The DWmegawad Club plays: Fragport

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 08: Barren Shores

Kills and secrets: 100%

Time: 8:34

 

We really can't pilot a boat, can we? We wreck this one on the edge of a great cliff, and we must storm the shore to climb it. Thankfully, the opposition is only imps and pinkies, so this is very easy. Once we climb the cliff, we're subjected to more of Fragport's trademark brown. The goal in this map is to find all 3 keys to open the exit. The map is non-linear in that way, which is nice. The cliff passage is pretty narrow again. This WAD's fondness for narrow passages is not something I've ever really noticed in the close to 20 years that I've been playing this. Thankfully, again, it's not too bad as Stephen doesn't really throw any tough encounters into these areas. The toughest would be the green key, as it sics 2 barons on you into them at a cross-section of passageways. The other 2 key fights are more open. The biggest annoyance is the pop up ambushes whenever you get a medium size landing spot. Usually it's just 1 monster, but the clearing toward the exit has 4 hell knights in it. Normally, pop up monsters don't bother me, but these trigger pretty much when you're right on top of them, making them incredibly dangerous. This could be especially annoying if you have the rocket launcher equipped and you just instinctually fire when they suddenly appear. I like how we have another pressure plate secret here, in addition to 2 more traditional ones. The archies at the end are becoming predictable, but these 3 are easy to bully. You can just trap them in the closets by hugging them with the plasma or berserk. Overall, this was never one of my favs in this set, but I do like the theme. Honestly, the brown rock texturing works for this cliffside siege, and exploring can be kind of fun. The fights just don't have any teeth to them really, and some are just unfair jumpscares.

 

The next map is one of my favs, mainly since it's one giant reference. Let's see who can figure it out before I make my post tomorrow!

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 08: Barren Shores

 

I was thinking this was ZZTop for around 2 seconds before realizing that was all wrong. Maybe the RHCP song here isn't half-bad, but they're one of those groups, that um, is a little dull-headed in their songwriting approach to say the least, and while that works sometimes....but no matter. You want me to say a few words on the map.

 

Well, in truth, there's not really tons to tell. Although the usage of vanilla sandstone and tan is actually quite representative of a rocky coastline, would one really say the same about the lack of grassland? Eh, I suppose, but mostly, this just confirms my own innate suspicion that absolutely not a single person should be fucking around with the beach and indeed, will probably be murdered quite horribly by some random wandering animal that sees tall sorts pale being nearby and think "fresh meat," because what indeed is an animal but some most disgusting and repulsive synthsization of base instincts??! I'm kidding of course, but seeing someone's dog just run when it's like that's not even technically allowed for some good reasons whilst trying to get one self through sand is a bit discomfiting.

 

Of course, walking in between the cliffs above is probably a little disheartening, not to mention quite monotonous. While going to the left upon ascending seems to have been the correct decision since the exit is the other way, it also means we miss a rocket launcher initially but being that the two Barons near the green key we sort of wish we had it for are probably better taken out with an SS, that's likely a blessing in disguise!

 

But seriously, combat overall is just like, climb over some rocks, see Imp, then kill them. There are some better bits like clasutrophobic combat with mid-tiers at certain points and another cool infight parade near the red key, not to mention the piecemeal Arch-vile attack near what proves to be an unmarked exit, but this latter can be trivalized quite easily if the secret berserk pack is found. Although we sort of didn't think the Arch-viles could be held back with a souped-up punch so we pumped our remaning rockets and plasma at two of them and lost quite a bit of health. 

 

Overall, this can be thought of as just another transitional map. It's still better than Mining Camp at least because that map's combat basically went from tense to dull in no time flat and here, the issue is just the in-between Imps suspiciously like the last map! I do find the color scheme to be entirely excusable here but that might be the somewhat uninspired setting choice influencing that thought.

lmd_fragport08.zip

[Book Lord]

MAP 09 – Volcano Valley

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

 

The puzzle side of Fragport showed itself clearly in Volcano Valley, a level presenting a restrained monster quota of 78 on UV but requiring the player to interact with the environment and check for progression switches in order to proceed. The landscape alternated brown stone with red lava, in the form of harmful floor, animated falls, and crimson masses that must have cooled down somehow, since they were not scorching anymore. Realism must take the back seat for some time and allow Jody Russell to hop through this volcanic amusement park, enjoying the ride without suffering from disbelief.

Spoiler

The first area contained the basic weapons, two progression switches, and a Radiation Suit, but it was only in the second lava basin that things became clear. The place should be explored in its entirety, collecting the scattered health bonuses and carefully pressing buttons, which eventually granted me the RK and a ticket to the next segment. The SSG and the rocket launcher could be obtained by messing about with interactive square elements; as a side note, I got soft locked when collecting the rocket launcher, because the most obvious way to reach it was not the one intended by the author.

Spoiler

The second stretch to the GK demanded a bit more swiftness, beginning with a close quarters Pain Elemental that must be hugged to prevent spawning. I hopped quickly between the pillars, rocketing Mancubi and Hell Nobles in the process, and acquiring the plasma rifle just as the previous weapons. Combat was a formality, considering there were no hitscanners and only projectiles to dodge in the areas. The final BK arena with the static Cyberdemon was nothing to write home about: only splash damage could hit me, but the plethora of power-ups offered more than full restoration. The last Arch-Vile was predictable, and maybe the harshest attack I experienced were the two Revenants in the Combat Armour secret. Volcano Valley was a rather easy map with light puzzle elements, that I found enjoyable. I am wary of The Ultimate Doomer though: this was only MAP09, and I am afraid that he will gradually become more ambitious, giving me more puzzles and long-winded concepts than I can chew.

[Ralgor]

I finally got around to playing MAP10, and I didn't have any problems with DSDA-Doom v0.25.6 on cl2. The blue key lowered fine?

 

I AM using the 2011 updated version. Is that what everyone else is using?

[LadyMistDragon]

1 minute ago, Ralgor said:

I finally got around to playing MAP10, and I didn't have any problems with DSDA-Doom v0.25.6 on cl2. The blue key lowered fine?

 

I AM using the 2011 updated version. Is that what everyone else is using?

I checked and yes, that's what it seems to be.

[Ralgor]

MAP09 - “Volcano Valley”
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl2, UV, Pistol start, blind run, single segment
100% kills and secrets

Somehow we've went from a cliff to a volcano. Unlike every other previous map, this one doesn't really look much like what the name describes. There's plenty of damaging floor in the form of lava, but rarely is that a serious issue you'll have to deal with. Still, I don't require maps to look like real places, so this map's overall design is fine with me. At least the lava means it's a bit more colorful than the last map.

