The DWmegawad Club plays: Down the Drain

[Roofi]

Map 15 : Door of Opportunites

 

Spoiler

 

I have sad news about this map. Whereas playing on continuous was an tolerable experience at least, it prevented me from realizing how fun it is on pistol start. If could roughly describe this level , it would be a crampier, more confusing version of map 14 without the enchantment and amusement.

 

Benjogami decided to go back to basics by being again stingy with ammunition so that you know where each weapon and ammo is in order to appreciate this map. This levels has ton of switches and linedefs opening doors, so you never which action open what. It's a kind of puzzle but in the most pejorative way.

 

Most of the combats didn't satisfy me and felt like more a drag than else. I liked the idea of the viles to not awake, unless if you manage to get the BFG located VERY far , at the end of the corridor that leads to the secret exit.

 

Let's talk about the switch sequence with the invulnerability : it's purely stupid and meagre. Hopefully, I never record blind playthroughs, otherwise it would have really annoyed me.

 

At least the secret exit was easy to find, I coudl expect an intricate to puzzle. I prefer this map over map 10 but we are clearly at the bottom with this very disappointing map 15.

 

Grade : D+

 

 

 

Map 31 : Down the Drain

 

Spoiler

 

And now here is the beast, the map, the ultimate challenge whereas we are at the middle of the megawad. If you already played Nostril Caverns  or World Orifice, you will maybe suffer of some PTSD but rest assured: the challenge is not as long and extreme. This concept-oriented level will roughly takes 1-2h while  Nostril Caverns and World Orifice takes each at least 4-5 hours to complete.

 

I decided to record a simple UV playthrough as usual because I play on DOSBOX and this is the first time DOSBOX decided to crash after saving in this map , and just because I don't  care about speedrun anymore so let's finish this map once and for all instead of doing countless saveless max attempts.

 

So, Down the Drain feels like work : it's grindy and repetitive but a huge relief comes when it's over. Your mission is to cross a kind of Sudoku full of monsters in each box except in the one where you start of course. The more you go far from the centre, the more powerful the monsters are. In the middle of each section you have to fight a group of arch-viles guarding the switches.

 

A lot of players will find this level horrible just because of its concept and also due to the fact it may turns into an uncontrollable ghost monsters factory if you don't keep the viles, but I love this map. Down the Drain really holds its name. It's the most emblematic and memorable level from this megawad.

 

Maybe trying to max this map can be considered as form of self-torture. However, since you don't have to kill every monster, it becomes a satisfying puzzle to solve after playing a second time. 

 

About the way to reach the secret exit, I think Benjogami could have been a little more ambitious. The last room filled with lava was a stressful adrenaline boost because you have to press the exit switch at the very last moment, when you health plunged to 10% on -20 damaging floor.

 

Also, due to its concept, Down the Drain figures among the longest vanilla maps I have ever played. 

 

Grade : A

 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by Roofi

[PeceMan]

I'm only joining now, and you guys seem to have gone through a lot of levels. I'll try to catch up.

 

Level 1, "From Unknown"

 

Spoiler

The geometry and the aesthetics are so simple, but yet, This level is very ambitious. 

It features 5 secrets, and one of them contains a Cyberdemon.

 

And the enemy selection too. It's definitely not level 1 material. Cacodemons, Barons, Arachnos, a Mancubus...

 

The pacing is great.

 

I liked it.

 

Level 2, "Someone's Castle"

 

Spoiler

This level really doesn't chill. But I don't mind.

 

No secrets? huh.

 

The ammo distribution seems to be pretty balanced, if a bit overabundant.

 

That ending fight was a little bit annoying, but just a little bit.

 

I liked it.

 

Level 3, "Private Island"

 

Spoiler

I'm starting to see a patern. A hectic pattern. (Not a reference to hectic, I just think the word hectic describes these levels well.)

 

It's a very skirmishy feel. Sprawling levels, with enemies on every corner.

 

I'm a person who gives a lot of importance to aesthetics. And this wad seems to be really into using the ugly textures. This is only the third level, so I'm not really that tired yet. But I really hope to see some more effort put into the texture choice in the later levels.

 

As for gameplay, I had fun.

 

I liked it, but I will stop liking these levels, if the textures don't bring anything new.

 

Level 4, "Kick the Can"

 

Spoiler

It seems the textures won't be getting renewed until level 12. Oh well. I guess not all wads need to be bases.

 

As a doom player, you never really know wether you're meant to be pistol starting the levels.

Just in case, I try to always pistol start. But this level might not have been built for that. Edit: Nvm. Just got the Ssg. Just had to look around a bit. But still, two barons while the player is only armed with the shotgun? Damn. Edit: 3 barons.

 

These platforms are a bit annoying. Come to think of it, the raising and lowering thing in 
level 3 was also annoying.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if someone told me this level is fun to speedrun through, once you
know how to trigger every platform, and in what order to trigger them.

 

However, the level isn't really much fun to play if you don't know exactly what triggers each
platform.

 

I did not really like it.

 

Level 5, "Rolling Down"

 

Spoiler

Another level with no chill. Also, another level were falling down is common, and gets on my nerves.

 

I'm a person who likes slaughter, so I actually enjopy the tough beginning. 

 

I also like experimentation, so I appreciate the strange systems that are in place in each level.

 

But an express elevator, that opens once you've climbed the entirety of the stairs, would be really appreciated.

 

There are things which I appreciate, and there are things which I don't appreciate.
A heavy beginning? I appreciate.

Two small armies of tanky enemies, each with an Archvile behind them? I do not appreciate.

