The DWmegawad Club plays: Solar Struggle

[LadyMistDragon]

E1M7: Traffic Control

by @LoreCaco37

 

A map that one might say feels a little amateurish, but still feels fun at the end of the day because as it turns out, when one actually thinks about monsters in relation to the availability of ammo, it works wonders!

 

So I guess we've exited the Visitor Center of the last map into a land of....brown. Hold your desires to groan people. After the sort of starting storage room (as clearly indicated by the open crates) we enter into a tightly-packed baggage check room of sorts. Then of course, there's that ridiculous "monster in a box!" trap just past the airport scanners. Nothing to hard to gun down with a nearby chaingun though.

 

From here, it's a pair of circular wings that each contain a metric ton of enemies and enough ammo that we probably don't need to let infighting run its course. There are these little doors of sorts on each side that lead to separate outdoor areas which contain sheds of sorts in one corner, each containing a blue and then, once we pass through the bk door into the outer wing,  a red key. These areas are also stuffed with large groups of enemies. Some exploring around will also net us a rocket launcher. There's still plenty of move to move around however, odd as that seems. The red key is located in something that might be a power shed, then there's also a secret hidden aside a small silo, just before we reach the final area.

 

Here the combat just gets a little silly. More stuffed corridors in unfortunately the most aggressively-detailed section of the map. Although this is supposedly like a spaceport, this appears more to be a subway station. Head toward the train that exits, then next thing we know, pinkies in our face and Cacos soon after! This sort of does the job but then, more enemies teleport from the nearby stairs and like, enough already!

 

Having said that, this wasn't bad at all. Found 3 of 4 secrets, the midi was cool and it was still kinda fun.

 

 

[Helm]

E1M6 - Visitor Center
by Shawny

the midi is the excellent "Goldrush" by Stewboy

I've liked every Shawny map I have seen or played, so always excited for more!

This one starts us up in a waiting room with two opposing couches both having a surreptitious medikit on them, and then a huge garage door from this waiting room opens into the titular visitor center. I don't know if trucks usually pass through to warrant the huge garage door but it looks imposing and cool, and in terms of gameplay the wide open up purpose quickly becomes apparent: a few too many imps and a perched shotgunner may claim the life of the unprepared and nearly claimed mine. Thankfully those two medikits (now recontextualized as what would keep continuous players in bad shape alive) happed just within my goldfish memory span ago so I go and help myself. Hot start! Makes you walk a few scary bottlenecks just to get a shotgun. 

From there, as we realize we are on a multipronged hunt for 3 keys in a techbase filled with appropriate doomcute to flesh out a sci fi planetary visitor center, the pace calms down a little bit for me. I tend to use full run speed and runstrafing like a 'limited use super' in this udoom set to kind of keep in mind which maps actually require me to move like a maniac and which can be dismantled if you played this fairly traditionally and slowly. This map allowed for fun stroller vibes and frenzied running around to survive accents in kind of balanced amounts. 

If there is a criticism to be put against this thoroughly enjoyable for this player offering is that an attention seems to have been paid into making interestingly shaped layout first and then found the assortment of demons that decorate the space. This leads to the map having an adventuresome tech-crawl walk and gun feel to it which is cool, especially since there are enough understated environmental details to contextualize the journey - as well as charitable enough secrets for this dumbass to find - to signpost progress, but one at times is left wanting a more concentrated demon assault or ambush somewhere in here to let me know that the demons had more significant means to stop me in mind at this point in eposide 1 than monstercloset action and mall wanderers. 

On the beauty side, this is a fun one not just to look at, they've all been great to look at so far imo, this is also a fun one to move through, especially stroll, beause the ceiling intercut action creates pleasing depth interplay with the skybox and other ornamental details there to operate by the time old tested credo 'if it's a corridor and box fight, make the ceiling nice'. 

I sadly missed an early rl somewhere and had to grind a few window imps one by one but even so the clip never really slowed down too much for me. 

