The DWmegawad Club plays: Doom 2 In Spain Only

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP11 - Circulo de la Muerte - Tarnsman (El Pedersen) (96%K/92%I/0%S):

How poorly translated is the title? Another fine dub around here, but I did not check if the automap said "O de la destrucción" though, can anyone confirm?

This one feels like a reprise for Facil de Muertos, it has a similar layout, with hexagonal patterns in sectors and a circular layout with some "go-to" stuff at the middle, filled with spiders, this time, not spiders in plural, but in singular. We have a big ass spider at the middle of it all, trying to snipe you all the time you are traversing the corridors near the so called "Circulo de la Muerte". Not only that, but texturing and aesthetics feel similar to those of MAP07, with some additionals, like those caves, the marble room, or even the really fancy city landscapes where revenants are sniping you from above. I've found this one more fun than said map, and almost at the same level as yesterday's map. I think I will go for this one because of how fun I've found the layout and encounters, but just by a little bit. In terms of difficulty it follows the past map's premise, with some focus around rocket launcher gameplay, and keeping it up with the (always hateable), killing floors. I have to say it is a solid level, really enjoyable.
I think what I hated about the visuals of this episode is the gray-ish skybox, which, combined with brown textures, the sum of the parts makes me feel like I'm colorblind. So I hope for the next set of maps to look a little bit more colorful, because it is tiring.
And with damaging floors I don't expect nothing, there is an AD map next, for example, and I know he loves to use them a lot.

(UV - Playthrough/Crispy Doom)

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP11

MAP10

MAP07
MAP09
MAP08
MAP06

MAP05
MAP02
MAP04
MAP03
MAP01

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 11: Curculo de la Muerte

by El Pedersen

 

I'm not going to have much to say here which is strange because this is probably the largest map so far. It's open-endedness makes it hard to summarize though. It's just the usual mix of rundown barrios with more traditionally Doom overhang-filled spaces. Some of the outdoor areas kind of feel Old Western as a result. The map does successfully live up to its name with a circular central indoor area containing a series of shiny red hexagonal pillars with a Mastermind in the middle it's necessary to dodge for much of the map. The weapon placement, in our experience, seem to ask the player to head in certain directions with required foreknowledge, but for the most part, there aren't all that many places where one can end up trapped. Amusingly, we missed the blue key because of the Cacodemon pressure the first go-around. Thanks to some stupid monster closet traps, we know Tarnsmn is probably responsible. At the same time, the Monster Condo homage in the marble hall is nice, but trouble is that we can easily end up underequipped for this. Otherwise, chaingunners and revenants can be found on ledges and windows throughout. The last bit before the red key is pretty nasty but on the other hand, it's easy to unintentionally teleport and telefrag the Mastermind in a more glorious fashion. After that is an odd mess of enemies at the end that's not hard to slide by. I have little to say, beyond I think Sandy's, ah, visual sense could not produce something like this.

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[cannonball]

MAP11 - “Círculo de la Muerte” by Tarnsman

 

This feels like the bigger brother of map07, unfortunately in my opinion it is also less fun. This map (Like Map09) has a habit of presenting the player with a situation where there are a few ways to completely snooker yourself, because the map is larger, this becomes more of a chore than having to restart the shorter "Pit". The map looks nice, has a good midi and is solidly built, but I struggled for the first half because I was short on rockets and didn't have the SSG, the second half that climaxed with the telefragging of the mastermind felt a little limp.

In the end this one felt a little disappointing after what has been a solid stretch of maps since around map05, its fine but I guess the big finale to this episode fell flat for me. 

[Roofi]

Map 11 - "Circulo de la Muerte" 

 

 

I read your comments, and while I strongly believe this is a rather outstanding entry in the megawad, they confirm it's hostile toward pistol-starters, especially if they discover at the same time. This level was a rather peaceful stroll in continuous whereas I had to carefully spend my shotgun shells in pistol-start. Moreover, as map 09, knowing where the most important items (armors, weapons, power-ups) are is key in order to appreciate the pronunced non-linearity of the level.

 

About the structure of the map, it should be renamed "Hexagon of Hell" but I'm quibbling because the irregular tall architecture and the abundance of cozy beige sand make this map incredibly pretty-looking and the upbeat music with the accoustic guitar also sounds like an epic adventure in the same way I felt in map 09. Beside the ammo starvation, this level has no really hot moments, except when you teleport in the plasma gun's room with the lowering walls revealing mancs and revenants.

