The DWmegawad Club plays: PUSS IX: Mapping at Warpspeed

[Ralgor]

MAP22 - "Passions Like Fire" by BluePineapple72
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl9, UV, Pistol start, blind run w/ saves, then single segment w/ demo
100% kills and secrets

This level is well named, as it is indeed filled with both passions and fire. The level revolves around four fights, one of which starts the instant you take the soulsphere in front of you. That wakes up the chaingunner, and suddenly you're in a fight for your life. It's not exactly a hot start, but it might as well be. You can pick up all of the weapons and ammo around you first at least.

 

Spoiler

The easiest challenge

The rest of the level is a quest to complete three challenges around the map. The one with the cyberdemon is probably the hardest, although not because of the cyberdemon. There's an arch-vile that spawns with the cyberdemon, and depending on luck he might try to zap you across the room. So you get to dodge rockets and zaps. There's another one that spawns two arch-viles behind you, but you do have a bit of time before they make it to you to clear out some of the other opposition. There's also a soulsphere here for a mid-fight pick-me-up, which you'll probably need. The last one with the respawning arachnotron and shotgunner ledges is pretty easy.

 

Spoiler

This challenge spawns two arch-viles, and a bunch of pain elementals

One small flaw with this map is that it becomes massively easier if you know about the secrets. There's a secret BFG, and two megaspheres. Given the other resources, that should allow you to have full health and armor for every challenge if you want it. It's pretty difficult if you don't know about them. They are well hidden though, and I certainly did not find them all without a bit of help.

 

Spoiler

This room opens up and teleports in a cyberdemon and arch-vile

This map was a blast to play through, both times. The music rocks, and might be one of my favorite tracks so far. I've never played the AA map with it, but I did hear it in BTSX, and I loved it there too. I really like the open nature of this map, and it looks great. It's easily one of the best looking maps in the set so far.

MAP22 - 12:58.51 (12:58)  K: 144/144  I: 70/70  S: 3/3

ralgor_pussixmaw22.zip

[RHhe82]

MAP22: Passions Like Fire. Played on DSDA v0.25.6, UV, PS. 144/144 K, 1/3 S, 68/70 I. Comp. time 19:59

 

I love Birdsong. I've never understood the lukewarm reception of AA32 when it's got soundtrack this great. Somehow Passions Like Fire remind me of AA32, perhaps because of some sort of hellscape influences dominating over alien visuals, and perhaps because of the soundtrack. This one's got a hot start, and while we're not in the Moonlust territory, my gut feeling takes me to something like Speed of Alien á la Joshy. It takes a while before you can stop to catch your breath here, there seems to be something aiming at you at each turn.

 

In short, I loved Passions Like Fire, and once again I'm in awe just how a map like this is done in 10 hours. The highlight, in my opinion, is the fight in the AA techbase like structure, with waves of enemies released at you one at a time, cyber in the end.

 

I could find only one secret, the BFG, wish I had found it before the aforementioned fight :P

 

(The next day, before tackling MAP23, I went back here to look around one last time, and only then I found the two missing Megaspheres. The other was sitting in almost plain sight, but the other I feel I found by accident. I mean I saw on the automap a two-sided linedef, and upon investigation I noticed the wall looked weird, but the switch could only be found upon assuming it's somewhere near).

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

Oof, my sleeping patterns have been erratic lately so I've fallen behind more than I'd like to. Let's try and motor through a few. 

 

MAP16: "Mors Palus Aliens" by Late Night Person

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills*, 1/2 secrets

 

A cliff area with a few manmade (er, alienmade) structures around. I like the visuals here, the rocky areas have some nice shape to them, and that pyramid lowering to reveal the UFO beam is a cool little idea. This is the second map by Late Night Person that I've played after their contribution to Skulltiverse, and both maps used a Sonic CD track for their midi. Dug through their Doomwiki page to see if this was a theme, and they don't seem to always do it. Love that their first listed map used a track from The Conet Project though, haha.

 

This is our first map with double digit enemies in a bit. Most of the combat are incidental encounters that aren't too tricky to get by, but there are a couple spots that can end your run, both of which throw an archvile at you among other monsters. One ambushes you in a marble building with a bunch of revenants and imps, while a temporarily immortal chaingunner is there behind you. For best results, run away like a coward. They should gather near the opening and you can try and pick off the archie with rockets. The final encounter with the monsters beaming down from the UFO also has an archvile, and he surprised me in this fight as the area doesn't have any pillars for cover or anything. My failure to think about ducking back into the corridors you came from resulted in a zap. You can also teleport into the UFO to escape him, but not totally recommended as monsters tend to teleport into it. Asterisk on the kills for the final encounter featuring deaf chaingunners that can't teleport in, I triggered them with IDCLIP so they came out of hiding.

 

On the easier side of what we've seen so far, but I had fun with this one.

 

MAP17: "Zero G Station" by Danlex

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/0 secrets 

 

The creator of the magical Lullaby comes in with a short and snappy map. This one leans into the AA aesthetic the most of any map in some time, and is a brown brick structure floating in space, with neon platforms and alien flourishes. I recognized the Satellite One midi from Stardate 20x6, and it fits this map's look very well (although this map isn't quite so brutal).

 

You can probably easily complete this one in about 5 minutes. Clear out the monsters in the opening area and tackle the blue and red key fights in either order. The blue key fight features several hell knights with turret mancubi watching over the escape route and imps in the area you came from. The red key fight throws up archviles and revenants, some stealth troopers on ledges, a single turret mancubus, and imps again in the starting area. Both fights are "hit the switch and run" scenarios, with the blue key fight being very easy and the red key fight being a bit more dicy. The environment lends itself to some tricky homing rocket manoeuvring, and of course there are archviles. With the red key, you can access the area where the big fight takes place, a mini slaughterfest with a central spiderdemon turret. Let the spiderdemon mix up with the high up revs while you take care of the rest, then I just helped out the revs with the spider while she was distracted. You can then use the blue key to get to the yellow key and leave.

 

One of the shortest maps so far, and the visuals and combat were both very strong.

 

MAP18: "Close Encounters of the Weird Kind" by Weird Sandwich

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 0/0 secrets

 

A high-tech alien space-base, looking quite AA episode 2. This is one of the longer ones so far, so buckle in for a ride. The midi is Space Jiggle, from the very iconic AA MAP16, one of my favourite maps ever created. Don't get your hopes up for any interplanetary travel though, we're on a budget of time here. The UFOs will take you to different points around the base though. Similar to Late Night Person, my other interaction with Weird Sandwich's work was in Skulltiverse where they contributed an eccentric map that I remember being polarizing, but very fun in my opinion.

 

When you lower into the first room with monsters in it, you'll probably a bit confused on what to do. There are quite a few monsters around, and your only means of defense apart from your pistol is in the hands of a lone shotgunner atop a pedestal. Relieve him of his weapon, but be a bit careful with how you use it. The shell balance in this map is rather delicate, and there's a particular point later where it's really nice to have shells. The SSG is on the first UFO, where you'll have to take down a bunch of stealth troopers in a tricky area. After grabbing the SSG, your next challenge is turret revenants stationed all around the UFO. The rule here is to just keep moving and you won't die. Stand still and your goose is cooked.