In terms of mood and feeling this outing evoked, given that I had a bit of a desperate moment in the beginning but then never again, this long anticlimax actually really helped me chill and vibe with the latter part of the map, feeling secure that I had made the comeback to carry me through... feeling more the exploration of the visitor centre than any prolonged furtfloor misery or other udoomisms that denote 'hardcore difficulty'. There's delightful pool tables and other doomcute details to suggest the functional purpose of spaces that once again pleasingly reminds of Fragport (I guess I will never forget Fragport, now? cool) which never devolve into realistic sector mimicry, everything is chonky and pleasing to bump on or glide through... as I said the only observation that is kind of grey tinted is that due to the 'layout first, enemies second' feel of this, I get this 'vast, grandiose mall fallen to disrepair' liminal feel from this place more than I get 'demon infested hellhole to crawl through hoping for the lord to give you strength'. I think I'd like to do a no-monsters stroll through this map to cement if it feels like that really, the midi would support it I think.

footage

[cannonball]

E1M7 - “Traffic Control” by LoreCaco37

 

I remember playing this when the first version was released and fair to say that I almost completely trashed it. It is a relief to see to see that the final version is considerably better, or at the very least plays better on a second or third playthrough.

Now there are still some glaring issues, the start is very jarring with the monsters rising from a solid floor to greet the player who steps through the security gate. The gameplay at times reaches almost parody levels in terms of fodder that as much a anything else takes care of itself. However I cannot deny that there was fun to have in this map, so overall this was a passable experience and the midi choice is one that fits well with the inevitable mowing down of zombies. 

[Celestin]

E1M8: Huygens Spaceport by ViolentBeetle

Spoiler

A surprising turn towards a survival horror, the finale of Titan Terror is set in a wrecked base, with signs of previous struggle everywhere. This, combined with low lighting and creepy Plutonia 2 midi, creates a foreboding vibe that's unlike anything in this wad before.

 

Complimenting the atmosphere is the combat, full of teleport ambushes in tight corners. Health and ammo can get scarce, but I'd say it fits here. Since this is E1M8, you can guess what awaits at the end: barons. Here it's 8 of them in a circular arena with cacodemon and lost soul support. You are given a rocket launcher before the fight, the floor outside the central ring is damaging and a stray lost soul can easily catch a rocket. Still, with a bit of circle-strafing, this fight was not that challenging and once all barons are dead, you can escape on a spaceship to the next destination: Ceres.

Spoiler

Despite a departure from the tone of the rest of the episode (or maybe because of that), Huygens Spaceport ends the first chapter of Solar Struggle on a high note. I wonder how the wad continues from here.

[Bugslide]

E1M7: Traffic Control by LoreCaco37

Alright everyone, say it with me now: I think this is my favorite map of so far. A pumped up midi, hordes of low tier monsters and early chaingun/rocket launcher make this map feel like an absolute power fantasy in the best way. It can certainly still kill you, especially if you don't grab some of the secrets, so it's not a complete pushover, but most people will probably still absolutely blast through it. The setting is also done well, a security checkpoint that's been overrun with demons. I especially love the destroyed train toward the end of the level, on the other side from the exit. It's not a hard map, but I would be hard pressed to say it isn't a fun one. 

 

There isn't a whole lot to say about the speedrun routing. It's certainly the level that requires the most combat of the wad so far, and as such required me to go out of my way to get a few items like the "why is this not just a megasphere" secret and the rockets nearby. I can probably do better than the 2:13 I got, but the mass amounts of monsters in somewhat small rooms make this kind of a chore to grind for speed. Pretty much just made a beeline for each of the required objectives in order, skipping fights when I could.

sstruge1m7-213.zip

 

EDIT: I just remembered this is an Ultimate Doom wad, not Doom 2, so the megasphere doesn't exist. Whoops

Edited May 7, 2023 by Bugslide

[Doomy__Doom]

E1M8 - Huygens Spaceport

 

 

No demo either, this time because I'm not proficient with a particular trick. In short, to avoid the absurd (for Nightmare) repopulation of the level in general and Lost Soul teledrop by red door in particular, it is vital to perform a south linedef skip when leaving the vent leading to RK. I've confirmed that it is possible in that particular place with SR50 and I'm sure the tech pipe textures will be conductive in making a precise setup for use in a real run, but I'm not invested enough to try. It's very tight on run distance to build up juuust enough speed for the trick to work, so the setup needs to be highly specific (for anyone who gets inspired to try - 227 is the shorttics angle of interest) and doable fast before imps respawn and ruin your day.

