arena was pure chaos. I'd circle around until the cell packs lowered. Used a midfight save right there. A great map, or perhaps rather visually astounding map that will become great when you are ascending to doomgodhood after practising the map a few times.

 

***

 

I don't know how to summarize the month. Based on skill requirements, Ad Mortem is more suited to me, but I enjoyed Wormwoods more, even if the big Ribbiks maps are far more demanding than I can comfortably do without too much saving. On the other hand, I could reach the exit linedef on HMP, and I did enjoy them, after all. Completing Wormwood maps bring the sense of satisfaction that only a handful of Ad Mortem maps did.

 

Good month, nonetheless. I haven't voted for November picks, as I'm not sure if I'm taking a break once again. On the other hand, November 2021 (Interception II) was the first time I participated in the club, so it kind of has fond memories. Sour ones as well, as my dad died in the middle of that month, too. Maybe I'll just let others do the decision, and see if I play along or just follow the discussion.

Edited October 30, 2022 by RHhe82

[Pseudonaut]

Wormwood 3 Map03:
I didn't bother with an HMP playthrough this time. I figured the map would be relatively fresh in my memory since I played it on UV last year, and I watched mhrz's demo before this recording as well so I could steal some of those strats. Of course, that didn't stop me from dying over and over again or getting lost frequently.

 

There's plenty of platforming in this map, some of which is fun (I enjoy the process of getting the green skull, for example), while some is a little too precise/awkward for my liking, as with those horizontal orange spikes. There's a switch to bypass those, but it feels somehow wrong to press it, and I'm not sure if some supplies are made unavailable after pressing it. There's a bit early on where you basically have to hang on to the ledge with your pinky toe to avoid the projectiles, which I might never get used to.

 

Supplies of all kinds are scarce throughout the map. I actually ran out of everything I had by the time I'd cleaned up everything and was ready for the final fight: 10% health, no armor, no ammo. Fortunately, there's plenty in the final fight itself.

 

There are also puzzles of various kinds. Not only combat/platforming puzzles, but also a unique sequence with a key that can only be accessed by using the only invulnerability in the map to reach it through a deadly wall of projectiles. Not all keys are needed to reach the exit either, so there is some lenience if you misuse the invuln.

 

I'm even more terrified of this map than "Stabbed, with a Sword", but it's awesome nonetheless, even given my annoyance at some of the platforming bits.

 

 

In summary, the Wormwood trilogy is fantastic. There's cool shit everywhere you look in these wads, including uniquely challenging fights, clever Boom trickery, and Halloweeny visuals.

 

Favorite maps in no particular order:
"Revenge of Demon House"
"Stabbed, with a Sword"
"Journal Entry I: Killing Time"
"The Horror"

[NiGHTS108]

- Wormwood ]|[: The Horror -

 

MAP01: Life?

Kills: 100%

Items: 100%

Secrets: 100%

Time: 3:50

 

The final wad this month starts off with a somewhat eccentric showcase of gimmicks. By that I mean, all two of them in this map. The first is pretty simple and only sees one use, right at the start, a dangerous red floor of death you can lure a gang of Revenants into. Neat! The second is interesting, these GREEN flaming walls will shoot green flaming cannonballs outwards, useful for dispatching the mob of Imps and Hell Knights that show up when you get into the main area and lower the rocket launcher. (Also worth noting on GZDoom's software rendering anyway there's a few texture errors in this part.) The final fight is creative, a circular band of cannonwalls (I'm calling them that.) shooting at you from all directions. SSGing the Cyberdemon isn't particularly tough, and the Hell Knights will mostly disintegrate with little player input, but I still have fun with this fight. Overall not the hardest opener but a cut above the previous for more creative gimmick usage methinks.

 

Grade: A-

Difficulty: B-

 

 

 

MAP02: Vampire Killer

Kills: 97%

Items: 83%

Secrets: 100%

Time: 6:26

 

Heh. You think you're slick but I got the Orange Is True Love MAP02 reference with that title. Anyway Vampire Killer is alright, it's not as irrelevant to the wad as Mu was, let's get that out of the way, but it's still probably not as fun or interesting as Copse for me sadly. This map introduces the Super Arachnotron nicely, has all the properties of a standard Arachno but with a Mancubus spread of projectiles making them easily one of the most threatening enemies in the wad. There's a cool fight early on with them on ledges, and the ending uses them well too. I don't really care for the visuals much unfortunately, kind of a monotonous grey temple outside of a few specific moments indoors. If there's something missing from this map, I don't really find it as sweet and charming as what we've come to expect from the Wormwood trilogy. Not feeling much as a whole here. On a lighter note, the combat in general is pretty good, this Arch-Vile fight early on can get frantic if you don't get your priorities straight, and the ending is pretty neat too. I thought this basin was gonna be a lot more threatening than it was for a minute. As a whole this map is a touch on the bland side for me but I still decently enjoy it.

 

Grade: B

Difficulty: B

 

 

M̵A̷P̸0̴3̶:̴ ̷T̵h̵e̸ ̷H̴o̷r̴r̵o̴r̴

K̸̩͠i̵͙̿ḷ̸͗l̶͚͑s̴̯̃:̴͈̈́ ̸̖͌1̴̠͝0̴͉̄0̷͉̄%̸̻̏

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[̵̫̪͚̖̝̪͒̏̃̍̈́R̶̮̳̬̟̄̑̓̀̈́̚͜ͅĖ̴̡̬̘͉̤͓͉͋͝ͅD̷̤͙̗̠̈́A̷̡̯͇̖͔̪̞̜̎͗̃̽͌̄̆̇C̶̻̦̰̱͇̣̍̈́Ṯ̵̙̫̎͋E̴̹̙͆͂̀͜D̶̮̘̺͖̈͗̃͐͘ͅ]̴͍̥̹̠̇̅

[cannonball]

MAP03 - “The Horror” by Ribbiks

 

Confession - I played this on HMP

 

Honestly this is still harder than anything I have made on UV. I think the best way to sum this map up is that I was killed more by the hazardous nature of the map than the big set-piece fights. The fights by the way were a lot of fun. Some of the platforming sections and that whole purple key stretch was just horrible for me. I used the invulnerability for this stretch and still had to do the final section under the risk of instant death. 

