The DWmegawad Club plays: Doom 2 In Spain Only

[Tarnsman]

Map 05:

Not too many fun facts for this one. This map was designed to be Sandy E2 city sandbox but filtered through McGee E1. I wish I still had the very first version of this map which was made around the same time Fonz made Map 04. It was hilariously small and cramped and I'm glad I scrapped it.

 

On the music side: I had half-jokingly asked Jimmy if he could just take D_DOOM and make the D2ISO version of it. I really enjoyed what Jimmy came up with in El Destino Amargo, particularly how the start tricks you into thinking it's the original track before it transforms.

 

Map 06:

This map is actually dangerously close to vanilla visplane limits in a lot of places. The directional outdoor lighting is something that vanilla doom does not handle very well. Even though the ceiling is replaced with sky the directional lighting still generates a ton of visplanes on the sky ceiling which makes even basic compositions have far more than you'd expect. There are a few architectural elements such as this wall that exist to block visplanes, something that I'd typically have to do for a far more complex project like BTSX or TNT2, not something I'd thought I'd need to do in a TWID-lite. 

 

The midi for this map is named "Pseudowoodo" which, beyond being just a terrific title, is a reference to Will Wood. When originally brainstorming the soundtrack, Jimmy had posted Chemical Overreaction by Will Wood as song suggestion when we were trying to come up with a general sound to aim for. I eventually asked Jimmy if he could make a "Willy Woody" sounding song and he gave us this.

[RHhe82]

MAP07: Fácil de Muertos. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 168/168 K, 1/1 S, 1/1 I. Comp. time 14:16

 

I remembered having played this at least twice before. I guess have done an additional partial playthrough at some point. Anyway, somehow the first segments of the map, for some reason, conjure up stressful images that this gon' be hard as balls. Turns out my memories aren't that accurate, I found Facil de Muertos enjoyable -- not easy, but quite doable, and quite fun at that, too. Barrels do a lot of the work for you. Another evidence of my failing memory: I was 100% certain that a spider mastermind would be revealed in the center of the towery structure with the red glowing walls. Upon exiting the level with "only" two archviles there and a fun pistol zombie slaughter sequence, I had to check if I was really playing on UV. I was.

 

Despite the stressful initial impression, this may be my favourite so far. Instead of browny city feel, this one feels more akin to TFC. Not complaining. I still maintain that D2:ISO is a fine-looking mapset -- mappers (I guess mostly Tarnsman) display full command of the texture set and colour scheme.

 

This map didn't have any deliberately bootleggy tropes as far as I could see. Or if there were, none of them annoyed me. Great map.

[brick]

GZDoom, Doom strict compat, software, HNTR, blind, continuous with saves.

 

MAP06 - “La Trituradora” by Tarnsman
I'm really starting to enjoy the architecture and aesthetics, and I liked the way the map is laid out, it's pretty easy to navigate despite the complexity, the smaller size helps I think. Of course there's a big crusher that you see early on, some time before you have access to it. The map title back-translates to The Shredder, which I guess could refer to the inordinate number of hitscan ambushes (I didn't think of the wine-making until I read espika's post, very clever). They still feel cheap but they haven't reached the point where I'm actually annoyed, and aside from them I enjoyed the rest of the combat and the map in general.

 

MAP07 - “Fácil de muertos” by Tarnsman
I didn't see much of the original Dead Simple here but felt it was more a callback to the D2INO map with the predominantly hexagonal architecture, though it fortunately steers clear of the excesses of that map and does the gimmick much better. My favourite part was the NW corner, with its succession of switches slowly peeling away the room one layer at a time, I really enjoy this kind of sector machinery. The SE section was a bit surprising, I expected an ambush of course, but it was a humorously easy fight instead. Fun map, with a track that could've totally been a Risky Martini Ricky Martin original.

[Celestin]

1 hour ago, RHhe82 said:

Another evidence of my failing memory: I was 100% certain that a spider mastermind would be revealed in the center of the towery structure with the red glowing walls. Upon exiting the level with "only" two archviles there and a fun pistol zombie slaughter sequence, I had to check if I was really playing on UV. I was.

I think you might have confused this with MAP11, which also uses hexagons as building blocks and does feature a spider mastermind.

[Biodegradable]

MAP07: Fácil de muertos

UV | Continuous | GZDoom

 

I love the map's level progression with how the outer layers of the architecture slowly unfold, peeling away to reveal new areas that mix and converge with one another. The hexagon centerpiece is also really interesting and adds a lot of charm. The muted colour scheme of brown and red in certain areas works surprisingly well too. I wish I had more to say about this one, but nothing else really springs to mind. I do like it a lot though and feels more memorable than most.

 

 

[Bertt91]

Let´s go. I´ll play in a few days. It looks very good.