 

As for the SM's dangerousness, it's amusingly anecdotal, and I get the impression that the boss just enhances the big central building rather than representing a real threat to the player.

 

So, "Círculo de la muerte" definitely ranks as my favourite map to play on continous mode until now but I have to admit that the adventure was a bit more abrupt and therefore a bit less enjoyable. I still prefer map 09 but map 11 definitely improves the "Circle of Death"s on every way too and it deserves a high grade from me.

 

Grade : A (16,5/20)

 

 

 

 

NB : There's a critical bug if you play this level on vanilla. On the way to the plasma gun, sectors of blood lower to reveal a passage, but once lowered the sector becomes buggy and placing a toe on it causes the game to crash. Fortunately, Tarnsman has installed a ledge to avoid having to step on this sector...

 

The action 37 "w1 floor lower to lowest floor (change texture)" tends to make the game crash, especially if you use dummy sectors. Vanilla Doom has some (annoying) quirks like this. here is a demonstration video.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited September 11, 2023 by Roofi

[espilka]

MAP12 La Fábrica - K: 100% / S: 66% (HMP, blind, continuous)

Tally - Deaths 38 / Secrets missed: 3

 

Having just finished this map i'm so impressed by it and had such a good time playing that i don't really know where to start.  It wasn't even brought down by one very unfair encounter that killed me six times before getting it right (died 9 times in all, and to be honest, didn't feel excessive or frustrating at all).  But what finally elevated the already awesome map was the extended secret area, not shown on the map, that went around most of the playing area, and ended up in gaining that delicious mud-tasting Megasphere, after which i honestly couldn't care less about the third secret.

 

The unfair encounter i'm talking about of course is the six Hell Knights in a smallish room that offers the RL, guarded from a closet by an Arch-Vile that covers most of the room, so that one has to keep running around, trying to kill the Nobles, while making sure to be covered from the AV zap at the right times, and avoiding the corners that have damaging floor.  Yeah, unfair as heck, but to be honest, pretty fun - especially since the amount of attempts required remained in reasonable range.  i was pretty pleased in surviving the other two Arch-Viles of the map along the way of mostly incidental combat.  There's a cool corridor with windows behind which are hanging corpses behind which are Chaingunners in which i died once also (and the secret area includes the other side of those windows.)  Can't remember if the exit-canal killed me or did i just reload (i realize it's nearly the same thing...) due to getting almost killed, with Spectres attacking from behind and Chaingunners from elevated position on both sides of the canal.  The aforementioned secret area also had some really cool visuals, often evocative of Final Doom.  One more death came by an unexpected encounter of two Hell Knights in cramped space that needed to be shotgunned.

 

The layout and design of the map are simply ingenious, with a lot of height differences and reuse of areas at different heights, with progression going through jumping over platforms.  That combined with classic visuals accentuated by highlights creates a nice environment to play through.  Have to say, at first i was wary because of the (once again) extensive use of damaging floor areas, but the risk they add just blends in perfectly.  i'll mention finally the mechanism to reach the exit area - raising a wall without a hint to what it's purpose actually is that works as an elevator to jump into the canal - as one small but inventive design highlight.  Can you guess my score for this yet? :P

 

(i might be missing something obvious, but i don't see much references to MAP12 the Factory from DII, but i'm guessing this is a nukage manufacturing facility. :D  Nah, i'm interested in reading from others how the name is connected to the layout.)

 

Ranks:

Spoiler

MAP12 La Fábrica - 5

MAP06 La Trituradora - 4.5

MAP07 Fácil de Muertos - 4.5

MAP02 Salas de Debajo - 4.5

MAP10 Base de Reabastecimiento - 4.5

MAP03 Las Vias del Trent - 4.5

MAP11 Circulo de la Muerte - 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

 

[Pechudin]

MAP11: Circulo de la Muerte (UV, Saves: No; Deaths: 4)

The ammo starvation (pistol-starter and unfamiliar with the map) and the presence of many heavy-weight enemies made this map an absolute slog for me. Want to explore and find weapons? Fuck you, here are some Mancubi, Hell Knights, Arachnotrons and also pain floors to discourage exploration. I did manage to beat this map saveless, but it took painful chaingun-sniping and single-shotgunning heavyweights while rationing rockets for things like sniper Arachnotrons. Took me 45 minutes to beat it (the map I mean), and it was not incredibly fun.

