The DWmegawad Club plays: Claustrophobia 1024

[Celestin]

MAP14: Deception by Dreadopp

 

You start being sandwiched by two groups of hitscanners and are expected to survive this without a weapon, good luck. Once this is over, you can enter the medieval stronghold and Deception turns into a series of teleporting revenant traps. Like, there is this one place, where four shootable switches open up one by one, shooting the first one teleports three revenants. Take a wild guess what the remaining four do...

 

Deception looks great, I'll admit that, but I can't tell anything about the midi, as it was drowned by revenant screaming... This one would benefit from more varied monster line-up.
 

Edited August 14, 2023 by Celestin

[Tiramisu]

MAP13 - Assault

 

I really liked this map! It felt like the author really understood the limitations well and, instead of trying to cram in as much stuff as possible, opted for a single, solid setpiece fight with some light filler before and after. As a result, the map felt small but never cramped, and played almost like a snippet of a regular-sized piece - especially with how efficient it was in using its space! There were a couple of odd choices here (like the pop-up Hell Knight or the fake exit switch), but nothing that would spoil the overall experience. Finally, the map's aesthetics were definitely on the strong side as well - complete with some nice, surprisingly heroic-sounding music that really made the whole thing feel like a focused quest to single-handedly storm a UAC facility (which played well with the map's title, too!).

 

MAP14 - Deception

 

The opening view, a facade of a haunted mansion of sorts, really set my expectations high for this map - and while the setting was indeed the high point here, with great visuals all around and a fittingly ghostly tune to go with it, the map's combat was simply too grindy and corridor-based to really match the rest in quality. Thankfully it didn't reach the point of being discouraging to play, so I still had some fun SSG-ing Revenants and admiring the detail work (the author really makes great use of the extended texture set, especially with the surprisingly useful beige marble recolors)! And I must say, I kind of respect the corridor with the quadruple Revenant trap, that one just felt hilarious in its audacity - it's kind of like an extended knock-knock joke where the punchline is always Revenants. :p

 

Top 5 favorites, updated: MAP09, MAP03, MAP07, MAP13, MAP10

Edited August 14, 2023 by sq. Tiramisu

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Blind/Saves (if needed)

Map 14:  Deception - Dreadopp

100% kills and secrets

Time: 6:52

 

This map has a surprising amount of revenants. So much, it had me type out the whole word for once. It's not, like, a ton, but 20 in a map this size is a considerable challenege, especially since like half of them end up teleporting in to a narrow corridor (almost died here). Outside of that, there's also the hitscan outside at the start that will light you up as soon as you open fire on them. The rest of this map is more manageable, as you can kinda take your time as won't get cornered. And, as usual for me, the soul sphere that lowers with the exit is greatly appreciated for continuous play. So overall, I liked this one! The rev corridor is a nice challenge, and the map looks really good.

[Dreadopp]

I actually played this map as well to remind myself what I did all those years ago and I can totally see what people are saying, hahaha. It's pretty clear that the gameplay could be ironed out some more. I died so many times on UV trying to leave the starting room. Of course, I could just be worse at playing the game. :P

 

I have a far different mindset for making maps now than I did ~14 years ago (geez!), and there are certainly things present here that I wouldn't do now. Those flat outer rocky walls? Eww! Why are there so many revenants in such a small map? I do not recall (if there even was a reason) why I thought to include multiple switches that do the same thing, haha. Sorry about that. From what I can tell, I was trying to include as much "gameplay" as I possibly could in such a small space. And of course, getting stuck on all the small details is not great, is it?

 

Still, I always did enjoy working on 1024/2048 sized maps. Hopefully my other claustrophobic releases beyond this project are a little more enjoyable for people than this has been. At the very least, they shouldn't feel like they are claustrophobic.

 

Anyway, thanks for playing through my map, everyone, and thanks for reading this brief retrospective. I'll be back in a week!

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP14 - Deception - Dreadopp (86%K/0%I/0%S):

These days, we are quite used to find Dreadopp in mapping projects with restrictions as he is quite good at those, judging by his mapping history. This was one of his first contributions to a community project, and it's not the last we will find from him in this wad. This is another "Alien Vendetta Lite" map, with a cool looking setting as we enter inside a small outpost full of corridors and monsters. Map is not that simple as the author does its best to squeeze every single inch of material in his 1024 parcel. Hit a switch, reveal something at the other side. The problem here is that, late into the map, you will find yourself a little bit out of ammo, as the big ammount of revenants will drain your bullets a lot, and sadly, no berserk packs are to be found here. The goal is to reach the middle of the map, guarded by, you gessed it, more revenants. This map was quite Plutonia in terms of gameplay because of the monster usage, but I wish there was more ammo, as I had to skip to the exit without eliminating every menace in Deception. I could not find a way to reach that soulsphere, as it seems that switch next to the one that lowers the armor outside, is broken or something...
...Damn, these mappers know how to hide secrets in a space so short.

(UV - Playthrough/PRBoom+)

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP09

MAP05

MAP03
MAP07
MAP13
MAP12
MAP14
MAP06
MAP02
MAP04
MAP01
MAP08
MAP10
MAP11

 

 

[brick]

GZDoom, Boom compat, software, HNTR, blind, continuous with saves.

 

MAP14 - “Deception” by Dreadopp
This one's skill balance is interesting, it's a HUGE jump up from HMP to UV, which adds 20 revenants (!) on top of a bunch of other nasties. Other than the hotstart it's relatively sedate on HNTR, with mostly hitscans and imps. The text file mentions getting out "before it's too late" but I don't think there's anything on a timer. There are lots of switches to press (or shoot) in sequence, and each time baddies teleport in, sometimes right next to you, other times you hear them open doors as they try to find you. The Descent MIDI seemed like an odd choice, but it actually fits the mood of exploring an old castle really well. I liked the map but am curious to read the UV-maxers' experience.

(which I'm doing right now, after posting this)

 

MAP15 - “The Inmost Con’dens’ed” by Jimmy, Mechadon
Yes, it's The Inmost Dens 1024 Edition. At least it looks like it, because gameplay-wise it lacked most of what I like about that map: the ability to jump down in the water and shoot things from below, the numerous turret towers (where you could take over any of them and start shooting back). I didn't mind too much because I liked the overall layout and the progression, it's again a map that makes great use of its space, that lets you see almost every other part of the map from early on, and that uses backtracking and repopulating enemies quite well. My only gripe was getting to the end of the map, wondering where the secret exit was, and finding out that I got silently locked out of it halfway through. Nice thing about these short maps is that restarting them to get what I missed is something I'm not only willing to do, but even enjoy. I liked how you cross the exact same spot but only get secret credit if you've unlocked the secret exit, it's a clever bit of sector trickery.