 

 

 

 

[Azure_Horror]

A bit more words about Map 05 (“Los Túneles de Residuos”, the one with chocolate seas)

12 hours ago, Tarnsman said:

Not too many fun facts for this one. This map was designed to be Sandy E2 city sandbox but filtered through McGee E1.

This was a really clever design approach. “Los Túneles de Residuos” captures the feel of Doom 2 very well. This is, hands down, is one of the best "Doom 2 the way ID did" levels that I have ever played. Essentially, Downtown done right, and with a tiny bit of Chasm and The Pit included. And a real joy to play!

 

Speaking of Doom 2...

My original playthrough of Doom 2 was on continuous. And a big part of that OG Doom 2 experience for me is collecting an oversized stash of rockets to carry from map to map. Sadly, Doom 2 In Spain Only rations its rockets quite strictly.

Thus I decided to change my playthrough style a bit: I have added a Mod with very ammo efficient rocket launcher (Vepser), and now I will play continiously starting from map 06.

 

 

Map 06 - “La Trituradora” by Tarnsman

Pistol start, Vesper mod -complevel 21, UV, loading is allowed

 

Welcome to the real Difficulty Spike Town, population: Zombies, Demons and Wine.

The chaingunner nests are especially evil this time around: the entrenched gunners shoot from unexpected directions, and cover eachover quite well. Besides our hitscanner buddies, there is damaging floor (Red Grape Juice rather than Hot Chocolate, but it still hurts), and also the first appearences of barons and an archvile.

 

On top of that, there is no SSG (on HMP and UV), no Plasma rifle and a strict ammo rationing. Luckily enough, the melee weapons are provided in full, and there are to easily accessible secrets with a super charge and a blue armor. Green armors are also readily provided.

 

Most memorable sections:

1) Archvile miniboss room: I played quite a number of hard wads, so I know how to deal with Archviles. Despite that, I am still quite scared of those bastards. But the Yellow key battle was a real breath of fresh air, when it comes to a Vile Duel: there is lots of cover, there are two convenient chaingunners to distratc both the Vile and the player, and the setting is perfect. When I chose to play Doom as hobby, I didn't expect to get ambushed by an Archvile, while exploring the Wine Cellar!

2) The crusher, and the Grape Juice channel - this was an evil section, but also quite an inetersting one. Without the SSG, barons are really annoying, but the crusher does help to solve that problem, and I also had the devastating Nox Launcher cannon, thanks to Vesper Mod! Apart from barons, the hidden grape juice cannal is filled with yet another batch of entrenched chaingunners, but they didn't feel that annoying in the end.

 

Playing the map without the Vesper Mod: I indeed replayed the map mod-less, to see, how would it affect my experience. Not gonna lie, the ammo rationing got on my nerves quite a bit. However, in the end i did manage to finish the map. Ammo was roughly comparable with my Vesper playthrough, with one big difference: with Vesper mod, I left the map with 10 rockets. With normal doom 2 arsenal, I had no rockets left. Perfect! My plan to use Vesper mod for hoarding rockets on continious UV playthrough does indeed work!

 

Final Thoughts: “La Trituradora” was a pretty cruel map to pistol start. I also wasn't keen on not getting the Super Shotgun on UV. However, I think that not including the SSG was a better choice: it does make the archvile fight even more memorable, and also encourages more creative solutions to fights, like explointing the crusher fully, or maximizing splash damage with rockets. And the berserk pack together with blue armor and the supercharge allow for some funny High Risk - High Reward plays.

Conclusion: between the unexpected wine cellars, the really catchy midi, and the unsusual gameplay, I really enjoyed playing and re-playing “La Trituradora”. Maybe this would be one of my favorite maps of the WAD... We'll see.

 

 

Map 07 - “Fácil de muertos” by Tarnsman

Continuous from map 06, Vesper mod -complevel 21, UV, reloading is allowed.

 

Gotta say, the start of the map was really fun. An SSG right in front of you. A plasma rifle close nearby. And explosive barrels everywhere. Now my continuous arsenal lacks only the BFG. Nice!

 

As for the map structure itself - the map is quite inventive, with lots of hexagonal geometry, and unexpected uses of verticality. The visual design manages to organically combine abstract functionality with cozy realism (kinda like paintings by Picasso, BTW... Interesting, do Picasso art vibes in Doom map count as a Spain reference?)

 

Though I played with mod, and also on continious, the map seemed much more generous with resources when the previous ones. It seemed that gameplay goes away from ammo rationing, and allows to shoot demons left and right with powerful guns. (I did replay the map with unmoded pistol start, and the ammo allowance is indeed more generous this time around)

 

Very fun map. I must say, it feels less like its own thing, and more like an appetizer for Map 11 (I played ahead for quite a bit). But this is not a bad thing at all.

Edited September 7, 2023 by Azure_Horror

[bioshockfan90]

MAP07: Facil de muertos

 

100K | 100I | 100S

 

If I had to guess what the translated title is, it’d be “simply, you’re dead!”.