 

Looks-wise, this map is nice though. It feels like the MAP07, but ... bigger? Anyway, I like the sand-covered town squares in middle of brick tenements, although I wish I could explore them. Perhaps some doomcute inside, but alas, this is not that type of a map.

 

But yeah, the ammo situation was the worst offender for me. I was constantly having to probe around the map for an entry point, blowing through my scant shells and bullets. One notable encounter was the SSG room where I had to dance around Hell Knights to grab the SSG, which triggered a frantic run around the tight room trying to dispatch the newly released Chaingunners (or use HKs as shields) - admittedly, this was a fun encounter, got the blood pumping. The MIDI choice, I would have to say, does not fit the map at all. Ammo starvation and upbeat music did not mesh for me. Am I the only one who found the SSG/RL placement a bit ... tucked away in a corner? Without them the map was pretty painful to play (I found the SSG/RL in the final third of the map).

 

All in all, a painful slog of a map for me, but it does look nice. I got 70% kills and exited the level as soon as I could. The map did not incentivize me to find the rest of the enemies. Perhaps with different routing I could've had a better experience since I see other people not having much trouble (I guess the pain floors are the only common complaint, heh).

[baja blast rd.]

13 hours ago, espilka said:

The unfair encounter i'm talking about of course is the six Hell Knights in a smallish room that offers the RL, guarded from a closet by an Arch-Vile that covers most of the room, so that one has to keep running around, trying to kill the Nobles, while making sure to be covered from the AV zap at the right times, and avoiding the corners that have damaging floor.  Yeah, unfair as heck, but to be honest, pretty fun

 

This is instructive because it's an imagined constraint. The hurt floor can be used as a sort of pressure release to avoid being cornered. (Especially the lips with the switches, but I also mean the owie floor itself too). In fact you can beat the fight by standing in fuck-it-hurts floor as much as possible while the HKs are alive, which is just for demonstration purposes don't actually do that lol.

 

 

("Needing to keep running around" is also not a constraint here.)

 

Imagined constraints are worth being vigilant about because people usually make stuff harder on themselves by believing they exist. "I have to kill the PE/vile/chaingunners first" (target prioritization overfixation) / "I have to avoid as much damage as possible" / "I have to use my shots wisely" are common ones that get people into trouble. 

[bioshockfan90]

MAP12: La Fabrica

 

70K | 40I | 0S

 

I probably should’ve explored this one a bit more, but I wasn’t really feeling it and decided to go as it was. This is a breather in a similar vein that MAP04 was, but seeing as it’s later in the wad it is naturally harder. Actually not too bad except for the horde of cacos and 2 PEs that pop up in the hub area. 

 

We’re still in green nukage, red accents, and metal textures and this general Memento Mori inspiration ‘episode’ if you wanna call it that. Geometrically, there is a lot of interconnectedness, and it does the sinky liquid thing I was talking about in my MAP02 post that I like in Doom maps, this time to a greater extent. There’s also a lot of platforming and returning to the hub area, with I believe a required SR40 jump in a narrow corridor that I kept failing. It’s light-hearted, as most of this WAD tends to be - and is pretty fun, but I’ve just seen such better sights earlier on in the WAD that even maps like these - maps that I would normally consider great - fall short because of what surrounds it. I dunno, it’s still really good - just below MAP09. 4.6 out of 5. 

 

(yes, I’m aware there’s an inconsistency in the rating, I don’t know how to explain it other than it be like that sometimes.)

 

MAPRANKS: 

Spoiler

MAP10

MAP06

MAP07

MAP11

MAP09

MAP12

MAP02

MAP01

MAP05

MAP08

MAP03

MAP04

 

 

[Biodegradable]

MAP11: Circulo de la Muerte

UV | Continuous | GZDoom

 

Tarnsman goes full-Billy Backstab with this one, springing traps behind you as you traverse around the outer rim of a hexagon tower with Spidermom perched on top. I agree with Cannonball, it does feel like a bit of a throwback to MAP07 only in reverse and a fair bit more spicy from the get-go, especially with its surprise closets and quite a few more close-encounters that push you to think on your toes and keep you moving. This is another map that, for me anyways, has a solid layout to it but not terribly memorable in terms of set-pieces or visuals. I will likely forget about it fairly quickly, but it's still fun! Honestly, I've yet to come across a map in the WAD so far that I can say I hated.