 

Outside of that issue, the key to Baron fight, assuming you can carry something in the ballpark of 150/50 in there, is unsurprisingly to run around in circles. Focus on getting rid of everything that's not a baron first. Be ready to take a fair few dives through the nukage because that's the least threatening and most controllable source of damage in play. Once it's mostly just the barons, rocket away or try to spread 2-3 rockets first and then go for the mass kill. Double ammo+secret backpack means there are plenty of rockets to work with.

 

 

In E1 conclusion - I'm surprised 7/9 maps were doable on Nightmare with my modest experience in this mode and the other two also appear to be, even if I'm not going to. I expected a lot less success. It's incredible that 4 (2, 4, 5, 6) are something I'd recommend in general.

Edited May 6, 2023 by Doomy__Doom

[ViolentBeetle]

E1M8 retrospective.

Would you look at this, a button spontanously melted. IIRC, Clippy was stuck on the first version after which I melted the train button. It would probably make enough sense for those coming from E1M7.

The overturned tables in the skylight room are supposed to be overturned tables, mimicking the shape of those at the walls, placed on top of the metal vents. Upon reflection, it doesn't actually make any sense. Where exactly would they be normally placed to justify this shape?

[Klear]

E1M8 - “Huygens Spaceport” by ViolentBeetle

QuestZDoom, UV, blind, continuous, saves

 

Spoiler

 

This map is just oozing atmosphere, with all the dead bodies strewn (or hanged) everywhere, the creepy music and especially all the half-stuck doors. And let me tell you one thing - you won't know the meaning of "knee deep in the dead" until you've played Voxel Doom in VR. Hell, it's more of a "waist deep in the dead" when it comes to the cacos. There is some excellent doomcute and other details (like the broken ceiling in the control room!), but the creepy atmosphere is all I remember. It's that good.

 

The expected final fight against the barons drops the hide-and-seek mechanics for a standard arena fight. Eh, it's decent. I guess it would be more dangerous without continuous play giving me a decent stockpile of rockets. But everything up to that point is the real highlight to me.

 

And we end the level in a very familiar manner after last month! Awesome.

 

 

 

 

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Pistol-Start/Saves

E1M7: Traffic Control - LoreCaco37

100% kills and secrets

Time: 11:49

 

I'm not familiar with this caco keeper of knowledge. I've never seen him really on the forums before, and I don't think I've played anything else by them. So I'm assuming this is an amateur effort, and it's not too bad. There's a lot of demons to kill, including lost souls and cacos, and more than enough shotguns and clips to get the job done. You do get the rocket launcher, but only like 25 rockets, so I didn't really use it that much. I don't mind the symmetrical layout of the main base. In fact, the design of it is quite nice with its curving hallways filled to the brim with hitscan asking to be mowed down. What I don't like are the slow pop-up enemies that I ended up walking over a few times. For future reference, it would probably be better to make them instantly pop up, or place the linedef further away to prevent that. Each wing of the building has an outdoor area with a ton of enemies. They also have a shotgunner tower you can reach from inside the building. I took out the first tower from inside, but went up the other one before taking out the shotgunners. Goodbye health. Didn't die tho. Grabbing the keys opens up the final outdoor area with even more enemies before heading into the train terminal with EVEN MORE. This map is really just mindless shotgunning and chaingunning, with the occasional rocketing. It's serviceable. I think if there were more rockets, this one would be a little more fun. I did like the one closet secret that required you to find a blue light to open. Overall, a decent map, but could use a few QoL tweaks. 

[Ralgor]

E1M8 - "Huygens Spaceport" by ViolentBeetle
MIDI: "End is Nigh" by Jamie Robertson
dsda-doom v0.25.6 cl3, UV, Pistol start, blind run
100% kills and secrets
Deaths: 0
Time: 10:24

The final map of the episode is atmospheric and creepy. You start out in your train car from the previous map, but it seems you've wrecked it. You have to punch your way out, which took me an embarrassingly long time to figure out. Everything is dark and covered with the corpses of demons, who all died due to a final stand from some previous space marines. The environmental storytelling is top notch. You can hear imps and such nearby, but nothing attacks you until you move into the first area.

 

Spoiler

Quiet... too quiet...

The first area is really not that difficult, although it can punish you if you don't pay attention. It's not just the hitscan that can get you, since you end up fighting quite a lot in cramped rooms and hallways. There's enough health to recover from this, and eventually you'll get some armor too. There's a soulsphere right before the final battle with more stimpacks as well.

