The DWmegawad Club plays: Down the Drain

[Roofi]

Map 24 : Designyland

 

Spoiler

 

And now, after beating some gut-wrenching hell-themed levels, Benjogami rewards you with a ticket to Disneyland  Designyland ! It's a kind of  Chasm-themed amusement park  which today has the most accidents of any amusement park in the world.

 

Did you dislike "The Chasm"? Don't worry about that, we are in the Down the Drain so you will have : tighter and longer catwalks, few radsuits, a way more tense ammo and monsters balance... Knowing where the teleporters are is maybe the most important condition in order to take pleasure navigating in this map.

 

However, contrary to too much levels in this megawad, your medium skills are much less in demand than usual. As usual, ammo and health must be spent as a poor guy close to bankruptcy but I found that Benjogami was way more generous than usual. Replaying the map was way more entertaining because it's pretty easy to grab the two megaspheres and reach the rockets supplies. The BFG is underguarded while it's extremly useful in this map.

 

Honestly , I don't have much to say about this map. I want to state that you can almost effortlessly skip a large part of the map and most of the fights if you exactly know where to go. This what I did, not because I dislike the map but my unique goal now is to simply finish the maps in one piece.

 

At last, the music used in this map was maybe the strongest point. I don't know where it comes from (such as the rest of the soundtrack) but it sounds like a tune for a level taking place among the clouds in a platformer game. It sounds like a form of bonus level, both magical and devilishly difficult like in Super Mario Bros for example. With this music, I would have imagined a concept similar to the Chasm that would take place in the sky, but you can't use the sky for both the floor and the ceiling without generating graphic bugs in vanilla compatibility.

 

Designyland was a highlight among the mapset. I still have a fav for the original Chasm though, since it's one of my favourite Doom 2 maps, but it's definitely a competent tribute.

 

Grade : A-

 

 

+++ Doom 2 : In spain only

+++ Fragport

Edited November 24, 2022 by Roofi

[erzboesewicht]

MAP22: Pournell's Hole

 

Another linear journey. This time you start in a library and dive deeper and deeper into a hole. The start is tyson-oriented, so quite hard for me. You better save the scarce ammo for difficult situations, like an archvile behind a fake wall which has to be killed with only 8 shells (and maybe chaingun ammo). It's around mid-map when the ammo situation completely changes, but combat continues to be awkward as your main weapon will be the rocket launcher in a cramped arena full of pinkies and decoration which aim to get Doomguy stuck. The final area at the bottom is reached after some light platforming over damaging lava, it is a fun infighting-heavy shootout with three cybers entering the fight at different times, and several midtiers, here you get also a BFG. At the end you can return via one of the tallest lifts I know in Doom (I think in Erkataññe there is a competitor though). Again, a quite standard hell map but with slightly unconventional combat and pacing choices.

 

Rating: 7/10
Difficulty: 5/10

MAP23: Valley of Mirth

 

An epic midi suggests this may be a kind of boss map, and the enemy count is around 300, including several cyberdemons and a ton of archviles, the second highest until now (after MAP31). Here we return to the puzzlish, weird combat of the previous episode, even if visually the map is quite normal IWAD'esque hell style. The start is a combat puzzle where pacifisting as long as possible (at least until you get the rocket launcher and wake up the first cyb) gives enormous advantages, as two archviles threaten to patrol the starting area and consume most of your ammo if you wake them up too early. Later you have to climb several elevated areas to get, at least, the yellow key and progress towards the exit. The blue key is optional (trying to get it can spawn a dangerous trap) but will make things much easier at the end as you get an invulnerability for the dangerous exit phase or for a vile invasion (see below). The only secret (completing the sequence is crucial for maxing, see below!) is difficult to find, I looked at the editor after having wasted around 20 minutes trying to reach it via arch-vile jumping (with the help of the invul) - this may also be possible but the viles are awkwardly positioned for that so it's difficult to get propelled to the right place.

 

A special mention goes to the hidden archvile army (around 50). If you take out the summoners in the two southern vile towers they will get instantly replaced. And if you tackle them with too much force (i.e. with rockets) they will fall off the tower and start teleporting around into the most inconvenient places, which gives a hint that this isn't the intended way to kill them.

 

Spoiler

Instead, there is a non-evident way to crush the hidden army I also only found in the editor - you have to take both the plasma rifle and the megasphere from the secret, lowering two walls which allow them to walk into the crusher.

