The DWmegawad Club plays: Eviternity II

[Helm]

yeah pulling out of active participation, will try to play when I have a chunk of time but work demands more of my attention. I'll keep reading to see how the rest of you all liked Eviternity II in its totality

[KickAss]

Happy new year to you all! I see the club plays Eviternity II RC. The version doesn't count that much imho. Glad that there is a sequel made from the same guys that started Eviternity back then. I played some Eviternity too in the past but I really never got into that game. I'll give it a try later on but formerly looking forward for the next month. The games are keeping getting better! Have fun!

[Veeda Vidlak]

Good luck with work Helm, I’ve been there.

 

Map13 “Colossicus” by Dragonfly

 

Despite the Brobdingnagian name, Colossicus is a medium length outing. The architecture is imposing but the combat is more of a breather.

 

Colossicus gets off to a good start, an RL encounter in a towering, stony hall that, again, reminds me of Halo. The two astralcacos spice it up but there’s more than enough room to avoid pressure. After this we have the option to start with the east or west pathway, both featuring sedate incidental fighting, one meatier scrimmage, and one trek along the upper walkway of the temple ending back at this area. Once both pathways are complete the exit opens and (after some rockets into the lowering door) we're done.

 

I don’t have much else to talk about, the level has good pacing, strong design, and solid but procedural combat. I’ll say I’m not a fan of all the revenant snipers on medium sized pillars, they’re annoying to grind through because rockets are unreliable. The pond to the northeast is the best encounter in the map, surrounding us with mid-tiers in an appropriately sized arena. If it’s causing trouble, start by backing to the southeast corner and preemptively rocketing the pinkies/nm demons as their wall lowers (due west of the soulsphere), they’re the most problematic element in the fight imo.

 

Solid map that does its job of easing the nerves mid-episode. If this is what qualifies as filler in Eviternity II then boy does that speak for the quality of the whole presentation.

[Dragonfly]

3 hours ago, Helm said:

yeah pulling out of active participation, will try to play when I have a chunk of time but work demands more of my attention. I'll keep reading to see how the rest of you all liked Eviternity II in its totality

 

This is a shame, I was thoroughly enjoying your write-ups.

 

In a similar vein, sorry I've not provided any further dev insight, I've been up to my eyeballs in work-related stuff, so when I have free time I don't really have the energy / will to write long paragraphs, I just wanna chill out. 😅

[KickAss]

GZDooM 4.11.3, PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), continuous play, no saves.

 

If anybody wants to know Eviternity II doesn't work with GZDooM 4.10 and the other needed stuff to load of my setup. Switched to the latest GZDooM version 4.11.3 from zdoom.org and the game launched.

 

Map01 has amazing architecture and the "air-lifts" that are carrying you around the map are in a curious way some kind of innovative. The foot steps are disturbing and totally out of place when using this "airways". But the map is heavily boring too. A lot of walking around for just one key you've to find and just one cacoish monster to kill.

 

 

Map02 has great architecture too but I haven't seen a lot from it because the enemy overkill starts already here. You know I am playing with Project Brutality 3.0 and there are lots of slashers with axes and chainsaw dudes and Zombieman that keep taking me out and I am running constantly out of ammo. Very hard start! I've tried six times yet and did not made it that far in this level. Anyway cool entryway... . You guys here doesn't seem to have the same problem on Ultra Violence too?

 

Edited January 13 by KickAss

[RHhe82]

MAP13: Colossicus. Played on DSDA v0.27.4, UV, PS. 240/240 K, 2/2 S, 3/3 I. Comp. time 29:44

 

Somehow, with a name like Colossicus, I was expecting far longer and spicier journey than we got. Something like Dehydration. It's not short, either, for sure, but all things considered rather doable. Hey, completion time under half an hour for me constitutes for a shortish medium-sized map. Even the soundtrack (once again, top notch material) suggested this gon' be a big boy map.

 

Again I somehow get Halo vibes here! Surely that's not intentional, but the beefy concrete structures surrounded by wilderness associates with that vibe, for me. (That's not a bad thing, unless the mapper is going for endless twisting corridors of some Halo:CE maps, all alike).

 

Other than that, I have little to say. In a way, it does feel like a filler map, but that said, in any other mapset it'd probably rank very high.

 

* * *

 

6 minutes ago, KickAss said:

You guys here doesn't seem to have the same problem on Ultra Violence too?

 

If I read you correctly, no; MAP02 was (relatively) easy on UV. I don't think Eviternity II has been designed with game-altering mods in mind, like at all, so if I were you, I'd go in expecting a very peculiar ride. Such as how does Perforator work, is it even there or is it replaced with some Brutality stuff.

[Celestin]

14 minutes ago, KickAss said:

GZDooM 4.11.3, PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), continuous play, no saves.

