The DWmegawad Club plays: Solar Struggle

dobu gabu maru · May 1, 2023

What is the DWmegawad Club?

This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind.

Can I join?

Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before.

What levels am I allowed to post about?

Whatever day of the month it is, is the upper limit for the map you can post on. So if it’s the 6th, you may discuss up to MAP06.

Do I have to post an entry every day?

Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club.

When do we vote on the next month’s megawad?

Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example:

+++ Ultimate Doom

Note that you can vote for up to three separate nominations in a single month, and every wad must contain at least three maps each. The winning nomination must receive at least four votes for a thread to be made. Ties will be decided by RNG.

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>>>DOWNLOAD SOLAR STRUGGLE HERE<<<

What’s in a name? Plenty of projects have asked this question before, but what about for a megawad that’s never existed? Solar Struggle is a 2022 Ultimate Doom community megawad led by ViolentBeetle that poses this peculiar quandary to its mappers—prompting them to make thematic levels based off of vague names and a one sentence text prompt! Namely: “The story concerns an unnamed prisoner on Titan who escapes when demons attack and has to travel through Titan, Ceres, the Moon and finally Venus to fight them.” Sounds cool? Then get to shootin', marine prisoner!

IMPORTANT!

E1M1 and E1M2 are going to both be played on the 1st, followed by our usual system (that is, secret maps being reviewed on the days they're encountered)

Author & Maplist for Solar Struggle:

E1M1 - “Detention Facility” by myolden

E1M2 - “Admin Offices” by Peccatum Mihzamiz

E1M3 - “Barracks” by Doomlust

E1M4 - “Mineral Processing” by Death Bear

E1M5 - “Mining Complex” by RataUnderground

E1M6 - “Visitor Center” by Shawny

E1M7 - “Traffic Control” by LoreCaco37

E1M8 - “Huygens Spaceport” by ViolentBeetle

E1M9 - “Excavation Area” by LateNightPerson

E2M1 - “Piazzi Spaceport” by Lorenz0

E2M2 - “Storage Complex” by Wavy

E2M3 - “Stock Exchange” by DFF

E2M4 - “Air Filtration Plant” by WeirdSandwich

E2M5 - “Abandoned Tunnels” by ViolentBeetle

E2M6 - “Transport Nexus” by Jark

E2M7 - “Research Complex” by cannonball

E2M8 - “Ceres Gateway” by Nefelibeta

E2M9 - “Artifact Storage” by Hitboi

E3M1 - “Lunar Gateway” by LordEntr0py

E3M2 - “Tranquility Terminal” by RHhe82

E3M3 - “Deep Space Observatory” by dac

E3M4 - “Fusion Plant” by BluePineapple72

E3M5 - “Helium Refinery” by Captain Toenail

E3M6 - “Deep Crust Borehole” by myolden

E3M7 - “Freight Terminal” by MemeMind

E3M8 - “Space Elevator” by muumi

E3M9 - “The Dark Side” by Astro X, ViolentBeetle

E4M1 - “Docking Station” by LordEntr0py

E4M2 - “Customs Office” by Anarkzie

E4M3 - “Commercial District” by RataUnderground

E4M4 - “Residential Areas” by DJV

E4M5 - “Waste Recycling Facility” by MAN_WITH_GUN

E4M6 - “Mass Propulsion” by SMG_Man

E4M7 - “The Tether” by Engired

E4M8 - “Impact Site” by PinkFlamingo

E4M9 - “Cult Headquarters” by Mystic 256

BONUS CONTENT

Doomwiki

DSDA

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OLD THREADS

Spoiler

The DWmegawad Club Metathread

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Edited May 8, 2023 by dobu gabu maru

TJG1289 · May 1, 2023

I'm glad this one won, as I've wanted to revisit it. I played it shortly after the Cacowards and really enjoyed it! I remember thinking it may be my favorite Ultimate Doom WAD. The thing is, 4 and half months later, I don't really remember any of it. I can only remember one map for sure, and I think another map I'm remembering is in this. I'm sure I'll remember each map as I see it, but right now I can't really picture anything. Good enough excuse to play it again! At least I remember liking it. I'll take on the first 2 maps after I wake up in the afternoon.

RHhe82 · May 1, 2023

Finally! First things first: this is my second time playing through the whole Solar Struggle back to back, so I'm more or less already familiar with the maps. Some of the maps I have played in playtesting capacity several times when the wad was still in development, but not all of them (on the other hand: particularly one of them). With that out of the way, let's get going.

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E1M1: Detention Facility. Played on DSDA v0.25.6, UV, PS. 100/100 K, 4/4 S, 52/52 I. Comp. time 6:57

This community project starts with a grade A map. And who's the mapper? One of my last month's favourite authors, and a mapper who has impressed me even before PUSS IX, and whose maps I first may have encountered when playtesting Solar Struggle.

Detention Facility is a solid opener brim with nice little details, starting with the sunlight on the jailhouse floors, and the gallows outside. Difficulty is not sunlustian - we have some sort of difficulty curve at present, and the project guidelines were such that E1-E3 shouldn't be that much harder than what Ultimate Doom was. That said, Detention Facility has some traps that can claim casual players' bodies for their own. Well, at least I remember dying here in my first attempt back in the day! This time I managed to single-segment the map -- but then, I knew about the secrets and the ambushes.

Love the music, too. Chill tune to get us going.

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E1M2: Admin Offices. Played on DSDA v0.25.6, UV, PS. 115/115 K, 3/3 S, 140/140 I. Comp. time 9:48

Enter Peccatum Mihzamiz. Admin Offices is another grade A map, that very much brings Going Down's early maps to mind with its office setting and doomcute, starting from water coolers and poop-filled toilets you can flush. The premises can be circled around two ways, I chose the server room side first. (Didn't remember which one would be more beneficial; Doesn't really matter, although the office cubicle area can net you a useful chaingun).

Loving the fact that maps continue on from each other, much like the UFOs last month. Here the continuation feels more concrete, that we are actually moving on from one place to another. It doesn't break or make a megawad, but if the design philosophy leans more towards tntian adventure rather than plutonian combat puzzle, it's a very viable way of achieving sense of progression. Ultimate Doom's intermission map screens also help on that.

By the way, I know some people are not that keen on Ultimate Doom wads because of restricted bestiary and missing the SSG. I get that - combat scenarios are a little more distracted, and without SSG mapper has to be more careful avoiding tedious scenarios. Shotgunning barons and such. Still... I don't know, while I too can miss the variety Doom 2's expanded assets offer, I also find Ultimate Doom wads soothing. I know I don't have to worry about archviles resurrecting stuff behind my back, and I don't have to worry whenever I see a lost soul, as there won't be any Delinquents around.

Single-segmented this one too. I wonder how long I can keep that up this time?

Catpho · May 1, 2023

Hello, I miss the dwmc atmosphere, so I’m back for another go. I won’t be around for the whole month, so expect gaps in posting, and don’t feel slighted if I end up not writing about many levels here due to time constraints :)

By the way, I also recorded some playthrough vids. I play keyboard-only, UV, dsda-doom. If you see me pausing somewhere, it's usually to admire the scenery.

Preliminary plaudits for ViolentBeetle for his excellent stewardship these past few years. I haven’t had the time to properly finish a Beetle-led set (until now, hopefully), but it’s amazing for someone to consistently create polished community mapsets that are also driven by cool, strong concepts. Cheers, sir!

