The DWmegawad Club plays: Plutonia Revisited Community Project 2

[HiMyNameIsChair]

MAP32: Orestruck by Cannonball 

 

(Played on DSDA,100% Kills & Secrets. Completion time:29:56)

 

WHEW... what a knockout~!! Orestruck is an absolute barnburner~!  freewheeling, unhinged action in a stunning realized mine shaft, set to Brayden Hart's soaring MIDI~! This was another map I was excited to play because Cannonball is easily one of the community's greatest talents when it comes to staging fights~! His contribution here is no exception, you start off under a massive megastructure, and make your way down into the mines, and the opening fight is *pure chaos~!* watching as the entire cave system erupts into infighting is a sight to behold~! Cannonball, the gentleman he is gifts you a free invuln in the center, which you are free to use at your discretion, and even gifts you a second in a secret.

 

The fights throughout are top shelf~! from the precarious quiet stare down between two Archies, and a phalanx of meatballs & Tomato's awaiting your first move, a showdown with two cybers and their entourage, a walking wall of red meat supported by meatballs and a marshaling Archvile, and especially the fight after the yellow key where the main area refills and it is... pandamonium!! monsters brawling, lost souls *everywhere*, all while the first-time player is unaware that coming down the lift is a quadruplet of archviles slowly descending, it's a really cool setpiece~!

It's best to keep on your toes here,  as all throughout, Cannonball likes to chase down fights with gangs of archviles, looking to restart previous fights, so stay frosty.

 

It's a nice touch that the final fight takes place back outside, with it now flooded with slime~!

 

On the visual side of things, i have to point out this tunnel area, complete with precisely drawn tracks and crates strewn about, that really add to setting! The main section of the cave is *massive*, the sense of scale here is enough to unhinge jaws. Cannonball opts for a mix of water, plenty of plutonic green, and an interweaved mix of techbase, natural environments and metal, and he makes it work pretty well, with all the piecely nicely interlocked~! Throughout the map Cannonball really commits to having their map feel underground, with most area's being carefully and dimmly lit.

 

Spoiler

 

Overall, Orestruck is absolute dynamite!! Its fights are explosive and chaotic, the setting is nicely fleshed out, with it's only real drawback is it's maybe a tad long in the tooth, and it's definetly not for the faint of heart. But thats a small issue when theres this much action to go around~!
Definetly a standout for the set so far~!

 

Grade: A

 

 

 

MAP16: Ifrit's Lair by Doomlust

(Played on DSDA, 104% kills, 80% Secrets, Completion Time:23:16)
 

 

This one is... fine. wouldn't be my least favorite map of the set, but it's definitely near the bottom of the card, and that's a shame.

 

Doomlust, clearly gives a damn, as their map is at times, very nicely lit and atmospheric, and the Tales midi adds a sort of cheesy adventure vibe to the whole thing. They have a great eye for complimentary textures, and the outdoor segments are nicely drawn.. but i sadly just did not love this one.

 

Spoiler

 

There have been maps in this set with 3-digit monster counts that play a lot faster than you expect, meanwhile, this one plays a lot slower than it feels like it should. and despite not being even close to one of the bigger maps in the set, the staging of the fights and the progression feels like it drags and goes on for just a bit longer than they should. While there are a few traps here that are generally nicely staged,  a lot of it's combat is generally incidental, and less sophisticated. Its progression is it's greatest weakness, it's a map that begs to be a lot shorter. As a result, it just doesn't stick in my mind as much as it probably should.

 

Also: the outdoor temple section, *really* needed at least one more radsuit, since you'll likely go back multiple times depending on what order you tackle events in, and you can often find yourself at the mercy of the 20-point damaging floor.

 

Doomlust, you made a perfectly fine map, but it definitely could have used some cuts, and that really hurts it in the longrun. Its bombastic MIDI and heavy brownstone setting practically begs to be a freewheeling adventure ala Scythe 2's Egypt episode, or Epic 2... but it simply lacks the energy to live up to that potential.

 

Grade: C-
 

Order of Preference

 

Spoiler

MAP11

MAP06

MAP32

MAP10

MAP05

MAP15

MAP01

MAP08

MAP12

MAP03

MAP31

MAP07

MAP14

MAP13

MAP02

MAP16

MAP04

MAP09

 

[plums]

3 hours ago, DJVCardMaster said:

Have in mind that Tatsurd's UV-Max speedruns for some maps are over 10-minutes or more.

Ironically(?) it's his own map that he has the longest run for, by far, at a time of 26:37. My playthrough took me over an hour, but we'll talk about that more once everyone gets there.

[DJVCardMaster]

35 minutes ago, plums said:

Ironically(?) it's his own map that he has the longest run for, by far, at a time of 26:37. My playthrough took me over an hour, but we'll talk about that more once everyone gets there.

 

Yes, MAP24 is quite a highlight for PRCP2. Being twice se longer as MAP11 is already a milestone for itself.

[Veeda Vidlak]

I’ll do the secret maps later this week. They’ll take a fair bit of time so I’ll maintain pace with the main maplist while I work at them.

 

Map14 “Corpseflower”

 

What I remember most about this level is its nutty start. There are hitscanners everywhere, on your starting structure, perched on nearby platforms, on the sides, and patrolling the map’s corners in force. The wide open Neurosphere setting means nowhere is safe and the (copy pasted) gunman squads and mancubi teleports make it hard to create a foothold. I like to head down to one of the southern teleporters and hunker down by the pillar while taking out the enemies on the nearby bank.

 

We get the red key first down south, which opens up an archvile and some irrelevant enemies back at the start. Next we hit some switches that allow us to obtain the blue key and enter the northern room (note that just about anything you do triggers an ambush). Taking the yellow key brings out double the vile fun and leads us to an enclosed area to the east of the map. There’s an exit switch here that’s not a diamond platform, hmmmmm.

 

The encounter here is… probably the hardest fight we’ve seen yet. We get locked in for 30 seconds while a large swath of enemies (including a vile) warp into the room and kick us around. The terrain is not ideal for rocket fighting, but the plasma won’t kill things fast enough so stick with the RL for as long as possible and do your best to stay alive. You can cheese this fight (the door closing occurs next to the switch, you can just wait to hit the switch) but you can’t cheese the two viles that also spawn outside. They’ll add a bunch of enemies to the fray once the door opens, which is now a chaotic brawl with various revs, nobles, hitscanners, and as many as three viles running around (and teleporting) on the walkways.

 

Once past this we have… a very gratuitous cyberdemon waiting at the southern chamber by the now available exit. He’s a pain and slipping into the room to grab the BFG puts us at risk of getting totally scammed. Not a fan of him.

 

I have some criticisms for this one. Obviously we have the symmetry in both layout and enemy deployment (and ambushes) that has already been talked about. There's also a switch at the beginning that raises a blast shield, which is presumably meant for defense but doesn't really help at all (the area is still too wide open). Finally, the cyberdemon doesn’t need to be there, the epic fake exit battle is a perfectly suitable finale.  Despite these, I enjoyed playing this one, the start and (non cyber) finish offer good Plutonia wickedness and the Inmost Dens visuals are well done. 

 

prcp2map14.zip

Time: 10:26   Kills: 165/165    Secrets: 3/3

 

 

Map15 “Ironclad”

 

After The Inmost Dens/Neurosphere we get The Twilight’s representative, naturally featuring Plummeting for walk on music. Cheesewheel gives us one of my favorite maps of the wad so far, a fast, deadly, heavy metal rumble.

