The DWmegawad Club plays: PUSS IX: Mapping at Warpspeed

[BluePineapple72]

How does the club feel about a mapper popping in to share insights about the map they had made as sort of a behind the scenes thing for the project currently being played? Would it fit in this thread for me to talk a bit about how I used astrology for the past few maps?

[Horus]

1 minute ago, BluePineapple72 said:

How does the club feel about a mapper popping in to share insights about the map they had made as sort of a behind the scenes thing for the project currently being played? Would it fit in this thread for me to talk a bit about how I used astrology for the past few maps?

When I participated in the club I really enjoyed reading mapper insights in the thread

[RHhe82]

5 minutes ago, BluePineapple72 said:

How does the club feel about a mapper popping in to share insights about the map they had made as sort of a behind the scenes thing for the project currently being played? Would it fit in this thread for me to talk a bit about how I used astrology for the past few maps?

Can’t speak for everyone, but I’d love some director’s commentary!

[Klear]

18 minutes ago, BluePineapple72 said:

How does the club feel about a mapper popping in to share insights about the map they had made as sort of a behind the scenes thing for the project currently being played?

 

Sad it hasn't been happening here much yet. I read through the Going Down thread and enjoyed mouldy's commentaries there.

[Ralgor]

31 minutes ago, BluePineapple72 said:

How does the club feel about a mapper popping in to share insights about the map they had made as sort of a behind the scenes thing for the project currently being played? Would it fit in this thread for me to talk a bit about how I used astrology for the past few maps?

 

I would love it, personally.

[BluePineapple72]

Sick! Glad to hear it!

 

I'll give some insight into the project as a whole at the month's end.

 

 

As for my maps, as you've seen three of them I'm sure you've noticed the astrological theming I've used for them. You may have also read that I made these maps to get laid. That tidbit is true. It didn't work.

 

Sometime during the public submission window for the project I had decided to commit to the idea of making a map based on the zodiac calendar. I had plans for a single map where the player visits four environments connected to the four elementals associated with the calendar (fire, earth, air, water). There would be three fights in these biomes each associated with an astrological sign with all 12 fights being needed to exit the main hub. I abandoned the singular map hub thing when I realized that making 12 good distinct fights in 10 hours would be practically impossible.

 

I started with the fire elements, Aries, Leo, and Saggitarius given that Aries is the start of the astrological calendar. Mind you, I did the bare minimum of research into astrology to make these levels so most of the metaphorical significance in fights and whatnot is purely conjecture. Fire signs as people are notable as being proud, brash, intensely passionate, spontaneous, and competitive. The fights I would create for this map would be built with small/medium fights in arenas that constrain and test the player with quick and dangerous fights that require the player to constantly move and fight like a furious flame.

 

Aries I wanted to begin with a brutal melee encounter that quickly escalated into an archie+cyber shitshow. Leo I wanted to have be a significant Archie fight. Naturally since the RL was given here I figured I might as well throw in a few pain elementals. Saggitarius' arena is shaped like an arrow and features a lot of precision based enemies (hitscanners/arachnotrons).

 

Earth signs are stalwart, grounded, patient, and stubborn. I wanted these fights to force the player to stand their ground as they're faced with large hordes of monsters; no less in a very earthy and lush tech base. 

Spoiler

I'm a Taurus, so naturally I spent the most time on that fight.

That one literally forces the player into a small hole so that they have to stand their ground. Using a lot of barons and a cyber in that fight due to their connection to the Taurus constellation I came up with the map name and from there I decided to just go full boar with how many barons I was placing in the map. Capricorn I wanted a small earthy cave that floods with meat doors that the player has to mine their way through. Virgo I don't really remember. I knew I wanted to utilize many monster turrets since that's what skillsaw recommended I use as a rule for the project when I asked him his design philosophies for Ancient Aliens.

 

I'll speak more on the following maps tomorrow. Passions Like Fire was the only map that I had finished and submitted during the original public mapping window from May-June 2021. The remaining three maps I decided to work on after submissions had closed since we were close to a full 32, especially if I had completed my 4 map set and since DB had one more map on the docket. The completion of these three levels sometime in 2022 and the wrapping up of Map29 and the credits map (being a frakenmap from a few unfinished levels by DB and I) allowed us to release this project uh uh uh... last month. Sorry everyone I've been too busy chasing chicks with my doom map resume.

Edited April 26, 2023 by BluePineapple72

[Celestin]

44 minutes ago, BluePineapple72 said:

How does the club feel about a mapper popping in to share insights about the map they had made as sort of a behind the scenes thing for the project currently being played? Would it fit in this thread for me to talk a bit about how I used astrology for the past few maps?

I like this idea.

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

Behind the scenes commentary is always much appreciated, it's great to hear the mapper's point of view and get a glimpse into the headspace behind things. Knowing basically nothing about astrology and just vaguely recognizing the symbols from playing The Binding of Isaac forever ago, it's nice to know about the work done tying them into the maps' visuals and gameplay.

[continuum.mid]

World 26: Clandestine Cumulonimbus (BluePineapple72)

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

Kills: 95%, Items: 84%, Secrets: 20%, Time: 22:13, Save Count: 21

 

Out of the three zodiac levels thus far - it seems the one after this will close out the series - Clandestine Cumulonimbus is easily the one I had the most fun with. The setting is an entrancing combination between World 23, and lupinx-kassman's famous guest map for Ancient Aliens, "Culture Shock." The incidental combat here is no less fun than the big zodiac setpieces. There's a "village" area leading to two of the fights that contains the Super Shotgun, and it's full of stealth aliens, alongside some Mancubi and a Hell Knight. Another hallway with a Rocket Launcher, which I'm not sure is required, locks the player in with three Revenants on one side and three Mancubi on the other - taking damage is almost inevitable, but when I started prioritizing the Revenants, who guard the switch that opens the hall back up, I managed to win handily. There were a bunch of stray Cacos in the areas just below the opening room, and fearing that I'd run out of ammo I essentially let them follow me all around the map. Eventually I wandered into a library area and killed them there, then realized that I was locked in and would have to complete the first of the zodiac setpieces to exit.

 

The library fight is tougher than it seems - it teleports Arachnotrons and Hell Knights on the four sides of the room, and it seemed at first that clearing a path and running around was the ideal solution. Problem is, the gaps between the wall and bookshelves are just small enough to be blocked by one Arachnotron, or sometimes two Hell Knights. So after numerous attempts, I managed to win by sticking behind one bookshelf, strafing back and forth while firing at the incoming Arachnotrons, then once I could get past the bookshelves, keeping back the incoming hordes from the opposite side of the room, until I ran out of rockets, and dealt with the remaining (somewhat manageable) quantity of Hell Knights with the SSG. Celestin's review spoiled me the BFG secret in this room, but I was too unobservant to find the switch until I returned to the area much later in the map.

 

Opposite the door to the library is another sequence of setpiece fights connected by teleportation gates. First, in a room with purple nectar slopes, picking up a plasma rifle triggers a flood of fodder enemies that must be dispensed of quickly. Next is a perched Cyberdemon and a large crowd of Revenants in a room with erratically raising and lowering bookshelves. Navigation can prove difficult and I needed to clear out some of the revenants to avoid getting stuck. But after a while, with Mr. Cybie's help, I got rid of the revenants, and then I dealt with Cybie himself using trial, error, and the super shotgun. (I also accidentally went back through the teleport gates a few times, which was annoying.) For some reason I missed the soulsphere in this room til I went back to look for secrets.

 

Then comes the biggest setpiece. Shoot a switch that looks not unlike the ones that appeared in Muumi's Alien Tartarus, to release an Arch-Vile in the village area alongside some heavies,  guarding a teleporter to a big arena. Pick up the Rocket Launcher and three Viles teleport in, who I opted to spend all my BFG ammo on, because I couldn't afford to be dodging them when the flying enemies closed in. The Guardian missiles kept catching up to me and ending several of my attempts, while the Pain Elementals filled the area with Lost Souls, and all I could do was circle-run, save-scum, and wait until the platform raised back to a Supercharge I'd left behind and the teleporter back to the center. At this point a Vile and a Cyberdemon had been released there, but I was feeling cowardly, so after rocketing the Vile to death, I just ran to the exit.