I am impressed at how each Ribbiks entry reveals itself, Revenge of Demon house is a brooding monster, Stabbed with a sword is a quaint but deadly puzzle box and this is sort of a mesh of the two. The map is truly otherworldly and there are parts I loved, and parts I absolutely hated. I guess in the end this sums up Wormwood, why have trick or treat... when you can have both.

The final fight went surprisingly easily and made it out on the second attempt. I was mostly surprised at how few hits from the spiders I got, whilst they absolutely decimated everything else.

There isn't much else to say, I think Ribbiks is an expert craftsman, meshing more leftfield ideologies with new mapping tricks and his own brand of evil. It is worth playing for the full experience, even if it isn't to your personal tastes because frankly, these maps will leave an impression that no other author can give. At the end of the day I guess that is the ultimate compliment for Wormwood.

[Azure_Horror]

Wormwood III MAP03

The Horror by Ribbiks

Pistol start, DSDA-Doom, complevel 9, many saves

Completed on UV difficulty with >18 saves (including mid-fight saves)

Scouting done with cheat-codes on both IamTYTD and UV.

 

With saves, I reached the cyberdemon pit fight and even defeated it. But it felt very draining to me. The Green Skull was too obtuse to reach with my lackluster platforming skills, and the Orange card battle also felt too hard, even with invulnerability at hand.

 

After that, I decided to study the map on IamTYTD with cheat codes. I wanted to see, how much easier the map would get, and also to understand, if there are any fun obstacles ahead. The final fight looked beautiful and surprisingly manageable, but many of the most troublesome parts on IamTYTD were pretty similar to UV, so I was about to give up. But then it downed on me: In theory, I can use the Invuln to reach the Blue Skull! And I also scouted that blue skull key would give me the BFG! Maybe with BFG I will be able to conquer the Orange Card and complete the map?

 

Yep! This is exactly how one unlocks the Blue Skull! With the Blue Skull, I was able to reach the BFG, a bunch of rockets and an additional soulsphere. Two BFG shots proved sufficient to clear the yellow card fight, and merciful anti-platforming switch allowed me to reach the finale. As far as I understand, the differences between difficulties are minimal for the final fight. And compared to the rest of the map, the finale seems relatively easy. But it is a very spectacular encounter! How often do you see Arachnotron-focused slaughter setups? How often can you look at super-infighting A-trons ripping through cyberdemons? Needless to say, the final fight is a great prize for reaching this far into the map!

 

Most memorable sections of the map:

- The. Music. The midi is great to simply listen, and it also fits the map.

- Explosive Rock sections. The explosive rocks from Wormwood 3 map 01 are back. Those stage hazards are placed in many sections of the map. My most favorite setup is the tech-bridge near the south border of the map, where you need to carefully dodge both the rocks and while slipping around tech poles. My least favorite section lies on the path to blue key. It requires too many precise movements to complete, and, apart from its difficulty, it is not really different from other platforming puzzles on the map. Explosive rocks also appear in a fight. The Orange card fight has a rock-spewing chasm, which serves as both a stage hazard and an effective weapon to use against monsters.

- Platforming. Platforming challenges are quite abundant. Many explosive rock sections are platforming-related, and a few “typical” jumping series are also present. Most extreme challenges are the Green skull timed challenge and the needle-jumping section after Orange Door. Luckily, both seem to be completely optional. But remaining challenges are not pushovers either.

- Arachnotrons. The spiders play a very prominent role. In large-scale fights the spiders shine as infighters. Sometimes, even pain elementals die to the plasma salvos. But archnotrons also work like turrets. Those turrets can be very nasty. Sometimes far away archnotrons can reach you in the large arena fights, like the orange key-card battle.

- Map structure and interconnectivity. Map has lots of weird elements, both visually and gameplay-wise. You never know, if a particular structure serves a hidden purpose, or if it just there to look cool. In total, “The Horror” connects together the ideas from Wormwood 3 maps 01, 02, and Wormwood EU map 04. The end result is epic, mystifying and terrifying.

In particular, the map has very interesting routing. If one so desires, it is possible to describe two main routes: blue key card first or south of the map first. However those supposed ways have so many intersections and forks, that one can switch routes at every moment. In reality map has much more routes than it appears at first. Such structure usually appears in playground-style maps like in Doom 1. But Ribbiks managed to implement this approach in highly-choreographed challenge map. I think, this is the most impressive achievement of “The Horror”.

 

TLDR: In total, “The Horror” is phenomenal in many ways. Gameplay may be full of suffering even on the lowest of difficulties, but the reward is worth the struggle, IMHO.

 

 

Some words about Wormwoods as a whole:

Wormwood series of WADs is a great trilogy. They are very fun WADs to play in order, as each new map manages feels like a good development of the preceding entry. The maps have a lot of great experimental stuff, but they also include a ton of good old challenging Doom gameplay and quite a few beautiful visuals. The WADs are really worth experiencing.

 

BTW, all of Wormwood EU and Wormwood III boom contraptions work in -complevel MBF 21! I hope more mappers will use those tricks in the future.

 

Top 5 of my personal favorites in Wormwood series

1) Vampire Killer from III.

This choice may look strange, but this is really my favorite map of the series. It has slightly inched over “The Horror” in my order of preference. @Grain of Salt’s “Vampire Killer” is very charming in its simplicity. Despite being pretty simple, the map manages to include a unique sense of place, quite a bit of non-linearity, and a few memorable combat encounters, which can be taken in almost any order. Traversal on this map is quite interesting too. And the simple basics of this map make it relatively accessible for both players to play and mappers to study from. I hope that more maps with similar traits will be made in the future.

2) The Horror from III.

This is one of the Ribbiks' finest creations. The sheer amount of routes is the most impressive thing for me. But the map also has puzzles, unique fights, great stage hazards and phenomenal art. Heavy use of arachnotrons is a bonus for me. I always loved the spiders, and good implementation of them always makes me happy. This map is a real masterpiece to see, and a real experience to play.

3) I am Rubber You're Glue from EU.

I like the visual theme and I like the focus on bouncy walls in gameplay. Very cozy map, and my favorite from Wormwood EU.

4) Stabbed, With a Sword from EU.