 

Spoiler

Still creepy...

This means you should go into the final battle with plenty of health and armor, but it's by far the hardest part of this level, and maybe the hardest single fight of the entire episode. You get a rocket launcher and plenty of rockets, and then the space gets invaded by imps, six cacodemons, and eight barons of hell. You have a rocket launcher, but some lost souls also join the party. That can make using the rocket launcher very dangerous. At the same time, the cacodemons and barons are properly spaced out to cause plenty of cross-fire. On top of that, you have to fight in a narrow ring bounded on one side by a wall, and the other by nukage. You have to kill the barons to actually get into the center of the ring and escape this trap. This one got pretty close to killing me. I think I had maybe 20-30% health at the end of it, but I DID survive on my blind playthrough.

 

Spoiler

The arena for the final battle

I really liked this map. I always enjoy palpable atmosphere that you can cut with a knife, and this delivers. The music really helps to set that atmosphere as well. The final battle was perfect for the end of episode 1. I didn't mention the crazy doomcute control panels throughout the map, but they are awesome. One of them is usable to reveal a secret. It is a bit on the short side, but since this map is the final one of the episode and is really all about that final battle, I think it's fine.

[Capellan]

E1M7 & E1M8

 

 

[finnks13]

E1M7 - Traffic Control by LoreCaco37:

11:27/0 Deaths
OK while this map is definitely very rough around the edges, and often feels like someone's first map, I can't deny that I had a lot of fun with it. The detail of the map is incredibly low, with large swathes of the STARTAN variety making up the majority of the buildings in front of you, and that's not starting on LoreCaco37's obvious fascination with the Curve Lines tool, which got an absolute field day here. Nothing is safe from it's curving powers, not the corners of buildings, not the small lakes outside and certainly not the rocks - if I'm being serious here, while this tool can help a lot sometimes, using it on these natural areas makes them look anything but, they're just far too smooth. I do really like the doomcute attempts, such as the metal detectors & baggage conveyor in the first room, and the train station looks pretty great too.

 

It's hard to make mowing down massive groups of fodder not fun, and the often hilariously symmetrical monster placement really doesn't bother me when dealing with them takes 20 bullets from the chaingun. That being said, there's more than a few rough moments in gameplay, especially the monsters rising up and being able to claw you from below in the first room, and the combat in the train station, but I really liked clearing the two large outdoor areas on each side of the map due to the large amount of freedom you're given in tackling them (including hiding in the doorway :P). I found a lot of the secrets very amusing, especially the incredibly generous one in the blue key room that awards you 100% health, a soulsphere AND a blue armour. Overall, I had a great time with this one, it was very simple but very entertaining.

[Book Lord]

E1M8 – Huygens Spaceport by @ViolentBeetle

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

 

If you think you have seen enough tech-base wreckage in your career as a Doom player, then have a look at Huygens Spaceport. My first impression was of a Doom 3 level without real 3D props; the atmosphere was the same, particularly the impending danger of hellspawn appearing suddenly in close quarters. The narrow environment discouraged running away à la Doomguy, and the gruesome scenes of carnage were paired with unsettling light effects for an awesome result. The path to the RK was short and it required to cross three main rooms, now connected only through claustrophobic TEKWALL tunnels.

Spoiler

Each area was neatly detailed, and I liked the central office above all. The fallen marines must have fought tooth and nail, ducked under the upturned desks, but they were eventually overpowered by the enemy. The Doomcute told bits of daily routine (the broken coffee mug, the slice of pizza) and helped me spot a secret supply closet, opened by a red emergency button. The surprise teleport ambushes were the best feature of the level, which used clever sector tricks to release new enemies where they were not expected.

Spoiler

ViolentBeetle did not claim this slot for himself since the beginning, but I am glad he eventually did. He built up proper tension during the preamble, before arranging the traditional battle against Barons of Hell in a slime pit below the spaceship. The boss fight was no cakewalk; despite knowing it well, it killed me twice on UV-fast. The six Barons and six Cacodemons on the perimeter quickly invaded the safe ring, forcing me to make detours on the acid and take damage. Lost Souls, Imps, and two additional Bruiser Brothers attacked me steadily from the centre, so I could never rest or move backwards. I liked Huygens Spaceport, as it was a lovely small map that concluded the first episode with a bang. Let us fly to the asteroid belt and see what awaits us on Ceres!