 

My decision not to go for 100% does not affect my evaluation of Clandestine Cumulonimbus, however. It's a work of brilliance that manages to make all of its hardest challenges fun and get me excited to play another BluePineapple map. Top-tier stuff.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by continuum.mid

[Book Lord]

MAP 27 – Of Waves and Woe by @BluePineapple72

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

 

The final chapter of BluePineapple72’s zodiac-inspired tetralogy told us a tale Of Waves and Woe. Any Doom fan knows these words imply a slaughter map, not exactly what I was wishing for this relentless third episode. The structure was notably different from the previous three entries from the same author, tossing away the non-linearity and replacing it with an ever-growing layout. The main triggers were the customary zodiac platforms, but there were also smaller set pieces in correspondence of the three skull keys.

 

The setting was a pleasing combination of natural rock, cyan water, neon lights, and artificial constructions mixing the various ancient civilisations featured in Ancient Aliens. Most of the combat took place on the flooded bottom, starting with the Cancer encounter. Quite appropriately, the protagonists were many Arachnotrons, the only enemies to slightly resemble a crab, backed by Pinkies and two Arch-Viles. Trying to sort the situation without carryover ammo was very difficult, since you need to create some space for moving, to pick up additional rockets in the north, and then concentrate on killing the monsters. The YSK could be found on the northern ledge, releasing more monsters trying to trap me. I escaped instead and used them to infight with the Spider Mastermind, before finishing her off.

Spoiler

The RSK mini set piece behind the yellow door fooled me like a rookie. I assumed that bulky demons were about to spawn and that I should pump rockets to stop them before they boxed me in; Hell Knights appeared indeed, together with Stealth Aliens and Shotgun Guys in close quarters. I was unprepared and face-rocketed, taking so much damage that I decided to reload. The RSK granted access to the Scorpio glyph, which opened a series of new passageways full of enemies that connected previously separated canyons. A pistol starter does not have the BFG for this fight, so I did my best to run past the bottleneck to the west and reach the newly revealed exit area. I made my stand not far from the Pisces platform, channelling the hellspawn in front of me and propelling one rocket after the other. Eventually they stopped coming, including the Cacodemons that were spawned outside of the currently accessible areas.

 

To pick up the BFG, I walked on the Pisces seal. My action unleashed the final wave, an army of monsters pouring from the map outskirts towards the centre, requiring the Zorg to control the tide with careful movement. This was arguably the maps’ standout moment, the most challenging and exciting at the same time, when I must not only shoot and dodge attacks but also seek the balance Of Waves and Woe. The BFG allowed to be a little more assertive when I wanted to fight back, and there was plenty of places to collect ammo and replenish health.

Spoiler

The only mistake I did as a blind player was to enter the water pit in the easternmost part of the map, hosting the BSK fight. A scripted teleport sequence spawned all kinds of nasties in the pit, starting with Sergeants and ending with a Cyberdemon. When the boss appeared, the water had risen to the floor level, so getting out of the trapped room was the best option. If you fall here before destroying the horde outside, there will be no escape. I had more trouble with the Cancer ambush at the start than with the map’s largest hordes, but I was exhausted when the 818th monster hit the ground. I noticed the position of the secret compartment without finding a way to open it, but I did not need the Megasphere inside. A good slaughter map, I preferred the vicious, less inflated combat in other BluePineapple72 offerings, which granted the zodiac symbols a better visibility.

 

11 hours ago, BluePineapple72 said:

Sick! Glad to hear it!

 

I'll give some insight into the project as a whole at the month's end.

I thank you for taking the time to write some insider knowledge and to share the ideas behind your zodiac maps. I wish this were more common in our DWMC playthroughs, and that's the reason why I am stubbornly tagging the mappers, even inactive ones. I always hope they read the commentaries and maybe join us for a post or two, regardless of the reception. Most Club members get deep into their analysis, and despite some negativity I think it's always worth reading what everybody has written. I am often amazed at the differences in enjoyment and point of view that emerge from the various posts; there are so many factors to influence your opinion of a map, and in this small enclave of Doomworld the users tend to articulate them a bit more than typical. The DWMC is a useful read for any mapper, and I think there's more room for discussion between us, authors, and outsiders than what it currently takes place.

 

Looking forward to hear more about the zodiac maps, and the rest of the project. I am also curious about skillsaw's role in this successful Ancient Aliens spin-off!

 

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by Book Lord

[BluePineapple72]

5 minutes ago, Book Lord said:

 

Come on, this should have been a secret revelation for initiates, and you spoiled it outright!

 

 

Ooh! Forgot I had that as a secret in the last map. I’ll spoiler it. 

[Klear]

Worldmap27: Of Waves and Woe by BluePineapple72

QuestZDoom, UV, blind, pistol start, saves

 

Spoiler

 

This was... a map. I went into this expecting to eventually break. There's been some tough fights, some frustrating ones, but this was the first time I decided to whip out the cheat menu.

 

The start is difficult but in a way I generally enjoy - not that I wouldn't prefer an easier map, but I'm a fan of being able to slowly carve out a temporary safe spot, only venturing out when the monsters start to crowd too much or ammo is running low. It takes me several restarts before I find even a condidate for such a spot, but there are options, places to go, strategies to employ, enemies to prioritise... Running ahead before things die down isn't the best idea, as I've found. In this way the map  - well, the first half of the map - reminded me of some of Myolden's maps, where your way isn't generally barred but pushing ahead will often create more problems than it solves.

 

And yes, there's an early encounter with a handful of revenants and I did not run away from it this time. Maybe I should have, it kicked my ass, especially the chaingunners that also show up. This encounter also has the distinction of setting off my dumbest death yet - it starts at 9:45 in the video. Please don't watch it.

 

Moving on, a platform near a plasma rifle releases a horde of enemies, one cyberdemon and provides a BFG. A taste of things to come. This was my favourite part. I didn't rush for the big weapon, as I considered it too dangerous (and later outright impossible) but the cyberdemon really pulled his weight and for a while we were standing side by side, each blasting the demonic horde with a rocket launcher. It was awesome. He was such a bro, and I felt genuinely sad when I heard him fall.

 

Clean-up was easy. I spent a bit more time with it than I should have since I wanted to save up BFG ammo. Yeah, turns out that wasn't strictly necessary...

 

Alright, here's the thing - I never really played any slaughtermaps. I have very little idea how to play them. I don't know how the tactics and strategies, I don't have a feel for how long BFG ammo is going to last, I have no idea what movement to expect from a mob of 500 revenants, or how to carve my way through them without being punched to death, I don't know where to look for supplies, when to switch to rockets, which megaspheres to save and how much health is too little health and hell, using the BFG isn't my strong suit either... 

 

I bashed my head against this for ten minutes, tried various strategies, tried to learn, to adapt, hell, I even used a second save slot for the first time, but eventually I saw no option but to enable god mode. But I still I gave it one more shot before I did because why not and good thing too, because somehow I managed to stabilize, find a health and ammo cache and the mob just got thinner and thinner and I was done. Well, after another 10 minutes of killing. Phew, that was close! You haven't broken me yet, pineapple man! Muhahahah!

 

Well then, I will finally have something to say next time the slaughtermap flamewar discussion starts - I can definitely appreciate the appeal, but it's not my cup of coffee, and it's absolutely not something that's well suited for VR play. Like, at all. And I don't like how it makes the BFG feel weak =D

 

100% kills. No cheats (well, except for level warp). Easy.

 

 

 

Edited April 26, 2023 by Klear

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Pistol-Start/Saves

Map 26: Clandestine Cumulonimbus - BluePineapple72

100% kills and 80% secrets

Time: 27:01 (really closer to 18 but spent time looking for secrets)

Deaths: 3

 

My favorite Doom map ever is AA Map24, "Culture Shock," and it's 100% because of the setting and visuals. City above the clouds / heaven is a great setting, and those type of maps just have insane visuals. "Culture Shock" is the best example of this, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. It marries the sci-fi textures of AA with more rustic looking ones. So while there is the occasional light bridge, that map feels more like you're traversing an ancient land more than a futuristic one. I bring that up just cause this map uses some of the AA Map24 aesthetic. The teleport hoops, cloudy floors, blue topped buildings, etc, while taking in some more mediaeval influences like castles. Makes sense, given the map's title being a reference to PUSS V. The fact that this doesn't use Map24's MIDI is surprising, but that's not a big deal. This map's combat is a little too intense for that map's ambient track. While "Culture Shock" has combat that's cramped and not really that tough outside of one fight, this map is way more intense. Like the last 2 maps BP did, we've got to take on 3 trials in order to open up the exit, this time lowering a force field instead of raising a series of pillars. Like those maps, we can decide on which trial we do first. But first of course, we have to take out the initial enemies in the starting area. There doesn't appear to be many of them around, but as soon as you fire, you'll see just how many of them are really around. Before doing this, grab the shotgun and nearby rocket launcher and take out this small rev/manc ambush. You can find the 1st of 10 secrets here too by the switch that lets you back out. These secrets are very, VERY useful in this map. There's like 2 BFG secrets, 3 Megasphere secrets (could never figure out the one on the elevated pillar out in the open), several soul spheres, an invul, a telefrag/computer map, and a plasma (didn't figure this one out either). You'll need to be really observant for a few of these. For example, in the small housing area with the SSG, look out past the gate to find a shootable switch in the cloudy void. Go back up to the RL area to find a teleporter that takes you to that megasphere island with a few bulk cells. When returning, before stepping off the teleporter, turn around to lower the wall to find a BFG. While the BFG is very nice, I didn't find this one until later. In fact, I didn't find either BFG until I had already beaten 2 of the trials.

