Thirty Years with Doom - now on idgames

[Michael63]

11 hours ago, Antroid said:

I didn't really forget, it's more that I didn't feel like hogging this thread too much with my stream announcements. I guess it's a normal thing to do, but for some reason it seemed awkward to me at the time. (The thread on Doom Power is more active, so my posts take up a smaller part of it, ya know?)

 

Anyway the stream was good, and I like that it was more in English than your previous stream. Feel free to post the announcement of your next stream (if it will be) or your impressions about any maps of our wad. :)

[gaspe]

Hey there, have some fdas for the first half of the wad recorded with dsda Doom: 30years_gaspe_fdas1.zip

I am very happy to see some mappers that I haven't seen from a while returning with this project, and I hope they'll continue  to release maps.
I really liked the code to access the secret on MAP01 and how it's also used in some of the next maps. I think some of Chaingunner's maps in the first episode are harder than some later maps in the set. Not sure if you want to have these difficulty spikes but MAP05 and MAP07 could have some more health and ammo around because now they are very hard, and this is also a bit embarassing for me because I aleady played those maps and I remembered them :S
I was happy to see that MAP06 made it again, I think I saw it used in other 2 or 3 wads now. On MAP09 I thought I was pretty ingenious the trick to block the rising sectors with the monsters height so you are forced to kill them. I guessed immediately who made MAP10 and I was correct :) I think it was challenging map in it's own way, maybe harder than the other Lainos' maps but it's also been a while since I played some of them. I flee from the cyberdemon encounter because it looked too troublesome and I didn't want to risk. On MAP11 I also recognized BeeWen's style quickly. Stock textures and few monsters used well in tricky encounters, it wouldn't feel out of place in Relyctum. A mancubus, thing 18, is stuck in the walls.

On MAP12 near the end a mancubus, I suspect it's thing 252, teleport inside a sector where it gets stuck. MAP14 was kinda rough but it's a likeable level overall.
Initially on MAP15 I thought the "Wormhole" reference was just a little standalone thing but it ruined the twist for when it happened. Maybe I was just expecting something different to happen but the atmosphere and the feeling that something bad was going to happen later was very well done. MAP31 imo did a better to subversing something familiar. It's cool how the normal maps and their ruined counterparts are linked together. I forgot about the chainsaw secret on E1M2 so I gave because I didn't really know how to continue. MAP32 was strange. It was able to really evoke some feeling of nostalgia, it's like a remake of E4M6 with a huge scale and I remember how Doom levels seemed to be so big the first times I playes them. But after that it hasn't a good gameplay and feels like a generic map.

[Michael63]

19 hours ago, gaspe said:

 

gaspe, thank you very much for your feedback! We are already working on some issues that you pointed out. For example, the gameplay in map 32 will be slightly different in the final version (mainly in the end of map 32). TGA had already worked on it after your responce. We hope that map 32 will be really nostalgic map (along with another secret map 31). And we would be very pleased to see your feedback on the second half of our game.

Edited December 19, 2023 by Michael63

[TheCyberDruid]

Just playing map 4 and the maps were excellent so far :) Really a nice throwback to the original maps in the best possible way.

[Antroid]

I was waiting to do something before posting the next part of my impressions, namely I wanted to give map17 a proper go, unlike what ended up happening in the stream :>

 

Basically, episode 2 is roughly what I'd expected so far: a much bigger spread of much more regocnizable styles of the RDC mappers, offering takes on some of RDC's most beloved themes, such as city levels (and a little tease of Shadowman's fantasy environments). The maps here get wild, and the contrast with the first episode is very apparent and really gets across the point of how different people take the basis of the game and take it in very different directions.