 

The next key fight give you the rocket launcher, which you'll immediately use to punch a hole through hell knights in a corridor. One you do that, you'll soon have imps and mancubi joining the party. It's a prime time for some infighting, so get that going and clean up the rest. The part I like to save shells for is on the next UFO. This one contains revenants in very tight quarters where it is super easy to facerocket, and soon those same tight halls will have two archviles roaming them. You can get by here with rockets with some finagling, and I do use them to deal with the revs once they clump together, but it's very nice to have shells for safety especially when those archies show up. The next fight is an exciting once against an army of hell nobles in a tight corridor, with two archviles that you'll be trying to duck behind thin pillars to avoid the gaze of. You have to keep constantly firing rockets here or you'll get suffocated. The final room greets you with a bunch of revenants and mancubi with imps on the ground, just keep moving and rocketing everything. You trigger the remaining fights in waves, and honestly if you take them just one at a time you almost feel overstocked for them. The last one will trigger a double-wave though, so you'll likely end up with two archviles which makes it a bit more interesting. Still I think I'd have preferred one huge fight here.

 

While I have mixed feelings on some of the ammo balancing, this was still a fun map with nicely made combat scenarios.

 

[KickAss]

Looking forward for next month. I have played one map of this great megawad with the awful palette of ancient aliens at the beginning of this month. I realy don't like the set of colors used in this file. That is burning away my eyes.

 

 

Still having fun with fragport the game from the last month march. Still much better for my eyes.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 22: Passions Like Fire

by BluePineapple72

 

(I'll probably do either a video or demo from this point on, depending on if there's anything happening in the background)

 

Here is the last map I was able to get to before having to move on. Honestly, the concept was quite impressive. A map where things that involve pressing switches as opposed to collecting keys in exactly any order, set amongst a mix of caverns and neon-floored, techy stuff, set to the backdrop of one of the most beautifully melancholic numbers in BTSXE1 is sort of hard not to fall in love with. Though the meanness of the combat's such that doing things in the background like us is probably a bad idea.

 

It definitely deviates from the sort of stuff BluePineapple has made in the PUSSs I've played so far though. He tends to favor cramped and limited designs with spicy combat and while there's lots of the latter, there seemed to be more of an effort at making an open map that still manages to feel quite cramped due to enemy placement.

 

Like the start. We're expected to grab the Supercharge right off, we assume, since the chaingunner is alerted the instant we step into the square behind him. Standing is probably a bad idea. From here, it's a trip to an overhang to dispatch an Arch-vile and then plunging into a collection of rocky areas containing a couple of random groups of hitscanners, some Imps on a ledge, two Barons of Hell and scattered Arachnotrons that probably are supposed to make our lives a living hell. No matter, there's a few different paths heading towards some outside towers. The rainbow one springs a refreshed Arachnotron in front (which works due to the high-octane nature of combat at this spot in partucular). There is a group of sergeants on either side, though not directly across from each other, along with Hell Knights and some other enemies in the middle. At least this is one of several locations we can find a rocket launcher. 

 

Eventually, we head into some indoor caves, fight off Mancubi, Revenants and Sergeants with rather limited ammo stores then finally come upon a chamber with a berserk pack in the center. We left this one for last because we were killed three times as you'll see. Because in addition to pinkies on either side, there are also three Revenants each, then from another closet in the central room, hell knights, chaingunners, an arch-vile and a Cyberdemon. Despite being somewhat cramped, the cyberdemon goes down easily when everything else has been cleaned out.

 

Finallly, we head to an outdoor area we hadn't been before due to an earlier failure to jump over the fence that's on the left side and deal with a trap of Pain Elementals and Guardians above us in front after hitting the last switch, along with two Arch-viles, chaingunners, and Barons! We do have to rewind twice, but the pillars here can be used for cover.

 

The streak continues! I played kind of bad and found no secrets, but on the other hand, it's probably at least the equal of Zero-G Station and feels more concise than something like Electron Avenue! Like seriously, there's only 144 monsters! Seems a little easy to be anything but early-to-mid Sunlust and that's just fine by me:)

lmd_pussIX22.zip

[continuum.mid]

World 22: Passions Like Fire (BluePineapple72)

dsda-doom 0.25.6+dfsg-1 (Debian 12), Doom 2, Ultra-Violence, blind, pistol start, saves 

100% Kills, 97% Secrets, 33% Secrets, 12:50

 

Making Doom maps to impress a crush is an interesting strategy. If I were the person BluePineapple made this map to impress, I'd certainly be impressed, but I wouldn't be sure if he likes me or hates me, because this map is absolutely beautiful... and also really damn hard. I did enjoy it significantly more than another similarly frustrating map, Zero G Station, because every fight is well-crafted and fun to strategize around. The hot start at the beginning took me lots of attempts and almost had me give up, but eventually I got lucky with the Arch-Vile, killed him swiftly, and the remaining monsters did enough damage to each other with infighting that I could make it out with just barely enough health.

 

From there on, I stumbled into a number of this map's fights, all just as hard as the first, learning which ones to do first and which ones to avoid due to my lack of ammo and skill. First, I found an optional encounter with Revenants in a small rectangular room with a rocket launcher and mega-armor, which wasn't terribly hard but I was disappointed to discover that it didn't open up anything. The three main setpieces are marked by zodiac signs under the items that trigger them. I'll borrow the names from other posters since I don't know my Zodiac. The path to the Sagittarius fight has you make your way past an Imp cliff, some roaming Chaingunners and Barons, and four Arachnotrons that are very easy to get in the way of. In the Sagittarius fight proper, picking up the rocket launcher opens a cube with two Arch-Viles while Pain Elementals and Guardians approach from behind. I don't know how I got through that one. The Leo fight is a teleport ambush atop neon walkways, with Sargents shooting from the sides, an Arachnotron turret with one replacement, and a division of Hell Knights. I eventually beat it by dealing with the spider first, then the hitscanners, as the Knights are easy to deal with as usual, just move side to side and fire rockets and plasma. Once again low on health from the last fight, I was reluctant to deal with the battle I'd been dreading ever since accidentally falling into it during the opening skirmish - the Aries fight summons Revs and Pinkies when you pick up the Berserk, and doesn't give you nearly enough time for a boxing match before walls lower to reveal a Cyberdemon and Arch-Vile on opposite sides of the map. This was an absolute doozy until I found the secret BFG, which was essential in order to neutralize the Arch-Vile, and finish off the Cyberdemon once he was done infighting.

 

Each of the three battles raises a circular platform, making a pathway to an absolutely gorgeous exit UFO. Great map, fitting MIDI, and I hope I'm good enough at Doom to single-segment it one day.

[Azure_Horror]

Map 21   Beyond   by Doomcat

 

Things I want to note, in a random order:

- Map is large, yet does not feel empty. Pyramids, Mazes, Valleys – all those things are charming, even with somewhat minimalist detailing.

