The DWmegawad Club plays: Down the Drain

[Catpho]

Hi, I'm still playing along, finished 22 now, just bad at keeping up with the daily pace of the DWMC. Here's something of a status update rather than a real write-up:

 

E2 is one of my favorite stretches of Doom levels in a while. It has a consistent and interesting theme - an oversized tomb-city/corrupted research complex in impossibly vast spaces, with construction so haphazardly thrown together it resembles a glitch in reality. That's the cherry on top; Down the Drain E2 also houses some of the set's strongest levels so far. There's some fantastic concept jaunts like m15 and m19. The former with its unknown machinery deploying trap after trap, barring nasty teeth behind its liminal appearance; the latter with its supremely unstable and hostile environment, about every single controversial mapping trope rolled into one deeply hateful abomination. The rest aren't as single-minded in purpose, so I'll do a quick shoutout to things I (do not) like about them:

 

14: Kind of a slow-burn version of 15. There's a similar aesthetic scheme, but it reads like slow descent into madness as every new location reveals more uncanny things, with 15 acting like a condensed "boss fight" version of the same style. Some memorable sights here, whether or not you wished to witness them.

16 & 17: Maybe I should at least do a proper write-up for these hah. Good maps, has everything I like from Benjo: Unruly, Unfair sights, sector machinery that makes the level feel like an alive and evil creature, proper AV torture, etc. Everything that involved moving sectors, AV, and cyberdemons were the best part of 17, along with some slightly trippy geometry

12, 18, & 20: A bit weaker than the rest. 12 had a terrific reveal of the episode theme, but I felt it needed at least one involved gameplay section in that tomb area. Not necessarily combat; I would've been fine with some progression detective work or some movement exercises. 18 is fairly unsubstantial but the fights are smooth, and it has enough quaint qualities (another automap drawing, the exit vista, cyber fight) that I don't mind it as much as 12. 20 is just a normal Benjo level, a bit of a breather after 19 madness. I like it well enough, but admittedly a bit underwhelming as an episode closer. Looks pretty and is fun tho.

 

About the secret levels: Yeah, 31 has its virtues, but you have to fundamentally enjoy zen-grinding and the horror of such a crushing set-up. Benjo has made several levels in this style, although this one stands as one of my favorites. The combat, as noted by some detailed strategy write-ups from fantastic folks like @tmorrow, has many tactical considerations and chaotic potential, which separates it from the pure grindfests like World Orifice (which I admit I've never beaten), or Nostril Caverns, one of Benjo's eternal inspirations. Also, if it weren't for the fact it's in this megawad, floodfill monster placement in default mono texture rooms is a hell of a provocation, whether Benjo intended it or not ;) I like it: It's the ultimate expression of this kind of level: that's the mountain, and you're gonna have to pick it apart stone by stone. Bemusement is a fundamental emotion in these kind of levels, which is something you can choose to enjoy, or not. On the off chance that there's anyone mad enough to actually like this map like I do, I sincerely recommend trying out map08 of Dying Camel Demons 3. If you like the visceral horror of finding out what happens at the heat death of the universe, there's also Dying Camel Demons 3 map31 ;D

 

32: lol

 

About the E1 levels I haven't covered: I mean, I already said I liked E2, so of course I love 10's aggressive presentation and fact-finding progression, as well as the delightful monster-dense surgery gameplay. 11 is a fun bit of adrenaline-fueled monster funneling through an involved layout.

 

/end of status update

Now I have to catch up with all the posts here, including some massive essays for 31 :D

[erzboesewicht]

MAP20: The Top of the Bottom

 

The theme of "mountains/towers you have to climb" continues at this level, but this time you have solid feet under the ground, although you are on a big island in a sea of toxic dark slime. A little infighting puzzle is delivered at the start, which may give Doomguy his first weapon (the chaingun) and a soulsphere for free if he's sneaky enough. I later discovered that the mid-tier ground monsters can be kept alive as they also will eventually take themselves out or later help with the cyberdemon. Once you gathered a couple of weapons you can start to climb with comfort. The archvile overlord was my first target, RL in hand which I stole to one of the arachnotrons. Once he's dead, a little linedef puzzle at the top of the mountain nets you the blue key. The red key, which is optional and interesting mainly for maxers as it allows access to a BFG, is in plain sight but behind a small but meaty group of barons. Lifts can be easily overseen as they use wall textures, and at least one tower seems to be optional, with imps and no easily visible goal to reach. At the end, a cyberdemon has to be fought, or lured down, freeing the way to the exit or the BFG.

 

The map is much easier than the both predecessors, and thus one of the easiest of the set. It seems to be a transition map in the vein of MAP12, as you'll see at the start of MAP21. Nevertheless a good one.

 

Rating: 7,5/10
Difficulty: 3/10

 

MAP21: Niven's Ravine

 

The first hellish map is quite conventional but has its creative bits. You've two options at the start: Collect some goodies around you (several secrets are in this area, including one in an area that feels taken directly out of Doom 1), or start running. The path to follow is completely linear, only some mandatory switches are in some nearby areas. It follows a canyon and you can basically run until the end of the map. Later you'll encounter harsher opposition but there are also elements to make it possible to reach the end without having to stop for longer than a few seconds. More exploratory-minded people (like me) get some secret side areas which come handy if you want to max the map, and a lift back to the start area. Fun and quite easy.

 

Rating: 8/10
Difficulty: 3/10

[Pseudonaut]

Map21:
Straightforward and inoffensive compared to the maps we got in episode 2. Fun. Below 4 minutes is probably possible.

 

 

Demo:

https://www.doomworld.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=208980

[Book Lord]

MAP 21 – Niven's Ravine

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

 

The Cyberdemon’s rear end in front of the player start was not easy to dismiss as an explicit Hell Revealed homage, reinforced by the boss’ disappearance and later comeback. Niven’s Ravine did not live on mere quotes; it was the first step in hell, the only place left for humans to go according to the megaWAD’s grim storyline. The titular ravine, presenting the classic texture scheme from Doom’s Inferno, formed the bulk of the level. Doomguy must cross it from one end to the other, briefly leaving the cliffs and ledges only to press a couple of mandatory switches.

Spoiler

The most relevant detour was the BSK secret, which I naturally found at the bottom of the lava pit, after dropping down from the starting room that was aptly identical to MAP20's exit area. The early rocket launcher behind the red door was a good prize for pistol starters, who were otherwise forced to break through a large cluster of enemies with the plasma rifle, under a barrage of Mancubi fireballs. Acquiring other weaponry and the Berserk pack required a jump to a nearby ledge, which was also the intended way forward. After dealing with a Pain Elemental teleport ambush, an easy strafe run on the dipping down walls carried me on the other side of the ravine.