 

So lets get to those. The first one I did was the one to the north. I came in from the west side of the map, so I did the plasma rifle ambush. Mostly just some weaker enemies here, but there's a lot of them, so keep the plasma out. I then jumped through the teleporter hoops to the main set piece. Once you grab the RL off the astrology sign, a closet with a ton of revs opens up, more revs teleport onto the floor below, a cyb appear above you, and the bookcases will start to act like lifts. I got this fight done the 2nd try. I ran back down to get the cyb to hit the lower revs. I then used the plasma to take out any revs that got close, and just ran around until the doors opened back up so I could escape back the way I came. Back outside, look into the clouds to find another shootable switch. Shoot it to lower an invul, then run back to the ambush to rocket the revs. Looking at the cyb, you can find ANOTHER shootable switch. Get on a bookcase lift that raises high enough to hit it, opening up a teleporter in the rev closet, allowing you to telefrag the cyb and grab a auto-map. It's definitely a tough fight, but can be done without the invul, tho that does help when it comes to trying to open the teleporter. The next fight I did was the one to the west in the library. This one is a simple arachnotron/hell knight fight. This one is honestly really easy, just get them all to infight, and plasma anything that gets in your way as you run around. You may have noticed an indent in the wall by one of the hell knight teleporters. In view of this, check the bookshelves to find a very hidden switch that will open the BFG. This was the first BFG I found, and it was after this fight. The final trial is in the circular arena. This one has a bevy of flying monsters floating in, while 3 archies teleport into the arena with you. The BFG is really useful here in taking out the archies and pain elementals quickly, but I can see this not being too bad without it. My other 2 deaths happened in this fight, as I missed a few BFG shots. Also, since you hit the 3rd astrology sign, the force field lowers, allowing the 2 archies and cyb behind it to roam around the mainland. I managed to take a cyb rocket in the face during this fight, which I did not see coming. Once the light bridge rises again, you can teleport back and BFG the remaining baddies. 

 

Overall, this is my fav of BP's maps so far! The "Culture Shock" influence is always a plus for me. It's one of the best looking maps so far with all of its set dressing. Love seeing the little touches of buildings in the clouds. The general layout is very impressive for a speedmap! Sure seems like it would take longer to make than 10 hours. The trials here are very challenging, but they're doable after a few tries. The secrets are also very useful and rewarding. I remember the next map as possibly being the hardest map in the set, so let's see if that still applies. 

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP23: "Neon Desert" by Chookum

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 1/1 secrets

 

The first Chookum map I've played, and the visuals are very charming. A neat little AA style desert area, complete with giant neon cacti, alien tech pillars, and inaccessible cliffs with pulsing blue stalactites. The 3D bridges are cool, using those transparent glowing platforms to create a more hyper-detailed looking walkway. There's some fast-flowing sand too, which shouldn't get in your way too much but it's funny to watch the monsters struggle with it a bit. The midi is from Sonic Adventure, and has a nice sunny vibe like the map warrants.

 

Gameplay is marked by "respawning" mancubi atop the alien tech pillars and a nice open layout with lots of monsters. You won't find any cell weapons here, but that's ok because rockets and SSG are pretty much all you need. Enemies tend to be nice and clumped together and you have plenty of room to move, so people who love blowing stuff up will have their outlet. Some nice opportunities to watch gibs fly with those crowds of imps on those cliffs as well. Additionally, the map isn't too shy with health and armour either, so you can expect a laid back experience all around. Blow off steam, from what I've seen of some of the later writeups we might need it before these next maps.

 

If I had to pick a word to describe this one, it's "pleasant". Visuals are cute, fights are highly populated but pretty simple to take care of, and the midi feels like you're taking a vacation.

[RHhe82]

MAP27: Of Waves and Woe. Played on DSDA v0.25.6, UV, PS. 818/818 K, 0/1 S, 17/18 I. Comp. time 28:41

 

Of Savescums and Foe. Just who exactly were you trying to impress BluePineapple!? :-D We've got one part Sinkhole Showdown and several parts Fractured Sunderlust¹. Although it doesn't feel like such a difficulty spike anymore, after what we've gone thru the previous few maps. Still, I had really hard time until I miraculously were able to grab the first BFG by the first Cyberdemon (read: after numerous tries from where the floor lowers to reveal the BFG and Cyberdemon), and take care of the handful of roaming archies.

 

Before long you realize there's plenty of resources. I conserved cell packs and tried to prioritize using rockets and infight, and at the end I was left with fields of glory littered with demon bodies and cell charge packs.

 

The secret I couldn't find, and didn't want to spend too much time after completing everything else looking for it. Anyway, the level looks gorgeous -- I wish I could make stuff even one quarter of this quality in 10 hours. Reaching the exit made hair grow longer on my chest. Can we have a breather map next?

 

 

^{1 Maybe I'm exaggerating a bit, trying too hard to find hyperbola. It's been 10 days since I played this and wrote the above review, and I remember the map hard, but friendly, not the punisher of the punishers. Moreover, I only played the map once, but with each passing Doom session I'm starting to feel one playthrough isn't enough to say something about maps with any accuracy. Besides, like with previous maps, I write those right after playing, so immediate emotional turmoil always plays a part.}

Edited April 27, 2023 by RHhe82

[Ralgor]

MAP27 - "Of Waves and Woe" by BluePineapple72
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl9, UV, Pistol start, blind run w/ saves, then single segment w/ demo
100% kills and secrets

Getting the single segment demo for this map was quite a journey. As hard as the previous few maps were, they didn't prepare me for just how punishing this map would be. I actually like the overall design much better than those maps, but the difficulty just destroys what enjoyment I would have in this map. I didn't really start enjoying the map until the last half dozen attempts or so, when I knew the map enough to actually not die constantly. I have 44 separate attempts on this map. I'm sure a doom god would love this map, but as I've said before, I'm no doom god. Unless someone tells me this map is actually almost as hard as God Machine or something (I've never played Sunlust), and in that case I'd say this map is just too damn hard for this mapset. I know these community projects are always going to have variable difficulty, but maps this hard make the entire wad hard to recommend to anyone. I know someone will bring up just playing on HMP, but until map 24 that wasn't really necessarily. I wouldn't even say it was necessary for the previous three maps either.

Anyway, this map has a cold start, but the first fight starts with a pad right in front of the start. It's very hard. It might be the most difficult part of the map. I think fully two-thirds of my attempts ended before getting the yellow key. Maybe I was doing it wrong, but there isn't enough ammo or space in the beginning to kill everything. The best strategy I could come up with is to kill the arch-vile on the way to the key, clear out some space, grab the soulsphere and rockets, and go for the key. Try to kill a mancubus before you go up the stairs. Once you're up there... well I don't have a strategy here other than crossing my fingers. Sometimes I get lucky with infighting, sometimes I don't. Once you DO clear out this platform, you now have time (and a chaingun) to clear out enough of the arachnotrons to go back to the other end of the lake, kill another arch-vile, and grab more ammo. Now you have enough to clear everything out.

 

Spoiler

Your primary foe here is time and lack of ammo.

 

Because of that initial arch-vile, I was never able to figure out a strategy that wasn't just to go for the yellow key quickly. That first arch-vile is not deaf or anything, and he has easy access to run across and zap you. You pretty much have to kill him first, but doing that costs you time while arachnotrons fill in behind you. That pushes you out of the initial area into the next. Now you have to deal with a ton of pinkies from one direction, and arachnotrons from another. The only escape from this is to the platform with the key.