E1M1 - “Detention Facility” by myolden

With this and his Tetanus submission, myolden can really set a scene. This shot right here:

Spoiler

It's gorgeous. Shape-wise a simple two-tier set-up, but support pillars, windows, waterfall, and the gentle repetitions and square-ish symmetrical facade gives it a utilitarian bent. The texturing suggests worn and tear, slimey, corroded brick n' base decaying under spots of violent orange in the sky, all under a backdrop of indifferent metallic brown and dirtied grey. Some fun contrast are set-up via the gallows and the weirdly serene flow of water. It's the kind of grimy, gloomy mundanity that defines many of the best Doom bases in the community, and myolden is enough of a craftsman to extend the life of this tradition.

Spoiler

These repeating structures are a nice visual motif.

It's also a Doom 1 low tier vs sg exercise, and a decently relaxing one as the shotgunning results in dead bodies at a constant rate, never held up by any tanky setups. There are some fun attempts at adding color via visual framing such as releasing the prisoners.

Video playthrough:

Spoiler

Edited May 1, 2023 by Catpho

ViolentBeetle · May 1, 2023

I probably will not replay it, but I will try to share some amusing development anecdotes when I'm able.
If you didn't wait so long to vote in, I'd rememeber more amusing anecdotes.

Edited May 1, 2023 by ViolentBeetle

Celestin · May 1, 2023

Woof!, -cl 3, pistol-start with saves, blind

Skimming through the map list, I've noticed a number of contributors from PUSS IX: Mapping at Warpspeed, a megawad I've played with the club throught April. I'm intrigued how they handled working without time constrains, though here, they are facing a different kind of restriction: a limited bestiary of the 1993 Doom. This is actually the first full Ultimate Doom megawad I'm playing (iwad excluding), so I'm really curious how it will go.

E1M1: Detention Facility by myolden

Spoiler

woof0000.png.796cc309526a204e24ee4e47f34e9379.png

Solar Struggle begins with an escape from a mountain prison. I'm assuming we lured a guard into our cell and got a handgun that way. Anyway, this is a rather compact map, which results in a higher than expected monster density and a brisk pace. The beginning is spent clearing your cell block and a nearby courtyard (gallows included) from zombies and imps. The pistol is the only available weapon here, but it works fine here. Most mappers tend to hand the player a shotgun right from the start, so I appreciate giving slot 2 a bit more love.

The only way forward leads to a shotgun/blue key trap, which introduces shotgunners to the mix and completes the Hangar crew. It also repopulates the courtyard with another wave of foes, which is not hard to dispatch with a bit of buckshot. With a blue key in hand, you can proceed to a waiting room (?) and the next cell block, this time in search for the red key. Nothing a shotgun can't handle and with the second key found in one of the cells, you can exit the map.

Detention Facility is a pretty map, with a number of details that add a hint of being a real place, without detracting from the gameplay. I especially like how sector lighting was used to simulate light falling through a barred window. Also, great choice of the midi, "Nightfall" by stewboy. If I have to complain about something, that would be that one secret with 4 imps and some shotgun shells - it took me a while to find and wasn't helpful at all. The others are fine, marked enough for an observant player to find and offering some welcomed power-ups.

Solar Struggle starts out with a quality map and I'm excited to see the rest.

E1M2: Admin Offices by Peccatum Mihzamiz

Spoiler

woof0001.png.f8b8ccb55502be62579ecca919315d49.png

Admin Offices starts where Detention Facility ended, so it seems continuity is a thing here. As the name implies, E1M2 takes place in an office building. What would normally be a rather bland place, was turned into a small marvel thanks to modern architecture, decorative paintings and a hefty dose of doomcute.

The map kicks off right after reaching the lobby, with pinkies and spectres joining the enemy roster. I recommend heading left first and finding the bathroom. One of the toilets is not like the others and it leads to the chaingun, which trivialises all opposition the map throws at you. You need to find all three keys to exit - two are located in the office rooms on the left and right from the lobby, the third, yellow one is inside a small indoor park with trees, fountain and an ambush of demons, imps and zombies. As I've said earlier - a fodder for the chaingun. I feel like the combat is a mean to the end, which is showcasing Peccatum's talents in sector art.

If this is how the wad is going forward - focusing on design to distract from limited combat of Doom 1, I'm all for it.

Spectre01 · May 1, 2023

Looks cool and I like the planet theme for the episodes. Doom 1's core combat is significantly weaker than Doom 2's, so hopefully it can be kept interesting despite the lack of monster variety.

E1M1 - “Detention Facility” by myolden

Cleanly-detailed opener. Always interesting to see Ultimate Doom wads that look nothing like the IWAD. I like how the prison cells have windows with a view of the surrounding natural terrain. Gameplay is straightforward, with just the usual E1 enemies, but with more emphasis on teleport traps.

Doomy__Doom · May 1, 2023

Took a break from playing Doom in general last month, will try to get back. Doom 1 = time to get hitscammed into oblivion. No clue how many of these are doable on NM in general and with my skill in particular, so let's find out.

E1M1 - Detention Facility - Nightmare!

The opener hits like a truck. 28 attempts in, the success is achieved. Cause of death list:
- hitscammed in general
- stuck on zombie immediately outside of prison
- stuck on imp down BK stairs
- didn't oneshot the imp guarding armor secret
- shotgunner behind the above mentioned imp obliterated HP
- failed to get out of BK on time while outside monsters get the door open
- unfortunate respawn timing in RK area

We start by killing stuff in prison. Getting the backpack secret usually lures the imp out of the way, so might as well. Walk through the courtyard is a dice roll in hopes of getting good health at the start of BK section.

Inside we are on a clock - it is imperative to get out by using awakened zombies outside to open the door to avoid using the switch that's going to cause a massive backtracking spawn. Not only hard to get past, but these monsters might be able to find its way into the final area, which is untenable. This is also where we can obtain armor (~~if only it were blue like a real e1m1~~), even if it comes at the cost of shotgunner shooting us in the back. A lot of deaths happened here.

2 medkits on the way out are a blessing, because you are not 100% safe from hitscan upstairs. Hug the left wall to avoid getting shotgunned to death. Armor bonuses are a trap. Inside the BK room it is once again imperative to preserve health. Take it slow, listen for respawns behind the back. Stimpacks are best saved for the ending. Use the supercharge instead. RK section ended up with only 1 death (I only got that far twice) - if everything respawns as you approach RK switch, you're kinda boned. The cutoff point that locks you in is a blessing to stay safe from prior enemies though.

The final trap is pretty ugly between open area shotgunners and a wave of imps. Supercharge nook ups survival chances significantly, although dodging imps if you fail 1 hit kill is not going to happen. NM100s is ugly/risky because the final secret a) is an awkward to press switch and b) adds 4 imps to the final area.

sstrgle_e1m1_nm_3-18-66.zip

E2M2 - Admin Offices - Nightmare! 100% secrets

What's the most important skill for open space workers? That's right, shutting themselves off and ignoring anything outside. Real-world knowledge applicable to a Doom level, huh... With generous sound-blocking linedefs and optional area/key design, this one is much nicer and went down in mere 6 attempts. I almost got the exit on the 1st attempt, but died stupidly and the very end.
There's not a lot of recovery for how open and hitscan-laden the place is, especially once you hit the YK switch. I was really worried until I figured out the sound tricks that let me arrive at the big open area with a decent stack.