 

I wanted to mention map17 - "Another doomed city district" - in particular. Everyone playing this megawad should take a breather before taking that map on. It's a colossus of a city map: a whole district, just as the name suggests, and most buildings are enterable and have things in them. You have to find six keys and where to put them to open the exit door, and if you are at all drained from previous maps, this one might exhaust you, as happened to me on stream. However, if you take it on with a fresh mind, it's very fun, especially if you also play from a pistol start, because then the overabundance of available areas to visit gains more purpose: you don't just search for keys, you also search for parts of your arsenal. It's the ultimate open non-linear map. But it can leave a sour impression if you try to rush though it, especially if you have a ton of supplies left over. That might rob you of the tension you need to fully engage with the map, which is where it shines. And now that I've replayed it standalone, it makes me want to do so again, trying different approaches and doing things in a different order.

[Insaneprophet]

Ive had this stuck in my brain since it was released. Just been waiting to have the right time to play it. Got the first three maps done before some xmas shopping and already its living up to my hopes. Feels like really really good old school mapping. Map two grabbed my attention quickly being a longer exploration adventure early in the set and I almost wasnt surprised to see Beewen had his hand in it. I was then completely surprised to find that map three was one of my favorite maps that I'd happened across earlier this year. Such a great start! I almost cant wait to get to maps ten and eleven for obvious reasons but I'm also excited to get to RastaManGames' contributions as well because Ive alway enjoyed everything Ive played of his.

[Antroid]

The waiting room for the next stream is up, leaving it here as well since Michael63 wants me to :) Starting in 2 hours.

[Michael63]

@Antroid, it was a very interesting stream. Thank you for your thougts about levels and about level-design in general. Just a minor drawback was that 2 or 3 times you were standing at one place and just speaking sufficiently long. But it was interesting to hear your opinion. Thanks a lot, and look forward to continuing. :)

[Antroid]

21 minutes ago, Michael63 said:

Just a minor drawback was that 2 or 3 times you were standing at one place and just speaking sufficiently long.

Lol, I always do this when I relax enough. In the first streams I was all about trying to keep the pace (the shorter levels probably helped), but by now I'm just trying to survive these 6 hour streams with my sanity intact :') Especially since we've settled into the group that comes to chat, so I drift towards how I feel the most comfortable doing things, which is tangents about general level design opinions while running circles around a room.

 

Anyway, did maps 18-23 and also 31 separately today. The maps continue to be very interesting. Though the more I play, the more I start to take this wad as a collection of samples of all the authors instead of a cohesive whole. Sure, these levels somewhat fit into the episode themes and the logical progression, but they're also so different that many of them make me want a whole episode just by that author. I'm sure if I look some of them probably already exist. But I come to this wad only being familiar with Shadowman's and Lainos' work out of the whole RDC, so it's been nice rectifying that a bit with this collection. I'll have to replay some of their work, and also see if I can find the other people's work to check out as well.

 

Also, with episode 3 it's funny how "hell" is just a universal theme for everything and anything people like. The theme of "city" binds us no longer, so many things can fit into the hell theme that these levels are even more unique than episode 2's. Shadowman continues to do fantasy-feeling levels that would not be out of place in an RPG, RastaManGames' level is a less campy take on traditional doom hell, and the cyberdemon factory is a wild ride of epic canyon areas that I really loved and really huge and surreal (though visually simple, but for me that's a plus) industrial spaces. I hope tomorrow's remaining levels treat me well :>

[Insaneprophet]

Playing in dsda on map 11 there is stuck mancubus next to the switch that opens the bars down to the exit. I dont know if he is placed there where he cant move or if he walked his way into a stuck spot but I left him alone all map long as I cleared everything else out, then after getting the red key and going through the door and out around that ledge, he was just chilling there in the cubby next to the switch begging me to put him out of his misery 😀

[Antroid]

last waiting room... in an hour it's the beginning of the end

[Michael63]

1 hour ago, Insaneprophet said:

Playing in dsda on map 11 there is stuck mancubus next to the switch that opens the bars down to the exit. I dont know if he is placed there where he cant move or if he walked his way into a stuck spot but I left him alone all map long as I cleared everything else out, then after getting the red key and going through the door and out around that ledge, he was just chilling there in the cubby next to the switch begging me to put him out of his misery 😀

Thank you for the feedback! :)

[Antroid]

Alright, closing thoughts time!