Getting the next key ends up being really easy. Just chaingun the teleporting low-tier enemies and rocket the hell knights. But after that you have the next big fight which is triggered by the scorpius pad. There will be a BFG revealed, but whether you can grab it or not without dying is a bit random. Luckily you don't have to have it to survive the next fight. You want to hang out here for a minute to let monsters filter out of their holes, but eventually you're going to need to fight your way back to the other side of the map. Partially for ammo, but also to grab the soul sphere that's revealed on your way back. If you can make it to the next pad you have time and space to kill everything. If you didn't grab the BFG immediately, you will eventually need to go back up the other side to grab it. Try not to grab all of the megaspheres, you'll need them for the next fight.

 

Spoiler

Do you feel lucky? Think you can steal Cybie's BFG?

 

This last fight is a doozy. You start it by stepping onto the pad. Most of the monsters in this level are in this fight.... good luck. I usually start by BFGing the initial horde of revenants on the left, then fleeing all of the way to the other side of the map. Then BFGing the pinkies and shotgunners back there on that same side. All of the monsters should be pressed against the wall in here, which means you can run back through, BFGing all the way. Pick up a megasphere or soulsphere if you need it, this fight is really rough in the beginning. Once I make it back to the western end, I rocket the imps then take out my BFG and head to the south side. At this point it's just a matter of moving constantly and trying to herd the monsters into the center of the map, and keep them there.

 

Spoiler

My first trip through this area. Some tough resistance here...

 

The last fight for the blue key is pretty easy, if you chaingun all of the low-tiers that teleport in. You can hide here from the imps teleporting in on the other side. Once a hell knight appears, get the BFG back out and BFG everything at the other end until the arch-vile appears. Soon after the level of the water should raise for you to escape. Leave as soon as you can so the cyberdemon doesn't trap you. Then just clean up and exit.

Overall, this level is very well designed. I just don't like it. I'm not a huge fan of slaughtermaps to begin with, and it's too difficult, even compared to the previous hard maps. Like I've mentioned before, I would probably have enjoyed this much more if I didn't feel the clock ticking. There's only so much time before I have to move on to the next map. It makes deaths and other setbacks more frustrating than they would be otherwise. Getting the single segment demo made me appreciate the map more than I would have had I just stopped after finishing the map with saves, so that wouldn't have helped either.

I can tell that all of BluePineapple's maps are well designed, I just need to get better at Doom.

MAP27 - 16:51.80 (16:51)  K: 818/818  I: 18/18  S: 1/1

ralgor_pussixmaw27.zip

 

P.S. How hard IS this map compared to other popular slaughtermaps? I haven't played enough to really compare it with anything.

Edited April 27, 2023 by Ralgor

[Ralgor]

Oh yea, I need to vote.

 

+++ Solar Struggle

 

I'm not entirely sure how much I'll be able to play next month. I should be able to play some of it though if nothing else. I might just avoid making demos to have a break.

[Veeda Vidlak]

I'll be really brief again to try and catch up before the end of the month. 

 

Map21 “Beyond”

 

Doomcat, son of Death Bear’s solo outing in Mapping at Warpspeed is an ambitious three-part epic with two outdoor battles broken up by a slower moving caves/ruins section. The first section is my favorite, the lone hitscan snipers are in the “just right” level of threat and the terrain supports the hell knight/revenant opposition later backed up by fliers. The middle section has solid action and ambushes, adding some cramped combat to counterbalance the two open brawls (the caged pinkes by the secret soulsphere aren’t needed). The final area is the showstopper, featuring three cybers, a pyramid of mid-tiers, and a horde of guardians the teleport in at a steady pace. Unloading the BFG on the masses is a ton of fun and the immense swarm of homing missiles always following me around is amusing.

 

My criticisms are mostly concentrated in the final area. Firstly, there are five enemies that failed to teleport in, making 100% kills impossible. Secondly, the fight drags a little because only one cybie can be telefragged and the other two are elevated so they take time to kill. Lastly, the revenants on top of the pyramid are an utter pain to eliminate (though in hindsight just running up to the top and killing them from above probably works). Ultimately, these are likely speedmap related quirks and don’t detract from the map’s strengths. It’s a good level with excellent spectacle combat, and well positioned after map20.

 

Also, good choice of midi, I’ve always liked this one.

 

warpspeed21.zip

Time: 12:58    Kills: 489/494   Secrets: 3/3

Forgetting the plasma rifle wasn’t as bad as I thought it’d be, I only missed it when killing cybers at the end.

 

Map22 “Passions Like Fire”

 

Our project lead joins the roster with a banger of a map, containing an interesting zodiac theme I’ll leave to others to expand on. The design is an imposing lava temple with alien runes and technology sprinkled throughout, nicely interconnected like old Gusta maps. In place of key fights, we have combat arenas that (I think) each raise steps allowing you to access your UFO. In fact, there aren't any keys at all, which is impressive in a level with clear requirements for progression.

 

Combat is intense, though not overwhelming throughout, and consists of a mix of amorphous action and arena fights. I like how the arenas are open-air, allowing patrolling foes to take potshots at you during the proceedings. Said arenas can be completed in any order and of the three, I find the one to the north with the revs, cyber, and vile the hardest, followed by the vile/guardian/pain elemental one to the southeast. All of them are much easier with the secret BFG… and on that subject the secrets in this level are immensely helpful. The two megas make a world of difference and this map is brutal without them.

 

Overall, loved this one.

 

warpspeed22.zip

Time: 5:58    Kills: 144/144   Secrets: 3/3

 

 

Map23 “Neon Desert”

 

Mapping at Warpspeed is on a roll, the string of great maps continues with this sweet free-for-all I’d consider a quick-playing slaughtermap. Head up the vial trial and jump down into shifting sand land to start off a barnburner from start to finish. The energy in this map is tremendous, I feel compelled to try to blaze through it whether I intended to or not. The actual playing area is small and compact, so there’s almost always large numbers of enemies chasing you around.

 

To get off this ancient sandy sky temple, we must grab the blue key then the red key. Both require ascending enemy laden spiral stair structures and using either lowers some of the neat sand walls blocking our path. Maneuvering through crowds is important if you want to finish quickly, in addition to the enemies released by using keys, more are teleporting in above the sand slide on what I think is a time release (could be progression based, I’m not sure). It is possible to get and use both keys almost immediately, so if you want to leave with chaos still roiling behind you feel free.

 

This one is in or near my top 5 in the wad. A blast to play.

 

warpspeed23.zip

Time: 3:33    Kills: 224/224   Secrets: 1/1

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 27: Of Waves and Woe

by BluePineapple72

 

The last map of the Pineapple quadrology takes us to a series of temples and pools set amidst an almost-entirely outdoor environment, capped off by the watchful presence of cliffside trees and the fantastic jazzy arrangements of "Ocean Flute" from Ancient Aliens. The layout is also really cool. Abandoning the usual formula of the maps presented by Blue so far......we basically have a series of combat arenas that slowly open up as we progress and eventually create an environment with a shocking degree of interconnectivity. 

 

This isn't really a hot start - we find ourselves with the exit UFO at our backs - but as soon as we drop into the nearby pool and step on top of the zodiac floor plate to pick the rocket launcher up, the water lowers....and reveals what is an almost overwhelming quality of Arachnotrons. And I'm so good at fighting Arachnotrons! (Sarcasm). There's also an Arch-vile from one space who should obviously die as quickly as possible. Go too far outside this arena though and in addition to some Hell Knights, there's a Spider Mastermind who exists mainly to kill the excessively cowardly. Although if we head onto the accessible ledge at the left end, a cube with Revenants will open up and two Barons will teleport behind us  and likely trigger some infighting but we basically have to start moving immediately if we don't want the barons to block us up. Best to pick up the rocket line near the SM once she's dead though - we're really going to need them!

 

Opening the YK bars and taking care of some incidental stuff, we then end up plunging down to a large pool with a ruined structure that has both a plasma rifle and rocket launcher behind us. Unfortunately, we also miss the sneaky Arch-vile pair hiding at the other end of the arena which we'll just say were an unwelcome distraction..

 

.......from the ridiculous murder of Revenants that put an end to us probably.....4 times? Though shotgunners lead off that mainly serve as an excuse to go wild with rockets before their fire tears us apart. That's to say nothing of the Cyberdemon in the back and 2 Arch-viles that will also appear at some point. Naturally, we couldn't tell you if we'd worked out a way to dodge the Revenant rockets because there were points when it looked like we were in the clear then suddenly.....Zorgo's insides would end up mysteriously at the tops of the nearby cliffs! It's an irregularly-shaped area that also has a skull in the middle that can block careless players but no matter!