We start by obtaining the saw (I only went for 100s because I'd get both other secrets as part of normal route anyway) and shotgun, run around and thin out the lift area hitscanners. Fortunately the sound doesn't travel into the cubicle area. From there, a quick dive in the bathroom and the vent for the essential NM tool - the chaingun. From there red key holder imp can be picked off without disturbing the peaceful workday of most cubicle inhabitants.

Once again, we run past a bunch of enemies and stuff ourselves into yet another vent - our final source of healing. 2 furthest items on BK path are left uncollected to not trip some extra monsters inside sunken floors. From there, more shotting from the vent to clear the path and avoid tripping the big YK ambush teleports, followed by a graceful jump out of the window to take a bit safer route - going back through the door can be quite deadly. From there imps can do a decent job of distracting pinkies long enough to exit.

sstrgle_e1m2_nm100s_1-56-09.zip

Bugslide · May 1, 2023

DSDA-Doom 25.6, complevel 3, pistol start, blind

E1M1: Detention Facility by myolden

I think this is a great opening map. The secrets are relatively easy to find, and while they probably aren't necessary, they are nice. Visuals and music are both great too, I never get tired of some stewboy midis. Normally I find prison levels boring and gridlike, but this strikes a good balance between setting and gameplay. A nice tone setter for the rest of the megawad.

E1M2: Admin Offices by Peccatum Mihzamiz

Holy doomcute batman! What an adorable office building, super well realized design. Like with prison themes, I ordinarily find stuff that tries to feel like an office to be annoying/tedious, but Peccatum does it just right by not having the entire place be an endless parade of cubicles. I think the combat can be kinda limp, but the visuals, music, and exploration more than make up for it. The combat is probably only a little lacking to me because it's an early slot map, so there's only low tier enemies. Another good map. If the rest of the maps keep up with this standard, this megawad might end up with a special place in my heart.

I also recorded some quick UV speed demos for each map, pretty much just coming up with a route and then attempting it until I got a finish. They're not optimized at all, but they get the job done.

sstruge1m1-115.zip

sstruge1m2-51.zip

Edited May 1, 2023 by Bugslide

Endless · May 1, 2023

Damn this is a good one! Already played it during its initial release date, and had a blast. I think anyone that enjoys classic Ultimate Doom style, will surely find this one a welcoming addition to the collection.

Edited May 1, 2023 by Endless

LadyMistDragon · May 1, 2023

Here we go again! As usual, From Doom With Love, on UV, using pistol starts and most likely videos for each map

E1M1: Detention Center

by Alex @myolden Decker

Our faithful penguin leads off this megawad with a map that rather feels like a departure from what he's done before (although I'll admit my memory of his PUSS VII efforts is......basically nonexistent). Because in addition to combat being almost not anything like any myolden map I've played, there's a shocking amount of effort being put into creating a sense of place. I think that's because Solar Struggle didn't have the same strict limits as Skulltiverse so one can detail to their heart's content essentially.

Anyways, there are two different cell blocks, along with an outer courtyard, some security facilities and the front lobby that's adjacent to the exit, laid out in a fashion that's shockingly not gameplay-center. No matter though, combat flow is easy but also entirely consistent. Starting off in a cell, a la Fragport, we initially miss the shootable corpse behind the window before heading back due to a certain shotgun deficiency and spotting it. Unfortunately, it only nets us a backpack.

This is a problem because of the vast numbers of Imps we encounter en route to the shotgun. While they're spread out enough initially that pistoling one or two isn't a problem, it becomes soon clear that's not sustainable. But we end up returning after picking a key up so it's all good. Speaking of which, there's an ambush or two that might catch some people by surprise but this is only the first map after all.

Secret count is shockingly high by Myolden's standards, although they are of the typical tiny closet variety. I do think it's cool there's a moat outside as well as some surrounding cliffs. Unfortunately, I missed the one that seems to have been activated by a shootable switch near the exit. Good opener

E1M2: Admin Offices

by @Peccatum Mihzamiz

If you've played Pec's Ray Mohawk 2 map, you'll probably know that he goes wild with Doomcute when he's not adhering to a time limit. It makes me wonder why he doesn't have some secret megawad in the works with Muumi and Steve88. Who knows? Anyway, the beginning is kind of a stiff challenge with ammo and health being tightly rationed and hitscanners in tight spaces that can really mess a reckless player up. Although we probably wouldn't have died if we had checked the beginning. See, like Fragport, this also starts off from the previous map where it seems the bridge we enter the facility has wrecked and we can now explore the outside moat, containing a chainsaw that we can awkwardly use against some pinkies in the opening mezzanine.

But we should really be talking about the design some more! First off, the mezzanine is quite impressive and also shows off the first example of Doomcute when some humans are behind the desks to greet you. Then after pressing the switch here, the elevators nearby will open up and reveal monsters along with precious health and ammo. This will repeat whenever you come into a section with elevators. Speaking of which, the last ambush with the blue-detailing was actually kind of dangerous.

But detail shines elsewhere too. Like hitscanners in cubicles, break rooms that in one case, even contain spilled coffee on the floor (seen in one pic I can't find right now), along with pieces of food, mugs, and all sorts of other little things that make this quite charming indeed. It was quite funny to come across a computer with a fireblu screen of death that also had a switch nearby. There's also the water coolers, which don't really operate like actual water coolers (no, the accessible water is not actually stores in a beaker on top, sorry to burst your bubble) so, like meh? The connectable hallways are probably a little bland tbh.

Spoiler

doom52.png.518350c34fd4c9bc4a55e7507baa74e8.png

All secrets were found. Who knew vent crawling was actually fun (well, I did)? We missed the chaingun initially though, because we didn't realize there was a bathroom we could enter and a fairly obvious secret wall leading to the vent which goes to said gun. Niiice!

Edited May 1, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

Book Lord · May 1, 2023

I have played a lot of Solar Struggle in RC form, and I know most maps like the back of my hands. I hope I can compare them properly with my past experience and notice which changes have taken place between the beta phase and the idgames release. Since I am not going blind and that I am absolutely not playing such an adventurous WAD on a pistol start, I will resume one of my guilty pleasures: playing on UV with -fast monsters. I am pretty sure I can handle the first two or three episodes, whereas the fourth is considerably harder.

E1M1 - Detention Facility by @myolden

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

Solar Struggle started off with Titan Terror, set on Saturn’s main satellite. The protagonist is an unnamed convict imprisoned in a Detention Facility, surrounded by a cosy representation of the second largest moon of the Solar System. I assume the real Titan environment to be less bright and full of water than what is displayed in this episode, but the mappers were working with vanilla resources and a suspension of disbelief is warranted. See what myolden accomplished with familiar Ultimate Doom textures such as STONE3 and SUPPORT3, expanded with various stones borrowed from Doom II: the hyper-detailed cell block looked wonderful, nested inside a water pit that discouraged break-out attempts.