Spoiler

From then on, it was all about clearing ledges and cages with enemies, until the Cyberdemon reappeared as a distant menace on the other side. His rockets blew up several fodder enemies outside of the last wooden building, but before entering I decided to take him out with plasma. I could then comfortably kill every monster inside and press the switch to raise the last bridge to the exit. There were seven secret sectors to score, but they were tied to three main zones: around the starting room, the mid-way cages, and the FIREBLU fake wall that granted a superfluous Invulnerability. Niven’s Ravine offered a moderate challenge to introduce the third episode, and it was a pleasant journey. The hardest part was thinking that this place was named after Larry Niven, and not one of the many other Nivens that might be in Benjogami's mind.

Edited November 21, 2022 by Book Lord

[Roofi]

Map 21 : Niven's Ravine

 

Spoiler

 

I wonder if this gorgeous-looking lava-filled ravine belongs to David Niven. Anyway, after a serie of gimmicky and sometimes really crappy maps, Benjogami follows a more traditional recipe this time.

 

The cyberdemon at the start of the map turning back to the player, also reminds me of Hell Revealed's Map 18, but besides that , it's just a classic red hell map concerning the theme. Ammo was low but not scarce so advancing steadily suffices to reach the exit. Moreover, you can easily ignore some sniping enemies, which undeniably help saving some previous ammo. The cyberdemon is more fear than harm. Just keep a look on him and if you're lazy like me, you can skip him and rush to the exit.

 

The progression seems quite demanding as far as jumps are concerned. I wonder if beginners would manage to reach the platforms that are quite far apart. At times, I felt like I was doing a quasi strafe 50. Anyway, this aspect didn't trouble me at all and it contributes to the adventurous aspect in a positive way.

 

As a starter of the last episode, it was a great introduction/transition map. I have a preference for the mysterious introduction of the tech base in map 12 but that one was still way more enjoyable than the previous maps I played.

 

Grade : A-

 

 

 

Edited November 21, 2022 by Roofi

[PeceMan]

Day 4 of catching up.

 

Level 31, "Down the Drain"

 

Spoiler

Well this is definitely something. 

 

It took me 80 minutes, but in the end, I beat it.

 

This is exactly what I think of, when I think of secret levels. Huge and challenging, but fundamentally weird in concept, in a way that means it probably shouldn't be included as an official level, but it still makes the wad better by being included as an optional challenge.

 

I liked it.

 

Level 32, "WW1.wad"

 

Spoiler

I just spent an hour dealing with the previous level. I'm not going to spend the same amount of time on this one. Time to loose my degree!

 

This one gets a meh from me. It doesn't have much substance.

 

Level 16, "Vidhead"

 

Spoiler

So if you fall into the pit, the platform that lowers to get you out, is the entirety of the room? I mean, I guess that's allowed, I just haven't seen something like that before

 

This is a level that was built around the map screen .It's architecture is so weird and alien, but paints a pretty picture when you push the tab key

 

This was another strange level. Besides the strange mechanics and the weird architecture, gameplay was alright. Some elements felt a bit unfair, but never enough to be unfun.

 

This level would get an ok from me, based on the experience I had while playing it. 
But I'll give it a "I liked it", precisely because of the experimentation and the weirdness.

 

Level 17, "Passive Social Test Lab"

 

Spoiler

I think the mapper is officially getting too comfortable with Archviles.

 

Because of the Archvile's strange mechanics, it's easy to forget that the Archvile is a mini-Boss, with 700 HP. Spamming Archviles, though it sounds pretty threatening, is actually akin to building an HP wall, which the player will have to escavate through. And escavation
in doom is not fun.

 

The Archviles in this level are scary at first, but they can't hold up in a fight, since their movement is so limited, and there is so much cover. The biggest danger they pose is the player running out of ammo before killing all of them.

 

 

The encounter against the army of archviles near the yellow key is a lot harder, but can be cheesed, and it makes me wonder, is the cheese actually the intended solution? Is this a wad about finding the broken strategies against the op encounters?

 

Btw, my strategy against the first cyberdemons was: get the Archviles angry at the cibies, and then play a round of solitaire, while the archviles do the rest. Then, I noticed there were still an army of Cyberdemons left, so I changed my strategy to something more active.

Also, I just noticed that I've only seen backpacks in one level so far, and that was the secret level. That's a shame, I love the backpack.

 

Once again, the level was pretty weird. But this time, it wasn't really that annoying, and progression was relatively clear. It gets a "I liked it" from me.

 

Level 18, "Slime Activation Facility"

 

Spoiler

Sewers? Toxic floors? Not exactly my favourite things in Doom. But then the Midi started. The midis on this wad really are charming.

 

This seems to be another map screen focused level.

 

I wonder, if I wait long enough, will the crusher kill both cyberdemons? After the solitaire game in last level, i'm not really in the mood to wait some more

 

Wait, is the toxic crusher meant to be acid pouring on the cibies? If that's the case, that's actually pretty creative

 

This level was pretty short, and as such, did definitely not overstay its welcome. 

 

The radiation suit were placed perfectly, and the "hairy" encounters near the end reminded of the skirmish style levels earlier in the wad, which i really enjoyed.

 

I have very little to criticize about this level. It's a strong "like" from me.

 

 

 

My ratings so far:

Spoiler

Levels I liked quite a bit:

Level 18, "Slime Activation Facility"

 

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", 

Level 12, "Into the Tomb", Level 14, "The Perfect Human Cage", Level 31, "Down the Drain", Level 16, "Vidhead", Level 17, "Passive Social Test Lab"

 

Levels I found ok:

Level 7, "The Perfect Gerbil Cage", Level 8, "Deep Tech", Level 11, "Cache Raiders", Level 13, "Vet and Process", Level 32, "WW1.wad"

 

Levels I didn't like:

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

 

Levels I REALLY didn't like:

Level 15, "Doors of Opportunities"

 

[NiGHTS108]

MAP32: WW1.wad

Kills: 68%

Items: 100%

Secrets: 100%

Time: 0:48

A perfect MAP32 to compliment the first secret map, WW1.wad is a pretty basic little joke map that doesn't do much to reinvent the wheel. I commemorate this map for the shocking resemblance to the terrible historical event, this is JUST as it's described in the history books. You know, red sky and mountains? Plasma rifles? Cyberdemons and Spider Masterminds? Troops appearing out of green fog? Some random green dude everyone teams up to get rid of? Just like the olden days! Jokes aside I think the most I got from this map was realising just how cleverly designed the vast majority of Down The Drain maps are compared to real 1994 content, and also the way the story text from 31 to 32 is so gravely serious is kinda really funny. It's also a shockingly difficult map, you'll want to return to your trench frequently as the hitscanners here don't play nice, plasma rifle or not. 

