The DWmegawad Club plays: Nostalgia

[Cutman 999]

Noise Update, combined with trying to meet the deadline of certain community project made me lose some days, so now it is a good time to play like 3 maps. Yipee.

 

MAP12 - “The Lion’s Den” (Pistol Started, 3 attempts saveless, 100% K/I/S)

 

Small city map, I wish i made mine like this since is taking a billion years to... Not make it play like shit. Decently challenging start, even if the hitscanners are only like zombiemen, combined with all the hordes you have to face with just a shotgun or an ssg, can be sort of denting. After that there's some kind of minor but satisfying lowering wall ambushes, the blue key one with its limited space and snipers is possibly my favorite, the other one relating to the red key is more like the prototypical myolden ambush, the secret soulsphere in a random wall felt overkill.

 

Solid map.

 

7/10

 

MAP13 - “Sludge Factory” (Pistol Started, 2 attempts saveless, 100% K/I/S)

 

What a chill level, that snes music and the doomcute aesthetics truly send a very relaxed feel, so much so I almost got murdered 3 seconds for how distracted I was. Decently hard ambushes, although not like 11 or 12, most of the enemy roster are hitscanners or bullet sponges like barons, probably that's the reason why I felt ammo kind of lacking, but nothing to major.

 

Other than that I don't have much of an impression on this level, solid overall but nothing else. I died in the beginning from awakening the cacos on the poison plants too early.

 

7/10

 

MAP14 - “Beneath” (Pistol Started, saveless, 100% K/I/S)

 

Drillin' by night boys! Another chill city level, this time based on a train station, with a decent progression gimmick related to unlocking sections of the train itself. Other than one of the keys only being able to be found in a secret, which is circumvented by an automap that isn't hard to find at all, I don't have much stuff to add, more than the level having good enough gameplay and good aesthetics.

 

The bfg felt unecessary, since all of the fights can be solved easily with rockets, and that cave section felt a bit like filler, but is not bad, 8 minutes of fun.

 

7/10

[HiMyNameIsChair]

MAP11: Rapture (UV Pistol Start, played on DSDA. 100% Kills / 100% secrets, Time: 6:58)

 

 

 

I just love this map~! out of all of the maps in EP1, this is the one I've replayed the most. Myolden absolutely throws you into the frying pan from the start, tasking you with quick footwork as you gather guns, some of which will unleash more monsters! Hitting a switch early will even unleash an archvile, which really spices things up~!

 

The scramble for the BFG while you maneuver around and Archvile and his spooky contingent is a nicely balanced dose of adrenaline and the final room gives you plenty of cells to melt a Cyberdemon and w/e Hell knights he didn't kill.

 

Hands down one of my favourites in the set. This is exactly, my kind of map: a mad dash for resources as you run and gun and make room for yourself while dealing with new threats. A fantastic map, and one I lovingly revisit frequently!

 

Grade: A

 

 

MAP12: The Lion's Den  (UV Pistol Start, played on DSDA. 100% Kills / 100% secrets, Time: 6:24)

 

 

Kicking off maybe my favorite stretch of Nostalgia is Lion's Den, an old-school-looking city map with lovingly painted street lines and a nicely frenzied start. While it loses a little energy after the initial scramble for the SSG,  I always enjoy myself here. Finding the secret berserk means you can even have a back alley fistfight with a duo of Boney Boi's~!

 

While not his strongest map of the episode I never hate replaying this one, another solid map!

 

Grade: B

 

 

MAP13: Sludge Factory (UV Pistol Start, played on DSDA. 100% Kills / 100% secrets, Time: 7:42)

 

 

I feel like this is where Nostalgia *REALLY*  hits its stride because Sludge Factory is an absolute delight to play~! still to date maybe one of my favourite Myolden map's because he absolutely nails the setting here! It's full of set delightful set dressing from slime vats holding caco's, a crane arm, conveyor belts, god there's even a doomcute office! 

 

 

i always have a smile on my face when I play this map, seeing the carefully drawn computers, chairs, mice, pencils, and papers, there's even a bathroom, complete with some nice use of step textures for faucets!

 

 

This is a map where Myolden's really succeeds with the design goals for Nostalgia, it's construction while modest is handsomely lit in spots, carefully textured, and uses its flourishes in just the right spots~!

 

 

 

It's even got plenty of punch combat-wise, with the initial skirmish in the factory, and the red key fight being nicely calibrated, and even ends on a welcome Archvile interjection with a great space to fight him in. I think it finds that nice sweet spot of keeping you on your toes while still letting you enjoy the scenery and this wonderfully bouncy midi~!

 

literally, my only nitpick is the plasma secret is a bit hard to figure out at on a first playthrough, but I like that agile players can just platform to it as an alternative.

 

Definitely a highlight of the set for me, and an absolute joy to play~!

 

Grade: A+

 

 

MAP14: Beneath (UV Pistol Start, played on DSDA. 100% Kills / 100% secrets, Time: 6:06)

 

 

 

Man... Myolden really hit it out of the park with this stretch of the set. Beneath is yet another absolute banger, full of doomcute charm~!