 

This map is mean-spirited, man. A good majority of the barrels, especially at the beginning, feel elaborately placed so that the tiniest mishap on a monster’s part will have them all detonating at once and sending you into the abyss. Traps are EVERYWHERE on this map, with it almost becoming comically absurd at one point in the map with a honeycomb-like space gradually lowering all its parts, then those parts lowering in on themselves and looping together like some sort of Gordian knot and every time you press a button, there’s more monsters either teleporting in or monster closets being opened and I just found it funny is all.

 

The core of the map is honeycomb-like in nature as well, actually now that I think about it most of it is hexagonal in general. We get a break from the browns to a more Plutonic-guac green and metal, and I don’t just mean plutonic in color, I mean it in combat as well. While on HNTR there’s only 1 archvile; at that, he doesn’t pose that much of a threat - there are LOTS of chaingunners and revenants strewn throughout the map, as well as the standard Mancubi and Arachs that would populate a MAP07. I did not take the time to figure out what it is exactly killing them does, but if I had to guess it would have something to do with opening the exit up. 

 

On my first dozen or so attempts at the map, I hit a wall and kept dying over and over to the brutal start. Then I noticed a megasphere at the beginning, put two and two together and after successfully attaining the megasphere secret I was able to get through the map in my next 2 or 3 attempts. Do I feel like it’s possible without grabbing said secret? Absolutely, people are Doom gods out there, I’m just not one of them and therefore am grateful that the mapmaker decided to throw us casuals a bone. Is it just me or are SR40 jumps just part of playing Doom now? I don’t find it particularly hard, and I even use it in some IWAD maps to speed things up. I digress, I’m getting off topic.

 

‘Facil de muertos’ is cruel, hilarious, absurd, and striking in its design and aesthetic, both in terms of visuals and combat. It’s my second favorite of the WAD so far (sorry wine crusher, you stay at the top for now) just in how much of a departure from the prior maps it is while still sticking to its roots of a more ‘Vanilla+’ approach to its whole schema. 4.7 out of 5.

 

MAPRANKS:

Spoiler

MAP06

MAP07

MAP02

MAP01

MAP05

MAP03

MAP04

 

 

[Pechudin]

MAP07: Facil de Muertos (UV, No-Save; Deaths: 0)

"Easy to kill?". While the map is harder than the previous ones, it was still not too hairy. The most trouble was had in the initial opener of the hexagonal-lowering setpiece when a pair of Chaingunner opens up on you from each side. After that enough space was provided to safely dispose of any baddies with the Rocket Launcher. Still, a really nice example of a map opening up like a flower.

 

I guess this map was somewhat inspired by the MAP07 from D2INO, althought that one was a total slog for me. Guess going from 3 to 6 sides really helped. I had no real ammo or health problems, and I found the Soulsphere early (not that it was hidden in any meaningful way). The final area poses some questions - we emerge into a courtyard, and find out the building behind us is some kind of Hell-corrupted industrial facility. What were we doing in there? If I had to assign names, this one would be far more worthy of "Industrial Zone" or "The Factory" than the MAP12 or MAP15 of the original D2.

 

Rambling aside, a good map. I like it when the map transforms and my careful playstyle continues to pay dividends. We'll see how it goes in the future.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP07 - Facil de Muertos - Tarnsman (As El Pedersen) (100%K/I/S):

How poorly translated is the title? Look, this just sounds like a Latin-American tried to make fun of Spanish dubs, "de muertos" is a dumb expression I could only hear from Spaniards, so I don't know, it is usual for Spaniards to have this kind of translations like "A Todo Gas" (Full on Gas or something like that) for "Fast and Furious". Me being Argentinian, and for that, latin-american, I would chose something like "Mortalmente Simple" which translates to "Deadly simple", but the correct translation would be "Muerte simple" or rather "Muerto simple", the latter just sounding plain bland and, both of those are literal translations instead of puns (Translating puns is one of the struggles Spanish dubbers suffer through).


I really like this map, TOTALLY the hardest one yet. Some days ago, Azure_horror warned me about hitscan abuse, and I suffered it a bit of that yesterday, today, this map just felt like total abuse. What I really like about this map, is the amount of hexagonal shapes and patterns in the layout, the layout itself is pretty good, and I really enjoyed the section where everything opens, starting from that lift sequence. What I did not like, is that it was really tight on ammo at times, so I have to maneuver a lot to get some good results. Luckly, I did not die a lot like stupid, but every time you end a sequence full of hitscanners, another one appears right after. It is totally exhausting for me, not in a good or bad sense at all, though, just a perk of playing through. Aesthetic-wise, it drops browns a little bit, and tries to somewhat vary in brown texture usage, with more wood and metal ones. There is some red present here that, just with the greens, give you more breath from sameyness. Totally different map, and so far the best.

Also, props to this one not being just a Dead Simple clone, not even a single mancubus was placed here, and I think that was the joke.

