Doom 2 In City Only [Now on idgames]

[NightFright]

As a verdict, the only maps in this that really busted my balls were MAP20, MAP29 and MAP30. The latter because I couldn't figure out how it works, the other two because of their difficulty.

 

At the end of the day, an enjoyable, even if sometimes kinda bumpy, ride. Some of the later maps also have a few issues with missing textures, especially one or two entries towards the end (can't remember exactly which ones right now), which seems a bit sloppy. Other than that, most of the time it's good entertainment. Slaughter maps are usually not my cup of tea, but here you normally stand a chance even if you aren't an expert in avoiding getting hit. I like that there's sometimes some strong vibes of classics like CC4, Eviternity or Ancient Aliens in it. Also I appreciate there's so many secret levels, and they really stick out theme-wise, so they are worth finding.

Edited May 30 by NightFright

[Archvile Hunter]

1 hour ago, TMD2003 said:

I've mostly been playing this WAD for the Keen hunt in map 28 - I signed up for this forum just to ask about those, and sure enough, it was exactly what I was looking for. I have a concern that the map isn't possible without defining a jump key, and somewhere on this thread or the "WAD club" thread there are instructions not to do that, but I see no way of getting over the Icon Of Sin pillars in the middle of the map without it, among many other examples. If the jump key is legit for this map, so be it.

You can make it over those pillars with SR50. SR40 is also possible, but it is very precise, and I found SR50 to be much more consistent. If you don't know, to perform an SR50, you must press the Move Forward, Strafe Right/Left, Strafe On, and Turn Right/Left keys simultaneously (Strafe Right + Turn Right for a left-facing SR50, or vice-versa for a right-facing SR50). My setup is Strafe On on Spacebar, Turn Right on Q, and Turn Left on E (WASD for general movement). So for a left-facing SR50 I will press W+D+Q+Space.

2 hours ago, TMD2003 said:

So that sent me to map 36 - and for the first time on this entire WAD, I am completely stumped. There's a structure to the northwest of the map which I've found absolutely no legitimate way to get to, even though it's got monsters in it, and items to pick up. Whether or not I have a jump key defined, it's automatically disabled in this map, which might be deliberate.

Spoiler

 

[NuMetalManiak]

I'm taking a guess and saying that @TMD2003 doesn't actually see the pillars that get up on that ledge. That actually happened to me and I was playing GZDoom. From what I saw in the map, there's either a regular staircase or the pillars in that GIF, it depends on skill level. But there's also a voodoo doll that is supposed to be attached to a certain large tree sprite. The idea is that this tree sprite blocks the voodoo doll from moving, but for some reason, at least for the latest versions of GZDoom, the voodoo doll and tree go together over a linedef that makes those jumping pillars disappear. This isn't supposed to happen but I think it might be a GZDoom quirk overall.

[Archvile Hunter]

It does appear to be bugged in GZDoom, that is unfortunate.

[RaRu Des2122]

Another stubborn monster, now on Map13: 

 

[Firedust]

I am stuck on map 28. Can't figure out how to get here: https://prnt.sc/4RzOBmLuR12V

 

The baron-faced things don't seem to be lifts and it's impossible to strafe across from the nearby mancubi building (sector 700). Pls help.

[Archvile Hunter]

41 minutes ago, Firedust said:

I am stuck on map 28. Can't figure out how to get here: https://prnt.sc/4RzOBmLuR12V

 

The baron-faced things don't seem to be lifts and it's impossible to strafe across from the nearby mancubi building (sector 700). Pls help.

You can make the jump with SR50. I don't know if there's another way to get in there, but it's not mandatory for progression anyway.

[Firedust]

Damn, must be a skill issue then. I know it's not mandatory, am just trying to UV-max the map and was wondering if I missed a trick. Thank you for the help!

[TMD2003]

Right, well...

I am using GZDoom - I've never used anything else (apart from a Hexen WAD back in the day that required a different source port that made all the graphics look like there was Vaseline smeared all over the screen and with more JPEG distortion than in the "intentionally terrible" secret map 32 in this WAD). I was using 4.7.1 until map 10 of this WAD caused it to crash, and I've upgraded to 4.12.1 to make it work. Those steps that Archvile Hunter showed aren't there at all, although there's a pattern for them on the floor with IDDT on. Had they been there I'd have seen that route easily because...

Spoiler

...there's a similar "parkour" section in the evil, evil map 24 (the one with the ridiculous time limit) to get to the red keycard, and that took a while to figure out. Certainly many, many, many more minutes than I'd have had if I'd stuck to that timer.

 

Any time I see "straferun" in the wiki I consider it legitimate to assign a jump key. If I wanted to get my fingers in a tangle and require nanosecond-perfect timing, even to find obscure secrets, let alone complete the map properly, I'd have stuck with Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy and all the hacks of both games. Purists... deal with it (and if you knew how I've played through this map I'd expect more fuses to be blown than if one of these cities had its electrical work done by Bodgitt & Scarpir Electrical Contractors). I'm not trying to be some kind of "Doom God" - I don't have thousands of hours to spare and I've put 17 hours into this WAD on the timer, and that doesn't include the hundreds of times I've had to save and reload which most likely brings that time to more than a day. That's more than enough blasting action for me.