 

The wonderfully rendered basketball court is still one of Nostalgia's most recognizable sights! There's also the lovely subway station, where Myolden cleverly uses the train cars to map out his progression, I really love how he uses this space~!

 

 

 

Maybe his most inspired choice is the hole in the wall he uses to transition into an absolutely gorgeous cave section~! I have to admit, as someone who considers themself rather skilled at creating natural environments in doom: I feel utterly humbled by Myolden's efficiency. Once again, even with how conservative the construction is, you never **feel** like it is~! The gentle gradient lighting, the smart selection of earthy colors, and the attention to verticality... it's a lovely space to be in, and fight in. Myolden really is a master of doing less with more and I admire that about his mapping so much!

 

 

 

 

While I could nitpick how you technically need to find a secret to progress, Myolden does literally giftwrap you a computer map, so I can't really be too hard on him. As usual Myolden's combat really feels just right, with the archvile coming in midway and some tight spaces giving it that extra spice.

 

Another fantastic map~!

 

Grade: A+

 

I feel a little guilty giving out so many A's, but this really is my favorite stretch of the set, just  so many fun maps to play through~!

 

Order of Preference

Spoiler

MAP13: Sludge Factory

MAP14: Beneath

MAP11: Rapture

MAP04:Pull the Plug

MAP08: Neurotica

MAP12: The Lion's Den 

MAP06: Spirit Crusher

MAP03: Illuminatus

MAP10: Creeping Death

Map07: A Fine Day To Die

MAP05: Poison Godmachine

MAP02: Under the Surface

MAP01: Dragonaut

MAP09: Bleed Me an Ocean

 

Also ranking these is getting very hard, because so many of these could be swapped.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 14: Beneath

 

Sounds a little ominous...but this turns out to be just a subway station, with the addition of some street areas, one end that's optional proving quite urban in more ways than one! Can't say I would've discovered that secret with the red key with the speed I was going. It's not as hard as the last few maps for a variety of reasons like finding the Super Shotgun early on. The plasma rifle secret is quite cunning in a couple of different ways, though it's simple enough to open. Otherwise, the BFG feels clearly meant for continuous play since nothing shows up in enough numbers to make it remotely worth using. The hitscanners are kind of nastily placed but it isn't so bad. Beware the trap at the yellow key...or not. Cool Ancient Aliens midi btw.

 

PS. Forgot about the random cave. Quite tasteful and nicely done!

 

 

 

Edited March 14 by LadyMistDragon

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP14 - Beneath - (96%K/100%I/33%S):

 

 

I wasn't save spamming, so I forgot to open the red doors, I was hitting random switches and then, suddenly, the exit switch. I didn't know that would be the exit at the yellow door room. Luckly, it's not MAP15, I'm not replaying maps.
 

I really dig the "subway" style of maps when those are well done. Short and sweet, nice setup. I like that you could go outside at the other side of the subway station. I think I've lost my red key here, I love the "2v2" basketball ground found in this area. Quite iconic. Combat here remains the same as previous maps, nothing too mind blowing.

Really fun map, I'll have to give it another playthrough sometime. 

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP14

MAP09

MAP06
MAP07
MAP11

MAP05

MAP04
MAP08
MAP12
MAP03
MAP02
MAP01
MAP13
MAP10

 

 

Edited March 16 by DJVCardMaster

[brick]

I wanted to rejoin the Club this month but I had a late start and haven't been able to set aside the necessary time to catch up. Thankfully the maps are so short so I'm getting there, I just cleared the first episode, but I feel I have to choose between playing the maps or spending more time writing about each of them individually. For now I'll just give some broad impressions of this first episode, and hopefully will be able to do map-by-map the rest of the month.

 

The maps all look beautiful, myolden claims to favour simpler geometry but he squeezes it for all it has, the architecture may not be grand but it is extremely well done and there's doomcute everywhere. I think I find myself drawn more and more to short maps, especially in full-length megawads like this. MAP01 is not very memorable but it's a decent opener and does a good job setting some expectations in terms of design and aesthetics. MAP02 is a very nice interpretation of Underhalls, I think I like it even more than the original. I think it's at MAP05 that the difficulty starts ramping up more dramatically, myolden claims the wad falls between Doom II and Plutonia but I am not so sure, it's been a long time since I played the latter but I got the feeling that HNTR Nostalgia (as I am playing) is a notch above HMP Plutonia, some of the ambushes are nasty. Maybe the episodic pistol start also contributed to difficulty, I found myself against mancubi in MAP12 with nothing but the shotgun. As I'm starting MAP13 I can't help but admire the doomcute, it's really exceptionally done and makes the map feel so cozy.

 

One last thing, I'm not the biggest death exit fan, but I'm so thankful for the way myolden set them up here, they are quick and most importantly almost completely silent (very clever use of multiple voodoo dolls). What a nice change from the cacophony of the usual Romero's head with exploding barrels!