Fair warning, Eviternity 2 adds a lot of custom monsters and a new weapon (replacing chainsaw, but working completely differently), this might not work properly with gameplay-altering mods. Also, there's a ton of new entities in maps that handles particle effects, so loading this together with a mod as resource-intensive as Project Brutality might make your computer shit itself.

 

17 minutes ago, KickAss said:

You guys here doesn't seem to have the same problem on Ultra Violence too?

Nope, I've had a ton of pistol ammo and barely used anything else. Seriously, reconsider using PB here.

[esselfortium]

19 minutes ago, KickAss said:

GZDooM 4.11.3, PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), continuous play, no saves.

 

Map02 has great architecture too but I haven't seen a lot from it because the enemy overkill starts already here. You know I am playing with Project Brutality 3.0 and there are lots of slashers with axes and chainsaw dudes and Zombieman that keep taking me out and I am running constantly out of ammo. Very hard start! I've tried six times yet and did not made it that far in this level. Anyway cool entryway... . You guys here doesn't seem to have the same problem on Ultra Violence too?

I have Completely Fuck Up The Intended Gameplay installed and for some reason the gameplay is completely fucked up? Why is the map like this?

[Veeda Vidlak]

Forget the technical issues, if the second map of this megawad is delivering a beating you're clearly mixing sodium and water. Just play the levelset normally.

Edited January 13 by Veeda Vidlak

[Tristan]

54 minutes ago, KickAss said:

 You know I am playing with Project Brutality 3.0

 

that's not very kickass of you

[Cutman 999]

MAP11 - “Titan” by Guardsoul (Pistol start, used saves, 97% kills, 75% Items, 33% secrets)

 

Wow this is amazing! the new episode theme surely is unique, a hydraulic press surrounded in cherry blossom trees, this takes place in japan? The opening fight is a good wakeup call and has a good difficulty curve, those nightmare demons are truly gonna mess you up with that rocket launcher, if you don't finish up the waves of enemies quickly, letting them stack together with archviles is the worst that can happen.

 

After that is calming, beatiful scenery before more bombastic fights were, again, you need to use the rocket launcher efficiently to generate you some space. This map does a very great job enforcing this in almost all it's fights, making them progressively trickier to do, but at the end of the day at least teaching you how to do so in the opening fight.

 

The 2 final fights shows how probably, the astral arachnotron is the best infighter in the game, being capable of pulverizing even barons in seconds, while also being capable of destroying you in that timelapse if you don't pay attention. Overall, the best opener so far, and one of my favorites in the wad.

 

9/10

 

MAP12 - “Collapse” by Dragonfly (Pistol start, saveless, 100%K/I/S)

 

This midi is a remix of astral dreadnought? sounds very, very fucking cool, but idk it feels completely out of place in this map, even if the map itself tries to capture the interconnected style gusta's plutonia 2 maps had.

 

And talking about that, yes, this is an interconnected arena where you can technically tackle everything whoever you like, similar to map 9 in that regard, but in a more arcadie style, just dealing with quick ambushes and incidental combat all the way, where you open more and more the central arena the further you progress.

 

I know this sounds predictable, but yeah it flows perfectly, even if you don't have access to more heavy firepower immediatly, all of these are fun to tackle, the icing on the cake being the duplicate weapons incentivising even more replayability, since the map let's you mixup many of your aproaches to it.

 

To end this, 4 cyberdemon snipers watchover the now completely open arena, with the rest of the 300 imps of the map teleporting at once, a very threatning ambush that will force you to move agressively... If you don't just find a safespot near the soulsphere secret. Intentional or oversight?

 

An archvile and 2 mancubi guard the telefrag sequence to end this map, it seems difficult until you just snipe the vile in the safespot and just kill the 2 mancubi quickly. Very cool map, carries a lot of momentum from last map and possibly is one of the most replayable in the set.

 

9/10

 

MAP13 - “Colossicus” by Dragonfly (Pistol start, used saves, 100% kills, 100% Items, 50% secrets)

 

Btw why this midi feels so... heavy? Sounds almost like a rejected sigil 2 tune.

 

About the map itself... it takes more literal the "PETRIFIED" episode name, since ist mosyly being around the concrete structure, altough nature is very visible as well, it is not so prevalent compared to the start of the episode. 

 

This plays more like a slowburner compared to the last map, since you need to relay mostly on infighting or being patient to survive the many ambushes present, altough that doesn't mean there's some heavy adrenaline rushes here and there, like that double archvile, rev horde combo, or that amazing shitfest happening once you grab the soulsphere in the water.

 

Progression is very intuitive, being about going to the 2 sides of the building to disable some wall switches that open the exit, so is not like you would get confused at any moment during this map, is just that I think intensity is not much consistent in this map, considering most ambushes don't match the adrenaline rushes you have with those aforementioned ones, but still solid in progression, pacing and combat.

 

Btw, that astral caco finality is disgusting, especially with almost no ammo.

 

8/10

[Ralgor]

1 hour ago, KickAss said:

You guys here doesn't seem to have the same problem on Ultra Violence too?