 

The most important thing to keep in mind while playing this wad is that it's not meant to be a cohesive campaign, but rather a collection of maps from various authors representing the RDC. (Apparently this kind of thing is called a cheese plate, whereas the term I've been using, "sample plate", is more about blood samples, which I guess is very weirdly appropriate?) The maps are very diverse, so the continuous playthrough can be pretty uneven, but I'm honestly glad that this exists, because it's pretty memorable and the impressions will stay with me for a long time, unlike from many of the more polished wads that I remember playing, but dont remember any details from. So in terms of entertainment this is up there for me with some of my favorite Doom wads ever, despite the fact that hardly anything here perfectly fits my preferences - especially in the visual style department, lol. So if you're looking for something interesting, I recommend it, but if you're looking for a very even experience that doesn't do anything you'd disagree with, well, there are other wads for that. Personally, this has once again reignited my love for the game, which I've honestly been neglecting for a long time, so now I want to go and play many other wads, as well as replay many maps from this wad.

[Michael63]

@Antroid, thank you very much for your feedback! This is a high valuation of our work, and it means that the strategy in general was right. As one of the project coordinators, I am really glad to feel this.

 

I also want to say thank you to everyone who tested our wad or just played it. Some criticisms were taken into account and appropriate corrections were made to the maps. So, the next version, RC2, is coming soon!

[TJG1289]

I ended up playing through this a week or 2 ago! Just forgot to mention it. I really enjoyed it for the most part. I liked how episode 1 stuck to just Doom 1 enemies and had no super shotgun. The secret code being used in multiple maps here for goodies was a nice touch as well. Plus, the secret map in this episode was really cool! Episode 2 had some really cool maps in there, especially Lainos's map and RMG's Doomcute throughout. Betrayer has a really cool atmosphere to it as well, with the ending room being pretty chilling. Nice variety in map themes throughout these first 2 episodes. Episode 3 was the weakest for me, unfortunately. Ymir's Blood has some of the most unfair Archvile placements I have ever seen, mainly the 2 toward the end that teleport around in an area with absolutely no cover, and the 20 million of them (give or take 19 million) in the secret yellow key area that also has little to no cover. It felt very unfair and all luck-based imo. And the ending of map 30 kinda soured me on what was otherwise a pretty enjoyable slaughter map. But hey, that's the fun of community projects! Not everything will be a slam-dunk in terms of stuff I end up enjoying, but it's always cool to see the wide variety of mappers and their mapping styles. So other than those relatively minor issues, I think this is a very solid WAD that people should check out! 

[Antroid]

24 minutes ago, TJG1289 said:

And the ending of map 30 kinda soured me on what was otherwise a pretty enjoyable slaughter map.

I'm curious - was it too easy? I found it an enjoyable alternative to the typical IoS with all the BS that comes with it, not frustrating but fun enough to serve as the final rush to victory. But I'm definitely not a slaughter map aficionado so my skill level for pure combat is not at a level where it would be a complete breeze. (That, and it took me a second to realize that I had a wider part behind me, lol)

[TJG1289]

1 hour ago, Antroid said:

I'm curious - was it too easy? I found it an enjoyable alternative to the typical IoS with all the BS that comes with it, not frustrating but fun enough to serve as the final rush to victory. But I'm definitely not a slaughter map aficionado so my skill level for pure combat is not at a level where it would be a complete breeze. (That, and it took me a second to realize that I had a wider part behind me, lol)

No, it wasn't easy. It was just way too many cybs. It seemed a little unkind to me. And the way all the items were strewn across the arena made the whole thing seem kinda haphazardly thrown together. Almost like they realized toward the end of making this that it was going to be in the MAP30 slot, so it needed an IoS to kill. I think the map would have just been fine without it. Not every MAP30 needs a final boss.

[Michael63]

2 hours ago, TJG1289 said:

Ymir's Blood has some of the most unfair Archvile placements I have ever seen, mainly the 2 toward the end that teleport around in an area with absolutely no cover, and the 20 million of them (give or take 19 million) in the secret yellow key area that also has little to no cover. It felt very unfair and all luck-based imo.