[Raith138]

MAP14: Beneath

 

This takes a pretty creative spin on your average city map because it almost tells a story. The map is rather forgettable in terms of combat but layout wise I think it was the most creative and one of the best yet.

 

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

MAP14

MAP13

MAP03

MAP07

MAP12

MAP11

MAP09

MAP04

MAP08

MAP06

MAP02

MAP10

MAP05

MAP01

 

[Novaseer]

Secret exit, so we have three today!

 

MAP15 "The Lotus Eaters" (100% K/S, 96% I, 13:31)

 

First map to break 10 minutes... most of it was aimlessly trying to find the secret area.

 

Fairly hot start with being sandwiched by cacodemons, imps, pinkies and mancubi, then it generally peters out. Interestingly enough, armour on this map is fairly scarce whilst health is plentiful, so whilst you may have several soulspheres you feel it a lot more when a Revenant rocket eats 80% of one.

 

The secret area breaks this rule with two megaspheres, but it's fun in its own right. And I've said this for basically every other map in the episode so far, but the doomcute is top-notch.

 

The secret exit loads you up on weapons and ammo for continuous players, but I'm not one of those.

 

MAP31 "Powerslave" (100% K/I/S, 8:21, saves)

Wow, this map's a son of a bitch.

 

The opening outside area is pretty damn hectic, with jumping into the water and grabbing the red key only unleashing more demons - however, with careful manoeuvring, you can force them all to infight with each other whilst you enjoy the bounty of supplies in the secret areas.

 

Then there's two different red key doors. I went in the left. This was a mistake.

 

Cyberdemon in a corridor. Not so bad, but I lost all my cell ammo for the yellow key, which sprung a bajillion monsters including two arch-viles into the cramped space. Lost most of my stack and all of my rockets just carving out space for myself, then cleared the archies with what I had left.

 

Fortunately, I could top my health up a little with the north secret soulsphere. Unfortunately, I still didn't have much in the way of ammo for the flood of revenants that came out of the right red key door.

 

After a few 80s to the face, I couldn't be arsed doing the entire level again so I just used dsda's rewind to go a few seconds back and try to kill the revs again.

 

And as if to mock me, once the revs were cleared... a BFG and 400 cells, just as the map was emptied. That certainly would've helped a lot in the tunnels.

 

MAP32 "Retrovertigo" (100% K/I/S, 4:37)

 

Lowering a wall to reveal four thousand (hyperbole) Wolfenstein SS and a cyberdemon is certainly a message.

 

That being said, this map wasn't particularly hard. You're loaded up with three megaspheres, two soulspheres and an invuln, as well as a BFG with enough ammo to topple a skyscraper - which I admittedly forgot I had when dealing with the first cybie.

 

All in all, a nice refresher after my own shortcomings on Powerslave.

[Celestin]

MAP15: The Lotus Eaters

 

The city gives way to a suburb - I wonder if, like Doom II's MAP16, The Lotus Eaters is also based on a real place. I don't want to repeat myself, but I'm impressed by the amount of details myolden put in this place. It's small things like furnitures or vegetable plots behind one of the houses that truly capture the essence of what "doomcute" is - something that is simple, but you immediately understand what it represents.

 

The Lotus Eaters is the biggest map yet, thanks to its open nature and reliance on exploration. The opening, however, is a mad dash, where you scramble for guns and try to survive. Afterwards, the map slows down, as you are moving from house to house in search of keys. The only fight of note is the one by the swimming pool with the blue key. It's one of those big monster closets that Nostalgia uses a lot and at this point you just pull out the BFG everytime you see such obvious trap.

 

While exploring the map, I've found some secrets. This include the aforementioned BFG and a switch next to a computer monitor. It unlocked a teleporter that lead to another house. Aside from two archviles, it isn't much harder than the rest of the map. The red key here unlocks a room in a basement, where a secret exit is place behind the blue door.

 

I like this, as it feels distinct from the previous maps, though kinda runs out of steam after the start.

 

MAP31: Powerslave

 

With a name like this, it's obvious we're going to Egypt. I feel like there's a bit of a difficulty hike, which is quite common in secret maps. The opening courtyard is once again a run to get yourself armed, followed by making laps around the place until everything is dead. Then you can pick up the red key and proceed. You can use it to unlock a pair of doors. The one in the north-east holds a BFG and a group of revenants. It's an useful weapon for the finale - the red door in the west leads to a catacombs of sort, where you have to kill a cyberdemon in a tight corridor and survive the largest ambush of Nostalgia yet - several monster closets that open when picking up the yellow key, including a pair of archviles. It was satisfying to blast through this. Once again, the secret exit is easy to find - an odd wall reveals a blue key (guarded by a revenant trap), which lets you leave through a door that appear after you grab the yellow key. 

 

This is a secret map where I have nothing to complain about. It feels tougher than the regular roster, with its own unique visual theme (though obviously inspired by TNT's MAP31, so you have your Nostalgia part).