 

Alright, so the important thing to remember in Ironclad is to act quickly, hesitating will get us body slammed into the gridiron. Like The Twilight there’s chaingunners everywhere, and this time their revenant buddies are right beside them. I prefer to immediately jump down to grab the SSG and RL, then clear out enemies until I feel comfortable hitting the switch nearby to proceed. A bunch of mancubi get revealed upon doing so and if the outside area is still hot we’re in trouble.

 

Moving forward the map continues to provide excellent combat. The encounter in the L shaped blood pond is superb, making great use of hitscanner snipers, the pincer forces revealed by the switch, and archvile area denial. The ambush at the red key is small but scary, try to hold position on the upper platforms for the fun of it. The ambush behind the red door is trivial, just a bunch of shotgunners. And the yellow key isn’t defended at all… the demons must have called a general retreat.

 

Using the yellow key reveals where the forces of hell went to set up their defenses. The final fight features mancubi, chaingunners, revenants, and a cyberdemon all with elevated positions. Who cares, just charge in there! We get a megasphere for a reason! The BFG should sweep away the hitscanners (you found that secret right?) and there’re enough cells to spam it at Mr. Cybie. A casual glance of the area will then reveal the off-color torch to take the secret exit.

 

I’ve never played a level named Ironclad I didn’t like and that doesn’t look to be changing any time soon. This map is a banger and continues the trend of recent maps fitting the Plutonia spirit.

 

prcp2map15.zip

Time: 6:44   Kills: 134/134    Secrets: 5/5

 

Note: I do have one critique, the perched chaingunners in the L shaped blood arena can fall off and be unrecoverable. My first attempt ended at 133/134 kills and after some digging I discovered that was what happened.

[Tiramisu]

On 7/17/2023 at 6:28 AM, DJVCardMaster said:

Yes, MAP24 is quite a highlight for PRCP2. Being twice se longer as MAP11 is already a milestone for itself.

OH GOD PLEASE NO TELL ME IT AINT SO

Seriously though screw it, if the wad's gonna be all XXL going forward then I'm gonna save as much as I feel like too, especially for stuff like Archvile traps and Cyberdemons!

 

UV/saves, any%, pistol start

 

MAP16 - Ifrit's Lair

 

Seeing the name "Ifrit" in a DOOM context always brings to my mind the Scythe 2 Afrits - which though I never personally fought, I've heard enough stories of to dread. Thankfully there were no Afrits in this map, just a regular ol' volcanic temple to explore and fight your way through!

 

On one hand, the map was decently enjoyable, with quite an original layout to boot - I liked how daring it was in that regard, with lots of light/dark contrast and some highly vertical lava caverns. However, the map suffered from a few hard-to-ignore flaws. For starters, there were quite too many sniping hitscanners in the early areas, some placed so high up that I wouldn't be entirely surprised if I found out the map was tested with freelook in mind. There were also some really annoying uses of instant pop-up enemies, probably the worst I've seen in this wad so far (though again, just to be clear, this is more of a personal preference and I don't mind pop-up in general, just the instant kind).

 

By far the biggest shortcoming of all was the ammo shortage - on multiple occasions I found myself completely dry, backtracking to search for single four-shell pickups I'd miss just so I could get past a Hell Knight in a hallway. There was a huge cache in the blue key area once you'd activated the Cyberdemon fight, but it was easy to miss and I discovered it far too late as a result. The worst part of all was when I ran out in the middle of the red key-accessed temple, and after chainsawing quite a bit of Lost Souls managed to kill the last Archvile with literally the last shell I could find on the entire map at that point!

 

The problem was exacerbated by the hard-to-find weapons - thankfully I found the rocket launcher right away, but I didn't get the plasma gun until very late in the map so the aforementioned bit in the temple was actually done with 300 cells at hand and no way to use them. :( And then the secret BFG, well hidden as it was, completely trivialized the home stretch once I'd found it, and I imagine it would trivialize the entire map if found early on, given how abundant plasma cell pickups were!

 

I've spent some time talking about the flaws exclusively, but that was more of a feedback thing for future maps than straight-up complaining, really - because overall despite everything it was a good map, and I enjoyed my playthrough of it!

 

Plutonia memories, MAP16 (The Omen) - I've seen a lot of dislike for this map, but I personally quite liked it! There was a lot of memorable stuff in there, like that big Revenant fight and the hitscanner room at the end.

 

Order of Preference

 

Spoiler

 

MAP32

MAP03

MAP15

MAP13

MAP12

MAP05

 

MAP07

MAP10

MAP02

MAP06

MAP14

MAP11

 

MAP16

MAP08

MAP04

MAP09 

MAP01

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by sq. Tiramisu

[Book Lord]

20 minutes ago, sq. Tiramisu said:

9 hours ago, DJVCardMaster said:

Yes, MAP24 is quite a highlight for PRCP2. Being twice se longer as MAP11 is already a milestone for itself.

OH GOD PLEASE NO TELL ME IT AINT SO

Seriously though screw it, if the wad's gonna be all XXL going forward then I'm gonna save as much as I feel like too, especially for stuff like Archvile traps and Cyberdemons!

 

There is some respite in length, but most shorter maps in the third episode tend to pack a punch, especially on pistol start. Playing without saves when you do not know the content is a tough challenge, unless you have plenty of time for rinse and repeat. Big levels like MAP24 have tons of incidental combat that is really pointless to replay, unless you absolutely want to record a demo. 

[Tiramisu]

1 hour ago, Book Lord said:

There is some respite in length, but most shorter maps in the third episode tend to pack a punch, especially on pistol start. Playing without saves when you do not know the content is a tough challenge, unless you have plenty of time for rinse and repeat. Big levels like MAP24 have tons of incidental combat that is really pointless to replay, unless you absolutely want to record a demo.  

 

I get what you're saying, especially the part about incidental combat not being replay material!

 

Honestly as someone who already dealt with my own "UV-only" problem some time ago, I'm finding getting over the saveless mentality a bit harder. I played the IWADS that way and I really enjoyed it - but I'm seeing more and more that I just have to be flexible in that regard if I want to play modern wads, with how lengthy and intense the maps can get. Even here since MAP12 I already gave myself a limited save/load rule that was dependent on the map's monster count, but it wasn't ideal either since monster count isn't really that good an indicator of a map's true length.

 

I guess I just don't like saving in general - because I always tend to worry that if I don't get that perfect balance of saves for the map (which is difficult to get when playing blind), I'll ruin all the tension for myself. I guess it might just be me overthinking it, and I could eventually learn to just focus on having fun with the moment at hand, saves or not. I still kind of wish DOOM had some sort of checkpoint system for long maps, though - even in the form of little markers placed by the author that say "recommended save point here" when you get close!

Edited July 17, 2023 by sq. Tiramisu

[Celestin]

MAP17: The Wolf Hour by sincity2100

Spoiler

The second map sincity2100 submitted to PRCP2 is easily the better of two. This time, it's combination of Plutonia's masonry with techbase elements and aggressive combat that reminds me of Good Morning Phobos a lot.

