SIGIL II - Episode 6

[Dweller Dark]

Managed to beat SIGIL II on HMP, I found it decent and pretty manageable. Only exception is for E6M7, which I had to noclip to the exit because whatever opens the path broke. Thought the final battle was decent, if only because killing the Spider Mastermind only ends the level, saving time by not having to kill the cyberdemons too.

 

Aesthetically, it felt a bit repetitive and dark at times. The techbase levels stood out the best, I think. And I enjoyed the music (Jimmy's version) too. Overall, it was enjoyable enough and not too punishing for the difficulty.

[june gloom]

I was at a loss for how to exit E6M7 too until I thought to shoot the marble faces that space out the Baron coffins.

[plums]

I beat it on HMP pistol start, wanted to figure out where most of the secrets were without constantly being hounded by cyberdemons, and am now going back to play on UV PS.

 

I actually went to GZDoom because, sky issues aside, there are quite a few really awkward navigational parts when you're using a port that stays true to the original Doom movement - so many angled walls to get caught on, or bounce off of. I'll give it another go in Woof to see how the later levels are.

[Kwisior]

Beat it UV pistol start without saves.

Romero really outdid himself here - so far it's my favorite UDoom WAD. The maps are beautiful (the blue sky somehow works well), unique and have nice structure, also the heavy use of damaging floors and 30 second secrets helps it to stand out among the endless sea of WADs. I like how just like in the first entry there's a constant sense of danger from the oppressive environments rather than only fights. My main complaint would be the crippling lack of ammo in E6M6, which I hope will be changed in later versions. I'll definitely revisit it some day for 100%.

Edited December 12, 2023 by Kwisior

[plums]

4 hours ago, Kwisior said:

 My main complaint would be the crippling lack of ammo in E6M6, which I hope will be changed in later versions.

What route did you take, and did you get all the secrets? I just finished E6M6 on UV PS and compared to the earlier levels I thought there was much less early-map ammo starvation. I did have to dodge some barons at times and ended up leaving the six(!) in the blue key room alive when I exited. Feels like the exit room needs more ammo for cleanup and/or a BFG, but other than that I didn't find it too awful for ammo.

[Kwisior]

1 hour ago, plums said:

What route did you take, and did you get all the secrets? I just finished E6M6 on UV PS and compared to the earlier levels I thought there was much less early-map ammo starvation. I did have to dodge some barons at times and ended up leaving the six(!) in the blue key room alive when I exited. Feels like the exit room needs more ammo for cleanup and/or a BFG, but other than that I didn't find it too awful for ammo.

I cleared it 100% from the left side to the right. Perhaps "chronic" was a bad word, as the real problem arose near the ending - I finished it with basically no ammo left.

[stevegohome]

https://t.co/n8NGFhIvHA https://t.co/xHXa1hMaKY" / X (twitter.com)

Sigil 2 is now on the Bethesda port of Doom and there's a new doom themed addon to quake as well 

[Super Mighty G]

UV was an absolute terror. I didn't have the time for pistol start no saves and it was hard enough already. Definitely harder than Sigil 1.

[Xeogred]

Hit up M4-6 tonight and oh buddy, this is the evil Romero I know haha. I was getting pretty stubborn on some of M6's secrets and ideal pathing. Freaking amazing maps, the Hell infested tech base aesthetic was awesome in M4 too. M7 seemed huge so I saved midway in for now and will get back to it.

[june gloom]

M7 is definitely the biggest map Romero's done for SIGIL yet. It's actually weirdly out of character for him, since he usually tends to stick to small little interlocking puzzles.

[Xeogred]

Definitely, even seems bigger than his Doom 2 maps, or at least more complex with the frighteningly claustrophobic styling of Doom 1 heh.

[Reigada]

On 12/12/2023 at 9:25 AM, plums said:

I beat it on HMP pistol start, wanted to figure out where most of the secrets were without constantly being hounded by cyberdemons, and am now going back to play on UV PS.

 

I actually went to GZDoom because, sky issues aside, there are quite a few really awkward navigational parts when you're using a port that stays true to the original Doom movement - so many angled walls to get caught on, or bounce off of. I'll give it another go in Woof to see how the later levels are.

that is definitely the best way to go, UV is very harsh for a first time playthrough

[TerryMastermind]

UV is in an entirely different ballpark in terms of difficulty - I was not prepared after speeding through HMP on pistol start, had to do shameful amounts of save-scumming for the cyberdemons on e6m6. 

[Agent Strange]

Got three maps left to finish on UV. Vengeance Unleashed was brutal but outside of that I'm having a blast!

[TheSlipgateStudios]

Yeah, this WAD is awesome, aside from a few encounters and maps that is (map 6 can eat a LongJohn). Overall really good, 7/10

[Gifty]

SIGIL II on UV with the Thorr soundtrack is like entering warp speed. Exhilarating! Extremely stoked for Hellion, whenever it may come.