- Inverse weapon progression: BFG-9000 and Rocket Launcher before Shotguns. Most notably, this feels natural in the context of the level! SSG appears in maze subsection, and it is very convenient weapon for such an environment.

- Monsters sometimes get lost in huge environments. In addition, monster teleporters are unreliable, delaying warp ins by quite a bit. That said, I played the map 2 times, and on both tries I managed to get all the kills.

- The last area, despite pretty minimalist geometry, reminds me about Lost Civilization by @Jaska.

- The fights offer lots of spectacle.

Maybe the map is annoying to UV-MAX speedrun, but I didn’t study this aspect enough. Other than that, I have observed no significant flaws in Beyond. In my opinion, Doomcat made a very good map! Suprisingly charming, given its scale and the 10 hours time limit!

 

Map 22    Passions Like Fire  by @BluePineapple72

Hey, I know this midi! It plays in Ossuarium Exoterre, Ancient Aliens map 32 (one of my favorite map 32 concepts, BTW)!

 

That said, in my mind I associate Passions Like Fire less with Ancient Aliens Super-Secret map, and more with Hellscape Episode of Eviternity (especially with map 21). The key element of this map: Wherever you go, you meet monsters. And then more monsters. And after that, you enter some kind of arena, where you encounter another bunch of monsters.

 

The map has semi-open layout, and monsters from outside of dedicated arenas can roam all around the level. Sounds exactly like Ancient Aliens level  20+ should be, if you ask me! Wonderful!

Arbitrary Personal Map Rating:

Spoiler

 

Map 20

Map 11

Map 08

Map 03

Map 05

Map 31

 

Map 13

Map 22

Map 17

Map 09

Map 02

Map 21

 

Map 19

Map 10

Map 32

Map 01

Map 06

Map 14

 

Map 07

Map 18

Map 12

Map 15

Map 04

Map 16

 

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Azure_Horror

[Ralgor]

After seeing multiple people refer to the song "Satellite One" as being "from Stardate 20x6", I wanted to point out that the song predates Doom. It was composed by Purple Motion, and you can download the original here. I remember listening to this song on a 486. I'm not sure who converted the song to a midi though.

 

I'm actually surprised more old module music hasn't been converted to be used as doom level music. Most modern ports support the files directly too, so it would be interesting if the original could be used in place of the mid.

Edited April 22, 2023 by Ralgor

[Celestin]

25 minutes ago, Ralgor said:

I'm actually surprised more old module music hasn't been converted to be used as doom level music. Most modern ports support the files directly too, so it would be interesting if the original could be used in place of the mid.

 

There is one DBP wad that uses .mod tracks, DBP36: Aquatic Wonder. This was my first exposure to module music, hearing it instead of midi was odd at first, but I think in the end, it fits the tone of the wad.

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Pistol-Start/Saves

Map 22: Passions Like Fire - BluePineapple72

100% kills and secrets

Time: 13:07

Deaths: 4

 

The titular Pineapple has finally made their appearance! The first of 4 maps by our project lead, we're taken to a small island with a series of challenges we need to complete. The first challenge is not dying at the beginning since we're surrounded. Just before I quit out of the WAD yesterday, I went into this map for a minute to just check out the opening and noticed something died before I quit. So when I started this up today, I looked around to see what it was. There's an arachnotron quite a ways away that will see you when the map starts, and it hit a caco. I tried having that happen again today while I collected the weapons in this small circle, but I walked into a shotgunner and ended up having to start the fight a little early. I died. Twice. All while trying to get a spider to kill a caco in an area that neither were a threat. Once I stopped being an idiot, I was able to actually do this opening fight which has a plethora of baddies to avoid. I was able to at least beat this fight the first try once I was actually prepared to do it. You can see the exit UFO from here, and there's an archie nearby it. Just trying to take this archie out is annoying as the level geography makes it tough. My other 2 deaths were from me trying to SSG this thing without sufficient cover. It almost got me a third time after I decided to ignore it and head north instead thinking I'd come back to it later, but it can get to you from here, so I had to SSG it while it was on a ledge above me. Ugh. At least the deaths are over and done with. I managed to find the BFG immediately from here, and decided to wander around for a rocket launcher since I saw a bunch of ammo. I started at the north side of the map. I didn't do the main fight here since I didn't see a RL, and didn't want to get locked in this arena, so I continued on counter-clockwise after dealing with the small rev/stealth trooper ambush north of the building. I dealt with the incidental encounters on the outskirts before jumping down into the light bridge area since I saw a RL there. This is the first of the 3 main challenges I did. Doing each of these fights marked by an astrology sign will raise a pillar to the exit UFO. This light bridge fight isn't too bad. 2 arachnotrons teleport in by the soul sphere, a few hell knights teleport onto the light bridge, and a bunch of shotgunners are on the 2 ledges to the sides. I focused my rockets on the spiders and shotgunners closest to me first, then the hell knights, and chaingunned the other shotgunners. I found the secret megasphere nearby before doing this fight, so I saved the soul sphere. Continuing on counter-clockwise, we hit a dead end with the next challenge. Another RL is here which is nice. This fight opens an upper alcove with pain elementals and guardians, while the big baron face monolith you walk by coming from this way lowers with barons and archies. You can hear the monsters before the fight, so you can prepare for this one. Side note, I didn't know guardians made noise when roaming until the previous map. I heard a weird hissing coming from a wall, so I no-clipped to see what it was and ended up in the guardian closet for the final fight. So this time when I heard hissing I knew what to expect. I sent a few rockets up to the alcove, before BFGing the archies. Finally, I returned to the north for this fight. The berserk works initially for the pinkies and revs, but after a minute some walls lower with hell knights, an archie, a cyb, and more! You can find a third RL in here, but that secret BFG is the way to go (or at least the plasma rifle you get at the start). Once that was done, I grabbed the secret megasphere at the start (I'm surprised I figured out how to open that one) and GTFO. Overall, a very nice map! The combat challenges here aren't too tough with proper prep, but can singe you. Visually, this looks great. Don't often see lava used with the AA textures, but it does work! Nice MIDI pick as well. 

[Klear]

Worldmap23: Neon Desert by Chookum

QuestZDoom, UV, blind, pistol start, saves

 

Spoiler

 

This map is extremely chill and I don't know why! I mean, yeah, the music is the first suspect, obviously, but still. It's always packed with enemies including crowds of the hated revenants and comes with an unlimited supply of mancubi. There is a lot of space to dodge and plenty of places where you can hide from the snipers and catch your breath (quite unlike in Moon Funeral). Plus there's something about the sand that just pleases me. The moving sand at the begging looks gorgeous in VR and I found moving against its current very immersive somehow. Can't really explain that one, there's nothing immersive about pushing an analog stick, but yeah. I'm only a bit sad that there is no quicksand to be found, but you can't have everything. Oh, and the map equips you with a rocket launcher and then gives you crowds of imps that can't even disperse. I love it when mappers do that.