Edited May 7, 2023 by Book Lord

[Book Lord]

3 hours ago, Capellan said:

E1M7 & E1M8

 

 

Hi, I noticed you are missing both the transition maps between levels and the flavour endgame text.

It might have something to do with the port you are using; Solar Struggle was tested for Crispy/DSDA Doom and with UMAPINFO cl3 support.

[continuum.mid]

11 minutes ago, Book Lord said:

Hi, I noticed you are missing both the transition maps between levels and the flavour endgame text.

It might have something to do with the port you are using; Solar Struggle was tested for Crispy/DSDA Doom and with UMAPINFO cl3 support.

It's almost certainly a UMAPINFO thing, I recall having the same issue when running Crispy Doom. Crispy does not have UMAPINFO support, and neither do most  3+ year old versions of ports.

[Capellan]

30 minutes ago, Book Lord said:

Hi, I noticed you are missing both the transition maps between levels and the flavour endgame text.

It might have something to do with the port you are using; Solar Struggle was tested for Crispy/DSDA Doom and with UMAPINFO cl3 support.

 

I'm using PrBoom+

[Spectre01]

E1M8 - “Huygens Spaceport” by ViolentBeetle

 

Enjoyable finale with some low-light base crawling before the final encounter with the Barons. I like how the teleport traps repopulate the map as you loop around again. Also, this door being on the outside like that looks a bit strange. The main encounter at the end is interesting, but can be slightly annoying with how rockets interact with the red inner circle. For instance, shooting at enemies in the acid can cause the rocket to explode on the inner wall despite looking like it should clear it. This didn't kill me, but I had to go back and test what was up. Otherwise, it's a good use of limited space where you need to keep moving and clearing the Barons without eating too much acid. Overall, it's a good episode closer which feels like a more modern interpretation of the classic e1m8 style.

 

The bottom line of the story text got cut off for me using 1920x1080 resolution. Edit: Port is DSDA-Doom version 0.25.4.

Edited May 7, 2023 by Spectre01

[ViolentBeetle]

4 hours ago, Capellan said:

 

I'm using PrBoom+

I think PrBoom+ stopped development before it fully implemented UMAPINFO support. It won't affect anything gameplay-related, you will only lose some flavor.

 

2 hours ago, Spectre01 said:

2 hours ago, Spectre01 said:

The bottom line of the story text got cut off for me using 1920x1080 resolution.

Oof, the source port variety strikes again. At least it's just one line.

Edited May 7, 2023 by ViolentBeetle

[Klear]

The end text is at the end of my playthrough video. 

 

I was so happy to have recorded it since I forgot about every single one of them when going through PUSS IX.

[RHhe82]

E1M8: Huygens Spaceport. Played on DSDA v0.25.6, UV, PS. 76/76 K, 1/1 S, 1/1 I. Comp. time 7:28

 

Eerie ambience pervades this map - I guess much like Phobos Anomaly, only Huygens Spaceport is much more effective, and instead of bruiser brothers, we have the bruiser brotherhood awaiting as at the end. The map itself is short, but filled with doomcute, starting with the broken switch at the very beginning, and peaked in the computer room with E1M2-like details on desks.

 

If Ultimate Doom wads are restricted in some ways, this is one way it can compensate: by emphasizing ambience and adventure, since combat puzzles are limited (and would be even without further limitations set by ViolentBeetle -- notice we still haven't got the plasma gun ^{(as far as I remember)} and that registered version monsters have appeared in quite limited amounts).

 

The soundtrack is spot-on -- it's not gloomy as in Phobos Anomaly, but there's a sort of melancholy feel to it, end of one journey as we have reached the end of the line and are about to move on.

[continuum.mid]

9 hours ago, Capellan said:

I'm using PrBoom+

You may want to switch to either DSDA-Doom, or the UMAPINFO fork of PrBoom+, since the original is no longer maintained.

[continuum.mid]

E1M8: Huygens Spaceport (ViolentBeetle)

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

Kills: 100%, Items: 100%, Secrets: 100%, Time: 7:26, Save Count: 5

 

The train in the last map broke down, so punch your way through the rubble and figure out exactly where you've landed. I remember this being the probable hardest map in the first episode, which makes sense for a finale, but certainly subverts the "boss map" formula. There's some neat Doomcute, like the returning train, and a pizza on a desk in the chaingun room that probably should have decomposed by now given the theme. ViolentBeetle is overall very successful at making the place look convincingly run-down, and the gameplay reflects that: it really feels like I'm stumbling around the place.