 

I'm still on the fence whether this post was a joke or not. The reason I think it's a joke is this line, since nobody else here is using mods. But if not... Project Brutality makes Doom significantly harder. This makes sense if you're playing the original IWADs, wads made for the mod, or just easy vanilla wads in general. But this isn't that. I tried Project Brutality on MAP02 (for the laughs) and yea it's kind of insane.

 

I'd recommend dropping the mods if you're serious about playing Eviternity II.

 

Either way, your post made me laugh. Whether intentionally or unintentionally...

[Dragonfly]

1 hour ago, KickAss said:

Very hard start!

 

If this map is hard with your, ahem, "setup", you're going to have an excruciatingly shit time.

 

Please don't bastardise the fuck outta your first playthrough, you're doing yourself (and this thread) a great disservice.

Edited January 13 by Dragonfly

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP13 - Colossicus - Dragonfly (99%K/100%I/50%S):

This is a throwback to Eviternity MAP19, remember that map? The only level in said episode that captured the brutalist feeling of that episode accurately. Luckily, this was not as long as said map, and honestly, this is how Eviternity's episode IV should have looked like, as it kinda confused aesthetics with episode 2 most of the time.

The level itself is really spicy, and it will benefit continuous players, as, at times, ammo will feel very scarce. The map gives you tons of plasma ammo, but plasma I guess is secret, so you will have to work your way out to use it if you pistol start. The area at the start is one heck of a battle, so try to make revs and knights infight as always, don't waste too much ammo on them.

The map then proceeds by giving you two similar paths, left or right, after you traverse each path, two switches will reveal an exit, and also some angry astrals behind the doors. Fun map, and its brutalistic aesthetics, though really simple, look great, and make you feel like a little, insignificant ant.

Order of preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP32
MAP11
MAP09

MAP07

MAP05
MAP12
MAP13
MAP03
MAP08
MAP06

MAP02
MAP04
MAP10
MAP31

 

At this point, I think most mapsets should advice or encourage the player not to use massive mods like that, only to respect the mappers work, as I think it just disrespects the work of a mapper to play using them.

[Downcologo one]

4 hours ago, KickAss said:

GZDooM 4.11.3, PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), continuous play, no saves.

 

If anybody wants to know Eviternity II doesn't work with GZDooM 4.10 and the other needed stuff to load of my setup. Switched to the latest GZDooM version 4.11.3 from zdoom.org and the game launched.

 

Map01 has amazing architecture and the "air-lifts" that are carrying you around the map are in a curious way some kind of innovative. The foot steps are disturbing and totally out of place when using this "airways". But the map is heavily boring too. A lot of walking around for just one key you've to find and just one cacoish monster to kill.

 

 

Map02 has great architecture too but I haven't seen a lot from it because the enemy overkill starts already here. You know I am playing with Project Brutality 3.0 and there are lots of slashers with axes and chainsaw dudes and Zombieman that keep taking me out and I am running constantly out of ammo. Very hard start! I've tried six times yet and did not made it that far in this level. Anyway cool entryway... . You guys here doesn't seem to have the same problem on Ultra Violence too?

 

Che Pibe I recommend that you play it vanilla, not with project brutality or brutal doom or any of those 70 thousand versions of that, it is a cue designed to play with VANILLA

[TJG1289]

GZDoom/UV/Contiuous/Saves

Write-ups from memory

 

MAP13: Colossicus - Dragonfly

 

This map is pretty deceiving right off the bat. Taking one look at this giant imposing structure the map starts in, you'd think you'd be in for a pretty long ride. In reality, this map is actually on par length wise with most of the maps in the set. We're not even in this building for that long; it's just a straight shot through it at the onset. Just have to deal with a surprisingly mean ambush at the start. I remember it almost killed me at the start, and I came in with the secret soul sphere from the previous map! Once back outside, there's 2 paths to take that wrap around the sides of the building. Both have different combat setups, and each offer up a good challenge. There's a nice sense of elevation changes in both paths, which I like. I think my favorite fight from these paths is the one in the big water-logged area as it's the most open encounter in the map, allowing for nice infighting all around. At the end of each path is a teleporter that takes you back inside the building, just on the upper ledges. The columns will open revealing a bunch of baddies, with the astral cacos being the most annoying. Make it to the end, take out the archie/annihilator behind the door, and hit the switch. Hitting both will open the exit and reveal a bunch of astral cacos. Hit the jump pad to fly into the next level. Overall, a solid map! Everything looks great as expected, and the giant concrete structure looks really cool. Fights are fun and a little more intense. 

[baja blast rd.]

MAP13 - “Colossicus” by Dragonfly

 

One cool thing about this wad is how the themes aren't just about assets or even settings, but they have other motifs baked into them. The brutalist architecture in many of these Petrified maps is really tall and grandiose, which you can see in "Titan" but also here. 