 

This is my favorite hell map until now. Only the archvile crushing mechanic was a bit cryptic, but maybe most wouldn't even notice it if they simply take goodies the secret offers them ...

 

Rating: 8,5/10
Difficulty: 7/10

 

MAP24: Designology

 

Designology? This is The Chasm 2.0, with lots of D2TWiD vibes. Harder and meaner than the original, but in a very similar cavern covered by damaging blood. I was savescumming a lot in this one, because even if the map is not really difficult (although one of the harder ones of the set), there are few teleporters in the damaging liquids and also only a handful of radsuits, three of them hidden in secrets. Also some of the liquid areas are death traps, particularly towards the end and at the megasphere secret (with very atmospheric Fireblue lighting). At the exit "The Chasm" gets a not-so-subtle homage even if the segment feels very different - be wary if blind running! Some inescapable pits are marked with blue lights which is nice if you understand that hint, but you may also be try to secret-hunt in these areas and simply die ... Most of the map is open from the start on, so "Designology" has a nonlinear character, albeit we have a linear sequence of YK -> RK to complete, with an optional blue key mainly providing ammo and a non-secret plasma rifle.

 

There are at least two unique design choices here: first the baron army, which gets released once you take the rocket launcher, which will teleport around the area near the start which is one of the most important hubs you'll probably have to traverse several times. You'll probably not have enough rockets to take them out in their original positions. Then the archvile overlords near the start, which seem to get released if you take the weapons. For sure an efficient run is again a nice exercise in routing. I liked some of these concepts, but didn't feel the map so much like some others, and it was a bit long.

 

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

Edited November 24, 2022 by erzboesewicht

[Pseudonaut]

Map24:
Occupying the same slot as The Chasm, this map is clearly inspired by it. The challenge mostly comes from the need for a good route, as usual with Down The Drain. Once I was ready, the demo wasn't hard to record; only three attempts were necessary, and the failed attempts both ended at the platforming for a secret megasphere which can fortunately be accessed at any time, conveniently taking you straight to a BFG and two oblivious archviles within the first minute of the run. I've had both viles die from one shot in practice, but it was a bit messier here. Not sure how I managed to get the other megasphere without tagging the secret, but it turned out to be a good thing in the end since it led me to the last monster, an imp I was pretty sure I'd already killed.

 

 

Demo:

https://www.doomworld.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=209499

[Book Lord]

Submitting my votes for December:

+++ Solar Struggle

+++ Running Late 2, Overboard, Fractured Worlds

 

I would like to play 2022ADO with the club within the year, but it's 50 maps and it looks a bit too much for a holiday month, if you are not playing Doom all the time.

 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Book Lord

[Anarkzie]

+++ Altars of Madness 

+++ Nostalgia 

+++ Solar Struggle 

Edited November 24, 2022 by Anarkzie

[FrancisT218]

Let's inject some Xmas in here!

 

+++32in24-14: How the Hamburglar Stole Christmas

+++H2H-Xmas

+++Overboard, Running Late 2, Fractured Worlds

Edited November 25, 2022 by FrancisT218
H2H...it's catching on so whatever, why not

[Garlichead]

+++Nostalgia

+++Solar Struggle

[NiGHTS108]

+++ H2H-Xmas (c’monnnnnn you know you want it)

+++ 32in24-14: How The Hamburglar Stole Christmas

+++ Overboard + Running Late 2 + Fractured Worlds

[erzboesewicht]

+++ H2H-Xmas

[pcorf]

+++ 2002 A Doom Odyssey

[Pseudonaut]

+++ H2H-Xmas

[General Roasterock]

Map 23: Valley of Mirth

 

  You know, I was fine with the map being a foot, why not have a drawing reminiscent of something someone would want to make with access to a 2D map editor, but why the fuck did it have to have stank lines?

  Valley of Mirth manages to recreate well the nature of free will that Slough of Despair provided way back when. There’s a lot of ground to cover, most of it populated with monsters way too strong to fight immediately. I don’t remember even trying to engage in a lot of the combat, I was more than fine with simply getting through all of the moving parts on the toes, watching as the myriad of lifts left me exposed to Cyber rockets. If there’s one thing I can give Down the Drain credit for, there isn’t a singular idea that I see getting reused, not one overarching mechanic that is used in perpetuity. No other map has me climbing up the foot of lifts, only to then drop back down to climb more lifts, and I doubt any of the last maps will repeat this process. For all of the batshit insane methodology, every level has an identity.