 

What the hell is the ending meant to be. A trap? Either a trap or the ending? It seems in really poor taste.

 

I did not like it.

 

 

 

My ratings so far:

Spoiler

Levels I liked:

Level 1, "From Unknown", Level 2, "Someone's Castle", Level 3, "Private Island"

 

Levels I didn't like:

Level 4, "Kick the Can", Level 5, "Rolling Down"

 

Edited November 15, 2022 by PeceMan

[KickAss]

GZDooM 4.8.2, PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Weapon Neural Upscale, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), continuous play, no saves.

 

MAP15 - “Doors of Opportunities” Total overload of strong enemys and lots of running. Haven't found the exit to the secret level(s) but I realy don't think that I have missed something ... . On to the next.

 

 

[brick]

GZDoom, blind, continuous with saves, HNTR

 

MAP15 - “Doors of Opportunities”
At first glance this looks similar to the previous map, with the long corridor and flanking doors, but the mechanics are completely different. Some of the doors can be outright opened, others open when walking over lines in the corridors, other lines raises pillars with switches that open even more doors... it can get confusing, and occasionally irritating when a door closes and you're trying to figure out how to get it to open again. Getting to the regular exit is incredibly easy and I got it almost accidentally without even knowing what I had done. The secret exit is more involved, but Benjogami is kind enough to signpost where it will open up very early on, after which I explored everything until I found how to open it. The straferunning back and forth was irritating, and What is less kind is that it's possible to lock yourself out of the secret exit if you spend too long doing that and the invulnerability runs out. The secret exit itself is well guarded, but I had saved the invulnerability by the regular exit and used it at this point.

 

MAP31 - “Down the Drain”
I was absolutely delighted at finally getting a backpack; if only I'd known what was coming. I won't mince words, I thought the map was awful. It's basically 1squares.wad cranked all the way up with three or four times the enemies. I played fair through the zombiemen, shotguns, chainguns, imps, demons, knights, lost souls and arachnotrons. Partway through the revenants, at the 35-minute mark, I decided I'd had enough and went god mode. If I had known  the barons and cyberdemons sections were there I would've done it much sooner. The abundance of health and ammo makes it look like the map is meant to be beaten seriously, but it's far too repetitive and tedious; and if it's a joke, it just goes on for too long past the point where it stops being funny. Part of the problem is that you need to clear most rooms in each area, because otherwise the central archviles WILL open one or two (or all three...) of the doors and good luck dealing with that onslaught. Speaking of doors and archviles... I don't even want to think about how many ghosts monsters must end up running around in more conservative ports. I think it could've actually been a really fun (and maybe funny) map if it had just shown some restraint. I almost got annoyed at the death exit (and losing the backpack) before I realized there must be a secret exit here too; I really liked how that one is hidden, it's quite cleverly hinted and finding it was satisfying, not to mention there's a bit of nail-biting thrill as I wondered if I'd make it to the switch in time. Getting to keep the backpack is sweet, and I chuckled at the reference to it in the intermission text.

 

MAP32 - “WW1.wad”
The idea is pretty good but I'm not sure what I think of the execution. The chaos of being shot at from all sides is certainly recreated very well, as is the feeling of crawling through the trenches. I'm less sold on the abundance of inescapable pits everywhere. The map is so much more forgiving on easier difficulties, HNTR even gives you an invulnerability. I got the Spider to infight with one of the cyberdemons, which bought me some time to dispose of some of the latter (the spider lost of course). I then spent some time trying to find the exit before I noticed the sign in one of the pits, which made me roll my eyes a bit.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP14: The Perfect Human Cage

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 4/6 secrets

 

The first stretch into this one lays into the blue and computer panel textures of the techbase aesthetic, whereas the latter half puts you in a giant gray hallway, with storage rooms, nukage hazards, and some more techy fare. I continue to enjoy this episode's take on the techbase, with its high reaching ceilings and generally dim lighting. We get our 4th Radiohead midi in a row here, Wolves at the Door, and it's another great choice.

 

This map has a bit of a quirkiness to its gameplay. The first room features pedestals with a large number of hell nobles on them, as a horde of fodder enemies descend a staircase to you from the side. You don't have to worry about killing the hell nobles, just take down the fodder and you can hit a switch to lower the hell nobles into teleporters so you can deal with them later. If you try to follow them, depending on your teleporter choice you'll probably regret it. Once you make it to the large hallway you get to play a game of door humping to see what to do next. I found the room that triggers a couple other rooms to open and unleash some comically large hitscanner waves to mow down. From there you'll continue having the odd brush with the hell nobles that teleported to various locations throughout the map, have a room full of archviles that you can painstakingly simplify through some relatively safe bars (I killed one before just deciding to unleash them and kill the rest), and have a race against nukage damage to find the door that lets you out once you have both keys. There's a radsuit you can find to make that part easier, but silly me got too explory after finding it and let it run out before I even began to check.

 

I feel like I progressed a little weird in this one, didn't find any of the secrets I found or the BFG until either everything or almost everything was dead. Despite that I still didn't really have any troubles though, so I guess I'd call this one an easy one.

[RHhe82]

I think I'm opting out for the rest of the month -- I started playing MAP15, but wasn't really feeling it. Then I read about MAP31, tried it out, and was really not feeling it. Sorry guys and gals, sorry Benjogami!