 

"Colossicus" is full of setpiece encounters, but it ends up flowing very fluidly anyway because almost nothing prevents you from simply leaving the setups. Most are softly enforced at best, by dangerous enemies near the way out. This lets you pretty much play the map like you want to. Don't want to mop up the surviving HKs in the first encounter with shotgun and chaingun? Just go outside and get the SSG. The chaingunner, revenant, and astral manc setup on the east side would be one of the most demanding encounters in the map if you had to stay put, but you can simply drop down into the water, at the expense of likely triggering the next fight while revenants from that setup can potshot you. Dropping off from either of the ledge-based setups is punishment enough since you have to navigate back up, so there's no point in enforcing a lock-in there. This philosophy is my favorite when it comes to easy (relative to the standard of the mapset) set pieces. If a fight isn't really all that hard relative to the wad, there's no sense in forcing the player to stay; you'll do better letting the player seek out their own fun/danger, such as by multi-tasking. Also I enjoy how revenants left alive will snipe at you through windows. 

 

The view into map14 is fantastic, one of my favorite previews up to this point. 

 

In this video I punch an astral manc, and despite the teal spread attack offering a good opportunity for that, astral mancs are simply not worth it to punch if you care more about survival, because the yellow spam will one-shot you easily and the margin for error there is so narrow. So I don't think using the teal attack is a "cheese." Punching these is still super dangerous. 

 

At the end of this video the last two [spoilers] jump-scared me because I thought I dealt with all of them already. :P

 

 

[cannonball]

MAP13 - “Colossicus” by Dragonfly

 

A few irksome elements in here, for a start there are a lot of perched revenants that have a little too much room to move, as such they can be a little irritating to kill. Also a few of the fights are a little bit of a throwaway, for example both the upper ledge sections in the superstructure felt more like killing time and ammo rather than offering anything. Aside from that both wings have some neat fights and the map is pretty easy to navigate. As above the views beyond the playspace offer a lot to the proceedings, giving a real sense of how small you are in regards to the surroundings.

Overall this is solid, I wouldn't call it filler, more like Dragonfly is anchoring this episode and allows others to really flesh out their own ideas. Titan was something special and well you can see from the exit of this map that the next one is going to be something else...

[Azure_Horror]

Map 09 - “Quetzalcoatl” by @Dragonfly

Okay, to make review a bit longer, and less bland, I will list a handful of observations:

- There are really many ways to go on this map. Non-linearity is everywhere, both in side-areas, and main progression. However, no mater the route you choose, it feels like a One-True-Way-To-Progress-Naturally. Quetzalcoatl manages to combine strongest parts of non-linear and linear approaches to structure. This is great!

- Many parts of the map, especially the cave sections, heavily remind me of Trinary Temple from Ancient Aliens. But without all the time-consuming walking!

- On the other hand, a central hub + many sideareas to explore + architecture together remind me of Dare to Fly Where Eagles Soar, also from Ancient Aliens.

But to be completely fair, I struggle to find good worlds to describe Quetzalcoatl. It is an amazing level!

Quetzalcoatl is a really high-quality map, with lots of miniature side-areas, many different routes to proceed, an actual secret exit to map 32, and cool-looking sections both above-ground and inside the caves.

Really, really wonderful map, but hard to talk about. I prefer to play it, rather than write texts about it . . .

 

Map 32 - “Charge” by @Tristan Clark & @Guardsoul

All things considered, this is my favorite map of Eviternity II. Period.

Charge is bets described as Lost Civilization meets Angnorisis! This in itself is quite an achievement! Charge also serves as a great demonstration of MBF-21 instakill floors, which slay both the player and the demons! The map also has a bit of Meta-Videogame-y stuff, with Red Key secret teleporters and related elements...

 

That’s in short. This map deserves a longer review, and I hope I’ll be able to write one eventually.

It is my favorite map of the WAD, after all…

 

Map 10 - “Incinerate” by Dragonfly

Incinerate is a miniature symmetrical boss map, happy to flood the player with all kinds of funny nonsense.

The map introduces a new foe: Astral Mancubus. This behemoth is beefy and has impressive firepower. Its three different attack types look gorgeous, and showcase the insane potential of MBF-21 expanded mod capabilities.

Aside from new Mancubi, Incinerate also has Astral Cacos, Annihilators, Astral Spider, a Cyber, and a silly hitscanner crowd near the very end.

Visuals are perfectly calibrated to the gameplay. The gameplay-focused symmetrical arena structure looks like a natural development of Episode 2 themes, like a hybrid between map 06 and the subterrain sections of map 09.

 

Good map. One thing I must add: that this map would have been a really badass introduction for the Necromancer monster (in place of the cyberdemon)...

But that’s a story for another day. We’ll get there in less than two weeks.

 

Map 11 - “Titan” by Guardsoul

Facerocket is the worst kind of rocket.