 

Of note is the suspended rainbow bridge which seems to run on some sort of boom fuckery (as evidenced by monsters being hesitant to cross under it).

 

There's not much more to say about the map, really. The visuals are nice, there's plenty of targets and the difficulty is not oppressive. I almost felt the hot sand under my feet while playing it. It was like a well-deserved vacation and I'm thankful for that.

 

I ended up running out of ammo, so I berserked a few stragglers and only then headed to the exit, only to find this lets me telefrag the rest of the endless mancubi. Cool! Another 100% kills.

 

You might notice me examining some mancubus entrails in close detail - you know the mess free look does with sprites when they are viewed from above, right? Well in VR you have a slightly different view from each eye, so the sprites rotate separately for each eye. I've noticed this before, but the dead mancubi offered a good oportunity to check it out more closely. It's freaky.

 

 

 

Quite an audio desync in this one again, sorry about that. There's something about variable framrate which messes up my recordings. I thought I fixed this one, but apparently not. Too late for that now.

 

 

Edited April 22, 2023 by Klear

[Celestin]

MAP23: Neon Desert by Chookum

Spoiler

Sometimes, you just want to blow stuff up. The fragments of desert, hurdling through a pink and violet void, are full of monsters and full of rockets. Don't bother killing the mancubi snipers, they respawn ad infinitum, but the rest is to be blasted to pieces.

 

Neon Desert provides solid 10 minutes of non-stop action in a visually-pleasing. Unless you are too careless with explosives or get blocked by something, you shouldn't have any problems. I do have to say, using conveyor belts to simulate sliding down the dune is a creative touch.

 

PUSS IX's final stretch feature some large and/or hard maps, so I don't mind a break.

[Book Lord]

MAP 23 – Neon Desert by @Chookum

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

 

Chookum hit it right on the nail with Neon Desert, a fast and compact arena map that took inspiration from Ancient Aliens resources and level design to create something original. Those neon-coloured formations looked like cactuses and grew together with real desert flora, creating a hilarious juxtaposition. Other bright and colourful elements adorned the alien landscape, surrounding a central construction with the crucial weapons and progression switches. Enemies were ready to attack from various directions or to follow me in the central hole, while sand seemed to be sucked towards the centre like a large desert sinkhole.

Spoiler

I thought this was a step forward from skillsaw’s Sinkhole Showdown, as it granted constant action and pressure using conveyor belts and animated walls in a creative way. I liked how the map opened a section at every step, pouring new enemies into the basin and forcing me to evade them instead of engaging them frontally. This was possible due to the presence of Mancubi on various towers; they were replaced if killed, so I must make my way to the BSK as soon as possible by blowing up a colony of Imps. I liked how the rocket pickups were lined up to send the player on the correct route. The fake 3D bridge in that area was the only troublesome element, causing an unwarranted face rocket while shooting at the Hell Knights below it.

Spoiler

The RSK area followed a similar pattern and required climbing on a structure to collect the key, though it used one of the most curious staircase effects I have ever seen. I did not spot the secret Megasphere because I was too busy dodging homing rockets. The second key lowered the last sand barrier and exposed a group of Cacodemons and a single Arch-Vile. I expected more of them to be honest, but I was happy with a somewhat chill ending, followed by a well-earned Mancubi spirit-warp telefrag. According to the Wiki, Neon Desert was Chookum’s return to Doom modding after a five-year hiatus, and it was a very promising one with crystal clear progression, good visual vibes, and fluid combat design. Thumbs up!

Edited April 23, 2023 by Book Lord

[Ralgor]

MAP23 - "Neon Desert" by Chookum
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl9, UV, Pistol start, blind run, single segment
100% kills and secrets

This map has you on top of some stone platform in the sky. It doesn't necessarily look like that first, but as you move through the level the walls will down to come down and you can see down into the sky. There are many pillars topped by mancubuses, and killing them will only see them replaced by reinforcements. There are two wings to this level, each containing a key. You will have to fight your way to each, and then flip the switches in the center. This opens up a path to the exit, and a teleporter will kill all of those mancubuses that have been harrassing you the entire time.

 

Spoiler

Revenants and pinkies rising out of the sand...

This map looks pretty good. It looks harder than it really is, since there is a ton of health scattered about. I made plenty of mistakes and took tons of damage on my first attempt, but the health meant I was able to complete the level on my first try. I enjoyed this map quite a bit, although I wish it was more obvious that the mancubuses could be telefragged. There's no indication when moving up to the exit that this will happen.

 

Spoiler

A 3D bridge, made of light.

MAP23 - 17:11.69 (17:11)  K: 224/224  I: 67/68  S: 1/1

ralgor_pussixmaw23.zip

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

World 19: "Hiding the Secrets" by The BMFG

UV, pistol start, no saves 

100% kills, 0/0 secrets

Our 3rd straight map with no secrets, and it's titled Hiding the Secrets. A peculiar little map with the action taking place in one room. Texturing doesn't call a location to mind, it's mostly just an arena area. The midi is from AA's opening map, and kind of fits a little arena like this one. It also feels tuned very specifically for pistol start gameplay, which makes it feel kind of line an opening map that got placed in slot 19 due to the sending order rules. 

 

The room you fight in features a lower central area, with two ledges you can climb up to. You start with a shotgun, an alien guardian flying around the central area, and imps all along the sides. The imps guard a berserk pack you can use as you see fit. The next wave introduces more imps, pinkies, shotgunners, and a hell knight. I used the shotgun mixed with some infighting, and when only the pinkies and hell knight were left I berserk punched them from below. Now you get an SSG, and a bunch of stealth troopers. I never really use the SSG on stealth troopers since their health is so low, so funny choice. I regular shotgunned them, and then SSG blasted the guardians behind the fake wall. You can now open up the back wall, which has guardians, pinkies and two archviles. Luckily you get a rocket launcher, megasphere, and oodles of rockets. The exit switch is of course fake, and has a bunch of chaingunners.

 

On one hand this one does feel very speedmappy, and plays a bit odd. I think there are bits of elegance in here though, and I do kind of appreciate a map that feels like a breather while also still having some octane to its action.

 

World 20: "Archvile Arrival" by Muumi

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

All of Muumi's maps so far have been A. challenging and B. offered up some kind of creative quirk or gimmick. While the title and opening warning are obvious references to AA MAP03, this one seems to take more inspiration from a much more infamous map. Visuals feel in line with AA episode 3, where we see the Egyptian architecture merge with the alien world. Pyramids and hieroglyphics everywhere in a purple landscale with rotating alien vats. The midi is from AA MAP06, and while it was never really one of my favourite AA midis it plays into the map's pace.