[Book Lord]

MAP 16 – Vidhead

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

 

If you save your continuous play for later, you might forget picking up a Berserk right in the player starting point. Pistol starters cannot miss the power-up, so the chambers on the left will look less overwhelming than they appeared in my resumed playthrough. Vidhead was a weird level, requiring several leaps of faith and the confidence that Benjogami would not let you die on damaging floors, and would at least offer a way out or a Radiation Suit. On a few occasions, my beliefs were just pie in the sky.

Spoiler

The small size guaranteed that restarting was no big issue, but I died a few times just trying to follow one of the multiple paths departing from the first rooms. The elevator with the Revenants and the Arch-Vile was hilarious and a good combat setup, leading to the sewer area with the rocket launcher, the pointy Baron closets, and every available secret. The other tunnels were… less charming, requiring in more than one occasion to jump in a pit without seeing anything that was going on at the bottom. I tried to pick up the BFG appearing with the Lost Souls, but the way through nukage was hopeless. I reloaded and arrived in the BK room instead, getting killed by respawning Chaingunners. After sorting things out with another attempt, I was unable to pick up the key and I returned to the start, using the remainder of the Radiation Suit to enter another tunnel. I met Arachnotrons on a ledge and the second shielding suit carried me to a surreal acid pit chamber, featuring COMPTALL on the walls and CONS1_1 as ledge floor, an absurd Doom construction that I had not seen in a very long time. 

Spoiler

Every route ended with a switch, whose purpose seemed to grant a way back to start but also released more zombies at the other side of the window, thus gradually revealing the path to the exit room. The last stage released three Arch-Viles, which will revive more zombies depending on the order the sections have been revealed. I preemptively killed the fourth healer behind the bars, as I hate to leave living fiends around that will chase me later. The Radiation Suit in front of the blue bars suggested that even the author considered finding the BK quite unlikely, as the player might be too busy with other threats to hear the hidden Mancubus. Vidhead showcased a couple of interesting quirks, yet it resorted too often to blind drops and desperate nukage floor runs for my taste. Knowing the map helps a lot, as typical for Down the Drain.

[Ravendesk]

3 hours ago, RHhe82 said:

I think I'm opting out for the rest of the month -- I started playing MAP15, but wasn't really feeling it. Then I read about MAP31, tried it out, and was really not feeling it. Sorry guys and gals, sorry Benjogami!

Nooo, you were this close to map 17! And then to the third episode which is

Spoiler

the most normal in down the drain.

 

[Catpho]

@RHhe82 rotted under the foot of time ;D If there is some solace, I think 31 is a one-off, unless anyone who has finished this can tell me otherwise :)

[RHhe82]

Oooh, should I just keep on anyway… tell you what, I’ll try MAP16 and 17 after I get off from work, and if I’m feeling it, I’ll hang on for the time being :P It wouldn’t be the first time I’d leave some maps DNF’d while finishing the rest. We’ll see…

Edited November 16, 2022 by RHhe82

[Billa]

37 minutes ago, Catpho said:

@RHhe82 rotted under the foot of time ;D If there is some solace, I think 31 is a one-off, unless anyone who has finished this can tell me otherwise :)

 

Having played this wad to death and really enjoyed seeing people's reactions so far - without spoilers, yes 31 is a one-off, it's in the secret slot for a reason :P

 

And I do recommend you stick around for episode 3...

[Book Lord]

6 minutes ago, RHhe82 said:

Oooh, should I just keep on anyway… tell you what, I’ll try MAP16 and 17 after I get off from work, and if I’m feeling it, I’ll hang on for the time being :P It wouldn’t be the first time I’d leave some maps DNF’d while finishing the rest. We’ll see…

Skipping the secret levels might improve the playthrough, in some cases.

 

There is still controversial stuff in the next maps, but not at the same level of MAP31-32. MAP16 might not be the best starting point to rebuild interest in playing Down the Drain though.

 

At least playing pistol-start allows you to skip a map you cannot finish, or you do not feel engaging for some reason.

 

 

[Azure_Horror]

3 hours ago, Billa said:

Having played this wad to death and really enjoyed seeing people's reactions so far - without spoilers, yes 31 is a one-off, it's in the secret slot for a reason :P

and

2 hours ago, Book Lord said:

Skipping the secret levels might improve the playthrough, in some cases.

 

There is still controversial stuff in the next maps, but not at the same level of MAP31-32. MAP16 might not be the best starting point to rebuild interest in playing Down the Drain though.

 

Maps 16 and 17 be like: Allow us to indroduce ourselves!

 

More seriously, maps from 18 and beyond seem less crazy than even map 15, and some maps starting from slot 20 onwards seem to be relatively "normal". For example, maps 21 or 28 felt pretty comparable to levels from Doom 404 or Scythe 1, and gameplay of map 20 feels closer to the last episode of Doom Zero than to maps 13-17 from Down the Drain.

 

So, @RHhe82, maps 16 and 17 are the worst possible samples to decide, if you want to continue playing Down the Drain. I suggest checking maps 19, 20, and 28 instead.

Edited November 16, 2022 by Azure_Horror

[Andromeda]

11 hours ago, brick said:

MAP31 - “Down the Drain”

 

I almost got annoyed at the death exit (and losing the backpack) before I realized there must be a secret exit here too; I really liked how that one is hidden, it's quite cleverly hinted and finding it was satisfying, not to mention there's a bit of nail-biting thrill as I wondered if I'd make it to the switch in time. Getting to keep the backpack is sweet, and I chuckled at the reference to it in the intermission text.

Spoiler alert: you don't get to keep the backpack ;)

[KickAss]

GZDooM 4.8.2, PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Weapon Neural Upscale, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), continuous play, no saves.