So, now, I can return to the Keen Hunt thread and try the next suggestion...

[Firedust]

All done! Played the wad on and off throughout the last week and a half.

 

This is one of the best mapsets I've played since last year's cacowards rolled out. Despite it being rather long, I never felt burned out (the episodic structure certainly helped) and had an absolute blast with it. Chalk up another W release for Club Penguin!
 

First of all, I would like to mention my favourite maps from each episode:

Episode 1: Map 05 - The Nuclear Power Plant. Just going absolute ham on city hordes without ever worrying about health and ammo. Some secrets were quite tricky to find but I got them all in the end.

Episode 2: Map 07 - Darkweb. This one was short but the slick visuals and spicy combat made it very very fun. The encounters never felt unfair as CB calculated the resources required for UV pistol starters with tremendous precision.

Episode 3: Map 13 - City of the Dying Sun. I was dumb enough to trek along the worst possible route for this map in my initial playthrough and got a bit frustrated because I couldn't find a single entrance into any one of the sites but I did find several secrets. Welp. That one was on me lol.

Episode 4: Map 17 - Colossal Wreck and Map 20 - A Wilted Clover's Lullaby. Yeah I ain't picking between these two. The underground colosseum looming from a distance as you enter the underground ruins vs. one big ruined fortress with some of the most fun secrets and fights in the wad, I ain't choosing. Both immensely enjoyable and memorable.

Episode 5: Map 23 - Idumea. I cannot even begin to comrehend the sheer creativity that went into some of these fights. Out of all Taviow's maps I've played, this is his best one. There were so many parts that made me go, "Holy fuck, that is so cool!" Luckily, my rig didn't drop any frames on DSDA or GZDoom.

Episode 6: Map 29 - Void Masquerading as Matter. The manner by which myolden interweaves themes from every episode throughout the locales in this map is very meticulous. Also, this might be the biggest map of his I've ever played! Last fight is a real spectacle and kept me under duress until I grabbed that yellow skull key.

Secret maps: Map 36 - Anti-Life. I've no idea what the inspiration behind the visuals here was but for me this stuff evoked memories of Ender Lilies (a fantastic indie metroidvania to those uninitiated). Combat gets VERY tough occasionally, ESPECIALLY the SMM tower if you're dumb like me and kill it first thing as opposed to playing it smart and using it as cover from the mancubi fireballs. Also, can confirm this map is NOT maxable in GZDoom for reasons already mentioned in the thread but works just fine in DSDA. 

 

Now I'd like to talk about some maps that imo could've been done a bit better as I felt they were slightly undercooked.

 

Map 09 - A City Now. Loved the atmosphere, but I wish the author went a bit heavier on the doomcute. A decrepit futuristic district with some sections that are teeming with demons. As of now, the map feels extremely underdetailed in places.

Map 14 - Takemet Baphomet. Combat was too straightforward here imo, weird map placement. In fact, I'd go as far as say that this was the easiest map in the entire wad! Could have definitely used more bite.

Map 18 - Reservoir of Muck. For this one, it's the opposite. Combat's great, but I really wish the map wasn't literally just one big green box.

Map 24 - Blur Affinity. Oh boy, what do I say that hasn't already been said about this one. I do not mind the concept at all. But the lack of finale was EXTREMELY vexing for me. And why are decent weapons so DAMN HARD to find? Yikes. How I wish that after my scampering around like a headless chicken, I'd gotten to kill every demon in the city. How cool would it be if you pressed a switch which'd make all the buildings sink into the ground, revealing loads of power-ups, and it'd be just you vs an army of demons who no longer have their watchful protector to screw you over with its dumb magic powers? All in all, an interesting idea, but somewhat lacking execution.

Map 32 - Obama Hamburger 2. This is a great map suffering from one little thing that annoyed me A LOT during my playthrough. Why was it so hard to locate decent weapons? Especially the rocket launcher whose ammo is literally scattered everywhere? Damn, talk about harsh. And for pistol starters, uv-maxing this one is a major pain in the neck with the limited supplies and so many thicc SMMs wandering about.

Map 33 - Wanted in 12 Systems. I've read DB's comments about this one. I don't think he needed to turn this into like a proper fullfledged futuristic metropolis. The concept of running and gunning on the upper floors of an alien city is definitely cool enough. I just wish he made the map less homegeneous looking, maybe sprinkle in a bit of doomcute so that every building served some kinda specific purpose. Also, that red keycard was a bastard to find, but that's cause I'm dumb af.

 

And that's all folks! Gonna play Waffles next, which obviously begs the question of whether it's related to Waffle Town from this wad in any capacity or form.