Spoiler

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Playing with -fast monsters, the level was all but a walk in the park. I could not have made through it without finding the 4 secrets, especially the Security Armour and the Soul Sphere, which kept me alive in the last hitscanner teleport. There were only Former Humans, Imps, and Sergeants guarding the Detention Facility, but they were not waiting around the corner as they did in Ultimate Doom. They were often deployed by quick teleport sequences, took cheap shots at me from the barred windows, and generally gave me a hard time even if I knew the encounters inside out, having played this map about 5 times. The BK trap, which combined closets and teleports, was handled comfortably with foreknowledge; quite the opposite, the RK ambush spread out its pawns so swiftly that it killed me before I could react.

I have great respect for mappers who can do amazing things even when they cannot go all-in with aggression, resources, and map size. Myolden succeeded at raising interest with this tiny and polished E1M1, and I think it was a safe bet for ViolentBeetle to entrust him with the megaWAD opener. Great stuff, and it is only the beginning.

E1M2 – Admin Offices by @Peccatum Mihzamiz

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

This was one of the last slots to be filled, and it was worth the waiting. With the nearby maps already finished, Peccatum Mihzamiz could reuse the last area to create a seamless connection to E1M1, rewarding curious Doomguys with a secret chainsaw, and the starting landscape of E1M3 as the exit. What lies in between is guaranteed to leave a strong impression, beginning with the sleek lobby where a multi-pronged ambush welcomed the escapee.

Spoiler

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Admin Offices was a small, non-linear map in the form of a ring, designed to be explored in any order. The RK lay on a desk in one of the western office cubicles, and the BK was obtained in the server room on the eastern mezzanine. The keycards were used to open the door to the central garden, where the YK was protected by one last, massive teleport of critters. As simple as it was, the level delighted me with its lovely Doomcute infused in all places, including the kitchen and the toilets, where the filthiest prop was tied to the discovery of the secret chaingun, a must-have if playing with -fast monsters. The best secret hunters follow their nose, they say.

Spoiler

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The interactive water dispensers were not only useful, as they granted a pool of health bonuses, but were also tied to the secret Security Armour on top of the central fountain. I slowly recovered after the lobby ambush, clearing room after room until I found the secret row of bonuses in the ventilation ducts, another revisited classic. The frequent teleport shenanigans were required to entertain normal UV players, but they forced me to stay on the lookout until I was almost done with the exploration. Fast monsters are extremely dangerous when they appear out of the blue. A great map with an impeccable realistic construction and full of detail, Admin Offices was an early highlight of the Titan Terror episode.

RataUnderground · May 1, 2023

E1M1 - Detention Facility by @myolden

Woof, UV, Continuous, single segment.

Spoiler

I have played at least once through the entire Solar Struggle, and several times through some of the individual maps. What is always true, no matter how many times I load the WAD, is that I can't take the first map lightly and go running and gunning madly, as that's a sure recipe for slowly bleeding all the health points due to the presence of hitscanners attacking from multiple directions. I won't say that this map or Solar Struggle in general is too difficult, but for me at least, given my skills, it's better to go slowly and use the available cover.
Stylistically speaking, Detention Facility is a convincing small-sized prison, with its cells, its courtyard, its entrance with waiting room and guardhouse... Kudos to Myolden for the surprisingly cohesive and realistic depiction of the place, within the constraints imposed.
And I don't have much more to say, an action-packed first map where it is indeed possible to die if you don't take precautions, and a strong start.

E1M2 – Admin Offices by @Peccatum Mihzamiz
Woof, UV, Continuous, single segment.

Spoiler

The first time I played this map, I still don't understand why, I remember that I lost the thread of progress and I had to go around a few times until I found a key I was missing. I think it's because of its circular architecture and the fact that there's always some enemy beyond that makes you advance without checking the room you've just cleared.
Even so, I have to say that it's one of my favourite Solar Struggle maps. Doomcute is very well executed and although it lacks difficulty, it's precisely that relaxed style and the choice of midi that gives it that characteristic of being so... "Blake Stone".
Maybe it's a minor detail, but I love the "fountains" scattered around the stage. They are very simple, but they are perfect.

Edited May 2, 2023 by RataUnderground

continuum.mid · May 1, 2023

Since I've already played this WAD's first episode, and quite recently at that, I wanted to mix things up with my replay. I first played on Crispy Doom, continuous, with Freedoom: Phase 1 as the IWAD, and beat most of the maps single-segment. That's what I'll likely continue to do for episodes 2-4, except probably switching to Woof for the UMAPINFO support, and maybe recording demos. (I'd record YouTube videos too, but judging by the complete lack of reaction to my almost-finished playthrough of Tetanus, they're definitely not good enough for anyone to care.)

The first thing I tried to mix things up was Voxel Doom:

Spoiler

It was pretty, but it the framerate was noticeably choppy. Plus, I really don't enjoy using GZDoom, and even these voxels don't quite share the retro charm of the old billboard sprites.

Afterwards I tried screwing around with Doom 4 Vanilla, the only vanilla gameplay mod I know of. I'm surprised it even works for The Ultimate Doom or Freedoom: Phase 1, but it does for both, and fairly well. I kinda wish Solar Struggle had map titles in DEHACKED for Crispy Doom lovers like me, but that does allow for custom DEHACKED mods.

E1M1: Detention Center (myolden)

Woof 10.5.1 (Debian 12), Freedoom: Phase 1 + Doom 4 Vanilla, UV (or in this case "Nightmare") practiced, pistol start

Kills: 90%, Items: 100%, Secrets: 0%, Save Count: 0!

Spoiler

A simple, short, respectable opener. Like Freedoom's E1M1, it's a nicely detailed prison area, but it's noticeably more green and grey than that map. Find the blue key, then the red, and then exit. Not much to say, really.

Doom 4 Vanilla completely neuters the main challenge here, which is not getting worn down by hitscan, by taking the guns away from zombies. So for the next map, I tried the Antaresian Reliquary gameplay mod.

E1M2: Admin Offices (Peccatum Mihzamiz)

Woof 10.5.1 (Debian 12), Freedoom: Phase 1 + Antaresian Reliquary Mod, UV (or in this case Extreme Carnage), practiced, pistol start

95% Kills, 64% Items, 0% Secrets, 6:43, Save Count: 0

Spoiler

First off, excellent MIDI choice. I think this one's from ~~Ancient Aliens~~ Heartland and it's just a beautiful track. Secondly, Peccatum Mihzamiz is an absolute master of detailing and Doomcute. Admin Offices is a believable office building with a sense of scale far exceeding its actual scale. Every office and cubicle is believable, and the water fountains providing health bonuses are a nice addition. The main setpiece is the yellow key room, a square arena with a beautiful fountain in its center, where pressing a switch to lower the key fills the room with all the standard Doom 1 enemies, from the zombieman to the imp to the spectre. The combat is still pretty easy, and I have never died once in this map despite getting pretty low on health in this attempt, but Antaresian Reliquary doesn't trivialize it - if anything giving zombies a fast projectile attack makes it more fun.

Edited May 1, 2023 by continuum.mid

Peccatum Mihzamiz · May 1, 2023

A little behind the scenes on E1M2:

Spoiler

My map was indeed the last addition to the project. I was asked to fill in for somebody else, said yes, and then I myself actually took longer than promised to deliver the map. Doomers that know my maps might know I have trouble keeping it all small and contained. This time was no different. It's a thing I know about myself, that I try to work on.