Edited August 14, 2023 by brick

[Horus]

MAP15 - “The Inmost Con’dens’ed” by Jimmy, Mechadon

 

And here we go…a 1024 homage to Doom II’s map 14, The Inmost Dens. Except not in map 14 this time, what with the presence of a secret exit. I suspected this was one of Jimmy’s earliest maps, and a peak at Doom Wiki confirms this. It seems that Jimmy had more of a mean streak back then than nowadays, at least based on what I’ve played of his more recent work!

 

So I mentioned that this map together with the 2 main secret maps caused me to abandon my playthrough last time, does this map hold up any better this time? I’d like to say yes, but….no. It’s clearly the hardest map of the set so far by some margin, but that in itself isn’t a problem. My issue with it mainly came from taking the congestion too far, to the extent of near-mandatory damage, or in the case of that berserk trap, actual mandatory damage.

 

Basically, combat is designed with pretty fine margins throughout. Ammo is somewhat scarce, but sufficient for the job at hand. The layout had me running round in circles a few times, which is probably me being clumsy more than anything to be fair. I tried to strafe out the map once, but it rewarded me with insta death, even when I was still on an actual brick platform. I would have preferred a higher platform or blocking lines I guess :P

 

Aesthetically it is hard to find fault. The design is very true to its inspiration throughout. The secret exit is very cryptic, and inaccessible after a certain time period as well. I would be surprised if any blind-run players get it without using the Doom Wiki or Ultimate Doom Builder, but maybe there’s a particularly observant player among us!

 

Haven't done the map rankings in a while, so thought I'd give it a refresh:

Spoiler

MAP5
MAP1
MAP14
MAP12
MAP6
MAP9
MAP2
MAP7
MAP13
MAP4
MAP3
MAP10
MAP8
MAP11
MAP15

 

[cannonball]

MAP15 - “The Inmost Con’dens’ed” by Jimmy, Mechadon

 

For the most part this map is fine, but there are some real issues sprinkled here and there. First the strange use of monster block lines, notably on the walkway that leads to the red key, there seems to be no logical reason behind this. Secondly a lot of walkways become blocked off as you go through the map, perhaps these should have been a bit more reversible, especially as I suspect that secrets or even the secret exit get blocked off too. Lastly the fight involving the berserk pack is pure horse manure, seriously it is complete luck as to whether you survive this (The hellknight requires a succession of low damage rolls or you will die here).

In the end the map isn't too bad, but there are some instances that will leave the player very bitter, the aesthetics are very inmost dens, so you cannot complain here.

 

MAP31 - “Skyscrape IV” by Jodwin

I appreciate the sheer amount of effort of being able to get that much map out of the space provided, however I must confess that I didn't really enjoy this one that much. A lot of the combat felt laboured and cumbersome with some quite obnoxious moments thrown in for good measure. The crate (yellow key section) turns into a bit of  grind because of the fact that there isn't enough space to do anything but grind it out (Made worse by the sheer number of demons that spawn at the lift to get out of this area, the red key section looks quite interesting but clearly I played this section wrong because I ended up in a RNG fest with the spectres that clearly needed the assistance of the Mastermind to dispatch and then of course there is the following horde in the area you cannot access, which again could be used against the mastermind instead of expending all of your ammo. The blue key kind is by far the bluntest of the keys in terms of traps, there really isn't much to say about this one. 

In the end I admire the ingenuity, but in the end the result felt like a turgid slog purely because of the effort to create so much from the space. The secret exit isn't really much of a secret and more a case of observing that more than just the exit door opens up when you hit the three-key switch.

Edited August 15, 2023 by cannonball

[RHhe82]

MAP15: The Inmost Con'dens'ed. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 80/80 K, 2/2 S, 13/13 I. Comp. time 9:25

 

I like Inmost Dens, and I often like the pastiches made about it. And I like this one, too, but only now that I know what to do. Indeed, my initial infatuation turned sour fast, when I spent ages looking for the final secret, which of course is the secret exit. First it took my something like 20 minutes to spot the little indent in the wall near the regular exit, but how to open it? At this point I started hating the fact the map prevents backtracking, making feel I had permanently missed something.

 

And I had. Before long I restarted the map, idclipped to see if the indent is closed on a timer. Turns it out isn't, not at least directly. There is a shootable switch at the start you need to shoot right away, because later on it won't be there. I don't know if it's timer- or progression-based, but better to shoot as soon as the initial pistol guys and chaingunner are dealt with. Not a fan of this sort of design. Replaying the map at that point wasn't a chore, though, because other than that I liked it (well, except maybe possibly the berserk survival corridor, that can go punch itself in the face) and it's a joy to play. My first playthrough was ridden with ammo starvation anyway, that could have been a minus too, but second playthrough everything went much more swimmingly.

 

*

 

MAP31: Skyscrape IV. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 197/197 K, 0/0 S, 6/6 I. Comp. time 23:52

 

I honestly don't know what to think of this. On the other hand I like the visuals, it's detailed and very nice altogether... yet I mostly felt frustrated and bored even -- I don't know if I went about this one the wrong way, but the map had me single-shotgun archviles and barons evens (single-shotgunning hell knights is bad enough).

 

Yet, I cannot hate this one, the visual style saves (even the 3D floors I usually detest are ok here, somehow they fit the environment they inhabit). It's alright, in the end, I suppose.

*

 

MAP32: Oil Rig. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 173/173 K, 1/1 S, 27/27 I. Comp. time 20:23

 

I like the map mostly, it's nightly appearance, encounters... Not so keen on supershotgunning cybers (notice the plural form). It doesn't get too annoying, but annoying enough. Pity, as this one would have been such a great map.

 

*

 

I haven't played maps 33-34, I guess I'm saving them until the end of month.

[Celestin]

MAP15: The Inmost Con'den'sed by James "Jimmy" Paddock with edits by Mechadon

 

This has to be the worst pun I've seen in a while, but I dig this map. Less The Inmost Dens and more Neurosphere, this plays like a tiny Plutonia map. The Inmost Con'den'sed relies on monsters placed outside the 1024x1024 square to add an extra pressure. In true Plutonia fashion, most of them are chaingunners. Copious teleport traps feels at home here, a revenant squeeze after you grab the red key is the most Casali thing here.

 

Not everything is perfect. That moment where you teleport on a blocked conveyor belt with a berserk pack and a bunch of monsters is spawning in is just dumb, there's no defending this. The last of them is a hell knight and it's a lottery how much damage you receive. Also, the secret exit. I found it by a complete accident, as I've noticed a shootable switch early on, but it gets blocked at one point, so if you aren't lucky to find it, you'll have to replay the map to reach the secret levels. I've always seen this as an impolite move, punishing first-time players for not knowing the map. Other than that, I'm a sucker for Plutonia, so naturally I've enjoyed The Inmost Con'den'sed a lot and I'm surprised it took 15 maps to see a shrunken remake of an IWAD map.