 

So initial runs of this map are all but guaranteed to go up in flames, a lot of the time quite literally. After shotgunning a few small enemies, you open the doors to about 50 archviles, which will be pursuing you through a Scythe MAP28-esque obstacle course for the next little while. As you progress, parts of the map open up to make it more navigable for the archies, so that their AI doesn't get caught up and make this process more trivial. So this one will take some practice and analyzing to get past some problem parts. Which ways to run around certain monsters, places to hide so that the other monsters don't damage you, et-cetera. Once you make it to the end, you'll climb up a pyramid to a bird teleporter, which gives you invuln and a fully stocked BFG to get your revenge with. There are also some more ammo and invulns stashed around the area, since just the initial boost isn't enough. Playing too aggressively can result in you getting stuck in the air though, so don't do that. After the insanity in that area is cleared up, you get to backtrack through the level and see all the carnage left in your wake, as well as all the ways the level allowed the archviles easier travel.

 

I think once you do learn this map it's not terribly hard, after doing a bit of practice with the help of DSDA-doom rewinds I actually won on my first real saveless attempt. This is another one of my absolute favourites so far I'd have to say, it was very fun taking this apart and the chaos you get to unleash at the end is oh so satisfying. Super good time.

[Azure_Horror]

4 hours ago, DisgruntledPorcupine said:

I think there are bits of elegance in [map 19] though, and I do kind of appreciate a map that feels like a breather while also still having some octane to its action.

...

I think once you do learn [map 20] it's not terribly hard, after doing a bit of practice with the help of DSDA-doom rewinds I actually won on my first real saveless attempt. This is another one of my absolute favourites so far I'd have to say, it was very fun taking this apart and the chaos you get to unleash at the end is oh so satisfying. Super good time.

Thank you! @DisgruntledPorcupine! You managed to describe maps 19 and map 20 better than I ever could!

 

 

Map 23  Neon Desert by @Chookum

 

An unusual combination of craziness and tranquility is what I like the most about Neon Desert!

 

On one hand, this map has pretty formidable monster composition, including deadly mancubi snipers, many revs and chaingunners and a flock of Rocket Defenders. The visuals include force-field pyramids and neon-colored sector cacti. The map location is a small patch of desert scenery, suspended in some alien sky. Basically, we have our favorite Ancient Aliens flair, and then some icing on top of that.

 

Despite all that, gameplay flow is surprisingly calm! Proper target prioritization disarms most of the biggest hurdles, and freedom of movement allows to conquer the rest of fights. A pretty unusual situation. Most modern mappers either go for less threatening encounter compositions, or aim to make their fights notably hectic. Hell, Ancient Aliens WAD itself is memorable for its hectic, adrenaline-fueled fights among other things. But @Chookum decided to take a different approach - and it worked perfectly!

 

Oh, and I almost forgot: the sand flow section at the central creates some unusual movement opportunities. Conveyors on arenas are very underrated, I think...

[Veeda Vidlak]

My apologies for the secret maps taking this long, I have 32 done as well and I'll post it later so as not to leave a massive eyesore block of text.

 

Map31 “Lazarus Labs”

 

The secret levels take us to the realm of Doom’s more modern incarnation. First a map from Doom 2016, and then one from Doom Eternal’s expansion.

 

Welcome to Lazarus Labs, a highly secretive underground complex free from the scrutiny of bureaucracy, ethics boards and other inanities. Naturally this bastion of progressiveness was subverted by the powers of hell, ultimately serving as a key starting point for their invasion of Earth. Now I’ve played Lazarus Labs a few times, but it’s been a hot minute. I’ll mostly avoid making specific comparisons because I’ll probably just make myself look foolish.

 

As presented here, Lazarus Labs is a relatively straightforward techbase with Ancient Aliens textures nicely utilized to assist in the recreation. Combat is largely small-scale, though not without notable encounters. The room you drop down into with a pair of mancubi in front is easy to screw up, though the pinky attack (which I think is the infamous pinky room from 2016) certainly isn’t. The big circular room shortly thereafter I do remember from the modern Lazarus Labs, and while dangerous you can cheese it by camping in the switch room. The yellow key chamber towards the end is the biggest fight of the map, featuring a swarm of mid-tiers chasing you around the ring. It’s pretty fun, and generally forgiving as long as you keep your path clear.

 

Finally we come to our ending, featuring the infamous cyberdemon just like in the 2016 version. Except, you know, here it’s just a normal cyber instead of a structured boss fight. So just plasma him before hitting the switch and dealing with the various ambushers guarding the exit (and sneaking around the hole to hit the secret exit switch if you like). You can also hit the switch immediately and have an infight party, whatever floats your boat.

 

Specific Comparisons notwithstanding, I did feel a sense of familiarity playing this for the first time, so the recreation is definitely a good one. It isn’t Cheesewheel’s fault that the basic Doom 2 cyberdemon can’t provide an epic dual like the one in Doom 2016, so the meh ending isn’t on him, rather it’s a consequence of the limitations of the engine. While in practice a mere techbase, Lazarus Labs does succeed at what it’s trying to do, which is recreate a modern doom level to the extent the original game can manage. It’s a good map and a good use of the secret slot.

 

warpspeed31.zip

Time: 10:37    Kills: 321/321   Secrets: 2/2

[RHhe82]

MAP23: Neon Desert. Played on DSDA v0.25.6, UV, PS. 224/224 K, 1/1 S, 68/68 I. Comp. time 13:24

 

Desert valley slotter! You have to keep on moving, as mancubine turrets loom over the playing field where you unleash the enemy forces. It's not exactly easy, but after the last map this feels a bit like a breather. And I do like it, it's quite convincing desert area with shiny cacti and pretty much constant action. My tactic was to run around and conserve ammo (which wasn't really necessary) and have the enemies infight with each other.

 

I usually detest "3D bridges" in Doom (reminiscing on CC1 is not a pleasant experience), but the light bridges here and in some other maps sit surprisingly well -- they don't look goofy at all, and miraculously player doesnt' fall between cracks either :P

[Helm]

Gotta write these in fast and I'm behind, shit!

World 22 - Passions Like Fire
by BluePineapple72

I brought some steamy Conception to the date

I could never feel I had a real handle on the situation until nearly everything was dead. The space is vertigo inducing and filled with thrills and terrors in every direction from the heart of the matter. But at the heart we will return again and again. Nearly every direction procured more danger and fuel to pursue, and inevitably some sort of quiet is achieved, perhaps the amorous inamorata inspiration of this map has an affect to the feel of the foray. I certainly introduce the folly, for one. This one felt out of control to me. I spent some time eating shit at a double vile encounter. It's actually challenging in a different way, the mapper has their own style of how they create pressure. I left feeling I hadn't really conquered but merely survived this tumultuous love affair. More is hidden under the surface here. footage

World 23 - Neon Desert
by Chookum

bit of Autechre

This one felt like a gliding dream to me. I kind of got the concept as I strafed and didn't stop strafing until it was all over, I don't think I died? This map looks gorgeous and kind of has a sense of humour it felt like to me as well. I like boom scrolling floor tricks, the way they tie off the environmental concept here is excellent. This is another map I would have no way to say that it was made under speedy restrictions. I really enjoyed playing this, this has a real ambient vibe, or at least that's how it landed with the ae playing at the same time. Good contrast between the two maps. one flustered me and overwhelmed me and then made me feel like I was retreating from it all, the other allowed me to glide around fairly peacefully in what otherwise is a deluge of slaughter. What a cool map, what a cool experience to play these two back to back, even if it's due to lack of time. footage

[continuum.mid]

5 hours ago, Helm said:

bit of Autechre

I love Autechre! They are the best in the genre of "weird random beepboop noises".

