dobu gabu maru Posted June 1 (edited) What is the DWmegawad Club? This is a place where we settle down, have a cup of tea (or drink of your choice) and take a month to play through a megawad on our own, together! Any keen observations, criticisms, or frustrated ranting about it goes here in the discussion. As long as you want to say something about what you've played, feel free to speak your mind. Can I join? Sure. The only rule is that you have to play at least some of the levels in our monthly megawad to contribute, but you're generally encouraged to finish the whole thing, even if you've played it before. What levels am I allowed to post about? Whatever day of the month it is, is the upper limit for the map you can post on. So if it’s the 6th, you may discuss up to MAP06. Do I have to post an entry every day? Nope, not at all. This is only for our more enthusiastic members. As long as you play through it with us you’re part of the club. When do we vote on the next month’s megawad? Voting begins on the 25th of the current month. Remember to add one “+++” before your vote to make it easier to count. For example: +++ Ultimate Doom Note that you can vote for up to three separate nominations in a single month, and every wad must contain at least three maps each. The winning nomination must receive at least four votes for a thread to be made. Ties will be decided by RNG. ---------- >>>DOWNLOAD OPERATION: BIOWAR HERE<<< >>>DOWNLOAD EQUINOX HERE<<< After a brief hiatus, we’re back with two classic wads! First up is Operation: BIOWAR, a megawad mostly created by Chris Harbin that follows in the footsteps of projects like Icarus: Alien Vanguard and Memento Mori. After that is B.P.R.D.’s Equinox, a mighty adventure through some glittering silver space stations. Note that we’ll begin playing Equinox on the 18th, meaning that the last two maps of Biowar will be played on the same day. Author & Maplist for Operation: Biowar: MAP01 - “The End” by Chris Harbin MAP02 - “Terror Core” by Chris Harbin MAP03 - “Onslaught” by Chris Harbin MAP04 - “The Arrival” by Chris Harbin MAP05 - “Skybase” by Chris Harbin MAP06 - “Last Call” by John Bishop MAP07 - “Apparatus” by Chris Harbin MAP08 - “Biolabs” by Chris Harbin MAP09 - “Security” by Paul Corfiatis MAP10 - “Dark Woods” by Chris Harbin MAP11 - “Frozen Terror” by Chris Harbin MAP12 - “Military Center” by Chris Harbin MAP13 - “UAC Prison” by John Bishop MAP14 - “Absolution” by Chris Harbin MAP15 - “Heat” by Chris Harbin MAP31 - “Juggelo Funhouse” by Chris Harbin MAP16 - “The Killing Fields” by Chris Harbin MAP17 - “Sacrilege” by Chris Harbin MAP18 - “Die Heuschrecke” by Chris Harbin Maplist for Equinox: MAP01 MAP02 MAP03 MAP04 MAP05 MAP06 MAP07 MAP08 MAP09 MAP10 MAP11 MAP12 MAP13 BONUS CONTENT Doomwiki: Operation: Biowar | Equinox DSDA: Operation: Biowar | Equinox Kmxexii reviews: Operation: Biowar | Equinox Devalaous Quality of Life Patches -------- OLD THREADS Spoiler The DWmegawad Club Metathread 2012 BF_THUD! Community Chest 4 Jenesis MAYhem 2012 2013 Memento Mori Interception 2002: A Doom Odyssey Hadephobia Coffee Break & Fava Beans & Double Impact HYMN Stardate 20X6 & Monochrome Mapping Project Realm of Chaos Back to Saturn X E1 & Favillesco E1 Kama Sutra Unholy Realms & Zone 300 Vile Flesh Ultimate Doom 2014 Whitemare & Sacrament Scythe Epic 2 Whitemare 2 Sunder & Countdown to Extinction Doom 2 the Way id Did MAYhem2048 Stomper Back to Saturn X E2 Going Down Rylayeh & Crimson Canyon & Azagthoth Serenity & Eternity & Infinity 2015 Resurgence Requiem ConC.E.R.N.ed & Draft Excluder Doom 2 Reloaded Valiant Scythe 2 NOVA II STRAIN Icarus: Alien Vanguard Sunlust Plutonia 2 Revolution! 2016 50 Shades of Graytall & Erkattäññe Hell Revealed Vanguard, Hell Ground, Bloody Steel Eternal Doom Japanese Community Project Ancient Aliens Bloodstain Estranged Alien Vendetta THT: Threnody & No Rest for the Living Hellbound Echelon & Mutiny 2017 TNT: Evilution TNT: Revilution No End in Sight Speed of Doom Urania Newgothic Movement II & Deus Vult II Slaughter Until Death & The Evil Unleashed & Obituary Moonblood Crumpets & Stardate20X7 & Rush Plutonia Revisited Community Project 3 Heures d’agonie 3 The Darkening, The Darkening 2, & Crusades 2018 Reverie Tangerine Nightmare & UAC Ultra & Realm of Shades Eternal Slumber Party Super Mayhem 17 99 Ways to Die & The Troopers’ Playground & The Talosian Incident Dimension of the Boomed & MAYhem 2016 Struggle Disjunction, Scythe X, Counterattack Heroes’ Tales Doom 404 Memento Mori 2 Deathless 2019 A.L.T. Dawn of the Dead & Earth & Classic Episode Eviternity Avactor & Deadly Standards ESP 2 SIGIL & Nihility & Back to Basics Whispers of Satan Witness of Time & Monument & Unwelcome Bloodspeed MAYhem2019 & Alienated Plutonium Winds & Master Levels for Doom II Congestion 1024 2020 NOVA III Hellscape & Preacher & Deadly Standards 2 Doom II: Hell on Earth Hell Revealed II Mars War 25 Years on Earth Akeldama 1000 Lines Community Project MAYhem 2020 Demonfear & 1000 Lines 2 Three is a Crowd Doomer Boards Projects 26, 7, 19 2021 Plutonia Rowdy Rudy’s Revenge! & Rowdy Rudy II: POWERTRIP! 