Sadly, Titan gives ample opportunities to facerocket oneself: lots of specters, plenty of archviles, plenty of lost souls and pain elementals, many other big monsters. This means that rocket launcher firepower is mandatory, but opportunities to misfire a rocket are everywhere… Ouch. That’s my primary impression about the gameplay on Titan. To be fair, the fights are quite diverse and action-packed. But facerocket threat is present in almost every major encounter, and thus it lingers in my memory the most.

 

But from thematic and artistic perspective, Titan is immaculate. Concrete Fortresses and Scenic Natural Beauty may seem like an odd things to combine. But Titan mixes them in a very compelling way. And even more:

- Natural parts of the map are great and unforgettable in themselves.

- Concrete parts of the map are also great and unforgettable in themselves.

- And they also made to fit together! Natural cliffs and concrete cliffs both look stunning, like one is a development of the other!

This map really sells the Episode 3 theme. Such a brilliant entry!

 

Map 12 - “Collapse” by Dragonfly

A shorter level, and a twist for those of us, who look for spoilers in the monster counter.

The map starts from a series of ambushes, proceeds to a series of localized fights, and finally rebuilds itself into one big arena brawl. Most of the 300-something monsters are imps. They flood the map at the final stage. Thus, the map is much less beefy than the monster counter may suggest.

 

In general, this map likes to re-build itself by lowering all kinds of walls. It also has quite mean Annihilator set ups in smaller arenas. And the 4 cyberdemon turrets at the end cause an great deal of mayhem. I think, structurally this map ressembles smaller levels from @mouldy's Going Down the most. However, the artstyle and music selection employed differs considerably from Mouldy’s designs, and thus Collapse feels very different from Going Down, despite its structural similarities.

 

One last thing: Collapse, being a shorter map, is a perfect change of pace after rather big map 11. It really helps the WAD to fit together.

[Celestin]

MAP14: Equanimity by Aurelius

 

The opening minutes of Equanimity made me groan. The map's scale and lazy pacing reminded me of Sovereign, a map I'm not that big of a fan of. However, MAP14 turns out to be a great sandbox level, combining open-ended exploration, hard-hitting combat and... puzzles.

 

There are two exits here, regular and secret. Accessing MAP15 requires you to provide power (in a form of a golden liquid that flows through canals that criss-cross the map) to a stature located near the start. To do this, you need to complete 3 combat challenges that can be accessed in any order. The first I completed was a multistage fight in a rotunda. It starts with an astral mancubi and two archvile, along with some weaker monsters, on top of stairs, then progress to several rounds of encounters with not many monsters (usually revenants), but severely limiting your space. I don't know if I'm the only one to have this feeling, but E3 really likes using rockets in tight spaces (not that I mind). The second fight was a locked-in battle with a lot of hell knights, plus some peripherial mancubi and cacodemons. The third one was an descending courtyard that releases more and more monsters, ending with a flood of imps. If you try to exit, there are two archviles to quickly dispatch.

 

The secret exit has you faced some more unorthodox obstacles. There are three keys, each one is guarded by a puzzle. To get the blue one, you have a 3x3 grid of pillars that you can move up and down in patterns and have to lower them all at once. The red key is this 3x3 square with one missing piece and you have to form a picture. You know what I'm talking about. I never liked this specific kind of puzzle, so let's just say I'm more impressed with the fact it works than the task itself. As for the yellow key, this is the best one. It's playing DDR to activate conveyor belts and lead a barrel to the end of a maze. I know it sounds insane, you just have to see this yourself.

 

The visuals here are unusual. It's not exactly the austere look of the previous maps in the chapter, there is still a lot of concrete, but the shapes are more majestic than imposing. It feels like Eviternity 1's final chapter, but without the ornaments. As if someone tried to rebuild the Heaven on Earth and wasn't able to finish it, leaving  concrete husk behind.

 

So, I entered with little expectations, but managed to find Equanimity to be a great map, probably one of the best sandboxes I've seen in a while.

 

MAP33: Catalyst by Bauul

 

I don't have a skill to enjoy this map. Catalyst is an escape from an exploding reactor - a 3 minute long conveyor belt ride, where you have to avoid laser grids and molten gold, both will insta-kill you. It took me 4 hours to complete, including save-scumming after every larger section. The map was fun at first, it's a novel concept, but I eventually reached a point where it got overwhelming. This constant cycle of trying, dying, completing a section, all the time asking myself "when is this going to end?". The very final stretch nearly broke me, the lasers are very close together, the gap is tiny and by the end it all blended together into a blur. After an hour of trying to beat this particular section and several close-calls, where I died on the very last lasers, I was about to give up. It all felt like I was guessing where to move next. I know it's fast reflexes and memorising patterns, but it just felt above my capabilities. I tried one last time and somehow dodged all obstacles, grabbed the perforator and escaped into the wilderness outside. Watching the place exploding behind your back should have been satisfying, but I'm just feeling tired. 