(UV - Playthrough/Crispy Doom)

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP07
MAP06

MAP05
MAP02
MAP04
MAP03
MAP01

 

 

Edited September 7, 2023 by DJVCardMaster

[Roofi]

Map 07 : "Fácil de muertos"

 

 

I think it's a kind of anomaly to find spiders in a beehive-shaped factory but that's Doom ! I have to say that the unusual hexagonal shapes and the particularly twisted progression contribute greatly to the "dancing" aspect. It's amazing how well the lively Hispanic music blends with Doom's eccentricity.

 

The overpresence of barrels was a source of frustration the first time I played this map but it increased the fun while replaying it. These add danger and chaos, and my favorite part is the area where lots of big sectors in order to reveal more monsters and eventually the path.

 

As for the visuals, the Hispanic theme is less pronounced and, to be honest, the presence of spiders, black metal and lava remind me a lot of the map 06 "The Crusher" from Doom II. In any case, although particularly spicy on discovery, "Facil de Muertos" is an ingenious revisiting of the "Dead Simple" concept. 

 

Grade : B+ (15/20)

 

 

[Celestin]

MAP07: Facil de muertos by Tarnsman (as El Pedersen)

 

Are you sure this isn't a Barrels o'Fun spoof? 

 

This is an interesting and spicy one. It's loaded with explosive barrels, employed mostly as a hazard. The map is made out of hexagonal tiles, which gives it a distinct look. The central point is a tower inside a pool of red liquid, an recognisable landmark previous maps lacked.

 

The gameplay is also very much to my liking, Facil de muertos is still trap-heavy, but it feels more organic when the map transforms itself. This is used to its fullest with the red key fight, a multi-stage setpiece that gradually unravels, revealing more monsters. D2ISO was relying on incidental combat and ambushes, so I'm glad we have a more modern fight. Then there's the ending, which distracts you with a teleporting mob of zombies, while an archvile resurrects killed monsters and another one blocks your exit.

 

I am aware this wad is supposed to emulate the 90's mapping, but Facil de muertos feels much more modern than previous six maps and, as a result, plays much better.

[cannonball]

MAP07 - “Fácil de muertos” by Tarnsman

 

There are a lot of really neat bits and pieces within this one, the core structure where the exit lies really stands out against the brown/metal. The red key reveals itself in a rather novel way, there isn't anything difficult here but the whole process is really engaging. The final stretch also sends out two archviles and a large horde of zombies that is fun to deal with and you should have enough ammo to dispatch everything with ease.

In the end i actually found this to be a little easier than the last few maps, probably given the general change in pace of the gameplay, relying less on hitscan and more on the other demons.

In the end this was just good fun, well presented both in texture usage and geometry. This was the best map so far.

[espilka]

MAP08 Trucos y Trampas - K: 100% / S: 100% (HMP, continuous)

Tally - Deaths: 18 / Secrets missed: 1

 

Not a Tricks and Traps clone at all, but still tricky and trappy - deceptivelly normal looking while containing treacherous shenanigans.  Everything is quite normal and pleasant all the way until the RK that's laying in damaging nukage.  A nasty teleporter grabbed me midway and threw me into another place, with a Soulsphere and couple of Revenants.  Only on third try i realize the wall in front of the powerup opens up and lets me run into safety - so that's two deaths right there, and during the game i was quite unaware of how the trap worked, just glad to get on dry undamaging land and killing the Pinkies and Revs, and a HK, from safety.  The second trap before the BK is also pretty frightful, needed again three tries with the hordes of Pinkies and Hell Nobles - being really quick with the RL was possible after taking the teleports and getting just enough distance to them for it to work.  The Arch-Vile behind the BK door also zapped me, but survived that one.

 

The layout is extremely intricate and well-designed, as usual, and it really was only at the end of the map that i'd got a grasp of my bearings.  Finding the only secret took a little humping, seemed pretty random, but i guess with a bit of luck you can find the radsuit while playing.  i just got to use it to get to the exit - which area's design i for some reason really liked.

 

A good map - very well-made, and interesting to play, just those ambushes weren't for me.  Guess i should say i feel like the map didn't really offer a reward for my struggles, just survival, and that made it a bit less than i would have expected.  On similar note, also a little bit less of damaging floors would be 'more', even if they are well-used, as for the most part they have been in this set, they really do get slightly tiresome when there's no rest from them (as any other overused feature/mechanism would in a set.)

 

This map by the way reminded me of what MAP31 is like, ha-ha!

 

Ranks:

Spoiler

MAP06 La Trituradora - 4.5

MAP07 Fácil de Muertos - 4.5

MAP02 Salas de Debajo - 4.5

MAP03 Las Vias del Trent - 4.5

MAP01 Entrada - 4

MAP05 Los Túneles de Residuos - 3.5

MAP08 Trucos y Trampas - 3

MAP04 El Foco - 3

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 07: Facil de Muertos

by South American McGee

 

Someone has a rather careless grasp on the plural forms of the language. Xiao....I mean South American McGee brings to us this complex of metal hexagons and barrels to provide explosive fun for the whole family. It also makes for a rather stiff entry point up to the second floor when spectres frustrate our efforts to pick off the hitscanners with initially spare weapons. And we were not playing very well here. It's kind of nice though, like the shiny red tech pillar in the middle with the Arachnotrons that are best dodged initially.