One of the things that this level does is it has a bunch of these little blocks that can be lowered to get various goodies, and usually to reveal a teleporter. There's one spot where this can get you soft-locked, since you can get to the "destination" teleporter where the rocket launcher is before you reveal the teleporter meant to reach it. It seems that Book Lord did the same thing I did: took the little lift and jumped onto the side. This was my first soft-lock on this level.

It also has these strange lifts that are awkward to use. They can sometimes do surprising things, leaving you burning up in the lava. When you walk on them they immediately slowly rise, and then they will reset when you approach them again. They don't move very fast, so they get annoying pretty quickly. In one case I needed to go up on one to backtrack (I missed something to let me progress). By the time I got the lift to behave, I had lost so much health I ended up dying soon after. Plus it's hard to even see them, since they blend in with the other brown textures.

At the end of the map, you have to kill a cyberdemon in an open area. This fight isn't particularly noteworthy, although if you get cold feet when exiting like I did the first time, and retreat back into the corridor, you'll get soft-locked. In my case this was the second time I was soft-locked.

The map uses a progression scheme where you have to flip a number of switches to grab a key for a door... that's right there. I assume the reason there's a key is just to communicate to the player how to progress. I think it works.

Overall, the combat was passable, but the weird lifts and soft-locks kind of soured my opinion of this map. I didn't mind the "puzzle" elements either.

Grade: C

MAP09 - 13:45.51 (13:45)  K: 78/78  I: 227/229  S: 6/6

ralgor_fragport09.zip

[Ralgor]

33 minutes ago, LadyMistDragon said:

I checked and yes, that's what it seems to be.

 

So this got me to checking my assumption about what version I was playing.

 

And of course it turns out I'm using the old version.

 

I can only assume I had downloaded it a while back, but ended up with the old version. I just assumed it was the updated version because it wasn't THAT long ago. Woops.

 

You know what they say about assuming...

 

I'm going to take a look at the new vs old map and see what changed here specifically.

 

Edit: There used to be a thin sector around the central pillar. Those were merged. This means both sides of some of the linedefs of the sector point to the same sector... so the sector doesn't move. Woops. It does seem to be fixed using cl9 though.

 

Interestingly, the updated version doesn't actually have the enhanced versions of map07 and map15. At least with map07, it makes the level look quite a bit better.

Edited March 9, 2023 by Ralgor
More words.

[DFF]

Map07: Remote Island - UV, FDWL, Continuous

K: 99 | I: 71 | S: 33
Already starting to slide behind, got some catching up to do.

Remote island's intro was another very memorable setpiece from the wad. The lush green hills actually are rather striking compared to the past arid maps. The sinking boat and te trail signs are both memorable and good storybuilding. Unfortunately the map past the red key is rather unremarkable. The little port town is quaint and the combat here isn't terrible (aside from some really dumbly placed pain elementals in the hotel, basically serving as ammo sponges rather than threats). The larger chunk of the map lies underneath the island in an ancient tunnel network. On paper this all sound very cool and well but the tunnels are a mix between basic vine halls where its very hard to see anything (while also being very much more of the same) and some thin 64 wide tunnels going to the blue key. I can excuse some 64 wide long stretches of tunnel but so far these early maps love to incorporate them and it makes combat way too limited for my tastes.

At least the caco cloud awaiting Jody once leaving the labyrinth is entertaining. I feel this map isn't too horrible, but much like map04 suffers from the idea coming before the gameplay. A cool idea but not implemented interestingly enough for me to want to play through it. Also props for not being a dead simple map.
 

Map08: Barren Shores - UV, FDWL, Continuous

K: 103 | I: 66 | S: 66

 

We've finally reached our next major land mass, and are tasked to ascend the rocky cliff-face. I can see where many were possibly hoping for some tough opposition heading into the rocks and that was a bit of a letdown. Most seem to not be terribly favorable on this map, but i think i'll give it a little bit of love. Its not great but I found it to be a fun and short assault once on top of the cliffs. The non-linear structure is nice and facilitates exploration. The fights are not really difficult but considering there was pop-up traps and baddies around every corner, with several different paths, i at least felt pressured to stand my ground and fight lest not get cornered awakening too many demons. The thin cliff passages seem goofy by todays standards, but I can feel a bit of Chasm vibes being channeled here and thats commendable. Its not an impressive map, but its aa bit snappy and at least its short. The finale was a bit lame but not atrocious. more enjoyable than a few of the earlier maps.

 

Map09: Volcano Valley - UV, FDWL, Continuous

K: 100 | I: 96 | S: 100

 

I have no recollections of this map, however my younger self must have thought the concept cool since i do remember making 1 or 2 different lava themed bases or maps that seem somewhat reminiscent of the stylings of this map.

I have very complicated feelings on this map. For the good: the puzzle map design was somewhat refreshing, requiring a switch hunt around several map sections encouraging a non-linear approach. The lift system employed in this map is unorthodox but mostly novel, the combat was generally engaging with both horizontal and vertical difference. This map also features the first cyberdemon of the set and in a not too shabby looking arena. Finally the detailing felt on point for this mapset, with the red lava crust being an interesting accent to the map.

With that being said, the cons in this map are really bad in my opinion, with some design decisions being almost bafflingly terrible. Two that go hand in hand is the presence of death pits, and multiple impassable lines.  This makes one section feel super cheap since you should eb able to walk off the lava edges, and half of the map is inexplicably blocked off with an invisible line. Then there are the secrets, which are rather esoterically designed. They aren't that secret, and many can be accessed in a way that softlocks the player. Finally the lift, while interesting, are slow, unintuitive, and often lift the player right into a mancubus. This combined with some not so great mapflow design makes backtracking for ammo or a missed switch tedious and frusturating. This map feels like it went the other way on form vs function. The map is designed to be so heavily gameplay oriented, that the map becomes too nonsensical or unnatural. Its understandable that the thought process is "i don't want the player shortcutting the map so i'll place impassable lines here", which to some could break the immersion or just feel cheap.

Its a strange map with many questionable design choices. I think despite all that i still was satisfied by the end, but there was also frustration and maybe some impatient noclipping applied. Better to be uniquely awful though than boring.

Rankings:

Spoiler

Map01

Map06
Map05

Map03

Map08

Map09
Map02

Map07

Map04

 

[Helm]

Map09 - Volcano Valley

What's going on with this map? The focus shifts from adventure game seaside resort to what I can best describe as a lava rock fortress hellish obstacle course. The mapper establishes some mapping tropes that they service through this map however the technical implementation of the layout and doom contraptions leaves a lot to be desired. It in fact betrays a belief that the player is inclined to find the only one movement solution for every 'segment' of this obstacle course, and many places where you would be able to sr40 and circumvent the layout are blocked off with impassable lines. This is a bad thing in design, as little as I can call bad in something so subjective as making a virtual 3d space for an ancient game. If you have movement based mechanics in your doom maps as this one certainly does, it's all about a flow after all, then the player uses their flow to circumvent your layout it's ok to not want that for your map. If you want a constrictive map, make one. Plug the layout holes gracefully, make the distances between your necessary movement actions airtight and then you can insist on your one true mapper route. But to block off visually and doom-instinctually obvious moves with invisible walls shows a mapping desperation that downgrades the experience. 