 

MAP17 continues the trend of overwhelming starts, this time with a chaingunner in your face, other hitscanner around you and a lot more monsters in outside the shed you're starting in. This includes a really annoying cyberdemon in the distance, which is something you need to watch out for pretty much until the end of the map. Still, there's enough supplies to clear out this place. To proceed forward, you need two keys, blue and red ones. You can get them in any order you want, I went with blue first as it seemed easier to deal with. At first it's just two traps, one with an archvile, pain elemental and pinkies, second with two mancubi. However, once you grab the key, enemies start pouring into the main hub, including an obscene quantities of hitscanners. This killed me quickly, so after reloading a save, went for a secret invuln and survived it this way. The red key route was next, it featured more hitscanners and four pain elementals that quickly fill the place with lost souls. It was a mess and outside the start, the hardest part of the map. Plasma rifle was a godsend and together with funneling monsters through a door allowed me to get rid of enemies here. There's a BFG on a pillar, which would help a lot here and with the next fight against a pop-up horde, but I couldn't find a way to reach it until the very end. Spoiler, you have to interact with one terminal that look exactly the same as the other ones. I know obtaining a superweapon shouldn't be easy, but other secrets here are well-marked and don't require humping every wall.

Spoiler

Anyway, with both keys you can unlock the way to the yellow one. The ambush here is nasty, as you teleport into a small room with monsters all around. Good news is, if you haven't obtained a BFG, there is another one for free. It helps a lot with the final battle in a blood moat, where you can turn that cyberdemon that bothered you earlier against crowds of monsters. 

 

I've said about Azure Ambition that sincity2100 might not feel comfortable with Plutonia gameplay style, so I'm glad in  The Wolf Hour they opted more for the author's own preference for action. The end result is a challenging, but fair map and one of the stand-out entries in this wad.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP17 - The Wolf Hour - sincity2100 (100%K/I/S):

Fantastic level, so far my favourite one, and it is one that, does not try to be overly difficult, nor overdetailed, nor long. Not a pretentious map, but not a shy one aswell. Sincity's second entry holds some similarities in style to his previous map, and I could actually notice it was him without actually knowing the author of this level at first. The map has a main arena that serves as a hub aswell. Hunt two keys, then get to the last one. Each time you progress, said arena throws at you even spicier encounters. Nothing more fun than circle-strafing around an open arena full of monsters while plasma-gunning all foes. It is also a map that looks pretty Plutonia to me. The last area was quite big though, as there weren't many enemies to fight in comparison to how big it was, so making the cyberdemon infight was as easy as walking. The best is its length, it is just right, as I was really tired of long or exhausting maps. I needed a map like this after some stale maps here and there.

(UV - Playthrough/PRBoom+)

Order of Preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP17

MAP11

MAP07

MAP05
MAP32
MAP15
MAP31
MAP08

MAP01
MAP09
MAP12
MAP02
MAP03
MAP14
MAP16
MAP13
MAP04

MAP10 (Ranked apart from the rest/own maps)
MAP06 

 

 

Edited July 17, 2023 by DJVCardMaster

[HiMyNameIsChair]

 Map 17: The Wolf Hour by @sincity2100

(UV Pistolstart played on DSDA, 100% kills and Secrets. Completion Time: 20:44)

When SinCity mentioned one of their maps drew inspiration from Speed of Doom... I got VERY excited~! because let me tell ya'... nothing will net you more brownie points with me, than emulating Speed of Doom!

 

And boy howdy what a hell of a time it is~! immediately at the starting line, Sin City cranks the throttle and doesn't let up, surrounding you in a white-hot start, surrounded by chaingunners, and the exterior devolves into pure adrenaline-filled madness i LOVE IT~!  The opening room in general almost feels reminiscent of Darkwave's Silent Hour but with a more immediate start. On the whole, while it still has a lot of SinCity's usual visual tells, his texture choices feel very in line with the Speed of Doom visual motifs, with the interior visuals in general feeling like they're drawing from Joshy's Descent to Core or Depredation, while a lot of the areas utilizing lots of greens, browns, and carefully drawn light fixtures draw more from Darkwave in general.

 

 

Spoiler

 

The first secret can actually be grabbed at any time, just shoot a switch, and a free godmode that you can use at your discretion is yours, letting you neuter a fight of your choice, it's a very kind gesture.

The Plasma room is a barnburner, with a tight squeeze on enemies, emphasizing fast footwork and a jolt of danger with an archie coming in at the end. if you find yourself tight on ammo, look for a decorative head that doesn't belong, and Sincity gives you the motherload before the blue key fight, which is pure chaos~! hitscanners, aracnho's, and what feels like half of hell swarms in. Don't panic, just keep moving use that plasma to hose down hitscanners and you'll make it through.

 

If anything kept this from a perfect grade, it is definitely the path to the red key. it rides a very dangerous line between smothering and exhilarating. what saves it are two critical secrets: a BFG from a non camo marked terminal, and another switch in the archvile pen that bestows an invulv and a mega sphere. finding these secrets essentially turns it into a pure popcorn fight, and without them, makes it a bit of a nightmare, especially with 4 meatballs flying around.

A quick archie encounter greets you before the yellow key path, which is easily the kindest so far, nothing too crazy here. Although crossing a linedef on your way back to the main area will unleash archviles who will try and restart the party.

 

The map ends in the outdoor area, a metal-as-hell lake of blood topped off by crimson falls, where you duke it out with a cyber, an archie and their entourage~!

 

I am very easy to please, and imitating one of my favorite MegaWAD's is a sure way to make me love a map, and in this case, it succeded~! The high-energy MIDI really helps give it that extra jolt~!

 

Spoiler

The Wolf Hour is a fine homage to Speed of Doom and an ode to Darkwave and  PRCP2's organizer Josh Sealy! Well done SinCity~! Easily one of my favorite maps of the set~!

Grade: A
 

Spoiler

MAP11

MAP17

MAP06

MAP32

MAP10

MAP05

MAP15

MAP01

MAP08

MAP12

MAP03

MAP31

MAP07

MAP14

MAP13

MAP02

MAP16

MAP04

MAP09

 

[cannonball]

MAP17 - “The Wolf Hour” by Sincity2100

 

A ballsy move to try make a homage to a Speed of Doom map, a welcome change in some regards given the map is much more open and upfront with monster placement. However I am left feeling that I would have preferred to have played the map that clearly inspired this one. 

Now lets get one thing straight, this is better than Sincity's other effort in PRCP2, and at times this was pretty fun to blast through. The exception really being the path to the red key, the mixture of hitscanners everywhere and pain elementals was very frustrating to get through because you can easily get unlucky here and end up being another corpse. The other fights are generally pretty decent (helped by a couple of secret invulnerabilities). The finale wasn't the great, lots of space to move around here kind of dampened the mood somewhat.

In the end a decent entry to PRCP2, but I prefer the source material over this.

[Tiramisu]

UV/saves, any%, pistol start

 

MAP17 - The Wolf Hour

 

First things first, I absolutely love the unhinged opening here. The map's all like, "go ahead shoot the Chaingunner! Go on, be my guest! OWO"

 

And that's just the beginning - after you flee the starting room it somehow gets worse, with an absolute clusterfuck of monsters rampaging around in a square corridor patrolled by an Archvile and watched over by a sniping Cyberdemon. The latter two's inclusion really sold me on the map - I feel like it really showcases the author's understanding of combat, with the way they turn what would be a trivial circle-strafe into a frantic, pulse-quickening battle that really sets the mood for what the rest of the map has to offer.

 

After clearing out the main corridor (not for long, as it soon turns out), we get the choice of two paths, each ending with a neat one-way lift ride to a key that releases the next wave of monsters into the already corpse-cluttered square corridor. Did I mention that the Cyberdemon is still there, and his aim is as good as ever? With both keys collected, the path to the yellow key opens up, eventually granting access to the final area where we can finally deal with the Cyberdemon, plus several dozen monsters that serve mostly as infight fodder.