 

MAP16 - “Vidhead”, Hard to take control of this map but you will find a way through the enemys to the exit. I have needed a few trys too. The mechanics of this map are also not working that proper. The texture alignment is horrible in some areas of this map and a floor texture is missing.

 

 

[RHhe82]

Okay, okay,  withdrawing the previous statement for the time being, I'll hang on until further notice.

 

MAP15: Doors of Opportunities. Played on DSDA v0.24, UV, PS. 97/97 K, 5/5 S, 3/3 I. Completion time 18:44.

 

At first I was put off by the level, because I thought the archviles revealed by the first door would have to be alerted, and that I would have to dodge their fire behind the switch pillars that rise along the corridor all the while other beasties are unleashed upon me as well. This was something that somehow instantly infuriated me so much as to make me wanna give up.

 

Upon retry, I noticed they can be and should be left alone. After that the level became much more tolerable. I wouldn't go so far as to say I had fun -- some of the door triggers still remain a bit of a mystery to me, and the invuln sphere secret felt a bit of a tightly adjusted. If I were a no-saver, I would have lost it again at that point. But that aside, Doors of Opportunities was an okay map after all.

 

I'll skip the secret ones for now, though. I guess MAP32 shouldn't be a problem, but just to keep up with the club schedule I'll play it a bit later. The next two days I probably won't have time to play.

[KickAss]

GZDooM 4.8.2, PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Weapon Neural Upscale, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), pistol start.

 

As I have already mentioned yet I haven't found the exit to the secret levels from map15 but I have taken a look at them via the console command -warp and I realy missed nothing.

 

-warp 31, MAP31 - “Down the Drain”, small room with 4 doors at the start and a very loosy weapon offering from PB3.0. Hordes of plasma soldiers and variations of demons are taking me out over and over. That is realy no fun at all. I gave up after a few trys. No success.

 

-warp 32, MAP32 - “WW1.wad”, A start from the rabbit whole filled wit acid. You get to an open area after some shooting surrounded by cyberdemons. I have counted 4 so far and I gave up after a few trys because the cyberdemons shoot you out easily in that open area. No success.

 

Imho the secret levels are totally frustrating and absolutely no goody in down with the drain. Sorry. Nothing special there. I won't play them again.

 

Quote

 

What levels am I allowed to post about?

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

 

 

How we are able to talk about this levels at all this month? X-D Hell yes this levels realy suck :-(

[Pseudonaut]

1 minute ago, KickAss said:

How we are able to talk about this levels at all this month?

 

Since secret levels are usually played after map15 and before map16, it wouldn't make much sense to wait until the end of the month to talk about them, so they're an exception to the rule to an extent.

[KickAss]

2 minutes ago, Pseudonaut said:

 

Since secret levels are usually played after map15 and before map16, it wouldn't make much sense to wait until the end of the month to talk about them, so they're an exception to the rule to an extent.

We all now that. This was more on the joke-side of discussion. But thanks for the explanation anyway.

[RHhe82]

MAP16: Vidhead. Played on DSDA v0.24, UV, PS. 144/144 K, 6/6 S, 4/4 I. Completion time 12:42.

 

We meet again, horridly aligned textures and weird, acute angles :P I actually didn't mind this one, I guess it doesn't have that many moments that put me off, it's quite straightforward affair, I guess I happened to stumble such a route where I could utilize rad suits favourably. One save-scummy moment eased the pain, namely the BFG platform which I attempted until I was able to grab the gun and tag the secret without lowering into the nukage corridor.

[PeceMan]

 

Day 2 of catching up.

 

Level 6, "Baloney Town"

 

Spoiler

Another skirmish. 

 

This one brings a bit of Doom cute, which is something I love.

 

I don't get what the cyberdemons here are meant to do, but I don't mind them

 

That final secret is pretty interesting.

 

Overall, I like the theme of "Stuck in a small town, with monsters".

I enjoyed the level.

 

Level 7, "The Perfect Gerbil Cage"

 

Spoiler

Ah. Nothing says "90s" like thinking the invisibility is good.

 

Bfg? Don't mind if I do. After having to fight a Cyberdemon in like level 2, I'm actually surprised I haven't gotten a bfg until now.

 

Jesus. That revenant trap on the blue key is kinda brutal. I kinda like it.

 

Edit: Ok, nvm the revenant trap. The 5 Archvile palooza + Imp army was kinda brutal.
That was almost too much, but I just managed to beat it before getting frustrated.

 

Maybe this is a good time to mention that I don't actually know anything about this wad. Maybe this is just the beginning of some heavy slaughter?

 

I found it ok. Liked some things, but I almost disliked some others.

 

Level 8, "Deep Tech"

 

Spoiler

Nothing says 90s like inescapable pits. At least this one was at the start of the level. Will there be more like this one?

 

The music is pretty nifty. I really appreciate the atmosphere it creates here.

 

At first, this level reminded me of zelda. But after some more analysis, do you know what it kinda reminds me of? Temple run. Or banjo kazooie, the jungle level.

 

That weird teleporter room, again with the experimentation.  I mean, I appreciate experimenting. But some experiments work better than others. And this one is just kinda annoying.

 

This level really needs either more radiation suits, or less toxic floors.

 

I found it ok.

 

Level 9, "Forts and Alleys"

 

Spoiler

This one is tight on ammo. I had to retry because I wasted all my ammunition on the Archvile.

 

I think this wad is getting a bit to comfortable with the Archviles.

 

I think I'm getting used to the weird geometry, and to the unaligned textures. It's all about the fact that the wad doesn't care about texture alignement, so whenever a texture is misaligned, you know that it's ok, because the wad doesn't consider that important.