 

 

MAP12: La Fábrica

 

Oh hello there, Essel, when did you get here? Hehe yes, the Siren of Saturn herself has joined the party and brought her terrific techbase touch to the proceedings, matching Tarnsman's ruthless affinity for backstabbing monster closets with impressive towers and rewarding exploration that teases you to keep going, even though you can still turn back! Compared to some of its predecessors, excluding MAP10, this one has some real teeth to it that will likely kill even some experienced players. The Plutonia jungle mixed with Helltech approach to this map gives it a lot of character with interesting, ornate details to some of the structures that I certainly appreciate. Not sure if it'll make my favourites list, but I did enjoy it a fair bit.

 

 

[espilka]

2 hours ago, baja blast rd. said:

This is instructive because it's an imagined constraint. The hurt floor can be used as a sort of pressure release to avoid being cornered. (Especially the lips with the switches, but I also mean the owie floor itself too). In fact you can beat the fight by standing in fuck-it-hurts floor as much as possible while the HKs are alive, which is just for demonstration purposes don't actually do that lol.

 

These kinds of things are so hard to notice in the heat of the action, but obivously, you're quite right.  Damn, you made it easy!

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 12: La Fabrica

by Juan Romero (Sarah @esselfortium Mancuso) and Tarnsman

 

Essel finally makes an appearance with this stirring tribute to E1 in the style of John Romero. Quite a few eye-catching rooms that don't go overboard with the detailing. The little maintenance hallways are all very nice though and the megawad's textures are mixed with vanilla ones from Doom 1 in quite a natural and seamless sort of blend. The basic structure seems not too unlike that of essel's Doom 2 way id did maps, with lots of raised surfaces inside a central area, and a few side hallways as well.

 

The secret behind the slime fall behind the blue door is one we found since we hadn't found the RL yet and the Arch-vile was not going to be disposed of with what we had on hand. Surprisingly enough, we are led to 2 secrets, including one walled room surrounding the cinematic rocket launcher fight that we didn't spot here.

 

The red key took forever to find and in the meantime, we fought off a group of flyers without a rocket launcher, ran through a crushing Containment Area homage (with an accompanying Supercharge secret!), ran back to the Spawned Vats electric floors homage, then finally found the rocket launcher in a remote corner of the slime pits, but we then had to face down some Revenants and a closeted Arch-vile effectively half-asleep. This is not a setup that rewards lethargy as you might guess though. Eventually, we headed back to the left behind the blue key door, killed the Arch-vile we'd ran away from earlier, took the path here to the end, killed the Mancubus here, shot some barrels with Imps on a ledge behind them, then promptly dropped and forgot about this area for far too long before careful searching revealed the red key on a high ledge that was accessed from guess what, a jump on the left to the red switch!

 

At this point, 125 out of 138 monsters were dead, so we won't talk too much more about this. Could've been a favorite though, with all the Memento Mori, Ultimate Doom, and Spain Only textures combined to portray a semi-convincing view of an actual factory that a couple of passageways suggest. 

 

 

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by LadyMistDragon

[RHhe82]

MAP12: La Fábrica. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 139/139 K, 3/3 S, 62/62 I. Comp. time 20:39

 

Not sure just what sort of factory this is, but there is nukage and there is brown. And hidden in a secret, lots of lava, or molten steel perhaps. Hopefully I'm gonna say this one last time, but this replay has proven to be an easier experience than my blind. I really liked D2:ISO back then, too, but I also clearly remember having hard time with it until I hit the final act... which I guess wasn't that much easier, but I might have gotten better at Doom at that point. I don't know. Of course, on a replay, it helps to have some hunch on what's ahead and where the secrets might be. Especially the big secret leading eventually to the megasphere seems important - clearing those corridors will make certain later encounters that much easier. Although I wish I had found the rocket launcher earlier.

 

There are some tight spots, for instance the elevator of chaingunners at the end of the crusher corridor. Not sure what to think of that. And some other clusterfudges I miraculously survived with the SSG one mustn't miss at the start.