 

Overall, I really enjoyed the combat here - it's a bit slaughter-ish but still sharp and fast-paced, with each fight feeling distinct and different from the other. The map feels absolutely intense to play, but it isn't actually that hard - after succeeding in clearing out the first square corridor fight, I only had to save/load twice to reach the exit (while cheesing one fight with the secret invul sphere). And I think it's a good thing! If it was intentional, then I have to commend the author for somehow managing to create something that has all the adrenaline of a hard map, but none of the frustration! What certainly was intentional was the low intensity of the final Cyberdemon fight - it felt more like a breather than anything else. And I like that, too - I always thought a final battle in a map should be its flashiest, but shouldn't be its hardest.

 

What certainly also helps is that despite the high monster count the map felt very concise, ending pretty much on-point before it could overstay its welcome.

 

The one gripe that I had on my playthrough is that I wasn't entirely sure what to do after getting the yellow key - although that one might be on me, since the door I was supposed to find was near the area covered by the Cyberdemon's fire so I was too scared to stay there and have a look around. :p The map also has an absolutely ridiculous instant pop-up trap, where an entire army Instant Transmissions in front of you - but at this point it was more of a parody of pop-up traps than anything else, so I couldn't really stay mad at it!

 

Good map, good stuff! Definitely one of my favorites so far!

 

Plutonia memories, MAP17 (Compound) - This is honestly the only Plutonia map I forgot exists, I suppose that says something about it on its own lol

 

Order of Preference

 

Spoiler

 

MAP32

MAP03

MAP17

MAP15

MAP13

MAP12

 

MAP05

MAP07

MAP10

MAP02

MAP06

MAP14

 

MAP11

MAP16

MAP08

MAP04

MAP09 

MAP01

 

Edited July 17, 2023 by sq. Tiramisu

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 17: The Wolf Hour - Sincity2100

100% kills and secrets

Time: 16:48

Deaths: 2

 

Sincity's 2nd map in this WAD is much more intense than their previous one. Most of the ambushes here sic dangerous mid-tiers on you in heavy quantities and in disadvantageous positions. Even this opening is a hot start, since you have a chaingunner looking at you in a room filled with even more hitscanners. Leave the room to find revs, arachnotrons, more hitscan, hell knights, an archie, and a sniping cyb. You can at least grab the secret invul here immediately if you shoot the switch behind the bars, but I saved it for the ending. The RL is trapped with revs and mancs too. Sincity isn't letting you gain any ground for free in this map. Archies are all around this map, always appearing at the most inopportune time. The blue key path isn't too bad (cause I had a BFG), but the red key path is a little dangerous. 4 pain elementals are in this room, and that is very inconvenient. If you don't have a BFG yet, hit the 2nd computer panel you pass here to lower one, and use it on them. Beware the archie/rev combo after climbing the stairs (death 1), tho you can find another invul secret here. Plus a megasphere! Use it immediately on the giant ambush for the red key. The yellow key path teleports you to a tight arena with not a lot of room to dodge stuff (death 2), but after clearing it out, the rest of the path isn't bad. The ending is super easy, even without the first invul I kept for it. The space here feels like it needs more demons than what we get, making dodging rockets of the cyb and rev kinds pretty easy. Though the double archie chaser at the end is a nice zing to end things with. Overall, this map is pretty spicy with its encounters. Map design is pretty to the point, making this go down easily. Good stuff. 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 17: The Wolf Hour

by @sincity2100

 

After a rash of maps that have either been lengthy or overly trollish, we arrive in a map that's quick! That's concise! That's the polar opposite of everything we've played so far! Ok, there's a healthy degree of Arch-viles but they never really appear in such a way as to trap us! There's not really too much to say here. It's a little more traditionally Plutonian visually speaking than Azure Ambition naturally but besides being a good deal harder, keeps a shockingly clean look, even when vines can be spotted on the sides and hanging over certain rooms. Does it make sense? Probably not.

 

So here is a map that redefines "hot start" with all the chaingunners and sergeants that are immediately thrown our way. It was quite surprising when after aborting once in like the first 3 seconds, we'd go on to make it to slightly behind thedoor to the red key wing (open courtyard with raised Mancubi, Sergeants, Imps and too many stupid Pain Elementals) before dying(no, the outside Cyber and another enemy also killed me twice, booooooooo. It's a little pointless to talk about the combat, since every ambush blends together, naturally as they all take place in the same courtyard. It is sort of cool to see Revenants, chaingunners, Barons, and pinkies ambush us, and hope some chaos takes place.

 

Because the one serious issue of this map is that ammo is TIGHT. We weren't patient enough for infighting, but being practically starved at the last bit we're discussing just got ridiculous. Ended up grabbing the red key and exiting.

 

The two keys together, open the way to a teleporter but not before being confronted by Hell Nobles and an Arch-vile because this map just can't get enough of them. Only the red key doesn't seem to trigger one, but we could be mistaken. In any case, the BFG here's as obvious as the Soulsphere so there's no excuses for missing it.

 

The outside teleporter takes us to a massive field of water with the Cyberdemon from earlier, though a Revenant murder ambushes shortly after entering, along with a group of lower-tier enemies further down. It wasn't too much trouble to wait this group out, press the switch for the exit, then immediately find one self confronted by two Arch-viles. One of the BFG balls was wasted but no matter. We finished what may have been more average personally to us (seriously, stop tricking us into thinking we're hearing "Going Down the Fast Way!") than the last map, but it could be much worst!

\

 

[Book Lord]

MAP 18 – Enclave by Anon

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

 

Having skipped the DWMC playthrough of Ad Mortem, I was not aware that people might contribute to a community project and remain anonymous. Enclave was a demonic palace submerged by blood, inhabited by hordes of hellspawn relying a lot on Revenants and Chaingunners as snipers. The visual presentation was polished, sharing the standards of contemporary projects in the design of areas and progression. If I must nitpick, I found the detail of non-playable areas a bit lacking, and the barbed wire in the first area was out of place and a very feeble tie to the world of Plutonia. Citing possible influences is always a gamble, but I saw a lot of Judgment in the somewhat grandiose architecture of the palace, including tall walls and towers, while the advancement was typical of skillsaw’s levels: explore a bit, find a key, open the door, and gain access to ledges or areas that were already visible before, until you reach a climactic battle.

Spoiler

The player will find the SSG if they turn either right or left at the entrance; however, the ambush in the eastern room was a bit harsh, opening a point-blank closet of Chaingunners shrouded in blackness, while a Mancubus and others appeared behind the player. The Arch-Vile guarding the YSK in the distance might immolate Doomguy through the bars, if so inclined. The other path served the SSG and the rocket launcher on a silver platter, also allowing to tackle the RSK battle early on. It was quite easy, relying more on the disturbing shots of Revenants from the surrounding ledges than on the monsters spawned on the ground floor. The snipers were in a position where they could not be attacked efficiently, as they constantly moved back and forth, and their killing should be postponed after picking up the YSK from the eastern path.

Spoiler

The RSK was required to access the inner sanctum of the palace, guarded by several monsters including an Arch-Vile on a platform surrounded by Revenants. No way to progress without the BSK, which was retrieved in the north-western section, accessible only with the YSK, after clearing the bastions from surviving Revenants. At some point, I must jump in a pit and be attacked by pop-up monsters, including a pair of raised Chaingunners that I found particularly annoying. The Arch-Vile encounter near the BSK invited me to think how to approach it, and it was more to my liking.