 

Grade: C

Difficulty: A-

 

 

MAP16: V i d h e a d

Kills: 99%

Items: 100%

Secrets: 66%

Time: 6:31

 

I feel like I should hate this map more than I actually do in a weird way. I mean this one follows quite a bit of stuff I complained about in MAP10, walls that are actually doors and mandatory RAD suits primarily. Thankfully though I think both of these elements are significantly tuned down in this map compared to that abomination. There's only one wall that could be confusing and the progression is direct enough so that RAD suit management will never truly get in your way. I will say though even for Down The Drain's exceedingly low standards, V i d h e a d looks... brutal, to put it lightly. Especially the wacky door shapes near the elevator and colossal slime vat with Imps on ledges. The Arch-Viles in this map are surprisingly fun, I especially enjoy in the blue key area Benjo cleverly uses them to make immortal Chaingunners, Plutonia MAP15 style. I always like that trick and wish it was used more in contemporary mapping. This map as a whole is one of the closest things to Down The Drain comfort food, a part of me questions why it's this far in, but for what it's worth I enjoy this one.

 

Grade: B

Difficulty: B

 

 

MAP17: Passive Social Test Lab
Kills: 78%

Items: 85%

Secrets: 100%

Time: 12:06

 

Oh god... Here comes Passive Social Test Lab... I mean that in a good way. I'm really fond of this map, it might just be the height of Benjogami's Arch-Vile usage, really they're just great here. The start stands out to me most, an intense game of distracting Viles in order to get enough rockets to kill them all. I remembered what to do on this recording but I'd call this a very very impressive puzzle even if you don't necessarily need to interact with the Viles until you really want to. After getting all of them and finding your way to the yellow key it's brutal fight #2 time. Behind the yellow door, press all these skull switches you can, take my word for it, don't do what I did on BOTH my playthroughs of this map and only remember them after you wake up the Arch-Viles around the second corner. You'll probably have enough rockets/plasma to deal with the vast majority of them but you'll really really want the extra ammo and BFG those pillars with Cyberdemons will lend you. I love this map, it's intense, super creative and a whole lot of fun.

 

Grade: A

Difficulty: A+

 

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 22 – Pournelle's Hole

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

 

The surname Pournelle is not as common as Niven, so it helped me realise who was the writer honoured in MAP21 as well. If Niven’s Ravine had quite a lengthy horizontal development, Pournelle’s Hole contrasted it nicely with a short, constantly downward layout. It began Tyson-style in an absurd open-air library (even demons would be smart enough to store books more appropriately) with a hidden chaingun and a fascinating Computer Area Map secret.

 

I observed that ammo was almost non-existent for pistol starters, who might wear down their fists and patience after descending in the second area. It was one of the rare places in Down the Drain where I sincerely liked the vanilla visuals, the lighting, and the resulting infernal ambiance. Even though I was persuaded to use a FIRELAVA texture as a door by its placement, I did not imagine that the wall behind the Stimpacks could be opened too, thus granting an escape path that was needed in case things get out of control in the small chamber. The Arch-Vile appearing out of nowhere was a good incentive to search for the hidden YSK, and the Chaingunners emerging from two CRACKLE4 pillars encouraged me to free their trapped brethren in the other two.

Spoiler

These small sections were the appetizers before the main course, one of the tightest slaughter encounters in Down the Drain. A roughly circular blood pool, surrounded by walls with defiantly inappropriate textures, looked set up for a rocket fight in close quarters. Trying to pick up the weapons unleashed the expected teleport, consisting of many Pinkies, Imps and Hell Nobles emerging from concealed chambers behind the blood falls, and a swarm of Cacodemons and Lost Souls dropping down from the entrance. The limited space, the things obstructing the pool, the infinitely tall flying monsters, and the whole way the fight was presented, did not leave room for extemporisation and errors. Three switches must be pressed to leave the pool and doing it before the monsters stopped teleporting was unreliable. There was no other choice but to master the arena as required. I died a lot while figuring out the proper strategy, which demanded to pre-fire rockets to clear an alcove as much as possible, to focus a bit on the flyers, then move around carefully and create a path with rockets.

Spoiler

The final area was a big-sized marble room filled with lava and with a jagged natural staircase, that must be climbed under a bombardment from elevated Cyberdemons and Revenants. They dropped down to the ground when I approached the Combat Armour; at that point the exit was revealed, along with additional enemies. It was more reasonable to beat it instead of scrambling for that BFG and for the right to max out the level. I completed Pournelle’s Hole in less than 8 minutes, but the blood pool arena claimed more deaths than any other set piece in the entire megaWAD. A spike in difficulty should be expected at this point, but most of it could be ascribed to the user-unfriendly presentation, to infinitely tall flyers, and to the annoying obstacles scattered around. These were not huge problems, but relevant enough that I could not close my eyes to them and have a good time anyway.

[brick]

MAP20 - “The Top of the Bottom”
I am once again declaring a conflict of interest because of the music. I liked the layout of the map, the openness gives you plenty of room to maneuver and to dodge but it also means projectiles could be coming at you from multiple direction. I thought this part was very well done actually, you are under atack from everywhere but not so much that it feels ridiculous or impossible to manage. Other aspects of the map I liked less. The way to get the blue key is pretty convoluted and which linedef activates which lift nonsensical, while the optional red key was the straightforward one. I enjoyed almost all the combat, but that cyberdemon was just annoying. Is the idea to rush past him and go for the BFG? it's much easier to simply ignore him and go for the exit. I'm not sure how you're supposed to reach the secret white platform with cells, I couldn't get to it from either the BFG or blue key sides, it seems to require a perfect SR50 and I'm not a fan of those.

 

MAP21 - “Niven’s Ravine”
I liked how that first Cyberdemon is used to let you know you'll have to deal with him later on. I disliked the initial bit of straferun-requiring hops and eventually cheated after a dozen failures, but the platforming elsewhere was more forgiving and more fun. I enjoyed hunting down the secrets and some of the not-secret items, though I missed a switch initially and it took me a while to get the invisibility. I like that there is a path that allows you to not deal with the lava, but falling in is also possible since there are radsuits down there. The little fingers that act as inescapable pits are a bit dickish though, especially one that curves and seems like it could be a passage. The final stretch with the Cyberdemon across is made considerably easier with the invulnerability on HNTR, but even those on harder difficulties can get one if they can find the secret. I thought this must reference Larry Niven but I didn't get it. Fun map overall.