If you do play along with what the mapper has loosely intended the map does flow and it is a good experience because the combat scenarios are appropriate to their obstacle course layout, the ammo balance is good, the series of obvious secrets for SSG, RL and PG all serve their sequential purpose to get you in the flow of this and not overthink why the design is so constrained. Dropping panels/floors by Use key not by stepping on them is reinforced a lot here, let's see if it continues. 

For me this is some of the most satisfying combat in this thing so far not necessarily because it's standing out with new concepts but because the layout and the encounters and tied together with enough thought to allow for a degree of unintentional flow: I *played* this map more than I observed it or kept brain notes about it even which for what it is is probably to its merit. I do not think a map like this warrants 6 secrets, much less a free invuln but at least 3 of them are on the obvious main path. Zero secrets for something like this would promote 100% run and gun and I think the mapper is not ready to take us there yet. 

But I write on and on about this map without discussing the room-to-room because it's quite different to everything else so far, it promotes a different style of play and I am wondering if TUD is also changing how he was playing doom as he goes and it's informing his mapping. That's the kind of thing that I find exciting about charting this progress in old sets, to get in the mind of the author a bit at least.

This map's additional challenge comes from the fact that the thrice partitioned 'play spaces' that make up the three different key arenas are filled with movement challenges  and fights, but often share open air between them, so as you have to push through the combat in front of you you have to keep a peripheral for the other parts of the playset that are already firing at you although you haven't made it to their lego block yet. That pretty much captures why this is successful, when it is, as well. Slowly you pacify the quadrant, get  all the switches across the ninja warrior segment and go get the key and move on to the next quadrant, though there is a degree of interconnectivity, it's a linear experience. 

A modern mapper would make certain probably that all these quadrants and their interdependencies actually are coherent and the player can reverse course on some of this, further they would consider to be gracious to the player and allow them to actually sr40 to what is visually available to them and then they'd have to spend a lot more time finetuning their encounters for a degree of player hackery. These beautiful things reach a certain polished result, but the lack of them leads to a valuable if raw attempt at concepts that are ultimately still inspirational to mappers.

One of my favorites in the set because I happened to get it without dying once but not a 100% recommendation because this map is restrictive and busted in key ways. Probably one of my favs because autechre was on as well tbh. footage

[Veeda Vidlak]

Map09 “Volcano Valley” 

 

I softlocked myself four times playing this map blind. Look for secrets or sequence break at your own risk. 

 

Upon dropping down from the start, we find ourselves in a square shaped arena enclosing a lake of lava. The initial enemies are tricky to deal with but if you find an invulnerability secret off to the side it’ll take care of the encounter. The switches initially didn’t seem to do anything but I think they’re needed to grab the red key later. Use the radsuit here to move into the level proper, which is inundated in 20% lava. 

 

This is where the level… goes off the rails. Progression involves walking up weird lifts, which just pop you up out of the lava. Navigation is all kinds of wack, Jody needing to contend with invisible walls, blocks that randomly lower, and switch hunting to access keys required to continue. The enemies are splayed around haphazardly, serving as secondary antagonists to the map’s physiology. It’s a callback to the galaxy brain levels from last month, which would softlock you for looking at them funny. 

 

At its core, this level is divided into three sections… red key, green key, and boss arena. The two key areas have the same theme, switches must be found around a janky obstacle course to lower bars blocking the key to the next part. The damaging floor isn’t really in play, but you can take random hits from the lowering blocks, which inexplicably have lava on them (and hide teleporters to secrets). The second section adds death pits, which don’t look like they would be but fall in and you’ll discover you’re trapped by more invisible walls. At least the enemies aren’t much of a problem, though the start of the green key section is uncomfortable. 
 

The green key takes you to a small arena with a cyberdemon boss fight, and please resist the instinct to back up into the tunnel in case he fired at you… that will get you softlocked (the tunnel seals off). Now we just… hold on a second. I swear this place looks familiar. 
 

Holy shit. This is a sonic stage… from 3D blast. The whole level is a sonic homage. The two key sections are meant to be the first two acts, the weird lowering blocks with items on them are the monitors with powerups you jump on, health vials are rings, the wonky lifts are springs. The cyberdemon here is Robotnik, he’s fought in this exact room. TJG1289 did say the map was a reference but it wasn’t until now that I had any idea what that meant. Now all this bizarreness makes sense. 
 

This isn’t my favorite map but the revelation of its nature drastically improves my opinion of it. Reference maps tend to be clever, we had Death Mountain from CC2 back in January which I really enjoyed, and Volcano Valley definitely fits the bill. This one isn’t as strong in my eyes, but I do think it succeeds in what it tries to do… just with some gameplay quirks that probably come with the territory. The black sheep of the wad so far and a level I’m satisfied with even without the sonic allusion.

 

Fast Monsters: I was uneasy going into this one. For the most part it’s not THAT bad (the invul handles the otherwise brutal start) but the start of the green key section… wow. Dropping into the tunnel has that pain elemental in your face and mancubus fireballs on their way right behind him. Then you have to clear out a mancubus, some pinkies, barons, and imps, all while strafing across death pits and dodging lightning fast projectiles. Good luck.

Edited March 9, 2023 by Veeda Vidlak

[Book Lord]

3 hours ago, Veeda Vidlak said:

This is a sonic stage… from 3D blast. The whole level is a sonic homage. The two key sections are meant to be the first two acts, the weird lowering blocks with items on them are the monitors with powerups you jump on, health vials are rings, the wonky lifts are springs. The cyberdemon here is Robotnik, he’s fought in this exact room. TJG1289 did say the map was a reference but it wasn’t until now that I had any idea what that meant. Now all this bizarreness makes sense.

 

Good catch. I do not know the Sonic videogames and would never have got the reference.

The visual pattern and the layout match the 2nd act almost perfectly:

https://www.soniccenter.org/maps/s3dz52.png

Edited March 9, 2023 by Book Lord

[Celestin]

MAP09: Volcano Valley

 

A map drowning in 20% lava and with only one non-secret radsuit sound like a recipe for disaster, but I ended up actually liking this one. Volcano Valley consists mainly of two sections, where the player needs to press a series of switches to progress further. The hurtfloors funnel the player into narrow walkway, where they have to dodge projectile firing from all directions. Combat-wise, this is the best section of the wad so far. I'd say the secrets are almost mandatory, hiding weapons stronger than the chaingun. Without them, good luck. Look for cracked walls and teleporters. You want to be armed to the teeth before fighting the map's final boss: a cyberdemon standing on what I think is some sort of geothermal installation. 