Spoiler

Everything was ready for the final fight, situated in the westernmost wing of the Enclave. Doomguy jumped down in a big outdoor arena encircled by ledges and could unleash the mayhem at will. Cell ammo was not overabundant, especially if you miss the secret ledge below the plasma rifle, but it must suffice for a Revenant horde on the ground floor, two Cyberdemons, a Cacoswarm, and the customary non-static snipers on the higher tribunes of the amphitheatre. Hitscanners were particularly annoying here, but at least I was safe after discharging the skeletons in the western area to infight a Cyberdemon and hiding into the eastern part of the arena. Hunting down the survivors after the main threat had ended was time-consuming, and the map already hit the 30-minute mark, so I left without searching for the missing secret near the entrance. Despite a good visual presentation and a few interesting combat setups, Enclave contained some backtracking and filler material that protracted the experience for no good reason. I am sorry for our Anon mapper, but my tolerance for such things at this point of the playthrough is lower than required to appreciate an otherwise solid effort.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Book Lord

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP18 - Enclave - Anon (90%K/94%I/33%S):

Another great level (And long one), by far one of the highlights of this wad, not being as long as MAP11, and as engaging as most of the better maps could get already. Enclave feels very sunlusty, and those Plutonia textures used in this castle are well used in the first maps of said megawad. So I think I can start to see Eggboy's point from some days ago, about the relationship between Plutonia and Sunlust (Not only difficulty). This map I think, it is the best visually. Gameplay-wise, I just prefer yesterday's map, as this was waay too much for me. Gameplay puts you in a very tight situation, because of ammo being just barely enough, aswell as health, not because of poor balance, but in fact, because of the opposite. This is the idea from the first second you start playing this one. The layout is great, the landscape is great, and the combat never falls off or gets repetitive, although I'm afraid to say I appologize to just rush through the exit, as the last caco-swarm was way too much for me, and my gameplay was already 40 minutes in (not in-game time).
I don't know who Anon is, but I just think it is a pseudonym for an already well know mapper, as it is quite rare to just appear from nowhere and throw a map like this, and refuse to elaborate, so who knows, really. It could be Ribbiks or someone else. In this case, Anon does not stand for Anonymous, it was his/her name on Discord, but yeah, Anon sounds like "I'm making a map anonymously so nobody knows I'm an already well known mapper". Again, one of the highlights of Plutonia Revisited 2.


(UV - Playthrough/PRBoom+)

Order of Preference:
 

Spoiler

MAP17
MAP18

MAP11

MAP07

MAP05
MAP32
MAP15
MAP31
MAP08

MAP01
MAP09
MAP12
MAP02
MAP03
MAP14
MAP16
MAP13
MAP04

MAP10 (Ranked apart from the rest/own maps)
MAP06 

 

 

[Veeda Vidlak]

Map16 “Ifrit’s Lair”

 

So here’s a level that slows the tempo down, presenting a more adventurous atmosphere that feels kind of Indiana Jones with the lava temple setting. Its combat has some spicy moments but isn’t as deadly as what we’ve been seeing lately.

 

Ifrit’s Lair is pretty open and explorable, though as per usual progression requires a specific order of operations. The east of the map should probably be visited first, as we can obtain the blue and red keys in short order (and the SSG). I find the blue key area to be the most interesting in the level, it’s a winding mess of crags, cliffs, and monsters roaming about, spawning in, or sniping from various positions. It’s a bit of a chore to clean up but exciting to charge into, as the area is large enough to run around like a maniac yet too disorganized to maintain a basic circle strafing route.

 

Next, we have a pair of indoor temples, first the red key one with a nice megasphere secret. The fighting for the key isn’t too troubling nor is the cyber/archvile duo afterwards… if you found the BFG secret (you can also drop down the nearby lift for the plasma I suppose, but you don’t really want to go down there without the BFG either). Second we have the yellow key structure on the west side, preceded by a visually appealing lava lake. The encounters inside are more of the same, ambushes of low to moderate difficulty that threaten our ammo supplies more than our well-being.

 

To finish we head down some lava tubes (or the lift back east), deal with a somewhat hazardous vile/rev ambush, and clear out the token opposition beyond the yellow bars. Opening the exit door releases a rather unkind quartet of viles and barons, so make sure not to get ganked at the last second.

 

Ifrit’s Lair is not really Plutonia, tedious at times, and perhaps a bit long but still far from a bad map. I feel like the 16 slot tends to have levels like this, average outings that help wind the player down from the secret maps.

 

prcp2map16.zip

Time: 9:28   Kills: 205/205    Secrets: 5/5

 

Map17 “The Wolf Hour”

 

Sincity’s second entry in PRCP2 is a roiling maelstrom of carnage set in a rather compact layout of orthogonal rooms and halls. It’s the stronger of his two levels and as far as I’m concerned, it’s not close.

 

We start out in a little blood pool with standard armaments and a chaingunner prepping Betsy to greet us. Firing on him brings down the unholy wrath of Plutonia, so get moving into the square hallway that will serve as our hub. Chaos will quickly erupt with all manner of projectiles being slung around, though we can circle strafe with relative impunity. The major concerns are a nearby archvile and incoming rocket fire from a distant cyberdemon.

 

The energy absolutely does not let up as Sincity leads us down a pathway of ambushes. The stairs leading to the blue key don’t have anything too dramatic but the hub refill afterwards resumes the projectile/bullet pandemonium (might be a good time for that invul secret). The red key section (northeast) has a high body count, very dangerous PE/shotgunner guards, a BFG, and another invul secret with a megasphere that drastically improves our survival chances. It's a feature I remember from Good Morning Phobos, which had powerful secrets that facilitated aggressive play.

 

With both red and blue keys in hand we can proceed to the teleporter due east and YOWWW! Welcome to the most lethal room of the level, if you’re not ready you’ll probably get fried in seconds. We’re in a small circular pit with chaingunners, revenants, arachnotrons, and cacos all surrounding us… oh and a vile behind us at elevation. Prep a BFG ball on the way here and hightail it through one of the nearby hallways. Seriously, don’t try to stay here. After another revenant ambush I tend to have trouble with we can get the yellow key and proceed to the final fight outside, where that cyberdemon (and a vile) lie in wait. We get a megasphere so have fun with the various enemies that join the party, once everything is dead we can leave.

 

Sincity2100 knows how to do Plutonia and contrasts his slower, scenic outing with this dynamite map at 17. I absolutely loved this one, which maintains a frenetic pace throughout its entire runtime. Possibly my favorite level yet.

 

prcp2map17.zip

Time: 7:52   Kills: 284/284    Secrets: 4/4

 

Other than almost killing myself multiple times, things went alright.

[Book Lord]

1 hour ago, DJVCardMaster said:

I don't know who Anon is, but I just think it is a pseudonym for an already well know mapper, as it is quite rare to just appear from nowhere and throw a map like this, and refuse to elaborate, so who knows, really. It could be Ribbiks or someone else. In this case, Anon does not stand for Anonymous, it was his/her name on Discord, but yeah, Anon sounds like "I'm making a map anonymously so nobody knows I'm an already well known mapper"

 

I mentioned Ad Mortem because that MBF21 megaWAD featured multiple contributions credited to "Anon", who is not this mapper but a general short form for anonymous. I do not use Discord or 4chan, you have more practice with those chats, maybe anonymity it's an option given to users. What's the point of hiding your name, when you are already posting on the internet under a nickname? The idea that it could be a well-known author wanting to remain in the shadows is suggestive, at some point I thought it may be @Rayziik, but I do not really understand why mappers create content and then place no signature, or a misleading one. Potatoboih (MAP27) is another case of a known author using a different pseudonym, I guess.