Some sections here I don’t like. But everything involving mini-cybers is so great and creative in this map! Finale is my favorite, but other mini-cyber encounters are cool too. And the whole Sword/Fire Spirit sequence at the start gave me a chuckle.

5) Copse from the first Wormwood.

This miniature, self-contained map could serve as a great appetizer for any sort of challenging WAD. The visuals are beatiful, the main fight is straightforward to start, but interesting to conquer, the music is cool, and the overall cheeky atmosphere binds everything together.

 

I will try to write more about both Ad Mortem and Wormwood-s tomorrow.

Edited October 31, 2022 by Azure_Horror

[brick]

Wormwood III
GZDoom, blind, continuous with saves, ITYTD

 

MAP01 - “Life?” by Ribbiks
The opening run forward with the IoS face suddenly appearing closer than it should be is a simple Boom trick but it's so atmospheric and well done here. The map itself is a series of typical Ribbiks/Wormwood short challenges. Getting rid of the revenants without weapons is quite straightforward and quite fun. The platforming made me groan ("not again!"), especially with the green fireball wall launchers (a pretty clever Dehacked replacement for the SS). After dying and reloading 15 times (yes, I was counting) at the HK/imp part I gave up and cheated. I'm pretty sure I understand what needs to be done but there are simply too many of them and I invariably end up boxed in, I just couldn't figure out the specific footwork needed. I didn't like the Cyberdemon carousel, in theory it's a really cool idea but in practice I ended up getting hit one way or the other no matter how carefully I maneuvered or how much I tried aligning myself in the exact centers along both axes. That final rush of teleporting HKs felt unnecessary. The aesthetics look different from the previous wads but the map is quite beautiful, as usual.

 

MAP02 - “Vampire Killer” by Grain of Salt
A very different aesthetic and colours, leaning more into the aquatic and the mosaic patches from Heretic. The opening branching makes it seem like the map is nonlinear or has multiple paths through it, but the branches just put you in a better (or worse) position for the starting fights and don't matter much on the long run. I didn't love the map, it's huge and with damaging floor everywhere, and sometimes confusing to get around, but there's a clear optimal solution. I got once again frustrated by what is made to look like a straferun-jump but isn't. The orange skull key is completely optional, but I didn't realize this until I got locked into the final fight.

 

MAP03 - “The Horror” by Ribbiks
This has the feel of the "main map", and is in the same style as Revenge and Stabbed from the previous wads. Just like with Stabbed the map looks absolutely stunning (maybe even moreso) but is even more confusing and the combat even more slaughter., and once again I found it inferior to Revenge. After enduring seemingly endless series of platforming (including while dodging the ubiquitous green fireballs), the "I hate platforming please spare me" is pure trolling, since it's followed by yet another round of straferun-requiring platforming. It soured me quite badly on a map that I was already having difficulty enjoying, and once I saw (and died to) the follow-up platforming I just threw the towel.

 

Final thoughts

Well this was certainly an interesting month. Ad Mortem was such a pleasant surprise, I expected a typical CP grab bag but I ended up enjoying the wad immensely and many of the maps are unforgettable. It still has its rough edges but the theme and custom assets help make even the less-good maps still feel unique. The wad is exquisitely balanced for easy difficulty, playing on HNTR was exactly the right level of challenge that the name implies, while by most accounts UV seems brutal in parts. Looking back on the map list even weeks after playing the levels I vividly remember almost every single one. It's almost a shame the wad got updated during the same month, but I think I'll come back to it and check out the new maps at some point in the future.

Despite being the more famous and recognized part of the month, the Wormwood trilogy gave me more mixed feelings. I liked the first one, it's not my usual fare but I appreciated what it was doing and really enjoyed trying to beat it fair even if I couldn't. EU made me feel more ambivalent, it's a lot more experimental with some truly creative mechanics and some very interesting gameplay experimentations, but while I mostly liked the bonus maps I didn't really click with most of the main ones, including the "big map". The last wad I disliked the most, the platforming is much more prevalent and much more difficult, combat is far above my skills even on ITYTD, and while I'm sure many chuckled at the troll switch I was not amused. Perhaps this is a cautionary tale to future me about trying to persevere through a mapset that is clearly not for me. One thing's for certain though, the three wads keep getting more beautiful, and the last's visuals are stunning in the two completely different styles of the mappers, with Grain's expansive outdoor ocean and islands, and Ribbiks's absolute madness of abstraction.

 

Looks like next month will be Down the Drain. My only experience with Benjogami is from Haste, with a map that I liked but found utterly bizarre. I'm hoping to get a similar feeling from this one.

Edited October 31, 2022 by brick

[Ravendesk]

2 minutes ago, brick said:

My only experience with Benjogami is from Haste, with a map that I liked but found utterly bizarre. I'm hoping to get a similar feeling from this one.

You are in for a ride in that case.

[MtPain27]

It was really fun to overlap with you guys this month: I would write reviews and come back here to see what the DWMC had to say afterwards; lots of good stuff was said. I'll have to check out Ad Mortem between this year and next! 

 

If you're doing Down the Drain next month, have a good time. It's one of my top three favorite wads I've played this year, though it is a strange beast indeed. Brace yourselves for MAP 31...

[Roofi]

13 minutes ago, MtPain27 said:

It was really fun to overlap with you guys this month: I would write reviews and come back here to see what the DWMC had to say afterwards; lots of good stuff was said. I'll have to check out Ad Mortem between this year and next! 

 

If you're doing Down the Drain next month, have a good time. It's one of my top three favorite wads I've played this year, though it is a strange beast indeed. Brace yourselves for MAP 31...

 

I never played Down the Drain. I can't wait to play this wad on DOSBOX and comment on each map. It smells like good shovelware.

[cannonball]

I haven’t submitted a suggestion for next month. Mostly because I won’t have time to play it as I will be busy with real life stuff (nothing bad mind you, more a case of a new little person in the CB household) Have fun next month.

[Azure_Horror]

This was a wonderful month. I am really impressed with all the WADs presented. I must note, the transition from Ad Mortem to Wormwoods felt surprisingly natural. Wormwood Copse matches the artistic theme of Ad Mortem and its gameplay is pretty manageable after Ad Mortem’s maps 12, 13, 14, 15.