 

MAP31: Skyscrape IV by Jodwin

 

I am completely speechless. I didn't expect to find here a full-size, non-linear adventure, but here we are. Skyscrape IV is a triumph of spatial efficiency, helped with a hefty usage of 3D bridges, a map where you'll be forgiven to forget the playing field is so small.

 

The exit is right by the start, it however need all three keys. After dispatching some early enemies (including an archvile), you'll find yourself in a room with a column covered by switches. You have four routes and four challenges to overcome. The most notable ones are a warehouse so stuffed with monsters it's absurd and a room with a FIREBLU wall, where you find a mastermind, spectres ambush and a wall of hell nobles (I strongly recommend going here first, there's a super shotgun here and you want it, as Jodwin is quite fond of placing tanky monsters in narrow corridors).

 

The rest of the map is mostly incidental combat in really cramped hallways, but Skyscrape IV makes up for this with its details and rocking midi. As for the secret exit, you just have to backtrack to the central room after reaching the regular one. I only have two minor problems with the map: one, it can be confusing to navigate, two, you can't return to some rooms, which meant I couldn't kill the revenants I left in the warehouse. Tiny issues in an otherwise outstanding map, the best in the wad so far.

 

MAP32: Oil Rig by Mik57 with edits by Mechadon

 

One thing I dreaded the most in maps this tiny is the cyberdemon usage. So here's 3 of them. The first one is an absolute bastard to fight: roaming in a cramped room that you have visit at least 3 times, so you can't just leave him for later and the only way to get rid of him is slowly take him down with a super shotgun. The place is filled with crates and other random crap, so even if you manage to evade a rocket, you'll likely still get caught in a blast radius. I was extremally lucky to have him blocked by a pinky, a chance I couldn't not abuse. 

 

The rest of the map is more reasonable. It feels a bit more spacious, plus the remaining two cyberdemons are place outside the 1024x1024 box and are far more useful as infighting allies. The BFG is at the end, so at least you can easily take them out. Oil Rig is a bit heavy on backtracking, but it's a trope of this wad I expect at this point.

 

I like the visual side, with its grimy, industrial textures, but the midi is a bit off, like it's not looping properly. While I don't love Oil Rig, I still see it as a solid map.

 

MAP33: Nil by Mechadon

 

Nil is a miniature slaughter map with a highly episodic structure. Press a switch or grab a key and a horde of monsters starts warping in. The one that appears after pressing the yellow switches was the most difficult, but camping at the bottom of the stairs is surprisingly effective. The rest isn't that bad. The cyberdemon kills a lot of monster for you (and unlike in MAP32, it's easier to survive his attacks) and when the archviles appear, so does a BFG and an invult. You are well-supplied with health and ammo throughout the map (Mechadon always makes sure to bring more resources when a new wave begins, a move I greatly support), so your main problem are cacodemons and lost souls, who make use of their mobility to attack you from unexpected angles.

 

The main star, though is the presentation, rather than the gameplay. This piece of a stronghold, floating in a void and covered with Quake textures is imposing and a haunting midi completes the image of a place you really shouldn't be in. This is a standout map and I have no idea why it was relegated to the 33rd slot, instead of being used in the regular line-up.

 

MAP34: **NULL** by Mechadon

 

"Thanks 4 Claus 1024 playing".

 

This one is just bad. A flat arena that boils down to running around, spraying plasma at whatever gets in your way and pressing four switches to open this place up. Then three archviles and four pain elementals appear, making this a complete clusterfuck. Also, there are pairs of cyberdemons and masterminds at the sides, placed as such you can catch a rocket wherever you're standing. You can crush them, the buttons to do this are in the centre, but the archviles are more of a threat and you won't have time to press them. And if you want to leave and finish the map, you can't - the exit teleporter will just telefrag a voodoo doll, making the map impossible to complete.

 

This is allegedly a joke map, doubling as a progression stopper (since without it, completing MAP33 would crash the game). If the joke is to run a player through a gauntlet only for all of this to be for nothing, it's not a funny one. Skip this one to preserve your time and sanity.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Celestin

[Klear]

8 hours ago, Horus said:

I would be surprised if any blind-run players get it without using the Doom Wiki or Ultimate Doom Builder, but maybe there’s a particularly observant player among us!

 

I got it first try. No idea how, thought it was just an extra button at the end, so not really by being observant =D

[bioshockfan90]

MAP15: The Inmost Con’dens’ed

 

100K \ 100I \ 50S

 

I really tried finding the secret exit on this, but it seems once you unlock the exit you’re just locked away from any hope of that, and I didn’t particularly feel like replaying the whole thing just to get the secret exit when I can good as well IDCLEV to it. This is a fun gimmick map, with a few flaws but it’s enough campy fun to make you overlook it in the long run. Better than MAP07 but not as good as 14. 4.4 out of 5. Bonus creativity point to the berserk conveyor section. 

 

MAPRANKS:

Spoiler

MAP05

MAP14

MAP15

MAP07

MAP01

MAP09

MAP06

MAP04

MAP13

MAP02

MAP10

MAP03

MAP12

MAP08

 

 

[Klear]

MAP15 - “The Inmost Con’dens’ed” by @Jimmy, @Mechadon

QuestZDoom, UV, blind, pistol start, saves

 

I was interrupted while recording my first attempt, but I'm not going to upload that as after dealing with the immediate threats, it's just five minutes of me looking for a way to progress. I failed to press the skull-marked button and figured it's locked, so I didn't try after that. I did find the green shootable switch immeditately and was confused when it seemingly didn't do anything. Is that all there is to the secret? I have no idea.

 

Anyway, the first half of the map went well once I figured that out, but roughly from the blue key teleporter things started to get tough and more than a little mean. I was still paranoid after previous map, so I did my best to conserve ammo and cheesed whatever I could, notably the baron guarding the exit. The vile gave me surprisingly little resistance (probably because I was firing through a window I shouldn't be able to), but the revenants hurt. And the firing squad at the end. If only I saved one rocket...

 

As I reached the exit, I remembered there's supposed to be a secret exit I should look for, only to notice it sitting at the side in plain view. I thought it was nice it was just provided for free for once, since I usually don't enjoy looking for secrets too much. Reading the other write-ups, that's not quite the whole story apparently...