Edited July 18, 2023 by Book Lord

[DJVCardMaster]

13 minutes ago, Book Lord said:

 

I mentioned Ad Mortem because that MBF21 megaWAD featured multiple contributions credited to "Anon", who is not this mapper but a general short form for anonymous. I do not use Discord or 4chan, you have more practice with those chats, maybe anonymity it's an option given to users. What's the point of hiding your name, when you are already posting on the internet under a nickname? The idea that it could be a well-known author wanting to remain in the shadows is suggestive, at some point I thought it may be @Rayziik, but I do not really understand why mappers create content and then place no signature, or a misleading one. Potatoboih (MAP27) is another case of a known author using a different pseudonym, I guess.

Well, to make media in general under pseudonyms is an interesting topic for sure, it does not only happen on Doom mapping, but this may not be the first time someone uses another name to submit a map to a community project, In fact, I'm believing that's the case for one map submited to my community project, by an user with only two posts in the forums and no other "track records", he submited to me a wonderful little setpiece of a Boom map with tons of Boom trickery not even accomplishable by some veteran mappers. I don't think someone out from nowhere can come with maps like that one or in this case, Enclave.

You also need to have quite some confidence in what you are doing, because if you are not well known in the community because of how good your maps are, your idea of surprising people with a product from anonymity will fail miserably, with mapping or, in general terms, with music, movies, books and such.

Edited July 18, 2023 by DJVCardMaster

[Catpho]

I'm decently sure this "An0n" is just a contraction for Anonimvio, a good mapper (so hiding in plain sight, like deetee). My source (besides the obvious name) is that I remember pointing to him this project over at Doomer Boards while it was in development, and he replied that he always wanted to map for a PRCP-like project. I hope I remembered it correctly, because I always thought that was sweet, but you can just ask him directly. Everyone should try his DBP maps and his "Abandoned Project". I'm not at my computer to update his wiki page :P

 

[Rayziik]

2 hours ago, Book Lord said:

...at some point I thought it may be @Rayziik...

 

While I have posted maps under a pseudonym before, I am inclined to agree with Catpho that the author is most likely Anonimvio.

[Celestin]

MAP18: Enclave by Anon

Spoiler

There's something off about this map, which might explain why its author didn't want to reveal themselves.

 

The highly-detailed, blood-drenched castle looks imposing and while the start is unusually slow, it makes up for this with some tough fights and a grand finale. The first objective is to collect the keys, yellow and red can be obtained in the order of your choice. The former opens a route to the blue key that is needed to exit, the latter opens a way forward and connects two wings of the map. While most encounters, including bigger fights, are rather forgetful, I felt I was low on health most the time. Indeed, after checking the stats, most recovery items are stimpacks and health vials scattered around. The wear and tear seem to be the biggest challenge here.

Spoiler

That is, aside from the final fight: an arena with large groups of revenants, hell knights and hitscanners firing from the stands and two cyberdemons: one acting as a turret (you can telefrag him at the end, so don't waste ammo trying to kill him), one killing everything from the ground floor. That's not all, as round two adds cacodemons and pain elementals. It's a tough fight that killed me a lot, as, aside from a soulsphere you've likely picked up before the encounter, there's little health to patch yourself up. After this is over, you still have to kill some random monsters, including two archviles that feel like unnecessary padding. Also, that unreachable BFG in a pit is an unfunny joke when I would love to have it for the arena fight.

 

I can't say I'm a huge fan of this map. It looks good, I can't deny that, but I think the author, whoever that might be, should have taken a few lessons on combat design.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 18: Enclave

by Anon

 

Most likely not a participant in a /vr/ project but likely a mapper who uses the name "An0n" sometimes, Enclave is quite an accomplished work as it happens! Beginning is modest enough - we enter a tall building and deal with a few hitscanners in a small space amongst some crates that seem to have been in the middle of being unpacked. Not like contents can be seen anywhere, but this beginning is one that proves quite deceptive indeed. Because though we should find the rocket launcher before too long, health is tightly controlled with ammo being even more so. Thankfully, there is a little bit of spare ammo in case a careless rocket here and there is unloaded.

 

Anyways, the rocket launcher is located right next to an Arachnotron at the end of a long hallway with Revenants on towers just past the left-hand path at the start after exiting. There is also a group of hitscanners that keep us from charging too aggressively when we enter. Revenants can be found on many of the high-towers,, frustrating any attempts at feeling comfortable  Despite grabbing the RL quite quickly, our incredibly clumsy attempts at a counterattack led to a death shortly after finding the red key. Because in addition to a mob of pinkies we guess need at least a few rockets, there are around 4 chaingunners that teleport outside this oval-shaped area we may have shot a rocket toward them, but they killed us anyway, so it's unimportant.

 

After that, we'd take the left-hand path, which brings us to a small rectangular room with the Super Shotgun located up some gray stairs on the right. Unfortunately, picking it up immediately opens up a window near the SS with a wall of chaingunners, and sends some Mancubi and Hell Knights, along with a Revenant or two or way as well. Hiding from the chaingunners was very difficult (a common theme of this map) which might be why we shot at them. Dying here can be hard to avoid, quite honestly.

 

After heading through the left-hand path again, we'd use a yellow key from somewhere to climb up on ramparts of the oval-shaped courtyard of the RK with Revenants firing everywhere. Yes, we were convinced that we had to rocket them from the bottom initially. No matter, after going through more stuff that's kind of nasty but also not important, we plunged down into a courtyard where several pop-up monsters awaited us. At least it's of a right shape that we can move around easily enough, but our stomach for causing infighting here might as well have departed for all the good it did.

 

Anyway, a teleporter lowered by a nearby switch takes us to the intimidating sight of 4 Pinkies and an Arch-vile facing away from us. It was at this point we came to regret not having a spare rocket or two. Which might have been why we just shot a pinkie and charged through the square that also contained the blue key, triggering a hitscanner trap that we did not have the health for. Eventually, we just settled for concentrating all our remaining rockets on the Arch-vile, which seemed to work. The rest came easily then.

 

The blue key is needed behind the red key doors which we avoided up to this point and with good reason, as it happens. Maybe those imposing bright red textures suggest something a little bit more intimidating, as we can rocket the Revenants which swaem our location easily enough, and then dispose of the chaingunners and spectres in fairly short order. But there's two arch-viles here, and when we hit the blue switch, we have to face down a murder of Revenants and two Pain Elementals. The latter of the latter group would end up getting us good because we weren't even aware of them.

 

Behind the blue bars was a switch that took us to a courtyard that looked too identical to the one with the rocket launcher and red key, to the extent we were checking our map. This contains the red shininess of the previous room though, so jumping straight down to pick up some Megaarmor and  a Berserk Pack proved to be the correct course of action. Because the instant we hit the switch in th middle of the gladitorial arena, we are swarmed by Hell Knights on the bleachers, Revenants in each tower, and Arachnotrons from....somewhere while Cacodemons appear in the middle. Finally, we get a cyberdemon here, and another one some ways up. We kill both of them but the second one was probably unnecessary. Although another switch will cause some more Pain Elementals and Cacodemons to appear on the sides, they aren't much trouble.

 

It's not ogre yet though - we have to travel down one side of the grandstand to hit a switch surrounded by pinkies that opens the exit and also the chamber of a hapless Arch-vile manager overseeing everything. There is one last chaingunner and an Arch-vile in the last hallway to the exit though, a primitive sandstone chamber that's quite a strange contrast to the tech-y stuff seen so far that can also be seen on sections of the outside.

 

Great map!

 

 

[KickAss]

GZDooM 4.10, PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Weapon Neural Upscale, Destroyable Decorations Definitive Edition, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), continuous play, no saves.