 

Wormwood Trilogy or Ad mortem?

Before I played the last map of Wormwood trilogy, I was ready to say that I like AD Mortem More. But now I don’t know what to say. Every new map from Wormwood-s retroactively raised my impressions about the previous maps. If I absolutely must decide, I would give Wormwood trology a slight edge. However, the two series are pretty different, and I may recommend either one, depending on what do you want from your WADs.

- You seek a fun, not too hard WAD with some twists?

Then you definitely should give Ad Mortem a go.

- You are interested in refined and challenging Doom maps with imaginative visual theme?

Wormwood series sounds right up your alley.

- You wanna see, how far Doom mapping can go?

Then check out both pWADs! Each of them does a lot of cool and novel things.

 

Some additional words about AD_Mortem

As promised, here is a list of my favorite maps from AD_Mortem

Spoiler

Map 13 “Devil Garden”

This map has beautiful Eviternity-like visuals, lots of spectacular fights, unconventional secrets, and generous use of new monsters. Map layout is intriguing too. Definitely my favorite map of the WAD.

Map 01 “Catacombover”

This miniature map offers a very diverse set of atmospheric locations, and also manages to introduce all the new foes. Layout is pretty intriguing too. Great start for an adventure.

Map 07 “Shadow over Silverspring”

I love archvile and cyberlich fights in this one. The secrets are very cool too. And the sense of place here is phenomenal.

Map 05 “The Imps in the Walls”

This grand adventure absolutely must be mentioned! This map at times looks like something from Lost Civilization!

Map 09 “Norwitch Lane”

Another grand adventure, this map is memorable for both visual candy and a smooth transition from exploration section to a grand slaughter finale.

Maps 06 and 14, “Darkwood” and “Autumn Mausolemn”.

I enjoy dismantling huge crowds of skeletons, and thus I enjoy final battles of those two maps. Over sections are pretty cool too.

Map 31 “The Monster Mash”

This one is a great synthesis of hectic microslaughter and Icon-of-Sin map. And also a rare Icon of Sin setup which I like to fight. More maps like this, please!

Map 15 “Pumpkination” 

Truth be told, I personally enjoy the concept of “normal map, but with abnormal enemies”. I like this one more than its Scythe 2 predecessors.

 

My favorite part of Ad Mortem is the resource pack. The texture combination is great, the chaingun reskin is magnificent, and the palette is fine too. But my favorite part is the expanded monster roster. New monsters work very well with standard doom bestiary. Between new visuals and new foes, even the weaker Ad Mortem maps feel unique.

 

My favorite two AD Mortem monsters are satyrs and skeletons:

Satyrs.  I can easily imagine maps from Wormwood putting Satyrs to good use. Those guys are swift and unpredictable, beefy like revenants, and have high speed and high painchance. This combination leads to pretty unique encounters. The combo of swiftness and high painchance is the coolest trait of Satyr. Satyr is a rare midtier, which is more manageable to engage with a chiangun rather than SSG. I struggle to remember any similar custom monster.

Skeletons. Satndard doom roster has a notable gap in power between imps-pinkies and Revenants-Cacodemons. Ad Mortem skeletons perfectly fill this niche. Depending on context, they can work as either high-power lowtiers, or low-power midtiers. They are fun to fight with almost any weapon, including even the chainsaw. No wonder that they are used quite heavily in AD Mortem.

 

Other AD Mortem foes are cool too. I discuss them in a spoiler below

Spoiler

Rocket-on-legs. Almost everyone, who have played Valiant, loves kamikazes. The rocket-on-legs occupies the same niche. Personally, I prefer-rockets-on legs due to less annoying sounds they make, but this is a matter of taste.

Gargoyle. We have seen those pests in 1000 lines 3. But Ad mortem version seems to have less hp. At the very least, it can be fought even with a normal pistol, unlike 1000 lines 3 version.

Cyberlich (AKA King Boner). Cyberliches are pretty beefy and shoot homing explosive projectiles. A lone cyberlich feels like an archvile alternative: it is a high HP midtier with a tricky to dodge attack. Main difference – archvile attack has a precise timing, but cyber lich attack is super-persistent. In larger fights cyberliches tend to be both powerful infighters and very annoying snipers.

 

Edited October 31, 2022 by Azure_Horror

[Monsieur E]

Happy Halloween everyone, let's wrap up the Wormwood Trilogy!

Map06: "Journal Entry III: Business As Usual"
By Ribbiks,79/79 kills, 1/1 secrets

Calling this map business as usual is a bit strange, I'd say it's probably the least like any of the "usual" Wormwood maps even compared to its other journal entry peers. The surreal void scapes which dominated prior maps has been replaced by pretty looking desert setting, alongside strange geometry of course. The map is essentially a near-tyson experience barring the final fight. I think this map is something I can respect and admire the craft of, but I didn't really enjoy playing it. It's very well crafted no doubt, the enemy placements and general combat is perfectly calibrated and I liked the secret; I just didn't really have a lot of fun playing it. Although, I imagine others who are okay with the tyson experience can enjoy it.

The Journal Entries kind of messed up the "narrative" we were on so to recollect a bit, map04 ended with the player character literally dying and the textfile for Wormwood3 reads "YOU ARE DEAD. AND WE WILL NEVER KNOW EACH OTHER." Quite ominous.


Wormwood ]|[: The Horror


Map01: "Life?" 
By Ribbiks, 139/139 kills, 0/0 secrets

This map is akin to what Map03 was back in EU, essentially a showcase for its primary gimmick to offer you a slice of what is to come later. And well, I quite enjoyed it. The meteors are an interesting addition and I'd say it's the best implemented of the various mechanics introduced throughout the Wormwoods. The imp-hell knight fight is a lot of fun to pull off, so is the cyberdemon room. I also like the damaging floor room but honestly, it is a disappointment they were used only once. The MIDI here is another excellent composition, morbid yet fascinating, but if I'm being completely honest, if it weren't for General Roasterrock highlighting it in his writeup (alongside the upload he linked), I wouldn't have thought much of this MIDI. In my opinion, the map didn't have enough downtime for the MIDI to paint the portrait it wants, largely lost among the excitement of the map. Otherwise, the map is a lot of fun to play through. 