The project called for maps of a maximum size of 1024x1024 (I think). That definitely helped, but then I had trouble texturing the map. Usually I do this while mapping but this time I did most of my texturing towards the end. I tried to fully embrace what I called 'ugly 90s office architecture': a kind of bland corporate hallways and office space, complete with generic art and weird abstract ceiling sculptures in places. I have so many different areas, each with their own unique look, that I think I ended up having to use almost all of the office textures in Doom. The aligning of the textures itself was an additional several hours.

Someone (I think Violentbeetle?) fixed my 3D bridge when it started bugging out a bit. I also got nice advice on placing more borders on my then bland doorways. On co-op this map contains some sneaky Cacodemons because I try to always include extra stuff for multiplayer. I like creating continuity between maps and I am glad that I was able to connect the first three maps together like this.

Extra spoiler: one thing that always fascinates me, having seen 20+ playthroughs of the map, is that almost half of the people that play it miss the bathroom entirely. The cubicle fight is just so hectic I guess, that people continue on down the corridors and never go and see the toilet. I can sympathize: this map is just so much visual input coming at the player from all sides. It's easy to miss things and I am very much ok with that. I actually like having areas in maps that don't have an obvious 'reward' but are just there for exploration's sake. Though this bathroom of course does lead to a reward.

Wishing everybody so much fun with the set! Violentbeetle does such a good job with all of his projects. And the mappers on this team, that have participated on other things like Skulltiverse, Hellevator and now What Lies Beneath, make outstanding stuff time and time again.

continuum.mid · May 1, 2023

6 minutes ago, Peccatum Mihzamiz said:

The project called for maps of a maximum size of 1024x1024 (I think).

These definitely don't feel like Congestion maps... looks like the development thread said "square of between 2048 and 4096 units", which makes more sense. Owing to the sense of scale on some maps, notably yours and Death Bear's, I didn't even notice there was a limit!

Edited May 1, 2023 by continuum.mid

Helm · May 1, 2023

E1M1 - Detention Facility
by myolden

Always a pleasure to play a myolden map.

We start this ultimate doom complevel 3 foray with a gorgeously detailed, rusty & ominous tech prison. A tight layout with some vertical play, horseshoes upon horseshoes of aspirational vantage points to return to, a middle courtyard that allows us a glimpse of the orange sky, that beautiful midi is absolutely fitting. We are not in a bunch of sectors, we are in a place already. A mild trap for the blue key is the start of the gameplay for the month... I decided to try to stroll through as much as possible of this map, thinking ultimate doom map sets are best explored and felt as the main protagonist is going to be the layouts, not necessarily the combat by itself. Tried to play slower and to be more attentive, even though there's nothing too dangerous here, it's a map01 after all.

There is a difference between danger and excitement and all the combat scenarios presented here are exciting and intermix progress with gunplay (like figuring out a shootswitch by killing some imps around it). Attention to minimap is rewarded with secrets.

The sense of place is very notable, we start breaking out of a cell and you get little glimpses to the outside world (a jungle moon of Titan... oh no*) through that and the adjacent cells, beautiful light cascades from the windows are simulated with sector painting. The level of chonkiness of the sector props here is actually all very well proportioned to the viewport, nothing feels too flimsy or small and there are no single textured areas to betray the other end of the scale either. The brown, green, rust, grey palette the brutalist geometry... we pass through same places but reuse the space in different ways with different tools. It's unassuming but it's very hard to make a good layout like this. It's a very cool opener. The layout is supremely logical, I even found most of the secrets just by using by eyeballs!

This map gave the impression of a well wound piece of machinery, springing to action, activated by the presence of our prisoner escapee. Speaking of, who are we in this adventure? I swear I've passed through the jungles of Titan before...

Nothing is wasted or confused about the space. I think I know where the last secret is but I couldn't find a way to trigger it, so I'm going to be sticking to playing free from the burden of thinking about stats too much. The combination, emotionally for this player is therefore of an old and dilapidated monstrous architectural space, corroded by demonspawn, slowly churning some resistance at a desperate escapee. This mood is punctuated by getting even the basic shotgun not late but late enough to make that point of making even a little imp or two feel scary up close with all the 6 bullets they need to die each.

I will try to play without abusing saves as much as I can, seeing how this is udoom I doubt it'll reach Sunlust territories. But we'll see. This first one is a blind demo and I don't die, but it's unlikely I'll carry on doing first exits, it just so happened I wanted to get a dry run and consider music later but in the end I think I'll be listening to the midi set for this one.

By strolling through this first one and sitting with the music, trying to find a secret or two I had a more developed feel of the atmosphere of this Detention Facility rather than just map01_gotta_go_fast. Often the first map in such a foray is quickly forgotten by the excitement of more substantial offerings to come, but on the other hand the first map sets a particular standard, a mood and a fantasy of what could follow and a lost of players never make it deeper than the first episode of a megawad anyway... Myolden does great here with enticing with a gorgeous layout, very solid encounters and light puzzles, but more than that it is the atmosphere we find ourselves in that feels cryptic but purposeful. More mysteries must lie deeper within. footage

Bugslide · May 1, 2023

1 hour ago, Peccatum Mihzamiz said:

Hide contents

I tried to fully embrace what I called 'ugly 90s office architecture': a kind of bland corporate hallways and office space, complete with generic art and weird abstract ceiling sculptures in places. I have so many different areas, each with their own unique look, that I think I ended up having to use almost all of the office textures in Doom. The aligning of the textures itself was an additional several hours.

Extra spoiler: one thing that always fascinates me, having seen 20+ playthroughs of the map, is that almost half of the people that play it miss the bathroom entirely. The cubicle fight is just so hectic I guess, that people continue on down the corridors and never go and see the toilet. I can sympathize: this map is just so much visual input coming at the player from all sides. It's easy to miss things and I am very much ok with that. I actually like having areas in maps that don't have an obvious 'reward' but are just there for exploration's sake. Though this bathroom of course does lead to a reward.

The framed art is what made it fully feel like an office space to me, it's a great detail. The ceiling sculpture + fountain was also one of the big visual highlights for me, personally.

Spoiler

The vent behind the chaingun actually lead me to the bathroom because I could see the direction it came from and followed it. I don't know if that's how you intended to lead people there, but I thought it was a spiffy piece of player direction.

Anarkzie · May 1, 2023

Map 1 Detention Centre

This is the first level I ever played from Myolden, i remember it being produced quite quickly which was both inspiring and intimidating in equal measures. I made a choice not to play too many levels before making my own but I did play this and I was hugely impressed.

The texture work with the buildings brick and metal support feel very solid along with the great natural surroundings. The gallows is a nice touch of story telling.

The opening shoot out with the Zombie men in the first prison block gets the level off to an exciting start. Not many mappers are brave enough to have the player hold on to the pistol for any length of time but I think it really pays of here. This short section reminds me of Mouldy's opening to Going Down, with the meandering Zombie Men popping in and out of view.

From a combat perspective I think the use of the pistol is the real star here, even when you acquire the shotgun the fact that you don't have a lot of ammo for it, means that you play the rest of the level really prioritising your targets.

It's not easy making a beginning level but this easily one of the best openings of a Doom wad.

Klear · May 1, 2023

On 4/30/2023 at 4:30 PM, Klear said:

I'm going to take a break now.

So it turns out I'm a fucking liar. This looks way too good for me to stay away.