 

A really solid map. Still not tired of the visual motif. Which is strange; in many other grade A wads they wear out more easily.

[Pechudin]

MAP12: La Fabrica (UV, Saves: Yes; Deaths: Many)

This one pissed me off. Perhaps I was in a foul mood, but every thing that I might usually consider midly annoying really peeved me off. Lots of damage floors, exploration hindered by said damage floors (see: rocket launcher hidden in a room where you need to take forced damage to reach it - admittedly, this is an optional area - this is also where all my deaths came from), ammo stinginess and some bullshit RNG (not the mapper's fault).

 

I am cooling off at the moment, so I wil mention positives - the map looks more like an E2 map. Tight quarters, Barons in said tight quarters, crushers in tight quarters, the ridiculous Plasma Gun trap (harkening back to E2M7) and, yes, damaging floors giving a bit of mean spirit to the map. Come to think of it, E2M6 did something similar at the start. I usually like those things so not sure what the issue was here.

 

The combat was fine I guess, mostly incidental stuff with a couple of PE and Caco clouds but it felt kind of grindy. Lots of Nobles to shotgun, lots of Cacos to also shotgun.

 

Final impressions? Eh, not a replay candidate.

 

EDIT: Ah, another negative - not sure what piece of Spain this is supposed to be.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Pechudin

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP12 - La Fabrica - Esselfortium & Tarnsman (Juan Romero) (75%K/45%I/33%S):

How poorly translated is the title? Another correct one, three in a row!

I expected this one to be ADs map, and in fact I thought it was, without checking the author previously, as this one felt like a reprise for Base de Reabastecimiento, in a similar manner than yesterday's map, that was a reprise of MAP07. It has some traits from John Romero indeed, but it also has those things you may see from Tomas Pasillo (Tom Hall), things you can see in The Shores of Hell, like the plasma gun room (Fuck that one in particular), or the SSG one. There is some creative freedom here and there, like the usage of Memento Mori textures, which I really dig and I'm thankful of (Again, thanks for not making this one overly brown). I've really enjoyed this one's layout, but I did not enjoy gameplay that much. There is some platforming to be made, and what made this map particularly annoying is the heavy amount of flying fucks flooding all the sky, preventing you not only to jump from platforms, but wasting all your life. Health packs are luckly a bit more frequent  than in previous levels, but if you get health, you will NOT get ammo, that's the rule. Little ammo to fight the flying tomatos and meatballs. So I skipped trying to even fight most of them, but obviously, removing some of them from my view, so I could navigate a little bit easier.
The map feels like it could have been more open, it is quite an open map, but progression is straight-forward, there is no key-hunting around here.

I like this one aswell, but the flying craps just lower points for me. Also, the plasma gun room that will waste all my plasma cells in that very place because of the fuckton amount of chaingunners, so I would even say it is trivial, and just a trap. The rocket launcher room though, not so much, try to get it.

(UV - Playthrough/Crispy Doom)

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP11

MAP10

MAP07
MAP12
MAP09
MAP08
MAP06

MAP05
MAP02
MAP04
MAP03
MAP01

 

 

[Catpho]

MAP12 - “La Fábrica” by esselfortium, Tarnsman

 

If I were to make list of examples of what makes Doom great as an action game, this map is very much up there. A sort of back to basics after the previous levels' more extravagant demands: there are no ambitious vistas, exotic themes, or flashy setpieces. In fact, it conceives Doom as being built of two fundamental pleasures: the unraveling & traversal of a dynamic, layered, ever-transforming space, and a string of inventive small scale, tightly balanced skirmishes that are loosely tied by damaging floor area denial. Neither of these ideas are new even in the wad itself, especially coming from MAP11, but "La Fábrica" trusts that the co-authors' essentially perfect execution of both ideas will carry the entire level without the crazy, haphazard navigation & balance and maddening looks that defined the previous entry. "Plutonia+" is a good descriptor for many maps in this set so far, but the purity of this level makes it especially apt.