 

Map 24: Designyland 

 

  God fucking damnit.

  I was fine with Valley of Mirth being directly inspired by a Doom map because I thought it would be a one time thing. Designyland is a bloated, almost haughty version of The Chasm, from the secret weapon hidden off to the side of the map, to the ocean of blood, to the aeons of platforming ending with a death pit. It’s shameless, and not even great commentary on the mimicry of the original IWADs in the 90s, but instead just more awful tightroping in a map that was already seen as cruel and unusual, sometimes delving into straight parody with points like the superthin staircase next to the BFG. It feels like the automap is given to you as a laugh, since it’s borderline useless with noncongruent the progression is. I have no fucking idea how I would have found the exit if I hadn’t decided, for some reason, to go check out the platform I had absconded a radsuit from, leaving it empty and pointless, because that controls the lift to the final stretch of platforming. I have no idea how anyone is supposed to know this. 

  The Baron rush is comical, it’s genuinely hilarious watching them singlefile down the ledge and into the red room, and the balancing isn’t bad at all if you don’t grab the Rocket Launcher too early, like me. Watching the Revenants mob around on an eternally raising ledge in the northeast secret was humorous too, which is pretty much the highlight of combat in this map. Anything that isn’t set up like a joke is hard to swallow, and aimlessly wandering wherever they can. Arch-Viles seem to be pampered in these maps, where most of the geometry is built to allow them to use the level like a golf resort. I managed to have two of them somehow get themselves stuck in the BFG room, blocking any way I could get to the gun. It’s clearly built for that to happen, as the lift line is slightly moved away from the edge to allow enemies to not get stuck on the floor. It’s annoying, abrasive to play blind, and not a good outlook on what Doom II did for mapping.

 

Power Rankings

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. Valley of Mirth
18. Here n There, Now n Then
19. Kick the Can
20. WW1.wad
21. From: Unknown
22. Deep Tech
23. Doors of Opportunities
24. Vidhead
25. Designyland
26. I was joking about the foot thing, now it's a real map
27. Down the Drain

 

I'm hesitant since I actually play these maps, but hell

 

+++H2H-Xmas (KEEP THAT SHIT COMING)

+++Nostalgia (Perfection for a club like this)

 

Idk why the Running Late Fractured Worlds Overboard combo keeps popping up, Fractured Worlds isn't even a Megawad, and the whole thing totals to nearly 40 maps. Have fun with that overhead.

Edited November 26, 2022 by General Roasterock

[FrancisT218]

Running Late 2 has 13 levels, followed by two epilogues (which never get separate days) and two secrets - 15 playable

Overboard has two separate versions of six different levels and two epilogues - maximum 12 playable

Fractured Worlds has six levels, an epilogue, and two bonus - 8 playable

 

At maximum it's 35, and typically secrets/bonuses don't get a separate day; also the 'New Game +' of Overboard probably doesn't need a full six days, so it's right around 30.

 

Anyways I'm changing one of my votes above to H2H, I usually go for higher actual map quality...but why not, obviously it's catching on.

Edited November 25, 2022 by FrancisT218

[Book Lord]

MAP 25 – The Three Buffets

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

 

Starting with a panoramic view of gargantuan, sharp-cornered FIREBLU monoliths, The Three Buffets unfolded as a more cramped experience. Ammo was not an issue, since the supply was organised in huge piles around the corresponding weapon, i.e., the SSG and the rocket launcher in the first courtyard, and the plasma rifle in the second. These should count as the three titular buffets, but there were at least three additional piles of ammo with no weapon, and Soul Spheres everywhere. Scarcity was not an issue on this map, though a couple of vicious traps could easily put an end to an unwary attempt.

Spoiler

The Baron trapping the poor Doomguy after picking up the Berserk Pack and pressing the first progression switch, was pure evil. My maxed health allowed me to take a couple of hits while punching him to death, but pistol starters might need different routing, or rely on infighting with Imps to escape. The second trap was a damaging floor run without Radiation Suits, relying on good Soul Sphere management, and ended with a small Cacodemon invasion. The third mandatory skull switch released Revenants but was less problematic than the other two. The cage with Arch-Viles protecting the plasma gun was a joke with the sheer load of rockets around; on the other hand, the Blue Armour secret was among the most dangerous encounters, unless foreknowledge suggested the method to disarm it. I liked Benjogami’s trademark use of lifts in The Three Buffets, and it displayed nice hellish visuals that looked both classic and against the canon. Some ambushes were a bit rough and unfair without prior knowledge.