 

We do end up with better weapons though by the time we get the blue key which we use to open a door comprised entirely of constantly shifting floor sectors, tons of barrels and some incredibly deadly ambushes. Things ease up as the main floor lowers but ambushes continue right next to barrels and floor sections continue to be lowered to the extent that the entire room opens up. 

 

Not long after this, we enter the one true outdoor area of the map, covered with Spanish brown vines and concealing some kind of security station. Entering here will cause scattered zombiemen to teleport into the courtyard here. However, 2 Arch-viles also teleport to the shiny tech structure in the middle so save some for them. The exit can then be located by pressing a revealed switch near the top of this structure, causing the wide center to lower and reveal a teleporter. Cool to not see a straightforward Dead Simple clone but that opening might be pressing things a little. Constant pop-up traps kind of fit the tone however.

 

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[RHhe82]

MAP08: Trucos y Trampas. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 80/80 K, 1/1 S, 24/24 I. Comp. time 11:15

 

Another map I clearly remembered having immense difficulties with surviving -- especially the blue key ambush -- and finding the secret. I also have vivid memories of ammo starvation, and yet this time the map wasn't so bad. That said, the blue key ambush was a bit hairy, I'm surprised I survived it in only two attempts.

 

I also somehow remember having trouble with the red key surprise ambush, but that also went swimmingly this time, demons practically took care of each other. I wish I had also remembered the berserk pack being available from the get-go, now I found it only quite late into map when there was less need of it anymore other than healing purposes.

 

So, this may be the hardest map so far, although the difficulty is balanced by the map not being very long -- or at least it doesn't feel that long. Anyway, great map, not perhaps my favourite so far, but D2:ISO has so far been consistently good.

[DavitW]

AP07: Fácil de muertos
The barrels are a dangerous obstacle throughout most of this map. But at the same time they can be a valuable ally. You have to be careful with your ammo at the beginning of this map, but by the end you should have more than enough. Especially with all the plasma handed out behind the red door. I liked the room behind the blue door that fell apart as you flipped the switches. Not the first time we saw something like that, but it stood out enough to be unique.

 

MAP08: Trucos y Trampas
A step down in size from the last map, though a slight step up in difficulty in my opinion. Appreciate the fact my rocket didn't kill a single pinkie demon in the red key ambush. Doom RNG at it's finest. Though the fact I telefragged the archvile a moment later made up for it. I'm fairly certain my strategy for the blue key room trap was all wrong, but I somehow managed to luck my way through it. Looks were a little bland, but it flowed together well and the gameplay held up.

 

D2ISO07.zip

D2ISO08.zip

[Biodegradable]

MAP08: Trucos y Trampas

UV | Continuous | GZDoom

 

Much like its last two predecessors, MAP08 does an excellent job sticking out from the pack with it's intriguing architecture and level progression combined with a keen playfulness to the combat. I was expecting things to get a little more heated at this stage, though I feel like MAP07 was a bit more aggressive in comparison. Mind you, there's certainly a fair few devious traps and encounters to be had that's for sure. Fortunately, I'd barely used any of the plasma I'd accumulated over the past few maps to help me push through the stickier situations. Another one for the favourites list!

 

 

[bioshockfan90]

MAP08: Trucos y trampas 

 

100K | 75I | 0S

 

A bit of a breather from the last map, ‘Trucos’ gives you a bit of wiggle room at the start to relax and enjoy some incidental combat before throwing a nasty archvile at you with practically no room to dodge unless you know it’s coming, followed by a rather mean blue key trap that admittedly makes for some fun situations with teleporting away to safety as HKs and Barons teleport in to the main arena of the fight. 

 

Aesthetically, the metal/Spain theme from MAP07 remains, almost feeling like something out of Plutonia yet again. Are we *sure* this isn’t Plutonia in Spain Only? I mean, the thing placement certainly feels like it. Not much to say on this one. It ends on a bit of a weird note with just a quick trek down to the beginning area’s nukage pit after hitting a switch to access the exit. I was genuinely expecting more gameplay until I noticed I had all the kills and hit the switch. So, it’s a bit short for me but definitely far more approachable than IWAD MAP08. Aside from a few nasty moments it isn’t the hardest in the set so far, nor is it anything that special. I would probably put it below MAP05 but above 03. 4.1 out of 5.