[continuum.mid]

World 23: Neon Desert (Chookum)

dsda-doom 0.25.6+dfsg-1 (Debian 12), Doom 2, Ultra-Violence, blind, pistol start, saves 

102% Kills, 97% Items, 0% Secrets, 20:34

 

Neon Desert is a mini-slaughterfest in a desert studded with neon-colored cacti and signs, which looks crazy cool. The Mancubi in this map act like the Arachnotrons in AA's "Arachnotron Arrival" - they have far too many replacements to be worth rocketing to death, so just keep moving to avoid their fire as you whittle down the crowds of enemies on the ground. The biggest threats in the first fight are the hitscanners that teleport in later, but the Revenant tracers also killed me a few times, as inattentive players can easily get hit by them while turning around or if accidentally pinned. The Hell Knights will likely be the last survivors and there are more than enough rockets to kill them. I didn't have much trouble beating the map after this first fight, and after I realized not to target the Mancubi - there's a ton of health lying around, and a few green and blue armor suits, so no matter how much damage I took I could easily recover. The next task is clear out the crowd of Imps covering the hill on which the blue skull key lies - just rocket and chaingun. Picking up the key and pressing the blue button summons a wave of Pinkies, which can look overwhelming, but is unlikely to pin you with the space available. The red key lies on a walkway guarded by Revenants; it took a while to find the switch that raises the stairs, and to kill the skeletons, but I managed eventually. The red switch summons Cacodemons and one Arch-Vile, who should be dealt with quickly before he resurrects too much. After cleaning up that fight, I sought to kill as many Mancubi as possible using all the ammo left in the map. It still wasn't enough, but I came close! The actual way to kill them is to cross a line near the exit leading to an eagle telefrag sequence.

 

Super fun map, and I keep saying this, but it's one of the best in the set, maybe the best map so far from a one-off contributor. The use of AA textures is very creative. Next map looks to be easygoing, but still very good-looking and fun, so I'm excited to play it.

Edited April 23, 2023 by continuum.mid

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Pistol-Start/Saves

Map 23: Neon Desert - Chookum

100% kills and secrets

Time: 9:37

 

And with that, we have the final mapper of the project making their debut. Chookum is a name that sounds kinda familiar. I think I played DUMP Episode 2, so I should have played their maps in that, and I played a bit of RAMP, but idk if I managed to play one of their 3 maps there. But this is the first map of theirs that I'm aware they made, and it's a short and snappy one! I remember this one being harder the first time I played it. I swear there were more archies here in RC1, but I could be misremembering. Specifically, I thought there was a pop up ones by both skull keys. Who knows? What I do know is this is a very explosive map. Run to the center to grab the RL and SSG, then the fun can begin. There's a ton of rockets in this map and a good amount of the monsters here are of the weaker variety, so you know what that means. This first wave does feature hell knights and revs, but imps and hitscan will join the fray, and those are fun to blow up. The floating mancs refill when killed so ignore them. The blue key is guarded by a ton of imps just asking to be blown up. Grabbing the key spawns a pinky wave, and this is one of the few times you shouldn't use rockets. The berserk you grab at the start will be the best thing here. Lowering the blue wall reveals more revs and hell knights. There's a lot of health and armor in this map, so you shouldn't have to worry much about dying, just keep firing rockets. Hitting the switch that raises steps to the red key will also spawn a rev/guardian ambush. Finally, lowering the red wall reveals cacos and the only actual archie in the map. Focus on flame boi first, then take out the cacos. Approaching the end UFO will cause a spirit eagle warp, taking out the mancs. I then grabbed the secret megasphere by the red key to exit with 200/200. Overall, very solid map! Nice and quick, and very explosive. Looks very nice with good texturing and general design. I like using the conveyor belts to convey moving sand. Kinda wish we got more full Chookum maps in this, but at least the one map we got is good!

[Klear]

Mapworld24: Cryptozoophobia by WeirdSandwich

QuestZDoom, UV, blind, pistol start, saves

 

Spoiler

 

I... did not like this map at all. I think I will be quite negative here, so let me first list the mitigating facts that might be relevant: my head hurt pretty bad while I was playing, so that didn't help, and the expansive nature of the arenas presented here meant low FPS for me for a lot of the playthrough. And I like the visual style, but the gameplay... just didn't grab me at all.

 

Most of the map consist of the same formula - you are in a giant arena, increasingly dangerous enemies are set up as turrets and pressing switches or opening doors lets a bunch of mid-tier enemies mix it up. But the arena is so large that basically none of the enemies pose any threat. I'm pretty sure all of my deaths in this very long first part came about from terminal lack of care.

 

First I would run around setting up infights. Too often a baron would pick a fight with a turreted enemy, getting so close that neither can hit the other, thus removing both from the equation. The rest of the enemies... just took a long time to die. Second, I would get stuck and have to look for the button or door that would let me progress - I think this might be chalked up to the FPS troubles, since I really didn't want to look in particular directions? But it kept happening. Eventually a teleporter would let me frag the turrets and on we go to the next area where the same thing happens.

 

I distinctly remember "what next, cyberdemons?" yeah. It's cyberdemons and they are as ineffective as the previous monsters were. Finally the map sends the biggest group of revenants ever backed by a couple of viles and I kinda still didn't care? I just wanted to be done with the map already, and yeah, somehow this group didn't post much of a problem either.

 

What I didn't realise was that this wasn't the final fight and what I mistook for exit UFO took me to the real challenge and this part, finally, I think is really well crafted, if perhaps a bit too difficult for VR play. It presents a bit of a combat puzzle, figuring out how to get the very much needed BFG and live to tell the tale was fun, though surviving long enough to finish the clean-up has proven more problematic to me. With how wonky my analog movement skills can be, this required me to rely on revenant missile RNG way more than I'd like.

 

There are a few more viles as the last nasty surprise, though those I felt were more annoying than dangerous.

 

So there you have it. One of the more beautiful maps in the wad, but sadly the first one that felt outright boring to me.

 

 

Edited April 23, 2023 by Klear

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 23 - Neon Desert

by @Chookum

 

For the 23rd map, Chookum turns in this enjoyable riff on Map 03 of Ancient Aliens, only featuring Mancubi instead of Arachnotrons and with the sort of neon backdrop like something out of Map 28 of Ancient Aliens. First entry into the central part sure isn't easy, but we should be able to grab the rocket launcher and Super Shotgun in the middle without getting killed. We end up missing the SS a couple of times, but it's thankfully fairly trivial, though perhaps the mob of Hell Knights and Revenants in the middle didn't quite infight how we wanted them too.

 

Only accessible area has groups of Imps on a rocky outcrop that you could probably make infight with the Mancubi but honestly, it isn't worth the trouble and falling off the ledge in the process just makes things more annoying. Still, our rocket fire could've been more accurate.