180 Minutes Pour Vivre Heretic Doom Zero Bourgeois Megawad Base Ganymede Zone 400 SKULLTIVERSE KINDa Interception II 1000 Lines 3 2022 Ozonia Doom the Way id Did Community Chest Micro-Slaughter Community Project & Haste Judgment Uprising 3 Heures d’Agonie 2 Ray Mohawk 1 & 2 Cydonia & Arrival Ad Mortem & Wormwood 1/EU/3 Down the Drain Overboard & Running Late 2 & Fractured Worlds 2023 Community Chest 2 #1 Kill & Number One Kill TNG Fragport PUSS IX: Mapping at Warpspeed Solar Struggle The Rebirth Plutonia Revisited Community Project 2 Claustrophobia 1024 Doom 2 in Spain Only Sign of Torment I C H I N I C H I Realm of Chaos: 25th Anniversary Edition 2024 Eviternity II 10x10, Heartland, Sigil II Nostalgia Doom 2 in City Only Edited June 1 by dobu gabu maru 13 Quote Share this post Link to post
plums Posted June 1 neat, I've been thinking about replaying Equinox recently. Biowar I've never played but it looks interesting. Long live the DWMC! 2 Quote Share this post Link to post
RHhe82 Posted June 1 MAP01: The End. Played on UV, pistol start. DSDA v0.27.4. K: 37/37, S: 2/4, I: 20/40. Comp. time 3:39 (on 2nd play -> S: 4/4, I: 40/40. Comp. time 2:13) Admittedly, I'm not a huge fan of old wads despite being old fart myself, but I'm in the mood of playing old school stuff right now. Something presumably easier (we'll see about that), or at least shorter. I'll be doing pistol starts despite that's one thing these older wads may not be well-suited to (still healing wounds from Rebirth's later maps). The wad starts with relatively simple tech base; a couple of rooms, couple of corridors and a courtyard connecting two areas. Simple combat from simpler times against zombiemen (with a replaced dying growl -- on replay I realized these sound very much like they're borrowed from Quake), imps and pinkies. The spaceship floating outside the starting room is a nice touch, and the situation screen in the starting room sets up the mission. Intruder (not doomguy, I suppose) detected. This sort of story telling is something I don't see that often in Doom, and I wonder if it was more prevalent back in late 90s/early 00s, with Doom trying to compete with other games doing narratives better within gameplay? I don't know. I couldn't figure out a way to obtain the armor bonus secrets on my first playthrough. The shootable switches were easy to spot, but I didn't realize something was happening in the other room. When I finally figured to look in the other room, I did a quick replay, hence double stats above. 6 Quote Share this post Link to post
Li'l devil Posted June 1 (edited) I've only learned about Biowar pretty recently. I'll try it and see if I join the club to comment on it. It has Mark Klem music though, which is nice. Not gonna play Equinox for sure though. Saw a DoD's video on it and this wad looks very unfriendly. Edited June 1 by Li'l devil 0 Quote Share this post Link to post
Pseudonaut Posted June 1 (edited) Playing on UV unless otherwise noted. Operation: Biowar Map01: The End I'm not necessarily against maps withholding the basic weapons. In this case, the balance practically requires the player to do a lot of work with the pistol: health is scarce, and many weak hitscan enemies have you in their sights much of the time. The resulting gameplay is pretty lame, but I don't often encounter maps that lean on the unmodified pistol so much. You could interpret it as refreshing. Either way, there's an incentive to check out the secret rooms containing shotgunnners, the most dangerous enemies in the map, to take their weapons. Without them, you may be harassed by a pinky or two while defenseless (happened to me at first). Edited June 1 by Pseudonaut 7 Quote Share this post Link to post