[Biodegradable]

+++ Doom 2 : In Spain Only

Edited November 25, 2022 by Biodegradable

[Book Lord]

7 hours ago, General Roasterock said:

Idk why the Running Late Fractured Worlds Overboard combo keeps popping up, Fractured Worlds isn't even a Megawad, and the whole thing totals to nearly 40 maps. Have fun with that overhead. 

 

I am voting that combo because I played almost everything in advance at the end of September, then some people changed their vote for Ad Mortem/Wormwood Trilogy. I have already written the reviews of everything, so I hope we play these one day. Running Late 2 & Overboard are must-plays.

 

Fractured Worlds is more than 3 maps long and thus is a valid choice for the DWMC. Not my cup of tea, I wasn't able to complete it on HMP, but who knows if I give it a second try.

 

I do not think Overboard should count as 6(7)+6(7) maps, the alternative game is just a harder version of the same maps. They should be discussed the same day as the normal maps, at the player's discretion. There is bonus MAP31, but it is over in 90 seconds if you survive.

 

7 hours ago, FrancisT218 said:

Anyways I'm changing one of my votes above to H2H, I usually go for higher actual map quality...but why not, obviously it's catching on.

 

The next time you will not vote for Number One Kill the Next Generation, a much more worthy proposition I have been nominating for more than 1 year, you all should remember you voted for H2H-Xmas, just because it was December.

Edited November 25, 2022 by Book Lord

[Pseudonaut]

Map25:
Here, you're given an early stash of rockets that is unlikely to ever dry up, and the only things blocking you from the switches that open the exit are a few flimsy monsters. It's practically begging to be played aggressively, considering how easy it is casually (for the most part). I may have overdone the aggression though, and wouldn't be surprised to see a much faster run without so much confused violence. I never bothered to figure out a proper way of doing the double archvile lock-in fight, since it seems to work often enough with the plasma spam shitfuck strat that I used. The baron that spawns near the berserk is a massive annoyance, as he appears right behind you and traps you. Most likely, it's safest to get the plasma gun first, but that's slow, so I just threw attempts at it and got lucky enough to slip by a few times.

 

 

Demo:

https://www.doomworld.com/applications/core/interface/file/attachment.php?id=209535

Edited November 25, 2022 by Pseudonaut

[Roofi]

Map 25 : The Three Buffets

 

Spoiler

 

"The Three Buffets" was a very unusual map to me, on a lot of aspects.

 

First of all, about the difficulty , Map 25 is schockingly easy , especially after some tough challenges like map 17 or map 23. I don't count map 31 because it's a secret level. If you don't take into account of the blue armor's trap, most of the combats turned out to be standard and above all uncomplicated. The toughest monsters you'll meet are a group of arch-viles stuck behind a cage and which you can effortlessy cheese with the TONS of unguarded rocket boxes.

 

About the ammo, what the fuck? I finished the level with my pockets full ! I'm rich ! More seriously, it seems nothing, but the placements of items is the biggest reason I loved this map. Watching all those finely gathered rocket boxes and other ammo as well make me drool. It exactly feels like a buffet, it's free, abundant and above all... delicious. 

 

The level takes place in a classic hell canyon with a lot of lifts triggered with WR linedefs. I've nothing special to say about this. However, I want to give a bonus point for the strange megastructure you can see at the very beginning of the map

 

As map 23, the music brings a specific atmosphere which totally fits with the shovelware design. The hypnotic music with the banjo sounds like a tune from a desert-themed level of a Mario game, but I'm 95% sure it comes from the Secret of Evermore. I'm certain I already listened it somewhere.

 

Honestly, some may not see anything special in this level, but I can say with confidence that "The Three Buffets", along with map 26, was one of most exciting experiences I had ever had in Down the Drain. I think many levels should have been more like this map, instead of constantly relying on the lack of resources.

 

Grade : A

 

 

 

Edited November 25, 2022 by Roofi

[LadyMistDragon]

+++Solar Struggle

+++Doom 2 in Spain Only

+++Christmas Cheer from the Chill Zone/32in24-14

Edited November 25, 2022 by LadyMistDragon

[NiGHTS108]

8 hours ago, Book Lord said:

you all should remember you voted for H2H-Xmas, just because it was December.