 

Because once all this is over, Hell Knights behind everyone else along with a few Barons will start to trickle in, along with some scattered Cacodemons from behind the cliffs on the left side. We're not really expected to have too many rockets at this point, so we break through at the soonest opportunity, find the red key bars which then take us to....the exit arena??

 

....well, not yet. We can see the blue bars surrounding it from a good way off. And although the two groups of Revenants on cliffs here seem like a joke compared to everything else, they are part of "The Great Deceiver" or perhaps "The Grand Illusion!" So we'll head past the knoll with the exit UFO and come across a nook with a BFG on a zodiac symbol with some cells surrounding it. We would end up (foolishly) going back to clean up some stragglers.....because once we pick the BFG up, all hell breaks loose!!!

 

I'm pretty sure herding of a sort is the optimal way to escape because making a stand here is totally impossible! Like we can certainly climb the knoll here for quite a good chunk of cell ammo, but the problem is that the Imps are not the whole story. More Revenants and Hell Knights than any human can possibly be expected to handle. But we are Zorgo Blazkowicz XXIII, interstellar badass! We basically end up breaking through on the right side from the BFG, although honestly, we herd them by making a stand at either of the knoll sides. Doesn't really matter because we may have been running a little low on patience. Might also be why we didn't bother looking for the only secret here.....

 

Because after escaping from this utterly brutal and unforgiving and utterly determined to ram the cognizance of our own mortality in our faces, we come across a number of large and beautiful outdoor areas, containing more ammo than we could ever possibly need, a Supercharge in the middle of each one, and even a cliff overhang in one case! We see the indoor area with the Megasphere and take care to stay away until things've been cleared out. (including some Revenants and an Arch-vile apparently trapped on the exit knoll), then head to end of chamber with said sphere, where enemies initially consisting of shotgunners and Imps start teleporting in at both ends but threats start to increase (Revs, Hell Knights, Barons and even an Arch-vile) and we basically decide to get a little excessive with the BFG. That's kind of a problem because there's not really much, if any, cell ammo here. Still, it's quite satisfying to see the floor lower and reveal the blue key!

 

From that point on, taking care of the like, three stragglers, wasn't a huge deal and thusly, we exited with 100 percent kills which is far less common than you might think for a couple of different reasons. Ultimately, I think the combat suffered a little bit from the brute force approach. Infighting's a little or a lot harder to trigger than something like Cryptozoophobia ultimately.

 

 

Edited April 27, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[Celestin]

MAP27: Of Waves and Woe by BluePineapple72

Spoiler

Remembered how I've said BluePineapple's maps are getting formulaic? Not anymore. The conclusion to zodiac maps rejects the discreet challenge approach of three previous maps in favour of going full slaughter. By the time you reach the saucer, this flooded temple will be carpeted with corpses of more than 800 foes.

 

The structure here is far more linear. Stepping on each of the pedestals marked by a star sign lowers the water level, expanding the map, and bringing in the next wave of enemies. The first one, Cancer, is probably the hardest, with the least space to move and your arsenal limited to super shotgun and rocket launcher. The opposition here consists mostly of arachnotrons, supported by pinkies, two archviles, spider mastermind and other crap. This was the least fun part of the level. You need to find two keys here to progress, the yellow one is on a ledge, triggering even more monsters spawning in. It is used to open the bars to the red key, with is guarded by a teleport trap on a narror walkway - shotgunners and plasma troopers next to you, hell knights on the other side.

 

If you survive this, activate the Scorpio trap and the map gets flooded with enemies. You can also get a BFG nearby, which is a convenient fix for the cramped rooms and monster roadblocks. Pisces has to be the biggest fight of the wad yet, a truly insane slaughter of several hundreds enemies. There are cells, rockets and health items all around, so don't hold back. There is one more encounter left, a teleporting ambush in a pit by the blue key. It feels closer to BluePineapple's previous maps, but BFG can easily deal with this. Just look out for the cyberdemon outside.

 

Of Waves and Woe ends the zodiac series with a bang. It is a marvellous work and, without doubt, one of the best maps of the wad.

[continuum.mid]

World 27: Of Waves and Woe (BluePineapple72)

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

Kills: 110%, Items: 94%, Secrets: 0%, Time: 12:59, Save Count: 13

 

And finally, we have the epic conclusion to the Zodiac series by the Pineapple himself. Instead of a series of big setpiece fights separated by fairly lightweight incidental skirmishes, this map is one massive fight, with the zodiac symbols triggering added waves of enemies. Different areas of the map are revealed via draining water, starting with the first fight, and again in two other fights. Infighting will do most of the work here, but a good ability to dodge attacks and avoid being pinned is also mandatory, and Arch-Viles that appear throughout will occasionally target you. Thankfully, the map is full of cells, shells, and rockets, and there are just enough Supercharges and Megaspheres laying around that a player more competent than me won't have a hard time.

 

All the while, you'll have to seek out three skull keys. The yellow key opens up the area where the red key is - alongside a teleport ambush of Shotgunners, Stealth Aliens, and Hell Knights. The red key unlocks the second half of the map, once you defeat two Arch-Viles. The blue key is locked behind another massive teleport ambush that starts with a wave of Shotgunners and Imps, then Revenants, Hell Knights, Barons, and a surprise Arch-Vile, all spawning at opposite ends of a small room. I opted to focus on the sargents for the first bit of the fight, plasma-spamming them as they teleported in, then switch to the BFG, and never take my finger off mouse1 until the floor finally rose to allow me to grab the key.

 

After clearing a path to the exit I initially decided to just end the level there, with 84% kills and a time of 7:48. But then I realized - the megasphere and cells right in front of the switch opening the UFO were telling me something. BluePineapple was daring me to go for 100% kills. So I did. Most of the enemies had already died to infighting, but a Cyber and Vile remained, alongside a huge Hell Knight/Baron crowd in one area. After BFG-spamming all of those down, I found all the remaining enemies (three wandering Hell Knights and two Revenants on a cliffside) on my way back to the exit. Seeing 818/818 Kills on the automap, I could exit with pride.

 

Pretty solid sendoff for our project leader. I think if BluePineapple were to make a solo WAD, speedmap-based or not, it'd have Cacoward potential. His maps have all the carnage challenge junkies expect, and all the visual style that I tend to expect, without ever feeling lazy. Sometimes they get a bit too challenging for me, but rarely so much as kill all potential fun.

 

Can't believe the month's almost over - all that's left is two Death Bear maps bookending the final collaboration in map29.

Edited April 27, 2023 by continuum.mid

[Azure_Horror]

Map 27   Of Waves and Woe by @BluePineapple72

 

Illuminati clue:

This Water-themed map is a slaughter map. In slaughter-type combat monsters exhibit Fluid Dynamics! And Water is a Fluid! Coincidence? I think not...

 

To me, this map is special for one reason: it is a complex, vaguely "Sunlust-ish" slaughter-map, which still feels very spontaneously created! Typically, slaughter-maps of similar caliber feel like "Clockworks of Destruction": they appear to be precise and polished beyond belief. But @BluePineapple72 's level has a raw charm of a good speedmap, while also including pretty complex slaughter dynamics in its gameplay. It is really encouraging to see that one does not need to reach @Nirvana's levels of polish to create a modernist slaughter map...

 

By the way, visual scheme of map 27 does resemble Fractured Worlds. Was it a deliberate artistic choice, or just a happy accident, caused by AA-texutre selection of water and masonry textures?

 

As far as complex, larger-scale* slaughter-fests go, I prefer Warpspeed's "Of Waves and Woes" to Ancient Aliens' "Floating Arena". While Floating Arena is a very cool map, it also has lots of gimmicks. In a dedicated slaughter WAD, those gimmicks would feel right at home. But in a more "Normal" megawad, Slaughter itself is a memorable gimmick. Thefore, "Hardcore, but normal  slaughter map" is missing from Ancient Aliens roster of levels. "Of Waves and Woes" fixes this issue.

 

* I use larger-scale slaughter to imply "approaching 1k monsters, or more; with a significant proportion of midtiers". There is true Grand Scale Slaughter, which includes 10000, 15000 or etc. monster, but such maps are very rare outside the dedicated, non-restricted Slaughter mapsets.