[Benjogami]

Roofi almost convinced me that MAP19 has no right to exist, but then I remembered that erzboesewicht really liked it, some others as well, so ultimately I think it was worth it :D However, it is probably my least favorite map in the wad. It was one of that last ones I made, the last one of E2, and I think it would have benefited from sitting around on my hard drive longer, probably would have been tweaked into decency, or perhaps reworked at some point. I still like the idea of having everything be a lift in a sea of nukage and actually thought about rebooting the idea, making a better map with the same idea and posting it here, but it's been a busy month for me and I don't think it's gonna slow down. I also didn't know how to fix that blockmap issue with lines >2048 units long that Book Lord described. I made some feeble attempts to fix it before release but decided it was acceptable jank in the end.

 

Glad that NiGHTS108 noted the only appearance of the E2 sky. At some point while making MAP12 I realized there would be no more opportunities to use the sky given the episode's theme, so tried to make a nice vista there to call attention to it.

 

Also glad that Book Lord identified the namesakes of MAP21 and 22, Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle. The duo has written a few of my sci-fi favorites, but I suppose here it's mostly a reference to Inferno, which is their take on Dante's Inferno but with a sci-fi writer protagonist, who at the beginning of his ordeal speculates that he may be in a simulation or future theme park (because surely he can't be in actual Hell), which helped influence the episode's theme.

 

As for MAP31... it was out of my control. It was an idea that willed itself into being, using me as a conduit. But I think it's fun, and it definitely took more than an hour to make even with gratuitous copy/paste and find/replace! I'm talking to you, General Roasterock!! ;)

 

Thanks for the continued writeups and videos everyone, it's been fun! I'm a bit behind on the videos but will surely get to them all someday.

[Catpho]

1 hour ago, Benjogami said:

MAP19 (...) it is probably my least favorite map in the wad

Gotta quote mine you:

[RHhe82]

MAP22: Pournelle's Hole. Played on DSDA v0.24, UV, PS. 96/99 K, 3/3 S, 16/16 I. Completion time 11:23.

 

Another decent level, although not as fond of it as some of the preceding levels. Reasons:

 

1) I'm not good at punching. Basically what happens is that I am compelled to save after each semi-successful killing of a mid-tier foe (hell nobles, revenants), and with arch-viles I just hope for the best, like the one guarding YSK, with little cover for the player.

 

2) I'm not good at two-shotting cybers. I almost liked the ending fight, but there were three bastards in close-quarters, and while I used *ALL* of the cell charges on the cybers, and the remaining rockets (ten), shells (little over ten) and bullets (150 or so), I couldn't get even one of them killed. NOT ONE, despite them presumably being weakened by the meat shield foes in the arena. Hence my kill count, not UV-MAX.

 

But other than that, good map; the bloodfall fight was intense and fun. Oh, and

 

3) Why, oh why did the lava lake just before the end had to hurt so much as to rad suit would leak? Geez.
 

[Pseudonaut]

Map22:

Starts off with some mostly-tyson action, but soon after the SSG is grabbed, you are led to a very chaotic and random fight where your best option is to SSG weak enemies first to make space so you can move, then clean up with rockets once everything is gathered in the center. I'm not convinced it can be done consistently, I had a few runs where I just got stuck on monsters and was mauled to death as a result. However, I liked the ending fight a lot more. The usual 2-shot technique isn't practical in all that chaos, but there are still some opportunities to BFG an infighting cyb in the back, or even just spam at medium distance to get at least several tracers to hit the cybs. During my blind run, two monsters were stuck in a teleport closet and I don't know why, but it fortunately didn't happen here. The extremely tall lift in the exit area leading back to the start is lol. It allows backtracking for players that missed something, but they might grow old waiting for it.
 

 

Demo:

https://www.doomworld.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=209052

[Roofi]

Map 22 : Pournelle's Hole

 

Spoiler

 

After a convincing traditional hell-themed introduction map, why not an obnoxious tyson map this time? Cool !

 

Sorry for you Benjogami, but this level was an another miss for me. Tysoning chaingunners, revenants and hell nobles with no armor? No thanks. Trying to survive in a cramped arenas with a lot of enemies coming from opaque bloodfalls with few ammo? No thanks again.

 

The last fight looked pretty well choregraphed though but the ordeal that was two third of the maps discouraged me to survive this trap in the proper way since I play without saves, so I decided to rush to the exit and never come back in this hole. Another waste of time.

 

Grade : D+

 

 

 

[PeceMan]

Catching up, day 5. Today's batch was of a pretty good quality! I didn't dislike a single one of the levels I played today.

 

Level 19, "The Empty Box Abyss"

 

Spoiler

This would've been a perfect map for a backpack at the start. Nothing says 90s like giving invisibilities, but not backpacks.

 

This was another weird, experimental level.

 

I don't usually like levels based around toxic floors, but this level had a pretty good rad suit distribution.

 

I also appreciate how the level doesn't overstay it's welcome.

 

I liked it.

 

Level 20, "The Top of the Bottom"

 

Spoiler

I'm not that big of a fan of the death pit surrounding the entire level. The edge seems pretty forgiving, but this level also includes a lot of verticality. And if you accidentaly run of the less forgiving buildings, the momentum will cary you all the way past the death barrier.

 

Also, too many barons. This level was probably made before people realized "tons of hp" does not equal "an interesting challenge".

 

I like the design "big open hub space, with buildings sprinkled through out". I don't know why people don't use it  more often.

 

All in all, I had a couple of complaints, but they were actually fairly minor. Once again, this was a strange level with experimental elementes, that despite it's weirdness, never annoyed me.

 

It gets a "I liked it".

 

Level 21, "Niven’s Ravine"

 

Spoiler

Remember how the first 10 maps had very similar aesthetics? I give a lot of importance to aesthetics. I think that because of that, I am enjoying the later levels a lot more than the early ones.

This level, for example, uses pretty ugly textures. BUT, it uses NEW ugly textures. It feels fresh.

 

Also, these levels are pretty open. Don't get me wrong, claustrophobia is an important element of Doom. But the semi thin ledges here achieve a very similar goal. And having a lot of breathing room is very refreshing.

 

The secrets here are pretty good. 

 

There are some death pits with no escape. Most of them, however, have pretty clearly no escape. And falling in them doesn't happen accidentaly. There is however, one death pit, right by a cyberdemon, which is built in such a way that it seems to be a plausible path.

That one is not as evidently bad as it needs to be.

 

Other than that tiny complaint, I enjoyed this level quite a bit.

 

Level 22, "Pournelle’s Hole"

 

Spoiler

Let me just say that the yellow skull gave me a good scare.

 

A rocket fight, in an arena covered in obstacles? That's just mean.

 

The final encounter has a lot of teeth, but it is still pretty doable. Some more cells for the third Cyberdemon (3? Really?) would've been apreciated.

 

I like how the blood doesn't hurt. As a hell level, it would've been really easy to have long hallways of damaging floors. But the mapper decided not to do that, which is a decision I wholeheartedly support.