 

Let me tell you a little secret. That cave with archviles can be walked through in several ways. You may blast them up or run away with a tricky maneuver, but: if you don't like that place at all, you may just skip the battle with archviles. Notice that the blue key lies on sufficiently small sector. You can sneak up and accurately take the key without appearing of archviles! Just don't run and walk slowly along one side of the sector, slowly approaching the center of the sector. Pick up the key and go away. That's all!

[Keyboard_Doomer]

Hello,

 

we're going to play probably around the first third of the wad for Thursday Night Survival today as a bit belated end-of-year celebration of the anniversary.

The session starts 15 hours from the time of this reply and you can expect it to be fairly active for 4+ hours.

[Michael63]

Important note. Version RC1 is not intended for cooperative play. You may get stuck on some maps when trying to play co-op. It's better to play version RC2, which is already ready except for one intermission screen. I hope we will publish it very soon!

[Antroid]

9 hours ago, TJG1289 said:

No, it wasn't easy. It was just way too many cybs. It seemed a little unkind to me.

Huh. I felt it was the kindest part of the whole map %) I'm saving before every battle on this type of map so it wasn't setting me back, and I thought it was easier than most fights leading up to it...

[Michael63]

Thirty Years with Doom, version RC2. Now playable both in single player and in coop! Have a nice play!

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s7OOSWi40ksVeBrGUNbTwSjSYWm4Je1Q/view?usp=sharing

 

And, among several improvements, map 30 now contains a couple of secrets. Try to find them and you will be nicely surprised! We wish you a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

 

 

[Keyboard_Doomer]

We did account for the possibility of coop issues but thanks for the timely release of RC2, we'll use it for the session.

Some issues were still noticed and addressed in a fixwad thanks to the thorough work by @boom_compatible so that will also be loaded on the server.

[galileo31dos01]

Hello, in map 11 I'm stuck in the main yard with the central pipe, I don't have any keys nor did I press the switch that opens the woodgarg walls to the west, the BK door is closed as well, so I'm not seeing anywhere to go back and either press that switch or get the BSK that I purposely skipped before (in the case it was a trap I wasn't equipped for). So, might be softlocked perhaps?

[Michael63]

@galileo31dos01, you are right, there is a possible softlock in map 11. I showed your feedback to the author of the map (BeeWen), and he fixed this. The new version of map 11 will be presented in the final version of our megawad. Thank you!

[gaspe]

Here are some demos attempts for the rest of the maps: 30years_gaspe_fdas2.zip

Those are recorded with the version RC1 as I already finished to play the wad before the new version came out. At least I didn't encounter serious stuff that would prevent you to progress. Didn't like so much the first part of MAP16, slow and long introduction, it got more fun when you drop into the water canal and from there I liked the rest. MAP17 took me like 1 hour but I was able to get through this. Good non-linearity as you are free to explore the buildings how you want and it can create some interesting situations, I found the heavier weapons late in my exploration and I had to deal with a cybie and a spiderdemon with the SSG but it was fun. The breakable windows were a cool touch. MAP18 would be one of my favourites visually, a true representation of hell on earth with lots of details. The gameplay is alright, when I died in the demo I made the mistake of being too cautious and let the revs to trap me in that room with. I liked the return of the snow in MAP19, it reminded me of the previous Whitemares. About the trees I think you should do them like Lainos did in his map, adding also an additional line to create a more circular area so you don't get stuck so much in them, also the monsters had some problems. MAP20 and 21 are both well done levels by Shadowman, 20 is the easier while 21 was more tough also with the management of your resources. On MAP22 I didn't find the secret RL and PR but I was able the almost reach the exit switch. MAP23 was kinda rough but I liked the big scale and the sense of adventure it gives. I was doing well overall and I was also near the end but  trying to get some cacos to fight the cybies didn't go so well for me heh I'm pretty sure MAP24 and MAP25 were made in previous speedmapping contests right? MAP26 theme with the oasis in the hellish desert is nice and that was the only good thing of the map for me. All the map is basically flat, at first you have all those sniping hitscanners that can be annoying but the worst part is after the yellow that it's mostly a monotone maze. Overall I liked the concet of MAP27 and the marble structure floating in the sea of blood at the end was cool but there a couple of chea moments near the end: when the chaingunners appear in the staircase and the archvile that can most likely kill you unless you know it will teleport in advance. Near the RSK there some wrong sky-trasfers. MAP28 was giving some Plutonia vibes initially with its small but tough encounters. The area with the mountains of flesh looked very cool. MAP29 was good overall, but kinda strange too. The hardest part is the whole level before the final big fight with the tighter spaces where you have to be more careful. MAP30 was a nice conclusion for the wad. The actual Ios was more silly but I'm glad it wasn't the focus of the map, the actual big epic fight with "waves" was very fun.