 

If the wad seemed to be trying to have all the textures aligned, and all the linedefs with lengths in multiples of 64, and all vertexes matching with the grid and forming 90 degree angles, then the wad would be failing. 

 

But since it isn't, and instead it is deliberately ignoring all of that, the lack of aesthetics becomes the aesthetics.

 

Another thing: Isn't it amazing how much better levels get, once the floor stops damaging?

 

I had fun. One more level, and I'm done for the day.

 

Level 10, "Here n There, Now n Then"

 

Spoiler

Before I even begin:

The map is tiny, and it features more enemies than the last level. What the hell am I getting myself into.

 

Holy shit, this level is really intense. I'm enjoying it so far.

 

 

I really enjoy the hectic hunt. I don't quite enjoy spending 10 minutes running around, looking for the button that is supposed to progress the level. This level is just a bit too unclear for my taste.

 

One of the secrets was broken. I'm afraid that is a bit too much for my taste. After defeating the cyberdemon, I wasn't sure what I felt about the level, but I was still missing some secrets. If the secrets had been interesting, or fun, I would've ended up liking the level. But that wasn't the case. Not at all.

 

The level was fun at first, but it slowly became annoying.

I did not like this level.

 

 

 

My ratings so far:

 

Spoiler

Levels I liked:

Level 1, "From Unknown", Level 2, "Someone's Castle", Level 3, "Private Island", Level 6, "Baloney Town", Level 9, "Forts and Alleys"

 

Levels I found ok:

Level 7, "The Perfect Gerbil Cage", Level 8, "Deep Tech"

 

Levels I didn't like:

Level 4, "Kick the Can", Level 5, "Rolling Down", Level 10, "Here n There, Now n Then"

 

[Roofi]

Map 32 : WW1.wad

 

Spoiler

 

Damn, I'm sure my video is as long as the life expectancy of a soldier in the no man's land. I decided to rush to the exit because I'm not awake enough to dodge all the stray rockets and bullets and it seems that as WW1, your only destiny is either to die or to end up badly injured.

 

However, it seems that the world war was much more fun than what was told in the history books or by my great grandpa.

 

This level is far from being a delight but I didn't expect anything special for the 32th slot and I will be able to tell my future children that I went to war afterall.

 

Grade : C

 

 

 

[Pseudonaut]

Map32:
Creative, but I don't care for how it plays. Lots of running out for a short time, hoping RNG lets you survive the hitscan hell, then ducking back into the start to get health. You really want the mastermind to infight the cyberdemons, but there's no safe or reliable way to make it happen. Either way, you will need to kill four perched cyberdemons with a plasma gun (and some chaingun/shotgun) while dodging their rockets. Or you can just skip everything like I did in my pacifist run. It obviously takes luck to have everything get out of the way soon enough, but I still had more fun grinding that than I did maxing it.

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

Map16:
Similar to map08 in that you need to plan your radsuit usage carefully. I didn't enjoy this one as much, though. Had an infuriating failed attempt where an archvile appeared somewhere that had no archvile on my blind run (in hindsight, the blind run was probably an anomaly), then resurrected a billion ghost monsters. I'm including it in the zip.

 

 

Demos:

drn32-16.zip

[erzboesewicht]

MAP16: Vidhead

 

We got back to the weird techbases. This time even weirder, with comically misaligned/"to big for the texture" doors and some strange "tooth"-shaped dead-end corridors. I think the main theme here is again resource management. You get the SSG, the rocket launcher and the BFG almost freely, and plenty of opportunities to waste their ammo early in a pleasant way.  But in the later parts you will need rockets, above all, and you'll deeply regret if you wasted too much. As I had made that fault I finally resorted to a cheesing strategy which becomes viable approximately mid-map, simply taking out one of the potential troublemakers of the last ambushes early with non-scarce ammo. The order in which you acquire the weapons and tackle the three sections is also important, going early to the rocket launcher gives advantages, although if you can grab the BFG from the lost souls before it comes handy for the vile in that section.

 

Basically you have four ledges with different kinds of zombies (and at the last one, archviles) before the exit, with three of them elevated and blocking it and one of them already at ground level. They will be lowered via switches accessible behind the three doors of the starting area. There are some awkward gameplay choice like the wad already has us accustomed, like an archvile without real cover, a baron shootout where you'll have to dance a bit or manage doors which open and close via linedefs, a drop into damaging liquid to get a radsuit, and "invincible" chaingunners. But there are lots of health items and a secret megaarmor. Really good map.

 

Rating: 8,5/10
Difficulty: 6/10

 

MAP17: Passive Social Test Lab

 

A really weird layout with many diagonal walls, which has to be exploited by Doomguy to minimize the threat of a lot of higher-tier baddies. First, the main foes is a row of caged archviles, which will try to deny access to a crucial switch for progression, but also to the best available ammo (rockets) to kill them. The way the cage is built helps you with finally winning this part. After you get the first two keys, it's time to advance to an almost empty section. I don't know what exactly triggered the last (yellow) key to be released, but I imagine it's one of the switches which also released enemies and goodies in this second area. In this part the map embraces the most vile sin according to modern map design standards: Shameless backtracking! To get the last key, you have to return basically to the start, and its guarded by several cyberdemons (although they're skippable). The ammo to kill them in this area is quite tight, so better practice 2-shotting here. The final ambush, a horde of viles, can be simply skipped. For maxing it's advisable to save some cells and rockets before entering this area, however once the summoners are dead you can restock (and use it also to kill remaining cybs).