 

MAP32: Retrovertigo

 

I think I'm a sucker for using Wolfenstein textures to make something other than yet another Nazi bunker, even if the underlaying layout is rather simple. Retrovertigo is one of those maps that open up as it progresses, revealing new encounters just as you finished the last one. It starts with all weapons in front of you, but when you pick them up, the walls lower and you are greeted with a horde of Nazis and a cyberdemon sentry. Don't be stingy with a BFG and save a secret invuln for later, when the archviles and a mastermind appear, that one is the messiest fight of the map. 

 

The finale has you taking on another cyberdemon, with hell knights, revenants and archviles to distract him. Then the map ends, wrapping up in 5 or so minutes of constant action. Suffice to say, it was 5 minutes well spent.

[cannonball]

MAP15 - “The Lotus Eaters”

 

The biggest complaint about this map is that it felt too easy, almost heading towards IWad (Not plutonia) level difficulty. That said the map deviates enough from the previous maps to feel distinct and the more open plan layout is welcome. The map moves along nicely and is fun to play and explore. The secret exit requires finding a secret switch next to a computer monitor but requires getting the final quarter of the kills to actually reach the exit. This is probably my favourite city map so far, though again it could have offered a little more bite.

 

MAP31 - “Powerslave”

 

Well whilst we have a compact Egyptian homage, this one is probably the most fun I have had playing this wad, aggressive from start to finish with good incidental combat and a couple of nasty barbs to keep you on your toes. Finding the secret blue key isn't too difficult if you are used how most secrets are obtained in this wad. Overall this was a fun map to play with very few compaints.

 

MAP32 - “Retrovertigo”

 

This map is very blunt, in a good way. The mass of SS is a good chuckle and actually good fun to mow down, the rest of the map reverts more to the traditional Doom 2 beastiary, but the action keeps pace throughout. Like Map31 this is a very fun map with a welcome uptick in difficulty (Though nowhere near being truly tough as you get a couple of megaspheres to buffer the damage you might sustain). Fair to say that the secret maps are worth visiting and actually keep to the spec of the megwad as a whole.

[LadyMistDragon]

Thanks to debugging opening up, the last post was effectively lost to the sands of time as the previous post state was restored. So bullet points people!

 

The Lotus Eaters - What does a group of people referenced in Greek mythology have to do with the suburbs. Don't know, don't care. I spent far too long looking for the secret exit because the switch that opens the way is actually rather cleverly concealed, although the automap might give some clue. Did I mention how adorable all these houses were?

 

Powerslave: It's no Pharoah but look at the opposition at the beginning and think it's not gonna be harder. The key for the secret exit was much easier to find since it was a matter of 'push random wall' though there's a step or two more afterwards. Given the limitations of map size, the Egypt rendition was actually quite stately

 

Retrovertigo: Wolfenstein-textured insanity. Maybe slightly above average by Myolden standards. Quite possibly among the hardest but we still finished it almost as quick as 31

 

 

 

Edited March 15 by LadyMistDragon

[Celestin]

MAP16: Fear of the Dark

 

I know pop-up monsters are seen as a cheap trap, but it fits when they appear from graves, like zombies in an old horror movie. It's easy to accumulate damage here, but like after getting guns, the fight was pretty much won. That fight is repeated later, but despite bringing in more threatening monsters, isn't as effective. 

 

But you know what is effective? Doomcute. I am of course talking about the tool shed, it has to be my favourite piece of micro-detailing in the wad. There's also a chapel where an archvile conducts a service for a crowd of former humans. It also works as a nice combat piece, where the vile inevitably reaches a pile of corpses while you are trying to pump buckshot into his face. If you want a BFG, check the organs - the map ends with a fight in the catacombs that reminds me of MAP31's finale (though far less lethal). 
 

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP15 - The Lotus Eaters - (100%K/96%I/100%S):

A city map where you roam around the suburbs, here there is a slight downgrade in detailing, in favour of simple looks and some sweet but simple Doomcute. 90's maps like those "Mansion" ones found in Memento Mori, or similars come to mind when playing this one. It's fun to traverse this level, and fun to do the additional path to get to the secret exit. After you get the blue key, you can exit, but if you find the secret path, you will have to roam around a big house to find the red key, and get to the secret exit. It's simple, most of the level is incidental combat, and it feels quite small in terms of verticality for flying enemies to over-populate your screen. I don't fancy this type of gameplay that much, having to deal with small rooms and corridors with incidental combat, but the gameplay here was well achieved, anyways.
 

MAP31 - Powerslave - (100%K/I/S):

Hey, that's an Iron Maiden song!

A nice "Pharaoh" clone secret map. As usual, it's already cliché to have an egyptian-themed map for the first secret slot, nowadays. Looks and plays sweet, it is hard, but not something that you would not find in let's say, Plutonia. Gameplay was simple enough, and using the previously acquired BFG made this one even simpler. Finding the secret blue key here was not that hard aswell. The last battle before and after the yellow key was its hardest moment. Well made secret map.