 

1 hour ago, continuum.mid said:

Pretty solid sendoff for our project leader. I think if BluePineapple were to make a solo WAD, speedmap-based or not, it'd have Cacoward potential. His maps have all the carnage challenge junkies expect, and all the visual style that I tend to expect, without ever feeling lazy. Sometimes they get a bit too challenging for me, but rarely so much as kill all potential fun.

I agree with this statement!

 

Edit:

15 hours ago, Ralgor said:

How hard IS this map compared to other popular slaughtermaps? I haven't played enough to really compare it with anything.

This map is on an easier side of slaughter, but not by much. Dedicated challenge slaughter maps on UV are definitely harder, however less hardcore slaughter levels can also be easier than "Of Waves and Woes". Junkfood, for example, has many considerably less demanding slaughter levels. On other hand, slaughter-y maps 25, 26, 28, 29, 30 of 180 Minutes Pour Vivre feel definitely harder, despite 180mpv not being a dedicated slaughter mapset by any stretch of imagination. (there is also 180mpv map 27, which is not exactly slaughter, but arguably is much harder than anything from Ancient Aliens or Warpspeed)

Edited April 27, 2023 by Azure_Horror

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Pistol-Start/Saves

Map 27: Of Waves And Woe - BluePineapple72

100% kills and secrets

Time: 20:15 

Deaths: 13-14?

 

Welcome to what is (probably) the hardest map in the WAD. Unlike the last 3 BP maps, we have a full on slaughterfest to deal with. It's not all at once, but each time the water lowers, things get intense. The first time I played this, I died like 15 times in the first area alone. How I managed to NOT die this time is a miracle. Or just knowing what to do now. You only get the SSG and RL at first, and you'll have to deal with arachnotrons, their momma, 2 archies (one can see you immediately), and even more. The SM guards a bunch of rockets, but you can't really get close to it without being turned into swiss cheese. As always, try to get as much infighting to happen as possible. Not going to lie, I don't remember where the yellow key is, but it's somewhere around here. Maybe up by the red bars? Either way, once you grab it you can open the yellow bars and deal with a small ambush of shotgunners and stealth troopers on one side, and hell knights on the other. My first death was here as when I was switching to the chaingun to take out the fodder enemies, stealth troopers lit me up. I went from 90% health to dead in a second. Proves that those things are deadly. So have the chaingun out when you grab the red key, quickly take out the fodder, then rocket the hell knights before they get too close. Going back to the red bars, watch out for the archie behind you when you open them, and the 2 additional ones in the water area on the other side. Now it's time to really open up this map. Grab the plasma and goodies, then step on the pressure plate to lower the water level again, opening up more paths filled with more enemies. Directly in front of you is a room with a cyb and shotgunners, plus a BFG. Get the cyb to shoot them, and hopefully more demons will arrive around this time allowing for even more infighting. With the BFG in hand, you may have the upper hand now. Maybe. I died like 6-7 times trying to get my footing in this fight. Trying to save ammo and cause infighting just got me cornered, or had me take a cyb rocket. I'm not that great at slaughtermaps. Head to the west side of the map to find another BFG and another pressure plate. This one lowers many walls in the arena, filled with A TON of enemies. The rest of my deaths happened in this wave's early stages. If you manage to get over to either the north or south areas that open up, you'll have a lot of room there. Try to stay in the middle for a bit to lure everything out, then head into those open areas to get better attack positions. The final fight for the blue key was another tough part for me in my initial playthrough. You're trapped in a very small room with a staircase in the middle, as enemies of increasing danger teleport in. When I attempted this in my first playthrough, I pretty much just escaped into it during the slaughterfest with minimal health, not knowing what was going to happen. This time, I went in after killing everything else and had 100% health. And I still almost died. Key word, "almost". I know I died a lot during this fight the first time, so the fact that I was able to escape with just 18% health was a miracle. It's a timer-based fight, so just keep the plasma out, switch to the BFG if you absolutely need to, then escape ASAP. You can rocket everything safely from outside. Then it's just a walk back to the blue bars and onto the UFO we go. Whew!

 

Overall, this is a pretty tough slaughtermap, and easily the toughest map in the WAD. At least, I don't recall the last few maps being tougher. It's another visually stunning map, and another great MIDI pick. I was always surprised "Ocean Flute" wasn't in the AA soundtrack. Maybe it didn't fit. 

[Klear]

Mapworld28: Planet Chasers by Death Bear

QuestZDoom, UV, blind, pistol start, saves

 

Spoiler

 

Ahhh, this opening again. I've missed it. Feels like home. And the midi is the same as on the title screen, which I welcome, since I only ever hear the very beginning before launching the wad. I like it.

 

Fry the mancubi, get the customary secret chainsaw (which is now a rocket launcher) and after thinking about it for a second run past the hell knights to enter the map proper. I should have probably ran past the mancubi as well. Waste of cells.

 

But this map is not quite the same as the previous ones. It's much more loose, often in spacious outdoor areas, and there's a big slaughter section which feels like picnic after the last map. Actually, the whole map feels great to play having gone through the pineapple-induced hell. It is by no means easy, but it's much closer to my ideal difficulty and I soon realise I'm having way more fun with it than at any time during the astrology quadrology - even though objectively those maps are probably better? Whatever that means. Not only am I but a poor creature of subjectivity, but I've rejected reality in favour of a virtual fascimile and at this point I can firmly say that Death Bear's maps have been consistently the most fun I had in the wad. There's more to my final rankings, of course, but I'll save that for Sunday.

 

Anyway, the first real part is my favourite - a small installation with an outdoor section (I abuse the hell out of my free aiming to pacify some enemies hiding under the windows). The inside starts simple and easy and the difficulty slowly ramps up throughout the map (something I enjoy very much). The outside features a few enemies and later spawns a lot bigger horde after picking up the yellow key - but at the same time fills the inside with a whole mess of revenants backed by viles (and whatever they can ressurrect). This blindsides me on my first try and on my second I waste too many rockets on the hordes of imps outside (I do love rocketing imps) which makes taking out the viles among all the revenants tricky. Third time the viles don't spawn. Teleporter mishap? I guess I'm lucky, though I feel uneasy until I leave this part of the map behind me, expecting them to jump at me at any moment.

 

Onto the next part. There's a lone hell knight, a BFG, tons of ammo, a megasphere.... oh. Oh no! But this is the kind of slaughter I like - the kind where it's me who does the slaughtering. Rather than a crushing tide of enemies, this feels more like a playground. Actually, the area feels somewhat like a more refined version of the big fight from Beyond. I guess it runs in the family. There is a small cave section before returning to the main slaughter arena for a little encore action and finally the exit teleporter that was guarded by the Spider Mastermind.

 

Except, this map just refuses to end and serves up another fight on small platforms floating in a painful void around a ziggurat. And I meant it when I said the difficulty ramps up throughout the map - this one is tough. First order of business is taking care of four viles who pop up in each corner. I find it awkward to get a good angle on them without spending way too much time on the damaging void and taking the time to focus on them lets the other monsters catch up and swarm you, pushing you into more void-walking in the best case. This fight was a bit too much for me, and the biggest source of frustration was the hurtfloor (and not for the first time in the map, there's a lot of pink sludge to fall into throughout the map and I always do).

 

The cleanup is easy once the viles are out of the picture though, and soon I stand before the real end of the map. A teleport tunnel and... a cave with a winding path leading somewhere? We're not done yet, are we? ... Yeah, we're done. It's just a preview of the final map. Alright then!

 

 

 

 

[RHhe82]

MAP28: Planet Chasers. Played on DSDA v0.25.6, UV, PS. 593/593 K, 1/2 S, 57/67 I. Comp. time 27:50

 

Okay, I'll accept Planet Chasers as a breather :P We get to have slaughter-ish gameplay, but much more relaxed than what we've had recently. I'm happy we get to visit the Portal Hub one last (right?) time, and we're off to travelling planets. First one is a relaxed alien temple locale, relatively small-scale ambushes. The red key valley area is the big boys' place, that's where most of the enemies reside. No archies though as far as I noticed, it's a sort of battle that doesn't stress me too much. There's enough space to breathe and to dodge projectiles.

 

I was a bit surprised the last area is the easiest, although I might have gotten lucky with the archviles there. I'm not complaining, I needed something less relentless for now.

 

We're on a streak of top-quality maps here. Although I guess that's kind of obvious, whole month's been basically a good kind of map streak. Another feature of AA imitated right there!