 

Spoiler

 

 

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Klear

[DavitW]

MAP15: The Inmost Con’dens’ed
Another map that turned out to be one mean mother. I could really feel the 1024 constriction on this one, and it certainly earned the claustrophobia name. Fancy footwork led to me dodging most of the revenants rockets and careful ammo management led to me just barely having enough to dispatch the final few chaingunners. There's some sort of wind tunnel thing here, which is kind of neat. But I'm not sure if you're supposed to get trapped in there or not. I was going to say they didn't try at all with the secret exit, with the switch being right around the corner from the normal one, but apparently there's more to it than I thought and I happened upon it by dumb luck.

 

MAP31: Skyscrape IV
My first impression was this was going to be one of "those" maps. But in the end, it didn't actually turn out to be too bad. The gimmick of this map becomes obvious early on. 4 switches that lead down 4 different routes you have to traverse to collect all three keys to open the exit. You've all done this dance before. All 4 paths are near perfectly balanced, so it doesn't matter too much which order you take. I would suggest saving the switch near the exit for last, though. There's a spider mastermind in there, then the map harbors its inner Doom 3 by having the lights go out, a horde of spectres spawning in, and spooky writing appearing on the floor. You'll likely want the rocket launcher for the horde of monsters that come right after. My only suggestion would be adding a berserk pack or chainsaw somewhere early in the map. That way if you do happen to run out of ammo, you'd have a slightly viable alternative to fall back to.

 

I found it hard to believe initially this map was only 1024 by 1024, but that's where the playable area only technicality came in. The warehouse area and sealed off area with the spider mastermind add a lot of open space to the map. By far the best map we've seen so far, this one's got it all. Gameplay, details, challenge... the only question is, what happened to the first 3 Skyscrapes?

 

MAP32: Oil Rig
Honestly. Can't say I recommend this one. Not unless you want to watch me pluck Cyberdemons to death with a chaingun. It's really just demon cruelty at that point. There's a lot of real tedious gameplay in this one, to the point I wondered if I was doing something wrong or the map was meant to be played this way. BFG could have came a few minutes earlier, and a plasma gun somewhere between the first and second Cyberdemons could have alleviated some of the pain. In the end it just kind of annoyed me more than anything.

1024CLAU15.zip

1024CLAU31.zip

1024CLAU32.zip

[Kyka]

Thank you everyone for the comments regarding my map 09, which was my first ever public release map. (I did quite a lot of work on 3 other maps - 04, 17 and 19, but map 09 was the only map completely done by me.) Just wanted to say I appreciate the kind words, and I thoroughly agree with the criticisms. Man I loved cramped brutal gameplay back then. I had to learn that Not. Everybody. Does. I played this map myself a little while back, and let's just say I would not make a map now that was so reliant on being played a certain way to survive. Health is more limited than I would do now. But for what it was, I am still quite proud of that little map. It is cramped and brutal, but in my defense, the mapset is, after all, named Claustrophobia.

 

Just wait until you play the next two maps I worked on. (17 and 19). In the words of Craig Ferguson: "I look forward to your letters."

 

Grateful to both @The Green Herring and @esselfortium for their suggestions and improvements to my map 09 during its development, which without their input would have been far more cramped and way way less fun than it turned out in the end. (Just think: even more cramped and even less fun!!! Oh God... I mean Hooray!!!)

 

On 8/2/2023 at 10:21 AM, LadyMistDragon said:

I won't be participating this month because 1) I saw Lingyan203's playthrough of this over a decade ago, and while.....it's fine and has around 5 maps by a later key figure in TNT 2's development @Kyka the fact is that 2) I really need a break anyway. See you on the 25th!

 

Thank you LadyMistDragon for the mention. As you say, "around 5", which I think is a phrase that includes the 4 maps I actually worked on in this set. Hope you are doing well. :)

 

lol still working on TNT:Foreverlution as we speak too. Map 31 is close to done! Progress this year has been slow, because been busy. :)

 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Kyka

[Impboy4]

On 8/2/2023 at 1:51 PM, DJVCardMaster said:

Oof, this map passed through many hands for some reason, way too much for a map so small!. Considering how short it is, I suspect the map was quite underdetailed to be accepted at its first inception, judging by the amount of overdetail it has, as it looks really nice for a small-sized stuff.

That was exactly the reason, considering this was made before Doom Builder 2 was out and I had to struggle with the confines of DB1's sector drawing which limited my abilities greatly.  Honestly, I tend to forget my mapping pre-DB2 now.

 

On 8/2/2023 at 4:32 PM, TJG1289 said:

I'm afraid to ask why a map this small needed to be edited by 3 other people after its main author was done with it. Was it for detailing? Cause I don't see anything that could have had any technical issues. If it was for detailing, it worked cause this map looks nice too!

It was for visuals and some gameplay adjustments.  DB1 was the only thing available at the time so I wasn't up to par on the detail level than I am now with DB2/DBX/GZDB/UDB.

Edited August 15, 2023 by Impboy4

[Flyxolydian]

Two more down... seriously having to fight the urge to binge this pack. There's some very fun little levels here!

Map 14 - Deception:

Welp, I finally died... three times. This is not an easy level to pistol start. The start is pretty punishing, especially given that you need to kill a zombie to get that shotgun, whilst being potshotted from about 200 degrees worth of enemies behind you. The worst bit is the Revenants though... they're an absolute chore to get rid of without plasma/rockets, and there's far too many of them. 

Map 15 - The Inmost Con'den'sed:
Jimmy manages to eke out quite a lot of level in such a small space, a shame it's a bit dickish at times. It feels like a mix of Inmost Dens and Neurosphere from Plutonia. Some difficult traps here, and I couldn't figure out the secret exit, so IDCLEV31 it is! The berserk trap was a bit naff, really Jimmy? Permanently blocking off some areas of the map is a silly move too.

EDIT: Oh... Ok I guess I can add the secret levels too?

Map 31 - Skyscrape IV:
This is a very, VERY, clever map. The bridges essentially add an entire storey to the level, giving the opportunity for some very interesting combat setpieces. The gimmick is that there are 4 switches, which means 4 paths. Depending on the order, this level can be either hard, or very bloody hard. I did technically die once, but that was due to a stupid glitch that occurred at the Rocket Launcher/Blue key fight, where the enemies underneath all popped up through the bridge and absolutely lynched me... 2nd try was the golden one though. Did have to IDCLIP to get all kills though. It's a shame that navigation/backtracking is so difficult in this map due to areas being locked off, as Jodwin's use of space is second to none here.

Map 32 - Oil Rig:
Metallica? Alright then... LETS GO. Somehow beat this blind... how? I'unno.
Probably the most fun so far, if you can somehow get monsters infighting. The layout is pretty standard techbase-type level, but the finale goes balls-to-the-wall with the ambushes. In this situation, Cyber number 3 is your friend, as he can clear out all of the monsters that spawn in to the first combat area... until you decide to chaingun him to death... "I have been shooting, for 30 minutes!". 