 

I don't have much more to say about the level. It's a pretty standard level, but if anything, that is a bit weird. This level has some experimentation, and some weird elements, but not nearly as many as the previous levels. That's why this level feels standard. But that's not necesarily a bad thing.

 

All in all, a fun level. I liked it.

 

 

My ratings so far

Spoiler

Levels I liked quite a bit:

Level 18, "Slime Activation Facility", Level 21, "Niven’s Ravine"

 

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", 

Level 12, "Into the Tomb", Level 14, "The Perfect Human Cage", Level 31, "Down the Drain", Level 16, "Vidhead", Level 17, "Passive Social Test Lab",

Level 19, "The Empty Box Abyss", Level 20, "The Top of the Bottom", Level 22, "Pournelle’s Hole"

 

Levels I found ok:

Level 7, "The Perfect Gerbil Cage", Level 8, "Deep Tech", Level 11, "Cache Raiders", Level 13, "Vet and Process", Level 32, "WW1.wad"

 

Levels I didn't like:

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

 

Levels I REALLY didn't like:

Level 15, "Doors of Opportunities"

 

[Andromeda]

On 11/22/2022 at 12:00 AM, brick said:

MAP20 - “The Top of the Bottom”

 

I'm not sure how you're supposed to reach the secret white platform with cells, I couldn't get to it from either the BFG or blue key sides, it seems to require a perfect SR50 and I'm not a fan of those. 

You can get it from the BFG side, no SR50 required. It does require SR40 as far as I can tell and you need to keep your momentum as you jump between each platform (not stopping between jumps), so it's a bit tricky.

[General Roasterock]

Map 18: Slime Activation Facility

 

  This map has pretty interesting visual points in both directions. On one hand, it’s the map with the funny face, filled with Arch-Viles and two Cyberdemons with the expectation that they’ll be chewed to death, unless SSGing two Cybers is a good thing. On the other, dropping the player into that ending pit where nothing is visible but darkness and slime is a great flourish that only acts as a good point for how Benjo can use these textures in masterful ways. The rush through the map with its limited radsuits was pretty invigorating as well, and I didn’t even mind having to run through a couple times since it’s comparatively short. It stays engaging in ways that make running around in a giant man unbelievably enjoyable.

 

Map 19: The Empty Box Abyss

 

  Despite how simplistic the texturing is here, I have never seen such a unique usage of the crates for visual landscapes. The whole map feels bleak, taken over by nukage, wiped of humanity and any substance of path. The only thing the player can do is drag the boxes down into the ocean of slime in order to reach the Partial Invisibilities, which for some reason act as the way to unlock the exit. I see no good way to communicate this, and at this point, whatever. There is basically no form to this map, nearly every single monster is awake from the start, and can wander wherever they please should they escape into the liquid, which includes Arch-Viles and a Cyberdemon, not even mentioning the Pain Elementals that don’t even need lift permission. I can’t describe how I played this map, I simply pressed on lifts until I found the exit switch, not even understanding that it was locked behind progression. Maybe it’s for the better, as I feel attempting to rush through this map would make the still well produced radsuit economy not as impactful. I do like that the crate lifts were actually introduced from the clump in the front, revealed to a player already wanting to escape from the damaging floor. It’s borderline formless, but the presentation and ambience ranks it pretty high for me. I honestly like this one.

 

Map 20: The Top of the Bottom

 

  Really shrimpy and nonsensical, even on this scale. At this point, I am growing weary of the nonsensical raising and lowering of lifts from nearly arbitrary lines, specifically getting to the Blue Key. The whole map is simply chewing through the lift in the northwest to open the walls in front of the exit and then acquiring said Blue Key. The Red Key is optional for the BFG, which is a jump I do enjoy performing, and the Baron congaline in front of it is hilarious. It’s otherwise unremarkable, with less than half a dozen landmarks to its name, all being really tall. I mean incredibly tall, like the safety lift to save a player that falls out of bounds feels more like a suggestion with how long it takes to drop down. Half of this map feels like it doesn’t even need to exist, take the Spectre enclosure protected by Chaingunners, it will normally take care of itself from said Chaingunners spraying around everywhere. This map just feels like shapes, spread out within a square, where keys and switches and lifts were created after. 

 

Map 21: Niven’s Ravine

 

  It’s a really simple inclusion, but starting the player in the same building from The Top of the Bottom, seemingly having traveled through dimensions, or time, or what the hell ever, does a lot for me when it comes to the continuity of this insanity. I like believing that the Cyberdemon I cut down with the BFG in the previous map just stood right back up, ready to fight again in this map.

  This is a really fun run, mostly making use of the verticality to really let the player gain speed through the groups of monsters. There are very few maps that encourage me to just run around and ignore the monsters or treat them like obstacles, but Niven’s Ravine has a surprisingly good structure for it. Even the Pain Elemental that teleports onto the rocks feels like encouragement to flee rather than fight. I did like the scale of the map too, aside from maybe that final pathway raising from the lava over the course of a century. It does provide an excuse to go back and start shooting the other demons around, now joined by the born again Cyber. It’s a smart layout, and it’s good to see hell emerge in this WAD.

 

Map 22: Pournelle’s Hole

 

  The first five minutes is a pretty engaging tyson segment. I don’t have a lot of points in maps where I’m able to have a good time punching out an Arch-Vile. However, getting into what I could only imagine is Pournelle’s signature hole turns the map into an infight party. Thinking about how many rockets to pick up with the limited time of the radsuit is a tough decision to make on such a short clock, and it ultimately doesn’t solve a whole lot considering that the opposition at that point is either Cyberdemon in nature, or slowly trickling in to the point where splash damage is difficult to maximize. I opted to just let the Cyberdemons do the work, even if it made it harder on me in the long run. I would have been fine with experimenting more if going for a better supply of rockets wasn’t followed by a scaling up into the final fight every single time. I otherwise feel like this map pulled a punch when it came to being dedicated to Tyson combat, and I really wouldn’t mind these maps, despite the oblong and abstract presentation, building on more modern combat ideas.

 

Power Ranking

Spoiler

1. Into the Tomb
2. Vet and Process
3. Niven Ravine
4. The Empty Box Abyss
5. Baloney Town
6. Private Island
7. The Perfect Gerbil Cage
8. The Top of the Bottom
9. Passive Social Test Lab
10. Slime Activation Facility
11. Rolling Down
12. Pournelle's Hole
13. The Perfect Human Cage
14. Forts and Alleys
15. Cache Raiders
16. Someone's Castle
17. Here n There, Now n Then
18. Kick the Can
19. WW1.wad
20. From: Unknown
21. Deep Tech
22. Doors of Opportunities
23. Vidhead
24. Gout (the real thing)
25. Down the Drain

 

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP21: Niven's Ravine

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 7/7 secrets

 

And now we've naturally ended up in hell. You begin in the same room that you hit the exit switch in in the previous map, only now the building is halfway submerged in a lava-filled gorge, and you have a fresh cyberdemon with his back turned to you. No worries though, he immediately teleports away when alerted. This one carries more of an adventure feel than most of the set, having you travel a more-or-less linear path through the long valley, having to pull off some tight-but-not-too-tight jumps along the way. Thom Yorke and the boys are back for the midi again, this time Climbing Up the Walls. It's one of their darker tracks, so it makes a sensible choice to introduce us to the hell episode. 