 

I don't know if I'm even allowed to criticise this map just because I wasn't good enough. I feel it was a combination of luck and stubborness I've reached the end. Catalyst is a beautiful map with hypnotic visuals and great midi. However, I won't be playing it ever again.

[Vosolokoviteh]

9 hours ago, KickAss said:

 PB 3.0, HeXeReTiC HUD PB3 v8.3RC2e, Glory Kills v29b, SilentDoomguy, Flashlight, -iwad doom2.wad (ver 1.666), -skill 4 (UV), continuous play, no saves.

 

If anybody wants to know Eviternity II doesn't work with GZDooM 4.10 and the other needed stuff to load of my setup. Switched to the latest GZDooM version 4.11.3 from zdoom.org and the game launched.

 

Map02 has great architecture too but I haven't seen a lot from it because the enemy overkill starts already here. You know I am playing with Project Brutality 3.0 and there are lots of slashers with axes and chainsaw dudes and Zombieman that keep taking me out and I am running constantly out of ammo. Very hard start! I've tried six times yet and did not made it that far in this level. Anyway cool entryway... . You guys here doesn't seem to have the same problem on Ultra Violence too?

holy crap, play it on dsda doom then

[Ralgor]

MAP14 - “Equanimity” by Aurelius

 

Deaths: I lost count. A lot? At least a dozen, but probably more like 20.

 

Holy. Shit.

 

This level is open, non-linear, has brilliant combat and puzzles, and is gorgeous. It's not just my favorite map of Eviternity II so far, it may be my favorite map I've ever played.

 

The map begins much like MAP07 in that you're in a large area with lots of enemies running around. This level does a much better job at having those enemies actually be dangerous. Not only did stuff tend to just appear where I didn't expect it, but some enemies were cleverly hidden in the greenery. Others had a nice perch to shoot at me from. It was wonderfully chaotic. There was plenty of health around so that I didn't feel like the chip damage I was taking was a big deal. I still recognized my need to reduce damage taken, but not to such an extent that it became stressful. Once you get your bearings, you have two quests to go on. The main exit can be activated by flipping three switches at the end of three challenges. These challenges were actually challenging. I died quite a bit in this map. Hell I may have died more in this map than in the rest of the wad up to this point combined. I never felt like any of them were unfair. I also never felt like the mapper was being mean either. The other quest has you solving three puzzles. I have no idea what technical black magic was used to create these puzzles, but they were inventive. I was able to solve all three without a huge amount of trouble, but I did have to stop and think about two of them. The barrel puzzle was just about learning the timing, so it was the easiest. I also found the other two non-puzzle secrets. They would have been useful had I found them before killing everything, but oh well. Also, don't hesitate to take the secret teleport immediately once you get the three keys, and grab the BFG. I didn't do that until everything was dead, so I didn't use it at all.

 

I absolutely love this map! The only thing I'm not totally sold on is the music with it. It was very relaxing while solving the puzzles but kind of clashed with the high energy set-pieces. It's not a bad song though, just didn't quite fit for me.

 

After this map I pretty well immediately went to Aurelius' doomwiki page and started adding things to my long backlog.

 

MAP33 - “Catalyst” by Bauul

 

Deaths: Uuuuuugh.

 

I got to the end in 3:36 on the stats screen, but probably half of an hour of attempts, with saves between each section.

 

I won't say this map isn't well made. There's nothing technically wrong with it.

 

But I hate it. Hate. It.

 

If you wanted to get an emotional reaction out of me, you got it. It almost feels like a personal fuck you to me. (I know it's not, I'm just explaining how I feel about it.) I'm getting emotional whiplash after loving the previous map.

 

This isn't a slight on Bauul. No one could create a map like this and get me to like it. I'm always going to hate it. I also don't feel like it belongs in this map set. At this point I'm hoping that this map doesn't reduce my opinion of the whole wad.

 

Maybe it's just a skill issue, but I just really don't like this type of gameplay.

 

I used to play Battletoads when I was a kid. And I remember the third level, whose back half was much like this map. That game is notorious, but that section of level is MUCH easier than this map.

 

Edit: I do have to say that anyone that can beat this saveless has my respect.

Edited January 14 by Ralgor

[Veeda Vidlak]

Map14 “Equanimity” by Henry Koivula (Aurelius)

 

Aurelius, one of the most brilliant technical mappers of all time, brings us Episode III’s epic in Equanimity. Thematically similar to Sovereign, the stakes are raised with a bump in difficulty… this is the hardest entry yet.

 

We are literally launched into the fray upon loading, which is great continuity with Colossicus. Just like in Sovereign, the vast outer area we start in contains a substantial garrison, with an emphasis on hitscanners and pellet gunners. Unlike Sovereign, the forested/Brutalist/Halo design conceals enemies much better than the Mesoamerican architecture and it can be difficult to tell where you’re getting hit from. Once you’re not getting peppered take a look around because, wow is this place impressive. Aurelius’s brutalist structures look both imposing and regal, which is not a word I usually associate with that style. This guy’s map design is always stellar, and a good example here is how he very subtly gives directions with the three channels leading to the statue in front of the exit. They need to be filled with golden fluid and if any aren’t then that’s an arena the channel will take you to.