Edited August 15, 2023 by Flyxolydian

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP15 - The Inmost Con'dens'ed - Jimmy (100%K/100%I/50%S):

Hey look, it's Jimmy, this time he is not making music, he is making a map, or recycling a map idea and making it "condensed". Rather than condensed, congested would be the correct adjective. Not only he is recycling the already recycled Inmost Dens theme, but he (even though he made some MIDIs for this project), also recycles an already recycled Rise of the Triad MIDI. Damn these RotT MIDIs, those are everywhere, this being one of the most used. C'mon Jimmy, you are a musician, recycling is not always a good thing!
Talking about the map itself, it is a great representation of what The Inmost Dens could feel in a cramped environment, a really nice use of space, so far one of the best. But be know Jimmy and we know what is he capable of. He is also capable of hiding the secret exit in one of the worst ways possible, this was one of the most cryptic secret exits ever, and sadly, I had not choice but to take the regular exit and idclev to MAP31, as Jimmy placed a hidden shootable switch behind a window near the start of the level, and there is a point in which, you cross a linedef, making said switch impossible to get. I HATE secret exits that can't be reached after some point, this makes people backtrack in vane, and that lowers points for me. Still one of the better presented maps in terms of gameplay, and another nice The Inmost Dens rendition, with nice detail here and there. Still, the secret exit is worse than a war crime at this point.

MAP31 - Skyscrape IV - Jodwin (93%K/100%I/100%S):

Oh god, WHAT A BANGER, I remember ragequitting this map so many times, it has it all, crampedness, a non-linear layout, ambusheS, everything. How is it possible to make a map so in-depth with only 1024x1024 units? This existence of this map is beyond me. Jodwin makes an amazing demo of what a peak 1024 units map looks like. Not only well detailed, but it feels longer than it is, because of its heavy use of floors over floors, a central hub area, rooms here, rooms over there, bridges over rooms... Yes, lets be honest for a minute. There is a reason why I ragequit this map so much in my youth, and it is because of how cramped and difficult it is. Most encounters are just a madness, the amount of barons after the spider-mastermind is crazy, you won't have much time and ammo to deal with them. The eastern encounter was hard, but you could deal with this many hitscanners no problem. It gets a little bit enough when cacos and revenants start spawning there, as the ambush becomes just an ammo waste. Talking about ammo, this is the main issue of Skyscrape, most of the time you will find yourself out of it, specially on the big fights, and considering how tight corridors are, leaving them alone without being killed is not an option. I'm the kind of person that likes to cry about ammo shortages and no appearances of my saviour the berserk pack, this is indeed another case of that. Still, even though this map will be polarizing even for me, I can safely say this is peak 1024 mapping, and so far the best map for me. Not the best 1024 map I've seen though, as I can safely say there are at least two epic maps in the Constriction: 1024 project better than this, but I won't spoil.
The secret exit is not hard to find, just backtrack and make sure not to miss it. There weren't many more spaces to place it, as every single inch of the infamous 1024 square was used here.

Is it worthy to find the secret exit? Depends of how much you like cramped maps, still one of the gems of the mapset, so I would incline more for a "Yes, find the secret exit".

MAP32 - Oil Rig - Mik57 (99%K/100%I/100%S):

I suspect secret maps are placed as secrets because of their difficulty, because this was so far the hardest one. Quite a slaughter if you ask me, I did not enjoy this one that much, because of the grindness involving killing so many cyberdemons in tight places. The one far away in a building was completely ignored, hence the 99% kill count. I really like the setting of this one though, but it does not scream "Secret map" to me. That's why I thought what I've said previously, secret maps are there because of difficulty. Having that in mind, I'm scared to play MAP33 and 34, I've never played those in my life.
Back to the map itself, this one was quite slaughtery, luckly ammo was not a problem, but you will have to get used to chaingun some bruisers to save shells. Yes, having to fight cyberdemons from far away with little to no rockets was annoying. This I had to do because one of them was guarding a switch that opens the yellow key room.
Every single encounter spawns a ton of barons and hell knights in cramped spaces, making me feel like I'm playing through Hell Revealed, and I have said it many times, I HATE HELL REVEALED. So yes, the gameplay is quite like it at times.
Luckly I've found a glitch, as you can get the BFG behind the exit door early by strafe-running into it. What an oversight, but it helped me not to keep suffering through fights in cramped spaces, as I had 450 or so plasma cells to fight, and quickly get to the exit, killing that irrelevant archvile at the end, guarding a megasphere for some reason.
I do think the megasphere and the BFG are awards for continuous players, something a little bit dumb, but has a bit of sense if we are talking about secret maps. Those are secret maps after all. It is skippable if you got burned from MAP31 and you don't like the Hell Revealed type of gameplay that much. But it is not by any means a bad map, well presented, but really tough.
Also, the poorly converted Metallica midi has driven me nuts.

(UV - Playthrough/PRBoom+)

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP31
MAP09

MAP05

MAP03
MAP07
MAP15
MAP13
MAP12
MAP14
MAP06
MAP02
MAP04
MAP01
MAP32
MAP08
MAP10
MAP11

 

 

5 hours ago, Kyka said:

lol still working on TNT:Foreverlution as we speak too. Map 31 is close to done! Progress this year has been slow, because been busy. :)

 

Let's not forget about Constriction aswell :o

Edited August 15, 2023 by DJVCardMaster

[Horus]

Secret map time, with 33 & 34 in spoiler boxes

 

MAP31 - “Skyscrape IV” by Jodwin

 

Well to give this map credit, it maximises gameplay in a 1024 space more than I thought would be possible. Even more so than map 9. Set in a futuristic base presumably within a skyscraper, it has a layout planned around a central area which leads to four side areas, each controlled by a switch that temporarily locks the others from being accessible. Each time the layout has you loop back around to the centre, at which point you can make your next choice, until you obtain all three keys and can head to the exit.

 

It's certainly a technically impressive map that pushes the limitation to the maximum, but the gameplay is a bit of a mixed bag for me, as it’s irritating and overly grindy at times. Still, I had a lot more fun with this than the last time I played it.

 

Unlike the last map, the secret exit is nowhere near as cryptic and not progression-locked, albeit still easy to miss.

 

MAP32 - “Oil Rig” by Mik57, Mechadon

 

Oh boy. This is certainly the hardest map so far. It is also where I stopped last time, if I recall correctly after lacking enough ammo to deal with a cyberdemon. What sets it apart from the previous maps is its use of higher-tier monsters in greater numbers. As you ascend some stairs to the first floor of the rig, a bunch of hell nobles flank you on one side, and a cyberdemon and friends on the other. This was where many of my deaths lay.