 

This is probably one of the more conventional maps for combat, at least so far. You do get some platforming as I mentioned earlier, but it's not tough, and your obstacles otherwise are some decent incidental combat. Most notable is when you meet back up with the cyberdemon he will be on the edge across from you as you happen upon a building you'll need to enter to progress. He has an excellent view of you in this area, so if you choose to keep him alive to deal with last you'll need to be very wary of what he's doing at all times. Otherwise though, not much trouble to be had. Nice breezy opener to the episode.

 

 

[Pseudonaut]

Map23:
Pretty tough map, seems almost insurmountable without foreknowledge. Many of the important resources are in awkward positions. The blue key leading to the invuln, for example, requires a somewhat precise jump that will kill you if you fail. You'll really want this invuln to help with the BFG grab and taking out some of the multiple cyberdemons that are surely roaming around by this point, as there's no area in this map where multiple cybs can be handled comfortably. The biggest stash of rockets is heavily guarded as well. The secret is obscure enough that I thought at some point you needed to do some ridiculous series of archvile jumps to reach it, but it turns out you can lower the platform by using a nearby decoration like it's a switch.
 

 

Demo:

https://www.doomworld.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=209273

[Crusader No Regret]

Haven't been around much.  Onward with writeups.

 

map 7: DNF  death count: 8 so far

 

    Maybe the first map where I don't have over half the population killed with infighting.  Ate a few deaths working out a way to bait some infighting at the start without getting mauled.  The cacodemons, revenant, and hellknights on the starting side of the canyon are all baited into softening up the other side.  This helps with the early ammo situation such that I don't really need the berserk.  Two deaths due to mishandling the mass of revenants at the blue key (one of them saw me running out of ammo due to not picking up enough before the chaos.  As for the one time I beat them, I took out two archviles fairly quickly; the last stuck around a bit longer before I could gun it down.  Totally misjudged where I could retreat and got mauled by the massive pack of imps.  Too discouraged to try again.

 

map 8: DNF  death count: 6 before quitting

 

     With vast stretches of damaging terrain and very few radsuits, this is a map that demands to be routed in advance.  Add the darkness and a chronic shortage of ammo, and this become very unpleasant to play with a casual approach.  Made some progress finding stuff with my varied attempts but this map asks for more attention than I was willing to give it during my play session.  And with lots of other stuff out there, not particularly inclined to plan out this map well enough to beat it, even if I use saves.

[Book Lord]

I was unable to access Doomworld for about 12 hours, I do not know if others had the same issue. Still on time for MAP23:

 

MAP 23 – Valley of Mirth

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

 

Doom had Slough of Despair in the shape of a hand, Down the Drain featured a map in the shape of a foot, bearing the deceitful name of Valley of Mirth. The situation from the start looked all but gleeful and joyous, with lots of turned away enemies ready to wake up at the slightest noise, including two Arch-Viles between Doomguy and the SSG. I refused to engage them directly and started running in the opposite direction, alerting numerous enemies, dodging two pillars full of undying Arch-Viles, and ending the race by the rocket launcher, guarded by a group of Barons. There was some ammo around, and I picked up a shotgun from a Sergeant, so I made a stand against the onslaught of enemies with my carryover rockets and shells.

 

When the hellish tide lost its momentum, I moved on and explored the rocky canyon, methodically killing enemies on ledges but without awakening the Cyberdemon. I retrieved the YSK, defeating the Pain Elemental ambush near the start, then I climbed on the ledge to make a jump for the BSK; before even attempting it, the terrace full of rockets collapsed and suddenly pitted me against the Cyberdemon and four Arch-Viles. Infighting was key to survive, but there were enough rockets around to dispense death. The keys were used to open two niches in the south-western tip, one with an Invulnerability, the other with a switch used to access the terraces nearby.

Spoiler

The big ambush was triggered in random ways. Every terrace contained useful items and moving towards them summoned monsters. In contrast to the first one, the other intestine lifts could be operated freely to reach the switch on the top, which revealed another switch along with four Cyberdemons on the ground level. I moved randomly and with no awareness of the trigger lines, gathering plenty of monsters on the terraces that were involved in a messy infight among them and against the Cyberdemons. I cleared the upper terrace and concentrated on the flying monsters that could reach me in my relatively safe position, while the Cyberdemons did the hard work for me. I collected every cell I could before dropping to the floor and engaging them directly, first with plasma rifle, a luxury that pistol starters might not have, and then with the SSG.

 

The series of lifts to the exit released another Cyberdemon to defend the BFG and a lot of cells, surely intended for the previous group of bosses. The two pillars with never-ending Arch-Viles remained a mystery for me; they were part of an elaborate secret required to max out the level. I could not find a way to get on the visible secret platform. I checked the level with the editor, and I concluded that the method to gain the plasma rifle and crush the remainder of the Arch-Vile horde was almost impossible to figure out. Their closet had the form of a nail ready to pierce the foot, a nice allusion to those area-negating guys being a real pain in the a... err, sole. One of the four monster closets, shaped like stench emanating from the foot, did not release its content, because I collected the goodies on the corresponding ledge after jumping from the upper level. Learning the behind-the-scenes details was funny, still the design was unnecessarily confusing on many occasions. I did not like Valley of Mirth overall, because of the seemingly haphazard events that kept on happening all the time, and because the resources were concentrated in precise spots that must be known. This megaWAD keeps requiring prior map expertise to have fun.

Edited November 23, 2022 by Book Lord

[NiGHTS108]

MAP18: Slime Activation Facility

Kills: 39%

Items: 100%

Secrets: 100%

Time: 2:20

 

A surprisingly short break map that mainly feels like a transition from the last map to the next, Slime Activation Facility doesn't really do a whole lot of interesting stuff. Probably the best part about this map is the weird face in the automap. I like him. Otherwise though there's not much to say here, you can leave this place remarkably quickly without a whole lot of stuff getting in your way which I'd recommend by the way because there's not a whole lot of RAD suits and ammo to go around. That's all.