1) Seeing all the now-familiar mapper names is super attractive

2) Episodes 1-3 are supposed to be close to difficulty of the iwads, so that's nice

3) Ultimate Doom means I can use Voxel Doom. I love Voxel Doom

4) No more bloody revenants

I will be playing continuous this time (it makes sense to me in this sort of campaign), I might miss a day or two occasionally, and I will try to keep my writeups concise. That should help out with the lack of time I have.

I'm using some new weapon models made for VR by alekksandar - I really like how they look, and though I would prefer vanilla sounds and pistol, they quickly became my new default.

Anyways...

E1M1 - “Detention Facility” by myolden + E1M2 - “Admin Offices” by Peccatum Mihzamiz

QuestZDoom, UV, blind, continuous, saves

From the first two maps I'm really glad to join in on the fun. The wad starts out slowly and these maps are excellent for VR play. Shotgun vs hitscan and imps is always fun. The various teleporter ambushes are also quite fun, as they reward the extra awareness you might get if you turn your head fast enough. And the doomcute! Plus it reminds me of Duke Nukem 3D, especially the prison, so that's also nice. Well, one thing that's not great for VR play is that the bigger spaces lag for me quite a bit. Might be because of the voxels, but you can pry those from my cold dead hands. If this becomes a problem, maybe it will finally force me to set up VR Doom on my PC.

Edited May 1, 2023 by Klear

cannonball · May 1, 2023

I will try to keep up with this thread, being the one event by this group of mappers that I actually made a cameo appearance for.

E1M1 - “Detention Facility” by myolden

Compared to SKulltiverse, the one thing that kind of stood out was how much more fleshed out the environment felt in this map. Now don't get me wrong, Myolden has a good eye for detail, but here it felt like it extended far beyond the playspace you occupy. As such it really works well for a scene-setter. The gameplay as you would expect is fairly straightforward. However you could get caught out by the monster density in places, especially when they teleport in.

Overall a very pleasant start to the megawad and first episode.

E1M2 - “Admin Offices” by Peccatum Mihzamiz

This was a map I never got round to playing in the final release (I have played many of these during development).

Now the gameplay is pretty much passable here, however the map itself and some of the mechanics/visuals are the main event here. Elements such as the water in the dispensers and sinks are interactive, which adds a layer of charm that does a great deal to make up for the fact that this is a pretty straight forward map. In the end this is short and offers a few neat little quirks.

TJG1289 · May 1, 2023

All right, here we go. Ultimate Doom WADs aren't very common these days since there's no SSG and a very light bestiary compared to its sequel. I'm going into this month interested in seeing everyone's opinions on this, and determining how well this works as an UD WAD instead of a Doom II one.

GZDoom/UV/Pistol-Start/Saves

E1M1: Detention Facility - Myolden

100% kills and secrets

Time: 7:01

Oh, yeah! I remember this one now! For the 2nd time in the past 3 months, we start a megawad club by escaping prison. Myolden returns for the 2nd month in a row (and he won't be the only person to do that), with a fantastic opening map. This detention center looks really cool. I love how its located in a small basin surrounded by water. Very cool environment. Since this is a UD WAD, we aren't going to be dealing with much in terms of opposition. Just the standard E1M1 lineup here in terms of demons and weapons. I do kinda wish more maps focused on pistol combat instead of just immediately giving you a bigger weapon. You get a little bit of this as you have to escape the cell block and traverse the courtyard before finding the shotgun in a building with the blue key. Grabbing it just unleash a pretty sizable ambush here, which is nice. We don't need no easy encounters. I like how the secret here is telegraphed with the gibbed corpse instead of an intact one. Blue door building doesn't really spice things up any more than its key fight did, but grabbing the red key does initiate a teleport ambush. The soul sphere secret just before this helps negate any damage taken, and the shell/imp secret will keep you stocked. The exit ambush was a surprise sandwich! Overall, a very strong opening map! Establishes the WAD's sense of place very well, with the combat being a good start point. The secrets are very nice, though I did have to look up the first one. Remember Sigil eyes? MIDI pick is a good chill one too. Myolden delivers again.

E1M2: Admin Offices - Peccatum Mihzamiz

100% kills and secrets

Time: 7:15

Oh, yeah! I remember this one now! (I was going to do this for every map, but that would be annoying, so I'll stop now). It's nice to get a full map from Peccatum after getting the 1-hour section from 2 days ago. And now I can see why he may not have been able to finish a map in 10 hours, lol. The sheer amount of detail in this map is impressive! There's a ton of texturing and Doomcute here that really fleshes out the environment. Checking out all the cubicles in the red key area was fun just to see what everyone had on their desks. Truly feels like you're in an office setting, and realistic locations are one of my favorite styles of Doom maps. Pinkies and their partially invisible varieties are introduced here, so before jumping down at the start, turn around and jump down into the basin to find a chainsaw. I like this area, as it's taken straight from the previous map and helps make this WAD feel like a continuous adventure, just like Fragport was when we played it 2 months ago. Both weapons with the word "chain" are introduced here as secrets. The chaingun is pretty easy to figure out, and is very useful for the final fight later. The third secret is a cool way to skip needing the blue key, but we're all about that UV-Max baby! At least there's a lot of health and armor bonuses in it. The blue key area is a cool little area with a good amount of baddies, but the yellow key fight is the highlight. All 5 monster types teleport in this big fountain area, just asking to be chaingunned. You can platform up the fountain to grab a green armor if needed. Super fun! Overall, another strong map. These first 2 maps are great at establishing the WAD's general feel and combat. Very nicely detailed, with lots of incidental combat.

ViolentBeetle · May 1, 2023

15 hours ago, dobu gabu maru said:

that is, secret maps being reviewed on the days they're encountered

I think it might be a good idea to put a reminder on which levels have the secret exits. Which are the same as original, but not everyone remembers those.

Spoiler

E1M3

E2M5

E3M6

E4M2

Edited May 1, 2023 by ViolentBeetle

DJVCardMaster · May 1, 2023

Back again in the club to give this wad a playthrough, as I could not give it a proper one while playtesting some maps, by the way, I have a map at the fourth episode, so I'm felling excited to see your views on that one. Not my finest map on a community project, but let's see...

sstruggle.wad - Solar Struggle - ViolentBeetle et al.:

Here is ViolentBeetle's third take on a community project, he has proved us before he was a fine project manager with Hellevator and Skulltiverse. This time, no gimmicks are present here, in comparison to ViolentBeetle's previous mapsets (focusing around maps connected to portals/rooms that will have different ways to reach and exit the map). This time, ViolentBeetle focuses more on story-telling, with a journey to the Solar System, and some of its celestial bodies. That's why the author chooses the Doom 1 episodic theme instead of the level-by-level "layout" of the second Doom game. To go around with progression, ViolentBeetle suggested mappers to follow certain rules in each episode (Certain minor gimmicks, aesthetic takes, weapon usage, difficulty, etc.), also, the main rule was to make a map based on a fixed map name, given by the project manager, so everybody had to make their way into making a map according to its name (Just like D2INO did). Our first episode will be focusing around the best moon in the Solar System. Titan. Humans are yet working to send their first proves to Titan in 2040 or so. But we are way more advanced than that in this forum, so we will be traveling right now.