 

Eventually I pulled through, with infighting sufficient to weaken the cyber to a level that I could finish it off with the ammo I had available. From there on out, ammo wasn’t too much of an issue. Weaponry however, was. The map gives you plenty of cells but no plasma weaponry (until a BFG at the very end, a reward for continuous players). You get the rocket launcher eventually, but not until later in the map with not a whole lot of rockets. The end result was the grindiest map so far, and probably the least fun. But I finished it this time.

 

Again, visuals are this map’s strength, with a combination of low lighting levels, dark textures and an ominous moody sky all contributing to the atmosphere. A high-tempo midi deviates from that somewhat, but is a better match for the style of combat. Except at the end when it doesn't loop correctly.

 

MAP33 - “Nil” by Mechadon

Spoiler

 

And now for the secret-secret maps, from now on I am playing 100% blind. Unfortunately, it has no name. Also, down to my own carelessness, I had to play through this twice, as I quit it part way through having stored key frames but not saves!

 

That ended up probably influencing my opinion of the map for the better, as the second time round I played more aggressively and had more fun as a result.

It has a layout that somewhat reminds me of Congestion 1024’s super-secret map, with a central starting area and outer loop, with the great abyss beyond. The map is structured in several waves, with additional areas opening up as you clear each wave, at first whole new areas, later just keys (and the exit). The combat is engaging and gives you multiple things to think about, with cacos and lost souls approaching from the great beyond, together with teleporting enemies in the core area and perched enemies on the sides and highest reaches of the fortress. The map is also highly detailed without said details getting in the way of gameplay. As with map 15, you can again insta-die just by stepping in the wrong place even though you’re still on the brick and not in the abyss outside.

 

Overall though, I had lots of fun and it was much better than the other two secret maps. In fact, and it feels weird saying this, but it's my favourite map so far. I didn't think I'd ever be in a situation where a Map 33 was my favourite map, but here are we....of course, we still have 16 more maps for that change (and change it will :P)

 

 

MAP34 - “**NULL**” by Mechadon

Spoiler

 

Another nameless map, this is certainly no pushover. Again we have a gradually revealing layout surrounded by the great beyond, except this time you start in the outside and do a loop around until you make a complete lap, and open up the map completely save for the central area. Monster placement is devious, with perched cybers and masterminds in outer platforms acting as area denial, in combination with mid-tiers at ground level, imps perched up top, and floating enemies approaching from the great beyond. All of this ensures you can never stay long in one place. The cybers and masterminds get crushed…eventually. It might be easier to kill them, but to be honest I never tried. I don’t know what that does to your ammo situation (which is plentiful if you don’t shoot them).

 

Eventually, archviles enter the mix. Fortunately, each corner provides a little cubby hole to hide from their attacks, but don’t stay there too long else you’ll get swamped by approaching demons or cyber rockets. I certainly died a lot on this map, but I enjoyed it.

 

The exit isn’t a real exit, but teleports you to another area where you die instantly. I guess that is to avoid throwing source port errors since it’s a map 34? (we are in the days before UMAPINFO, after all)

 

 

Map rankings:

Spoiler

MAP33
MAP5
MAP1
MAP14
MAP34
MAP12
MAP6
MAP9
MAP2
MAP7
MAP13
MAP4
MAP31
MAP3
MAP10
MAP8
MAP11
MAP15
MAP32

EDIT: Also nice to see some of the mappers from the project give their commentary. You don't see it so often, but it's always appreciated when it happens, I appreciate the extra insight

Edited August 15, 2023 by Horus

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Continuous/Blind/Saves (if needed)

Map 15:  The Inmost Con'den'sed - Jimmy

100% kills and secrets

Time: 7:45

 

Is this the first non-deathmatch Jimmy map? Sure looks like according to the wiki. This shrunken-down version of the IWAD map feels like you're fighting in a smaller part of a bigger area with the outside design that isn't part of the playable area. There's a lot of high threats here and the RL is actually useful at a few parts despite the cramped play space. There's a few traps that work well too, like the red lift imp/rev combo. I didn't like the blue key tunnel that spits you out at the end, since I actually fought the current and stayed inside it, only to have the bars in here close behind me, and I had to panic punch the imps, pinkies, and hell knight that gets literally thrown at you. At first I thought I soft-locked, but I did the bars back open by heading to the teleport destination. The secret exit was pretty easy to find, tho it's not obvious that switch is what causes it to open. Overall, a great start to an excellent mapping career! I liked this take on the IWAD map quite a bit, tho that tunnel was kinda out of place.

 

Map 15:  Skyscrape IV - Jodwin

100% kills and secrets

Time: 14:05

 

Man this map is intricate. Despite saying in the same 1024x1024 constraints, this map feels so much bigger, mainly due to this map's 4 main parts. There's a pillar with 4 switches on it. Each one you hit starts a new path that you have to complete in order to hit the next switch. The path for each switch is usually highlighted on the ground with an arrow, so you know how to progress. There's close to 200 enemies in this map, and it shows! There's a couple of spots where enemies show up outside of the playable area to increase the feel of the map's size. It's complex, but thankfully not too confusing. Things open up all the time, switches appear in spots they weren't before, etc. The only lame part of the map to me was slow-rolling the SM with the SSG/RL, but that's not a big deal. I did miss the secret exit at first, as it's not obvious and not a secret, so just return to the center area. Overall, one of my favorites in the WAD so far!

 

 

[Snikle]

MAP14 - Deception (HMP)

Cool opening area with many monsters outside the playable space, making the map feel larger than what’s accessible. Everything here is easily dispatched with the standard shotgun. I also made sure to damage some of the cacos and kill the imps through the window before opening the front door. The 2 pinkies inside were easily killed as well. The whole opening area is really nice looking.

 

Inside the fortress I had to pistol another caco, but then got some shells and an SSG. I killed the 2 chaingunners in 1 shot, then the Hell knight. On the other side was another switch and some more chaingun ammo. The dual switched in this room can lower either the supercharge or armor, it seems. I took the armor. In the now-unlocked upstairs hallway, there’s more of the expected chaingun boys and imps. There’s a sequence of 3 shootable swtiches that each only spawn in like 2 monsters, kinda felt a bit like padding, but not horribly so.

 

Hitting all of the switches opens a door to the central courtyard. I killed the hell knight and anything else I could from the upper windows, so it wasn’t too bad. The monsters that teleport in took a fair share of my health though, dang sergeants. Then the next switch lowered what was apparently the exit. After leaving once I popped back into my last save to find the sole secret, a backpack hidden in a wall down in the front hallway.