Map02: "Vampire Killer"
By Grain of Salt, 309/309 kills, 0/0 secrets

In her final contribution to the trilogy, Grain of Salt goes out swinging. Set in and around some kind of ruined castle, Map02 looks great visually. The greys of the castle contrast very well with the purple ocean it seems submerged in alongside the purple hills on the horizon. The two indoor arenas look very pretty and stand out. The map introduces the final gimmick we'll see in Wormwood, the modified arachnotron. Its lethality both as a sniper and during closer combat is highlighted to prepare you for the next map, it rains hell during the revenant-cyberdemon arena and while clearing our their sniping spots, they can easily mess you up. The small ragged path alongside the stray ruins offer a bit of incentive to look around. The large sun room with the megasphere and megaarmor is visually great but I was definitely expecting the hammer to drop.  As for the combat itself, I had a fun time throughout, particularly with the two indoor fights. The map ends by interacting with a strange crystal far away from the place you were previously. This map feels different from any of the other Wormwood maps in both design and theme, but I liked it quite a lot and had fun with the challenges offered.

Map03: "The Horror"
By Ribbiks, 353/353 kills, 0/0 secrets

The Horror, to me, is Wormwood's ultimate challenge; the resource economy is perhaps at its most scarce, (to my knowledge) there are no freebie powerups obtainable, messing up most of this map's various movement and platforming set pieces mean instant death and finally, the combat design is at its most brutal. 

Before I divulge into the map properly, I want to say that this map, unfortunately, felt the most lacking when it came to its MIDI selection. To be more specific, I wasn't a fan of the guitar sections in particular. They felt odd and honestly brought the entire MIDI down in my eyes, therefore, I ended up playing Map01's track in the background to compensate. I think this selection works better as this map has a fair bit of downtime. 

Back to the map itself, The Horror is expertly crafted. Going for the exit in this map is relatively straightforward but there are a lot of optional stuff which hide rewards crucial for anyone trying to UV-Max this map. I cannot emphasize this enough, the resource economy in this map is extremely tight, wasting ammo and loosing health can severely complicate matters when it comes to the two banner fights this map has. 

The first of these, and perhaps the most lethal, is the pit fight. Carry as many rockets as you can into this fight, I did it with 33 but a few of my attempts at this fight ended as I ran out of rockets, because you will need to be bold with your rocket launcher to control the crowds here, the cyberdemon located here isn't a reliable infighter. Health is again essential since this map introduces perhaps the most dangerous of the changes, the cacodemon was modified to spit baron projectiles. In a map as this where health is located sparsely, the change in damage output is noticeable. Try to dispose of the cacocloud as quick as you can while ensuring the other enemies don't surround you, it's quite difficult but definitely doable. On a related note, the presence of a regular cyberdemon here who you have to use BFG on (even though he's on a ranged platform making two shotting him impossible) is very annoying since you don't have enough shells, and can also force players to obtain the purple skull key which locks behind 40 cells. Honestly, there should've been a telefrag sequence but at the same time, I reap what I sow with my insistence on UV-Maxing 

The second fight would be the fight for the yellow key, which seems to be equally as challenging but, has a small exploit. If you stand on the hell noble teleport destination, the fights is made far easier since you completely block them from teleporting. The pinkies end up dying on their own to the meteors after which cleaning up the rest of the fight isn't quite as challenging. Again, it feels a bit wrong to do but eh. The fight still ends up being a decent challenge since the hell nobles are much more bulkier than the pinkies and don't die as quickly to the meteors. 

Sprinkled across this map are several smaller but cutthroat encounters, all of which are expertly crafted and fun. I would even go as far as to say that I enjoyed most of the movement sections, the meteor setups are very well crafted for how frustrating they can be, but fortunately, they often have various small safe zones to take a breather and re-think. I'm going to specify here that I did each combat section with a save prior to attempting them in their entirety since I realize that during a save less runs, these can be very unforgiving. I also liked most of the platforming sections, the one for the green skull key being my favorite. I would not say the same for the optional orange skull key one, however, this has no consequence for failing the challenge and you can retry it at any time. Furthermore, this is an optional challenge with the only reward being a cell pack so I won't complain much. While I personally found it obnoxious, I respect it for what it is. 

All of the skull keys are infact optional and each lock away a reward. The green skull key locks behind a megaarmor, the orange a cell pack and the purple a soulsphere. I was able to do the map without taking the soulsphere and so, I would personally recommend to avoid using the invulnerability for obtaining it and to instead save it for a fight giving you trouble, probably either the pit or the orange card. In regards to the puzzle itself, I really like it in concept as a mad dash past the various meteor sections towards the purple skull key whose meteor firewall seemed impassable.

All of this without talking about the actual design of the map, the abstract shapes and bright highlights accompanying suspensions over the abyss, the strange smiles carved into rock, the bright green maws which expel meteors, the sudden gothic arches, the scattered corpses of marines; all benefitted by the lack of a sky texture. The brutal combat, enforced resource rationing and unforgiving platforming all contribute to this sense of oppression. Gone are the whimsy of stabbed with a sword with its little infernal spirits and the strides of demon house; this map feels like being trapped in a world hostile to you, eager to have you join the ranks of the other corpses littered about. You could always escape from the pits of stabbed with a sword, a single misstep in The Horror means nothing short of immediate annihilation. 

The map concludes in a spectacular rain of hellfire, the arena seems a bit reminiscent of the final encounter in Magnolia's map03 although I'd argue less impressive. You have to dodge various cyberdemons, and then eventually crowds of revenants and pain elementals all under the fire of several arachnotrons as likely to hit you as your enemies. A single part of the arena is raised which is actually the path to your exit but that single raised area forces you to change course to the way you came preventing you from just circle strafing; this often leads you into the range of fire of various plasma rounds or enemy crowds who were behind you. However, various megaspheres are laid around the arena making this much more forgiving than any prior encounter. If you bothered to get the cell pack locked by the yellow skull key, the two BFG shots it offers can prove to be the difference between life and death. After some time, a load of cells lower alongside a BFG to finally clean up this level.

The Horror ends on a mysterious but a potentially optimistic note. You ascend a monochrome staircase which stands out completely from the map before it to somewhere unknown, maybe our tired marine can arrive at a peaceful life of some sort, maybe they're ascending to a better afterlife. 