MAP32 - Retrovertigo - (100%K/I/S):

Hardest map yet, and it is to be expected as it occupies the MAP32 slot. Weird but interesting take at a map with Wolfenstein textures and assets. The map divides itself in two arenas, the last one, was REALLY hard. Luckly, I've found the secret i-sphere. As I found this area to be way out of place in terms of difficulty of this mapset. It is fine though, considering we are at the supersecret map slot. Fun challenge, but, was it worth it? I've left with little to no ammo at the end. Maybe for the extra challenge. It was a fine short map, but I prefer MAP31.

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

 

MAP14
MAP31
MAP09

MAP06
MAP07
MAP15
MAP11

MAP05

MAP04
MAP08
MAP32
MAP12
MAP03
MAP02
MAP01
MAP13
MAP10

 

 

[Magnusblitz]

MAP14: Beneath

100% kills, 3/3 secrets

 

The trip to the subway does provide a nice thematic breakup, and I think the constraints of creating a realistic subway design also makes the layout feel different than a lot of what has come before. Things get very cramped in spots, and unlike most maps, there's also a large dearth of health and armor for the first part of the map, with most of the goodies being in the other surface area later on. The basketball court is especially cute.

 

MAP15: The Lotus Eaters

100% kills, 3/4 secrets

 

On the other hand, I think this one suffers from the constraints of its design, as the multitude of doors really drags things out and makes all the combat into a chore of room clearing. I also think the doomcute suffers a bit here as everything feels very oversized, a relatively common issue to be sure but one that hasn't been too apparent until now. And while there's a ton of details, it feels like this map could've used a bit more in spots - the "secret" house weirdly seems to be just floating in space if you look out the back windows (why not put a fence to cover up the horizon?) and the "two" stairways for the basement effect are noticeably different in brightness. The yellow door house is also oddly barren within.

Edited March 16 by Magnusblitz

[brick]

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

 

MAP13 - “Sludge Factory”

This map is just adorable with all the doomcute. The vats with the cacos springing out are one thing, but those cubicles! Chairs, computers, pads and pencil, mouse with scroll wheel and wire running into the computer, all in sector art, it's really remarkable. The factory floor looks great, the detailing is not complex but it's a case study in doing more with less. Aside from the cacos I didn't find the combat too memorable but I don't think it needed to be, the level design is strong enough to carry the map. Probably my favourite so far.

 

MAP14 - “Beneath”

I think this is the first time I noticed that some of the maps flow directly into the next one, the transition here going out of the factory and onto the streets is well done. We're not outside for long though, the entrance to the subway is right there and gives the map its title. As usual the detailing is fantastic, and those thin metal supports still provide the perfect cover against fireballs. There's only a short excursion outside (with a lovely basketball court) but it's one of the steps needed to get that secret BFG. The broken masonry leading into the cavern was a bit surprising but even that is not too ominous (maybe the cheerful MIDI helps) and makes for a fun little excursion before making it to the exit.

 

MAP15 - “The Lotus Eaters”

The cute touches just keep coming. The whole little town is full of it of course, with all the houses, kitchens (the stoves look so much like mine it's uncanny), bedrooms and living rooms (is that a House of Pain screenshot on the walls?). The normal exit is pretty straightforward but paying attention to all the computers helps open up a teleport to the most elaborate house. Much of the usual doomcute is there but there are additional unique ones, including my absolute favourite, walking in on a Hell Knight having a bath. There's also the garage with the Archvile, the home cinema with the huge TV (visibly larger than the other ones, it's like the owners of the secret house are showing off), and in the basement the pool table and the washer and dryer. I'm not really getting nostalgia vibes but I'm loving this.

[Raith138]

MAP15: The Lotus Eaters

 

This one was not quite as memorable as the other ones in this episode. The doomcute felt pretty repetitive and the combat felt really bland. Also, the secret exit was not very "secret" either.

 

MAP31: Powerslave

 

I liked the new theme but I just did not find this one that exciting, I do not even know why if I am to be honest. The secret to get to the secret exit was also not very good in my opinion but that may just be me.

 

MAP32: Retrovertigo

 

This was clearly a secret map. Feels gimmicky and weird but that was the point. But in terms of fun the all around the place combat and theme ranks this one pretty low.

 

 

Order of Preference:

Spoiler

MAP14

MAP13

MAP03

MAP07

MAP31

MAP15

MAP12

MAP11

MAP09

MAP04

MAP08

MAP06

MAP32

MAP02

MAP10

MAP05

MAP01

 

Edited March 16 by Raith138

[Novaseer]

MAP16 "Fear of the Dark" (100% K/I/S, 7:02)

 

I love the feel of this map. The eerie music, zombies rising from the graves, the piano secret with the BFG, it's all just doomcute masterwork.