I‘d like to say I have genuinely NO IDEA how H2H caught on, I basically just voted it for the memes but here we are I guess

[RHhe82]

MAP24: Designyland. Played on DSDA v0.24, UV, PS. 179/179 K, 9/9 S, 83/83 I. Completion time 33:08.

 

The Chasm isn't my favourite level. The influences would have been clear even without reading them from others in this club. But while some of the catwalks are thin, I found most of the level okay. Granted, I'm using saves, so little missteps don't matter that much, and admittedly I used IDCLIP to quickly bypass one of the wiggly catwalks the second time, when I was looking for the way to go after getting all the RSK and all the kills and secrets.

 

I was on the verge of calling it quits (for tonight) at one point, near the start where ammo starvation was more of an issue. I sometimes find it distressing, when I think about the mapper and whether or not they would design the level in such a manner that only very informed use of resources will save the day. As Designyland progresses, resource issues diminish, thankfully.

[RHhe82]

Voting for these, so I can concentrate on WADs already covered by the club in December :P

 

 

+++Solar Struggle

+++Doom 2 in Spain Only

 

(Updated votes in a later post on 29th)

Edited November 29, 2022 by RHhe82
Update on votes

[baja blast rd.]

+++Solar Struggle

+++Doom 2 in Spain Only

+++(Overboard + Running Late 2 + Fractured Worlds + Capybara + Arceon + Frog + Toad + Frog and Toad / (b² - 4ac))² / 0

[tonytheparrot]

After a few months of absence, I think I will be back for next month if the voted wad is not too long: 

+++H2H-Xmas

+++ How The Hamburglar Stole Christmas

+++Nostalgia

(I may update the post later if I change my mind about my votes)

[PeceMan]

Level 24, "Designyland"

 

Spoiler

Once again, a strange level.

 

At least the pits seem to be escapable.

 

The mapper really likes to use very tall steps, that feel like the should not be climbable, but which can be climbed. Is that a problem? Probably not.

 

There's quite a bit of platforming in this level, but none of it is too hard.

 

The bfg is not protected by an army, and there are only two archviles at a time?
Who is this person, and what did they do to the original mapper of the wad?

 

Now to be fair, despite not having too many archviles, the level does have too many barons.

 

I am of the opinion that you should almost always use Knights instead of Barons. They deal the same amount of damage and have the same hitbox and AI, but they don't take forever to kill.

 

And if you want to use barons, you could sprinke some of them among the knights. If you just spam barons, they feel like grunts with too much HP. But if you throw them in among weaker enemies, they feel like the commanders of the army, and are therefore much
more fun to fight.

 

 

 

Okay. I have all the keys. What do I do now?

 

Come one man, I've been here for 30 min, and I'd like to know what to do.

 

40 min. I found all the secrets. I finally found the exit. And it turns out that this pit, right at the end of the level, is the only inescapable pit in the level.

 

Of course, I've been nocliping for a while, trying to find where to go, so it didn't affect me that much. It still however drops this level at least one category, for me.

 

I found the level ok (fun at the start but progression is impossible), but I'll give it a "I didn't like it", just because of the final pit.

 

Level 25, "The Three Buffets"

 

Spoiler

Some of the wad's levels are better, some are worse. But none of them have nothing going for them. They all have something interesting about them, even if its just a small thing.

 

The mapper seems to have reconsidered their approach to Archvile placement in the later levels. This is greatly appreciated.

 

Compared to the previous levels, this one was short and simple, which is also greatly appreciated.

 

I liked it.

 

 

 

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", Level 25, "The Three Buffets"

 

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", Level 24, "Designyland"

 

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

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

 

[PeceMan]

My votes go to:

 

+++Solar Struggle

+++H2H-Xmas

[Book Lord]

MAP 26 – Everyone Loves the Beach

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

 

Yeah, sure. I think it depends on the natural beauty of the beach, the crowd of bathers, and the featured services. Nobody should expect dream vacations and relaxing sandy shores from Down the Drain, so you get your standard ashen stretch in front of a sea of lava, surrounded by ROCKRED1 cliffs. The beach happened to be teeming with hellspawn of the worst varieties and trying to pick up weapons or the BSK invariably alerted some of them, especially Pain Elementals and Arachnotrons. Total chaos ensued immediately, and my first blind attempt ended fighting desperately with rockets on the overcrowded charcoal beach.