 

MAP13 - “Never Safe, Always Sorry” by NuMetalManiak, Archi

 

MAP14 - “Corpseflower” by Scorpius

 

MAP15 - “Ironclad” by Cheesewheel

This level endet up in Ifrit's Lair so I missed the exit to the secret levels for sure but I don't care about that.

[cannonball]

MAP18 - “Enclave” by Anon

 

A surprisingly well poised map, probably one of the most attractive maps so far with a strong sense of thematic. The combat tends to veer towards the "slow burn" with some tougher fights mixed in. I think the biggest issue comes from two fronts, there isn't a moment in this map where you feel like the intensity is reach those seen in Plutonia, the second is that the final fight isn't overly great, ironically the biggest threat tends to come from the hitscanners because you cannot avoid their fire in the open (Whilst everything else can be quickly circle-strafed), along with this you have the cyber telefrag where there are some pointless spectres in the blood pool below and the final section feels rather padded out.

That said Enclave is a very solid map that should entertain players from start to finish, it is also one where navigation is pretty easy aside from the backtrack to the red bars, and this is a 50:50 choice anyway. In the end this again is one of those maps that struggles to capture "Plutonia's essence", but at this point the rule book is out of the window anyway.

Edited July 18, 2023 by cannonball

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Saves

Map 18: Enclave - Anon

100% kills and secrets

Time: 23:12

Deaths: 1

 

I wonder who this author is. Is it a truly anonymous mapper, or is it a shortening of Anonimvio as mentioned above? If it's the former, I haven't played anything by them before. This map leaves a good first impression tho! The opening shot of this map feels like the most Plutonia thing we've had in a while. I guess the gothic fort in a sea of blood just feels like it would fit in the IWAD, which is good considering this is supposed to be Plutonia inspired. The map is a medium-sized one, with mostly incidental combat save for a few ambushes. The very first ambush I got to when taking the path to the east was one of the nastiest. Hit the switch to end up in point-blank range of a chaingunner firing squad, while the cool pillars in this room raise to reveal imps, mancs, revs, etc. I had an abundance of health from the last map, and this ate most of that away. The other ambushes early on aren't too bad. The one just before the yellow key can be rocketed easily, while the red key one is in a pretty open area, just don't get cornered by a pinky. The blue key one is spicy if you don't have a BFG (sorry pistol-starters), and it ends with a surprise hitscan ambush as you actually get the key. The final fight is the only thing that got me, and it was cause the turret cyb sniped me as I 2-shot the wandering cyb. Clever. Despite all the revs and the cyb on the ground with you, the only thing that will consistently damage you when moving is the hitscan, so try to have them hit other demons too. 2 of the 3 secrets were pretty easy to find, but the one by the yellow key idk how you'd really know about. I think the clue may be the flickering lights nearby it, but I don't think that would be enough to know the action you need to do (shoot left side of lava wall). Overall, this was a pretty solid map! Aesthetics were on point, combat was mostly incidental with a few choice encounters, and was a nice difficulty. 

[HiMyNameIsChair]

MAP18: Enclave by Anon

 

(Played on DSDA, 100% Kills. 66% Secrets, Completion Time: 32:06 )
 

Oh...wow am i ever split on this one... So right away: great looking map, love the opening shot of the exterior, the lake of blood, islands in the distance, and barded wire. In general, the mix of blood, wood, and stone, accented with glowing red lights really ties together nicely.

 

 On the other hand: WOW this one is a mean son of a bitch in a couple of spots~!

 

It's not to say some of its traps and fights aren't solid, the blue key fight where you're given free rein to use a mancubus to displace unalerted enemies is quite nice, the fight for the red key is solid, and an early trap leading up to the yellow key where you come face to face with a wall of chaingunners alongside a supporting entourage is sure to put some spring in your step.... even if it airs on being maybe just a smidge cruel. less enthusiastic about the hallway full of single-perched revenants for you to rocket... feels like a timesink TBH.

 

However, there are other things with the map that just kind of irks me. Hell, it even extends to the secrets, from a life-saving stash of ammo you can find early on by shooting a hidden switch.... which anon for whatever reason, decides you have to platform to it, and the platform is just high enough for it to be needlessly finicky like.. alright, I guess finding it wasn't enough???

 

Then there's the secret in the archvile room by the yellow key, which you are given... practically no obvious visual indicator for. You have to first A) figure out that you have to shoot the fire texture.. but not just *anywhere*, or even the middle, no.. that would be too easy, you have to specifically shoot it on the left side... which opens a stash of rockets.

 

oh and let's not forget the hidden ledge right before the final fight (ohohoh we will get to that!), which is needlessly easy to miss, has extra plasma ammo, and just to put salt in the wound: you can't backtrack once you're in the pit, so you only notice it once your down there, where it just mocks you.

 

 

Speaking of things that irk me... the final fight, which is a clusterfuck, is generally some bullshit, and is by far the most purposefully mean-spirited thing in the map.

 

Now, i want to preface this... I am a glutton for punishment, I can clear stuff like Disturbia, Speed of Doom, and even the back end of Scythe 2, on UV from pistol start without too much issue. It is not the difficulty i take issue with, because i can take a hell of a beating: it's the choreography and staging of the fight that i take issue with.

 

Anon knows *exactly* what they're doing, accenting their massive open arena, by placing chaingunners and shotgunners on the upper tier... with hell knights on the tier below.. so it you're like me, and prefer to use Auto-aim: you're going to have a miserable time, trying to pick off the hitscanners, watching in frustration as hell knights tank rockets, bullets and plasma, all while having to negotiate two cyberdemons, arachnotron plasma, and a shitton of revenants. It is the kind of fight that feels purposefully designed to grind your gears. 

 

Speaking of purposeful mean-spiritedness: the goddamn unobtainable BFG... right after you clear the fight. You can't get this, there's no way to grab it or a teleporter to take you there, nope, it's just there to taunt you, as if Anon's saying "wow that was a tough fight! wish you had this huh?" It's in really poor taste, and sours the experience as a whole.

 

So overall... Enclave, while visually strong, is longer than it should be, and has just enough purposeful malice sprinkled throughout to sour its generally solid gameplay chops. This could have been a highlight, but Anon's willingness to screw over the player knocks it down a peg.

 

Grade C+

 

Order of Preference

 

Spoiler

MAP11

MAP17

MAP06

MAP32

MAP10

MAP05

MAP15

MAP01

MAP08

MAP12

MAP03

MAP31

MAP07

MAP14

MAP13

MAP18

MAP02

MAP16

MAP04

MAP09

Genuinely, would have been a B, but it is so purposefully and openly hostile to the player, it tested my patience, which in itself is no small feat, because i have *a lot of it*. so not keen on replaying this at any point. Also, how much I'd want to replay a map also plays a big role in how i rank them by preference, so that really puts it down near the bottom of the card.

Edited July 18, 2023 by HiMyNameIsChair

[Veeda Vidlak]

Map18 “Enclave”

 

I remember this one. “Anon’s” Enclave is a memorable level, challenging the player with slow but dangerous hostilities and menacing atmosphere.

 

We start out quiet (in an area that looks like a bunny with iddt) and have two paths. Both lead to an SSG and both are viable but the right/east path is more streamlined so I prefer that one. Combat is similar to map16, incremental and with small ambushes but the gameplay is more advanced. There’s a lot of areas that can kill us, starting with the trap in the east SSG room that suddenly puts us in front of a firing squad with mid-tiers at our six.

 

A quick note: Without secrets ammo is very tight. It’s especially important to find the trove of resources released by a switch near the yellow bars.