 

The crampage is the hardest part of most of the early fights, which involve Hatchlings (Lost Souls), Serpentipedes, and Flesh Worms in tiny ducts. I died a lot on my first playthrough in the dark room with the two Trilobites, but with Antaresian Reliquary's chaingun in hand it ended up being quite easy.

 

Not so for the final battle, which shows clear, meticulous, and somewhat cruel design. You get an overdrive sphere (soulsphere) and a missile launcher to deal with six Pain Lords (Barons of Hell), as is tradition for E1M8, alongside more Trilobites and Hatchlings. I recall from my first playthrough that they were just wide enough to block the way forward. With the gameplay mod, they're changed to antares031's classic ophidian monster, the Antaresia; they are much thinner and easier to get away from, but also have much stronger attacks. The small width of the walkway remains a problem because of limited space to dodge their attacks, and the likelihood flying foes taking up the space. My advice is twofold: don't be afraid to step into the damaging poison for a little bit, as you'll need the space to dodge attacks and you'll take far less damage that way than getting caught in melee range of any of the enemies. Also, focus on the Barons, or Pain Lords, or Antaresias, or whatever, in the outer ring, as they take up the most space, deal the most damage, and are the hardest to dodge. In this most recent playthrough I ended up firing rockets at them as their platforms lowered, and I profited greatly from having two fewer of them moving around; that might not be feasible in vanilla given the high health of Barons.

 

On reevaluation, I think this is actually the best map in E1, because it's the map with the most compelling atmosphere of all. Peccatum may have excelled in the Doomcute department, and Death Bear and LoreCaco37 were able to create great visual and combat spectacles, but this map surpasses them all in ingenuity and suspense.

 

Excited to get to the part of the WAD I haven't played yet. I'll be turning off Antaresian Reliquary from now on to get the real experience. (Still sticking with Freedoom though. Because why not.)

 

(Oh, and I quite like Peccatum Mihzamiz's intermission music, which is reused from a project I totally didn't have any involvement in. Very dark and chaotic, it fits here. Though the text itself is like most Doom WAD stories - not very important, even to the writers. Folks playing on Crispy Doom won't even see it!)

Edited May 7, 2023 by continuum.mid

[LadyMistDragon]

E1M8: Huygens Spaceport

by ViolentBeetle

 

A straight Baron retread wouldn't have fit the quirky tone of the megawad. And indeed, that's not what we get at all! Starting out in an apparently wrecked subway car, with the operating switch smashed to bits, we then must leave the station and navigate through an increasingly menacing atmosphere, capped off by "The End is Nigh" from Plutonia 2. This plays in what easily ranks among the hardest maps in that megawad, mainly due to the dearth of ammo that can be found herein and certainly adds to a menacing atmosphere that gives zero quarter.

 

The frequent use of shadows, many wrecked areas of buildings, as well as the presence of many partially-open doors, thanks to the lack of power present in many locations really help create a setting one should watch their step around. It's not really survival horror though as ammo is fairly available and the presence of a couple of large ambushes. Such as the ambush in the ruins of what appear to be a room from the Visitor Center in E1M6!

 

Naturally, the combat exists mainly to bolster the atmosphere rather than the other way around. Lost Souls can be found everywhere after a certain point, hitscanners lurk in the shadows and often some distance away from when they're first spotted, and the final power-station contains the expected Baron ambush. But this isn't some ordinary ambush of course. In addition to being surrounded by a ring of slime, there's a decent count of enemies ready to harry us, with the Lost Souls probably being in the best position to land us a finishing blow due to them having scattered positions since we'd gotten hurt A LOT before. That's to say nothing of the two separate teleport ambushes with the last one specifically being a nasty shock and finding the map repopulated with enemies as we circled around back to reach the other red key door which'd been passed earlier. I have no opinion on this combat extension though. But the overall claustrophobia is not in keeping with much of the laid-back tone presented so far and we died twice!

 

Needless to say, this was a worthy conclusion to the first episode, ratcheting things up where it counted and not just settling for some lame death-exit ending that makes zero sense with the theme in any case. Looking forward to the rest! 