[cannonball]

Decided to dedicate some time to playing this.

 

E6M1 - This is one nasty little bugger, I must say I have never really been a fan of maps like this, but in a way I kind of dig this survivalist type of gameplay, at least in this one. I also like the visuals too on the whole. A pretty decent opener.

 

E6M2 - The name doesn't give me much encouragement (Sounds a lot like Perfect Hatred, a map which I consider to be one of Romero's best), now don't get me wrong I admire how much is crammed into this little house, but the map consists of too many frustrating tropes, the visuals don't pop like they did in E6M1 and worst of all there is a element of progression that is difficult to figure out (Now there is a shell pick up that when collected is supposed to open a closest that is essential for progression, well it turns out that a little earlier when I was fighting the monsters in the central area, I managed to pick these shells up without triggering said trap, now we have progression that isn't marked at all. In the end I had to watch a video to figure it out, in all honesty this left a bad taste in my mouth.

 

E6M3 - It sums it up when I fell in a random hole and exited the map :)

Again a lot of irritating little things, like the building with the computer map where the monsters are stuffed at the bottom, this killed me a few times mostly through a mixture of blockmap issues and the fact that you can get cornered so easily. Elastic collisions are far to easy to achieve in places and the small maze with passages that can barely fit the player left me a little puzzled until I finally found an extra route that led to a switch. The baron walkway was sort of fun to avoid. In short this was a little better than the second map, but there was a lot that I wasn't overly keen on. As a side note I could help but feel that this was a little bit of a homage to Mt Erubus, especially given that the exit is in a random pit, though this time I was able to jump into it.

Oh yes I did two shot bfg the cyber here.

 

E6M9 - This is a map that I can sort of enjoy, for a start the outdoor area with the cyber has a good space to obstacle rating in my opinion (Probably means others found this too easy but hey-ho), as a whole this felt a little more flexible with ammo, okay I will admit that I had to do some lava wading to pick up a shotgun for one of the sigil switches. I like the return to a more techbase theme, it stands out against the hellish backdrop. 

 

E6M4 - Okay this one I did enjoy, though I wish the cyberdemon could be more easily utilised instead of stomping around in that single area. Otherwise you got some amusing crusher traps and arguably the best visuals so far. The gameplay is also fairly solid and I actually could have returned to finish of cybie with ammo to spare. Probably the most fun this wad has offered so far.

 

E6M5 - Like the previous map, this one felt like you could go a little quicker and in general again the combat was okay. We also get some different textures in here, the techbase ones I wasn't so keen on but the rock textures certainly pair well with those red cracks. Both cyberdemon fights are tight but manageable. Again this map i a little too baron heavy but again this is a map where I could have got 100% kills in without too much hassle.

Edited December 15, 2023 by cannonball

[GarrettChan]

On 12/12/2023 at 4:25 AM, plums said:

there are quite a few really awkward navigational parts when you're using a port that stays true to the original Doom movement - so many angled walls to get caught on, or bounce off of.

Those are actually pretty bad, especially E6M3 where you can fall into an inescapable pit... I think now these zig-zaggy walls are pretty much the style now...

 

19 minutes ago, cannonball said:

E6M2 - ...I managed to pick these shells up without triggering said trap...

Yep, that happened to me as well. There are a few of these in the set that you don't know where the hell you're going until walk on a random item or something... not a good way for progression honestly... Also, did you CG that Cyberdemon? In my eyes, that's the biggest problem of the map.

Edited December 14, 2023 by GarrettChan

[cannonball]

9 minutes ago, GarrettChan said:

Those are actually pretty bad, especially E6M3 where you can fall into an inescapable pit... I think now these zig-zaggy walls are pretty much the style now...

 

Yep, that happened to me as well. There are a few of these in the set that you don't know where the hell you're going until walk on a random item or something... not a good way for progression honestly... Also, did you CG that Cyberdemon? In my eyes, that's the biggest problem of the map.

I left him, the lava is more dangerous out there than big chief goat and of course he is too big to fit inside the house. As such not much of a threat and way to taxing to deal with, even if you have enough bullets.

Edited December 14, 2023 by cannonball

[Rudolph]

E6M9 feels like a bit of a missed opportunity to me, even more so considering the fact that it is called "Shattered Homecoming". Since SIGIL II takes us back to Hell once again, it might have been cool to actually show it in-game this time around by giving the player the impression that they have indeed returned to Earth only to get sent back to Hell the next map; finding yourself surrounded by monsters at the beginning of E6M1 would have felt more earned, like a subversion of E1M8's ending.

Edited December 14, 2023 by Rudolph

[Dweller Dark]

Has anyone used GZDoom mods on SIGIL II? I don't know if it's the map itself or the mods, but something in each map tends to break, which usually isn't the case for Doom or WADs like Double Impact.