veevil Posted June 1 (edited) Hi, folks! I'm gonna pull the trigger this time and join in. The club threads have been a great source of perspective while playing various wads over the years, been reading them as a lurker long before I made this account, so I'll toss my hat in the ring since there seems to have been a dip in participation numbers lately. Hopefully this'll also give me the kick in the butt I need to actually finish Equinox. Operation: Biowar MAP01: The End(UV, pistol start, K: 100% / S: 100%, DSDA-Doom, complevel 2) The first level of Biowar is a fairly classic warmup map that'll only take you more than two minutes if you stop to admire. The opposition consists of a few basic zombos, imps, and pinkies, and even though you only get a shotgun if you find one of the (admittedly easy) secrets, you'll have no trouble pew-pewing them to death with just the pistol. The layout is very... orthogonal, as is not uncommon for 90s maps, but the new textures and doomcute details like the dropship hovering outside the starting room window go a long way to liven the place up. There's even an environmental sound effect in the opening room, in vanilla! Wow! I don't remember hearing about the WAD before, and my research beforehand consisted of having a peek at the README file. Playing it this way, the strongest impression didn't come from the gameplay or level design, but the replacement audio and graphics. A bunch of them seem to be from Quake II, if I'm not mistaken. The new HUD face looks a bit like a very angry potato, but also familiar somehow. Can't quite place it, though. Edited June 1 by veevil 7 Quote Share this post Link to post
Roofi Posted June 1 (edited) Biowar is a familiar wad to me because I recorded a longplay on DOOM2.exe 2 years ago. I will revisit the maps on DOOM2.EXE but I will play them on pistol start instead. I don't aim 100% kills and secrets because it's not really worth it in this type of wad. Map 01 : "The End" Vanilla effects such as the sound of thunder or the broken wall created with middle-textures give meaning to this all-too-common base. This map is made up of square rooms and rectangular corridors, and the secrets are equally symmetrical, which remove all the pleasure to discover them. Combat also relies heavily on the use of pistols, which can be quite uncomfortable in Map 01, especially when accessing the small warehouse before the exit. I can't decide which took longer to design, the doomcute plane or the map itself. In any case, don't expect anything extravagant in terms of level design in Operation:Biowar. Grade : C+ (11/20) Edited June 1 by Roofi 6 Quote Share this post Link to post
apichatpong Posted June 1 (edited) I'm gonna try to join the club and finish the wads this month (wanted to on april but "In city only" felt too challenging for me). Operation : Biowar Map 01 : The end - UV, pistol start, all kills and secrets A nice, 90's style, opening map with only one small surprise which is the lowering to the final room. Due to this surprise I had to finish the map with pistol and then teleport back to find the (easy) secrets. I liked the opening with the doomcute spaceship in the sky and some attention to details like the exploded wall you have to go through to reach fresh air. Edited June 1 by apichatpong 5 Quote Share this post Link to post
Lila Feuer Posted June 1 (edited) Quote It appears that the UAC has not learned from its mistakes. You have learned that the UAC president has allied himself with a high rank demon, and has sold the souls of all of the UAC workers. In return the demon codenamed TCHERNOBOG has agreed to supply the UAC military division with an unlimited amount of live demonic biological weapons. The UAC has already hit our main headquarters and skybase. And it appears that Flynn Taggart has been killed, so its up to you to infiltrate the UAC's biolabs and destroy the UAC headquarters. The UAC must not continue its ways, destroy them, find a way to get to TCHERNOBOG and put a bullet in his heart. Played before but it's been a while (July 2022) so this time I'm going to spice things up with forced pistol starts. UV difficulty. Nugget Doom. Vanilla compatibility. So yeah, quite a surprisingly grim backstory; that, despite Doomguy's best efforts the UAC essentially sold him out due to the head of the UAC being extremely corrupt, which has a lot of implications that goes outside the usual Doom storyline but we can probably assume you are either one of Doomguy's buddies coming to avenge him or are else just another expendable grunt that was, like all these space marines tend to be, suppose to clean up another one of the UAC's messes. Except now it's full-on mutiny in the midst of a demonic apocalypse. Dark cynical