 

So combat, we’ve got three arenas to do if we want to leave (regular exit anyway), northwest, south, and east. I consider the northwest one the easiest, which pits us against a bunch of hell knights backed by cacos, sniper mancs, and a pair of astralcacos. Space isn’t abundant but the sides being connected gives a lot of leeway and you should be able to quickly establish a circling route. The south arena (which we teleport to) gives a mega upon entry, which goes a long way towards outlasting the various scrimmages we have to grind through. It really helps to have the BFG for the revenants, and the side section with the pinkies and vile right beforehand.

 

Then we have the east area, which I consider the hardest. Several waves of enemies are engaged between two areas with the second one being pretty challenging. It’s another time-release battle but this time with less room and the final group swarms you with imps while two astral arachnos let loose at the far side. My deathless streak ended here to a barrage of plasma fire and man do not underestimate their dps, I had pretty high health and armor and died in like a nanosecond.

 

But wait! There’s more! Puzzles!

 

To visit our next secret map (and get a BFG to help with the arenas), we must solve three small puzzles to get the skull keys. One is to the west (requires two skirmishes) and features nine squares and four switches that manipulate pillars on the squares. My blind run I did it in like 30 seconds out of sheer luck, second playthrough it took me a fair bit longer. I don’t know the proper mathematical approach, but intuition works well enough. The second is up some pillars to the northeast and involves guiding a barrel along a short track using arrow buttons. This one’s fun, and there’s a slight input delay that adds a layer of trickiness. Lastly, down southeast we have a nine-square sliding puzzle that must be matched with the angel image on the door. I remember this from Runescape of all things, get the top row first then work from left to right. Yeah, I can do treasure trails.

 

I’ve been a huge fan of Aurelius ever since I played Ephemeral in 1000 Lines 2, and as expected we get a terrific outing here. Equanimity is currently the banner map of the third episode, and a great contribution from a very skilled artist. Even those who don’t like puzzles don’t need to worry, they’re entirely optional. Sandbox play, arenas, puzzles, visuals... there's something for everyone.

[RHhe82]

MAP14: Equanimity. Played on DSDA v0.27.4, UV, PS. 413/413 K, 5/5 S, 6/7 I. Comp. time 70:10

 

I had some frame rate issues in Charge, but oh boy did this bring my craptop to its knees. It's a gorgeous map, and almost feels like a thematic continuation of episode 1.

 

The frame rate issues made me a little sour, although I can't blame the mapper Aurelius for crafting such a beautiful locale. I guess it's these very issues that made me miserable for incidental combat, namely the corporals sniping you amidst the bushes.

 

The set encounters are great, I love transforming arena trope. But the most astounding thing here are the puzzles! How on earth the moving squares image puzzle was even made with Doom engine? 

 

Funny thing; I missed a switch in one the set encounters, and was totally lost on how to finish the map without entering the secret map. I didn't even realize the golden/oily streams were significant. Also a sad thing, found the backpack secret last :(

 

Another grade A map here, but we're barely halfway there - if the mappers keep on topping each other in grandeur, my laptop can't handle them D:

 

*

 

MAP33: Catalyst. Played on DSDA v0.27.4, UV, PS. 2/2 K, 0/0 S, 0/0 I. Comp. time DNF (yet)

 

I put this one on hold for the time being. I love the concept, I too played Skyroads as a kid, and it's (once again) astounding just what you can do with the engine.

 

I think got around halfway mark here, not exactly sure; to the part where there are laser gates and liquid murder goo. Anyway, that where I also found out what I suspected all along; there's a timer and you're dead when the explosions reach you. This makes me feel very conflicted: I love the map, love the ingenuity, yet I hate "Run from it" mechanics so much that makes me want to put this on hold.

[On the next day:]

 

MAP33: Catalyst. Played on DSDA v0.27.4, HNTR (damn straight), PS. 2/2 K, 0/0 S, 0/0 I. Comp. time 4:20 (unintentional)

 

I read Bauul's post on the release thread; it turned out there is no kill switch timer on lower difficulties, so I figured I should be able to do it that way and not feel defeated :P So yeah, Catalyst is a perfect example of a map that's perfect for a secret slot (or, I could also see a wad where each map is a track using these very mechanics, maybe with an added damageless archvile jump mechanic of sort.

 

I'm not sure what to say here. Much like Scythe's Run from it, I never want to play this map again; but unlike Scythe's Run from it, Catalyst is piece of (Doom) art and I can't help but stand in awe of ingenuity of this community and Bauul.