 

MAP09 looks fine, combining Fragport's signature brown with red lava and blue accents like elevators or health bonuses (which for some reason are everywhere). I know it might not sound like much, but for a wad with such boring colour pallete, that's a lot.  

[Roofi]

Map 09 "Volcano Valley"

 

 

Another banger in this megawad for my part. After a boring maze, The Ultimate Doomer sends you among cliff and craters and the DCG Retrowave's remix of "Into Sandy's City' matches perfectly with the perilous journey (The stock midi works as well).

 

The floors which raises from the ground are rather obscure to understand at first but at the end I think they really contribute to make the adventure more heroic because instead of taking regular lifts or stairs, I felt like slowly climbing tall rock walls. The mapper also forces you to cross deadly little ravines. In order to create such extensive areas under the vanilla's limits, The Ultimate Doomer saved precious linedefs by building a squarish layou, but honestly it didn't bother me since the main interest resides in the strong height variations. Actually, the layout reminds a bit of a Sunder map but in an extremly purified version.

 

The final boss of this map was ridiculously easy but the staggering of this map made me feel like I had accomplished something. The only reproach I could do about this map is maybe the stupid softlock in case you step on but the latter are avoided by lowering the rocks holding the ammunition.

 

So, along with map 06, "Volcano Valley' ranks among my favourite maps from Fragport

 

Grade : A

 

 

 

 

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 09: Volcano Valley

Kills and secrets: 100%

Time: 12:18

 

6 hours ago, Veeda Vidlak said:

Holy shit. This is a sonic stage… from 3D blast. The whole level is a sonic homage. The two key sections are meant to be the first two acts, the weird lowering blocks with items on them are the monitors with powerups you jump on, health vials are rings, the wonky lifts are springs. The cyberdemon here is Robotnik, he’s fought in this exact room. TJG1289 did say the map was a reference but it wasn’t until now that I had any idea what that meant. Now all this bizarreness makes sense. 

Ding, Ding, Ding! 

 

 

Since I played Super Sonic Doom before Fragport means it didn't surprise me when a straight-up Sonic level materialized here. In fact, it made me extremely happy! We're plopped right into Volcano Valley Zone Act 2 from Sonic 3D Blast! And with that, we have the quirks of this particular game with it. In 3D Blast, each act is split up into 2-3 areas. In each area, you need to find and defeat all 5 badniks and collect the Flicky birds that are enslaved inside. Once you have all 5 Flickies, you can jump through the giant ring that's blocking off either the next part of the level or the end and continue. In the case of a Doom level, having a map with only 10-15 monsters in it sounds boring, so the Flickies here are the 5 switches in each area. I believe they're located in the spots the badniks normally are. The Robotnik boss is technically Act 3, but it's nice to have it here. There's a few level specific things here. Veeda got most of the things correct, but there's a couple of differences. The blocks you hit "use" on to lower are blocks that Sonic can jump on and destroy, but they're not monitors. Several of the in the Zone have secret tunnels under them, leading to the secret areas. In 3D Blast, you can't usually those small, sanctioned off areas, so you wouldn't know to be looking out for an entrance to them. In the Doom version, you can see them, and you can try to get to them in unintended ways, hence the invisible walls. The monitors are the long metal poles with health bonuses on them. And those slow blue lifts aren't springs, but slow blue lifts you spindash to use. But yeah, the health potions are rings. In fact, you don't see any medikits or stimpaks in this map until you cross over from Act 2 to the Act 3 boss. Rings are your only source of health, but thankfully there's a lot here. It's a Sonic game after all, and you need to collect rings for special stages and extra lives. The only thing missing is the Act 2 music, that I just found a 30 minute loop on YouTube to listen to while playing the map and typing this up.

 

Now, how does this translate into an actual Doom map? Very well, I would say. I never thought the progression was confusing, or puzzlelike until reading some of the posts here, but considering I've been playing 3D Blast since it came out, it just came natural to me. I've always liked maps that are more open and have monsters able to attack you, so the opening shot to both the level and the second half are super fun. The only annoyance to me in this map is using a slow blue lift and getting manc'd immediately upon reaching the top. Thankfully, I was able to rocket the mancs from the lower area before using the lifts each time, but I know they got the best of me before. I think the level's general layout works very well as a Doom map, and gives this WAD a nice change of pace. Yes, it's brown, but this rock texture works very well with the orange lava, making this one of the more striking-looking levels so far. Having Robotnik be the WAD's first cyb is a nice touch, but honestly, this fight is easier here than it is in 3D Blast. Mainly since you don't have to worry about random flames shooting out from the pipes, and the main homing fireburst attack Robotnik uses. The archie after this, in the only part of the map not taken from Sonic, is more dangerous since you're - once again - in an area with no cover. Spray and pray with the plasma. 

 

Overall, I LOVE this map. But then again, of course I do. It's a Sonic level. And the main reason I played this WAD in the first place is because the WAD author made a full-fledged Sonic-inspired Doom WAD after that I happened to play first. Though the level design happens to make a very solid Doom map! Funnily enough, Super Sonic Doom has no actual Sonic levels in it (other than some Special and Bonus Stages from the games). It's all normal Doom levels with rings, springs, and monitors. 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 09: Volcano Valley

 

Will this mediocrity ever end???

 

No, but if hostility toward pistol starters wasn't obvious by now....it's quite clear when you turn the corner and gaze upon the first of several open areas. Imps lob fireballs from the corners which consist of what I can only assume is dried lava. Pinkies are grouped in one corner because Steve-O got lazy, whereas there are also Hell Knights and Cacos that menace us with their terrifying presence. Terrifying enough, we don't see the obvious secret passage leading to an Invulnerbility and Berserk Pack.

 

From here, avoiding two Arachnotrons and more idiot Imps, our task becomes figuring out the unconventional lift textures for purposes of climbing further up the mountain and collecting the treasures. Be forewarned not to leap toward anything tempting like the rocket launcher until the walls around each item have been pressed. This was something we failed to realize until probably the end of our first run that it was like another game (Zelda?) where a similar mechanic exists. Before climbing the mountain further, we take a walk around and find a hidden collection of rad suits that are probably a little useless if we know how to navigate around. Although we should really jump down if we want to kill the Arachnotrons, though they're really just a diversion at this point, pushing all the switches that we've found becomes entirely necessary. It will lower blocks which will impede the path to the red key.