Edited April 28, 2023 by RHhe82

[Ralgor]

MAP28 - "Planet Chasers" by Death Bear
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl9, UV, Pistol start, blind run, single segment
100% kills and secrets

This map serves as a bit of a break. The last few maps have been stressful and challenging, this one feels like a vacation in paradise in contrast. It's still not super easy, but I was able to beat it blind, which is unusual for a Death Bear map. We get the Death Bear intro area again, except this time it looks very damaged, and we have mancubuses and hell knights this time. This opening ended up being easier than some of the previous ones due to the lack of hitscanners. I managed to get lost for a bit. The first secret is right where you expect it to be, but this time it's a rocket launcher.

 

Spoiler

Three UFOs at the end of a dock

Once we go through the portal, we find ourselves faced with three parked UFOs, two of which are blocked behind pillars. Oddly enough these UFOs don't teleport us into them, but to a different location entirely. The first UFO takes us to a tech-base which contains a lot of low level monsters in large packs, and we have the weapons and ammo to deal with them easily. The hardest part is dealing with the arch-vile that teleports in at one point, and keeping track of which way you have to go. This first area ends up a bit confusing if you forget about the teleporter and just keep going, and then you wonder where the key is that you missed.

The second UFO takes to a large red arena. This arena has many snipers and is full of all kinds of enemies. It gets refilled at least once as well as you make your way through a cave. There are two megaspheres in here, and it's pretty easy to dodge everything, so it's not too hard to survive. It is a ton of fun though. The cyberdemon that is sniping you at the beginning eventually gets released into that cavern, making him easy to eliminate.

 

Spoiler

Red Valley of Death

The last UFO takes you to a void-like area with a ziggurat in the middle. You can let loose with the BFG here and kill everything fairly easily, though watch the arch-viles! There's another megasphere here for when you get hurt.

 

Spoiler

Ziggurat at dusk... watch the arch-viles!

Overall, I really liked this map. It was hard enough to make me pay attention, but wasn't frustrating. It was a great break from the previous maps without being trivial. The different areas all had a different look to them, so there was good visual variety too.

MAP28 - 30:16.54 (30:16)  K: 593/593  I: 67/67  S: 2/2

ralgor_pussixmaw28.zip

 

P.S. Still working on that MAP29 demo. I'm getting close!

[DisgruntledPorcupine]

MAP24: "Cryptozoophobia" by Weird Sandwich

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 2/3 secrets

 

This one feels like a mix of Xenoarboreum and Trinary Temple from AA. The former for its use of the spinning vats and starry sky as a surface, and the latter for its length and being built about a very large outdoor area. Clearly an alien planet, and while the texturing can be a bit plain a lot of the time I do enjoy the shaping used, particularly for the holes of skybox that you walk on and the bits of ruins scattered around. The midi is Trapeze, a sweeping and epic track used in AA's midway IoS map. There's also an illuminati triangle in the central arena, perhaps as a nod to that very map.

 

Likely to take you the longest of any map in the set so far. The respawning turret mancubi in the previous map turn out to be a bit of foreshadowing, as each of the initial 3 areas have respawning turret enemies, starting off with arachnotrons, then mancubi, then cyberdemons. The first two areas are quite easy, mind the turret monsters and take care of the big globs of enemies the map throws at you as you progress. Predictably, the third area is a bit more troublesome and you'll likely want to take things quite slowly if you want to avoid getting blown up. The big threat is not only the stray rockets, but also just how far away some of the cyberdemons will often be. This makes it easy for you to be going in one direction, and then turn around only to find a rocket that was fired at you several seconds ago is just around the corner. Because of that I found myself wanting to give quite a buffer before I come out from behind any walls, which caused this section to get padded out quite a bit.

 

After these first areas, you open up the central arena to a big mob of angry revenants with a few archviles thrown in. The area is so big and there's so much terrain that you should be able to run off and find a lot of safe spots to take everything out from. The final fight is probably the highlight of the map for me. You're on a floating structure in space and armies of monsters are closing in on you at both sides, with two cyberdemons on the caboose of each end. Once those cybies make it close enough to start firing at you, the shape of the structure serves to test your awareness quite a lot. If you got the secret BFG earlier (which I didn't even realize was triggered by its own secret switch), you won't have to worry about going for the one here and triggering the archviles which helps a lot.

 

I'm not sure about this one, it picks up toward the end but the first two areas with the respawning turret enemies weren't very exciting and it felt like the cyberdemon turret area encouraged slow play a bit much for my liking. Not bad but not really my style I suppose.

 

MAP25: "Grab the Bull by the Horns" by BluePineapple72

UV, pistol start, no saves

100% kills, 1/3 secrets

 

Pineapple's earth sign map takes place in a techbase within a lush flooded valley. The water is that very nice blue colour taken from our AA texture set. The techbase itself has been mostly reclaimed by nature, the ceiling is falling apart, vines are draped down, and vegetation is sprouting out. Very nice looking map. The midi appeared in AA MAP03, and is a suitably pretty sounding midi.

 

Like the project lead's previous map, you'll need to survive 3 nasty encounters marked by a zodiac symbol in order to make it out alive, with the order of the fights being left up to the player. This one is less chaotic though, after clearing out mobs of enemies in the initial area, you simply just have to pick out which of the main fights you'll take on. To go in the order I went with, the Capricorn fight happens in some caves that remind me of the Sunlust cave levels. It gives you a rocket launcher, a boatload of barons, and a cyberdemon. Get the ones in the cyberdemons cubby to infight him. He usually steps outside for a bit during this and you can grab the blue key, and I just leave this area here (and grab any rockets I'm able to from the baron chambers).

 

The Taurus fight gives you a BFG and rudely traps you with it, while another cyberdemon is within full view of you and hell nobles are closing in. If you survive the cyberdemon's onslaught, you can BFG your way past one corridor of nobles and rocket the rest of them. The cybie is telefragged on your way out. The Virgo fight can be very challenging if you aren't armed from the previous fights, but is quite simple if you are in my opinion. BFG the two barons that teleport in as they appear and rocket the arachnotrons immediately closest to you. Then stay out of the cyberdemon's danger zone and SSG the pinkies if they approach you. After the time elapses you can run out and telefrag anything. Then you'll just have to clean up any remaining pinkies and whatever you left behind in the Capricorn fight.

 

Very nice looking map. Gameplay wise it was less frenzied than the fire sign map, but I think I enjoyed the sign fights themselves a bit more in this one.

[Book Lord]

MAP 28 – Planet Chasers by @Death Bear

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

 

Death Bear took the helm again after 15 maps, not counting the counsel given to his son Doomcat for MAP21. The memories might have faded a bit, but everyone will remember the lunar crater and its commonplaces. The first enemies were now Mancubi, and the hub had been fully explored, except for a single building with Hell Knights inside and a secret rocket launcher on the back side. Purple fluid seeped from every other building, including the westernmost one that was now inaccessible, though with open doors and occupied by a spirit bear icon.

Spoiler

The next area revealed where Planet Chasers was getting at. Three flying saucers were docked at a pier in the space, waiting for Zorglo to get on board. Like in Leave Your Sol Behind, the player was about to visit different worlds, without cinematic tricks to simulate voyaging through space; this was a speedmapping project, after all. The first world looked like a weird alien tech-base with an outdoor and an indoor section, the first containing the YSK and the latter leading to the BSK. Teleport ambushes were triggered at the key pickups, with the Arch-Vile in the central building being quite nasty. Nothing was too difficult for now, and I returned to the saucer hub to unlock the next trip.

Spoiler

The second planet was red like the one with the RSK in MAP16 of Ancient Aliens. Damaging lava had been replaced by patches of purple liquid, but the main problem here was the epic horde released when approaching the pyramid and the BFG. It could be handled by retreating in the first cavern and letting the monsters infight, reacting only when they came too close. The open area was enormous, and I must move closer to the various snipers to aim correctly, so I decided to climb the stairs to the right and visit the caverns instead. I picked up the RSK along the way, releasing Arachnotrons and Stealth Aliens. When I killed the Cyberdemon on the ledge I hoped I was almost done, then another rock face collapsed to reveal Pain Elementals, Revenants, and Alien Guardians, enemies that I loathe fighting in such an open space. Probably Death Bear enjoys running free and using the pyramid to block the various projectiles, singling out the pursuers with precise attacks. It took me a while to play that way.

Spoiler

I returned to the UFO dock and embarked for the last journey. The destination was a pyramid in the void, surrounded by scattered monsters, and with others ready to teleport in. The Arch-Viles were terrifying in the open, but I got them first and then mopped up the remainder. Planet Chasers was not as demanding as the rest of the third episode, which was a welcome change, though it lasted longer than expected, it often required a long time to clear the opposition, and it did not strike me as much as Death Bear’s previous efforts. A valid contribution to the megaWAD, it was the first in a while to look like a genuine 10-hour speedmap.