 

Grade: C+
Difficulty: D-

 

 

MAP19: The Empty Box Abyss

Kills: 78%

Items: 100%

Secrets: 100%

Time: 6:07

 

I genuinely don't know why I like this one so much... The Empty Box Abyss, IN MY OPINION, is a surprisingly creative and interesting map. I enjoy running around this poison lake of boxes, powerups and projectiles quite a lot actually, I find it kind of exhilarating, especially when you lower like a fuck ton of boxes. The progression, naturally, isn't the greatest and could have been way more obvious but when you know what you're doing I honestly find it pretty fun. I'm gonna wrap this review up here before I get torn apart limb from limb but tl;dr, The Empty Box Abyss is really good and I don't care what people say about it.

 

Grade: A

Difficulty: A

 

 

MAP20: The Top Of The Bottom

Kills: 91%

Items: 100%

Secrets: 33%
Time: 6:11

 

Another map I'm surprised I still enjoyed as much, The Top Of The Bottom doesn't have a whole lot going for it but for some reason I still really enjoy it. It has a great ABBA track which maybe plays a part and in general I really like this voidscape thing Benjo went for in these last few maps and I wish it was used more in E2. In general this one in a way feels like the most "pleasant" Down The Drain map to be in. I kinda just enjoy being here as hostile as this environment is. It reminds me of The Green Mind from Haste in a few ways even. I haven't talked about the gameplay much because I don't think it's too relevant. It's a nice, not very difficult transition to E3 that closes E2 on a high note.

 

Grade: A

Difficulty: C-

 

 

[Roofi]

Map 23 : Valley of Mirth

 

Spoiler

 

"Valley of Mirth" ressembles to a marriage between Ultimate Doom's E3M2 for and Doom 2's map 16, mainly due to the open layout and the hectic combats involving an invulnerability that you can unlock if you succeed at performing an accurate SR50 jump to the blue's key small island.

 

Now I have to confess. I both cheated and saved during my video because I missed the jump to the blue key severa timesl and it was out of question to beat this map without the invulnerability sphere, and just to restart this map again, again, and again. If this map could be described with a kind of catchphrase, it would be :"No foreknowledge, no fun" because map 23 , along with map 17, figures as the perfect exemple where Benjogami don't only punish for not using the items as intended but also not to have clairvoyant skills and guess what will happen. This level was excruating to beat even on continuous. Ammo is scarce as always and the released cyberdemons. will nibble away ayour living space in a short time, while the BFG is hard to obtain. 

 

Every gift that Benjogami gives you, whether it's boxes of rockets, armors or soulspheres are so strongly guarded that I sometimes wonder if it was worth it to get. I'm maybe exaggerating a bit because some strategies can be adopted to generate big infights.

 

Now, I don't want to be a killjoy, but "Valley of Mirth" was an another quite disagreable map to play. However, contrary to some others maps , I recognize some qualities : I like the music which reminds me of some maps from "One Bloody Night" by Erik Alm, an underappreciated vanilla Doom 2 episode. I suppose it comes a japanese RPG but I'm not 100% sure. Even if you have to hurry, it is satisfying to be able to escape from the biggest fight by using invulnerability and run to the exit.

 

More generally , this map oozes some epicness but but I don't really have the patience for such a demanding gameplay, knowing that I do this on my way home from work. The smelly feet is cute too. I you like foot-shaped layout , you should also take a look to Espi's interpretation of E2M2 in Flashback !

 

Grade : C

 

 

 

[Andromeda]

27 minutes ago, Roofi said:

Map 23 : Valley of Mirth

 

involving an invulnerability that you can unlock if you succeed at performing an accurate SR50 jump to the blue's key small island.

No SR50 required, SR40 is enough :)

 

/pedant mode off

[PeceMan]

Level 23: "Valley of Mirth"

 

Another level with no chill. Maybe if try, try try again, I would eventually beat it. But I'd rather save myself the blood pressure increase. Command god. This levels is not poorly designed, it simply aims for a skill level higher than mine.

Edit: Is that 4 Cyberdemons? Nvm then. Maybe the level could use a bit more chill. We're only on level 23.
Edit 2: How the hell are there still like 50 enemies left, even after killing all 4 cyberdemons?
Edit 3: Alright, enough god mode. Let's noclip as well! And one minute later, I found the remaining enemies.

Once again, the mapper uses way too many Archviles. Here, the problem is not that the Archviles have tons of health, like it was in the past. Here, the problem is that Archviles are hitscan enemies. Their attacks can't be dodged without cover. But in this level, getting behind one piece of cover means turning your back on two more Archviles, who can now attack you.

 

Btw, I wrote that paragraph before realizing the level had 60+ Archviles. With those numbers, the problem of excesive HP comes back.

 

Archviles can be very fun, precisely because of how stressful things get when they're around. But here, the stress from them is so constant that it goes from "tense fun" to simply annoying.

 

As the saying goes: turn the dial up to 11, but if you stay at 11, it feels the same as if the dial had stayed at 1.

 

I was having fun, but the level simply didn't stop grating.Things just got worse and worse.

 

Progression was a bit strange, which on a normal level, maybe wouldn't have been that much of a problem. But here, when taking out 50 archviles with a crusher depends on you finding a small linedef stuck in a corner, things are a bit more tiresome.

 

This level had potential, but not enough to justify it being so completely infuriating.

 

 

My ratings so far:

Spoiler

Levels I liked quite a bit (4,5/5 stars):

Level 18, "Slime Activation Facility", Level 21, "Niven’s Ravine"

 

Levels I liked (4/5 stars):

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

Level 12, "Into the Tomb", Level 14, "The Perfect Human Cage", Level 31, "Down the Drain", Level 16, "Vidhead", Level 17, "Passive Social Test Lab",

Level 19, "The Empty Box Abyss", Level 20, "The Top of the Bottom", Level 22, "Pournelle’s Hole"

 

Levels I found ok (3/5 stars):

Level 7, "The Perfect Gerbil Cage", Level 8, "Deep Tech", Level 11, "Cache Raiders", Level 13, "Vet and Process", Level 32, "WW1.wad"

 

Levels I didn't like (2/5 stars):

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

 

Levels I REALLY didn't like (1/5 stars):

Level 15, "Doors of Opportunities", Level 23: "Valley of Mirth"

 

[brick]

MAP22 - “Pournelle’s Hole”
My feelings on this one are a bit mixed. I like the going down into the hole that gets more and more hellish, and I enjoyed some of the fights, but others grated a bit. Having the enemies teleport behind the midtexture is clever, since you can't immediately see them, but that arena taunts you with nothing but rockets, lots of props to trip over, and demons and lost souls for your rockets to blow up in your face. Later, what could've been a simple path up the steps turns into sneaky platforming, there are occasional holes between the steps and I kept not seeing them and falling back into the lava. I like that the final fight is mostly optional, since you can just run past everything into the exit. Killing everything on HNTR is actually fun, there's plenty of health and even an invulnerability to help with the cyberdemons.