times! MAP01: The End (of everything as we know it?) K: 37/37 I: 40/40 S: 4/4 T: 2:51 I've always liked that spaceship outside the window at the start, and the computer screen, along with the new gloomy sky, and those new switches, and the blood splatters everywhere. And the ambient sounds that somehow eluded me for years of screams and distant explosions that I don't believe they play on any other level so I'm curious how they accomplished that outside of DeHackEd which this PWAD does not have. You spend an uncomfortably long time using that derpy little handgun but resistance isn't too heavy considering you just started, but the shotgun guys could prove to be quite troublesome if they manage to hit you a buncha times as health is scarce and there are only a few armor bonuses so be mindful of that. Cute midtexture showing the side of the starting building having been blown open (or out.) You spend not much time outside before you retreat into the next building, lowered into a dark but small crate maze before leaving shortly. The only other PWAD that the track Stigmata by Mark Klem is featured in is GothicDM 2 afaik but I think most players will associate it with BIOWAR. Edited June 1 by Lila Feuer 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
Devalaous Posted June 1 Heads up for @dobu gabu maru: I have quality of life patches for both of these wads on my patch thread. I also have Biowar on my 'now playing' tab, and Equinox is something ive considered playing soon, so I can actually take part sorta this time. I played Biowar map 1 a while ago, and it was pretty short and unmemorable like a lot of Map 01s, but it does give a chance to acclimate to the weird new statusbar face and the new sounds. I wish I knew who the character of Biowar is, I wanted to include that in my patch for the obituaries, like I did with Fragport. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
Lila Feuer Posted June 1 17 minutes ago, Devalaous said: I wish I knew who the character of Biowar is, I wanted to include that in my patch for the obituaries, like I did with Fragport. Oh, he's Slade "Havoc" Mondo, one of the baddest dudes around and pledges no allegiance to corporate shitheads. Spoiler That's my headcanon. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post
Horus Posted June 1 3 hours ago, Li'l devil said: I've only learned about Biowar pretty recently. I'll try it and see if I join the club to comment on it. It has Mark Klem music though, which is nice. Not gonna play Equinox for sure though. Saw a DoD's video on it and this wad looks very unfriendly. In fairness, Equinox is very challenging to pistol start players, as I also found out first hand. This time I will be playing through it continuously, and I’m expecting a much more comfortable time. 0 Quote Share this post Link to post
Devalaous Posted June 1 16 minutes ago, Lila Feuer said: Oh, he's Slade "Havoc" Mondo, one of the baddest dudes around and pledges no allegiance to corporate shitheads. Hide contents That's my headcanon. You can make it canon for yourself by adding custom obituary entries to a DEHACKED, and replacing all the %o parts in the strings with a custom character name, so every death portrays a specific character instead of your own player name. Pyroscourge taught me this trick and ive used it in Fragport, 32 Hours in Pain, Rowdy Rudy, Ray Mohawk etc, anything where Doomguy is specifically a set character. Works in ZDoom-family ports and Woof atm. Eternity has its own seperate strings that I dunno how to edit. (apologies for offtopic, but spreading editing tricks and knowledge is always a good thing) 2 Quote Share this post Link to post
Spectre01 Posted June 1 Never played either of this month's wads so I'll give it a go. DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Starts. MAP01 - “The End” by Chris Harbin I like the presentation here, despite the combat playing like a typical map01. The ship outside the starting area, new assets, and sound effects as you make your way through the base are pretty cool for a 90s wad. 2 Quote Share this post Link to post