 

MAP15 - The Inmost ConDens'd

A Doom II favorite, shrunken down to fit the constraints. The opening is fun and frenetic, since the shotgun is a good distance away from the start (relatively speaking). Once the nearby chaff is dead, hit the switch between the 2 yellow skull blocks in the corridor opposite the pinkie pen. Getting the yellow key down in the little pit brings forth a Hell Knight above, who took a lot of my health by having the high ground. Inside the door where it came from are some stairs down to an imp area. Grab the rockets and go through the little door to hit a little switch that will raise the blood to another switch outside where a chaingunner once stood.

 

Since I was low on health, the next part was precarious and required a few deaths/reloads. Eventually I learned to stop going around the corner and waking up the rev and additional demons on top of the Hell Knight and demons on the other side. After killing the HK and turreted hitscannners, I went through the door next to where I came out from and went across to the other side, killing cacos and a baron. I woke up the rev and his friends from up here, but autoaim didn’t work too well so I killed them from below. Hitting a switch on the Baron’s side allows access to the little pinkie pen from earlier.

 

Here you can hit a switch that gives the blue key, which opens a little teleporter. The teleporter leads to a little punching-fish-in-a-barrel section that’s super fun until a Hell Knight shows up. It ate a lot of health, and then came a revenant ambush to get the red key. Once it is obtained, hit another switch in the pinkie pen to raise a lift to kill some revenants (who can also be killed through the bars behind the doorway). The supercharge is now unlocked, giving me much needed health. The chaingunner assault wasn’t as bad as it sounds.

 

Kill the arch vile and anything he brought back, and the exit is yours for the taking. I didn’t find either secret, but this map had enough fun gameplay to where I don’t feel like I’m missing out (Reading things here, I'm glad I didn't go around trying to look for it). Amazing map that really felt like it broke free of the spatial constraints.

[Celestin]

MAP16: Nocturnal Abyss by brinks

 

Returning to the regular map roster, we have a small techbase, which masks its size with 3d bridges. The opposition is mostly non-threatening with two exceptions: a teleporting squad of hell knights and hitscanners and the bridge with cacodemons and pain elementals slowly approaching. The latter are a royal pain to take care of, they spawn so much lost souls that will drain your ammo. The ending reuses a starting room, turning it into a lift and throwing in a baron that you have to kill with a pump action, 1993-style.

 

After the secret maps, I welcome a low-key breather with open arms.

[RHhe82]

MAP16: Nocturnal Abyss. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 46/46 K, 1/1 S, 14/14 I. Comp. time 11:04

 

At first I loved this map. It looks slick, a dark techbase place in a void, with an ending that opens a caco/pain elemental mouth in a distance in a manner reminiscient of Sunlust's God Machine. The fight for blue key was a difficult one for me, had to retry that particular fight a couple of times to make it, and in the successful attempt I hid in the corners, hoping the chaingunners would distract the hell knights. Still I think I had a bit of luck there.

 

My love for the map turned to merely liking the map quite a bit -- I wish the player had at least been given a SSG, because the end fight with the cacos, pain elementals and a mancubus was painful with a single-barrel boomstick, not to mention the final cramped quarters baron. It's not like the ending was tedious, but it wasn't particularly fun, either.

 

I loved the detailing; the simple detail of hexagonal floor tiles being worn out individually always makes me happy.

[cannonball]

MAP32 - “Oil Rig” by Mik57, Mechadon

 

I really didn't gel with this one, the start is hideous (Especially climbing the stairs for the first time), there are so many things that can kill you (including the sodding stairs and the fact that all the monsters get an extra advantage over you here). The map isn't so bad after dispatching cyber number 1, but even then you are faced with a slow slog through a series of rooms that will be handled with the SSG. In the end it just wasn't fun in any way. Lots of hell nobles, another two cybers and countless other monsters that again will mostly be dealt with via the SSG. Thanks for the BFG at the end, that helped with one monster (Cyber number 3 that was still alive at the end).

I appreciate the visuals and the fact that map was rather audacious with monster usage, but I wasn't a fan overall.

 

MAP16 - “Nocturnal Abyss” by brinks

Certainly a visually impressive map with lots of technical knowhow to build the map into a full 3 dimensional way using lots of sector bridges. However there are lots of moments where you feel that the SSG will be handed to you, but it never comes. In the end a lot of the combat isn't hard (Even with just the shotgun), but it is rather tedious (You can run out the caco/PE/Mancubus trap and slow roll the lot and the baron at the end cannot leave its platform so you can sit on the lift and kill it fairly safely). 

In the end this was one of the best looking maps so far, but the gameplay was rather lacking after the halfway point where bigger monsters become more numerous.

[Tiramisu]

MAP15 - The Inmost Con'dens'ed

 

Though Inmost Dens is not among my favorite DOOM 2 maps, it does seem like the perfect candidate for miniaturization! This map aimed to fit a single "island" into the bounds, and I must say the result was pretty convincing - especially with the clever use of out-of-bounds scenery, to really make the player feel like it's part of a larger area. Now, I didn't really care for the combat here (it felt too cramped and grindy for the most part), and that secret exit switch was indeed just mean (seriously, there really wasn't any reason to close it off like that!). But in the end, the novelty factor of exploring a tiny version of a familiar setting ended up carrying the map, and I had a good time with it none the less - especially since there was indeed quite a bit to explore in there, with lots of unexpected twists and turns in the progression!

 

As for the secret maps, I think I'm just going to portion them over the next few days - probably one per day, since I'm hearing they're longer than most maps so far!

Edited August 16, 2023 by sq. Tiramisu

[DFF]

I -played and added my review of this map back on the 12th but forgot to post it oops, well time to try and catchup anyways.

Map12 - Spitshine
K: 100 |I: 92 |S: 100 |
Gzdoom UV Continuous, CCards 5.0, Zero Tolerance
Cards: Cacodemons fire continuous projectiles, HKs have bouncing projectiles

 

Speak of the devil and it will appear. This map had some streches of long enough wall that i found a wild card. Hopefully something interesting will come my way.

 

Map12 is another well dressed map in terms of detailing. A quaint base with some window rockery and a flowing water tunnel. These simple use of boom effects do give some nice life to the map, as the water flowed under a grate that was an invisible bridge giving some (albeit small) 3d effects. The locations are interesting despite their limited space, and combat was nice. A little on the lighter side but not bad. Another pleasant map that helps un-sour my mood from the last couple maps.