[Michael63]

@gaspe, thanks for playing! It was very interesting to get to know your impressions.

3 hours ago, gaspe said:

Near the RSK there some wrong sky-trasfers.

This is already fixed. :) I don't remember whether it was fixed in RC2 version, but I hope that the final version of the megawad will be available soon!

[galileo31dos01]

Finnished this yesterday. This was overall a good quality package from what I expect from the mappers involved, and surprises from names I didn't know of before that I now will remember. I had lots of fun with the themes in general, the exploration that is heavily focused on, the personality of many maps, specially in the 2nd/3rd chapters stood out for me in multiple ways, immersive as hell with fantastic off-map boom setups, the fiery sky, gargantuan cities, that oasis, snow and flesh intertwined, and a few goofy textures I adored (the cubes with mouths omg, stealing them).

 

The first chapter was good in retrospective, I'd say the secret map was my highlight. I'm not exactly too fond of "doom 1 in doom 2 but without the doom 2" myself for multiple maps in a row, so that aside the maps still delivered lots of action/immersion. I really liked to see that secret puzzle was maintained through several maps, made for continuity and cohesiveness.

 

I would say there is a certain dependence in knowing the secrets in order to progress in less "precarious" states, from pistol starts that is - some maps punctuated that more than others, though that should be no news to those familiar with the mappers previous works. But that apart, it was nice to have played new content from a lot of these known people (please convince Lainos to make more maps!). 

 

Observations:

 

Spoiler

02

- On sector 485 there is a chainsaw that appears inaccessible. You get another one much much earlier, so could that second be just decoration?

 

04

- Small suggestion: place an item or something on the other side of the flat22 so a player is enticed to cross it and open the trap. I was missing kills by the end and it took me a minute to notice the pinky closets, since there was no reason to walk over that part.

- Not an issue but am I correct into assuming the exit is triggered when you step on the pentagram with the skull in the middle? It confused me a bit because at first I wasn't sure what was triggering the exit, if the computer map or something else heh

 

12

- Minor slime trail here

 

14

- Is it okay that this revenant is stuck here? (sector 259) It gets released once the barrier is down of course, I just thought that was odd lol

 

15

- Few stuck monsters here and here (HK was stuck before I pushed it). Probably intentional though just in case.

 

18

- These shells were inaccessible (I think, I didn't try bumping hard because suit was leaking). Thing 1918 btw.

- There were some blocking hanging corpses in the ruined city streets in the north, which were hard to discern and obstructed both my movement at times and monsters too, thankfully I didn't get punished and tried to not combat where they could interfere the most, though other people may not have my luck. Since these bodies seemed for background context (not a particular gimmick), there's two things I could suggest: one is to disable the solid property in dehacked for all hanging decorations, and the other is to swap to non-blocking variants, though I'd go for the first. 

- Sector 3461 is damaging when it's not blood, could be a mistake?

- You can get stuck here with no way out, afaik

 

19

- Very small slime trail here, which actually gets longer depending on the angle

- Missing texture here, where the secret RL is.

- I'm with Gaspe on the trees: cool idea, I support, but damn it was SO easy to get hanged on them even unintentionally. I suppose adding more lines would greatly increase the chance of bad fps, and with my old laptop I can say my performance was tolerable enough, so up to the mapper.