 

I liked several ideas in the map, the "archvile decelerator cage" being probably the most unique feature, and while the end is a bit tedious (at least if maxing is planned), it gives again several routing/strategy opportunities. Would be interesting what UV-max speedrunners do with this section. I like also to imagine the lore that may have been influenced the design and the title.

 

Rating: 9/10
Difficulty: 6/10 (for UV-max, otherwise 3/10)

[Pseudonaut]

Map17:
Not as hard or unplayable as I thought it might be judging by comments I'd seen before going into it. It's still the second hardest level so far, though (behind 31). There are a lot of free-roaming cyberdemons and archviles that need to be killed with your very own weapons. Knowing the 2-shot technique will help, but it's not strictly necessary, judging by the hundreds of cells I still had when exiting, even after using more than two shots on a few cybs. The most frightening part is the horde of twenty archviles guarding the exit, who will all roam the map freely if you wake them up without killing them. You could wake up a few at a time with careful movements, but I chose to do it the cool way. When practicing before the run, I was occasionally able to kill all those viles right away, only using the immediate cover without an extended retreat. But usually, I would do an extended retreat and return with refilled cells from the cyberdemon area. Even then, it usually went more smoothly than in the demo.

 

Throughout the map, the player has the freedom to play carefully like I did, to cause an absolute cluserfuck by releasing everything as soon as possible, or something in-between. I'm not sure where the sweet spot is for an "optimal" UV-Max, but you probably wouldn't need to do anything crazy to beat my time by several minutes. Still, I'm satisfied enough with the run I got even if it did only take two attempts. My first attempt failed because I forgot which switch opened the BFG, pressed lots of switches to try and find it, and caused something like the aforementioned clusterfuck. But hey, I did grab it before I died. In any case, this is my favorite map of the set so far.

 

 

Demo:

https://www.doomworld.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=208567

[Book Lord]

MAP 17 – Passive Social Test Lab

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

 

This must be an interesting map to speedrun or play in cooperative mode, considering the number of tough foes that could be released in faraway places and the multiple ways to approach the solution. Player 4 even begins in a different place, right in front of the rocket launcher. The single-player experience was good for the first half of the map, starting in a dim and unadorned subterranean complex that might have been a laboratory, if you believe the title. The first zone was good fun: walls were positioned like teeth of a comb, where monsters were lurking in the shadows and Revenants were patrolling a ledge. I gladly collected the rocket launcher before getting into more trouble, so I managed the BK ambush in the computer room quite comfortably. I liked the old-style closets and monsters erupting naturally from the lab, ready for pursuit.

Spoiler

The large outer ring hosted former humans, Pinkies and Mancubi, but the most impressive prop was the well-lit, zig-zag cage full of Arch-Viles. Nothing more than a good pile of rockets was needed to disintegrate them, but the healers must be lured to one side to collect the boxes on the other without being zapped. It was unlikely to miss the “secret” Megasphere during the process. The RK was accessed through a lift puzzle that I found clever, even though a sensible map set would have shown the key somehow; the deaf Arch-Vile guarding it was probably the most dangerous so far, but I dropped from the ledge on the side without Revenant corpses, so he had no chance to raise the dead.

 

In the second half, Passive Social Test Lab turned from an exploratory map with good incidental combat into a cryptic affair. An area in the shape of a giant “E” featured four pillars with 4 switches each; in the north-east, the exit was enclosed within a yellow barrier and patrolled by an army of 20 Arch-Viles: the kind of opposition you do not want to face in the open space. I let them lie in wait around the corner and started triggering the switches, revealing Arch-Viles and Revenants from the slime falls, one at a time. I could not predict that my actions had secondary effects in the first half of the map, so I was shocked when I met many roaming Cyberdemons. Pulling all skull switches released a total of eight goat bosses, exposed the concealed YK, and offered the resources needed to dominate them, including the BFG. I am terrible at multiple Cyberdemon fighting, so I should have not been pulling those levers carelessly.

Spoiler

Before I checked the map in Doom Builder, I could not link any of the switches to their additional effect in the first area; awareness was either gained outside of the game or after an exhausting trial and error in-game. I do not envy pistol starters that do not use saves, as this part without foreknowledge was miserable. Once I got hold of the YK and mastered the Cyberdemons, I made a dash for the yellow barrier and waved goodbye to the Arch-Viles, without even trying to fight them. Passive Social Test Lab was surely a highlight of the second episode, though I did not feel compelled by its second half with the spam of high-tier enemies outside of the player’s view.

Edited November 17, 2022 by Book Lord

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP15: Doors of Opportunities

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 5/5 secrets

 

If you liked the hallway full of doors from last map, here's a full level of it. It's not quite the same hall as last time, the floor is blue and the lighting is different, but it does start with the nukage floor that the previous one ended with. The midi here is Something in the Way by Nirvana, and it makes a great choice.

 

This is definitely the map in the set so far that reminds me most of Rotting Under the Foot of Time from Haste, one of the only Benjogami maps I had played before this month. As mentioned before, it's a singular hallway full of doors that trigger through various interactions and linedef triggers. One of the first rules that will be made apparent to you is not to fire while the very first door, holding a bunch of archviles, is open. At least until you have the means to take care of them, I always wait until I find the room full of cells that you can access early via the berserk secret, then I run for the BFG, avoid killing the revenants because it wakes the archies early, then I get the jump on them. Otherwise, notable things are I save the imp room until the very end so I don't have to deal with all those lost souls, and then I run to the secret exit to kill all the archies. I'm actually not 100% sure which secrets trigger the secret exit, guessing the blue skull switches. At any rate, one part I'm sure is related is a speed test where you have to hit switches while equipped with invuln, the portal that the switches open is covered in barrels which will kill you if you ran out of time. The trick with this part is basically just to not try to go TOO fast, just focus on avoiding falling into the pits that open up and you should do fine. 