[Helm]

I've had a difficult week and it's still ramping up so I took a look at 27 yesterday and I was like... perhaps at a different point. Sorry to the mapper.

So here's 

World 28 - Planet Chasers 
by Death Bear

I am listening to Agent Steel - Unstoppable Force

Ah! Final time at the Death Bear hub? We get plasma and a couple of Macubi guards below, this time. The secret chainsaw concept this time leads to a rocket launcher. The teleport structure is overrun by goats this time. All cool as an escalation, and always happy to be back in this gorgeous skybox. There is a HOM in the footage in the opening space, I point it out 55 seconds in footage, if we're still catching bugs.

We teleport through to a floating dock in a red skybox (also gorgeous) with four UFOs, one we just came down from and 3 more we will visit in sequence. I miss the SSG in my first run through and I kind of smell it when I make a lot of progress and I'm still down on a single barrel, so upon my death I disregard my save chain and take the map from the top again. Also perhaps because my mood isn't the best I am doing this? Hard to tell. I find the SSG which feels like correct sequencing (though I lose a big stack of health backing up from the SSG encounter clumsily) and I continue down to the incidental corridors to the original teleporter pad.

I find a zerk on my way and a lot of plasma ammo, this part with the open air pools and the incremental combat feels cool. I get a chaingunner and a tomato and a mancubus to have a tussle, always fun when the mapper puts down infight scenarios for players. I get the RL and first skull key and circle back to find that where a lot of imps are spawning in the horseshoe end, revenants are spawning on the other end, but both sides connect with a centre windowed structure with an archvile roaming inside, so you kind of have to keep to the centre of the horseshoe shape and take care of the vile later. Cool setup, almost killed me so that zerk padding disappears immediately. I spent most of this map alive, but desperate. The difference with 27 would be that I would be spending my time dead and desperate instead.

Doubling back through the teleporter with the yellow skull key in hand, back where we found the SSG but also yellow skull bars, we drop em, collect immediate blue key (I always find it hilarious when you use a key on a door and inside it is a little space with the next key) and expect a lot of reinforcements. What was not hilarious however was how much I needed the health and stuff in the key storage so equilibrium there. Strangely, only a few imps arrive to complain about you yoinking the blue skull.

We double-double back to the blue skull doorway and we teleport back up to the exploding sun red vista dock with the ufos. We progress through blue bars to the blue UFO. Only one UFO remains, locked by the red skull. 

Zorg gets thrown in a volcanic crater slaughter arena with a flickering electric ziggurat, a spider momma, many cybers, some hovering guardians just to be annoying... It's a cool space with a lot of ammo and interesting obstacles to zoom around in, I can't complain. I had hoped the spider would infight with the cybers more but nonetheless minutes of gliding around later (and enjoying some grade A speed metal from back in the day)  I find myself the lone conqueror of this martian scar on the face of a silent planet. As it should be. Zorg really needs a vacation, to be honest. Zorg needs to not be around people so mu- anyway, we grab the red key from a little cavern on the side of the huge Martian arena, so that means we're all skulled up for exit! This releases a full re-up of monsters including annoying Pain Elementals, but Zorg doesn't have an intergalactic flying skull exterminator license for nothing.

We can jump the exit teleporter after tracing the peripheral walls of this whole arena. The final area is my favorite of the whole map! A voidspace cleverly using the parallel gradient background to place us in a metaphysical nowhere... A low ziggurat marking a centre and shard-like islands with resources radially pockmarking the meaningful play space around it. The floor hurts but quick lightfoot mitigates most of the problem. This is a movement+rocketing cacos arena and you're gracefully given a whole megasphere before the fight so by the time you're actually running out of health because of hurtfloor you should have cleared out most of this space. My Zorg did, at least. This was the most exciting and fun fight because you're actually not in huge immediate danger, you have a lot of time to mitigate chip and see where more health will be, then it becomes a shooting gallery with a timer you can re-up with good movement. Excellent design, much fun was had. 

An interesting mapping note: when you stand in the pitch black floor and you're getting chipped, the islands and the centre zigurrat are all placed on purple liquid lifted sectors. Those sectors look on the limit of what is climbable in doom in terms of mapping units. So when you are in the thick of it you are constantly having the paranoia that you won't be able to lift out of the darkness and get on the islands, though when you do try you realize it's been mapped so it's safe. Those kinds of 'I am in less danger than I feel I am' moments are great when mappers orchestrate them. 

One of my favorite maps in the set for sure, great adventure, lots of close calls, a death and a rewind, it's ok for a map28 I'll take it! Now, map27... perhaps later. footage


Edit: eh, fuck it, I did 27 too. It didn't go terribly, it didn't go amazing. Great map, but it's hard to have any sort of firm opinion on such things unless you can do at least all of the big fights without midsaves. With midsave, you're just playing your instance of what happened to you over and over, eh... Definitely something to return to in a couple of years, I gauge. footage

Edited April 28, 2023 by Helm

[continuum.mid]

World 28: Planet Chasers (Death Bear)

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

Kills: 100%, Items: 86%, Secrets: 50%, Time: 23:42, Save Count: 14

 

This is the final appearance of the Ursae hub; its usual low-tier enemies are replaced with Mancubi and Hell Knights, its usual chainsaw is replaced with a rocket launcher, and it's scored by this WAD's intermission music. Putting all that together, I expected Death Bear's ultimate challenge here. I wouldn't call this his ultimate challenge though, so much as his most dramatic map yet. The monster count is higher than either of the Ursae or Electron maps, almost by a factor of two, but the fights in which they appear are pretty easy. Certainly its placement weakens it as a dramatic sendoff - compared to BluePineapple72's maps, Planet Chasers feels downright trivial.

 

Regardless, it's still quite a bit of fun. The map starts out in a hub with three UFOs, two locked behind the red and blue keys, leading to different sections. You start in a small base filled with mostly lower-tier enemies, but also some Mancubi and Revenants. After finding some switches, a teleporter leads outdoors to some Hell Knights, Mancubi, and crowds of Imps and Demons which you thankfully get a berserk pack, and tons of rockets and cells for. The hardest part is the ambush triggered when crossing a linedef close to the yellow key. It releases two large crowds of Imps and a few Revenants that can quickly kill players who have poor movement. Plus, it teleports an Arch-Vile back inside, who will resurrect several enemies. I opted to snipe him with rockets and cells from outside, but that was a tedious waste of ammo. I suspect I was supposed to teleport back and find him there. The yellow key unlocks the blue key and teleports in one last big ambush to finish off the section, and the blue key leads you straight back to the hub.

 

The next UFO leads to a grand slaughterfest amongst deep red rocks. There are at least three Cyberdemons and a Mastermind, and multitudes of most lesser enemy types, from Stealth Aliens to Pain Elementals. It's on the easy side by far, since there are no Arch-Viles, few hitscanners, and more than enough space to circle strafe; I took a lot of damage but thanks to the two megaspheres I never died. Atop the cliffs surrounding the arena is a cave with some Arachnotrons guarding the red key, where pressing a switch further opens up the cliffs, leading to a portal back to the hub, which is guarded by the aforementioned Mastermind and a red key switch. After BFGing the remaining boss monsters, I went back to the UFO hub.

 

The last UFO is not the exit, despite the signs; it's another challenging final fight in a void arena. There are two Arch-Vile snipers and I wasn't able to take them out first because they only appear after the player makes a sound. Still, once I defeated them, the main threat remaining was the damaging floor of the void. I just had to throw rockets into the crowd of enemies until the exit portal opened. I managed to resist my urge to exit immediately and kill all the remaining Cacos in the end for 100%. After some confusion as to which portal was the exit and which one led back to the hub, I could be done with this map.

 

In the context of Death Bear's contributions to this set, Planet Chasers makes for an exciting penultimate map, and in the set as a whole, it's a great way to let off some steam after the frustration of the last three maps. It's probably the best map the Bear has contributed so far, but I'm excited for the finale - it doesn't seem to open on the Ursae hub, but there is one portal yet to be opened there...

 

The final portal is a spirit animal teleport sequence featuring a strangely drawn bear, possibly Death Bear's logo, that leads to a preview of his section of map29. I'm pumped for that one. I anticipate it'll be big, so perhaps I'll play some of it today.

Edited April 28, 2023 by continuum.mid