[arlinsae]

Ultra violence 100% kills/secrets, Pistol-start, Using saves
Played on DSDA Doom v0.27.5 -complevel 21

 

Map 13: Colossicus - 15:57

Fairly routine map by Ev2s high standards. Last time I'll mention this, but the continuity between this map and Collapse is neat and appreciated. Colossicus starts with a tense battle in a large hallway consisting of revenants, hell knights, cacodemons, and astral cacos. After that's done and you destroy a bunch of former corporals with rockets you have a choice of two paths that branch off to the left and right, neither particularly more or less difficult than the other. There's a cool fight with a ton of revenants, imps, and ev2 exclusives on the right path. I also like the astral mancubus fight and the water pit fight on the left path. There's a few too many imps and revenants up super high where they can't really harm you. Kind of annoying for 100% kill-heads. The most dangerous part of the level for me is the final encounter, with like 6 astral cacos. Ugh. I'm probably not going to remember this map exists in a month or so, but Colossicus builds momentum nicely and has a handful of decent encounters. Besides, if this is what qualifies for filler in your megawad I'd say you're doing pretty well.
Difficulty: 5/15

 

Map 14: Equanimity - 45:29 (yeah..)

Equanimity is quite a bit more open ended than the previous map, and undoubtedly Ev2's sternest challenge yet. There's the main hub of the map, which has a lot of roaming monsters and the SSG/rocket launcher. Branching off from the hub are three combat arenas that you'll finish to unlock the regular exit, and three puzzles that unlock keys that will lower the teleporter to the secret exit. The former three of which host several of the deadliest fights in the wad so far. Much like map 11, many of them come down to space management and being careful with the rocket launcher. I recommend tracking down the secret backpack for them too, it's a major quality of life bump. I enjoy this map a ton until everything's dead and the puzzle solving starts. I like the yellow key puzzle in which you have to guide a barrel across conveyer belts to other side, but the other two really aren't my cup of tea. I've always disliked sliding block puzzles (in Doom and otherwise) and the raising and lowering 3x3 grid felt like I just kinda hit switches until it solved itself. Some folks will definitely enjoy them, but for me personally I didn't bother with the secret exit on my first two clears and had a lot more fun with the map overall.
Difficulty: 7/15

 

Map 33: Catalyst - 3:24

Hooo boy, they did the Turbo Tunnels in Doom. What's scarier, is that this map is a bit harder than level 3 of Battletoads. Catalyst has no (killable) monsters in it, just a little over 3 minutes of movement-based challenges. A and D (or whatever your strafe left/right keybinds are) are the only buttons you'll need here. It's a pretty cool change of pace and objectively well designed but this map is sadly beyond my skill and patience level to try and do in one segment. In my first clear of this map back in RC1, I died several hundred times trying to complete it. It didn't take me nearly as long yesterday (but still died quite a few times), so I'm not sure if the map was changed between RC1 and 5 or I just got better at platforming. Either way, I reckon this will be one of the harder Ev2 maps to demo. If you do manage to complete it, continuous players get rewarded with a BFG and perforator for map 15 which is cool (especially after the last map taunted you with a BFG at the end). I also have to shout out the MIDI, which is high-energy and awesome. I probably wouldn't have stuck it out on my RC1 clear if not for it. 
Difficulty: 11/15

Edited January 14 by arlinsae
Forgot completion times :P

[KickAss]

21 hours ago, Dragonfly said:

 

If this map is hard with your, ahem, "setup", you're going to have an excruciatingly shit time.

 

Please don't bastardise the fuck outta your first playthrough, you're doing yourself (and this thread) a great disservice.

What the heck is wrong with you? What the hell are you talking about? There is absolutely no reason to get rude! Please be so kind and keep the discussion at the friendly side!

[KickAss]

22 hours ago, esselfortium said:

I have Completely Fuck Up The Intended Gameplay installed and for some reason the gameplay is completely fucked up? Why is the map like this?

Sorry but this has nothing to do with that what I've written. But it isn't really funny playing DooM like this... .

[KickAss]

13 hours ago, Vosolokoviteh said:

holy crap, play it on dsda doom then

Thank you for the advice but I have absolutely no clue where to get this dsda doom from. I may try Eviternity2 later more Vanilla. I still don't like Eviternity that much. Sorry.

[KickAss]

22 hours ago, Tristan said:

 

that's not very kickass of you

I don't know what do you want to tell me with that? You don't like PB 3.0?

[Novaseer]

2 minutes ago, KickAss said:

Sorry but this has nothing to do with that what I've written. But it isn't really funny playing DooM like this... .

What doesn't it have to do with it? You're running a mod that completely changes Doom's core gameplay loop, and acting surprised when a map designed for the vanilla game doesn't play nice with it.

 

Just now, KickAss said:

Thank you for the advice but I have absolutely no clue where to get this dsda doom from. I may try Eviternity2 later more Vanilla. I still don't like Eviternity that much. Sorry.

 

A link to DSDADoom's download area is on Eviternity II's website. Pretty hard to miss.