 

I can see why this one is polarizing, I wasn't a fan of it for my first while, but once I learned it I reflected on it more positively. It can definitely be frustrating experience for a while though.

 

MAP31: Down the Drain

 

I'm the farthest thing from the authority on 90s wads, but I actually got this reference to 1squares.wad. This map is that but even more over-the-top. Unfortunately I think I might have to skip it though, it's a bit too much for me (see: dull and long) and I want to get through some maps and catch up + I have to work in a few hours. Funny idea though, maybe I'll cheat my way through it someday.

 

MAP32: WW1.wad

UV, pistol start, rewinds

188/190 kills, 1/1 secrets

 

When you're about to play a wad inspired by 90s mapping, this is the kind of map you fear running into. This one takes me right back to history class, starting in a bunker with a chaingun and health, and going out into the trenches to fight hitscanners and cyberdemon tanks. Make sure you don't get trenchfoot in that superslime though! It's a campy and silly map, and a fun little addition. I was not able to get all the kills though, still had 2 cybies left before I ran out of cells.

 

Footnote: I triggered the all ghosts effect for the second time in my life here, funnily enough both times have been in MAP32s (1000 Lines 3 was the first time) and both times have been with the Club! Didn't get a screenshot this time as I tried to rewind partway through and it caused DSDA-doom to crash. Funnily enough I wasn't shooting when it triggered, so I think maybe the spider mastermind triggered it while infighting a cyberdemon. Either way, funny to see.

Edited November 17, 2022 by DisgruntledPorcupine

[Monsieur E]

Map05: "Rolling Down" 
87/87 kills, 0/0 secrets

I found this map to be rather annoying truth be told, mostly due to the corridor fighting with meatshields blocking your path to more effective weapons. I get that this was the point but it didn't make it any more fun for me. The cacodemon usage here was pretty devious since they would often swoop up from the cavern entrance you just entered and can blockade you, alongside being lethal down at the bottom since they end up hounding you there better and you often can't even see them while they're blocking you. The fake exit is a silly surprise but not really a threat. 

Map06: "Baloney Town"
166/166 kills, 2/4 secrets

I guess this can be considered more doomcrude as opposed to doomcute :P. I think this map is the perfect encapsulation of down the drain's combat which I'd describe as "hostile skirmishing". More often than you'd like, you don't really have the resources provided to lay siege to the enemies forcing you to let them be, enemies often pour out from ambushes since the maps are often so open with movement leading to them constantly hunting you, snipers are often unnegotiable due to the frantic nature of combat and ammo allotment and the general absence of health and ammunition forcing you to constantly move. I don't think down the drain is the first set to ever have this style and of course, my interpretation is based on how I've engaged with the levels but it definitely feels distinct.

Back in Baloney Town, the map is surprisingly compact and small for how many attractions it has. As a result, each key ambush will often pour into the broader map and make navigation much more dangerous, chaingunners and revenants are particularly lethal. Lost souls in this map are also pretty dangerous since they can chip down your health and pollute the map rather quickly, grinding each one down isn't really worth it either. Finally, the dead simple duo laying siege to this town work effectively as snipers since they're rather beefy and cover a good amount of area. The map also feels rather unsettling, most of dtd has an eerie feel but I think it is more prominent in baloney town. The aforementioned doomcrude sits in an uncanny middle between rudimentary detailing and regular doomcute, alongside the vast fields that seem to stretch on and on, a feeling further exasperated by the intermission text. As for the map itself, I liked what was on offer here, the openness of the map made movement feel kinetic and I liked the cute details like the cyberdemons seemingly awaiting for repairs only to be left in a much worse condition. Really good map overall.

Map07: "The Perfect Gerbil Cage"
178/178 kills, 0/2 secrets

I think this map is a bit of a breather, I actually quit the wad the first time I reached this map because I was getting aggravated during my first playthrough of m06 and didn't feel like playing a map with over 150 monsters. However, a large amount of this crowd are parts of only two fights! The first part of this map is pretty fun and you can get your hands on the bfg remarkably without much opposition. The caves had some pretty nasty use of spectres due to the low lighting (although I imagine this has more to do with software rendering) and the two big crowds were pretty fun to play, the BFG obtained can be a lifesaver if you mess up but otherwise, it was a pretty straightforward and relatively easy map.

Map08: "Deep Tech"
195/198 kills, 10/11 secrets

I cannot say the same for map08, I completely hated this one on first playthrough and while second playthrough went better, I still didn't have much fun with it. It's not completely convoluted and annoying once you figure out the layout but I think the sheer amount of damaging floors in dark caverns used alongside the ammo scarcity I felt led to me having a rather unpleasant time. I liked the big plasma rifle fight, especially now that I had figured out how it worked and went into it sufficiently prepared but everything else was tedious. Can't really see myself ever playing this again.

[General Roasterock]

Map 13: Vet and Process

  Just from watching the crushers whir to life in the opening room, I could already see coming what was going to be released on the next arena. Thankfully, the ghost monster fights don’t take up the entire map if you clear them quickly enough, and even though the first arena has one of the most annoying lowering and raising floor jumps I’ve made in a while, the one that comes after that is a great romp. It has the Down the Drain spirit of “shit is just happening constantly” to keep the fight moving, and it’s easier than it looks to escape into further progression, opening up more monsters to add to the infighting. Ghost monsters here don’t feel that flow breaking, and they’re not impossible to manage, which is a good success.