Spoiler

Certain beaches are better enjoyed off the coast, especially this one since the items required to beat the angry demon horde were stashed on three islets close to the shore. A BFG, a cell stockpile, and a generous array of Megaspheres allowed me to counter the advancing Barons, Revenants and Pain Elementals. Before I defeated them, they were reinforced by a robust injection of Arch-Viles that prolonged the duration of the fight. The exit lay beyond a triple key barrier and picking up the BSK opened two additional closets with more Arch-Vile spam, a solution that I found a bit stale at that point. Everyone Loves the Beach was even shorter than MAP18 but required more attempts to devise a survival strategy. It was a good compact slaughter map, leaning a bit too much towards Arch-Viles as usual.

[brick]

MAP24 - “Designyland”
For your sake I hope you consider The Chasm to be the best Doom map ever, because this is everything that everyone hates about that map cranked to the max. The walkways are thin, the blood is very damaging, and there are tons of lost souls and cacos and revenants doing their best to knock you off the ledge. There are some raduits, and most of the time there's a teleporter to get you out, but there were some annoyingly inescapable (inescapably annoying?) pits here and there. The progression is also much more confusing than the original, and I was scratching my head a few times. I disliked the big noble ambush, there are a good 30 of them on a narrow ledge but it's more tedious than challenging, it took forever to kill them and then I realized this entire section is completely optional. Lots of secrets, and most of them are clever and quite fun (some tricky platforming notwithstanding). I don't dislike The Chasm, certainly not as much as many do, so I could still mostly enjoy this map, but I think it overdoes it a bit. Scaling back on the walkways or the backtracking or the platforming, I would've rated it higher.

 

MAP25 - “The Three Buffets”
That fireblu monument jutting out of the lava with almost non-Euclidean angles is a magnificently hideous eyesore. There are a few other uses of the patch throughout the wad but none match this opening. The two main areas of the level are similar, in that they have walkways that break up the lower level into distinct almost-rooms, and many of the walkways are lifts triggered by specific linedefs (usually quite obvious with either decorations or pickups). There are a lot of soulspheres and plenty of ammo, but some of the obvious nice pickups are also traps. The tiered blood pool with the 4 soulspheres is a waste of time, since you'll lose most of your health trying to get back up, unless you time it to pick up a couple of them on the way back up. The blue armor is a big trap that unleashes so much damage most of it will get consumed in the ensuing fight. These traps, just like the progression switches, also teleport in a bunch of nobles, cacos and revenants. The items tucked away in secrets are very nice though and are safe to pick up. I really liked this one.

[Roofi]

Map 26 : Everyone Loves the Beach

 

Spoiler

 

As map 25, map 26 is an another success story in Down the Drain. This scalding beach had been transformed into an intense, compact and thrilling battlezone where you have almost no choice other than bathing in the burning sea. Fortunately, you have several islands at your disposal which contains everything you need : tons of cell packs, megaspheres and of course the BFG. You have to go back to the land for the rockets boxes, but you still can grab a lot of them during the descent though.

 

"Everyone Loves the Beach" reminds me of some ToD's slaughtermaps such as his 64lemons wad. Despite the fairly high number of arch-viles per square meter, this level felt a lot more reasnoable in terms of difficulty compared to a lot of maps I played until now in DtD.

 

Map 26 also has one of my favourite soundtrack in the wad.  It's light-hearted but it also sounds like as if  you're at the end of a long and strewn with pitfalls epopee. It combines perfectly the relaxation and adrenaline.

 

And I agree with you Benjogami, Everyone loves the beach.

 

Grade : A

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2022 by Roofi

[RHhe82]

MAP25: The Three Buffets. Played on DSDA v0.24, UV, PS. 127/127 K, 3/3 S, 13/17 I. Completion time 16:53.

 

It is a bit awkward to notice that I tend to like levels that are easier than the ones preceding it. It could be that they feel easier because I enjoy them, but I doubt it. Anyway, I liked The Three Buffets, it's mostly fun little hell map with absolute zero concern for ammo starvation. The only hard part was the dickish trap at the beginning, at the berserk pack, where lowering the pillar instantly teleports a baron behind you. I managed to cheese this, run away, blocking the teleport for the baron and then clear the area.

 

There are mandatory "enjoy the hurt floor" sections, but Benjogami is very, very generous with soulspheres (less so with armor bonuses, but the blue armor was still well received).

 

There are weird fireblu angles to be sure, but even texturing-wise I enjoyed my stay at the buffet.