Above all else, The Horror is an amazing map eager to lay you to waste if you don't agree to play by its rules and a perfect conclusion to this season appropriate trilogy.


Conclusion:

The Wormwoods are the work of expert craftsmen, showcasing how far this almost three decade old game can be taken. I'd like to thank Ribbiks and Grain of Salt for creating these stellar maps and hope they achieve success in whatever creative projects they want to do! :)

Once again, I loved reading all of the various writeups people posted here for their different perspectives! I won't be able to consistently stick around for Down The Drain as I'll be on a vacation for slightly over half of the month and won't have much time to do writeups on every map but we'll see, I've been playing it on the side and I have a fair amount to say. Either way, this was as per usual, a lot of fun! See you all again in November :)

 

Edited October 31, 2022 by Monsieur E

[NiGHTS108]

Ugh... what happened..? Must have been knocked unconscious... anyway.

 

MAP03: The Horror

Kills: 89%

Items: 92%

Secrets: 100%

Time: 17:56

 

(I just HAD to play this on Halloween)

Oh. Boy. Okay look, I'm not sugarcoating this one, The Horror is amazing. One of my very favourite maps from my favourite mapper. It's intense, mysterious, beautiful and enthralling. To put it simply, everything I was looking for starting this month and more. The Horror is a wonderful mix of whimsical, vibrant colours and dark, horrifying undertones. I could end the review right there but fffffffffuck it, even if this map weirdly never uses the mysterious red hurt floor as seen in MAP01, it sure gets as much as possible out of the cannonballs. They're everywhere and are often combined with platforming. Also the Super Arachnotron goes from scary to horrifying in this map, especially in the ending which we'll get to. There is so much creativity in this map it's indescribable, a smaller example would be after getting the purple keycard you have to jump off to a corner of the map in order to get back to the main area, it brilliantly awards awareness of your environment. Something more notable would be the amazingly creative fight for the orange keycard, involving a flock of Pinkies, Barons and flying foes. Forget about the purple skull and bring your Invuln here instead, trust me, I would know because I was a massive idiot who wasted his, After exploring the warped fortress, it's time to say goodbye to purgatory. You may wanna grab the green skull at this point and also don't skip the platforming near the ending for a yellow skull. It'll give you a vital BFG, 100 cells, and a megaarmour if you want one. The ending is downright insane, it's a short but extremely intense blast of spiders, Revenants, Pain Elementals and Cyberdemons. Don't be afraid to use Megaspheres quickly as it won't last too long and it's basically impossible to survive without at least one to back you up. This fight is brutal, amazing, and a beautiful ending to this map and the Wormwood series, for now. Sorry if this review may have been a little lacklustre, I almost feel like talking about this map is a disservice, as although I don't think it's quite the best Ribbiks map, it might just be the one I feel the most for. I suppose the only way I can describe it well is just, see for yourself. Easily one of Ribbiks' best works ever. 'Nuff said.

 

Grade: A+

Difficulty: X

 

 

- FINAL THOUGHTS -

 

Man. What a delightful series of wads here! I thought nothing could match Tangerine Nightmare's combination of whimsy and menace, but here we are. The Wormwood trilogy is exceptional, it's consistently able to deliver wonderful maps with slip-ups being incredibly rare, and at its peak it's nothing short of incredible. Even if you're not willing to deal with that intense Ribbiks difficulty, I'd still say these maps are worth checking out for the sights alone under an easier difficulty or without enemies. It's creative, beautiful and above all a ton of fun. Hasn't released quite yet, but I'm still holding out for Wormwood IV. Long live the worms! My final grade for the Wormwood trilogy is an A. It doesn't quite reach the soaring heights of Tangerine Nightmare for me, but after all, what really does? On the difficulty side I'll be saying A+. Even in between Ribbiks' goliath maps these wads will make sure you're paying close attention, so stay frosty.

 

Whole playthrough

 

Now for the grand ranking!

 

Ad Mortem: (Including the new Version 5 maps because I played those, also the update to MAP32 which I say significantly changes my opinion on it)

Spoiler

23: Tears From God :)
16: King Boner's House Of Fisting
14: Norwitch Lane
21: Devil Garden
10: Every Damn Night
06: Darkwood
22: Autumn Mausolemn
05: The Imps In The Walls
15: As Above, So Below
20: Checkmate
08: Shadow Over Silverspring
02: Caco's Keep
24: The Monster Mash
18: The Other Dario
13: Return To Castle Cacostein
17: Under A Bloated Fungoid Moon
07: Little Church Of Horrors
01: Catacombover
04: Pumpkin Delight
11: Keelhaul Handball
32: Tricks N' Treats
03: Beneath Bloodstone
09: Bold Catechumen
33: Uncle Reggie's Candy Factory
12: The Torture Garden
31: Pumpkination
19: Don't Cry, Marine

 

Wormwood Series:

Spoiler

3-03: The Horror :)
1-02: Revenge Of Demon House
2-04: Stabbed, With A Sword
2-03: I'm Rubber You're Glue
1-01: Copse
3-02: Vampire Killer (I completely missed the point of this map fuckkkkk meeeee)
3-01: Life?
2-32: Journal Entry II: Thus We Spameth
2-31: Journal Entry I: Killing Time
2-33: Journal Entry III: Business As Usual
2-01: Nevermind, There Was A Backdoor
2-02: Mu

 

Total month ranking:

Spoiler

W3-03: The Horror :)
W1-02: Revenge Of Demon House
W2-04: Stabbed, With A Sword

W2-03: I'm Rubber You're Glue

Ad-23: Tears From God

W1-01: Copse

W3-02: Vampire Killer

Ad-16: King Boner's House Of Fisting
Ad-14: Norwitch Lane
Ad-21: Devil Garden
Ad-10: Every Damn Night
Ad-06: Darkwood

W3-01: Life?