 

Picking said key up sends lots of pinkies are way which we really weren't in the mood for after several failed Tyson runs on Map 01 of NRFTL (I think I'll have to pick carefully which maps are speedran this summer, if any). But anyway, bk opens a path with lots of rockets, soulsphere, megaarmor and some enemies, though they aren't too terribly important. We spend a few minutes futzing around for the switch before finding it behind the tower. We can then climb some ruins, but we'll be attacked by Revenants and Guardians before we reach the top. They really weren't too much trouble.

 

After this, the final battle is unlocked, with only one measly Arch-vile and several Cacodemons. At some point, we realized we'd never picked up the Megasphere that we'd seen on a back ledge earlier near the last key, so we then head toward it and find the right platform on the first try.

 

After desultory Mancubi combat that just shows their killswitch hadn't been triggered, we head to the exit where we then end up telefraggin every Mancubi on the map before stepping into the exit UFO. Sort of felt like there could've been more, but on the other hand, I'm in the jazz midi used here (from Sonic Adventure!).

 

 

 

[Veeda Vidlak]

Map32 “Blood Swamps”

 

Unlike Lazarus Labs, I haven’t played the Doom Eternal Expansions so I can’t comment on the similarities in the levels even if I wanted to. That’s not really important though, this map stands on its own just fine.

 

Little can put me on edge at the start of a map than hearing the Mucus Flow’s midi, which fits this level quite well. The visuals are an unsettling mix of green, purple, and black, with a skybox that reminds me of speed of doom and the brackish water I tend to associate with sunlust. The use of fences, dead trees, and torches adds to the purgatory-like atmosphere, like an inverse of Muumi’s Another Glance at The Paradise from earlier. Now I'm curious how the ambiance of the modern Blood Swamps feels.

 

The combat is subdued until we come upon a large outdoor area with a fork taking us left or right (and a sunny pillar in the distance that supports the purgatory analogy). Make sure to grab the secret soulsphere before jumping down here and take your pick, though I prefer going left first to get that one out of the way. Heading down takes us to… hmmm.

 

Here we have what I suspect is the most or at least one of the most contentious arenas in the megawad. Those clouds from Another Glance at Paradise are back, now serving as visibility obstacles for the encounter. Said encounter is not trivial, unleashing several revenants, imps, very hard to see specters, and two viles. Remember that island level last month with the old ruins hidden in the center (Fragport map07)? It had vine midtextures? There were only imps to fight and I suspected that the area would piss everyone off if it had a vicious combat setup. I will argue that this swamp encounter is what that scenario looks like, especially with how reliant we are on the rocket launcher. Personally, I’m ok with it under the logic that you can come down here at 200/200 and there seems to be a quasi-consistent strategy. If you run to the far end to trigger the fight, turn back, and unload rockets at the spawning enemies it tends to keep them corralled so you can zero in on the viles when they appear.

 

After surviving the mist marsh (and another moderate difficulty encounter) we come upon a scientist who… gives us the blue key? I’ll think about this suspicious amiability later. Teleport back and head right, following our spirit wolf to a pair of arenas in which we are confined to a small, circular ring of light while monsters teleport into the darkness surrounding us (can be entered, but 20% damaging floor). Has anyone ever played Metroid Prime Echoes? Because that’s what these fights remind me of. It’s my favorite part of the map and I love how the player is given the freedom to decide when a brief stint into the consuming darkness is the correct move.

 

Another ostensibly benevolent scientist provides the red key and we’re ready for the finale. The platform we’re on locks us in and we must contend with two waves of enemies, first a bunch of skeletons and hell knights, then some barons, pinkies, and two cybers. Both waves are backed up by sniping arachnotrons, which are a legitimate threat. I like to focus on the spiders on one side of the arena immediately, giving an area of relative safety to hang out in. Shortly after the second wave begins, the force field around the third pillar drops, granting a BFG to kill everything with. Afterwards take the slayer symbol teleport to the heavenly escape pillar where the friendly neighborhood scientists are ready for you to ascend.

 

Blood Swamps is awesome. The superb atmosphere makes great use of the midi and the combat scenarios are inventive and challenging. I’m sure I’d think different if the marsh fight had incensed me but it didn’t, so I have nothing to complain about. At the very least, it’s an example of what a secret map should be with its experimentation and controversial gameplay choices. It’s one of my top five in the wad.

 

warpspeed32.zip

Time: 10:13    Kills: 235/235   Secrets: 2/2

[Book Lord]

MAP 24 – Cryptozoophobia by @Weird Sandwich

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

 

Cryptozoophobia was an enigmatic word to disguise the real intentions of this geographically enormous map. More appropriate names could have been ‘Weaponzorgphobia’ or ‘Zorglo’s Combat Anxiety’, especially when the UV version slams in your face without having experienced the lower skills first. If you rule out the secrets, which fully escaped my attention, Weird Sandwich consciously negated the weapons to quickly eliminate the opposition, enforcing a different kind of gameplay based upon infighting and exploiting the map’s vastness. Enemies must be evaded, and progression switches must be pressed to advance, regardless of the pursuing hordes. 

Spoiler

The first courtyard saw me collecting the YSK and facing many mid-tier creatures armed with only a shotgun and a chaingun (side note: I always respect pistol start equipment, even on continuous). The second courtyard was even larger and with beefier opposition, including several closets to open and a RSK chamber that released Barons, Revenants and Cacodemons. I did not find the tucked-away SSG until I alerted everyone, but I was unsure whether the author wanted me to retaliate or not. I entered the next section instead, which was twice as big and filled with every kind of fiend, including Cyberdemon turrets that attacked from crazy distances. At last, there were rocket launchers that encouraged me to attack, instead of just running away.

Spoiler

Pressing forward seemed the best option, so I climbed the stairs and entered the Egyptian chamber with the magenta waterfall to steal the BSK. Picking up the Radiation Suit was mandatory to survive, since hell broke loose behind me, and I must escape through the hazardous river. Two Arch-Viles joined the chasing group and reinforced it further, so I decided myself to do some proper clean-up. I slaughtered all monsters on the terrace, then opened the blue door to telefrag the Cyberdemons that had not been killed yet, just as happened with Arachnotrons in the first courtyard and Mancubi in the second. I inadvertently scored the secret sector inside the cyan water column, and I did not see that a BFG appeared at the bottom of the magenta waterfall.