 

The yellow key is up the stairs and isn’t problematic to obtain. The red key (found by jumping off and heading west) is tougher, mostly because of the annoying sniping revenants that are a pain to dislodge. Ignore the blood channel leading north for now and circle around to the yellow bars, which takes us around the red key pond on a route to the blue key (it might be better to kill the revenants from this direction, I’m not sure). After some close-range hell knights and a tricky drop down fight we get one of the harder encounters of the level, a small blood courtyard with a vile/pinkies facing away and a mancubus to our side. Try to get him to distract some pinkies or the archvile to make room and be careful about stumbling over the blue key, it spawns hitscanners you really don’t want around while the vile is up.

 

With all three keys we can head downstairs through the red bars and take care of the enemies down there (pretty good fight). Afterwards ascend the lift leading east and prepare for Enclave’s pièce de resistance, a wicked looking auditorium that continues the mainline maps’ difficulty escalation. Two cyberdemons (one a turret), two squads of boneheads, a bunch of monsters (including hitscanners) seated in the bleachers, and some scattered snipers. This finale is pretty hard, the hitscanners inflict withering damage and the revenants swarm the west side of the coliseum where you have cover. I find its best to dance around the deadly eastern side for a few seconds to draw out the revenants then start circle strafing, there should be enough room to avoid getting cornered (and don’t hit the switch until the area is clear, it spawns gasbags that gum up the arena even further).

 

Enclave is an advanced map steeped in ambiance that reminds me of Plutonia 2’s Buckets of Blood. My primary complaint is that it has the HR 2 aspect of playing poorly without secrets. While I prefer The Wolf Hour’s gameplay (and runtime), Enclave provided satisfying combat, excellent visuals, and a thrilling finish. It’s one of the highlights of the wad for me, currently sitting in my top 5.

 

prcp2map18.zip

Time: 15:32   Kills: 229/229    Secrets: 3/3

[Tiramisu]

UV/saves, any%, pistol start

 

MAP18 - Enclave

 

I'm glad I'm not the only one who was bothered by this map! At first I thought it was just due to some bad luck with Revenant missiles, but my overall impression during the playthrough was primarily one of annoyance.

 

The map is by no means a shoddy effort - on the contrary, the work put into the layout and visuals is apparent from the very start, as you enter the imposingly tall castle and get a closer look at the details inside (I found the use of multiple-sector, layered walls particularly interesting). And there are some neat fights to be had, too - my favorites were the one where you have to use the Fatso as a meatshield against a wall of Chaingunners, and the one where you drop down from a huge height into a blood pond, surrounded by enemies from all sides.

 

However, the experience was marred a bit by the ammo scarcity and the excessive use of sniping Revenants and Chaingunners. My attempts to get rid of the Revenants might have contributed a little bit to said ammo scarcity - but if you don't want a player to get rid of monster snipers then don't use Revenants, they are just too dangerous to be kept alive in such quantities!

 

Then there's the final fight against the Revenant horde, double Cyberdemons, Caco swarm and whatever else. It was a huge difficulty spike, compared to the rest of the map - initial reconnaissance aside, I only died twice in the main part, while the final battle killed me at least a dozen times before I finally got it right. And while I really liked the general idea of it, as well as the architecture of the amphitheater-like arena, I feel like the fight was ruined by the inclusion of incredibly hard-to-hit Chaingunner snipers - which took what was already a high-tension battle and made it feel honestly a bit unfair. If I were the author I would probably have changed all the hitscanners into Zombiemen, you would get the same effect of not being able to stay in the open for too long, without the added effect of suddenly losing half of your health if RNG looks at you the wrong way.

 

On my playthrough I was honestly willing to give the map the benefit of doubt - as in, I thought all the annoying factors were merely overlooked in the grand scheme of things. However, once I read here that the hidden BFG near the end was not, as I thought, a clever secret you could get by boundary-breaking through to the outer blood sea, but an actual, unobtainable BFG on display after such a borderline unfair battle - yeah, that seals the deal, the map's just mean.

 

All in all, this is definitely a high-effort map and has more than enough in it to be enjoyed - but, while Plutonia was never exactly "kind" either, this map is just too mean for its own good.

 

Plutonia memories, MAP18 (Neurosphere) - Honestly I remember this map mostly for being very dark, not sure if deservedly! I wasn't a huge fan of Inmost Dens so I didn't like this one all that much either.

 

Order of Preference

 

Spoiler

 

MAP32

MAP03

MAP17

MAP15

MAP13

 

MAP12

MAP05

MAP07

MAP10

MAP02

 

MAP06

MAP14

MAP11

MAP16

MAP18

 

MAP08

MAP04

MAP09 

MAP01

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by sq. Tiramisu

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 19: Acid Bath

by @DukeOfDoom

 

 

Well, here's some classic Plutonia+ gameplay! We start out in a square-shaped layout, naturally covered with slime that oddly enough will not damage us, a choice of 1 of 4 weapons and enemies which include Arachnotrons, Chaingunners, and Revenants furiously attempting to end us. The advised course of action would probably be to pick up one of the weapons, shoot the Cacodemons, Pain Elementals, and Imps that close in on our position, than take the teleporter up to pick one of the other weapons up. We didn't however. In the middle of killing a turret Imp that seemed especially high up, we'd fall down a slime fall accidentally into an indoor chamber where we were immediately confronted by Imps! We survived, but a Lost Soul would soon follow us down and nearly kill us. The chamber here is quite nice though, surrounded tastefully by slime falls with a sort of tower in the middle containing a switch that....does something.

 

After entering into another section, the largest, some Revenants and a fairly hapless Arch-vile  were eliminated, along with all the most visible changunners. There were still a few being sneak at one end. It was the former that probably dealt us our second death. There were probably half a dozen deaths or so but it would be easier than Ironclad if not for the chaingunners because of how the monsters are spread out.

 

So after returning to the map's center again, we find the hallway to an open bunker, leading to a little outpost we'd seen in the southwest with a Mancubus and most of the aforementioned "hidden" chaingunners. One of them actually nearly killed me, but we had the last laugh in the end after ascending from a nearby underground tunnel to hit a switch that basically opens some locations nearby.

 

A switch then lowers a shaft, straight into a hell knight that probably killed us from some avoidable careless, then afterwards, a great ambush in a great room! So there are wood rails on the opposite side of the room from us, seemingly blocking the way to a massive slime fall with flashing lights, and several little offshoots that are helmed by lights of lime. Here, we are attacked by chaingunners from behind to either side of us, Hell Knights, Pinkies, and Revenants. At first, we thought there were actually far more chaingunners originally with how prolific they'd been! We end up turning to plasma essentially because of the above-needed distraction and we thankfully had enough to kill everything. Some switch-pressing then leads to a confrontation with a Baron and Arch-vile that kind of went how you'd might expect. Then finally, we can teleport out of here, back to the start and chaigunning the last Imp we'd left alive!

 

From this point, we were puzzle by the progression, at least until we returned to the hallway leading to the slime chamber and found a switch that lowers a lift granting access to the red key! Action had slowed down considerably at this point, though a Revenant still got us once. After acquiring the blue key and finding the correct door, we'd plasma some Mancubi, shoot some chaingunners through some bars, and desultorily go through a process of lowering bars that seemingly only exists to lower the exit bars and probably contains a shootable switch opening a nearby Supercharge secret but this last bit still felt unnecessary.

 

And that's this map as a whole. It's good that it's short, but that doesn't excuse the repetitive and tacked-on bits as the action is clearly winding down.