 

Map 14: The Perfect Human Cage

  The opening of The Perfect Human Cage is pretty scary, as you’re watching Barons teleport away to unknown expanses. It’s a pretty clear presentation: the clock is ticking. The bouncing between rooms, whichever ones were arbitrarily chosen to actually be accessible, was interesting enough, and the bunker aesthetic is still surprisingly deep in its presentation. 

 

Map 15: Doors of Opportunities

  Why the hell do I have to play another map that is a singular hallway with a bunch of rooms after immediately finishing one? Doors of Opportunities is much worse than The Perfect Human Cage, made up entirely of the singular hallway filled with doors that randomly open with lines placed on the ground. The first one that is activated will immediately spew Arch-Viles for anyone that wasn’t expecting to look behind them for issues with sound. Choices like these make this map feel really unfriendly, also citing the way to the secret exit which makes pretty tight use of the Invulnerability to avoid dying to a suppository barrel, or the super long hallway because super long hallways are funny. This feels like Darkwave17 without awareness.

 

Map 32: WW1.wad

  I don’t know at what point in time that something stops being in bad taste. Apparently there is still issue with creating something akin to a school in the Doom engine because of the nature of the game in relation to the location. WW1.wad clearly has no issue with that, despite still referencing and recreating an event where people died. It’s almost boring for being described as a war, littered with zombies, pinned by a Mastermind, and shelled by Cyberdemons. They all have pretty clear purposes in terms of the technology of the time period. 

 

Map 16: Vidhead

  Vidhead goes out of its way to be jagged, raw, and unyieldly amongst Down the Drain. The animalistic spikes only exist to hide an ugly corridor with a Baron and ammo, Chaingunners are constantly taking up space in incredibly tight corridors, and progression is made a suggestion with how the texturing nosedives for this map specifically. Going for a weapon releases hell, usually unmanageable hell, and don’t even get me started on the ghost monster potential in this map. This isn’t fun.

 

Map 17: Passive Social Test Lab

  I’m completely serious when I say that the Arch-Vile fight might have broken me. I felt like I was recreating a Tom and Jerry bit, sprinting laps around the walls of the map, pumping rockets down a line, watching the Arch-Viles zig-zag through their fenced off enclosure, only to do the entire process on the other side once they manage to start attacking me. It is somehow both one of the dumbest fight concepts I have ever seen, and also seamless in execution. I simply found myself laughing on repeat trips to the ends of the cage.  The rest of the map feels tacked on by comparison, uninspired and sprinting to keep up with the main attraction. 

 

Power Rankings

Spoiler

1. Into the Tomb
2. Vet and Process
3. Baloney Town
4. Private Island
5. The Perfect Gerbil Cage
6. Passive Social Test Lab
7. Rolling Down
8. The Perfect Human Cage
9. Forts and Alleys
10. Cache Raiders
11. Someone's Castle
12. Here n There, Now n Then
13. Kick the Can
14. WW1.wad
15. From: Unknown
16. Deep Tech
17. Doors of Opportunities
18. Vidhead

 

I'll write on Map 31 later, I've done the whole thing, but want to make sure my words are as certain as possible.

[Roofi]

Map 16 : Vidhead

 

Spoiler

 

And let's go for some controversial design choices. Here are some !

 

- tight ammo balance

- limited radsuits whereas you have to walk on mandatory -10 damagin nukage

- armada of viles resurrecting the countless zombies you killed.

- The mandatory blue key only accessible via a hidden door

 

The experience was so-so during the first playthrough but it became a satisfying puzzle to solve on pistol start after playing it a second time. I don't have a lot of say about this map. The unnatural spiky rooms are painful to watch but it's Down the Drain afterall.

 

I digged the non-linearity of this map too. Also it seems that Benjogami tried to draw some 3D shapes at the south-western part of the layout.

 

Grade : B+

 

 

 

Map 17 : Passive Social Test Lab

 

Spoiler

 

Qualifying this map as just controversial is more than an understatement. I HATED this map with a passion during my first playthrough on continuous : arch-viles and cyberdemons everywhere near the end, atrocious ammo scarcity as usual, lot of switches and obscure progression. This gloomy tech-base reminded me of a meaner version of map 10. I originally planned to give a D- on this map.

 

However, I eventually managed to appreciate this level on my pistol-start playthrough. As map 16, map 17 is the perfect exemple of a map you can't enjoy or almost without foreknowledge. It's crucial to know what will happen and how to handle the items. After watching a bit of Pseudonaut UV-max, I realized I missed the BFG on this map, which normally makes the level a lot harder but I found a coward trick to cheese the combat against the army of viles : Just wake some cybers and watch them do the job while you're hiding between the wall and the stranged yellow key door. Arch-viles are too fat to reach you and you easily can trigger some infights. Once the viles are defeated, finish the cyber(s) with your plasmagun and kill the remaining cybers without struggling.

 

Between map 31 and 17, I think map 31 was less difficult to complete on UV (it's another story about maxing). Map 17 was the difficulty spike I didn't expect at all but I eventually found some of the puzzles creative like the one with the arch-viles in a cage where you have to guide them like a pendulum in order to get the rocket boxes.

 

At last, I love the diagonal geometry and the abstract industrial soundtrack. All the map oozes anxiety in a good way. It's not really the map I'll play over and over again but I have to admit that it's a successful level with a quite remarkable creepy atmosphere.

 

Grade : B+