- Another minor suggestion would be to add some monsters to use the BFG that is given right at the end. I get that you may intend to rush the switches sequence while ignoring the cyberdemon and then kill it with said BFG, but if not then it's useless in pistol starts. That or, moving the weapon to somewhere much earlier, perhaps in a secret, would give it more purpose.

- Oh and I'd suggest putting monster block lines to prevent cacos from fleeing too far where autoaim can't register them.

 

20

- Take or leave, but I would suggest giving more rockets and/or a SSG, cause its absence was felt with the increase of cacodemons and lost souls in the open, which some thankfully I could tether to the mancubi and arachnotrons (saved plasma for the SMM and even then I ended up CG-ing it to death). Lot of these can be ignored though, so that approach would work for those not into completionism, though I'm sure it would make the killing part less tedious for those who do mind that.

 

21

- (Better pistol start aside) sector 976 didn't have a blue torch like all other cubbyholes in the map. Intentional? I even thought it was a hint for a secret but it wasn't the case.

 

23

- Heh, that box of rockets made me laugh, ngl. It's so far from the steps to get back to safety that I deemed that risk pointless.

- Sector 25 is missing a teleport fog thing so the teleport on the lava pit is useless, and it's basically a death pit (which, imo, makes more sense if there was no teleporter, or if it was visually broken).

- That secret BFG was cryptic as hell. First of all, the switch that you are supposed to find on the lake of blood outside of the factory, that is if you think of backtracking, which some may do for different reasons, but to notice a random switch appeared down there because you pressed some other switch elsewhere that doesn't look any special. That's amusing, and old-school in a way. I'm not saying it should be easy to puzzle out, however, what could have been a more logical hint was if the computer panel with the sketch of a BFG on sector 1477 worked as the switch for the other switch, so once you press the computer, it displays the random switch raising from the sea of blood outside, you know, via an animated texture. That is just an idea, take or leave. This, intricacy, reminded me of the Whitemare 2 map 20 lol

- Minor suggestion: moving this candle to the tomb that holds the hidden berserk, so it can provide the clue that is missing (yeah I'm very much into secrets should give a hint if you couldn't tell by now :p)

- Sector 409 counts as a secret, though its neighbor 2644 is already marked so the other might be better unmarked.

 

24

- Super minor: you can straferun to sector 290 and get hurt, as it's damaging. I'm seeing in UDB that there are more of these flesh platforms set to damaging, though since most are unreachable, or you don't need to land on any of them, it's not really that important.

- Another suggestion: the plasma rifle appearing at the final stretch rendered practically useless for me as there were just three monsters left. Maybe had I pressed the corresponding switch that opened the closet with it first, there would have been more monsters to kill. As of now, I think the weapon could be introduced earlier.

 

25

- Minor thing: there is this closet under this brown line (two-sided) which is empty but has a switch connected to two other sectors. Not sure about its purpose, perhaps was intended for multiplayer? If not, I think line 4974 could be flagged one-sided so not to be confused with a possible secret or something broken.

 

26

- 👄

- Super minor thing: line 4966 uses bricklit while all other similar walls use bstone3. About the only "issue" is that it could be confused with a hint for a secret, should someone even notice that it's not matching the rest, but even then who cares lol

- Dunno if it's a coincidence, but the combination of this specific rock and sand textures along with the E3 skybox reminded heavily of Bloodpack's map 22. Heh, see what I mean? They both even use an original doom midi. It'd be funny if it actually was a source of inspiration.

 

27

- So, there's two things. Gaspe mentioned the problem with the teleporting archviles all around. I was carrying the BFG and faced no blasts, first time, a second time one of the shots pushed it into a teleport line and it blasted me off the platform, before tracers could kill it. The area has zero cover so you better have one of the secret BFGs. This is dickish, but gets a pass imo (the way the BFGs are hidden make sense from a contextual point of view). The issue is when the BFG shot doesn't automatically kill them, which is necessary to go that way, obligatory if you aren't healthy enough as you also need to be in good shape for the SMM at the end. I forgot about the purpose of the YSK and it was too late, but if people figure the secret annex prior going through the ordeals leading to the end, they should stand a better chance, and in that case the only thing I would suggest is to space out the teleport lines around the archviles so you can make sure the BFG shot kills them in place.