 

MAPRANKS:

Spoiler

MAP06

MAP07

MAP02

MAP01

MAP05

MAP08

MAP03

MAP04

 

 

[Celestin]

MAP08: Trucos y trampas by Alfonzo and Tarnsman (as Sal Verde)

 

This is a compact map with some evil fights that I assume are the titular Trucos y trampas (though without the gimmickry of the original MAP08). The red key, placed in a nukage tunnel, teleports you to a nearby room (still on a damaging floor) and blocks your path with a wall of pinkies, while a pair of revenants harras you. The blue key requires you to survive a cramped ambush of hell nobles and pinkies (plus chaingunner snipers).

 

The Spanish version of Tricks and Traps gives me strong Plutonia vibes, both with its visuals and combat, which is something I always like. 

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP08 - Trucos y Trampas - Alfonzo & Tarnsman (As Sal Verde) (100%K/100%I/0%S):

How poorly translated is the title? It is the correct translation, good job!

This one may look brown but surely has ten times more personality than the earlier maps. This one spices up difficulty a lot, as most encounters for the keys, specially the red and blue ones, are going to be quite hectic, honouring the map's title. I would say key encounters are cheap tricks, the red key one, puts you in a big hurry, having to quickly use your rocket launcher to act, as yes, you will be gifted a soulsphere, but that's only to withstand the damaging floors you will be on for this squirmish. Revenants behind you, pinkies in front of you, killing the revs was my choice. Talking about damaging floors, I'm starting to hate them, for sure!. The real deal was the blue key encounter, as it placed you in a really small place with a lot of meat shields, and some of them were barons, so trying to escape this room was hard and the moment which I had died most of the time.
Luckly I've got the berserk pack before doing all of this, as ammo is scarce. I don't think it is a good idea to keep pistol-starting these maps. Every single bullet here counts, so if you can, try to drop under the small exit pit for a free berserk, and be prepared to use it a lot.

Another fine level, not as enjoyable as yesterdays map though.


(UV - Playthrough/Crispy Doom)

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP07
MAP08
MAP06

MAP05
MAP02
MAP04
MAP03
MAP01

 

 

[Pechudin]

MAP08: Trucos y Trampas (UV, Saves: 3; Deaths: 3)

Also known as "Where is my ammo?!". Perhaps I should've utilized the Berserk a bit more (or the Chainsaw), but in my defense the Pinkies (favorite 'zerk fodder) were either surrounded by other, decidedly more dangerous foes or were placed on the damaging floor. Speking of them, I am getting a bit peeved with the amount of times I need to pay health tax just to figure out what is around the corner.

 

Even with that gripe, the Red key trap was one where the damaging floor usage was fine. Soulsphere is provided and it's on you to save as much of it as you can. The fight is kind enough to telegraph which weapon is going to be the optimal one, and if you manage to quickly kill the Revenants while keeping the Demons busy with their mega-slow attack animation you should be fine. The Blue key fight on the other hand ... don't know about this one. The room gets filled with Demons and Nobles with not enough ammo to kill them all, and the mechanism to open the Blue key took some time (and all of three deaths) to figure out. In the final attempt I ran out of ammo, booked for the Blue key and ran past the Archie. Don't care for 100% kills thankyouverymuch!

 

TLDR: The BK fight leaves a bit of a sour taste in my mouth, but the rest of it is fine. Damaging floors are becoming a theme (but were non-egregious thus far). Needs more ammo.

[Catpho]

MAP03 - “Las Vías del Tren” by Alfonzo, Tarnsman

My favorite aspect of the combat is how it teaches the player to find ephemeral cover. Survival is often predicated on painstunning and using enemies as meatshields, which singles out the chaingun as the MVP in this early stretch of levels. Thus, the encounters technically go by fast, but it all comes down to how decisive one does the initial death dance. It is in-keeping with Tarns' thing placing style which has been described as "microtactics for survival"  — I understood this as very quick fights that have a high edge, where the solution requires a good understanding of in the moment tactics. This is done here in a low-tier variant, and this map, owing to its stated intent to be slightly cheeky with intentionally theatrical deployment of ambushes, is one of the more pure expressions of that combat style.

MAP04 -  “El Foco” by Alfonzo

Really good example of a short-form environmentally oriented obstacle course, with wacky, showy geometry reflecting and aiding the generally treacherous navigation. Maps like this, such as Doom II's "The Chasm", will often get divisive reactions; I suppose the reason is that those who hold Doom's environments as merely a facilitator, for either the demons within, pretty looks, or some narrative details, are going to be taken aback when the map itself is a constant monster that can't be put down through weapons.

MAP05 - “Los Túneles de Residuos” by Tarnsman

Azure's post already does most of the heavy lifting. As befits a map whose whole concept revolves around oppression in wide spaces, sort of a Zone of Influence* but with hitscan snipers instead of beefy hordes, it features some of the first "true" vistas of the mapset, where, unlike the deliberate awkwardness of "El Foco", you can run and take it all in:

 

The texturing theme's relative (solid & effective) simplicity ends up highlighting how a map built of squares and stairs can generate so much intrigue and wonder from every turn, especially after every hard won battle.