 

MAP23 - “Valley of Mirth”
Is it mirth because the map is a foot and someone is ticklish?
I admit I was almost going to give the map a fail for the blue key requiring a perfect SR50 (Andromeda says just SR40, but I cannot even imagine how that would work after a couple dozen tries), but you don't need this key (though it is very useful). The start is another "heating up" where you have imps and chaingunners hitting you immediately, and a lot more slowly pouring in if you don't pay attention, I think I like those setups much more than a plain hot start. The huge ambush near the blue key was fun to deal with, though there's no point since it only leads to the key (and completely optional archviles). In fact most of the map seems extraneous, the actual required steps are very straightforward. The tiered terraces were an unpleasant reminder me of Go2It, coupled with all the roaming cyberdemons. Thankfully sometimes enemies teleport in and get stuck, which also means none of the ones behind them can teleport in. Again, mixed feelings on this one.

[Book Lord]

MAP 24 – Designyland

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

 

Do you like MAP24: The Chasm? Welcome to Designyland! I am not a fan of that IWAD level myself, but my experience with Benjogami’s take on the thin walkways above vertiginous pits with damaging floors was largely positive. From the starting point three different paths could be chosen and taking the wrong turn might ruin everything. I decided to jump on the nearby ledge, where I lucked into an early SSG that allowed me to fight the Cacodemons and the Mancubi in the north-eastern building without feeling underequipped. Most of the weapons could be obtained in the same building, the plasma gun by jumping to a lower ledge in the north-east, and the rocket launcher if you follow the stairs and kill a large group of Barons and Pain Elementals. A good ammo stock was provided for the job.

Spoiler

The thin ledge leading westwards from the start would probably leave a sour taste, having to face difficult encounters in the wrong order. It was better to take the long way around the northern rim of the chasm, taking note of the RSK and the coloured bars along the path. Attentive players might discover the BSK in a pit in the north-west. The optional key granted access both to a plasma rifle and to a rocket launcher. The second was heavily guarded, while the first allowed to crush two Baron snipers as well.

Spoiler

The section of the map that I liked the most was the south-western tip, hosting lots of enemies in sniper attitude and others hidden behind blood falls, ready to emerge when least expected for a confusing ambush. I used the narrowing ledge as a choke point to avoid being followed by too many enemies, and it worked like a charm. I found the YSK at the end of the section, but the way back to the rest of the level required climbing an elaborate thin ledge, then fighting Arch-Viles in a coverless environment, a problem that the nearby BFG sorted quickly. I returned to the RSK and raised the yellow bars to press a switch. It lowered the ledge so that the key was now accessible, but an Arch-Vile and two Pain Elementals were released as well.

Spoiler

Knowing where to use the RSK was not guaranteed, because there was no reason to visit the south-eastern corner, except out of curiosity. Crossing the last zigzag ledge was more boring than challenging, and only a pair of Lost Souls awaited in the exit room. The most difficult platforming was in the secret Megasphere chamber, where the extra thin and pointy ledges were shrouded in darkness and surrounded by an inescapable abyss. Designyland felt balanced and straightforward to me, but I can see that different opinions could arise, depending on the chosen direction. It was more conventionally decorated and polished than most of Down the Drain, a commendable vanilla creation inspired by one of the most distinguished levels of Doom II.

[tmorrow]

Down the Drain, map25

 

This is the second map with no demo on DSDA. I can understand why noone has submitted a demo for map31 but I'm not sure why map25 has been neglected.

 

A map with an interesting design choice for progression. The overall goal is to locate and use 3 switches to lower 3 bars blocking the map exit. Two of the switches are found in the course of normal play but the third switch is buried in one of the maps 3 secrets. At the beginning doomguy overlooks a huge lava area that isn't really relevant to the map but builds the mood of an oppressive environment. There are blood pain sectors later in the map that are important.

 

Movement through the area is confusing at first. Basically there are invisible triggers that lower ledges. Use them to get up to the upper layer of platforms. The map is roughly divided into the south half and north half with a tunnel dividing the two halves.

 

Combat can be a bit surprising due to the invisible triggers and enemies can sometimes sneak up on you. The trap that surprised me the most is the one on the northwest of the map when you move toward the megaarmor and enemies are released behind you.

 

I didn't notice until late in my play through that there is a teleporter room off the tunnel to the exit in the north that quickly takes you back to the southern area.

 

---

 

My nominations for next month:

+++ 2022 A Doom Odyssey
+++ Solar Struggle
+++ Doom in Spain Only

[RHhe82]

MAP23: Valley of Mirth. Played on DSDA v0.24, UV, PS. 234/293 K, 1/1 S, 4/6 I. Completion time 28:51 (plus reloads, another 28 minutes at least).

 

At first I liked the level, it has epic music, it's fun survival-infight map.

 

But the further I get into the level, more weary I grow, and at the end there's still some 60 archviles left to kill, and I believe they are located in a long nail corridor, waiting to be teleported in. I don't think there's enough ammo to deal with them, maybe one should use cyberdemons, but fuck it. I'm not going to.

 

Come to think of it, without those archviles the map would have been fun, but first I spent a lot of time trying to rocket them only to find there's too many. Then I figured there has to be a way to kill the viles thru some crusher or something, and I'm not sure if there is one, but I wouldn't know how to utilize it. The switch to access the only secret near the archviles, where you can unleash them across the level if you so desire, was obtuse to find, I had to look in UDB (which I used to see if the viles can indeed be crushed, there is a crusher sector in the nail, but I'm not sure if it's useful or anything).

[Doomy__Doom]

1 hour ago, RHhe82 said:

The switch to access the only secret near the archviles, where you can unleash them across the level if you so desire, was obtuse to find, I had to look in UDB (which I used to see if the viles can indeed be crushed, there is a crusher sector in the nail, but I'm not sure if it's useful or anything).

It's useful, but completely reliant on foreknowledge, as is the theme for many a level in DtD. You need to a) not shoot after starting the map, b) hit both switches to lower the empty lifts and c) immediately jump down to walk over both of them. This will open up the walls to the crusher area. And d) NOW you're allowed to shoot, a couple viles will occupy the whole space on each platform while the rest wander into the crusher area.

 

EDIT: thinking a bit more about it - HMP has only like 6 Viles, which should be well within ammo allotment, and HNTR has a bunch of Revs, so it could be a jab at the UV-as-default. Also I'm mildly suspicious that the choice of pinkies and mancs around the secret platform is to frustrate speedrunners with random thicc hitboxes to jump over for the Vile crusher :)

Edited November 24, 2022 by Doomy__Doom