Celestin Posted June 1 Woof!, -cl2, pistol-start with saves This installment of DWMC is going to be a bit different for me, as I've played both wads before. I've discovered Operation: Biowar when I was playing around with Compendium, a compilation of numerous old-school wads. I enjoyed it a lot, though back then I had different standards, with beating the mapset being enough to earn a praise. I'm curious to see how it fares under a more critical eye. All maps were made by Chris Harbin unless noted otherwise. MAP01: The End Biowar opens with a small military base under attack. While the combat isn't anything special (mostly consisting of killing zombies, imps and occasional pinkies with a pistol; shotgunner cubbies act as secrets and greatly speed up the crate basement before the exit), the visuals deserve a recognition. New textures (especially boxes that reminds me of Eternal Doom), floating airplane in the distance and mid-textures faking a blasted wall, combined with new HUD and sound replacement, they all demonstrate a high production value that isn't that common in wads of its day. The End is a strong start that always makes me excited to go forward. 3 hours ago, Lila Feuer said: And the ambient sounds that somehow eluded me for years of screams and distant explosions that I don't believe they play on any other level so I'm curious how they accomplished that outside of DeHackEd which this PWAD does not have. I believe those are Nazis and Keens with replaced sounds, killed somewhere off-screen. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
Li'l devil Posted June 1 (edited) Alright, I guess I can devote a little bit of time per day to play Biowar, assuming the levels won't get too long, as I'm in the process of trying to beat other wads on UV and it takes me a lot of time, lol. I'll make my reviews very concise, because I don't want everyone to read walls of text. Woof!, UV, continuous, no mid-level saves Level 1: The End (what a name for an opening map) Well, I didn't like having to pistol everything, but this is a cool opening map. I really like the mood outside. The music track though is one of my least favorites from Mark Klem. The sound replacements mostly come from Quake and that's alright, but I do not like the new status bar face. It looks like a typical 90s tough hero. I like how there are sound effects of people dying in the background, that's very cool. What else? I noticed crates from Eternal Doom, and there's a nice plane outside in the starting area. The intermission music is one of my favorites from Klem however, and I wish it was used for a map instead. Edited June 1 by Li'l devil 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
NiGHTS108 Posted June 1 It's been a while, huh? I can't be bothered to make videos for every map like I did in The Olden Days (2022) but it'd be fun to casually play a map a day and jot down some words about them. Source port: DSDA-Doom 0.27.5 Difficulty: Ultra-Violence Saves/rewind allowed Pistol starting each map - Operation: Biowar MAP01: The End By Chris Harbin Kills: 100% Items: 17% Secrets: 25% Time: 1:39 Interesting name for a first map, I'd have to agree, though the name doesn't really go beyond what you do at the very first second of the map. One of the most 90's wads I've played in a hot minute, between the excellent Doomguy face replacement and rather haphazard choices for new textures. The same applies to the map itself. For a map about 60% pistol work, it's probably on the stronger half as far as stuff like this is concerned, though at large, about as mundane as mundane openings get. Nice Eternal Doom crates. Grade: C Difficulty: D- 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
SuyaSSS Posted June 1 (edited) MAP01 - “The End” by Chris Harbin Played With Nugget Doom, Smooth Doom 21, UV A nice and short start to this wad. A bit too short for me to be honest, I was expecting a bit more. One thing I noticed was that the wad looks quite good for a 90s wad. Its also implementing some really nice use of custom textures with the standalone doom textures for its time. I do have mixed feelings about the HUD face being changed, not really a fan of how out of place it feels when compared to the rest of the game and, in my opinion, leaving it as regular doomguy would have been better. In terms of gameplay, the map is easy which is unsurprising for the first map. And here is to hoping that this wad doesn't get so hard that I'll lose motivation to play it and give up on it midway through the month :P. Overall, the map is not bad but also not extraordinarily great. It's just a good starting map. GRADE: C Edited June 1 by SuyaSSS 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