* I'm referring to the Hell Revealed section

MAP06 - “La Trituradora” by Tarnsman

 

Thematically suggestive and well-realized, where the location itself even determines the flair of certain key battles, resulting in some of the best pun(s) of the mapset up to this point. The charismatic scene-setting belies a more "normal" level from a conceptual standpoint for most of its real estate, relying more on bread-n-butter tactics than the high concept hooks that define 03, 04 & 05 (01 & 02 are perhaps a bit too meet & greet to be counted as something substantial, entertaining they may be). D2ISO's bread-n-butter is good enough in and of itself, of course, a solid mix of customarily flashy staging ideas & trash monster deployment that take advantage of the maps' many turned corners. I didn't realize this until reading bioshock's post, but it is true that everything before the crusher is a sort of gearing-up segment, in preparation for a nasty dungeon crawl trek for the YK with a vast attrition and area denial factor. It gives the map a nice progression arc and an exploration factor, the final result very well-rounded in terms of good Doom stuff at play.

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by Catpho

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 08: Trucos y Trampas

by Sal Verde

 

Starting, we seem to hear the familir opening notes of "The Dave D. Taylor Blues" but Latin instrumentation cuts in early enough that we know this'll probably be a dramatically different (and better) arrangement! Some architectural difference can definitely be detected here, with less of the sharp angles that one might see in a McGee map and instead, more squarish sections(and height variation/crampedness that I guess is fairly similar to what Shawn Green has done, looking back. Don't expect too much though outside of the titular situations. It looks like every other map visited thus far. The best parts were naturally the traps in question. First one might seem modest (three Imps, 2 pinkies, and a Revenant) but quick movement is absolutely essential here, especially if you haven't found a berserk pack.

 

The second trap is...interesting. Plunging into one pool of slime teleports us to the other end, next to a Soulsphere that we'll find is only here because of the rather large double-pronged ambush of Revenants and pinkies which the newly-acquired rocket launcher is for! Surviving here would've not been likely otherwise. Although there seems to be a nearby rad suit in a secret somewhere we missed because the wall it was behind was once again anonymous.

 

The last trap, then, follows a brief punching session with an Arch-vile and takes place in a well-organized slime pit we just came from, with Barons and Hell Knights on both sides and some pinkies bringing in auxiliary support. To some, it might be the hardest, but we weren't so concerned with how well we played, but the red key trap was probably harder.

 

Returning to the central pair of courtyards lands us right in front of an Arch-vile and insultingly, a plasma rifle after they've been dealt with. The nearby rad suit might be useful if you're running low on health. Basically a path has opened up to a room we probably should've seen earlier, Phobos Lab style with a couple of pinkies and the exit switch.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 8, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[Azure_Horror]

Map 08 - “Trucos y Trampas” by Alfonzo, Tarnsman

Continuous from map 06, Vesper mod -complevel 21, UV, reloading is allowed.

 

Tricks? Check! Traps? Check! Yeah, this was a very good map.

 

I feel like both the red key and the blue key encounters use some pretty evil modernist* encounters, but those encounters are very well scaled for Doom 2 the Way ID did design style. For me personally, this combination of Old-school and New-School felt very novel!

 

(*I use 'modernist' in general sense: Valiant, BtSX, Sunlust, Eviternity, Mapping At Warpspeed all count as 'modernist' here. And many other wads count too. All those WADs have multiple beautifully decorated and deliberately staged dynamic encounters in them.)

 

During my modded continuous playthrough I was wondering, if the map has not enough resources for an exciting pistol start gameplay... But then I checked Decino's playthrough of this map - and it seems that low-ish resources do not slow down gameplay by much. Pistol start loos like a fun experience, after all!

 

Another wonderful map, 8th in a row, BTW. Yes, so far this WAD feels like a prime Cacoward material. And the golden caco, awarded to D2iSO in 2021, implies that the quality of next levels will be just as good!

[Roofi]

Map 08 : “Trucos y Trampas”

 

 

"Tricks and Traps" figures among my favourites maps from Doom II. What I think about its spanish counterpart? I have mixed feelings about it and I know in advance that this map will be far down my list of the best D2ISO maps.

 

Let's talk about the positive first. "Trucos y Tramps" features has a neat architecture and an open layout that's always welcome. The gimmick aspect is much less present, resulting in a more " mundane " map, so to speak. That's not a criticism at all.

 

Now,  It appears that this is the second map, along with map 04, in which Alfonzo has put his stamp. And, I don't know whether the idea came from Tarnsman or Alfonzo, but having to walk on dangerous liquid without a radsuit isn't an idea I'm that keen on. Nevertheless, I have to admit that this aspect is more justified for a level inspired by "Tricks and Traps", and I approve the use of the traditional green slime rather than hot chocolate. Nevertheless, the tricks were much more varied in the Iwad map.