 

Map13 - Assault
K: 0|I: 58 |S: 0 |
Gzdoom UV Continuous, CCards 5.0, Zero Tolerance

Replaces all enemies with one extremely angry revenant, pain elementals drop shotgunners on death, mancubus fire projectiles continuously

 

Upon picking the wild card, all enemies vanished, the music was silent, and i was left in an empty map. I cautiously trudged down the slew way into the main reservoir, the automatic doors causing uncertain fear as i'm looking for the one angry skeleton. Upon trying to enter the main inside of the water treatment plant. the monster made himself known. What i got was a mega-speed juiced up revenant that repeated the wakeup scream repeatedly as it tried to chase me down. It couldn't launch missiles but punched me at rapid speed, doing only the fraction of the damage but chipped away my health consistently. He was too fast to run away from and bullets did nothing to stop his angry advance. The map design allowed some respite away from its hatred, sending me back to the top of the map where it couldn't hunt me down no more. However after flipping the red switch i had to run past him into the exit. I managed to escape with little health all the while it was always on my back.

Overall a funny little gimmick card that wasn't too much of an annoyance due to the shorter maps. I also checked map14 to see if i was permanently playing with this card (which i didn't want) and seems that despite all cards being 'permanent' this was a one and done, likely a good choice.

Because of the card shenanigans i really can't rate this map, as is only fair, but does seem nicely designed and uses effective re-use of space.

 

Map14 - Deception
K: 89 |I: 66 |S: 100 |
Gzdoom UV Continuous, CCards 5.0, Zero Tolerance

Revenant projectiles bounce off walls, A defence totem can spawn to buff enemies, Pain elementals never infight

 

A rather spiteful map that starts with a monster trapped courtyard, where one sound awakens more demons that easily handled. Going inside is safer but not by much as the space is packed with demons. The various traps this map has are mostly in palce to box the player into the corridors, with about half of the enemy roster feeling like revenants. The design is well done and has a demonic station vibe to it. The 3-switch hallway got repetitive as each revealed more revenants and each gained the player more space than the last switch, meaning that the switches progressed hardest to easiest. The final room floundered a bit as there wasn't much in terms of opposition, and lowering the exit spawns more revenants but in the starting courtyard where they are no threat. Mot too bad but some shortcomings in the combat design were noticeable

 

A side note, i may abandon Zero Tolerance since the weaponry can't compete with the additive card effects. If i do i may pick another companion weaponset or go vanilla and restart the card chain, we'll see.

 

Rankings:

Spoiler

Map06

Map05

Map12

Map07
Map08

Map14

Map03

Map02

Map10

Map09

Map01

Map04

Map11

DNR: map13

Cards:

Spoiler

Revenant missiles bounce off walls
-Angry Revenant stalked map13-

Barons gain regenerating shields

Knights throw explosive projectiles

One marked monster spawns 100 mystery eggs

Imps can consume corpses to gain new effects

Demon Imps adjust aim

Spawns fake items that spew grenades

Imps throw illusions out
Soldiers (CGunners) gain +Fast Monsters
Imps can carry other monsters

Devil Imps fire explosive projectiles
Monsters never infight

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by DFF

[Horus]

MAP16 - “Nocturnal Abyss” by brinks

 

Well after all that, time for a bit of a break, right? Well, for one thing the quiet and melancholic piano-led midi for this one is a radical departure from what we’ve heard so far, and the action is dialled back multiple notches to match. The only weapons this map gives you is the shotgun and chaingun (and bullets are scarcer than shells). It starts off as a casual stroll of hitscanners and imps, before bit by bit revealing its teeth.

 

Unfortunately, its main setpiece is a horrendous grind of single shotgunning lost souls, cacos and pain elementals, which is even more horrendous if you don’t manage to get to the PEs early. This ruined the map for me unfortunately. The ending baron of hell is an incredibly close-quartered fight, but is possible to deal with without getting damaged with optimal movement.

[bioshockfan90]

MAP16: Nocturnal Abyss

 

100K | 92I | 0S

 

Same vein as MAP02 as far as famous PWAD tributes go, although this one’s a bit more subtle and has its own identity. A nice somewhat-serious slow burner with a couple of action-packed moments make this a sweet little map. Usage of space is excellent here, with bridges and lifts aplenty. The blue key ambush is easily the hardest part of the map; after that, you’re basically home free. Really liked this one, still not as good as 05 but handily takes 2nd place. 4.5 out of 5.

 

MAPRANKS:

Spoiler

MAP05

MAP16

MAP14

MAP15

MAP07

MAP01

MAP09

MAP06

MAP04

MAP13

MAP02

MAP10

MAP03

MAP12

MAP08

 

 

[Flyxolydian]

Wait... there's SUPER secret levels too? OH BUOY...

Map 33 - Nil:
Very fun little open-plan slaughtermap, that definitely has some zing to it. The waves get progressively more difficult as you proceed through the map, culminating in a Cyberdemon, then a double Archvile showdown. The latter two killed me on my blind run, as a man had no cells left to merk them with. Second time round was much easier, as you can open up multiple waves at once, and turn the demons on themselves.

Map 34 - Null:
Another voidscape slaughtermap? Alright then.
This one is much simpler, but far more annoying. The Cybers are very good at catching you with a rocket from god knows where, and the map gets completely choked up by FAR too many Lost Souls. With stock textures, and the fact you can't even exit the map, seems like 'null' effort was put into this one.

Back to the main story:

Map 16 - Nocturnal Abyss:
Right... this started off so well. Great visuals, and the fights (while a bit spongey) were quite fun. Then the Caco/Pain Elemental wave happened, and all the fun was gone. What is with this WAD's authors and their aversion to placing bigger weapons in their maps? There's several now that have ended up being slogs to complete because of the lack of an SSG/Rocket Launcher, and it's kind of annoying. It's a shame, because visually this is one of the highlights so far.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP16 - Nocturnal Abyss - Brinks (95%K/92%I/0%S):

A map that feels a little bit bigger than it actually is, possibly because of verticality and outdoor areas, that I have to say they look really good. The map has some interesting encounters, one at the starting area, one outdoors, the outdoors fight is a cacoswarm that will leave you no sweat, as they take too much time to reach your face, by that point, you will eliminate most of them cacos. The rest of the map is just incidental combat, nothing much more. I really like the music and the atmosphere it gives though, the presentation of the level is a high point in this case.
So far I'm seeing most mappers know well how to make maps more immersive with the use of fake 3D bridges and floors, just as with the original Congestion at times, but in Claustrophobia feels like most mappers actually know what they are doing.

(UV - Playthrough/PRBoom+)

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP31
MAP09

MAP05
MAP16

MAP03
MAP07
MAP15
MAP13
MAP12
MAP14
MAP06
MAP02
MAP04
MAP01
MAP32
MAP08
MAP10
MAP11