Running The Gauntlet

[watto3699]

Hi lads,
Final release of my first map pack named: Running The Gauntlet!
Took me a little over 12 months to complete and includes 9 new maps to play through. They're not the hardest you've ever played but it isn't a milk run either.
I'd appreciate any feedback you have but from this moment on, this is it's final release barring any bug fixes.

 

This was will run without issue on GZDoom, Map format in UDMF

Jumping and crouching are not required and have been disabled in the MAPINFO file. I highly recommend disabling infinitely tall actors in the compatibility section of GZDoom as these maps have 3d floors acting as bridges.

Hardware Accelerated rendering with the DOOM2 iwad for the best results.

These maps use slots 01-09

 

These maps are rather linear in comparison to the original doom maps and are short in length, with the longest taking only 6 minuets to beat 100%.

I believe I've struck a very nice balance with the difficulty through out these maps. I lost count how many times I've been through this set of maps to nail down the ammo, health and enemy distribution. If you find the difficulty too high, then you can knock it down to HMP for less enemies.

Early versions of this wad that were tested only ran for roughly an hour on UV. For an experienced player, saves wont be necessary.

 

It's been a real pleasure refining my map making skill but I think I'll give it a break for a while

Let me know what you think. <3 xoxo

 

gauntlet.rar

[Biodegradable]

Congratulations on wrapping the bow on this WAD, Watto!

[Kan3]

I tested in UV.

 

This is a really nice set, very well done.

Like you said, maps are pretty compact, but they're very nice detailed, with a great use of lighting and dynamic lights.

I'm impressed how these maps give a sensation of being simple but complex at the same time.

 

On the gameplay side, it starts pretty easy, but there's a spike around map 4 (maybe a bit too much of a difference?), but the balance of ammo and health is pretty good, even if I have some doubts about pistol starting some maps.

There's a nice monster positioning and the fact that the maps slowly unravel is a nice touch.

almost everything revolves around monster spawning though, but even if I'm not a fan of it, I understand the usage especially in maps with certain dimension.

Very great use of the outmap areas in some maps, with those kind of sentry towers.

 

I found a couple of little bugs and oversights:

Spoiler

These 2 acid pools don't do damage.

 

Here you probably forget to properly delete/close a sector (slim triangle)

 

Misaligned.

As well as the marble IoS platform in the last map (Dunno if it was intended).

 

Overall really a great job

[Custom Longplay]

Doom 2 - Hell on Earth - [Running The Gauntlet] -- Complete Episode with 9 Maps in [4K60ᶠᵖˢ]

 

 

[watto3699]

4 hours ago, Custom Longplay said:

Doom 2 - Hell on Earth - [Running The Gauntlet] -- Complete Episode with 9 Maps in [4K60ᶠᵖˢ]

 

 

Thanks for the quality video man!

Shame my monitor is only 1440p. Do you plan to upload others? Would love to give them a watch.

Edit: Never mind, found the playlist on your YouTube, watching it all now :)

Edited October 18, 2022 by watto3699

[CrueCut]

This was tons of fun!  Played on UV and it was great.  Only minor criticism is the auto-opening doors -- not sure I like those, but hardly a big deal.  Didn't find any major bugs.  Last level maybe could use a supercharge up on the platform where the battle royale takes place, but maybe there was one there and I missed it or picked it up without noticing.

 

Great job!

 

[watto3699]

7 hours ago, CrueCut said:

This was tons of fun!  Played on UV and it was great.  Only minor criticism is the auto-opening doors -- not sure I like those, but hardly a big deal.  Didn't find any major bugs.  Last level maybe could use a supercharge up on the platform where the battle royale takes place, but maybe there was one there and I missed it or picked it up without noticing.

 

Great job!

 

Appreciate you taking the time to play and I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it. Just wondering if you noticed the supply platforms on the final level? I've seen other play through that level and either haven't noticed the platforms or didn't think they needed the ammo/health/weapons.

[CrueCut]

Nope, I didn't notice the the supply platforms.  If they are accessible only when the main platform passes them, well, that would be kinda tough I think, especially given the penalty for falling off.  Weapons and ammo weren't (much) of an issue, although I was using continuous play rather than pistol starts, so I was pretty well equipped going into the final level.

[sandwedge]

Hey I had a great time with this last night, even though it's gzdoom it has a nice classic feel with fun fights with low tier monsters for quite a while.  Only a couple issues with slime not hurting, otherwise feels polished.  That last level was fun, thankfully I did notice the weapons platforms but they were still pretty tricky to get to during combat.  Not too frustrating though, and an interesting and enjoyable final level which made sense being a little harder.  Lots more thoughts in the video of course, but great job on everything!

 

 

[pavera]

Screens look pretty nice! Congrats on your first release. I will try to give this a spin sometime.

[Zolgia108]

played map 1 till 6, i think this a very well done wad. Enjoyable, old style traps and fantastic progression so far!

I love your style

Keep it up mate!

Old school always wins

[watto3699]

3 hours ago, Zolgia108 said:

played map 1 till 6, i think this a very well done wad. Enjoyable, old style traps and fantastic progression so far!

I love your style

Keep it up mate!

Old school always wins

Cheers brother,

The progression is something that really stumps me. Being my first multi-map wad, I struggled to ramp up the enemies, weapons and health without it feeling jarring. I think I've gotten it to a spot where I happy.

There are numerous little bugs throughout the map set, which I'm sure you'll notice (Texture alignment, Non damaging toxic floors, ect), but I've got to let it go at some point.

Appreciate you giving it a go, I hope you enjoy the rest of it.

[NaliSeed]

Isn't it supposed to be Running the Gantlet? 😌

[watto3699]

3 hours ago, NaliSeed said:

Isn't it supposed to be Running the Gantlet? 😌

Grammatically, "Gauntlet" and "Gantlet" have the same meaning but the former can also refer to gloves.

Think of it as an upgraded version over the original. :)

[Zolgia108]

7 hours ago, watto3699 said:

Cheers brother,

The progression is something that really stumps me. Being my first multi-map wad, I struggled to ramp up the enemies, weapons and health without it feeling jarring. I think I've gotten it to a spot where I happy.

There are numerous little bugs throughout the map set, which I'm sure you'll notice (Texture alignment, Non damaging toxic floors, ect), but I've got to let it go at some point.

Appreciate you giving it a go, I hope you enjoy the rest of it.

I was too busy playing to notice texture misalignments (i am not one of those) but yes i noticed the toxic floor for example, but those are easily fixed, just ask a few playtester to record the maps and you will notice what to do in order to publish it, there are a few out there that i think would gladly do this for you mate :)

[NaliSeed]

4 hours ago, watto3699 said:

Grammatically, "Gauntlet" and "Gantlet" have the same meaning but the former can also refer to gloves.

Think of it as an upgraded version over the original. :)

I thought it was a typo in map 3 of Doom 2.