Episode 1 - Titan Terror:

E1M1 - Detention Facility - Myolden (96%K/98%I/0%S):

Starting out a Doom mapset from a prison cell has been a cliché since Demonfear, but still, it is a nice starter map, nothing too ambitious in terms of gameplay, as it has a lock to its difficulty according to design standards, but it is a fun experience. The approach of limit-removing phylosophy is good here, as you will mantain the vanilla experience with the freedom to detail a lot of the enviroment without caring about those obnoxious visplanes. It is a really good looking map, and it should be, to engage players to keep playing it. It serves it first map purpose really well. I did not like the caged monsters outdoors. Luckly you can kill them easily later on your gameplay. So don't waste ammo like I did trying to snipe them. The looks of this level are the most promising attribute the map has to offer right from the start. And the gameplay here is nothing too strong so it stays friendly for Doom newcomers.

E1M2 - Admin Offices - Peccatum Mihzamiz (100%K/I/S):

A nice office map that remembers me to one of Shawny's maps in previous ViolentBeetle's projects. Luckly, it's just only by the looks, and not by its hard gameplay (We will have one of Shawny's takes later in this episode though). The ammount of Vanilla texturing and Doom-cute, it's also resemblant to Cyriak maps. I really like those airvent secrets out there, and the water dispenses that you can lower to get your nice glass of water, remembering us that we should stay hydrated.
The map follows the end of E1M1, and, the good thing is that you can backtrack a little bit to the last level, noticing the bridge that connects to it is broken, and you can jump into the water to find a secret chainsaw. This will not help you as much, as the first area is quite wide and full of hitscanners. There are tons of good encounters here and there in this map, but I feel the first one at the big main lobby is the hardest one, possibly because I found the secret chaingun and nullified the challenge of the last encounters, maybe...
Admin Offices keeps it good and makes it harder than the first level. Seems it connects to the next level aswell, so hopefully, this will be a trend at least, for this episode to its entirety.

(UV Playthrough - Crispy Doom)

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

MAP02
MAP01

Doomy__Doom · May 1, 2023

The clock strikes 24, so I'll get these out of the way before turning in.

E1M3 - Barracks - Nightmare! (regular exit) + NM100S (secret exit)

11 attempts for regular and over double that for secret exit. The base be tech, the scanners be hitting. Quite a few attempts were cut immediately at the start if zombies were very uncooperative before the clock struck even 2 seconds.

The beginning is alright, you get to briskly crawl and pick off everything around corners. Sometimes very unlucky spawns can happen, but generally you should be able to get to the green armor part before they come in. Skip the ammo box for it will be sorely needed on your way down and try not to lose too much health. I cut pretty much any attempts with <60% at armor.

The first lift is rough, especially because you may very well get pelted from behind. May be worth ensuring respawns above are dead for the second time. You get a medkit and a stimpack, a bunch of awkward shotgunners and another lift. Down again, you have to clean up more shotgunners and grind down pinky wall.

Once that's done comes the rush past all the hitscan into the blur sphere room. The barrels on the left hard carry, if not downright make at all possible, this section - there's no staying by the door due to shotgunners, but we can rush in left and focus fire on hitscan center while watching and dodging right imps.

Past blur sphere and two medkits, we make a detour for the essential RL. No ammo to be found, but Nightmare's double will provide us the crucial 4. Jump over the gap (this jump is safe, as respawned pinky wall is fast asleep) avoiding the lines that trip more closets. Then stuff yourself into another blessing - a secret nook with x2 ammo boxes. A run for RK and back - now you have to leap of faith, pinky wall could be anywhere.

Back up the lift and suffer all the shotgunners, imps and pinkies again. If you can make it to the double medkit, you've pretty much won the level unless spectre respawns mess everything up. 4 rockets down the YK hallway to clear another pinky wall, clear out respawns if any and rush for the exit of choice.

sstrgle_e1m3_nm_4-41-14.zip

sstrgle_e1m3_nm100s_4-57-14.zip

E1M9 - Excavation Area - Nightmare! 100% secrets

The cookie

crumbles on attempt number 6 once again, despite the respawns making two incredible attempts at forcing a facerocket. Two of the attempts were near instant resets from unsustainable zombieman/pistol rng, so 4 "real" ones.

Unlike e1m2, I see no clever way to avoid the devious sound tunnel that awakens teleporter closets. The hard part is all in the beginning, as once you get down into the titular excavation area you'll be showered in chaingun ammo, RL, health and armor.

The first order of business is to completely ignore the trapped shotgun and go for BK. Fortunately we can obtain a shotgun there and deal with the caco in a timely manner. Do watch out for respawns though. BK is trapped in an easy to exploit way, although the trap is quite inconsequental if all you're looking for is an exit.

Armed with BK, time to grab computer area map, backpack (handy to take advantage of ammo shower later on, although I'd prefer a medkit here) and dive into YK. Here we have no option but to trip the big wave of enemies, but can crucially avoid the small cave closet. Hanging out on the pinky's original spot for a while and only peeking out briefly to disperse whatever comes down lowers the odds of the chompy beast making an unpleasant apppearance. He still got me in one attempt alongside a YK imp respawn sandwitch.

At some point we have to face the music in form of going upstairs and hanging around the trapped shotgun (useful to stop relentless Lost Souls) while clearing the horde #1. Past that, downstairs and armed with a chaingun, we have to beeline for the lift before the path is clogged by horde #2. Then clear downstairs, prepare the secret soulsphere (or take it if super low) and do red key. That one could use a proper timed lockdown to force the issue, but I'll take what I can :)

Up again, now rocket the horde #2, get past it (really unlucky with 2 cacos being so far back), go to red door. Here I'd normally rocket into red door, but zombie spawn in the face had another idea. Then a beeline for exit, and another teleportation in the face just as I was about to open the door and rocket the final spectre... Imagine dying at the literal finish line.

sstrgle_e1m9_nm100s_5-48-57.zip

ViolentBeetle · May 1, 2023

So, amusing development anecdotes time.

E1M3 mapper originally didn't notice that there's supposed to be a secret exit, which is why it's kind of an afterthought. Still works thought.

E1M9 originally looked completely different but instead of fixing some issues I asked to fix, the mapper just made a whole new map instead. It was pretty impressive how much Late Night Person improved between revisions.

Alaxzandarz · May 1, 2023

I haven't played that much doom this year, so I decided to join in this month

DSDA-doom, pistol-start, UV

E1M1: Good opener, very nice clean visuals, especially the shadows. Combat is pretty simple, nothing really to say about it. Music is great.

E1M2: Even better visuals, reminds me of Bauhaus. Super slick. Lostsa doomcute. The combat is again pretty basic, but the "teleporting a shotgunner behind you" stuff is annoying. I like the vent secrets.

Klear · May 1, 2023

E1M3 - “Barracks” by Doomlust + E1M9 - “Excavation Area” by LateNightPerson

QuestZDoom, UV, blind, continuous, saves

Spoiler

Two more maps very well suited for VR play. That window I shoot through at around 1:44 in the first vid is precisely the right size to feel great. Shame there isn't much on the other side. I've come to use the revolver replacing the pistol which came with the VR weapons quite a lot despite having access to the chaingun. It does pack a bigger punch, since I've seen it gib zombies, but it doesn't feel overpowered. It does feel good to use. I'm a sucker for a good revolver.

Now, despite playing in VR, I still like to think of myself as something of a purist - I am playing on a Carmack-developped headset after all, but I never use the base pistol anyway, so this is a nice change of pace.