 

The gameplay, on the other hand, was rather forgettable. I've already forgotten what half of the fights were and I write these up immediately after completing the map. Granted, said secret BFG probably trivialised things quite a bit.

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 16: Fear of the Dark

 

Welcome to the graveyard population all the nasties of the night....and you. But this easily matches the other maps. The graveyard, necropolis and work shed both stand out quite a bit. Difficulty isn't so high, especially if you find the very easy secrets but Myolden does pack on the Barons. Perhaps not quite to Hell Revealed levels but let's just say it'll be better to find the hidden BFG than not. DO look out for the Arch-vile in the little chapel though, they might well hinder your journey to the rocket launcher and like the BFG, you'll want to have it before too long. The trap in the masoleum is quite nasty. Pain Elemental and Cacodemons will prove quite the distraction for hitscanners to annihilate us from behind! Though maybe it's normallly not so hard.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP16 - Fear of the Dark - (100%K/I/S):

Myolden must be a fan of Iron Maiden, aswell as other bands, that's why he is naming most maps with song names. Yet, I feel there was a missed opportunity to call this one Cementery Gates, isn't it?

This was by far my favourite map, because of the setup, a tiny, cute cementery, with pantheons and tombs all over the place. The classic monsters that stand up from graves, and a really nice Doomcute work around here. The layout was simple, with two main graveyards, and some other rooms to explore. At the end, there is a catcomb with spicy combat. Finding both plasma weapons made this one easier, but its difficulty is just right, I've really enjoyed its layout. The trees at the map's boundaries are a nice detail aswell.

Order of Preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP16

MAP14
MAP31
MAP09

MAP06
MAP07
MAP15
MAP11

MAP05

MAP04
MAP08
MAP32
MAP12
MAP03
MAP02
MAP01
MAP13
MAP10

 

 

[Cutman 999]

MAP15 - “The Lotus Eaters” (Pistol started, saveless, 100% kills, 96% Items, 50% Secrets)

 

More like lotus land story

 

Possibly one of my favorite "city" levels in all of doom, a neighborhood made almost entirely from iwad textures, with chunky orthogonal geometry that makes it fit in the visual style myolden is trying to replicate, this wouldn't feel out of place in a wad like memento mori 2.

 

Combat play second fiddle to just navigating the place to find the keys, and in that I can appreciate how much attention to detail was put into the doomcute decorations, specially the kitchens, makes you wonder if something like this was possible with the technology of 94. Other than that, most of the fights play themselves if you just find the plasma rifle or the berserk quickly, making so despite the limited space from the houses, you have no issues just surviving things. That pool ambush would have been cool if you couldn't just stay in the pool and take advantage that in deep water, monsters can't even see you.

 

Like the rest of the city episode, relaxed and comfy to play, certainly a great break map and good to have so the megawad is not just a slog. Don't forget about the teleporter to another house so you could get to certain secret portal that brings you to another continent.

 

8/10

 

MAP31 - “Powerslave” (Pistol started, 2 attempts saveless, 100% K/I/S)

 

I can't stop myself of relating at first glance the name "powerslave" to that weird fps/metroidvania hybrid instead of the actual powerslave song.

 

Oh, about the map, it is amazing. Certainly, the most plutonia 2 styled map since map11, with it's open arena with a shitload of enemies were you need to gather guns quickly as a leopard to not die in the crossfire hurricane from the mancs and other horrors. After cleaning up that fight you can go whenever you want with that red key in your pocket, but still requiring either the blue or yellow key to exit. Either way, try to search for more equipment, since not only the yellow key is guarded by a cyberdemon you can only kill quickly with the cells and bfg in hold of the horde of revs in the other side of the map, but also you would need to do this to open the secret exit and have a chance of survival against what's after the cyber.

 

If I have something to say that I don't like about the map, are the secrets, which are just behind random walls you have to press use to uncover, the soulsphere one confused me a bit since I missremembered the way to open it not just being pressing that random wall at the other side. But despite it, is a good espectacle and challenge that would certainly refresh and satisfy people having played at least the plutonia experiment.

 

9/10

 

MAP32 - “Retrovertigo” (Pistol started, saveless, 100% Kills, 83% Items, 100% Secrets)

 

Slaughtermap with wolfSS's boys! Completed under 5 minutes, even when I was playing like shit and face rocket myself like 2 times, I manage to not even need to use the invuln. Like any good myolden map, the fights in here are just spectacle that ends in probably less than 10 seconds, just in an exaggerated way in this particular map, with some heroin situations involving archviles and other set of high tier damage dealers. Don't die lmao and you can do it.

 

8/10

[cannonball]

MAP16 - “Fear of the Dark”

 

Lots of neat details, however the gameplay was rather ho-hum here. Again like with Map15 the map falls short of the combat displayed earlier in the wad, which feels a tad odd in terms of a difficulty curve. The double baron ending felt a little tiresome, especially as I accidentally weapon-switched earlier on in the map in front of a single imp to the BFG (In fact the BFG sole use really is to dispose of a couple of bruiser brother encounters that would otherwise be slow and not overly engaging. The rest of the map is fine, the pop up monsters from the graves are a neat touch and the catacomb fight isn't too bad.