Spoiler

Missing the strongest weapon implied that I must resume the non-belligerent role in the upcoming fight against a crowd of Revenants and Arch-Viles. I must herd them around the colossal Illuminati icon at the centre, waiting for the healers to die from friendly fire. At that point, I was sick and tired of Cryptozoophobia, its gargantuan spaces, and the massive hordes I never had the right weapon for. When I saw there was ANOTHER tight slaughter set piece right before the end, I was tempted to quit, then I thought I could make a dash for the BFG and see how it turned out. Admittedly, it was the best fight in store for today, but I was exhausted after enduring so many overstretched encounters. I suppose the author should be commended for his unusual approach to this level, but I eventually disliked it and the sheer length contributed to the negative perception. Peculiar things are better enjoyed in small doses, and more than often concision works like sugar-coat on bitter pills.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Book Lord

[RHhe82]

MAP24: Cryptozoophobia. Played on DSDA v0.25.6, UV, PS. 666/666 K, 2/3 S, 8/8 I. Comp. time 40:03

 

This is done in 10 hours? Incredible -- although I suppose it is fast to cover large area, but there is also detail. And a lot of area. Anyway, I like this sort of simple arena slaughter-lite, which makes Cryptozoophobia already a great map. However, in the end I have to demote to merely good map, because somehow it feels a bit slow for quite some time -- only when the cyberdemon sub-arena is revealed I felt like blood got pumping.

 

Then again I love the music, which promotes grading to good+ or great-. I always mistake this track ('Trapeze', is it?) for the music for the final actual map of AA; there's a sort send-offish feel to it, like we're entering the final stretch before the finish line. That's not the case here nor in AA. Whatevs, I love it anyway.

 

I found only 1 secret naturally (the SSG at the start), and the second after killing everybody. The third secret continues to elude me.

 

(The next day I was finally able to find the last secret. I feel that was La-Mulana level secret right there; not overly complicated necessary, but you have to notice something very small and indistinctive and figure out you need to shoot it, that it's not just some background wall decor).

[Ralgor]

MAP24 - "Cryptozoophobia" by WeirdSandwich
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl9, UV, Pistol start, blind run w/ saves, then single segment w/ demo
100% kills and secrets

This map is way too long and hard for a megawad like this. But I can't deny that it is fucking epic. It starts you out with nothing but a pistol, and you have to grab your first shotgun from one of the sergeants. After that the map will slowly give you better weapons as you fight your way deeper into the level. The secrets serve to just give you a weapon earlier than you would otherwise get it, but you absolutely need those weapons for this level to feel good. Trying to deal with the early threats with just a shotgun and chaingun is annoying, and that goes for every part of the level after this. If you don't find the secrets, you will still be able to finish the level, but you're going to have a bad time.

The first three areas are all very similar. Lots of sniping enemies (first arachnotrons, then mancubuses, and finally cyberdemons) in a courtyard surrounded by a raised level where you have to hit switches to reveal a key. That key gives you access to a teleporter to kill the snipers and open the way to the next area. This part of the level isn't too difficult as long as you keep moving, it's just a pain without the secret weapons. Without them the level feels like it drags on too long.

 

Spoiler

Mom, are we there yet?

The next fight after you have all of the keys is a giant blob of revenants spiced with a few arch-viles. You can do this with the rocket launcher easily enough if you circle strafe and let the revenants do most of the damage to the arch-viles, but the secret BFG makes this fight actually fun. Then it's about biding your time and taking advantage when an arch-vile finds themselves without their guard.

 

Spoiler

These flash mobs are getting out of hand...

The final fight is by far the hardest, and occurs when you enter the teleporter at the center of the level. You end up in a long pathway, with many enemies at each side. This includes four cyberdemons. This part of the level is hard enough with the BFG already in your hands, it's much more difficult when you have to try to make your way to the side to grab the one there. That then causes several cacodemons to spawn in on top of the enemies you already have to deal with. It took me more than a dozen tries to finish this one my first playthrough. I feel like this fight is too hard for such a long map in what hasn't thus far been a super hard wad.

 

Spoiler

One half of the final fight... there are cyberdemons back there. Somewhere. Don't worry, their rockets can still find you...

Overall while I was pretty happy to manage to get my single segment demo (on the first attempt after some practice), I didn't really enjoy this map too much. It's just too much and drags on too long. My first playthrough probably took me 90 minutes, spread out over a few hours. Even my single segment demo is over half an hour long. The problem might be the format of this megawad club more than anything, where it's expected to be able to beat a level in 24 hours. I barely have enough time to keep up most days, so a level like this threatens to cause me to fall behind. If I was content with playing this level over the course of a few days I probably would have enjoyed it more. Still, the level looks great, and I have a hard time believing that this map was made in 10 hours. That's a theme of the whole megawad though.

MAP24 - 31:23.37 (31:23)  K: 666/666  I: 8/8  S: 3/3

ralgor_pussixmaw24.zip

 

P.S. I wrote the above a few days ago. The levels since have been kicking my ass. This level in hindsight was the start of the hard part of this megawad.

Edited April 24, 2023 by Ralgor

[RHhe82]

10 minutes ago, Ralgor said:

This map is way too long and hard for a megawad like this.

 

10 minutes ago, Ralgor said:

P.S. I wrote the above a few days ago. The levels since have been kicking my ass. This level in hindsight was the start of the hard part of this megawad.

 

When I started reading your post I was about to comment You just wait one day, this is an easy level :D <-- laughing, but with tears of blood spewing from my eyes

[Helm]

World 24 - Cryptozoophobia
by Weird Sandwich

I kept the Autechre going 

Zorg is not afraid of no abominable snowman. Zorg is not afraid of no chupacabra. Zorg is actually close friends with Nessie. The demons, though, the demons are exactly the sorts of cryptids Zorg has set a mind to exterminate. This map has a lot of extermination to do, but no guns to do it early on. So it becomes a case of a lot of running around, triggering infighting and slowly building an arsenal. These sorts of maps suit me, at least the long first part until the cybers is fairly uninterrupted for my footage, meaning I was in the zone and kind of making do with the situation. However, I am saving and reloading, and although 80% of my playthrough is pretty uninterrupted, it's such a long map that if I had to do it in one segment by the time we get to the exit cyber situation, I would be really sweating it. It's too many cybers to just drop in a narrow but open air layout. Having to do all of the beginning of the map every time you'd like to go meet those cybers probably pushes this map into the higher difficulty echelon of what we've seen so far.

Map was fairly doable with saves for this runner, but that is quite meaningless in cases like these. You will never understand doom nor progress even deeper if you always keep playing stuff like this with saves. I am sensing how this would feel single segment and I'm like ok I'll just make a pass through this place discretely and say we won, because I don't want to return and try to do this kind of 25 minute long map with full focus.

But as a brief foray, as a bit of tourism, this is some of the best fun I've had in the whole set! It's just a chill incremental arena that provided a lot of thrills for me in my first go. I didn't catch any flyby cyber rockets, which could have soured me a little bit, potentially. The very important task of 'clear cut progression' when under 4 cyber sniper fire was been dutifully observed.

I didn't find any secrets and generally this wasn't the sort of map that I would stop to smell the roses on anyway, this is more powerwash simulator in what part of the brain it appeals to than it is 'oh let's explore this alien new world' but I wouldn't have it any other way for this map.

A very distinctive offering, certainly a very positive addition to the roster of this set so far. Intimidating prospect for single segment, of which there have been 3-4 so far in here. People are saying this is easy street and tomorrow it's going to be a tragedy for us all. I have to concur with saves this is squarely on the fun side of the pendulum. Let's see what the future brings! footage

Edited April 24, 2023 by Helm