 

From here, we go into an area that is probably more technically impressive with the impressive draw distances and sharper use of verticality but manages to feel even more rote as we do the exact same thing we did to reveal the red key! And since we found almost all the secrets, we easily had enough ammo to do what we had to.

 

The cyberdemon fight on top a silver pillar (alien ship wreck?) proves anticlimactic, but don't miss the obvious blue door because it's sitting to the side - otherwise, finishing the map will become impossible. This map had some good ideas, but it's clear they were ill-suited to a map of its length and will prove annoying to the pistol starter that has poor secret-hunting skills. Maybe this is better than "Mining Camp" but that might be at least part because "Running with the Devil" actually sort of goes with the action's pacing. Too bad this is hardly better than "Remote Island"

 

PS: A Sonic homage? No wonder when they are two different types of games.

lmd_fragport09.zip

Edited March 9, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[brick]

GZDoom, Doom compat, hardware, HNTR, blind, continuous with saves.

 

MAP09 - “Volcano Valley”
A pretty cool concept going around the lava felt like playing an old console action/adventure more than Doom, but the idea is marred by a few annoyances in execution. The map is strictly linear despite the appearance of openness. Sure, you could technically press the switches that grant access to the red and green keys out of order, but there's no reason to not press each one as you get to it, at which point the corresponding key will also be ready for you when you reach it. The real problem is that sometimes passages should allow you to skip parts of the progression, so instead you hit an invisible wall when it looks like there's just open space in front of you. I found combat to be a bit boring, on HNTR it's just sniping a lot of imps from across large distances; if there are heavies on UV I'd probably have found it just frustrating. If you're pistol-starting I think the only RL is in a secret, and you'd better grab it. Later there's a cyberdemon in a small arena that frankly doesn't look like it's much fun to deal with, though HNTR thankfully just gave me an invulnerability. The archvile at the finale is completely neutered because of the long narrow corridor. The volcano idea is nice, but while I didn't dislike the gameplay I also didn't find it very engaging.

I wrote all of this without having any idea the map was so heavily inspired by a Sonic level, some of the oddities make sense now, and I probably would've enjoyed the map more had I known while playing.

 

MAP10 - “Military Base”
This is the first level that I dislike and find obnoxious. I liked the idea of the base, but I found the progression very annoying because of how the slime tunnels are woven into it. There are exactly 3 radsuits down there, and one is in a secret. Getting the red key (which is some way outside the tunnels) will probably consume 2, which leaves one for the blue key. But I did things out of order, ended up using the secret suit while reaching for the secret plasma rifle, and so ended up having to do some of the red key and the whole blue key part with no suit, including both ambushes. The rest of the map is ok, but nothing there is good enough to save that middle part annoyance. Being on GZDoom I didn't have problems with the blue key, but I guess that's one more annoyance for other ports to deal with. I'm not sure what causes this problem, I played with the strict compat modes to try and reproduce it but none seemed to make any difference.

[Book Lord]

MAP 10 – Military Base

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

 

As anyone might guess when reading the level name, Military Base was inspired by Knee-Deep-in-the-Dead. The texture patterns, the windows connecting the areas, the staircases, the corridor shooting gameplay, and the nukage crossing section were sedulously replicated, with the only intrusion consisting in the Doom II bestiary. A pistol start might be rough, especially the silly pit trap at the entrance of the tech-base, followed by a large chamber to clear with the weapons granted by the enemies themselves. The SSG and the rocket launcher might be collected from the nearby sections, along with three of the map’s four secrets, but missing some resources was quite likely on the first exploration.

Spoiler

I took the long corridor going up and down along the perimeter and just followed it, killing the opposition. A switch in the northern courtyard opened a suspicious pit with BROWNGRN walls, and I have seen enough of that texture to know what awaited me in its depths. Therefore, I completed the tour of the base, which allowed me to collect ammo and to make a list of landmarks and objectives. All keys were needed and two of them were on display, so it was time for a blind jump in the pit I carefully avoided.

Spoiler

The bottom was a damaging slime tunnel as expected, populated by the classic Spectres that cannot be seen. Radiation Suits were available, but they were enough for the task only if the plasma rifle secret was found. Checking the BK pillar was a waste of precious seconds, and emerging in the SSG warehouse made the protection expire before getting me to the RK room. I must waste the secret radsuit to get there, and I needed the third for the return path, where I was ambushed by four spiteful Revenants that killed me while my health was in free fall due to the hurting floor.

Spoiler

The computer room behind the red door showcased an elaborate mechanism, creating a maze populated by three Arch-Viles. The room could be left at will, so the whole situation did not pose any threat and I just funnelled the enemies at the entrance. With the newly acquired GK I entered the nearby locked door and conquered the COMPOHSO control station, pressing a switch on a computer terminal that I expected to grant me the BK. Sadly, the pillar was designed as a self-referencing sector (205), and the assigned action did not work on complevel 2. I must cheat to progress; this nuisance soured my overall opinion on Military Base, which had been an enjoyable, fast-paced raid until then. Monster closets opened to repopulate the backtracking route from the BK pillar to the matching door, another homage to an E1 trope by The Ultimate Doomer. I hoped this could be the first Fragport map that I would 100% like, but I cannot get over the switch malfunction on that pillar.

[Devalaous]

Map 9, I didnt even realise it was literally Volcano Valley from Sonic 3D. I saw the name and thought 'too bad the midipack doesnt have either version of Sonic's Volcano Valley in this slot', and oh the irony..

I kinda liked it, outside of all the health potions making me waste a lot sine I was already at 200 health. I kept thinking of them as drinks to cool down from the heat :p

 

Map 10 is Doom 1 with the Doom 2 bestiary, something I tend to enjoy. I did like how you actually enter the facility, but I do wish the outdoors had *something*, it was TOO barren. I said fuck you to the archvile bit and rocketed them all from the doorway.

Map 11 was fun, further reminded me of that past tunnel exploring I did as a kid, while also reminding me of both Hell to Pay (giant sector turrets) and Plutonia's map of the same overall name. The dark abandoned tunnels really needed a lite amp goggle secret. The next episode is promising to be city-based and I dont know what to expect from here. Episode 1 was a chaotic journey across a wide array of areas, so you got a lot of variety.

[Celestin]

MAP10: Military Base

 

I've played this map 3 times, due to a bug I've described earlier. The first attempt was miserable, as the map is very tight on ammo and filled with mid-tier demons. I ended up switching to GZDoom, where the glitch isn't present, and with a bit of foreknowledge, I was having a somewhat better time.