W2-32: Journal Entry II: Thus We Spameth

W2-31: Journal Entry I: Killing Time
Ad-22: Autumn Mausolemn
Ad-05: The Imps In The Walls
Ad-15: As Above, So Below
Ad-20: Checkmate
Ad-08: Shadow Over Silverspring

W2-33: Journal Entry III: Business As Usual
Ad-02: Caco's Keep
Ad-24: The Monster Mash
Ad-18: The Other Dario
Ad-13: Return To Castle Cacostein

W2-01: Nevermind, There Was A Backdoor
Ad-17: Under A Bloated Fungoid Moon
Ad-07: Little Church Of Horrors
Ad-01: Catacombover
Ad-04: Pumpkin Delight
Ad-11: Keelhaul Handball
Ad-32: Tricks N' Treats
Ad-03: Beneath Bloodstone
Ad-09: Bold Catechumen

W2-02: Mu
Ad-33: Uncle Reggie's Candy Factory
Ad-12: The Torture Garden
Ad-31: Pumpkination
Ad-19: Don't Cry, Marine

 

[finnks13]

Map03 - The Horror by Ribbiks: 

HMP: 25:43/20 Deaths
THE HORROR is a bloody mean map. It cares not for the player, even moreso than the other two major Wormwood maps (those being Revenge of Demon House & Stabbed, With a Sword), while Stabbed, With a Sword feels whimsy and Revenge of Demon House is foreboding, THE HORROR is a genuinely unsettling and alien experience. Gone are the skies peeking through the grand architecture, there's just darkness in all directions, even above and below you is pitch black and deadly. I had enough resources to get by on HMP, but I never felt comfortable and this was mostly due to how close-quarters a lot of the ambushes are in the map which does not favour the fact that the rocket launcher will be your only powerful weapon for much of the playthrough. 

 

In order to exit, you need the orange keycard, which is unlocked by the purple + green keycards though the three skull keys are also important because they open up supplies which really help out - the coolest of these is accessed by grabbing the only invulnerability in the map and running all the way to a set of meteor shooters that would be impossible to pass without the aid of an invuln. Yep, the meteors are back in full force in THE HORROR, but I must admit I begun to truly hate them after a while. My least favourite part of the whole wad is the tightrope walking section where you have to time running back and forward between switches to not get hit by the meteors. I took 12 of my 20 deaths to this section, and (I promise this isn't just frustration talking!) it's just a tedious slog to go through.

 

The large ambushes are very creative, the orange keycard is protected by a horde of barons, hell knights & cacodemons, and you'll have to use a demon head that's belching meteors to help kill them since you absolutely do not have the ammo to do so yourself. The finale pits you against 6 (?) cyberdemons and a frankly overwhelming amount of arachnotrons which will quickly turn this arena into a bullet hell game, thankfully it's not too difficult to get the cyberdemons to infight with the arachnotrons because of this! You're given a BFG and a load of cells to wrap up the fight, and can end the map by walking up a white staircase.

 

THE HORROR isn't a map I can say that I enjoyed playing particularly, but it's certainly one that will stay with me. It's excellent.
 

Overall Thoughts on The Wormwood Trilogy:

I don't really think I have much to add to what's already been said here. These three wads are absolutely fantastic, and capture the spirit of halloween perfectly being a blend of both the terrifying and silly. Everything, from the altered palette to the perfectly chosen existing midis and the incredible original compositions, adds to this feeling and I just loved it. I think Wormwood EU was my favourite overall, since I loved the bouncy wall gimmick, and the shorter, more gimmicky maps were very fun to go through, but all three have their individual strengths and I wouldn't be shocked to hear someone name any of the three as their personal favourite.

 

I'll join in the group of hopefuls for a Wormwood 4, but given that it's November 1st here it seems this is a treat we will have to wait for.

 

Top 5 Maps:

Wormwood EU Map04 - Stabbed, With a Sword by Ribbiks

Wormwood EU Map03 - I'm Rubber, You're Glue by Ribbiks

Wormwood EU Map32 - Thus we Spameth by Ribbiks

Wormwood Map01 - Copse by Grain of Salt

Wormwood 3 Map03 - The Horror by Ribbiks

 

~~~

This was a very fun month, and I'm glad I managed to keep up despite NaNoWADMo happening at the same time! Looking forward to being bewildered by Down the Drain next month :P

[Grain of Salt]

Just a few random thoughts about ww. I’ve been mostly keeping up with this thread and it’s been a fun read. Thanks for all your comments.

 

I still like Copse a reasonable amount. The music helps a lot. To me this midi isn’t goofy, it’s sort of ominous but in a playful way. The bfg/vile/chaingunner fight is a bit shapeless and silly... I think I did that so that the people who did and didn’t skip the chaingunners at the start would have a similar fight at the end? There are certainly better short maps out there, but it’s not bad.

 

Fun Demon House fact: when I was testing it Ribbiks accidentally gave me a version with part of the deh from “orange is true love”, which meant the BFG did not fire any tracers, just the projectile. Which made the outdoor part where you have to(?) kill viles quickly kinda hard. Luckily I was on hmp and I think he gave me a new version soon after we noticed the issue.

 

Mu: yeah, it’s bad. Can’t think of much else to say about it. I do think the texture scheme is nice though.

 

I think Stabbed With A Sword is my favorite ww map overall (and it would be pretty hard to top it in the future tbh) but weu isn’t my favorite wad of the series. Despite how strong Stabbed is, and the cool reflecting gimmick, it would be hard to wholeheartedly embrace this as The Best One when one of the team (ie me) was so clearly not firing on all cylinders. Imo ww3 is more solid from start to finish and has a stronger map01, even if map03 doesn’t quite have the atmosphere of Stabbed (it would be silly to expect anything to).

 

Korendian has a fun video about Stabbed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MnIGo4CERck

 

I actually regret editing the midi for Vampire Killer. At the time I thought taking out the drums made it fit the feel of the level more closely, but I heard the original when my friend Dot (https://www.twitch.tv/dot_lvl) streamed Castlevania Chronicles recently and the song really needs drums and suffers without them. Tsk!

 

With regards to the purple sun symbol tower... there was a fight there to start with (arachs appear around you when you’re in the centre, not quite 360 degrees around you but at dangerous angles) but iirc I couldn’t get it to be particularly fun, or consistently survivable (for me), and the concept didn’t seem that interesting either, so I just left that area empty. In my defence, having no monsters there means the max route doesn’t have to make a detour, so it’s just an optional bit of health for normal players who found the orange key.

 

To waffle slightly, I think one difference in taste between me and a lot of other mappers/players is I would often rather an area be empty than have gameplay I don’t like there (which is not to say that gameplay I don’t like won’t work its way into the map anyway! I’m not claiming to have extreme gameplay quality control or anything, heh). If you have an area which is based on exploration or visuals, why even put in that familiar random scattering of unthreatening hitscanners and imps to clear up? Playing Doom isn’t about busywork. I can definitely see validity of the point of view that this makes maps feel emptier or more broken up, though. I don’t think Vampire Killer is exactly a perfect execution of a map with empty areas.

 

I agree that the end room of VK is a generic circle strafe. Not very good. The map did kind of feel like it needed some kind of fight like that to end on though, even if it was just a formality.

 

This post turned out longer than I imagined.

 

Edited November 1, 2022 by Grain of Salt

[Azure_Horror]

7 hours ago, Grain of Salt said:

To waffle slightly, I think one difference in taste between me and a lot of other mappers/players is I would often rather an area be empty than have gameplay I don’t like there (which is not to say that gameplay I don’t like won’t work its way into the map anyway! I’m not claiming to have extreme gameplay quality control or anything, heh). If you have an area which is based on exploration or visuals, why even put in that familiar random scattering of unthreatening hitscanners and imps to clear up? Playing Doom isn’t about busywork. I can definitely see validity of the point of view that this makes maps feel emptier or more broken up, though. I don’t think Vampire Killer is exactly a perfect execution of a map with empty areas.

I really appreciate the empty places of Vampire Killer. Gives the whole map a very uneasy feeling - you feel that something kinda should have been there, but find nothing. But maybe you're just imagining things? Why anything should be somewhere? Why anything should exist at all? Why would a Doom map adhere to any sort of expectations???

 

Vampire Killer had put the last point deeply into my subcontiousness. And then The Horror happenned. When you are ready to completely give up on understnding any Doom map, The Horror is even harder to comprehend. Vampire Hunter put me off balance, and that allowed The Horror to pull the rag out from under me. I feel that finale of Wormwood 3 would feel significantly less impactful for me, if I would have not played Vampire Killer right before it.

 

7 hours ago, Grain of Salt said:

Mu: yeah, it’s bad. Can’t think of much else to say about it. I do think the texture scheme is nice though.

I respectfully dissagree. I think that Mu is great, if really minimalist.

What is so good about Mu? Quite a lot of things, actually!

 

Are we talking about Doom in general?

Then Mu has two pretty simple, but challenging setups. One battle, and one platforming section. And both feel rather unique! The battle either demands perfect target prioritisation, or it forces you to literally dance between arachnotron plasma salvos! This is a quintessense of a challenging Doom gameplay, distilled in a really minimalist fight. (It also comes pretty close to Doom Eternal gameplay loop, btw. But without dashes, grenades or any other bells and whistles!)

The platforming section is also quite impressive. It is HARD, but it offers infinite and almost insant retries! This is extremely cool, because it removes the fear of failure and allows you to freely experiment, until you find the right solution.

Are we talking about Wormwood Expanded Universe only?

Then Mu provides a break between two purple-wall focused maps by offering a "traditional" Doom combat encounter. It also introduces ideas of platforming challenges, which would return in Stabbed, With a Sword, and Journal Entries I and II. And finally, the single fight of Mu is very focused on doddging stroms projectiles! The same challenge, which plays it part in almost all signature fights of Wormwood EU! So, the fight fits very into the WAD, despite having no purple walls at all!

Are we talking about Wormwood trilogy as a whole?

Then Mu forshadows the coming of Worwood III ! Think about it:

- Completing Mu without a hard platforming challenge is impossible. This is also true for Worwmwood III.

- Mu visuals have a lot of blue-ish, violet and purple hues, and some bright spots of green. Like Wormwood III!

- Finally, Mu tries to destroy the player with a squad of deadly arachnotrons. And super-arachnotrons are monster mascots of Wormwood III.

 

So yeah, Mu may be tiny, but it is a really good map from many different perspectives!

Edited November 1, 2022 by Azure_Horror

[Catpho]

8 hours ago, Azure_Horror said:

Mu analysis

Haha, quite something. I always thought it'd be fun to try to convince GoS that some of her so-called bad maps are actually great. Maybe someday you'll see my defense for Green Goddess E2M1 & Sf2011 maps 01-03.

[Maribo]

On 11/2/2022 at 12:00 AM, Catpho said:

Maybe someday you'll see my defense for Green Goddess E2M1

You should definitely write about Green Goddess in any capacity if you feel like it, I dug that wad up earlier this year and it was such a fascinating unfinished piece of work.

 

The 2nd half of this year has been busier than anticipated for me, I planned on participating for at least the Wormwoods in this club, but unfortunately that didn't happen. I'll say a couple of things though:
1) Revenge of Demon House is an eternal oppressive thrill. It's really hard for me to think of a first room that I enjoy more than the one that greets you in this map. The secret fight that pays reference to Elysion will remain in my heart forever.

2) I've been thinking about Stabbed, With A Sword a lot recently. I might have to compose words at some point, but for now I will marinate in abstract feeling for a undetermined amount of time.

[Grain of Salt]

Wormwood tidbit that I forgot to include: "Life?" is named after an album cover that both me and Ribbiks like. However I can't show you this because it's impossible to google, because the finest minds of the tech giant cannot give us a search engine that understands punctuation. It's, like, a robot grim reaper gesturing angrily to a CG backdrop, or something like that.

 

Quote

GG E2M1

 

That one's alright. Its main problem is I added about 4 revs to the start shortly before release and that somehow makes that part much harder than the version I playtested for 99% of its existence.

 

Quote

SF2011

 

Argh

[Grain of Salt]

7 hours ago, Grain of Salt said:

Wormwood tidbit that I forgot to include: "Life?" is named after an album cover that both me and Ribbiks like.

 

 

[RHhe82]

18 minutes ago, Grain of Salt said:

 

 

I knew the name sounded familiar! When you said it was an album (cover, at least) you and Ribbiks liked, I searched for swedish black metal orchestras, but without success… Didn’t think it’d hit so close to home! Liked their first album as a teen, and got to see their gig a few years ago before they went on a hiatus and now that the main guy from the band passed away, I’m glad I did.