 

The other aspect on which I have a fairly neutral opinion is the limitation of ammunition. I respect this type of difficulty since I play in UV, but I strongly encourage you to play this wad in continuous instead of attacking directly in pistol start because you may be surprised by the difficulty of some traps.

 

I hesitated to give this map a B-, but that would be hypocritical, because despite the qualities I can find in the execution and the effectiveness of the traps, I didn't have much fun on this map and it doesn't match the creativity of Sandy Petersen's original submission.

 

Grade : C+  (11/20)

 

 

 

[cannonball]

MAP08 - “Trucos y Trampas” by Alfonzo, Tarnsman

 

I didn't mind saving ammo with the berserk here in fact most of the early revenants were taken down this way and that alone made ammo a non-issue for most of the run time. Aside from that you get two neat fights in the form of the red and blue keys, there is also an archvile between the two that can be quite bothersome (Funnily enough this one also succumbed to the fist), no option is ideal here because of the long sight-lines trying to retreat and standing your ground results in the archvile teleporting to the blue key area. 

In the end there is enough "Dickishness" to work with the map title, but the difficulty is pitched about right for where we are. A solid map with a couple of lively encounters.

[espilka]

MAP09 El Pozo - K: 97% / S: 100% (HMP, continuous)

Tally - Deaths: ~24 / Secrets missed: 1

 

Death count: ~10!  Both of the crushers obviously got me, the bozo of a Cyberdemon - residing in the titular Pit - got me twice or thrice (as i went back to kill him from near the elevator).  But my first death came in the library as a bozo Chaingunner sneaked behind me while i was dealing death to a bozo Revenant.  Dumbest death occurred by the Berserk, as the Imps just surrounded me and i gave up (i'm not usually that slow - well actually i survived it but with health in tatters, so counted it as a death and reloaded).  Better news is that i survived the ambush behind the YK door, as well as the final room with some more bozos, Mancubi, hitscanner closets, and HKs.  Apart from that bozo of a Cybie (i am too slow ever to ace him) this map really isn't that hard, and i imagine getting through quite easily on second run.  Also, got all secrets, think it was BFG9000 and three Soulspheres.  Finally, left the bozos of Hell Knights alive in the RK ambush to fight amongst themselves (yes, i see how the purpose must be for them to fight with the Big Bozo - i'd def try that on my 2nd playthrough), whilst hoping they wouldn't follow me through the teleport.

 

It's a really good city-map located in some little valley, and playes well.  While there is no particular setpiece there's enough variety in the areas and buildings to keep things interesting (that said, i think a city-map should be a bit more obtuse and confusing in its progression - i love all the city maps in the OG - so an overt criticism for this one is, the progression feels a bit streamlined and unbecoming of a city-map.)  My favourite areas were the library (of course, always love 'em), and the metal section with the Spectres.  Not amongst my favourites, but a solid map that would not be boring or frustrating on second playthrough.

 

Ranks:

Spoiler

MAP06 La Trituradora - 4.5

MAP07 Fácil de Muertos - 4.5

MAP02 Salas de Debajo - 4.5

MAP03 Las Vias del Trent - 4.5

MAP01 Entrada - 4

MAP09 El Pozo - 3.5

MAP05 Los Túneles de Residuos - 3.5

MAP08 Trucos y Trampas - 3

MAP04 El Foco - 3

 

[Tarnsman]

Map 07:

Hexagons are bestagons. The section behind the blue key door where you get the red key was fun to remove the various softlocks that could arise from hitting a switch through the floor or before a section had finished lowering. That section is also one of the best things about making maps with minimalist design that TWIDcore allows where sometimes you can just make a bunch of lowering floors without dealing with the hassle of more complex map geometry working with all the moving parts. 

 

Map 08:

Unlike the other scrap co-author maps I didn't do much to finish this one. This map is just three unreleased Alfonzo maps from his smorgasbord project of small maps that I stitched together and then edited where necessary to fit with the Spain theme.

[RHhe82]

MAP09: El Pozo. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 175/175 K, 4/4 S, 29/29 I. Comp. time 22:29

 

It seems to be a common trait of these maps that my previous playthrough(s) trigger stressful memories, but in the end it turns out to be not so bad. I clearly remember struggling with this one, but this time it was just the cyber that had me killed a few times, and mostly by me being silly and trying to be clever with the hell noble ambush. This time the start was a bit slow, because of my memories I tried conserving ammo and had mancubi do the dirty work for me in the open area.

 

Still, not my favourite map of the bunch. The crusher section with blue armour was still tiresome, and for the first time some of the traps (for instance the berserk pack one) felt like routine in Spain only. Hurtfloor was manageable, but I could live with cosmetic floor liquids for a change.

 

Also, I'm not sure I like the techbase aesthetics that pop up here and there. I mean, they're fine, but they feel like actual 90s instead of finely crafted 90s pastiche.