 

It'd be pretty tedious for both you & me if I were to list all the combat & traversal grace notes in a map that consists of nothing but, where something as clichéd as a chaingunner drop continues to feel wondrous and exciting, so I'll settle with praising the symmetry. This is a case where the symmetrical design of the hub structure that contains the BK and RK gives the level, both figuratively and literally, an elegant shape. It ties the level's two branches, which themselves rhyme with an ascension/descension scheme, giving the level's conveyor belt of traps and geometrical wrangling a sense of continuity and order:

[Celestin]

MAP12: La Fábrica by esselfortium and Tarnsman (as Juan Romero)

 

Like the previous map, La Fábrica also begins with a scramble for guns, but this time the SSG and plasma rifle can be found rather quickly (though the latter is guarded by a double row of chaingunners). The route to the blue key involves an interesting setup: a narrow corridor with hell knights and the only way to not get hit is to strafe into a damaging floor. Also, crushers, an elevator of chaingunners and an ambush of flying enemies.

 

To me, the star of the map is an alternative route you can take past the blue doors. If you walk through a nukage fall behind a lowering sector, you can get to a secret part of a map, giving you cells, megasphere and a chance to disarm an ambush or two. It's also a visually striking part of the map, making me feel like it's a place I wasn't meant to see. I've always liked secrets that do more than just giving you more ammo, so it's not surprising I enjoyed this one. The rest of the map went smoothly, with an exception of out of way rocket launcher. It's a small room with four revenants, an archvile in an alcove and no cover. It's a good fight, but it's also easy to miss. @espilka, I was surprised to learn the revenants are replaced by hell knights on HMP. You'd think they are tougher to kill, but after a bit of consideration, hell knights are also slower, making it easier to maneuver around them in a tight room. I rarely replay a map on a different skill level, so it's interesting to see how the difficulty setting affect fights.

 

Visuals are more green than brown this time and there are some obvious Shores of Hell homages, but it's a strong gameplay that draws me in.

[Roofi]

Map 12 "La fábrica"

 

 

And now we leave the old towns to enter into rusty factories. I've to say the hispanic theme is much more secondary and has been replaced by a more "classic" theme. The sky is the embodiment of this, but the music and colors still keep the mood lively.

 

As map 08 from Doom 2, the original "The Factory" is one of my favourite levels from commercial Doom and I'm a bit disappointed that the Spanish reincarnation hasn't preserved the gloomy atmosphere and the oversized, empty spaces. Nevertheless, Fabrica is not lacking in ideas, and succeeds in immersing us in a pseudo-industrial setpiece. We don't know what this factory is all about, but safety rules aren't exactly respected: toxic liquid is everywhere, crushers are in the passageways and floor lights are so hot they damage your feet. The compact layout and the occasional climbing sections help to immerse in a factory too whereas the original Doom 2 map  felt more like a desolated ghost town.

 

However, I've to confess I didn't enjoy the level more than I should on pistol-start, mostly due to ammo shortage and the chaingunners traps are nasty as fuck even with foreknowledge. It was a bit of a chore, but the secrets, especially the one about the megasphere, help a lot to stay alive comfortably.

 

So, La Fabrica isn't the map I had the most fun to play but the industrial theme is greatly exectued. And I like the subtle Ultimate Doom references, especially about E2M2.

Grade : B (14/20)

 

 

 

[cannonball]

MAP12 - “La Fábrica” by esselfortium, Tarnsman

 

The rocket launcher feels a little too tucked out of the way, though obviously it can be accessed more easily after you get the blue key, this is a shame because the fight to get the weapon is pretty neat. Without getting the rocket launcher means that a few of the fights can be a little tricky/grindy, especially behind the blue key door. The rest of the map flows quite neatly along with some jumping required for several parts of the progression, but nothing too taxing. The highlight here is a secret that I guess references Crater more than anyway else with a half loop to get the megasphere that connects with other areas and allows us to see things that we were perhaps not supposed to see and give a different visual collage compared to the rest of the map. I also liked the plasma gun room, purely because of how obnoxious it was (In a rather amusing fashion).

A solid map overall, though I just wish that some things weren't tucked away to the point where they could essentially be called secrets, especially if it house something that can make the map more fun.