 

MAP10 is a rather generic-looking techbase, but I think somewhat abstract design works in its favour. Even knowing where to look for supplies and helping myself with a berserk, I was still low on ammo for the majority of its runtime. Protip: the plasma rifle is in a secret in the sewers, right in front of you after jumping down. It helps a lot with encounters like the red key fight with 4 mancubi or a revenant ambush on your way back. Probably my favourite part of the map is the green key room, a mini-maze with 3 archviles. The ending, with monster closets opening along the perimeter, again feels like a waste of time. Kill the obligatory archvile by the exit and descent down into the lower levels of the complex.

 

Overall, even without a game-breaking bug, it's still a mediocre level, especially unfriendly for first-time players.

[Veeda Vidlak]

Map10 “Military Base”

 

There’s been a fair bit of discussion on the self-referencing sector that results in the blue key failing to lower. While I have nothing to add to this (and wouldn’t have noticed with GZDoom), it’s a major strike against this level that it is broken on some source ports.

 

As is tradition, our start is the end of the previous map and has Jody’s baby right in front of you (chainsaw). Exit the tunnel to drop into a barren crater with the titular military base, emphasis on “barren.” Walking around only alerts random enemies, so just head inside and… oop! That’s rude. Hello imps. After that discourtesy bum a shotgun from a guard and clear the opening room. There are also two secrets here (and another in the upcoming SSG room) and without them, already tight resources will be even scarcer. 

 

From here I’d recommend getting some real weapons, SSG among the crates to the north and RL up the stairs to the east. The western route comprises the rest of the level, taking us on a tour of the facility along the perimeter. The immediate goal is to hit a switch in an outdoor area which opens up the nukage zone housing the red key. We can actually explore most of the level beforehand, which can help make later parts easier. I’d especially take out the mancubi in the red key room (seen through a window at the end of the route), it simplifies the nukage section.

 

Ok, red key time. First things first, you drop down onto damaging floor so act quickly. There is a radsuit here but, unintuitively, don’t grab it because there is a plasma/rad suit secret directly in front you'll want to grab first. Without it you will have a miserable time, both here and later when ammo starts running dry (and you have 300+ useless cells). Secondly, use the radsuits wisely. There are only three and you need to come back here later for the blue key. Using one now (the secret one), making your way to the red key, then using a second one after clearing the path to the red key room is my recommendation. A bunch of revenants ambush you after taking the red key and you don’t want to be scrambling for that suit to stop your feet from burning (plasma these louts).

 

Moving on we head to the red door, which houses three viles, the green key, and a maze that rises upon entering. Would have been interesting if it wasn’t obvious to just pummel the viles from the entrance (did anyone actually try to fight in the maze?). The green key merely opens up a room with cacos and a helpless vile from which you can (hopefully) lower the pillar with the blue key. A rather weak use of the green key if you ask me. Head back to the pillar and use the last radsuit to retrieve the blue key. A few clusters of mid-tiers get opened up to harry you on the way to the exit, but they aren’t too bad as long as you found the plasma.

 

I’m pretty meh on this one. It’s not very interesting and there’s a lot to complain about. The nukage area is… I’ll go with unnecessarily unfriendly. Missing the secret is a disaster and it’s impolite to place the radsuit in front of the plasma. The map is unwinnable in many source ports that are ideal for emulating traditional vanilla Doom, which is frankly unacceptable. Even without sector 205, Military Base is under detailed, mean with ambushes, and restricted on ammo. It gives a lot of excuses for players to dislike it and unlike Volcano Valley, there’s nothing cute or notable to offset that.

 

Fast Monsters: Don't bother

Edited March 10, 2023 by Veeda Vidlak

[Roofi]

Map 10 "Military Base"

 

 

Or rather "Broken Base" or "Mission impossible on complevel 2". So, whereas I could only thank galileodos for fixing the dysfunctional sectors, I decided to not use his version in my video for two reasons :

 

- I like to show maps as they are, so in case the map is broken -----> idclip.

- As easy it is, it's not our job to fix The Ultimate Doomer's mess.

 

Without counting the blatant softlock, other elements gave the impression that map wasn't tested enough :

 

- the trap involving a trip of viles in a surprise raising maze is so easy to cheese that I don't think the author tried at least once to survive in that part.

- secrets seem critical in that map. I decided to gib many low-tier monsters with the berserk just for the amusement and not in the intention of saving ammo but I have subsequently realised that without that decision, I would suffered of severe ammo famine. I think the same about the plasma gun as well as the hidden radsuit. 

 

I agree on the fact that "Military Base" resembles to a level from the first episode of Ultimate Doom, because of the texturing and the generic map name but Romero's maps were way more competent in terms of interconnectivity and flow. Here, most of the layout consists to a series of bland corridors with more furnished rooms here and here, and moreover, "Military Base" involves a lot of backtrack which artificially increase its lifespan.

 

So, if I hadn't played this map on continuous first, I would have been frustrated but in the end it was just a mediocre adventure with few resources. Punching the asleep monsters with the berserk was the most amusing of this map. However, I'll have to lower the score for that stupid softlock.

 

Grade : C-

 

 

 

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 10: Barren Shores

Kills: 100%, Secrets: 50%

Time: 13:57

Deaths: 1

 

We've hit the first major human installation in our adventure, and it's a base straight out of Doom E1. I've always liked this map's placement, as it gives the WAD a sense of familiarity 1/3 of the was through. And I do like E1 based maps with Doom 2 elements. Though this map has a surprising amount of circular backtracking. This map isn't as complex as a E1 map, and doesn't even look as nice. But the combat is a little more straight-forward. It's fine, but it has 2-3 major drawbacks, depending on your sourceport. As noted, the blue key doesn't lower in some sourceports. This appears to be an issue with this latest build, as older versions don't have this softlock. Plus, some soureports fix this issue, so you wouldn't even know it's a thing. Playing GZDoom myself, I did not have this issue. The biggest issue is the lack of rad suits for the sewer traveling. There's only 3, and you kinda need to traverse it 3 times, so you need to really make them count. Doesn't help one is in a secret, though it is easy to spot. The 3rd issue is the green key archie fight you can cheese by door camping. Stephen should have either had the walls that appear in this room be raised to begin with, or have the archies hidden/teleported in. As it is now, you can just kill them all from the door, walk in, and have the walls raise, providing no purpose. Disappointing. I mentioned the backtracking, which at first has nothing changed, but upon grabbing the blue key, a few closets open. All of them are in the, once again, narrow halls. And now we have different elevations. My lone death is due to trying to take out the rev closet with rockets, and repeatedly shooting the ground, then getting hit by a surprise rev rocket when I took it outside. Overall, this is a map whose opinion I have on it has lowered over time. I liked it way more in the past than I do now.