Overall a pretty average map in terms of this mapset, though I guess one cannot hate on the impressive level of Doom cute on display here.

[brick]

MAP31 - “Powerslave”
The hot start is very hot, and I stupidly forgot that I have a BFG and I'm playing continuous so it was harder than it should've been. The rest of the combat is easier, though there's a surprise waiting at each key. Speaking of, the optional key is not very hidden and gets access to the secret exit. The opening view gave me some Pharaoh vibes but the maps look and play very different (this one is much shorter for one).

 

MAP32 - “Retrovertigo”
The closest to a slaughter map, enemy count is not high but the map is tiny and throws large numbers at a time. Most of the opposition is SS, with a couple of strategically positioned Cyberdemons and a few of everything else here and there (the Archvile got a few resurrections before I noticed). I thought the map was easy on HNTR because of the abundance of blue, green and white spheres, but in fact HMP/UV are only missing one Invulnerability so I guess the strategy is not very different there, it's a fun power fantasy. The secret maps are alright but I didn't love them as much as the trio that preceded.

[Magnusblitz]

MAP31: Powerslave

100% kills, 3/3 secrets

 

It's no Misri Halek, or even TNT's Pharaoh, but there is a nice-looking pyramid nearby and some other detailing that does a decent approximation of the Egypt theme with the stock textures. The start is fun to run around in as you can make a nice loop (well, once you get the SSG trap lowered) and let the monsters mostly infight. I surprisingly was able to 2-shot the cyber without much trouble, but the AVs in the yellow key ambush can be downright nasty because of the design of the hallways with all the extra sight lines created by the recessed walls. The secrets are pretty uninspired, just more push walls.

 

MAP32: Retrovertigo

100% kills, 1/1 secret

 

Basically a couple arena fights with some big monsters (and nazis). The first cyber is quite useful to help infight everything for you; I saved the invulnerability sphere for the second area beyond the red door to make things simple. Feels a bit overloaded with supplies but it's fine.

 

MAP16: Fear of the Dark

100% kills, 2/2 secrets

 

Odd name for a map that's mostly 192 brightness and goes down to 112 (in the catacombs) at the lowest. :P

 

This one's okay, I liked the surprise ambush at the start with everyone raising out of the graves, and there's a good strong theme. That said, I think any longer of a map and it would've outstayed it's welcome, as the gravestones are quite annoying to play around, and the baron meatwalls are a bummer (especially the first one, which I opened before getting either the SSG or RL).

 

 

[whybmonotacrab]

Damn I've been playing this for a minute and didn't even realise it was the dwmegawad game this month. I'm up to map 20 so I'll start giving more detailed descriptions then. I'll say for now this is the first time I've tried playing a megawad completely saveless. Just honestly wanted to see what it was like and a lot of people said it helps improve your skills. Figured I'd start with an easier set comprised of short levels. So far Map 31's been the only one to give me much trouble, but it was really satisfying to work out. The last fight's really easy if you just run out since there's a monster blocking line def. 

 

 On to the map we're up to today, I actually find this map a little bit tedious. The Doomcute is adorable and since I'm a huge fan of horror the grave setting and nods to evil dead do tickle my fancy, but I find the detailing tends to get in the way of gameplay, making what would be incredibly easy fights super obnoxious because you've run into a grave stone or uneven bit of ground. I still like the level, but it's definitely not a highlight for me.

[Celestin]

MAP17: Ars Moriendi

 

The city seems to get more and more damaged, as lava and blood flow from cracked streets. The plaza with bodies hanging from a pole is a clear high point of the map.

 

The aforementioned square holds the most challenging fight of the map, with a cyberdemon and some arachnotrons. It can be tricky to avoid both rockets and streams of plasma. Or just walk through a random wall, get the BFG and eliminate them with no issues. I enjoyed the red key fight, as it traps you in a small room with hell knights and a pain elemental, but I had a BFG at that point, so I could just blast them. The ending has a mastermind guarding a ship, but that was a formality. Overall, a solid map that seems to push the theme.
 

[Novaseer]

MAP17 "Ars Moriendi" (97% K, 88% I, 100% S, 10:48)

 

First map where I couldn't get 100% kills because...

I'm not sure what normally prompts these monster closets to activate, but whatever it is, they didn't.

 

Other than that, combat was fine, and I like the way the lava melts its way through the streets. Both a cyberdemon and a spider mastermind show up here, but since you're handed a BFG and enough cells to take on God himself neither are really an issue.

[brick]

MAP16 - “Fear of the Dark”
The cemetary looks amazing, but the particular way the gravestones are set up allows hitscanners to shoot and score when they're almost completely hidden behind them, which I found irritating. I also got boxed inside the small tombs by revenants a couple of times, dealing with them when there's nowhere to go isn't a lot of fun. Enemies rising out of graves was a cute touch though. The little excursion in the catacombs was the best part, the ambush is hectic but not unfair. The baron ending feels a bit lukewarm. The map really looks beautiful though, and very differently from the others so far.