[DavitW]

MAP11: Círculo de la Muerte

Another fairly non-linear map. Ammo can be a bit tight here, so there were numerous occasions I had to run away from monsters and come back later on to finish them off. Gameplay may be the most varied we've seen so far, as in every trap isn't a closet full of chaingunners opening up behind you. They're still here too, don't worry, but there's a few more interesting traps of note here. Grabbing the plasma rifle will lead to you being sandwich by a group of revenants and Mancubi respectively. It's going to be hard to get out of there without using all the plasma you just picked up. Grabbing the blue key leads to a gaggle of Cacodemons coming in from over the mountains. That was one of those times ammo was low so I had to come back later once I had the SSG to my name. The spider mastermind has taken up a central possession in this map, but it's pretty easy to stay out of her line of sight if you're aware of your surroundings. It seems like it's possible for her to get out of range of the teleport when you go to telefrag her, so you'll just end up standing in front of her chaingun like a total doofus instead.

Edited September 12, 2023 by DavitW

[Pechudin]

I just pre-wrote an Demon-of-the-well-esque essay about the MAP15. God I miss that guy's posts.

Edited September 12, 2023 by Pechudin

[espilka]

MAP13 Centro de la Ciudad - K: 104% / S: 100% (HMP, blind, continuous)

Tally - Deaths: 38 / Secrets missed: 3

 

Centro de la Ciudad is a tale told by a mapper, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.  The start, like the whole map, is very active with an attack by a swarm of Cacodemons and Hell Knights, turning out to be the most difficult part the campaign - which i took care of with the SSG.  Surviving that, only real danger was a closeted Revenant attacking me from behind as even the Arch-Viles were easily taken care of with plasma.  Some rocketing here and there, some sniping of Revs with the Chaingun, and that's about it along with a lot of riff raff.  There was one dangerous Chaingunner closet somewhere.  Have to admit the obligatory crushers i survived with pure luck.  All that said, there really is a lot of action along the way with little respite until the end.

 

The map's design is already mere par for the course - a well-constructed layout of a city-map with a few highlight-tricks.  The romp through it was a fairly straightforward affair, but none the less interesting thanks to the trappings.  A central water fountain attraction is located in the middle of the buildings, upon which the final key lies, jumping to which triggers the surprisingly manageable final fight for which the (easy) Invul secret apparently is meant, but i even forgot to take it, instead meaning to dash for the exit - but, the action seemed such that i decided to take part in it after all.  The office of some UAC bigwig also deserves a mention with cool use of doomcute, in form of a giant television in front of his oak desk.  There was also a Soulsphere upon a wall, which necessitated some investigation, and the mechanism to acquire it was simple but fun (EDIT: my reviews tend to be longish and when i use 'shorthand' it's often quite vague - don't mean easy here, but that it was a fun surprise to get to the ledge almost by accident and just by a guess that perhaps the jump could be done, which i was quite doubtful of :D )

 

Ranks:

Spoiler

MAP12 La Fábrica - 5

MAP13 Centro de la Ciudad - 4.5

MAP06 La Trituradora - 4.5

MAP07 Fácil de Muertos - 4.5

MAP02 Salas de Debajo - 4.5

MAP10 Base de Reabastecimiento - 4.5

MAP03 Las Vias del Trent - 4.5

MAP11 Circulo de la Muerte - 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

 

Edited September 13, 2023 by espilka
clarification!

[bioshockfan90]

I'm on the Hell maps right now, and all I can say is...

 

I WANT SPAIN BACK!!!!!

 

Spoiler

it's proving to be really hard for me. had to step down to ITYTD for one map and might have to do it for the rest of the wad

 

[Tarnsman]

Just going to start omitting any maps I don't have any fun fact stuff for.

 

Map 12:

This is the first scrap map where I have the original base still lying around to compare against. This map started off as one of Essel's D2TWID scraps entitled "sl-romero2.wad" (original base linked here). This scrap can also be found in the western section of D2TWID-LE map 29 where Xaser did his Xaser-y things with it. Unlike Alfonzo's scraps where I mostly just stitched together completed products and called it a day, this one probably has the most work done to transform it into the state that it is currently in, mostly because it was probably the least finished of all the scraps used.

[DavitW]

Here's the demo I messed up in the last post.