[Ralgor]

MAP10 - “Military Base”
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl2, UV, Pistol start, blind run, single segment
100% kills and secrets

Once you make it through the cliffs, you are faced with a massive military base to infiltrate. The base itself is not particularly special, being mostly linear, and isn't particularly difficult on UV. The lack of ammo before you get the plasma rifle is the main source of difficulty in this map. I had to resort to punching hell nobles with the berserk (which is in a secret itself) to keep my ammo levels healthy. There's enough health around if you don't have anything go seriously wrong.

 

There's a sewer with hazardous waste. Despite the level being stingy with the radiation suits, I didn't actually have a problem with the sewer portion, since the waste doesn't hurt that much. It's only if you try to swim in it for long periods of time that the damage adds up. That said the rad-suit inside the secret with the plasma rifle would have been better placed outside the secret. There is some health in the sewers as well, so if you do take some damage you can recover some of it.

The most notable room is one with the green key that's open when you first encounter it, but entering it raises a bunch of barriers. You're supposed to fight three arch-viles in this room. You can just run back outside and hit them from there, but I decided to fight them in the room. It's not so bad if you can take a zap, and have the secret plasma rifle. If you had to do this with just the SSG it might be pretty difficult. As it is it's a bit of a let-down however you tackle it.

Another notable part of this level is the pillar with the blue key. The 2011 update of this wad introduces a bug with this pillar with older versions of doom and lower complevels on faithful ports. Complevel 9 works, as does the original version of the wad. My demo is recorded with the original version of the wad at cl2, so I didn't have this issue.

Overall I like the callback to Episode 1, but this level isn't the best even if you ignore the fact that the 2011 version of the level is impossible to complete with the original Doom 2 exe, which the wad claims to target.

2001 Grade: C
2011 Grade: F (incompletable)

MAP10 - 20:21.77 (20:21)  K: 137/137  I: 32/32  S: 4/4

ralgor_fragport10.zip

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 10: Military Base

 

So in case you haven't guessed from the blatant title theft, this is at least in part an attempt to pay tribute to the originals. Although few E1 homages are actually present, a vague aping of Romero's style can be detected. Otherwise, it's a fairly basic run-n-gun, albeit with less ammo than usual, a situation not helped by the inability to find a plasma rifle. The outdoor courtyard with the Arachnotrons seemingly had no purpose but to house a switch that opened the way to a series of irradiated tunnels in which it's incredibly easy to run out of rad suits since there's only two and one is contained in sort of a remote corner. With the lack of ammo, barons in tight corridors here proved quite annoying. But in any case, the red key is acquired and we then head into a computer bank room and a collection of Arch-viles surrounded by....a rising SHAWN maze? I don't know if this part would necessarily be less aggravating with a plasma rifle, but in either case, green key is acquired and we head to an utterly beautiful room reminiscient of something from Stephen's later Community Chest map Technopolis, with pillars one is tempted to think could be blown up to lower a barrier somewhere. Unfortunately, pushing the switch here does not cause the blue key to appear, despite playing on complevel 9 so the map could not be finished.  I don't remember if this works just fine in Woof or Crispy but either way, it was a serious disappointment. It could've been one of the better ones if there was literally one more rad suit, but the military's gotta cut costs somewhere.

Edit: I forgot, damnit

lmd_fragport10.zip

Edited March 11, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[Book Lord]

MAP 11 – Military Bunker

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

 

I honestly admire Stephen Clark for the method, the rigor, and the creativity he put in his Doom efforts; nevertheless, I cannot cancel my bias against his lack of restraint. Sometimes he just could not realise that too much was too much, and that a stale part of a level could act like a ball and chain. Military Bunker began exactly with one of those parts: a 64-unit maze of brick corridors without enemies, where Jody Russell must collect ammo and items like Pac-Man without ghosts at his heels. How could this be even remotely interesting?

Spoiler

The maze led to an underground shelter full of hitscanners, along with mid-tier creatures overseeing halls and corridors from various vantage points. The pillar with the RK and numbers in the background suggested a 4-step puzzle, which would soon become clear. The numbers matched the four cannon emplacements overlooking the seashore, found by following the numbered tunnels in the northern part of the level. The control panel of each gun must be disarmed, since I assumed that our hero came here to sabotage Fragport’s defence line, now operated by the invaders. Reaching each cannon required clearing the halfway rooms, some of them identified by ALPHABET labels. The ‘Command’ was just a computer room full of zombies, but the ‘Training Area’ was a lovely idea. It was a fictional battlefield with fortifications, a turret, and hiding places, perfect for releasing a group of Hell Nobles and Revenants.

Spoiler

Pressing each switch naturally caused a monster closet to open on the return path, with the swarm of Revenants being the most dangerous, especially if the SSG and the rocket launcher were not found beforehand. The numbers behind the RK disappeared to mark the puzzle progression, with a love for extreme clarity that I found only in maps by The Ultimate Doomer. At this point, I was so happy with Military Bunker that I forgot the boring maze and was ready to call it one of the best maps I ever played from this author.

Spoiler

Unfortunately, I must still explore the ‘Abandoned Tunnels’. The narrow, head-bumping staircases descended in very dark hallways, where I immediately heard the hisses of alerted Imps. Dodging fireballs and shooting in the dark was not fun, and the same could be said for Spectres in rooms and maze-like tunnels, built with the same BRICK12 material that I hated in the starting maze. The ‘Comms’ room had a great cinematic moment with Lost Souls rising from chairs, like ghosts of dead operators still attending their broken machinery. The haunting atmosphere in this dark section was superb, but it came at the cost of my enjoyment. I would have avoided to place the annoying Arachnotrons and the Mancubus, for example.

 

No room should be left unexplored to find all switches needed to access the GK. I was glad to emerge from the cellar and to have some mindless fun with the BK teleport ambush, an easy circle-strafe affair that took place in a sort of conference room, which could have used any texture except those unbearable bricks. When I wrote about restraint, I was thinking about the last, ridiculous, and intolerable Arch-Vile ambush in a strobe light hall; it was not even the last, there was another healer before the exit, just to break the camel’s back with one last straw. I liked Military Base, which was an outstanding conclusion for the first episode of Fragport, but it would have been much better if the author had considered trimming the excesses.

Edited March 11, 2023 by Book Lord

[DFF]

Map10: Military Base - UV, FDWL, Continuous

K: 95 | I: 90 | S: 50

 

A very retro doom 1 base on the beach shores, i found this map quite charming. It still suffers from some simple map designs flaws that hinder its enjoyment, but the high level concept and the layout is enjoyable and fun. With that being said, backtracking is so cumbersome since the map is not designed as a circle and requires very specific paths to traverse the map (and often require multiple trips). The acid path is rather egregious and would have been infinitely better while maintaining the same aesthetic if it was just a water tunnel. The green key archvile room is interesting but cheese-able. Finally after grabbing the blue key unleashes too many fat monsters in those awkward thin hallways. Its easy to entertain me with doom maps so i'm often not terribly critical. I can see this very much being mediocre. I find it pleasant but inherently flawed and could easily be slightly reworked into something much more enjoyable.