[Rudolph]

57 minutes ago, Dweller Dark said:

Has anyone used GZDoom mods on SIGIL II? I don't know if it's the map itself or the mods, but something in each map tends to break, which usually isn't the case for Doom or WADs like Double Impact.

I am using a few myself and I have not noticed anything. What are you referring to specifically here?

[Dweller Dark]

5 minutes ago, Rudolph said:

I am using a few myself and I have not noticed anything. What are you referring to specifically here?

 

Stuff like lifts and such not working or getting stuck, especially the type that you have to activate a switch for. 

 

But I also use several mods together:

• libtooltipmenu (for Gun Bonsai, Indestructible, and Zombrothers)
• Gun Bonsai
• Indestructible
• Zombrothers
• Corruption Cards
• Russian Overkill or Brutal Doom v21

Though, when playing Doom or Doom 2, or even SIGIL/Double Impact, they don't affect the maps like what I'm getting with SIGIL II.

[Xeogred]

After beating it on HMP the other night, I just finished up a full UV/PS per map run tonight. Sparse saves here and there. Just like classic Romero, a little trial and error along with knowing some of the secrets, everything feels so fair and awesome. I'm still not sure how much I love the first three maps and this M1 seems so obtuse for an M1, but it's growing on me.

 

I also bought the digital release to check it out with the THORR OST this run. Vitriolic Vendetta was my favorite jam. Not sure I have a favorite between the two OST's. The THORR tunes kind of crank it up like it's Quake II stuff haha. I dig it but the Jimmy OST is amazing too and I think gives it a darker vibe.

 

I like M9 myself. It reminds me a lot of some of the one off maps Romero did over the years. E1M4 Phobos Mission Control and E1M8 Tech Base Gone Bad. I'm always a sucker for E1 and techbases, so it's nice to see Romero still mess a little with that aesthetic.

 

Weren't there some nastier crusher traps in the first Sigil? It rings a bell thinking of that haha. Not too bad here. Lot of damage floors though and opportunities to fall off some of the thin ziggy zaggy platforms as some mentioned.

 

For me I still think E6M5 might be my top favorite. I still couldn't find all the secrets but it's such a perfect map though. There is much of this wad that makes me feel like Hellion is going to be more of Romero's Plutonia, rather than Doom II. At the same time, M7 is still an odd one and feels like something that would have been more interesting in Doom II with the full enemy roster. Maybe a case of Romero having several map ideas so he jammed them all into that map? I still dig it though, just a bit longer than his usual style. M4 and M6 are up there among my favorites as well. M6 kind of gave me Alien Vendetta vibes. It was a big adventurous map but far more focused than M7. M8 is surprisingly easy and brief now, especially finding all the secrets and loading up. It feels like a cool conclusion to this chapter but maybe could have gone a little harder. No real complaints though.

 

30 years later and Romero still cooks up some amazingly cool maps with their own personality even among the hundreds of wads out there now. We are spoiled that the legend himself keeps dishing out new levels! So freaking awesome. A lot of hype is riding on Hellion but I bet it'll be killer.

[Rudolph]

So is there a way to get past the final Cyberdemon in E6M6 without wasting all of my remaining ammo on it? Or am I pretty much fucked?

[bobbie424242]

Any reason this thread is not in the "WAD Releases & Development" forum ?

[Fireseth]

1 hour ago, bobbie424242 said:

Any reason this thread is not in the "WAD Releases & Development" forum ?

🤓

Posted this in Doom General since the previous SIGIL thread was posted here too.

[cannonball]

E6M6 - Probably the first map so far where the good overwhelmingly outweighs the bad, okay the blue key section kind of sucks but the red key offers a hair-raising run around a small marble maze that also yields several goodies if you like your platforming. The yellow key also has some great visuals and the run around the rocky terrain is pretty fun, the metal maze was fine, but not the highlight of this area. The ending had me luring monsters into the sights of the cyber that spawns after all three keys are collected and yes I had to finish the cyber by the exit off with the shotgun. Despite still being very harsh I found this map to be far more rewarding, progression felt a little easier too with switches or very obvious lowering walls being utilised instead of hiding sigil switches. Ultimate this probably the most handsome map so far and in my view the most entertaining.

[Rudolph]

3 hours ago, cannonball said:

The ending had me luring monsters into the sights of the cyber that spawns after all three keys are collected and yes I had to finish the cyber by the exit off with the shotgun.

Yeah, that Cyberdemon is one too many. Next time I am playing the level, I am saving the Invulnerability Sphere and the Berserk Pack for it.

[LadyMistDragon]

On a couple of the secrets in E6M2 (especially the fireblu one) I'm like, god John, you're such a troll. I did end up with all of them unlike E6M1

 

More concerning is taking out a Cyberdemon with a chaingun. Not the best moment so far.

Edited December 16, 2023 by LadyMistDragon