 

MAP17 - “Ars Moriendi”
Another map that I thought looks beautiful, with incredibly good and efficient detailing, but whose combat left me cold. Dealing with the Cybderdemon was ok, the Spider felt more like playing a game of reverse Whac-A-Mole. The ambushes were not very original, revenants popping up as soon as I pick an item just make me roll my eyes a bit. The map progression is pretty well done though, and the secret hunting is particularly fun here. I feel the wad is really a prettier Plutonia, the combat definitely traces it lineage to it, but with more fun level design and of course much cuter and less abstract aesthetics.

[DJVCardMaster]

MAP17 - Ars Moriendi - (98%K/100%I/0%S):

The longest map yet, oof, it took me a few attempts, as encounters are clearly getting harder according to our progression. Really nice city map that has some things from Industrial Zone here and there, specially the "city corruption" theme and things like that. Both of boss enemies were present here. Mastermind was mandatory to kill as it was blocking our exit boat. The setup here is also really nice, although I despise those red bricks so much it burns my eyes. Another great level for sure.

Order of Preference:
 

Spoiler

 

MAP16

MAP14
MAP31
MAP09

MAP06
MAP07
MAP17
MAP15
MAP11

MAP05

MAP04
MAP08
MAP32
MAP12
MAP03
MAP02
MAP01
MAP13
MAP10

 

 

[LadyMistDragon]

Map 17: Ars Moriendi

 

The very best midi from TNT Revilution underscores this tale of a city rapidly going to hell, as underscored by the numerous lava pools, occasional fire windows and that disturbing hanging structure in that large central square. Secrets are easy to find once again. Combat will probably lean more towards the easier end of things, although there seems to be a somewhat increased use of Barons. For some reason, there's an Imp boss behind the first gate. Didn't really have the patience for the souped-up Cyberdemon so yes I used the console. There are few Pain Elementals but there placement is honestly kind of nasty. Keep in mind there aren't infinite amounts of rocket either but plenty of plasma cells. It's pretty cool how this ends at a helipad-type structure with a Mastermind.

 

 

 

[Cutman 999]

MAP16 - “Fear of the Dark” (Pistol started, saveless, 100% Kills, 100% Items, 50% Secrets)

 

A greatly decorated graveyard that devolves into a small dungeon crawler. In a chapel there's an archvile and like 30 zombies guarding a rocket launcher, ist completely optional and surprisingly you would not need it. Not much else to say, like every good myolden map is greatly decorated and possibly one of the best representations of a graveyard I saw in doom, the combat like in map15 isn't much to say, even the hardest rooms in this map could be circumvented with infighting or just not having a skill issue. 

 

The exit door was a bit anticlimactic, I fought for a second there was a cyberdemon, and that piano key secret to the completely unnecessary bfg is really cool.

 

7/10

 

MAP17 - “Ars Moriendi” (Pistol started, saveless, 100% K/I/S)

 

Btw those last 2 monsters people mentioned, I discovered they appear when you grab the soulsphere on the water, under the spidermama, idk if in other sourceports it can break, but for me in woof seems fine.

 

Ok this map, the first fight is a signature lowering wall ambush, so you know it is a combat centric map. Blue key fight was entertaining, I missed just killing everything with rockets in 3 seconds. That house you get trapped in the red key room is kind of nerve recking, probably if i found out the bfg earlier, that would have been a lot easier.

 

About the super weapon, I didn't remember the fake wall, so i wasted like 5 minutes of not trying to get rocketed in the face by the cyber because i wanted to 2 tap him, and then when i get the bfg I failed to 2 tap him! Krang in the final boat is cool, but again, just kill it in 2 secodns and it's joever.

 

8/10

[Magnusblitz]

MAP17: Ars Moriendi

100% kills, 1/3 secrets

 

I don't wanna go to New York City, New York is a hellhole! And you know how I feel about hellholes...

 

This was okay. The first part of the map is pretty par for the course for this WAD, small rooms with an ambush of a few midtier enemies and some lower tier stuff to serve as obstacles. After the blue door is a nice striking visual with some bodies hanging, though the nearby cyber won't let you look at it too long. I actually dragged the cyber over to the exit so he could infight with the spider while I got the red key, and given the height differential the spider won. I then spent an inordinate of time looking for all the secrets as I was 0-for-3 at that point, despite the blue armor and BFG being so obvious. Found the switch for the early RL, but never could puzzle out the other two. Looking in the map editor, they're behind a fake wall (misaligned by one pixel maybe?) you can just step through, sigh. Ah well, not remotely necessary to finishing the level, at least.

 

@Novaseer: there's a (non-secret) soulsphere in the water behind the Spider that teleports two revenants in as an ambush, maybe it was that?

Edited March 17 by Magnusblitz