 

Looking forward to the next big project from you guys!

Edited May 29 by Firedust

[Insaneprophet]

I did a rocket jump tjere on map 28, and to get to a bfg secret

[El Juancho]

3 hours ago, TMD2003 said:

Any time I see "straferun" in the wiki I consider it legitimate to assign a jump key. If I wanted to get my fingers in a tangle and require nanosecond-perfect timing, even to find obscure secrets, let alone complete the map properly, I'd have stuck with Manic Miner, Jet Set Willy and all the hacks of both games. Purists... deal with it (and if you knew how I've played through this map I'd expect more fuses to be blown than if one of these cities had its electrical work done by Bodgitt & Scarpir Electrical Contractors). I'm not trying to be some kind of "Doom God" - I don't have thousands of hours to spare and I've put 17 hours into this WAD on the timer, and that doesn't include the hundreds of times I've had to save and reload which most likely brings that time to more than a day. That's more than enough blasting action for me.

 

Bro is having an aneurysm for trying to press 2 keys at once

 

[RaRu Des2122]

I finished the third episode and started the fourth. 

 

In Egyptian, I liked the almost physically palpable warmth from the color scheme and the beautiful animated sky as well as the fact that it mainly consists of not very long and not densely populated maps (there are much more monsters in the first two episodes). The starting map of the fourth episode reminded me cave part of the Nostalgia 2 megawad on steroids more than underground ruins :)) Large, extensive and very atmospheric Map17 already corresponds much more to the given topic.

 

I have only 16 maps left to complete out of 36, but judging by the previous reviews, the biggest difficulties are still ahead of me...

[Bryan T]

Map20 is a doozy. Through some stroke of luck I was able to navigate it in 35 minutes, bonus fight included.

[Donowa]

am i the only person who thinks that map22 is a bit unfinished? i'm playing the idgames release and i'm seeing a lot of HOMs in accessible areas, midtextured fences that you can walk through, and walking into a lot of barren decorative areas with just some basic platforming

[CrazyJeff]

There's a secret in map 5 that contains an invisibility and supercharge. I don't think its obtainable (at least in gzdoom) but if I'm wrong could I get a hint? I've already tried slade and youtube.

[Novaseer]

5 hours ago, CrazyJeff said:

There's a secret in map 5 that contains an invisibility and supercharge. I don't think its obtainable (at least in gzdoom) but if I'm wrong could I get a hint? I've already tried slade and youtube.

MAP05's creator here. It's really, really obscure (tbh probably too obscure but I think it's funny so I haven't changed it), but 100% possible, at least in dsda which we tested on but I don't see why GZ would break it:

 

Spoiler

Crossing both ends of the northeast zebra crossing in rapid succession lowers a lift that allows access to the secret.

 

[Firedust]

Works in GZDoom, can confirm.

 

Edited June 9 by Firedust

[RaRu Des2122]

19 minutes ago, Novaseer said:

Crossing both ends of the northeast zebra crossing in rapid succession lowers a lift that allows access to the secret.

 

I confirm that it did work even in the RC-versions when there were only 13 secrets on the map ;))

 

I discovered this by accident but then, upon rechecking, I made sure that the secret was visited exactly that way. I always had enough time to run from the zebra to the elevator.

Edited June 9 by RaRu Des2122

[Insaneprophet]

2 hours ago, Novaseer said:

MAP05's creator here.

 

 

1 hour ago, RaRu Des2122 said:

 even in the RC-versions when there were only 13 secrets on the map ;))

 

Were there secrets added? I remember there being less. Do I need to replay this map again? 

Edited June 9 by Insaneprophet

[Novaseer]

1 minute ago, Insaneprophet said:

Were there secrets added? I remember there being less. Do I need to replay this map again? 

I think the only secret added between RC1 and idgames is the invulnerability secret in the yellow key building, added because I noticed streamers often tried to find a secret in that spot only to be cucked by an impassable line.

[MisterLivers]

Ill try this, I guess.

[CrazyJeff]

20 hours ago, Novaseer said:

MAP05's creator here. It's really, really obscure (tbh probably too obscure but I think it's funny so I haven't changed it), but 100% possible, at least in dsda which we tested on but I don't see why GZ would break it:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Crossing both ends of the northeast zebra crossing in rapid succession lowers a lift that allows access to the secret.

 

Ah, your clue helped me find it. I had to look up what you meant by "zebra" though. I'm from the US and that's not a term we use. Everything appears to be working in gzdoom, but I'll probably do a playthrough with dsda also. This mapset doesn't mess around obscure secrets. I mangaged to solve the cyberdemon puzzle in map 9 (similar to a puzzle in map 6) but that 6th secret in map 9 is eluding me, even the map cheat won't show where it is xD. This is a really impressive megawad, I'm not dropping frames at all despite how large and detailed these levels are. I can't wait til I get to Egypt :)