Somniac Posted June 1 Equinox is a long-time favourite of mine that I also haven't played in ages, so I hope I'll be able to stick with this. I've briefly played Biowar previously and can't remember much about it, so for all intents and purposes I'm going in blind. I'll attempt to record and upload a playthrough of each map to accompany comments, pistol-starting in Crispy Doom. Casual playthrough, don't care if I miss secrets etc. MAP01 - The End Not a huge amount to say given the brevity of this map, however it does a really nice job of establishing environmental storytelling with the use of ambient sounds, a plane visible at the start, the blown apart wall midtex, and the computer also at the start. I really like that. Combat is made either interesting or tedious by gatekeeping the shotgun behind a secret accessed by (admitted rather obvious) shoot switches, which I missed until I was basically done. Personally I don't mind having to fight my way to a better weapon and am not put off by having to pistol most of this, its MAP01 after all. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
Insaneprophet Posted June 1 Biowar Map 01: The End Ive decided to play this and Equinox in the Compendium wad as Ive been working my way through all of them anytime I want some older flavor. I hope that doesnt taint my experience any but we shall see. As for this first map it isnt anything super special but it does have what I found to be a nice atmosphere. The spacship flying outside the window of the opening room grabbed my attention and immediately got me primmed and on board for this set. Then upon entering the first hallway the demon noises and blown out section of the wall set the tone for what I hope is going to be a fun mission into an overrun complex on an alien planet. Im all in. 😀 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
LadyMistDragon Posted June 1 K, I will do this but due to Equinox's bloated map size, I'm not likely to make it past probably 5 or so if I do that. Map 01: The End by Chris Harbin (Crispy Doom, pistol start, UV) You know, a midi version of "The End" would not be a bad way to start this. But the reused midi here works well enough, still adhering to 90s badassery and complementing the vague military theme. Your guy here is a square-jawed tough guy with rather interesting aspect resolution. I think there's story but I don't wanna look it up. What's important is that we're starting out in a wreck of a facility, with a massive computer bank to our backside and a back texture that does nothing but is certainly different. The hall leading out of here has a hole blown out on the right side, leading off to an open field with a building with a security station adjacent what seems to be storage on a lower floor. Combat isn't really tons to speak of, kind of dense for an opening map and withholding shotguns unless one can be bothered to shoot some switches leading into said stations, otherwise, we're going to be stuck maneuvering around a lot of annoying enemies to reach the exit. Didn't bother with the armour bonuses on the cubes in the security stations though. Nothing seemed to stand out. Good opening map 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
Plerb Posted June 1 (edited) I'm gonna take a crack at participating. Equinox is one of my favorite WADs, and I've never played Biowar but it looks cool and I really should play more 90s wads. This month has a lot of chaos in store for me though so I likely won't be very consistent with this. Also I'm shit at writing reviews. A year ago I was writing walkthroughs for Equinox on DoomWiki but I stopped after MAP05. I should get back to that in case anyone would find those helpful. Biowar MAP01 (UV, continuous, saves): I like the 90s-era custom graphics and sounds. Also I recognize that status bar from Community Chest 2 and the face looks like it's modified from HacX. That death mugshot is creepy as shit!!! Anyways the map is okay, and I didn't look for any secrets. idk what else to say about it. :P Edited June 2 by Plerb 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
E.M. Posted June 1 I have played both wads before. I liked one and hated the other. I'll let you guess which. MAP01: The End DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start Operation: BIOWAR begins with a map called The End. Odd. The combat is very pistol-centric. I don't like that, but you can get a shotgun in the later half. The layout and detailing are simple but serviceable. The last two secrets were annoying to find. Because many of the sounds were replaced, I didn't realize I was lowering a lift by crossing a linedef until I watched someone else's demo. Overall, this was an okay opener. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