 

 

 

[DJVCardMaster]

E1M8 - Huygens Spaceport - ViolentBeetle (100%K/I/S):

Here it comes, project leader's first submission to his own project. Doom bestiary and gameplay suits better for this kind of survival horror themed maps, as people could focus more on combat in close quarters and less grindy moments. The entire map is focused on this premise, except for the battle at the end, although it is understandable to have, as you kind of need a final fight at the end of your Doom episode. This level is where I've encountered my first death, and with my first death, came a couple more, specially at the last encounter. The level focuses around going in circles two times through some of the rooms, finding keys, opening new areas. It is kind of a small map, and it bumps difficulty quite a bit from the previous ones. The atention to detail here is high, as there are lots of Doomcute features, specially at the room in the middle. Again, features that make me think of Going Down. 
E1M8 ends with a nice fight where you circle around the UFO, and you have to fight 8 or so barons of hell to lower the stairs and make you able to take your flight to Ceres. The big problem here is how tight the walkway around the port is, and how annoying are the lost souls at body-blocking rockets in your face. This was the cause of some of my deaths here. The change of gameplay from the first part and the end was a little bit abrupt for me to be prepared at first.
Nice and short as usual for M8's in Ultimate Doom megawads. 
 

Order of Preference:
 

Spoiler

 

E1M6

E1M4

E1M2
E1M3
E1M8
E1M1
E1M5
E1M9

E1M7

 

This episode overall was good, but it featured some style changes that made this one not as recognizable, something quite hard for an E1 in a megawad though. Focusing around less E1 tech-bases and more STUCCO would have been great.

[Alaxzandarz]

DSDA-doom, pistol-start, UV

 

e1m7:

The lighting in this map feels really flat and makes the texturing look worse than it actually is. I like the very wonky and messy slaughteresque combat, but I wish the map gave you more chaingun ammo, you end up doing a lot of basic shotgunning. The secrets are really OP especially the one with medkits, mega-armor and soulsphere, and you get very few rockets outside of the secrets. I feel like this map isn't that great but I definitely enjoyed it.

 

e1m8:

The detailing is overall fine, but the lighting is really good and creates a great atmosphere. The music also helps a lot with the atmosphere. There are some texture allignement problems in the map, nothin major tho. I love the broken ceiling window, I generally just really like pseudo 3d stuff done with the sky. The ambushes on the second loop are a bit annoying, they tend to teleport monster right in front of your face and the monsters get cheap hits in. The final fight with all the barons is actually pretty good, it's not super easy to make the Doom 1 boss fights fun. Fun map.

 

Overall the episode was quite fun and really easy. I like that it flows between maps that try to be realistic, creating real spaces, and quite a bit more abstract locales. The gameplay isn't super strong, but the episode had some pretty rough limitations, so whatever. My favourite map is definitely e1m6. It's beautiful, snappy and really fun to play.

 

[cannonball]

E1M8 - “Huygens Spaceport” by ViolentBeetle

 

I must confess to never being a fan of conforming to the traditions of Doom 1 mapping. However this is a fair crack at using the barons as a boss monster. The final fight isn't overly hard, but it is awkward enough and has enough distractions to keep a player honest. The rest of the map plays slow and uses atmosphere as its ace in the pack. Nothing wrong with this either.

Overall a solid end to the first episode that overall was a varied and enjoyable experience. My favourite map was probably E1M4, though there were a couple of maps that could have been my favourite in this episode. 

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Pistol-Start/Saves

E1M8: Huygens Spaceport - ViolentBeetle

100% kills and secrets

Time: ? (no end screen and I didn't think to check the automap time)

 