The extra door at the end intrigued me, so after accidentally stepping on the exit teleporter I reloaded the last save and went secret hunting. I figured since I'm playing continuous now, any goodies I might find will do me good - especially the blue armour I didn't end up getting. Good thing I did, since it's the secret exit. Forgot I should be on the lookout for it here.

The secret map starts to ramp up the difficulty, albeit very slowly and I'm glad for that. I could handle more heat than this, but I want to relax this month.

I thoroughly enjoyed the slaughter in the red key room, although it did affect my framerate quite a lot. I've been seeing double the whole time I was circlestrafing, but years of drinking beer meant it didn't cause me much discomfort. A rookie VR player might want to go with sprites for this one though.

Ralgor · May 1, 2023

Introduction

This time we're back with the normal doom palette and textures. As much as I like the AA resources, I do feel like returning to standard Doom is welcome at this point. This time we're going all of the way back to Doom 1, so there won't be any SSG or Archviles in this mapset. After getting bullied by them last month, I'm kind of glad not to have to worry about them this time.

I'm going to be playing using DSDA-Doom v0.25.6, using complevel 3 and "Ultra Violence" difficulty. I don't plan on recording demos this month. I need a bit of a break from last month, and while this wad seems to be easier than Mapping at Warpspeed, there's other things besides Doom I want to do this month.

E1M1 - "Detention Facility" by myolden
MIDI: "Nightfall" by stewboy
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl3, UV, Pistol start, blind run, single segment
100% kills and secrets

Spoiler

sstruggle11-01.jpg.4b669a19e5f4ee31c967add666aae4fd.jpg

Where is the light coming from?

This maps starts in a jail cell, much like the beginning of Fragport. That's where the simularities end though, because this map is truly a modern effort. There is a high level of detail here, evoking a strong sense of place. Light streams between the bars in the cells, although the light seems confused as to what direction it should come from. A gibbet sits covered in blood and gore in the courtyard, which gives this whole map a much darker tone than it would have. There are a few well-hidden secrets that didn't take too long to find. You are able to eventually open the front doors in the waiting room and escape the facility.

Spoiler

sstruggle11-02.jpg.06a43751ec0ba0df5a77d678188b0517.jpg

A grim display

There isn't much resistence here, but that doesn't stop this map from being a lot of fun. We're limited to just a pistol and a shotgun, but nothing stronger than an imp gets in our way. In fact we're stuck with just the pistol for a bit, but since this is E1M1 I find that appropriate. The demon-spawn should have put stronger guards on our cell.

Spoiler

sstruggle11-03.jpg.b94f718fa8dae53507b87249086dab98.jpg

The back cells, and a view to the outside

I really liked this map. I hope this whole megawad is like this. It's relaxing but also evocative.

This music rocks as well. Stewboy doesn't disappoint.

E1M2 - "Admin Offices" by Peccatum Mihzamiz
MIDI: "Dancing Snakes" by Stewboy
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl3, UV, Pistol start, blind run, single segment
100% kills and secrets

The first thing I did when playing this map was turn around and notice that the opening of this map matches the exit of the last map. I love it when wads do this. For some reason, the detention facility was right next to the administrative offices. Interesting choice by UAC corporate, but that tracks with how corporate entities usually operate. There's also a secret in the water below the destroyed bridge. Onward from the start, the lobby is a large open room with a reception desk and demonic receptionists and security. Wait... is that a water cooler?! And it works! I love it.

Spoiler

sstruggle12-01.jpg.bfea241bbcc259288363736edc4706cd.jpg

Gross

The sheer amount of doomcute in this is nearly overwhelming. I kept getting distracted by it! Going into the first office room on the right, I alternate between killing demons and gawking at the sector art. It got me shot and scratched a few times. There are cubicles, complete with monitors, keyboards, mice, and bananas. Adjoining that is a break room and bathroom. All of it with almost cloying levels of doomcute, and I love it. You can even flush the toilets, but one of the troopers made a real mess of one of the stalls.

Spoiler

sstruggle12-02.jpg.0958e8629bf1e9c91bc0f91f299653a8.jpg

The central area where the yellow key and green armor are

The combat is pretty great too. Resistance is fairly light up until grab the yellow key, which releases quite a few demons into the offices. Luckily I found the secret chaingun so I made pretty quick work of them.

Spoiler

sstruggle12-03.jpg.b1989be321e08cc608dde81f968b4ee4.jpg

The break room. Someone spilled the coffee!

So far this wad is really reminding me of a more refined Fragport. I hope it stays that way, because the doomcute and level transitions were the best part of it. I'm pretty excited for the rest of this wad now.

Celestin · May 1, 2023

E1M3: Barracks by Doomlust

Spoiler

woof0002.png.a01fadc4b00dd5eecaabce20d9ff0a32.png

A remix of "Let's Kill at Will" from TNT fits like a glove here - this compact techbase is a vicious hitscanner hell and a considerable difficulty spike comapared to the previous levels. It's filled with both variants of undead soldiers that can chip away at your health and healing items aren't plenty. Throught my first run, I had a few tense moments where my health fell under 20% and had to play very carefully to not die.

A special mention goes to the yellow key trap, the most evil ambush in the set so far. You need to enter a long and narrow corridor, only to be surprised by pop-up pinkies in front of you and imps teleporting into the room you've entered from. With the yellow key, I accidentally stepped onto an exit pad, only to realise this is the map where the secret exit is located. I've given the map another go, with a foreknowledge it went much more smoothly. I've located the 2-in-1 secret with blue armour and rocket launcher - kinda useless here, as the monsters guarding it were the last to die. The secret exit took me a bit longer, but I have to say, it was very creative. Shoot the "do not enter" sign in the yellow key room and sprint toward the exit - a nearby door will be opened.

As for visuals, this is your standard techbase. A handful of details, like a gym with sector-art dumbbells or the pinky autopsy, are fine, but I think the gameplay was a priority.

E1M9: Excavation Site by LateNightPerson

Spoiler

woof0003.png.b0c55a9e9bbdaea1b49ac375dec73a49.png

First of all, that track from Half-Life 2 (my favourite game, BTW) sounds incredibly cursed when arranged into midi. Other than that, it's a solid map.

Excavation Site is centered around a small outpost, which acts as a hub, branching into four paths that have to be taken in a linear order. The only unlocked door leads to a short nukage canal, which is a non-issue if you spot a candle on the floor - it marks a radsuit. The only thing of note here is an appearence of a cacodemon, an enemy normally not seen in E1. Behind the blue door is a chamber with two crushers and a yellow key. Naturally, grabbing the key opens up a monster closet and you can guess what the crushers are used for. There is a second ambush on your way back to the hub, which includes lost souls, another E2 enemy.

The yellow door leads to the titular excavation site: a short cave section with a pentagram on the floor and the red key in the centre (a Military Base homage?). This is the highpoint of the map, as it starts summoning a true deluge of monsters. Don't forget to find a rocket launcher in the first cave, hold fire and circle around. Fun stuff. There is one last fight to do, a cramped trap behind the red door. It can be cheesed by running away and funnelling everything through the door.

Excavation Site doesn't look as flashy as the previous maps, but makes up for it with sheer carnage. I won't be surprised after completing Episode 1 if that was a reason to make it a secret map.

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