- The chaingunners are okay since you can bypass them, but one of them got pushed off into the ocean, so block lines are required.

 

28

- Couple HOMs here and there (this one visible from this particular angle). Most likely only shown in software renderer cause none are missing textures.

 

29

- There's a slime trail right next to the start point on the bridge leading to the cave. 

- Minor suggestion: this megasphere was mandatory and I was quite healthy that it was kind of a waste. It's fine if that's intentional, to emphasize on survival, though if not I suppose it could be relocated somewhere else?

- Ah, something I would like to suggest, for the secret megasphere with the slow moving metal cubes, is to make sure the HKs and imps are around the structure, not on the platforms, cause you can have a lot of infinite height scratching and due to great height differences it's sometimes impossible to escape damage. I honestly noclipped straight to the mega cause waiting for tall slow moving platforms to align was too tedious.

 

30

- I suppose it's intentional though just in case, in the icon of sin setup, you can knock cyberdemons off their platforms and then miss kills. Not really an issue since by then all you may want to do is to pump rockets into the wall and claim victory, but since this icon doesn't summon anything, you are more free to kill everything should you choose to, so maybe block lines around them might do it.

- I'm a little curious about the backpack secret. I used noclip to pass through the big walls since I couldn't find a way to open them again, nor a teleport that would take me back to the starting area. I'm not seeing any way to reach this secret legally so, am I missing something?

 

31

- Minor question, it seems like once you reach the E1M8 area there's no way back to revisit previous areas, unless I missed a teleport somewhere. This is not an issue per se, I happened to miss the plasma gun and a few many monsters, since some of the teleport lines weren't obvious. Perhaps a teleport  at the very end that leads back to the start might be good, but also not quite if it breaks the idea of a one-way straightforward trip, so up to the mapper. 

 

Thanks for making this! Hope to see more from each of you. 

Edited January 5, 2024 by galileo31dos01

[Michael63]

@galileo31dos01, thank you very much for such a detailed review! We have already fixed some of the bugs that you noted, but we learned something new from your feedback. You have contributed to the improvement of our megawad. And we hope that our work will indeed continue, and that this year you will see a new collection of levels from our community.

 

Best regards!

 

P.S. About your question "- Not an issue but am I correct into assuming the exit is triggered when you step on the pentagram with the skull in the middle? It confused me a bit because at first I wasn't sure what was triggering the exit, if the computer map or something else heh"

 

Yes, the exit is triggered when you step on the pentagram, but with an additional condition: first you must visit the room behind the door locked by all three keys and meet a member of the paranormal lab, who will show you the vision of hell. Only after this, coming to the pentagram, you will end level 4 and reach the vision of hell (next level).

 

P.P.S. About your question "- I'm a little curious about the backpack secret. I used noclip to pass through the big walls since I couldn't find a way to open them again, nor a teleport that would take me back to the starting area. I'm not seeing any way to reach this secret legally so, am I missing something?"

 

This secret is primarily for cooperative play. If you die in coop somewhere later than the first battle with demons, you will respawn in the first location and see the door to the right of you open. But you can also take this secret in the single player mode. Note that the first secret (The Hall of Fame with the Cake) is reached when you return from the second battle hall to the first. The second secret is also reached when you return having intersected the line before "the point of no return". :)

 

Edited January 5, 2024 by Michael63
Some more details

[Michael63]

It looks like the version linked below is the final version of our megawad.

 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mORBJyODCIBjxdKfMQopEwxDU-PNpUPg/view?usp=sharing

 

There are still a couple of minor bugs left in this version, but some authors don't want to fix bugs on their maps. These bugs are minor and do not affect the progress of the game. So don't worry, have a happy New Year, play games, and peace to your home. Let all wars and conflicts remain only in games. Yes, this seems like a pipe dream for humanity, but it is worth striving for.

Edited January 6, 2024 by Michael63