Our project lead ends the episode with a tense one. The MIDI is eerie, the lights are flickering, there's bodies everywhere, even the train's switch we hit to end the last level has melted. Nothing good can come from this. Thankfully, this map isn't full of jumpscares, but there's a lack of ammo to be scared about. You don't get a lot of shells, and it's a minute before you get the chaingun, so you may have to pull out the pistol a few times. I know I did. Health isn't as common either, which wasn't good for me when 2 pinkies caught me on some decorations and whittled my health down big time. Lost souls and cacos are in this map too, and the caco's beefiness doesn't help the ammo shortage. Thankfully, once you find the chainguns (and secret chainsaw/backpack nearby), you shouldn't have to worry about ammo for the rest of the map. When you jump down the little hole here, there's no running back, which is inconvenient considering the next room has imps, pinkies, and cacos, but you can chaingun them from the door in relative safety. Finding the red key will have you make another loop back through the level, now with more enemies teleporting back into previously cleared areas. Once you reach the red door, it's time for the final fight of the ep. Many barons emerge into this toxic spacepad, while cacos, lost souls, and imps appear on the pad itself. You have the rocket launcher, so you should be ok. Take a few laps first so some infighting can be done, then bazooka the barons. Once they're dead, we can for the ship. Overall, a small but enjoyable final act to this ep. Really great atmosphere! "Sign of Evil" used to scare me as a kid, so by extension, so did E1M8, and this map takes a similar approach to its final map. Time for E2.

[Anarkzie]

Map E1M5 Mining Complex

I've always liked the action in this one but it's only since reading everyone's write ups that I realised that there is a whole second route to take to get through this level. I really like this idea but I wish it were a little more obvious, that said, people did manage to find it however, so I guess It's me just not being great at secret hunting.

I like how the level is always opening up areas that have you going back through areas you have already been, it's a cool way of progressing. With the added second route I'm liking how each area has a secret way to move forward or a teleporter that takes you back to the start if you cannot find it. I kind of got a Super Metriod feel in some of these areas.

The visuals are very classic but that actually was what the design brief originally ask for, we were asked not to over detail the levels just provide hints at the locations; which we all kind of interpreted differently.

Map E1M6 Visitors Centre

The real star of this map is the layout. Shawny uses every inch to perfection. I like how you're free to basically wonder in any direction and you will just naturally hit something important before looping around to all the other inportant stuff. The trimmings around the windows and lights are also very good. One thing I would say against it is that the moon rock, although good looking does make the level appear as if it's in the wrong episode, as the rest of the level in this episode have a uniform appearance to their surroundings.

Very good map.

Map  E1M7 Traffic Control

That akward moment when you walkthrough a metal detector with a bag full of guns and you just know someone is going to have something to say; we have all been there. The doom cute here is great, it immediately looks like what it is meant to portray. The same can be said for the trains at the end of the map. I'm playing this on my phone using the Freedoom app, and finding the hillbilly looking Shotgun guy replacement steping out of the secret Rocket cockpit made me laugh, like NASA just let's anyone fill their vehicles now.

It's good in general, I like pretty much all the out door sections, Doomcute areas etc there's just that symmetrical curved building after the metal detector place at the start that I think is not as good as the rest of the map and it unfortunately serves as a hub area so you need to pass it a few times. That said it's a short map so it's not a major problem.

Map E1M8 Huygens Spaceport

This level gives me major DeadSpace vibes. The use of lighting and a fantastic midi really sell the atmosphere here. I like that this levels use of Doom cute is not only there to make the place look like a real environment but is also telling a story. All throughout the level are signs of some kind of major battle having taken place. This level really sells this well. The combat is mostly light until its not and then the demons who were probably chilling out thinking they got everyone strap back on their woolly goat pants and get back into it.

I think it was a good choice for Violent Beetle to take this slot as this level demonstrates his talents far more than the other map he made.

Roll on chapter 2

Edited May 7, 2023 by Anarkzie

[Capellan]

8 hours ago, continuum.mid said:

You may want to switch to either DSDA-Doom, or the UMAPINFO fork of PrBoom+, since the original is no longer maintained.

 

Ugh.  I'm already halfway through e2 and not re-playing/re-recording all those maps.  I might switch for e3/e4.

[Klear]

E2M1 - “Piazzi Spaceport” by Lorenz0

QuestZDoom, UV, practiced, pistol start - obviously, saves

 

Spoiler

 

Missing audio in the original recording again, so I had to redo this one. I wonder what's causing that...

 

The map is serviceable. Not great, but it works as an opening. The window at 0:50 in the vid was too wide to feel good to fire out of in VR, Lorenz0 should take some cues from Death Bear.

 

The first time around I finished the map without an issue. The second time around (captured on the video below) I played with about eight beers in me and was a bit too trigger happy, leading to me running out and subsequently dying. In both cases I decided not to search for the obvious plasma rifle secret. No way that's gonna bite me in the ass in the next map, right?