 

 

D2ISO11.zip

[brick]

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

 

MAP12 - “La Fábrica” by esselfortium, Tarnsman
This looks even less like a factory than the iwad map, but it does look verynice. It carries the usual tropes: several straferuns, lots of damaging floors (some with radsuits, some without) and lots of ambushes (some have hitscanners, some don't). The hell knight ambushes (there's one for the RL, and later getting teleported into a tiny room with some) elicit no surprise anymore. The PEs are used strangely, I think they're the first on HNTR so far, but while they seem dangerous they're behind a fence they cannot cross and can be safely dispatched while the Lost Souls they spawn can't reach. The highlight of the map was the Megasphere secret, finding it is easy (I stumbled into it by accident when trying to break LOS with the archvile) but it's a really fun jaunt around almost the entire map, as if going into the backstages and getting a peak at some really nice visuals that break tradition with the map's otherwise very tight aesthetic, there's a great air of humorous mystery about the whole excursion. @espilka gushed about how it elevates an already awesome map; I was a lot more indifferent about the rest of the level, but this secret still elevates it to one that I will always remember very fondly, and that's quite an accomplishment.

 

MAP13 - “Centro de la ciudad” by AD_79
Again, this is even more abstract in its interpretation of the name than the original. I think this is the first map to have such an attempt at a realism though, the office to the west is very doomcute. The nastiest ambush is probably in the SW after getting the RL, the space is tight and the cacos that meandered over made life more difficult. The map is otherwise standard fare for the wad; whether this is a good or a bad thing will depend entirely on how you feel about those tricks.

 

1 hour ago, bioshockfan90 said:

 

  Hide contents

it's proving to be really hard for me. had to step down to ITYTD for one map and might have to do it for the rest of the wad

 

As the #1 proponent of ITYTD/HNTR I want to tell you there's absolutely nothing wrong with doing this, I've been on HNTR the whole wad and have no shame admitting this. If that one map was MAP21 though, I'll say it's quite a spike, and the next handful are more manageable (at least on HNTR).

[DJVCardMaster]

2 hours ago, bioshockfan90 said:

I'm on the Hell maps right now, and all I can say is...

 

I WANT SPAIN BACK!!!!!

 

  Hide contents

it's proving to be really hard for me. had to step down to ITYTD for one map and might have to do it for the rest of the wad

 

It is not hell, it's called El Raval, Barcelona. And sadly the map's time setting is set at 9PM.

[RHhe82]

MAP13: Centro de la ciudad. Played on DSDA v0.26.2, UV, PS. 102/102 K, 2/2 S, 104/104 I. Comp. time 16:24

 

I think I was not in the best of moods when I played this. I don't know, but I think this was the first time I felt a bit bored, despite the structure of the map doesn't feel like a rehash on what we've seen thus far this month. I'm not sure what exactly is the problem. Maybe Centro de la ciudad feels a bit too much standard Doom 2 with a brown darker than what we get in the main game. The combat isn't exciting, and I spent too much time trying to run up to a ledge revealing the soul sphere secret. Thankfully I knew from my first playthrough what I would have to do, and that it could be done, but sigh.

 

It's not a bad map. Maybe it's just me. If this is D2:ISO at its worst (can't remember if it's gonna end up to be), we're still playing through one great megawad.

[espilka]

1 hour ago, RHhe82 said:

...and I spent too much time trying to run up to a ledge revealing the soul sphere secret. Thankfully I knew from my first playthrough what I would have to do, and that it could be done, but sigh.

 

i said it was easy, but it was pure luck i got on that ledge - that it could be done surprised me and i was lucky with the keys i pressed.

[Biodegradable]

MAP13: Centro de la ciudad

UV | Continuous | GZDoom

 

I won't lie, this one was slightly disappointing after AD's MAP10. It's not awful by any means, but it's very subpar in comparison. It's a very humdrum experience that's about on-point with what few previous maps there are that didn't do much for me and I have very little to say about it. It will undoubtedly be memory-holed, which is a shame, but I know they can't be all winners. It's just a big ol', "Meh".

 

On the off-chance AD is reading this, don't worry mate, I still love your work overall! ;^P

 

 

[AD_79]

6 hours ago, Biodegradable said:

I won't lie, this one was slightly disappointing after AD's MAP10. It's not awful by any means, but it's very subpar in comparison.

 

I think you may consistently expect a little too much of me. Sometimes I want to make a simple, straightforward Doom map. I'd prefer not to feel additional pressure to make sure everything I create reaches some imaginary high bar of conceptual creativity and quality. That takes a lot out of me.