Horus Posted June 1 I have played all of both wads before (except the last couple of maps of Biowar), but this time I will be revisiting them in different circumstances. Biowar I first played when it popped up in Ironeagle a few years ago. I submitted in UV, not getting very far in map 2, but then later did another unsubmitted attempt in HMP, which I got to about map 16. But this time, I will be playing pistol start (on UV), rather than the continuous play mandated by Ironeagle. Equinox I played about a year ago pistol start, which often necessitated some extreme ammo management. This time, I will be playing it continuously and therefore expect a more comfortable time. Operation: BIOWAR DSDA-Doom, UV pistol starts MAP01 - “The End” by Chris Harbin Well this may be an 18 map mapset, but looks like we’re already at the end, so Doomguy can pack up and go home :P In all seriousness, this is a pretty basic opener, albeit the replacement sounds, HUD and textures do catch the eye, as well as the neat little touches such as the blown-out hole in the wall. Combat is pretty much entirely pistol-based, albeit you do get the shotgun a tad earlier via the shoot-switch secrets. Nothing to complain about, but nothing to write home about either. Ultimately I will take it over a frustrating map :P 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
Celestin Posted June 1 MAP02: Terror Core Riding down an elevator leads to a small hub with 4 teleporters, each taking you to a small room with rather dense monster placement (thanks for the shotgun in the hub). The red ones contain keys, the white takes you to the exit. Despite being no larger than MAP01, Terror Core feels underwhelming. Perhaps it's the disconnected nature of its design, perhaps rather basic texture choice and layout, but at least the music was great. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
Horus Posted June 1 MAP02 - “Terror Core” by Chris Harbin From the military base of the first map we descend to an underground cavernous area, consisting of a central hub+3 layout, each containing a key, and which can be done in any order. This is where my UV Ironeagle run prematurely ended, and I can see why. Combat is a little spicier thanks to the heavier hitscan and imps in close quarters without much room to dodge, albeit I survived without too much trouble this time. Ultimately the combat interested me more here, but the pretty basic presentation interested me less. 4 Quote Share this post Link to post
E.M. Posted June 1 MAP02: Terror Core DSDA-Doom, UV, Pistol Start An Important thing to note is that as soon as you press the button at the start, you need to perform an SR50 over the railing to get the secret. If you fail, then too bad. You'll have to restart the level. That's bad level design right there. I don't like it. The rest is good, though. It's what Doom 2's MAP21 would be like if it were actually fun. You start off in a room with four teleporters. One of them will take you to the exit, but you need to grab three keys before you can reach the exit linedef. The hardest room was the one that puts you in direct line of sight with two shotgunners. If you don't act fast, you'll be gunned down. And after you grab the red key in that room, two chaingunners will show up, and they'll murder you if you're not expecting them. That's something I'd expect from Plutonia. Overall, this is definitely better than the first map. I especially liked the use of that shiny blue texture from Eternal Doom. 5 Quote Share this post Link to post
Celestin Posted June 2 34 minutes ago, E.M. said: If you fail, then too bad. You'll have to restart the level. That's bad level design right there. I don't like it. You can still jump over the fence if you stand on a teleport pad (after you return to the hub from any of the side rooms). I believe it was an intended way. 3 Quote Share this post Link to post
Devalaous Posted June 2 According to my Doom Launcher stats, I finished 6 maps of Biowar before getting distracted by other stuff like Requiem and Cleimos II. Terror Core was a lot more interesting than Map 1, with its hub-like center and the secrets in the pit surrounding it. I got destroyed by the surprise chaingunners, iirc 2 Quote Share this post Link to post
Votterbin Posted June 2 Welp, I decided I was gonna record my entire playthrough of Biowar, now I have 3 and a half hours of footage... I'm gonna have fun splitting those lmao 0 Quote Share this post Link to post
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