 

Map11: Military Bunker - UV, FDWL, Continuous

K: 100 | I: 70 | S: 57

 

Not a huge fan of the initial tunnel system but it helps sets the setting. I thought this was so far one of the more competently composed maps in the set so far. Combat was mostly well designed, the areas were varied and offered interesting geometry, various levels of combat, and plenty of enjoyable real room designs. The concept that the bunker is under lockdown and you can't access the locked sectors until you re-arm the coastal cannons is a fun thematic objective in the map. A very creative way to add to its story. The abandoned tunnels were more interesting from worldbuilding than gameplay, but i found the ancient dark rooms filled with the lost souls that died down there and some long forgotten supplies very charming. There was some annoying monster heavy closets and the secrets seemed rather strangely placed but not terrible. The amphitheater fight was simple but entertaining, however the archvile strobe room was less so. Ultimate Doomer really likes capping missions with an archvile or tree, and those can range from harmless to very annoying.

 

Despite the few complaints i found this to be the most compelling map so far in terms of gameplay, storytelling, and just Fragport-ish charm. A map i did not recall from earlier gameplay but a nice one nonetheless.


Rankings:

Spoiler

Map11

Map01

Map06
Map05

Map03

Map08

Map10

Map09
Map02

Map07

Map04

 

[Celestin]

MAP11: Military Bunker

 

Like with the mine levels, Military Bunker borrows a theme from the previous map and improves it significantly. After emerging from an orthogonal maze that brings Wolf3D to mind, the player enters yet another techbase, this time with much better details and way more ammo.

 

Step one of our inflitration mission is to search for a set of four switches hidden around the base. They can be accessed in any order, though I recommend finding a super shotgun and rocket launcher first, as some of the ambushes can get pretty overwhelming. This is easily the strongest part of the map, a nice mix of exploration, incidental encounters and traps. Some rooms like the command center or the shooting range gives the map a sense of being a real place, something I really like in Fragport.

 

With the switches pressed, you can enter the basement below the base, which is not good. It's too damn dark and filled with spectres, imps and other trash that you can barely see. It's a shame it's so dark in here, as the chunky details continue to give this wad a personality, like a storage room with opened cabinets or an abandoned infirmary. Anyway, feel your way around in the darkness, find a set of switches to reveal the green key and leave this hole for good.

 

All that's left to do is to survive a teleporter ambush in an auditorium (just run around and let everything infight, I managed to reduce the horde to a single baron without firing a shot), grab the blue key, kill two archviles in a dark, strobing room, get rid of an another vile before the exit and leave. Sidenote, there is a second, inaccesible red key right before the exit. I wonder what it's for.

 

Had the map ended after obtaining the red key, it would have been in my top 3 of the wad so far. It's still a solid level, though a weak second half really drags it down.

[Roofi]

Map 11 "Military Bunker"

 

 

Military Bunker is another map where the author incorporated "Find the scattered switches in order to unlock the key" trope and I'm fond of this. This extensive and heavily interconnected underground base has many places to visit such as a training room, dormitories or control rooms. Thanks to the many switchs to find, you can choose the paths you want and the mapper balanced it well so you're not likely to suffer from ammo famine if you don't choose the most optimized paths.

 

The first maze at the beginning was the only redundant part to me since they don't pose specific challenge but the other areas are filled with a good dose of action because of the significant presence of mid-tiers enemies, especially small gangs of skeletons and demonic bovines. The training room was for me the most iconic part of this map but it's a bit a shame that camping in the entrance stairs suffice to deal against the teleporting enemies. The oversized bricky auditorium housing the blue key troubled me a bit , but in a good way because its emptiness tend to provide the same uneasy when I look at liminal pictures. As well as the other bigger traps, it can be effortlessly be cheesed by camping at the entrance.

 

Anyway, "Military Bunker" compensates all the flaws of "Military Base". As other participants, it's one of my fav levels at this point, behind Ironclad and Volcano Valley. There is a competent balance between exploration and action, and of course the signature realism from Fragport.

 

Grade : A-

 

 

[Ralgor]

MAP11 - “Military Bunker”
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl2, UV, Pistol start, blind run, single segment
100% kills and secrets

The first thing you see in this map is also the worst thing about it. The opening maze is pointless. If you're pistol starting, you really need the resources scattered about the maze, so every time you make an attempt at doing this map single-segment you have to do the maze over again. But the main reason the maze is the worst part of the level is that the rest of it is actually pretty good.

The main part of the level is an interconnected base where you have to hit four numbered switches to unlock the red key. This is the best part of the level for me. It's very non-linear since you can hit each switch in any order you'd like. I would go for the SSG first before trying to go for any switches though. There is a grassy area with various barriers (some sort of training room?) that can be a bit annoying. It's very easy to get pushed back out of the room by teleporting revenants and hell knights, forcing you to slowly chip away at them until you can re-enter the room. It should be possible to stand your ground here, but I wasn't able to do it the couple times I attempted it.

After that you have to pass through the red key door and down some stairs into some "abandoned tunnels". They are anything but abandoned. They are dark and infested with specters, who will consistently surprise you. At the far eastern end of the tunnels is the green key, guarded by a lone pain elemental, which you can only reach after hitting all of the switches in this area. There is a neat little storage room with open lockers with ammo down here too. The most annoying thing about this section is all of the lost souls. They aren't a real threat, but they take a while to clear. Honestly this whole section goes on for too long.

Luckily, you get some real resistance beyond the green key door. Picking up the blue key causes an invasion of various hellspawn to fill the room. You could just leave, but if you get the secret soul sphere and megaarmor, you have plenty of resources to fight this one properly. They will also aggressively fight each other, so you don't need to use all of your ammo here. It's easily the most fun part of the level.

After that you will encounter a couple of arch-viles while you're trapped in a room behind the blue key door. This isn't really that hard, but if you get caught off guard it could kill you. If you make good use of the plasma rifle and can take a zap without dying, you should be able to clear it with few problems.

This level actually has a variety of texture-work, and plenty of variation on encounters. I dare say it's the best level so far from a combat perspective. The switch "puzzle" is also very well done. If it weren't for the maze and the abandoned tunnels I'd give this an A, but those do bring it down a bit.

Grade: B

MAP11 - 25:22.57 (25:22)  K: 168/168  I: 9/10  S: 7/7

ralgor_fragport11.zip

[SiFi270]

Map10 was probably tested plenty in the 2004 release. It was just overlooked in the version currently on idgames, because it's easy to assume it'll be fine after a few small adjustments to what already worked.